Sakuya finally returns to Chiba at the end of the year and Yumi couldn't be happier about it.
School was officially over for the semester. Grueling finals were finally behind them, children all across Japan and the world intent on doing little but relaxing for the next few weeks. At least initially, this did not include Yumi, as she was far too intent on pacing back and forth at the station waiting for the next train to come in.
Bundled in a plain brown coat over a pair of overalls she hadn't cut off at the knees, she checked her phone obsessively to keep track of the time. The seconds ticked away at a grueling pace, several times making her question whether her phone might be broken (it wasn't, of course). Impatience growing stronger with each passing moment, she found herself hopping up and down while pursing her lips, several people waiting nearby giving her strange looks.
Excited as she was, there was a hint of guilt lingering in the back of her mind. Though she'd come to accept that there simple wasn't anything she could do for Yuu at the moment, it didn't make this scenario feel any better. She was about to go off and have fun to celebrate the end of school while a friend was in who knows what kind of pain. The only thing that kept her from completely losing her enthusiasm for the day was her resolve that, without question, Yuu would be a part of something like this in the future. That and the person who was coming to town, of course.
She stopped her hopping abruptly the moment she heard the sound of an approaching train, forcing herself to move further from where the doors would open for the sake of courtesy and not getting swept up in a crowd moving in and out of the cars. As the various people traded places between the platform and the train, Yumi tried her hardest to find who she was there to see.
Once the crowd thinned, the two finally caught sight of one another. Without a word, both Yumi and Sakuya nearly jumped into each others arms, finally able to hug after so many months apart. While more strange looks would probably be a deterrent on a normal day, they couldn't really be motivated to care right now.
"I missed you," Yumi said, reluctantly letting go of Sakuya after what felt like a good two minutes.
"I missed you, too," she replied. This wasn't exactly a revolutionary statement by either of them, but it felt good to hear. "It really was kind of lonely without you, you know."
"I told you to make some friends," Yumi said, poking Sakuya on the nose.
"I know," she sighed, straightening out her blue overcoat while they exited the station. "By the way, no one else wanted to show up?"
"It's weird, right? I tried to get everyone to come, but they all said they thought we should be alone for some reason." Yumi somehow managed to avoid understanding what their friends were implying even as Sakuya began to blush. "Either way, we're supposed to get together later. Should we go by your house so you can drop off your stuff?"
Sakuya hadn't even thought to do that, far too preoccupied imagining a day out with Yumi and what they might get up to without anyone around to ruin the moment. Quickly realizing she hadn't replied, though, she immediately said, "Right, good idea. We'll go there first."
Not two steps forward, though, did they bump into some people they knew. "Megumi!" Yumi shouted, nearly jumping onto the woman for a hug.
"Fancy seeing you here," she said, returning the hug with an added pat on the head. "Sakuya, you're back. It's been a while."
"Oh, hi," she said, surprised to meet in a place like this. In truth, she almost didn't recognize her with such casual clothing as jeans and a white blouse, though it was accessorized with a fine-looking black tweed coat.
"Are you going on a trip?" Yumi asked after releasing her, only now noticing Koichi walking up behind her with a pair of suitcases. Overall, he'd changed very little, the only noticeable difference being he'd zipped his leather jacket. "Hi, Koichi!"
Looking up in surprise, the man gave a small laugh and waved to the girls. "Hello."
"I'm taking him to see my parents," Megumi explained. "The club is closing for a bit, so we're going to Saitama."
"Together?" Sakuya asked. "Does that mean..."
"Dating!" Yumi declared to finish her sentence, looking mystified at the revelation.
"That's true," Megumi confirmed, Koichi blushing a bit beside her. "I usually head home this time of year and he asked to come with me, so it seemed like a good time to introduce everyone."
"I'm a little nervous," Koichi admitted. "I hope they like me."
"Of course they will," Megumi reassured him, giving him a playful slap on the arm. "You're wonderful."
"Good luck!" Yumi said, containing enough excitement on their behalf to power the entire city for at least a decade.
"Thank you," Megumi said, Koichi giving a small bow to show his appreciation. "Oh, before I forget. Good luck when you head to Tokyo, Yumi. We'll be watching on TV."
Yumi gave the both of them a hug. "Thanks. I'll do my best." She turned to Sakuya, adding, "My teacher would be really upset if I didn't win now."
"I said to stop calling me that," she replied. "And I'll be happy as long as you do your best." After a few goodbyes, they saw the two off as the next train started to come in, Yumi and Sakuya continuing on to the latter's house.
Sakuya lived north of the station, equidistant between both it and Yumi's house. This gave them ample time to catch up, recounting the final days of school and bemoaning how hard exams were (though this mostly applied to Yumi). As the house came into view, Yumi found it to be exceedingly average compared to all the outlandish fantasies she'd built up about her friend's home. She wasn't actually rich, obviously, but that didn't stop her from expecting something a little more flashy. Not even a single horse on the property.
"This is the first time you've actually seen where I live, isn't it?" Sakuya noted. "Sorry if it's not as cool as you hoped it would be," she said, almost as if she could sense what Yumi was thinking.
"I want to see your room," Yumi said excitedly, holding Sakuya's bags while she unlocked the front door. Opening it, they found, as expected, a rather mundane house. It had a landing area for shoes (strangely, there was already a pair of brown loafers sitting there), white painted walls, and brown carpet along the path leading deeper in.
Not even a second after they made it through the door did Sakuya's father appear in front of them looking clean-shaven and a bit tired. "I thought you were at work right now," she said, forgetting to even greet him.
"I decided to take the day off and surprise you," he said. "Though I guess a better surprise would have been...going to pick you up. Sorry about that." He still had a ways to go in terms of being a good father, but this was probably some progress. Looking behind his daughter, he spotted the other girl. "Hello. We haven't met before, have we? Are you the Yumi she talks about all the time?"
"I am the Yumi!" she said happily walking up to bow politely in front of him. "We came to drop off her things."
Once he returned from carrying his daughter's things into her room, he replied, "Stay a while. You don't have to leave just this second, do you? I made some tea."
Though still feeling a bit awkward showing her father to people, Sakuya was happy to see him being able to handle a conversation like this. It was only a few months ago where he spent nearly every moment not at his job inebriated, but he seemed to have stuck with sobriety even after she left for school.
After taking off their coats at the front of the house and hanging them on a rack in the corner, the girls met her father in the living room for some tea, warming up and having a fairly pleasant conversation about the time Sakuya ate worms as a five year old. "And she just won't eat beansprouts anymore," he said, doing what a parent does best and embarrassing his child in front of her friends by blurting out her bizarre secrets.
"Did that really happen?" Yumi asked, absolutely loving everything that was happening at the moment.
"Yes, that happened," Sakuya confirmed. Side-eyeing her father, she said "You don't have to keep talking about stuff like that."
"Right, sorry," he said with a small chuckle. "You were just really funny when you were little."
"I want to hear more," Yumi declared.
Trying desperately to keep that from happening, Sakuya interjected with, "Don't we have to be somewhere?"
"I don't think so," Yumi replied, not picking up on what she meant. "We're not supposed to meet up with anyone for at least an hour, right? We can stay here a little longer."
"Right, well...we should go see my room." This immediately won Yumi over. "We're going to go," she said to her father.
"Sure thing," he said with a nod. While he'd like to spend more time with his daughter after she was away for so long, he understood that she would rather be with a friend and not have to listen to more stories about her childhood. They'd have time to catch up later, anyway. "I'll be here if you need anything."
Hurriedly leading Yumi down the hall, Sakuya stepped into her bedroom for the first time in months. All told, it was surprisingly typical for someone like her, only her immaculately made bed in one corner and a simple wooden desk in the opposite next to a bookshelf filled with light novels and a few manga volumes. As far as decorations, there weren't many to be found outside of a pen holder and a desk lamp, her things generally needing some sort of practical purpose to earn a slot in her room.
The sole exception to this was a poster hung near her bed for the trashy teen romance novel series Vampire's Epoch depicting a particularly pale pretty boy brooding apart from a clearly anguished girl. Obviously, this was what caught Yumi's eye immediately. "I didn't know you liked those," she said, attention quickly drifting to different things as the euphoria of finally seeing her friend's room hit her in full force.
"I mean, not really," she said in an unnecessarily defensive way. "I got it as a joke. I read them because they're so bad, you know? And people talk about them, so I got curious about what they were like." Clearly, she wasn't being completely honest in her reasoning. That or she'd simply reached a level of irony mere mortals couldn't hope to comprehend.
"Yeah, I guess they're not that great," Yumi said, scanning the bookshelf and finding all three of the current entries in the series next to one another. "Didn't two girls start dating in one of them?"
"They did," she said, perking up and revealing that she might be a tad more invested in these books than she let on. "I wasn't expecting it, but me and a lot of other people from what I've seen thought maybe they had some chemistry in the first two books. Still, it's kind of surprising they went with it like that. It sort of feels like they're more interesting than the main couple."
"That sounds pretty cool," Yumi said, not entirely understanding what she was talking about. "I never read any of them, but some people at school were talking about it. They sounded cute."
"They are. I like the way they're so supportive with each other and how they both start out as vampires since it's always kind of weird how these really old creatures keep falling in love with teenagers. Did you ever notice that?"
"Yeah, actually. That is weird, isn't it? They eat us, so isn't that like falling in love with a cow?" She thought for a moment. "Cows are kind of cute, though. Maybe I shouldn't eat them anymore even if they taste good."
"Are you becoming a vegetarian right now?" Sakuya asked, amused.
"Probably not. I'd still eat takoyaki, at least." They'd gotten off topic, Yumi moving them back to the matter at hand. "Tell me more about the vampire girls, though."
Getting way more into this than initially intended, she launched into an impassioned description of how two fictional characters came to be. "We don't get to see them much, but we know they've known each other for years before the story started. They start out antagonistic, but they both start realizing that they care about each other when the real villains show up. And they keep getting closer each time we get to see them, and then there's the scene where they get to be the focus and decide they're going to ally with the main characters against the villains."
She approached Yumi after that, taking her face delicately in her hands. "And one of them held the other like this and said, 'Whatever ends up happening, I've realized I'm fine with it as long as I'm by your side.'" Seeing Yumi's face start to turn red and eyes grow wide with gay longing, Sakuya released her and backed up, clearing her throat and saying, "And I just thought that was pretty sweet and well-written," to try and distract from what she just did.
After collecting herself from that near-death experience, Yumi said, "I might have to read those books," still sounding like she was in a daze.
"You can borrow them if you want to," Sakuya told her, thankful the conversation seemed to be moving past her not so much showing her hand as slapping it down on the table for all to see.
Unfortunately for her, Yumi steered things right back to it. "I wish someone would do that to me," she sighed, realizing only seconds later that someone had, in fact, literally just done that to her. "For real, I mean," she clarified, adding a quiet, "It's not like you meant that, right?"
Suddenly finding herself engaged in a duel far more serious than any she'd fought using cards, Sakuya stumbled over herself to try and find an appropriate response that was vague enough to not put her in the terrifying position of admitting her feelings.
"I mean, I...I definitely want to...I mean, I'm your friend...and I want to stay your friend...in that, uh, I want to stay with you like that, but..." Her stuttering indecisiveness was made all the worse by the fact that Yumi appeared to be genuinely hanging on every word that fell out of her mouth. "Anyway, forget it. More important is that I have my extra cards in the closet over there if you want to look at them."
Yumi's love for women was matched only by her love for Duel Monsters, immediately whipping around and moving to the closet to inspect Sakuya's collection. She made a note to press her further on what she meant to say but was already in the process of dismissing any suspicion she might have that there was something deeper, figuring she simply imagined the idea that her friend might have been struggling to confess her feelings to her. Just wishful thinking, obviously.
"You can have any that you need," Sakuya told her, though it was clear Yumi was only about half listening as she looked in wonder at the cards she sorted through. It was exceedingly cute, she thought, to watch her ooh and ah at things even when many of the cards she kept in her collection weren't all that notable or rare.
"I don't need any, but thanks," Yumi said suddenly, apparently having heard her after all despite taking around a minute to answer. "You should make a deck using just your extras," she suggested, placing the cards she'd been looking at back inside a metal tin.
"What for?" Sakuya asked.
"It could be fun. You're not used to it, so you have to think about new strategies in the moment. We did that during training sometimes since it helps you get better at adapting. I even played against my own deck so I could understand it better, too."
"Is this just an excuse for you to get to play with my cards?"
"Yeah, I really want to do that, too." At least she was being honest.
Sakuya shrugged, saying, "That might be interesting, I guess."
"Then let's do it!" Yumi said, picking up a tin of cards and holding them out to Sakuya.
"Later," she said, taking them and setting them down on her desk. "I just want to hang out with you first. To talk."
"We always talk, though," Yumi said, a bit confused. "Basically every day."
"I know, but it's different when you're not here." She looked away, shifting on her heels while folding her hands together. "I missed you. I mean, you knew that, but...I missed being with you."
Things grew quiet for a moment as neither knew what to say after that, conveniently missing the fact they'd each begun to blush given they were suddenly feeling a bit too shy to look at each other. Yumi finally spoke up after that, mumbling out, "Yeah, I get it. I...missed it, too." She stepped a bit closer. "Like when we had that sleepover, right? Just the two of us."
Sakuya nodded. "That's it." The air was thick with a tension she couldn't identify, the thought that it might be romantic constantly flitting about in her mind only to be pushed down by her own insecurities.
"Can I use the bathroom really quick?" Yumi asked suddenly, sounding a bit more urgent than she intended.
Amazingly, this same urgency was reflected in Sakuya's response. "Sure, it's right at the end of the hall." They nodded awkwardly to each other, Yumi leaving the room and Sakuya behind for the time being.
She didn't actually need to do anything in there, locking the door behind her as she tried desperately to hype herself up. Her resolve to make her feelings known at some point came back with a vengeance, beating her over the head harder and harder. It was high time she made good on that promise to herself from those months ago.
At least, that's what she wanted to do. Nothing would make her happier or more relieved to march out of the bathroom and confidently confess her love like it was no big deal, but it couldn't be that simple. What if she was rejected? Could they still be friends after that or would things be too strange and uncomfortable? Worse yet, what if she was accepted? What would that mean for their relationship right now or the dynamics of their group?
"Just do it," she ordered herself in the mirror, stomping her feet anxiously. "It's going to be fine. It's...nothing bad will happen." If only she could make herself believe that. Despite having so much time to rehearse some lines or even grow accustomed to the idea of Sakuya being aware of how she felt, she'd completely ignored any of that in favor of the foolhardy belief that everything would come naturally in the moment.
Tugging her pigtails, she grunted and grumbled to herself for the next several minutes, finally emerging after realizing that taking so long would probably give the impression there was something medically wrong with her. Remembering at the last second to flush for cover (something she saw a spy do in a TV show once that she thought was kind of cool), she made her way back to Sakuya's room to find her friend mumbling something to herself while facing the corner.
"I'm back," she announced, trying not to let on that she was a little weirded out by what she'd come back to.
Flipping around, Sakuya greeted her a bit uneasily. "Oh, welcome back. I...saw a spider and went to kill it."
"Wow, I thought you didn't like spiders," Yumi said, clearly impressed by the death defying feat.
"I didn't, but I, uh...got over it. It's dead now."
"Good job," Yumi said, walking over and giving her a pat on the back. Realizing that she was trying to distract herself from the issue at hand, she took a step back and cleared her throat a bit more than was natural. "We should be talking now," she stated matter-of-factly, coming off far more clinically than she wanted to.
Despite this, though, it managed to make Sakuya laugh. After a small chuckle, she agreed. "Yeah, we should." She sat down on her blue bedspread, patting the area to her right. "I know I said that, but I'm not really sure what to say. Sorry."
Yumi flopped into the space next to her. "It's okay," she reassured her. "It would be weird if we went into it having some kind of plan on what to talk about." In some way, this was her way of justifying her earlier negligence. Thinking of something that might help start them off, she said, "Your dad seems nice."
It seemed to work, Sakuya nodding as she said, "He's doing a lot better. I was afraid he might just go back to how things were after I left, but he seems like he's been keeping it together. I'm proud of him."
"I want to hear more stories about when you were small," Yumi said with a grin.
"You're not allowed to know about any of that," she said with a glare. "You've heard enough."
Nudging her in the shoulder, Yumi tried to offer up something in exchange. "You could hear about stuff I did. Then we'd both know embarrassing stuff about each other."
"As if you'd even have anything like that," she replied, quietly hoping she might be able to use reverse psychology to get something out of her friend.
Almost like she read her mind, Yumi shrugged and said, "Yeah, you're probably right. I was kind of boring when I was a little kid." She thought hard, coming up with, "I mean...I guess it's kind of funny that I tried to grab the stove when it was on because the fire looked pretty. Oh, and I hugged this one lady in a store once because I got turned around and thought she was my mom."
"Did that actually happen?" Sakuya said in disbelief. She'd heard about people doing that kind of thing on TV but had never known anyone who had actually had that experience.
Laughing at herself, Yumi nodded. "It was pretty funny. She didn't seem mad, though. I guess it was extra bad because I was out with just my dad then, too, so I don't know why I thought my mom would have come found us like that."
"You're unbelievable," she said, shaking her head with a smile. "I guess you can hear one more about me." Pursing her lips, she thought back to her childhood. "When was younger, I took piano lessons. It only lasted about a week, though, because at the end of my third lesson I said I wanted to quit because the teacher was bad at playing. In front of the teacher."
Yumi covered her mouth to contain her laughter, at least long enough to say, "Are you serious?"
"My parents tried to get me to apologize, but I just wouldn't do it." She was a bit embarrassed looking back on it. "And that's why I never learned to play the piano."
"You're amazing," Yumi said between fits of giggling. "You can't play at all?"
"I remember the order of the keys, but that's basically it," Sakuya confirmed, laying back on her bed. "Sometimes I think about trying again, but I'm pretty busy these days learning French and writing my book."
"Are you making any progress on French?" she asked, mirroring Sakuya's movements and looking over at her.
"A little, I guess. It would probably be easier if I could take a class for it, but progress is progress." Turning her head a bit to look to Yumi, she asked, "Have you tried learning any Spanish yet? You mentioned it a little while ago but I don't remember you saying anything since."
"Not really," she admitted, sighing. "I don't really know where to start, you know? I've got the internet now and it's kind of...overwhelming? There's a bunch of places that say they can teach me, but I barely even know the Spanish characters. They look like the same as in English, but then there's some stuff over some of them that I don't really know. And I barely even know any English, so it's just more confusing. And this green owl keeps sending me these weird emails that are kind of scary and I don't know what to do about it."
"Yeah, it helps to learn the letters first. I could send you some of the websites I used to get some of the basic stuff down. I think they have some sections for Spanish that you might be able to get."
"That would really help, thank you." In lieu of a hug given that they were both on their backs right now, Yumi squeezed Sakuya's hand in thanks, holding it for a bit longer than she probably should have. Slowly and reluctantly pulling away, she forced a small laugh.
That tension had returned without either of them realizing. In truth, it wasn't so much a vague feeling anymore as it was a palpable longing. While the statement that a first love was the strongest generally didn't check out when scrutinized, it sure felt like that at the moment. They both wanted nothing more than to admit what they were feeling for each other, something made all the more frustrating by the fact that they were totally oblivious to how mutual these feelings actually were.
"Learning languages is hard," Yumi mumbled, her tone making her sound far more upset about this than one reasonably should. Her mind wasn't really focused on languages right now, though, her left hand inching its way back towards Sakuya's as her brain screamed in desperation, trying fruitlessly to force her to act. Though she knew it was ridiculous to think, it felt like she might die if she didn't do anything soon.
Sakuya nodded slowly, whispering a single, "Yeah." She, too, had been trying to work up to a confession while Yumi was away earlier, repeating over and over, "I like you," in the corner to try and make the words feel more natural coming out of her mouth. She'd said them so many times in her head but had never actually verbalized them until that moment, usually being too lost in thought fantasizing about the end result of such an action. At the same time, her hand began moving towards Yumi's.
Without even really noticing, their fingers intertwined once more, the two laying there in silence not even fully aware that they'd returned to holding hands. Swallowing hard, Yumi made the first move, clearly speaking, "I like..." before freezing up. Feeling Sakuya's eyes dart towards her, she realized she had to say something quickly. Unfortunately, what came out wasn't exactly what she was hoping. "I like...that you're my friend."
"I like that, too," Sakuya said, the slightest hint of sadness working its way into her words despite her smile. She did like that she was Yumi's friend, that much was definitely true, but it almost seemed like she was about to say something else there. Somehow, she just couldn't allow herself to put two and two together, a fact that would likely have any outside observer screaming furiously to get over their inhibitions and just kiss already.
Trying to find anything that might bring them back to another carefree and happy conversation, Sakuya reached into the pocket of her purple leggings and pulled out her phone. "Hey, isn't it about time we go see the others?" she said after noting the time.
Yumi sat up, nodding. "Right. Thanks for noticing." Only now did she pull her hand away, hopping off the bed. "Guess we should get going," she said, not wanting to reveal how upset she felt at having squandered this perfect moment to confess. Moving on and not really mentioning it seemed like the best option for now – that's what she forced herself to think, at least.
"We're heading out now," Sakuya called into the living room to her father as the two moved towards the front of the house.
"Do you need anything before you leave?" he asked, getting up to see them off. "I could get you a thermos of tea or...maybe some snacks?"
"I like snacks," Yumi said, unable to resist the offer of food.
"We're going to get something to eat, aren't we?" Sakuya asked her, her father having already produced some chocolate granola bars for Yumi.
"You never know when you'll need some snacks," he told her, saying it like it was some sagely wisdom. "You two have fun. If you need anything, call me, okay?"
"We will," Sakuya assured him. "I'll be back in a few hours." The temperature held fairly consistent as they left the house, chilly but not so unbearable as to make walking outside a miserable experience. The fresh air seemed to do the two some good considering they were far less distracted by feelings as they made their way back towards the heart of the city. Somehow, fantasizing about how much you wanted to kiss someone just wasn't as appealing while out in public on a cold sidewalk with a bunch of strangers all around.
"We should definitely go together," Yumi said, the conversation having drifted towards the fact that Sakuya hadn't seen any movies while she was in Gunma. "Is there anything on right now?"
"You're suggesting we go but don't even have anything in mind?" she asked.
"I don't really pay attention to it," she replied with a shrug. "It might be fun to just go and see whatever happens to be playing. I've kind of always wanted to do that."
"We do have time before I leave again. There's even a couple days before the tournament, too. We could probably do that if you really wanted to."
Yumi flapped her hands in celebration. "We could do it tomorrow! I'll get us lots of candy! And popcorn!"
"You get excited so easily," Sakuya said, smiling as she watched her friend gesticulate while declaring all the food they'd be buying.
"There's a lot of things to be excited about," she said simply, seeing something that proved her point only moments later. "We're here!" she announced, running up to her friends who were waiting to meet the two of them.
She pulled both Ami and Suzy into a hug, clumsily trying to get them to spin in a circle with her before having to stop about a quarter of the way around for fear of falling over in the street. "It's my friends!" she shouted happily as Sakuya walked up.
"It's nice to meet you," Sakuya told them, giving a bit of an awkward wave. "I've heard a lot about both of you," she added, matching each of the girls to pictures she'd seen. They'd both bundled up in (unintentionally) similar-looking brown coats, Suzy adding a pastel green knit hat to the mix while Ami had a red scarf wrapped around her neck that barely hid her necklace.
"Same here," Ami said, bowing politely. "Yumi always talks about you."
Taking the more direct approach, Suzy walked right up next to her and gave her a pat on the arm, asking "Did you know you're her phone background?" to try and break the ice.
Evidently, she did not. "When did that happen?" she asked, turning to Yumi with a visible blush.
"Since you sent me that cute picture," she replied, holding it up just to let everyone see it once again. "You have the other half, right? You should set it as yours!"
"That would be weird," she grumbled, though this was all just a smokescreen to avoid the reveal that she'd already done so quite some time ago. "If you've got that out, can you see where the other two are?"
"They should be here soon," Yumi replied, checking her messages to see if anything new had popped up. "Yeah, it just says, 'Caught in some hijinks, be there soon,' with some hearts after that."
Sakuya shook her head. "What happened now?"
"I hope it's nothing serious," Ami said.
"They do this a lot," Yumi told her, sharing Sakuya's seeming complacency with this news. "One or both of them was late a lot when we were meeting up in the summer because some weird stuff always happened."
"We kind of just accepted it," Sakuya added, looking down the street to see if anyone was approaching them. Any further conversation was cut off by the sound of several motorcycles roaring across the road. "Here they come," she said, not the least bit surprised by the ostentatious arrival.
What was a bit more shocking was that it was Kyoko and two others from her gang giving them a ride. "Sorry we're late," Kazuhiko said, dismounting from the back of a green motorcycle driven by an unfamiliar girl in black. "Thanks for the ride," he said to the group, walking to meet with Yumi and the others with Hideo follow suit a moment later. As expected, neither had changed clothes to account for the climate and were at least a bit chilled.
"We were headed this way, so it's fine," Kyoko said, pulling off her helmet. "Plus I get to say hi to everyone."
"Hi!" Yumi called, waving to her and receiving the same in turn.
"I'm here, too," Haru said, opening the visor on her helmet from where she sat behind Kyoko.
"Where are you all headed?" Suzy asked, clearly a bit starstruck by the fact there was a real live girl gang of Japanese high schoolers in front of her.
"Doing some holiday pregaming," Kyoko told them. "Might go bowling. Think there's a karaoke place a ways off from there. Not totally sure yet, so we're keeping it loose. You guys want to come?"
"We already have plans," Sakuya answered, realizing that might have come off more antagonistic than she intended after saying it. For once, she wasn't trying to show disdain for her.
"Thanks for the offer, though," Ami followed up.
"Maybe you could join us," Suzy said. "We were going to do some stuff here. No one would mind, especially not if you let me ride your bike and stuff."
"No can do," Kyoko replied. "I respect the boldness, though. Not enough room to give everyone a lift, anyway, so it's probably for the best. Have fun out there and don't stay out past your curfew."
"Since when are you the rules and lecturing type?" Kazuhiko scoffed.
"I've got to set a good example for all these children," she said sarcastically. "So all of you girls remember to ride motorcycles and join a gang."
"It's like I've always dreamed of doing!" Suzy said.
Leaning over towards her leader, one of Kyoko's friends whispered, "I like that one," eliciting a laugh from Haru.
"We'd better get going," Kyoko said after that, shoving her helmet back onto her head. "Oh, good luck in Tokyo, Yumi. We're going to be watching you rep our city."
"I'll do my best!" she replied. The women sped off down the road shortly after that, leaving the others to set out on their own plans. "Everyone keeps saying stuff like that to me," Yumi commented once they started moving. "I'm kind of getting nervous."
"Don't stress yourself out like that," Ami said. "Just take it easy for now and have fun. We all know you've been working hard to prepare for it."
"She's right," Sakuya agreed. "You'll make us proud no matter what happens."
"I still really want to win, though," she said, biting her bottom lip and humming anxiously.
"You won before, right?" Suzy asked. "Then you've got at least a pretty good chance for this time. It's pretty amazing either way. You're only 12 and you're already starting into the pro leagues."
"Totally," Kazuhiko said. "You're doing fine. It's been forever since we got the gang together and now we've even got two more people, so let's just hang out and worry about all that stuff later." Hideo agreed, producing a party blower from their pocket and blowing it once with a honk.
"Before we get any further," Sakuya began, "what was it you two were doing that made you late? We all sort of skipped past that."
Yumi nodded. "Yeah, I almost forgot. What was it this time?"
Kazuhiko waved his hand. "Nothing really. Just some dudes picked a fight, so we had to arm wrestle a bunch."
"Arm wrestling?" Suzy questioned, perplexed at the idea someone could settle a problem without trading cards. "You didn't duel them?"
"We offered, but they wanted to arm wrestle."
"Did you win?" Yumi asked.
With an exaggerated laugh, he replied, "Obviously. We're unstoppable when we team up." He and Hideo high fived at that. "Course, then they got kind of pissed since we beat them at their own game. Almost tried to start a real fight. Kyoko and the girls were passing by, though. Helped us get away and now we're here."
"That kind of sounds like you should have called the police," Sakuya said, almost worrying over him.
"It's no big deal. We'd handle it if they tried anything. It's not even the first time this has happened."
"You've done this before?" Ami asked, still a bit fearful of the way Kazuhiko conducted himself.
"Couple times," he said. "They go to our school and we smoke them in something every couple of weeks. They get all mad and stomp around, but nothing ever happens." He threw his hands up after that. "But who cares about all of that crap? We've got more important stuff to do right now."
Their first objective was to grab something to eat. Between Sakuya's long train journey, Kazuhiko and Hideo's impromptu arm workout, and Ami, Yumi, and Suzy just generally being kind of hungry, it was long overdue for all of them. They stopped at a burger restaurant, ordering a whole platter of food to share between the six of them and taking a seat at a booth before digging in.
"It's still weird since we have this restaurant back home, but it's all really different," Suzy said before taking another bite from her hamburger. "Ours are a lot bigger, too."
"They make them bigger than this?" Yumi asked through a mouthful of fries, both amazed and hungered by the prospect.
"Most of the stuff there's bigger, right?" Kazuhiko said.
"Yeah, pretty much," she told them. "It's actually kind of annoying now that I started doing track since I keep having to get more food just so I have the energy for everything."
"What else is different?" Ami asked her.
She thought for a moment before answering. "Oh, a big one is the bread. Ours is a lot sweeter. I think our white bread is kind of like...like some desserts here, actually. That kind of made me feel weird."
"Like someone opened up some melon bread and used it for a burger, or something?" Sakuya asked with raised eyebrow. "That sounds kind of gross."
"That sounds awesome," Yumi said immediately after. "Can you take me with you when you go back? America sounds great." This was met by worried looks from everyone else at the table.
As they continued eating, Sakuya narrowed her eyes at Yumi. Taking a napkin, she wiped it against her friend's cheek. "You're getting food on yourself again," she said.
"Sorry," she said through a mouthful of food. Swallowing, she added, "I kind of like it when you take care of me, though."
"Don't make it weird," Sakuya said, tossing the napkin on the table and trying to keep herself from blushing.
Dabbing her burger against her face, Yumi acted surprised at her own actions. "Oh no! I got more food on my face! You'll have to get it for me!"
Sakuya sighed and rolled her eyes but, amazingly, still went through with it. As she did, the other four at the table rapidly exchanged looks between themselves just to make sure they were all watching this happen in real time.
"So...where are we going after this?" Ami asked to try and move the conversation forward. Happy as she was to see her friend (possibly unknowingly) making the moves on someone, it was still pretty awkward to watch two people flirt while she was trying to eat.
"Kind of thought we were just going to wander around like we normally do, but a plan is probably smart," Kazuhiko said. "What are we feeling?"
"Don't we have some batting cages around here?" Suzy asked. "That might be fun."
"It's a walk, but yeah," Kazuhiko told her.
"I've never been before, so I'll try it," Yumi said before sucking down some of her orange soda.
"It's been a while, so I'd be fine with that," Sakuya added, Hideo nodding to agree to the plan right after.
"I swing a wand around a lot, but I haven't touched a baseball bat in a while," Ami said. "I don't think I've been in that place before, either. Let's go."
"For photo shoots and stuff?" Yumi asked. "Do you have pictures? I want to see you in costume!"
She sighed. "Nope, no one takes my picture while I'm fighting."
Kazuhiko chuckled. "You're really dedicated to that bit, huh?"
"Yep, it's kind of my job," she replied. Ami had more or less given up on keeping her status as a magical girl a secret after realizing that, no matter how many trusted people she told, they all found a way to not believe her. It was probably the less stressful option to be sure given how it allowed her to freely talk about the trials and tribulations of what she had to do, but it was still quite annoying to constantly have people trying to twist what she'd said to fit the framework of something like a cosplay event.
"You really need to show us your costume someday," Yumi said, bouncing up and down in her seat excitedly. "I bet it's really cute."
"I would, but I can't transform unless there's danger around. The rules are kind of arbitrary and annoying."
"I guess it probably is kind of elaborate, right?" Suzy asked. "Hard to get on and off and takes a lot of styling to get just right."
"Something like that," she said, taking the last fry on the tray without really thinking about it, then feeling bad for not asking permission.
"Oh, pictures," Yumi said suddenly, taking her phone partway out of her pocket before remembering her hands were covered in grease and salt. Wiping them off, she returned to her phone and opened up the camera. "We should take a picture."
"What for?" Sakuya asked.
"Pictures are fun," she replied with a smile.
"Yeah, Ishikawa," Kazuhiko said, dropping his arm on her shoulder specifically to annoy her while having the alibi of getting in close for the photo. "Don't be such a party pooper."
"I'm not arguing," she said, glaring back at him. "If you want to, let's just take it."
"Everyone get together," Yumi told them, moving close enough to Sakuya that their cheeks brushed against each other without seeming to notice. Hideo piled into Kazuhiko's lap while Suzy went around the other side to sit next to Yumi to actually make it into the shot. Ami struggled to find a good place to sit, eventually deciding to simply scrunch in front of the high schoolers and hope for the best.
Yumi held her arm out as far as it could go, straining to get just a little bit of extra reach to ensure everyone was in clearly. "Here, let me," Kazuhiko said, Yumi passing the phone off to him. Making sure the group was in frame, he undertook the arduous task of turning the phone around and, after about six attempts, hitting the button to snap the photo.
"We look good in this," Yumi said after getting her phone back. "I'll send a copy to everyone." She did so seconds later, adding a video of a baby wolf howling to the message for good measure. As expected, that was the only thing anyone wanted to talk about while they finished their meal.
Even after they'd left the restaurant and begun the trek to the batting cages, they were still talking about the pup. "Why didn't anyone pet him?" Suzy asked, sound legitimately concerned.
"It's a crime," Kazuhiko said, his voice low and face stern. "Someone needs to exact justice for letting that boy cry without helping him." Hideo seemingly volunteered, somehow texting a detailed plan for tracking down the origin of the video and abducting the wolf in question within a few seconds.
"I think it was a wildlife place," Yumi said, suddenly gasping. "Wait, what if that means he lost his mom? No, then he was probably sad and crying for her!"
"Why did you make it sad?" Ami wailed. "I just wanted to enjoy the baby."
"You're all jumping to conclusions," Sakuya told them while trying to keep herself from sounding as upset as she really was at the thought of an orphaned wolf. "Yumi, just go to where the video came from. Someone has to have mentioned it."
"I don't remember where I saw it," she muttered sadly. "I saved it because it was cute. Now it's just sad."
Kazuhiko growled, shouting, "The only thing that can make me feel better is inflicting violence on a small, white ball! Let's hurry up!" He began to run, the rest following closely behind despite the suddenness of the decision. The streets weren't particularly busy during this awkward afternoon time, so they were able to get away with this almost right up until the hole-in-the-wall building housing the batting cages came into view.
The group filed in through the shabby green door, surprising the man working the worn down check-in counter with such a large group. He wasn't complaining, though, considering this much business was...well, good for business.
They paid for three spaces, planning to trade out halfway through their times. While they mostly floundered with only Kazuhiko and Ami having much success at hitting even the slowest balls, their attention quickly turned to the person a few spots down from them in a full body mascot suit in the shape of a friendly purple dog with an upturned nose.
"What the hell is going on there?" Sakuya asked, hoping someone might know the answer.
"I think I've seen this before," Kazuhiko said, Hideo bringing up the exact video he was thinking of, that being the dog in question suplexing a stuffed cat through a table. "Ah, yeah, it's that one mascot thing on the internet. Some guy doing weird stuff-" He was momentarily interrupted by the dog taking a ball directly in the face. "-and making videos of it. They're kind of fun." The dog whiffed past a ball as he stopped speaking, hitting the bat against the ground in rage. "Yeah, see? There's the camera." He pointed to a mounted camera off to the side in the dog's space.
Though they tried to return to their batting, it was increasingly hard to focus with the nonsense going on in the same room. After around a minute of other creative failures, the dog had given up on using the bat entirely and transitioned into trying and failing to punch the balls as they came flying, stomping up close to try and ensure a hit only to be knocked over from the force of a ball before that could happen.
It was funny to watch to be sure, but without all the slick editing and nice music that usually accompanied these kinds of videos, there was just the slightest tinge of existential dread permeating this entire endeavor. Even after it was time for them to leave, they continued to watch with mild amusement and concern as the mascot struggled against all odds to finally hit a ball by the end.
When time finally ran out and the dog went to collect his camera, everyone felt obligated to clap. He'd obviously worked very hard to get some usable footage, so it was the least they could do. He seemed to take it in stride, giving them a few theatrical bows before packing the tripod away into a navy duffle bag.
As he began to leave, he looked back towards the kids to wave one last time, but something gave him pause. Waddling over to the somewhat concerned group, he reached into an interior pocket on a leg covering and pulled out an average smartphone, bringing up a picture of, shockingly, Yumi. He pointed from it to her, remaining silent the entire time.
It took a few moments before she registered what was being communicated just because of how bizarre this interaction had become. Eventually, though, she understood. "Oh, yeah! That's me! Are you...I mean, a fan, I guess?" The concept of having fans was still pretty alien to her, though it was an indisputable fact that there were at least a few by now.
The dog nodded again, turning the phone sideways and pretending to click a button on the side. "Oh, a picture?" she asked. "Sure!" It wasn't clear whether Yumi was entirely down with this idea from the start or if the strangeness had just gotten to her.
The mascot gave his phone to Kazuhiko before he and Yumi came together for the photo, her standing in front of him as they both threw up V signs with their hands. "Is this actually happening?" Sakuya asked in disbelief, most of the group having grabbed their phones to take pictures at the same time.
Taking the phone back, the mascot bowed several times before replacing it back into his suit. Then, even more shockingly, he reached into his bag to pull out a large golden duel disk gauged to fit around the suit's arm. "You want to duel?" Yumi asked before she started to giggle uncontrollably. The dog confirmed it by nodding again, her laughter only growing stronger. "Yeah, okay! This is...yeah, let's do it!"
"I did not expect the day to go like this," Kazuhiko said, scratching his head but going along with this whole thing.
"I guess we get to watch a duel now," Suzy said, shrugging. "Not many people can say they've played a dog before."
"This is suspect," Sakuya grumbled.
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Kazuhiko told her. "What's the worst a guy in a big mascot suit could do?" Almost as if that statement was an invitation to prove him wrong, Hideo immediately began showing him all the various crimes committed by people in suits like that. "You're not helping."
After going outside and crossing the street, the dog produced the video camera from before, gesturing back and forth between it and Yumi. "I guess you can record it," she said, reaching into one of the deep pockets on her coat to take out her duel disk. "Is everyone okay with that?"
"I don't mind," Kazuhiko said.
"I don't care," Sakuya said, still suspicious of the costumed man.
"Fine by me," Suzy said, nodding along with Hideo.
"I kind of wish I could fix my hair, but okay." Coming to the rescue, Kazuhiko lent her his comb, Ami taking a few moments to style herself before confirming, "Okay!"
The dog gave them all a thumbs up, starting the original camera pointed towards himself and a second towards Yumi. Confirming that they really were about to do this, both their duel disks activated, the dog taking a moment to wave towards the camera and show off the gadget attached to his arm before beginning things.
Amazingly, he did pretty well drawing his cards with such large, padded fingers. Hopping back and forth for a few moments, he set a monster and ended his turn with nothing more.
"Okay, I'll draw!" Yumi said to start her turn. It wasn't entirely clear whether this guy was really any good at the game yet, so she'd have to be a bit cautious. Still, it was important that she both win and make a good show out of it considering this would likely be posted online later.
She resolved to start things off slowly, testing the waters to see what her opponent might be trying here. "I'll start by summoning Terriger, the Magic-Equipped Warrior!" Laying the card down on her duel disk, the hologram appeared before her, shouting as an orange aura began to emit around it. "When I do that, I also get to summon a Normal Monster from my hand in Defense Mode. Come out, Hat-Trick Magician!"
The instinct to Xyz Summon was powerful, but it wouldn't get her very far if that face-down monster had some kind of destruction effect. "I use the Equip Magic, Broken Wand, to increase Hat-Trick's ATK by 500," she said. It wouldn't do much good now but would hopefully protect her cards for a turn.
"Attack!" she declared, Terriger charging forward and delivering a powerful downward elbow strike into her opponent's card. As expected, it wasn't a simple wall, though its actual identity did raise a number of questions.
From out of the card appeared a stone jar, a pitch-black beast with a single eye popping out and screeching moments before shattering into pieces. "Metamor Pot?" she stated in confusion. It wasn't a particularly rare or unusual card, but the conditions under which it was played weren't exactly typical either. Her opponent had a hand of four cards, meaning he'd be throwing them all away for seemingly no reason.
Still, it was a bit of an inconvenience. While the Komboriboh now resting in her Graveyard would potentially put in some work, that monster's effect had just cost her Premature Burial and an Instant Fusion. As they both drew five new cards, it quickly became apparent that her troubles didn't end there.
The mascot struck a pose, holding his hand out over his head. Amazingly, the image of all four cards he'd tossed away appeared behind him, all of their effects activating in sequence. Out of the first card, an impish blue fairy with a tranquil expression known as Level Buddy Blue popped onto the field.
It clapped its tiny hands together, sending a small wave towards Yumi's newly drawn cards and ordering her to discard one. With a frown, she scanned over her options and eventually settled on Scaredy Lion.
The next was a similar looking green monster, predictably titled Level Buddy Green. This one laughed as it took to the field beside its companion, kicking up an emerald whirlwind that swept the wand out of Hat-Trick Magician's hand and sent the card back to Yumi.
After that was Level Buddy Red, a seemingly very pissed little sprite that shouted fire towards Yumi, hitting her for 300 points of damage. The final effect broke with the theme, being Broww, Huntsman of Dark World. It simply allowed the dog to draw another card, making his hand total at six for the turn.
Immediately, Yumi became uneasy with these monsters. Summoned as oddly as they were, all were positioned on the offensive despite their 0 ATK. Additionally, all of them started with different Levels, changing upon summon to be Level 10. This almost certainly meant some kind of big play on the next turn.
Whatever was coming, though, she was sure she could handle it. "Alright, then. It looks like you're setting up for your turn, so I guess I'll do the same. I overlay my Level 4 Terriger and Hat-Trick Magician! Xyz Summon! Rank 4, The One Who Lurks in the Abyss!" Emerging from the Overlay Network was a deep blue creature from the depths, draconian in appearance and sporting glowing azure crystals across its body.
"I'm not done!" she said, laying another card on the field. "I activate Common Fusion! I'll send Butter Fly, Violentist, Flame Viper, and Wallrus from my deck to the Graveyard as material." Placing her hands together over her head, she began the chant. "Forces of the ordinary, join hands to form a storm of change! Combine together to reach a new power! Fusion Summon, Level 10! Helpful, Knight of Commons!" Bringing her hands down, the monster appeared in front of her, slamming into the ground before rising to full height in all its glory.
"I'll set one card, then equip my Xyz Monster with Power of the Guardians. Turn end." This would hopefully act as enough of a deterrent for whatever was about to hit the field. In terms of brute force, she'd almost certainly outclass anything he might throw at her. That, combined with the Abyss serpent's effect to cancel out Graveyard activation, would hopefully lock things down long enough to get an attack through with Helpful. As added insurance, the Equip Card and her set meant attacking head on would be a fruitless endeavor.
"Looking good out there!" Kazuhiko cheered from the sidelines as the dog drew a card. "You've got him on the ropes now!"
"Your monsters are objectively bigger!" Ami said, trying her best to be supportive despite having little else to say due to her lack of knowledge on the game. She wasn't wrong, though.
Things could change quite quickly, however, and all it would take is a few cards. One of them happened to be Twin Twister, the dog discarding a monster to target both Power of the Guardians and Yumi's set card. "I activate Majesty Guard, plus I'll chain my Abyss' effect to negate cards activating in the Graveyard this turn." This was a good move on her part both for the obvious reason of making use of her Trap before it was lost but also for preventing what turned out to be Level Buddy White from activating once discarded for the cost.
In the end, this turned out to be a minor setback at best. The next card he played was, of all things, Fusion Sage, allowing him to add Fusion to his hand. Raising the card above his head, it began to shine, all three Level Buddies on the field transforming into wisps of appropriately colored light and swirling into it. The turning image on the card jumped in front of its owner, growing many times in size as if to accommodate the summoning of something even bigger than Helpful.
A massive purple hand shot out of the portal followed by a second. Gripping the borders like they were made of something physical, the monster pulled itself through onto the battlefield, stomping out to assume a place looming over Yumi and her cards. Golden eyes gleamed as it smashed its fists together, the Phantasm Demon Emperor Trilojig appearing in all its glory.
No one was able to muster so much as a peep, the sheer magnitude of the enemy having driven them all to silence. If the normally outrageous material necessary for its summoning or the astounding 4000 ATK and DEF wasn't indication enough, it was no ordinary Fusion Monster. As if to further prove its point, it immediately began charging a crackling ball of purple and black energy between its palms.
Once directed to do so by its owner pointing towards Helpful, Trilojig let loose its power. The single ball split into numerous smaller shafts of light, blasting through Yumi's monster and causing it to yell in pain. Despite what it might have seemed, though, it remained entirely unharmed, simply used as a medium in order to damage its owner.
Several of the beams impacted the ground around her, a large one striking Yumi as she crossed her arms over her chest to defend herself. Though the damage inflicted only totaled 950, this was only because of her earlier Trap's effect. Left to its own devices, Trilojig would have hit Yumi with half of Helpful's ATK just for being summoned, doing the same once per turn if another monster were to be summoned to its owner's field from the Graveyard going forward.
And then there was the Battle Phase. Pulling back one of its gargantuan arms, Trilojig stepped forward and let loose on Abyss with a devastating punch, Yumi's Life Points falling to 1600. Her monster was spared destruction only by virtue of Majesty Guard's barrier, though it would not be afforded the same luxury a turn later.
The dog set a card in his backrow before ending his turn, hopping around energetically and throwing up a V hand sign. Appearances had been more than a bit deceiving in this case, the duel having quickly devolved into a nightmare with the appearance of his strongest monster. What's worse, it was a complete mismatch between its owner's cute exterior, though that may have been the whole point. It was hard to tell with how many layers of irony everyone operated with these days.
"Draw!" Yumi declared, grimacing at what she'd gotten. It was useful for dragging things out and buying her more time but could do little else. Even so, she set the Trap. "I switch my monsters to Defense Mode and end my turn," she said, trying to formulate a counterattack based on what she had available and what she might draw next.
"Don't get psyched out!" Kazuhiko told her.
"Just break it down piece by piece if you have to!" Suzy added. It was the logical approach to the problem given none of Yumi's monsters could hope to overcome the Emperor's power in a direct confrontation. She would either need to lower its ATK or boost her own monster enough to match it. That, or she could get lucky and pull something that could destroy it on the spot, but it was anyone's guess how much destruction that card would cause by the time that happened.
The dog drew a card, seemingly studying it quite intensely before slapping it into his duel disk. It was Dark World Lightning, a purple cloud bursting with electricity appearing over Yumi's field intent on zapping her set card. "I use Majesty Eclipse!" she called out, her card flipping up to reveal itself. "Since it's no longer set, you can't destroy it, plus you don't get to discard."
She was right, the dog stomping his foot in mock-anger. Either way, Eclipse's effect would prevent any effect damage this turn, making any Level Buddy he might have summoned mostly pointless in the end. In the end, Trilojig simply finished what it started, smashing Abyss to pieces with a single hit from its fist while threatening to knock Yumi and her friends back with the inexplicably realistic-feeling air pressure it produced. For what it was worth, she had the sense to use up her card's last Overlay Unit prior to destruction.
Yumi started her turn after that, once again getting a card that wouldn't help her right now. Worse yet, this one didn't even provide the immediate utility of Eclipse, languishing in her hand as she was forced to end without doing anything more.
"This doesn't seem good," Ami muttered to the group, reading the tone well enough to tell that Yumi was in a pretty bad position. "I thought Helpful was supposed to be stronger than this."
"It would be normally," Sakuya told her, "but that thing is just too powerful. Even without the ATK power, though, that effect is what's really devastating. It's going to be an uphill battle."
"Yumi's totally going to win, though," Suzy said definitively. "She can't lose to some random furry."
"Does a guy in a mascot suit count as a furry?" Kazuhiko asked, looking to her then to Hideo who could only shrug in confusion.
More pressing that the dog's identity was what he intended to do next. He activated the Magic Card Dark World Dealings, letting both of them draw then discard a card. Predictably, this meant another Level Buddy, this one being called Brown and quaking a bit as if it was shy once it hit the field. This gave its owner a second card to draw.
Yumi fulfilled her side of the card, pausing for a moment once she saw what she'd drawn. It looked promising but wouldn't be of use until the next turn. She'd have to survive first, sacrificing Broken Wand with the hope of doing just that.
Given that a monster had been summoned from his Graveyard, the dog activated Trilojig's effect, shooting through Helpful to strike at Yumi once more. "I banish Majesty Eclipse to halve the damage!" she declared, still taking a total of 950 damage and leaving her with a measly 650. While she might have hung on thanks to her Trap, the same couldn't be said for Helpful, its shield crumpling like tinfoil under the weight of Trilojig's blow before it was wiped from the field.
The dog set a card in the backrow before passing the turn, Yumi drawing another disappointment. Getting a second Instant Fusion when she was unable to use it was definitely bad news, so she had to bet it all on the card Dark World Dealings had given her.
"I activate Angel's Charity!" she said, placing the card into her duel disk. "I draw three cards, then discard two." Inhaling a small breath, she took all three cards at once, a glimmer of hope appearing with them. If all went well, she might just be able to pull a win out of all of this.
"No matter what happens, this is going to be my last turn," she said with a smile. "Let's see who comes out on top." She discarded both the Instant Fusion and the newly drawn White Tiger Summoner before continuing, playing another Magic Card right after. "I activate Heavy Storm, destroying every Magic and Trap Card on the field!"
The dog acted like he was being blown around by the wind, both his Traps revealing themselves before being torn apart. One of them was Metal Reflect Slime, a powerful Trap Monster, the other being the versatile defense card of Bean Scattering. Either one could have potentially thrown a wrench into her plans.
"Now, I'll summon my Rusty Swordsman in Attack Mode! Come out!" The diminutive knight fell onto the field in a heap, collecting itself only to jump back in surprise, looking to its owner to confirm that she really expected it to fight something that large.
"I wouldn't send my Swordsman into battle unarmed, though," she said, placing another card on the field. "First, I equip him with Necklace of Supplantation, then with Rusty Sword!" The gaudy amulet dropped around Rusty Swordsman's neck moments before its smaller weapon was replaced with the oversized blade, increasing its original ATK to 2500.
"Go, Rusty Slice!" she declared.
"Nice going!" Kazuhiko cheered. "Cut that big bastard right in half!"
"That's not what she's going for," Sakuya corrected him, already seeing Yumi's winning move and cracking a smile.
Rather than the larger target, Rusty Swordsman headed straight for Level Buddy Brown. "It might look small, but its effect makes it a Level 10 monster, too! That puts it six Levels higher than Rusty Swordsman, so he gets an extra 3000 ATK during this battle!"
The dog grabbed the sides of his head, stomping his feet in a panic as Level Buddy Brown was bisected, the slash carrying through the monster and striking its owner directly for a total of 5500 damage. Not quite as flashy as destroying the Demon Emperor, but effective nonetheless.
The dog fell backwards and sprawled out on the ground in response to losing, holding that pose for several seconds before jumping back to his feet in a startling display of athleticism. Turning off the cameras, he approached Yumi and bowed several times, the two shaking hands to commemorate their duel.
"That was a lot of fun!" she said. "You're really strong." The dog pretended to scratch his head in a bashful manner, the two groups parting ways after exchanging a few goodbyes.
"Didn't expect to spend the afternoon like that," Kazuhiko said, looking back over his shoulder to see the dog standing stock still where they left him, mascot face unchanging as they moved further and further away.
"It was a good duel, though," Suzy added. "That guy was way stronger than I thought he would be."
"It was great!" Yumi told them. "I hope I get the chance to duel him again sometime. I want to see more of what a deck like that can do."
"Speaking of which, wasn't that monster kind of strange?" Sakuya asked. "I've never heard of it before."
"Definitely strong," Kazuhiko agreed. "Maybe it's just some super rare thing. Or it could just be old."
She tapped her finger to her chin, considering these possibilities. "Either way, we probably haven't seen the last of that guy," she concluded.
"Of course not," Yumi said, pulling out her phone. "We can watch his videos whenever, right?"
"You know what I mean," she said, shoving her playfully with her shoulder.
"I'm sure it's going to be fun whatever happens," Ami said cheerfully. "Mascot characters are nice."
Yumi nodded, doing a hop and a twirl to face everyone. "More importantly, we've still got plenty of stuff to do today before it gets dark. Let's go!"
Cards Used in Order of Appearance
Terriger, the Magic-Equipped Warrior (Terratiger, the Empowered Warrior)
EARTH
Level 4
Warrior/Effect
1800 ATK/1200 DEF
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from your hand in Defense Position.
Hat-Trick Magician
DARK
Level 4
Spellcaster
1200 ATK/1500 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.
Metamor Pot (Morphing Jar
EARTH
Level 2
Rock/Effect
700 ATK/600 DEF
FLIP: Both players discard as many cards as possible from their hands, then each player draws 5 cards.
Komboriboh
DARK
Level 1
Fiend/Effect
300 ATK/ 200 DEF
When a monster is targeted by an Equip Spell Card: You can discard this card and target 1 Equip Spell Card in your Graveyard that could be equipped to an appropriate monster on the field; add that target to your hand. When a monster you control is targeted for an attack while it it equipped with an Equip Spell Card: You can banish this card from your Graveyard to target that monster; this turn, that target cannot be destroyed by battle and you take no battle damage from attacks involving that target.
Premature Burial
Equip Spell Card
Activate this card by paying 800 LP, then target 1 monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target in Attack Position and equip it with this card. When this card is destroyed, destroy the equipped monster.
Instant Fusion
Normal Spell Card
Pay 1000 LP; Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, but it cannot attack, also it is destroyed during the End Phase. (This is treated as a Fusion Summon.) You can only activate 1 "Instant Fusion" per turn.
Level Buddy Blue
WATER
Level 2
Fairy/Effect
0 ATK/100 DEF
If this card is sent to the Graveyard except as a result of battle: Special Summon it in Attack Position, and if you do, your opponent discards 1 card from their hand. This Special Summoned card's Level becomes 10 while face-up on the field. During the turn this card is Special Summoned, it cannot be used as material for the Special Summon of a Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Monster. You can only activate the effect of "Level Buddy Blue" once per turn.
Level Buddy Green
WIND
Level 3
Fairy/Effect
0 ATK/100 DEF
If this card is sent to the Graveyard except as a result of battle: Special Summon it in Attack Position, and if you do, return 1 Spell/Trap Card your opponent controls to the hand. This Special Summoned card's Level becomes 10 while face-up on the field. During the turn this card is Special Summoned, it cannot be used as material for the Special Summon of a Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Monster. You can only activate the effect of "Level Buddy Green" once per turn.
Level Buddy Red
FIRE
Level 1
Fairy/Effect
0 ATK/100 DEF
If this card is sent to the Graveyard except as a result of battle: Special Summon it in Attack Position, and if you do, inflict 300 damage to your opponent. This Special Summoned card's Level becomes 10 while face-up on the field. During the turn this card is Special Summoned, it cannot be used as material for the Special Summon of a Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Monster. You can only activate the effect of "Level Buddy Red" once per turn.
Broww, Huntsman of Dark World
DARK
Level 3
Fiend/Effect
1400 ATK/800 DEF
If this card is discarded to the Graveyard by a card effect: Draw 1 card, plus another card if this card was discarded from your hand to your Graveyard by an opponent's card effect.
Scaredy Lion
EARTH
Level 4
Beast
1300 ATK/ 1000 DEF
The One Who Lurks in the Abyss (Abyss Dweller)
WATER
Rank 4
Sea Serpent/Xyz/Effect
1700 ATK/1400 DEF
2 Level 4 monsters
While this card has an Xyz Material attached that was originally WATER, all WATER monsters you control gain 500 ATK. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; any card effects that activate in your opponent's Graveyard cannot be activated this turn.
Common Fusion
Normal Spell Card
Fusion Summon 1 non-Effect Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using Normal Monsters from your hand, field, or Deck as Fusion Material. When the card Fusion Summoned by this effect battles an opponent's monster: You can banish this card in your Graveyard; negate that monster's effects and apply its original ATK and DEF when calculating damage until the end of the Battle Phase.
Butter Fly
WIND
Level 3
Insect
900 ATK/700 DEF
Violentist
LIGHT
Level 3
Fiend
650 ATK/1300 DEF
Flame Viper
EARTH
Level 2
Pyro
400 ATK/450 DEF
Wallrus
WATER
Level 2
Beast
400 ATK/800 DEF
Helpful, Knight of Commons
EARTH
Level 10
Warrior/Fusion
3800 ATK/3050 DEF
4 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters
Power of the Guardians
Equip Spell Card
If an attack is declared involving the equipped monster: Place 1 Spell Counter on this card. The equipped monster gains 500 ATK/DEF for each Spell Counter on this card. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can remove 1 Spell Counter from your field, instead.
Twin Twister (Twin Twisters)
Quick-Play Spell Card
Discard 1 card, then target up to 2 Spells/Traps on the field; destroy them.
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.
Level Buddy White
LIGHT
Level 5
Fairy/Effect
0 ATK/100 DEF
If this card is sent to the Graveyard except as a result of battle: Special Summon it in Attack Position, and if you do, gain 300 Life Points for each "Level Buddy" monster you control. This Special Summoned card's Level becomes 10 while face-up on the field. During the turn this card is Special Summoned, it cannot be used as material for the Special Summon of a Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Monster. You can only activate the effect of "Level Buddy White" once per turn.
Fusion Sage
Normal Spell Card
Add 1 "Polymerization" from your Deck to your hand.
Fusion (Polymerization)
Normal Spell Card
Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or field as Fusion Materials.
Phantasm Demon Emperor Trilojig
DARK
Level 10
Fiend/Fusion/Effect
4000 ATK/4000 DEF
3 Level 10 monsters
If this card is Special Summoned, or if another monster(s) is Special Summoned from the GY to your field while this monster is on the field: You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; inflict damage to your opponent equal to half its original ATK. You can only use this effect of "Phantasm Emperor Trilojig" once per turn.
Majesty Eclipse
Normal Trap Card
You take no effect damage 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 one instance of effect damage you take this turn.
Dark World Lightning
Normal Spell Card
Target 1 Set card on the field; destroy that target, then discard 1 card.
Dark World Dealings
Normal Spell Card
Each player draws 1 card, then each player discards 1 card.
Level Buddy Brown
EARTH
Level 4
Fairy/Effect
0 ATK/100 DEF
If this card is sent to the Graveyard except as a result of battle: Special Summon it in Attack Position, and if you do, draw 1 card. This Special Summoned card's Level becomes 10 while face-up on the field. During the turn this card is Special Summoned, it cannot be used as material for the Special Summon of a Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Monster. You can only activate the effect of "Level Buddy Brown" once per turn.
Angel's Charity (Graceful Charity)
Normal Spell Card
Draw 3 cards, then discard 2.
White Tiger Summoner
EARTH
Level 3
Spellcaster/Effect
1000 ATK/1700 DEF
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from your hand. All monsters you control gain 100 ATK and DEF.
Heavy Storm
Normal Spell Card
Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field.
Metal Reflect Slime
Continuous Trap Card
Special Summon this card in Defense Position as an Effect Monster (Aqua-Type/WATER/Level 10/ATK 0/DEF 3000). (This card is also still a Trap Card.) This card cannot attack.
Bean Scattering (Mamemaki)
Normal Trap Card
Target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; discard cards equal to that monster's Level, and if you do, draw the same number of cards you discarded, then return that monster to the hand.
Rusty Swordsman
EARTH
Level 4
Warrior
1500 ATK/1000 DEF
Necklace of Supplantation (Amulet of Ambition)
Equip Spell Card
Equip only to a Normal Monster. If it battles a monster with a higher Level, the equipped monster gains 500 ATK x the difference in Levels (during that battle only). When this card is sent to the Graveyard, you can return it to the top of your Deck.
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.
Took a while to get this one out. I knew what was meant to be happening but for some reason just couldn't get to writing it. Then it all started spiraling from just going around having brief meetings with people to see how they're doing to this massive behemoth with a full duel.
So that's what I've been doing as of late when not playing Q2. Probably shouldn't take me nearly this long to get the next one out since I had the forethought to write that chapter ahead of time several years ago when I thought it was going to be a small side chapter before realizing it contained a lot of good character moments and plot elements. Expect that soon unless I die during surgery in a couple days, in which case...¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I started this back in the day trying to stick to my resolution of not going beyond the ARC-V era for cards, and I've technically still done that given Trilojig is from the manga. And, as we all know, the manga was just a weird dream Yuya had one time, so I don't feel bad about using a major character's card for someone in my story. Nobody mention all the other cards from VRAINS packs, though.
One bit of research I did for this chapter was find out if Duolingo operates in Japan, and it does. It does not, however, offer Spanish courses at this time, meaning Yumi was struggling through Spanish from an English interface. No wonder she's not having any luck.
That's about all I've got now. Expect more stuff soon. Thanks for reading. Share if you're enjoying. Always remember that June is Pride Month.