Yugioh Vrains has ended, and I have only one thing to say…
AI NOOOOOOOOO
We shall remember Ai in our hearts, and if I'm being honest, this was a great ending to a great season.
And even his last words ended up as an "Ai" pun (Ai loved you)... we shall always remember him…
In other news, Ignisters are finally a thing, they're gonna be my MR4 archetype, and a new series is in development!
Set to come out in 2020… god, everything is coming out in 2020, Persona 5 Royal being one of those things, damn it.
But enough of my unnecessary notes, let's start the chapter!
Chapter 14: Blooming Flowers
Syrup had just gotten properly dressed, ready to leave the hospital before she heard three polite knocks on her door.
"Come in!" Syrup said as she zipped up her backpack.
The door opened, and someone walked in.
Syrup turned around to see who it was, "Hi, how can I…" she started to say before she froze, her jaw falling to the ground.
The first clue to who had entered the room came from the mass of ridiculously spiky reddish-purple hair that seemed to be at least 30% of the man's height.
"H-Headmaster Atem…!" Syrup stammered as the headmaster himself stood in her hospital room, an enigmatic smile on his face.
"Good afternoon," Atem said kindly, "Fully rested from today's match?" He asked.
"Y-Yes, sir…!" Syrup stammered.
"Why is he here!? Am I in trouble!?" Syrup exclaimed in her head.
Atem chuckled, "Please, relax a little!" He said kindly, "I'm just here to talk!" He said.
He said that, but his eyes seemed to look past her and directly into the core of her being… actually, he always looked at people like that, so was that normal?
"O-Okay…" Syrup said as she leaned against the wall, Atem pulling up a stool and sitting down, his gaze never leaving Syrup.
"You performed quite an impressive feat, Ms. Maple…" Atem spoke softly, "That move you used to return your teammate to his senses…" he began to speak.
Syrup gulped, he exuded an aura of authority that made it almost impossible for her to relax, but at the same time… she felt at ease.
The aura in the room was contradictory, she was stressed yet calm at the same time, and she couldn't find a way to explain it.
"Y-Yes…?" Syrup responded nervously.
"Mind Crush… I believe you called it?" Atem asked.
"W-Well, I didn't really name it…" Syrup stammered, "It sort of… popped into my head one day, and I didn't have any other options, so…" she tried to speak clearly, but her voice seemed to grow quieter as she continued to talk.
"Interesting…" Atem muttered as his gaze finally left Syrup, staring downward as he thought.
"What's… interesting about it?" Syrup asked.
Atem's gaze returned to Syrup, "Mind Crush… it's a spell that I invented…" he explained.
Silence
"Huh!?" Syrup exclaimed, "W-What does that mean…!?" She said as she began to panic, was Atem angry at her for stealing one of his techniques!?
Atem chuckled, "Now, now… calm down, I'm not angry or anything, I'm just curious…" he said reassuringly, "Mind Crush is an incredibly complicated technique that can erase darkness from one's mind and heart…" he explained.
"Huh?" Syrup questioned.
Atem continued to smile, "The version you used was… incomplete, it affected the darkness in your teammate's heart somewhat, but also placed your own mind inside his…" he explained.
"You… so you know what happened…?" Syrup asked.
Atem chuckled, "I did not enter his mind, so whatever happened in there is a mystery to me…" he explained, "but I know you entered his consciousness, let's just say that I see with more than just two eyes…" he said mysteriously.
"Um… so then, why are you here?" Syrup asked.
Atem's smile disappeared, "Why are YOU here?" He asked.
Syrup looked confused, "What… do you mean?" She asked.
"I looked through your file, Ms. Maple…" Atem explained, "You showed no interest in becoming a duelist before this… in fact, it says that you even held… animosity, towards duelists during your earlier years…" he explained.
Syrup gulped, "W-Well… I had a change of heart…" she said softly.
"Who are you?" Atem asked, "Your physical exam shows that you possess greater physical strength than most humans, along with a higher-than-average level of eyesight, and a strangely high affinity to monster spirits…" he continued to speak.
"S-So…?" Syrup said as she gradually became more nervous.
Atem stood up, "Then, you use a technique I invented… a technique I never taught anyone or even released to the public-incomplete though it was, and heal from your injuries faster than normal healing speeds…" he finished.
"Huh? Faster healing?" Syrup questioned.
"The hospital did not use healing skills on you," Atem explained, "by the time you reached the hospital, your minor injuries were gone, and any major injuries were already reduced to cuts and bruises…" he finished.
Syrup was looking more and more nervous by the second, so Atem decided to sit back down and tone it down a notch.
"Do you have any explanation, or even a clue, as to why this is?" He asked softly.
"I… do not…" Syrup said as her voice changed from nervous to firm, "Can we please drop this subject?" She said firmly.
Atem noticed that he had hit a nerve at some point, and recognized that it was time to leave.
Atem smiled as he stood up, "I apologize if I overstepped my boundaries," he said calmly, "I hope we can speak again, Ms. Maple…" he said as he turned and left the room.
Syrup waited until Atem left the room before staggering and falling against the wall.
She was breathing heavily, sweat running down her neck.
She was thankful that Atem had left, he was on the verge of digging up some very unpleasant feelings.
One day, ONE singular day, was all Rin asked.
A single day without some sort of boy-girl drama.
It was apparently too much to ask because she had just watched Shun chase off a hoard of boys who were confessing their love to Ruri, who was admittedly the most gorgeous of the quadruplets, which is saying something considering that they all had the same face.
And yeah, she definitely noticed Yuto watching from afar… staring at Ruri a bit too much.
Serena had started a fight with Yuri, and both of them were now arguing about pets.
"How can you pick something like THAT over cats!?" Serena exclaimed.
"WHY HAVE AN ANNOYING CAT WHEN YOU CAN HAVE A PLANT THAT EATS INSECTS!?" Yuri screamed back.
Serena was holding a small cat in her arms, and Yuri was holding a pot with an… intimidating plant sitting on top of it.
"It's a PLANT!" Serena yelled.
"SO!?" Yuri yelled back.
Rin decided to ignore the ridiculous argument.
Yuzu's tsundere schtick was still going as strong as ever, as Rin witnessed her win a toy from a crane machine and decide to give it to Yuya.
She then realized as Yuya smiled and thanked her, that this could somehow, someway, possibly be borderline couple-like-behavior.
"D-Don't get the wrong idea!" Yuzu exclaimed as her face turned red.
"Huh?" Yuya said as he looked up from the toy and stared at her.
Rin winced as a loud SMACK echoed through the area, courtesy of the paper fan that Yuzu carried on her person at all times, colliding violently with the back of Yuya's head.
Yuzu realized that her reaction was over the top and quickly apologized as Yuya got up off the ground, though a large red bump was still prominent on Yuya's head.
Rin's solution was to just find someplace quiet to be alone with her thoughts, but that didn't last long, as Yugo had promptly invaded.
It's not that she didn't MIND Yugo's presence, she welcomed it, in fact.
It was what came WITH him that annoyed her.
They had been chatting peacefully about D-Wheels, as they had surprisingly enough, similar interests in mechanics.
"OI! What are you doing with Rin!?"
Yugo shot up at the sound of Yaiba, the boy who had been consistently trying to get Rin to go out with him.
"None of your business!" Yugo yelled.
Rin originally would have thanked Yugo for this, but she now knew that any interaction between Yugo and Yaiba ended… badly.
"Huh!? Oh yeah!?" Yaiba exclaimed.
Yugo and Yaiba were now literally butting heads and completely tuning out other sounds in their argument.
"Rin isn't your girlfriend!"
"Neither are you!"
"You're annoying her!"
"No, YOU ARE!"
Rin had no idea why she was even being chased after anyways, there were three other girls with the same exact face as her, why not go for someone like Ruri? She was much kinder and much more womanly, and graceful, and…
"Fine! Why don't we duel for her then!" Yaiba yelled.
"HUH!?" Yugo exclaimed.
The conversation now had Rin's attention, it was escalating more than usual now.
Yugo looked shocked, "D-Duel for her!? I-It's not like I'm trying to win her! She's not an object!" Yugo yelled indignantly.
"I-I never said she was!" Yaiba yelled defensively, "I mean, why don't we duel for the right to date her!" He declared.
"I-I don't wanna date her…!" Yugo yelled as his face turned red.
"Oh? Then why don't you let me date her!?" Yaiba yelled.
"B-Because… she deserves better than you!" Yugo yelled back.
"SINCE WHEN COULD YOU DECIDE THAT!?" Yaiba screamed.
"FINE, I'll duel you for her! I'll kick your ass too!" Yugo yelled.
"Wait, don't I get a say in this…?" Rin tried to cut in.
Her words went through one ear and out the other, "Loser has to respect the winner's wishes!" Yaiba declared as he thrust his hand out, "Our teams are fighting in the tournament anyways! We'll fight in the match, and the winning team wins the whole thing!" He said confidently.
"DEAL!" Yugo yelled as he took the hand and shook it firmly.
"Wait, guys I-" Rin tried to speak up.
Yaiba stormed off, and Yugo was looking PISSED.
Yaiba couldn't take "No" for an answer, which is an answer that Rin had given him multiple times now.
Meanwhile, Yugo got too high-strung too easily, and now she had two guys DUELING over her.
"Why me…" Rin sighed as she felt a headache coming on, "I'm not anything special…" she mumbled.
Yugo ran over to her, "Rin! You don't wanna date that guy, right?" He asked.
"Huh? No…" she started to say.
Yugo in his hyper-activeness cut her off at that point, "Then… can you help me with something?" He asked.
"Help you with what?" Rin asked.
"I'm gonna make something that'll make sure I and everyone else win no matter what!" He explained, "But it's… hard, and I think you'll be able to help me make it in time for the match!" He declared.
"Wait, don't you think this whole thing is pointless…?" She asked, "I don't want two guys fighting over me…" she tried to get the words out properly, it was harder than she expected.
Yugo sighed, "Yeah… I got too emotional," Yugo admitted, "But there's nothing I can do about it now… and I can get him to leave you alone if I win…" he said calmly.
"Still…" Rin tried to speak.
Yugo sighed, "Actually… no, you don't have to help…" Yugo said with a small smile, "I'll get it done on my own, you just relax, okay?" He said softly.
"But…!" Rin tried to speak up.
"Just… pretend there isn't any duel or anything," Yugo said optimistically, "I'll just fight my hardest, and win just like I already intended to!" He said happily.
Something about Yugo's dorky smile seemed to calm her down, "Okay, go get em!" Rin said optimistically.
A girl just couldn't catch a break these days…
Reiji sat at a computer, typing away as his focus remained completely on the screen.
Reira slept on a bed nearby, allowing Reiji to devote all of his focus towards the lines of code on the screen.
Large red words suddenly flashed on the screen, blaring the words "Access Denied" clear for Reiji to see.
Reiji growled in frustration as he threw his head back, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"And what are you doing?"
Reiji turned to see Sawatari enter the room, "You know, you should probably get some sleep, considering the fact that our tournament match is tomorrow" he pointed out.
"What are you talking about, I'm not tired…" Reiji said bluntly.
"The bags under your eyes say otherwise…" Sawatari said exasperatedly.
Indeed, prominent circles existed underneath Reiji's eyes. Despite the fact that the rest of Reiji's face seemed awake, the bags under his eyes screamed just how tired he was.
Reiji sighed, "Fine… I'll sleep…" Reiji gave in.
Sawatari stared at the screen, pictures of Yuzu, Ruri, Rin, and Serena were on it.
"Those cuties are your sisters, right?" He asked.
"They are my half-siblings, yes…" Reiji sighed as he closed the computer.
"Do they know?" Sawatari asked.
"No… only Kurosaki, their older brother, knows…" he replied.
"Even for quadruplets… their faces really are exactly the same…" Sawatari muttered.
"It's not just their faces…" Reiji sighed, "Their body features are also exactly the same, from what I've seen from their physicals…" he said.
"Whoa, seriously?" Sawatari said with a grin, "I think I've just discovered a new fetish…" he joked as a particularly M-Rated image of all four girls appeared in his head.
"Be careful when you say that," Reiji said with a grin, "Kurosaki might hear you, and he won't care if you're joking," he said while still grinning.
Elsewhere, Kurosaki sneezed.
"Tch, damn allergies…" He grumbled.
Sawatari's face paled, "Y-Yeah… I'd be dead…" he said with a gulp, "Well, goodnight Reiji!" He said as he left the room.
Reiji sighed as he continued to think of his half-sisters, "Their physicals are too alike to be coincidences… and father definitely knows something…" he muttered.
He would have to keep pondering this later, in the meantime, he decided to get some sleep before he collapses.
It was the second day of the tournament, and Yuya and his brothers sat in the spectator seats along with Gongenzaka, Sora, Syrup, and Soul (Though Soul was fast asleep).
The sisters were absent from the group for one reason, they were going to be competing today
"Which team are they fighting again?" Yuya asked.
"One of the Obelisk Force's…" Yuri frowned, "Seriously, there are like five teams named Obelisk Force…" he said with visible annoyance.
"Obelisk Force #4" Sora cut in, "That's the specific name of the team they're facing," he said helpfully.
"Obviously, Academia has students that lack originality…" Yuri muttered.
"Sector Academy has the same problem…" Yugo muttered, "Literally all of their teams are called 'Sector Security' for some reason…" he said as he read the pamphlet.
"Apparently there were even more of those teams in the first round…" Yuto said as the commentators, Nico and Melissa, began to announce the start of the second day.
Syrup stared at Soul, who was probably sleeping to avoid conversation.
She hadn't seen him at all after the match, only once she got back to their room did she see him, and he was already fast asleep.
And the next morning, he was already gone when she woke up.
At least he was sitting with them, though he was fast asleep.
Syrup wished she had been able to talk to him properly while they were in his mind, as she could only imagine the pain he was in.
Another thing was how she resonated with his pain… recalling a similar experience in her own past.
She quickly shook her head and ignored the memory, though her facial expression remained down.
Yuya took notice of her unusually solemn attitude and frowned, "Hey, is something wrong?" He asked.
"O-Oh! It's nothing!" Syrup said as she waved her hands and quickly put up a cheerful expression yet again.
Yuya could tell that this smile was fake, but before he could mention anything…
"Hey! There they are!" Gongenzaka exclaimed.
Yuya whipped his head around towards the stadium, Yuzu and her sisters were confidently walking onto the stadium.
Syrup was now cheering, a genuine smile now on her face.
Yuya made a mental note of what had just happened and quickly started cheering for his friends.
Yuzu was beyond nervous at this point, because damn this crowd was huge, was Yuya in it somewhere?
She glanced at the enemy team on the other side of the stadium, a team of four boys dressed in blue, along with white masks complete with red eyes.
They looked a little menacing, but the redundant designs made them look more like foot soldiers or grunts more than anything else.
The problem was the fact that they were from Academia, which unnerved the quadruplets because of… reasons.
"The teams have the same number of members, so the Field-Choice shall be decided by rock-paper-scissors!" Nico explained as Serena walked forward to meet one of the Obelisk Force members.
Serena played Rock, so did the Obelisk Force.
Serena played Rock again, so did the Obelisk Force.
When it happened for the third time, Rin felt the urge to walk over and smack Serena before she played rock for the fourth time.
Luckily, she didn't have to. Serena played Scissors next while Obelisk played paper, winning the right to field choice.
The screen appeared in front of the girls, and they huddled together to try and decide which field to choose.
Yuzu wanted a regular greenfield, Rin wanted a city, Ruri wanted a medieval setting, and Serena wanted a beach.
And thus, the debate began.
"We don't know much about our opponent, we should go simple!" Yuzu argued.
"Exactly, a city is simple!" Rin said back.
"I think a medieval setting would be both interesting and simple…" Ruri said softly.
"I just wanna go to the beach," Serena said bluntly.
Everybody looked at Serena.
"Serena, we can go to the beach later!" Yuzu exclaimed.
"None of us have any aquatic monsters… so I don't know how I feel about the beach…" Ruri thought out loud.
"We also don't have swimsuits on…" Rin pouted.
"What does that have to do with it!?" Yuzu exclaimed.
"Don't worry," Serena said as she lifted her shirt, "I actually have my swimsuit on underneath…" she said with a thumbs up.
"But why?" Ruri asked.
"Let's just go to the freaking beach…" Yuzu said exasperatedly.
And with that, the beach was selected.
"Can we go to the actual beach later?" Rin asked.
"Yeah! That sounds fun!" Ruri said happily as the stadium began to glow.
"Alright, time to get undressed…" Serena said as she began to take off her shirt.
"Wait-NO, DONT JUST DO THAT HERE!" Yuzu shrieked as she stopped Serena before she undressed in front of a crowd, even if she DID have a swimsuit underneath.
The arena changed, now taking the form of a field made mostly out of seawater, with two large islands at either end, with a crystal at each side.
Rin stared at the opposing island, where the obelisk force stood and discussed something that they couldn't hear.
"Serena, can you go with Ruri to attack them when the match starts?" She asked.
"Leave it to me!" Serena said confidently.
"I'll do my best to provide backup!" Ruri said with a smile.
"Now then, three! Two! One! DUEL!" Melissa yelled.
"Come! Lunalight Cat Dancer!" Serena yelled as she dashed forward as she transformed into the fusion monster, flying gracefully over the water.
"Fly! Lyrilusc, Assembled Nightingale!" Ruri said as she transformed and flew high into the sky, watching Serena from afar.
Yuzu clenched her fists, both Ruri and Serena were already this strong… but she didn't have anything really special. "I'll grow stronger in this match…!" She whispered to herself.
The Doctor waited with a wide smile on his face, staring at a large tube filled with orange liquid, the silhouette of a man inside it.
The sound of a door opening caught his attention, and in walked the headmaster of Academia.
"Ah, Mr. Leo Akaba, sir…" The Doctor said politely as the dark-skinned bald man walked inside.
"What have you been working on, Doctor…" Leo said darkly as he stared at the tube.
"Just a little pet-project that has recently reached a breakthrough…!" He said giddily, thanks to the assistance of Shinku… I believe I have finally done the impossible!" He declared.
At the sound of his name, a white-haired boy with purple eyes and bags under his eyes came out of the shadows, he wore a white t-shirt and black jeans.
Leo nodded, "I thank you for your assistance to the Doctor…" Leo said to Shinku, earning a silent nod.
The doctor smiled as he stared at the test tube and the concealed figure inside. "With Shinku's power… I believe that we are about to do the impossible… and defy death itself…!" He said as his smile widened as he giggled.
"What… do you mean…?" Leo asked.
"United Duelists Academy's best prodigy in years… tragically slain while rescuing poor souls who were kidnapped, about to be sold into slavery!" He declared dramatically, "Truly a tragic tale of an incredible individual, who lost his life before reaching his full potential…!" He declared.
"And the point is?" Leo said sternly.
"Surely even a man like that would have… grudges, correct? Perhaps at the fact that his life ended so suddenly…" The Doctor said cryptically, "With Shinku, we can locate that soul… and by amplifying his grudges, while giving him an appropriate body…!" He began to speak.
"You meddle in forces that are best left untouched…" Leo warned.
The Doctor merely laughed, "As a scientist… I must meddle in everything that piques my curiosity…!" He said giddily, "With this, Academia's strength shall grow immensely…!" He declared before breaking into a loud and maniacal laugh.
Leo frowned, "Do as you wish…" he said as he turned and left the room, The Doctor still cackling as he left.
"This is…!" Yuzu gasped.
It was unfair, that's what it was.
All four Obelisk Force members had the same kind of power, and it was a ridiculous one as well.
Three of them had transformed into the same monster, Ancient Gear Giant, and were using their ridiculous size to cross the mini-ocean with ease.
And to top it all off, the girl's attacks may as well have been mosquito bites.
"Damn it…!" Serena grunted as she, while transformed into Cat Dancer, tried to slash at one of the giant's arms.
The attack merely bounced off, and she ended up getting bashed with the very large, mechanical arm that she had tried to remove, and was knocked into the water.
"Serena!" Rin yelled.
Ruri had tried to fly overhead and reach the crystal, which was guarded by the remaining member, who had transformed into an Ancient Gear Hound.
Unfortunately, the giants stood too tall, and she was blocked from getting past them. Attacking them didn't work either, she didn't have enough attack power to damage them, so her attacks were more futile than Serena's.
Rin seemed to have the most effect, her Windwitch's abilities to control ice was able to slow the giants down as their joints started to freeze, but the sheer power of the giants were too much for her to handle, and despite being able to slightly slow them down, the ice broke before it could really start working.
Not only that, but the Ancient Gear Hound kept shooting fireballs at the giant's joints, melting anything that finally managed to form.
And Yuzu was stuck watching it happen like an idiot.
What could she do? Her abilities focused mainly on sound, which was next-to-useless against mechanical forms, and her raw power was only slightly higher than Ruri's.
"What would Yuya do…?" Yuzu asked herself.
A pointless question, Yuya had the power to damage these giants with Odd-Eyes alone, and he had both the support of his spirits and his brothers.
Not only that, but he had even stronger fusion monsters, and that incredible Xyz-Pendulum monster, though he could only keep the form up for about a second.
Meanwhile, she only had regular Standard monsters, and only one particularly powerful one.
She snapped herself out of her trance when she heard Ruri scream, she had been grabbed out of the sky and was now stuck in the rough grip of the middle giant.
"RURI!" Her sisters yelled as Serena tried to attack again, only to be blown back once more. Rin increased the intensity of her cold wind, but it ended up damaging Ruri more than it damaged the giants, so she had to stop.
"Come! Mozarta!" Yuzu yelled as she transformed into Mozarta and flew at the giant, brandishing a thorn-like rapier.
"Graceful Wave!" Yuzu yelled as green energy covered the tip of her rapier as she drew a circle before thrusting the glowing tip of the blade into the fist that held Ruri.
Surprisingly enough, the shock managed to loosen the giant's grip, allowing Ruri to flap her form's wings and escape.
Yuzu, however, wasn't so lucky.
Before she could react, the hand suddenly grabbed her in its attempts to catch Ruri again and settled on catching Yuzu instead.
"Agh!" Yuzu cried out as she felt the grip tighten around her body. The giant's grip was incredibly strong and unyielding, and it felt like her bones were on the verge of cracking… in fact, if it weren't for her monster form, her bones probably WOULD be breaking right now.
"Let her go!" Serena yelled as she jumped up again and attacked the arm holding Yuzu, "Full-Moon Crest!" Serena yelled as her claws glowed blue, striking the arm with a powerful blast.
The giant staggered, but its grip remained as tight as ever.
Yuzu struggled to try and break free, but it seemed that the more she squirmed, the more the rusty metal and sharp points of the mechanical hand would brush against her skin.
Serena ended up being knocked away for a third time, and despite Ruri's quick attacks on the giant, she remained trapped.
Yuzu suddenly felt herself be raised higher into the air, the giant was raising its arm to throw her at their crystal.
"This is bad…!" Ruri yelled as she continued her attempts to free Yuzu.
Yuzu continued struggling, trying to make the throw as difficult as possible.
It worked, combined with Yuzu's squirming and Ruri's attacks, the giant found it hard to keep a proper grip on the girl.
"Come on, you're almost free…!" Ruri exclaimed.
The giant suddenly swung down the arm Yuzu was in, smacking away Ruri.
Instead of being thrown at the crystal, the giant just threw her straight down into the water with a large splash.
And then everything went black.
"YUZU!" Yuya yelled as a large explosion of water came from the spot that Yuzu had just been thrown into.
"If her life ends up in danger, she'll be removed from the field for the safety of her life…" Yuto said in an attempt to calm Yuya down.
"But she could be hurt!" Yuya exclaimed.
"Oh, she's definitely been hurt…" Yuri chimed unhelpfully.
"Not helping, Yuri…" Yugo muttered.
"What if she drowns!?" Yuya exclaimed.
"She'll be removed from the field way before that happens…" Yuto stated.
Yuya was still worried, "Still…" he muttered as he desperately hoped that she would be okay.
He was grasping the pendulum around his neck, not noticing that it was now faintly glowing.
"OW!"
Yuzu cried out in pain as she shot up in surprise.
Wait… shot up?
She looked around at her surroundings… she wasn't in the stadium anymore.
She seemed to be sitting on water… though it felt completely solid, and the sky was a bright blue with big white clouds. The water she was sitting on reflected the sky almost perfectly, making it look like she was standing in the sky itself.
Her body ached, that was for sure… especially around her head, did she hit her head when she was thrown into the water?
She winced as she stood up, "Where am I?" She wondered out loud.
The place seemed familiar, somehow… and it looked a lot like something that Yuya once described.
"Oh yeah! When Yuya first awakened to pendulum… he said he appeared in a place like this…" Yuzu thought out loud.
So then… why was she here?
She could be wrong, after all… she could be dead.
Yuzu shuddered as she perished the thought, the last thing she needed was the thought of her dying, and this is actually the afterlife, or at least, someplace before it.
Yuzu suddenly heard the rattle of chains come from behind her.
She turned around in surprise, she had done a full 360-degree turn, and there had been nobody but her in the area.
But now, there was the form of a woman, a little older than Yuzu from the looks of her figure and height being more mature and taller than Yuzu respectively.
There were no clothes on her body, but her body was also completely yellow, as though made of light… she had no facial features to speak of, but her hair was a deep maroon and dark-red, and it was tied into two pigtails like Yuzu's own hair, but it was considerably longer and went down to just below her shoulders.
She was kneeling on the ground, her arms and legs chained down by sinister black chains that came out of the water underneath her.
"H-hey!" Yuzu exclaimed, "Are you alright!?" She exclaimed as she ran over to the girl.
The glowing girl lifted its head to look at her, but because of its lack of a face, Yuzu wasn't sure if it was relieved or not…
Yuzu knelt down next to the girl, she looked at the girl's wrists and heels, where the chains were tightly attached to her. The light around her wrists and heels were a deep and sinister black, like a stain on the pure yellow light that made up the rest of her body. In a way, it resembled bruises.
"Do you… do you need any help?" Yuzu asked.
No words, only a single nod from the faceless woman.
Yuzu examined the chains, upon closer inspection… they weren't pitch-black, they were just ridiculously rusty. "Could I break it if I transformed…?" Yuzu questioned.
Unfortunately, nothing happened when she tried to transform… no glowing card appeared in her hand, she was apparently stuck like this.
She glanced back at the chains, they seemed pretty fragile, actually.
Yuzu suddenly had an idea.
Yuzu removed her hairclips, allowing her hair to fall down her back, placing one pin in her pocket, she picked up a chain in one hand, and her hair clip in the other.
There was a seemingly-metal ring around the blue of her hairclips… would they work?
She raised her arm, closed her eyes, prayed that it would work, and swung.
The chains shattered on the first hit.
Actually… it's more precise to say that the second she hit it, all of the links shattered at the same time, before glowing yellow and fading away.
"W-Wow… those must have been pretty fragile…" Yuzu said out loud, though it didn't seem that way to the glowing girl… when she saw the chains on the girl, they looked tight and firm.
Oh! The girl!
Yuzu turned to face the girl, all of the chains had broken off of her, and the purple around her wrists and heels vanished, now becoming completely yellow.
Yuzu heard a sigh of relief as the woman turned to her, and Yuzu was surprised to see that she now had facial features, as though a face was being pressed through a flat wall of cloth.
She was even more surprised to see that the face staring back at her looked almost exactly like her… or more accurately, an older and more mature-looking version of her.
She had less roundness to her cheeks, but the shape of her eyes, mouth, ears, nose… they all looked just like Yuzu's own face.
The woman smiled, before suddenly jumping at Yuzu and embracing her in a hug.
"H-Huh!?" Yuzu exclaimed.
Before she could do anything else, however, the woman suddenly vanished into tiny particles of light.
Yuzu suddenly went silent as a vision played through her head.
Yuzu was now… seemingly back on UDA's main island… more specifically, the place that she had landed after arriving on a plane for the first day.
A male figure stepped out, except when Yuzu looked at him, his skin and face was completely black, and it was next to impossible to make out his face… other than his mouth, which remained normal when open.
The boy had long and spiky silver hair with light-green highlights, and he wore a blue and white jacket with orange borders, similar to the D-Wheel suit that Yugo always wore, despite not having a D-Wheel.
Along with that, was a black undershirt. On top of that, he wore thick red-brownish gloves, black pants with brown chaps, faded gold knee pads, dark-blue suspenders with faded gold buckles hanging from a red-brownish belt with two large holsters, (much like the belt that Yuto wore, actually…), a large faded gold buckle, and brown shoes with dark-blue outlines and straps.
Yuzu had to admit, he was fashionable.
One thing that Yuzu noticed about his hair, however, was that it reminded her quite a lot of the boys in the way that it has two colors, and quite a lot of Yuri, with the fact that his front bangs were parted the same way.
The boy was wincing as he came off the plane, clutching his leg.
"Agh… my leg's asleep…!" He groaned as he staggered off the plane."Are you okay?"
Yuzu saw something even more familiar now… it was the glowing woman she had just freed.
Her skin still glowed bright yellow, and her facial features were hard to distinguish, but this time… she was properly clothed, wearing a white, purple, and blue dress.
"Y-yeah… I'm fine…!" The boy winced as he managed to stand up again, "I just… had my leg in a position where it wasn't getting proper blood-flow for about an hour…!" He groaned.
The girl giggled, "Well then, I guess you know what NOT to do next time you're on a plane!" The girl joked cheerfully.
The boy laughed, "You're funny, what's your name?" The boy asked.
Yuzu could make out a smile on the girl's obscured face, "My name is…"
Suddenly, the vision cut out, and Yuzu was back in the strange, watery place she had just been in.
"Huh?" Yuzu muttered, "What… was that?" She muttered.
What she had just seen… it seemed awfully familiar.
A memory suddenly popped into her head, and her eyes widened.
"That moment… it was almost exactly like when I first met Yuya…!" She realized.
Refer to Chapter 1…
Mind you, it wasn't EXACTLY the same… they were much more confident and less nervous.
Yuya had gotten off the plane while his leg was asleep, and Yuzu had asked if he was okay… at which point they nervously introduced themselves.
But why? What was going on? And more importantly…
Where. Was. She!?
"Finally, we meet…"
Yuzu turned around to face yet another voice, except this time, it wasn't the figure of a human that met her.
Well… it was humanoid but at the same time… not.
It took the same shape as the glowing girl she had just seen, except her skin was the same color as Yuzu's and she wore a pink dress that looked like it was made of incredibly large, pink petals. She had large white angel wings on her back, and her face was like a mask, taking a pink and white pattern, along with blue eyes that looked exactly like Yuzu's own eyes.
Her hair was pink, also like Yuzu's, and done up in the same two-pigtails hairstyle as her. Because of the mask-like face she had, there were no mouths or noses to speak of, only the eyes.
Strapped to her back was a large silver staff with a large pink orb on it, like a wand of sorts, and in her arms was a beautiful golden lyre.
Yuzu couldn't help but notice two things.
One: It resembled Yuzu herself.
Two: It looked angelic…
"We finally meet…"
Yuzu heard a deeper version of her own voice echo from the being in front of her.
"Now that the seal has been broken, my power is yours to command…" The angel spoke as the world suddenly began to fill with pink light.
Yuzu suddenly felt exhausted, her eyelids beginning to close as a wave of warmth washed over her.
A pillar of pink light suddenly burst from the area where Yuzuu had hit the water.
"What…!" Yuya exclaimed as he shot up.
For some reason, Yuya's chest suddenly began to tighten, "What… what is this…!?" Yuya exclaimed as he clutched his chest.
Yuya's brothers similarly felt some tightness in their chests, but not as much as what Yuya was feeling.
"What's… going on…?" Yugo winced.
The water parted around Yuzu, where she stood on the ground, her bracelet glowing bright pink as her wounds suddenly began to vanish.
"Wait… I remember this…!" Yuya thought as he watched the scene play out, "This is like… when I first unlocked Pendulum…!" Yuya exclaimed inside his mind.
Yuzu's eyes slowly opened as her body completely healed, she looked around in a daze as three glowing cards appeared around her, each shifting between red light, and then to green light, again and again.
"Don't tell me…!" Serena exclaimed as Ruri pulled her out of the water.
Yuzu's eyes fully opened, and she stared at the cards in surprise.
"This is…!" Yuzu exclaimed as a smile formed on her face, "Yuya… I'm catching up to you!" She said happily.
She took one of the cards into her hands, and gently closed her hands, crushing the card.
A burst of red and green light replaced the pink light, and Yuzu's body was covered in light as she transformed.
"Graceful and elegant… descend into this world, and shower us with your light of purification!" Yuzu chanted as she began to change, "Become my power, Floribus En - The Melodious Angel!" Yuzu said as the light burst around her.
In her place, was the monster she had met in her mind, her graceful figure that resembled Yuzu so much floating above the water that now began to cascade into the place where Yuzu just stood.
The teachers each watched the scene unfold before their eyes, completely silent.
"First Sakaki… and then that Reiji boy, along with Shingo Sawatari… and then this Yuzu girl…" Kaiba muttered, "It seems… that we still haven't seen all that there is to Pendulum…" he said as he fell deep into thought.
Yuya, meanwhile, was shocked.
"Yuzu… she's using Pendulum…!" He exclaimed.
"Yuya, did you somehow teach her…?" Yuto asked.
"No! I don't even know how I would teach or pass down Pendulum…" Yuya muttered.
First Reiji, then Sawatari… he had been shocked to see those two use Pendulum… and now even more so at the revelation that Yuzu could use it.
But this time, he couldn't help but… smile.
Yuzu often talked about how she wanted to grow stronger… so that she wouldn't be passed up or overshadowed by everybody around her.
"You're really shining… Yuzu…!" Yuya said as a smile widened on his face, allowing him to ignore the tightness in his chest.
Yuzu raised one her hands, and the other two cards shattered, forming two other pendulum monsters.
"Come! Larghissimo and Prestissimo, the Melodious Spirits!" Yuzu called as two figures appeared beside her.
Two girls appeared, one dressed in a blue dress that resembled rose petals, and the other dressed in the exact same dress, except red instead of blue. They gave off the appearance of a blue rose and a red rose respectively.
Larghissimo had a cold and expressionless facial expression, holding a short want in her right hand, along with dark-blue hair and blue eyes.
Prestissimo looked the exact opposite, looking incredibly spunky and tomboyish with a long staff in her hands, along with bright-red hair and orange eyes.
"Go!" Yuzu yelled as both spirits flew towards the giants in front of her.
Prestissimo grinned while Larghissimo looked as emotionless as ever, as they raised their staff and want respectively.
Suddenly, a giant red rose of energy burst into existence above the left giant, suddenly showering the giant in flames.
Similarly, a giant blue rose of energy appeared on the water where the right giant stood, and ice suddenly burst forth and frost suddenly began to form rapidly on its body, halting its movements.
"Whoa… she froze that guy over in an instant…!" Rin exclaimed.
"I can feel the heat from here…!" Ruri gasped.
The sound of machinery creaking filled the area as the two giants struggled against the flames and ice. Meanwhile, the middle giant charged forward at Yuzu.
Yuzu took out her golden Lyre, which suddenly grew to an incredibly large size.
In a single motion, she strummed the instrument dramatically, and a powerful beam of light suddenly descended from the sky and struck the giant.
The giant roared as the light began to completely destroy its mechanical body until a flash of orange light appeared, and the Obelisk Force member fell into the water, unconscious.
A flash of blue light appeared, and suddenly a bubble appeared around the member, and he was moved back to the island where he had started, preventing him from drowning.
"So that's what happens if you're KOed in the water…" Yuri muttered.
"What was that!?" Serena exclaimed, "She took down that guy in a second…!" She exclaimed.
Yuzu's Lyre returned to its original size before vanishing completely, "That… was Judgement Ray…" Yuzu explained, "I can only use it once a day, but it's the strongest move I have…!" She whispered to herself.
The giant on the left, which was still taking damage from the flames, began to walk forward through the water, though the flames still didn't let up.
Yuzu suddenly flew forward, taking out the staff from her back and brandishing it.
The pink orb on top suddenly glowed, and three ridiculously large and thorny vines burst forth from the ground and water below the giant.
They wrapped themselves tightly around the giant and began to squeeze, seemingly unaffected by the flames.
The sound of metal bending was heard, and with a loud roar, the giant burst into orange light, and the duelist was suspended in the air by the vines.
Yuzu turned to the frozen giant, who was struggling to try and move.
Yuzu raised her staff, and it suddenly glowed pink as it changed shape.
In her hand was now a beautiful rapier with a pink jewel at its crossguard, a weapon that Yuzu brandished as she flapped her wings and flew at the giant.
The giant finally managed to break free from some of the ice and swung its giant arm at Yuzu, only for her to gracefully dodge the attack and run up alongside the gargantuan arm.
In a flash of yellow light, Yuzu thrusted her blade repeatedly into the giant's arm as she ran alongside it, severely damaging the arm as she jumped off and began to fly around the giant again.
"Lightspeed Thrusts…!" Yuzu declared as she flew around the giant, attacking and damaging the giant as it began to fall backward.
Yuzu flew back to the front of the giant, her rapier now glowing pink.
"Floribus En… End Punish!" Yuzu yelled as she dashed forward, thrusting the rapier through the giant as Yuzu appeared behind the giant.
A flash of pink light erupted from within the giant, and with an explosion of pink light, the giant changed back into its normal form as a member of the Obelisk Force.
Yuzu turned her attention to the crystal now, guarded only by a single Ancient Gear Hound.
He backed up slowly, clearly terrified.
Yuzu flew forward with her rapier raised, and the mechanical hound flinched.
Instead, Yuzu flew past him and sliced the crystal in half.
The boy realized what had happened as he changed back to normal, gasping for air as he fell onto his back.
"AND THAT FINISHES IT!" Melissa exclaimed from her helicopter, "With a sudden burst of power, and the incredible surprise with the appearance of more pendulum monsters, Yuzu Kurosaki stunning victory!" She declared.
The crowd began cheering as Yuzu changed back to normal, her spirits vanishing as she began to fall over.
She was caught by Serena, who had dashed over to catch her before she collapsed from exhaustion.
"Se… rena…?" Yuzu spoke as she fell limply into her arms, "Did we… do it?" She asked.
Serena grinned, "No, you did it…" she said with a chuckle, "You wanted to catch up to us, and now you've completely blown past us!" She exclaimed.
The rest of her sisters arrived as the arena changed back to normal, "Yeah, we have some work to do, now!" Rin said with a smile on her face.
Yuzu smiled, "Thanks… I feel exhausted, though…" she said before promptly passing out.
Yuya smiled, "Yeah… I was exhausted after I first unlocked Pendulum as well…" he noted as Yuzu's sisters carried the pinkette out of the stadium.
His brothers, however, were frowning.
They were all thinking the same thing.
"I have to get stronger…"
Bonus Scene!
"You have very strange tastes in pets, Yuri…"
Yuri's brothers stared at Yuri like he was an alien while Yuri tended to his most recent addition of "babies".
"What are you talking about?" Yuri asked, "Are you saying that Sally is strange?" He said accusingly, as though he was insulted.
"N-No, of course not!" Yuya said quickly, "It's just… most people have dogs, or cats, or fish, or birds…" he began saying.
Yuri scoffed, "Those are lame, Yuya, a true man of culture would obviously do the same thing I'm doing!" He stated indignantly.
"I don't think ANYONE rubs a carnivorous and poisonous plant affectionately…" Yugo said bluntly.
"Sally isn't poisonous!" Yuri said with a playful pout, "She just injects a substance into your bloodstream, which causes full-body paralysis for about an hour!" He said as though it was normal.
Yes, Yuri Sakaki, was at this very moment…
Was stroking a clearly carnivorous and dangerous plant affectionately.
What's even stranger, was that it looked like it was hugging him affectionately as well.
"Yeah! That's bad!" Yugo yelled.
"She doesn't bite!" Yuri said indignantly.
At that very moment, a mosquito flew by, and "Sally" suddenly stretched out its "neck" and chomped down on the thing in a single moment.
"Except bugs, but isn't that a good thing?" Yuri asked.
"Not if it eats us…" Yuto muttered nervously.
"Hey, boys, what's going on-EEK!"
Yuzu had suddenly entered the room, and "Sally" had suddenly elongated its "neck" again and was now wrapping itself around the poor girl.
"IT'S EATING YUZU!" Yuya panicked.
"RELAX, IT'S ONLY SMELLING HER!" Yuri yelled.
"SMELLING!?" Yugo exclaimed, "WHAT PLANT 'SMELLS' PEOPLE!?" He yelled.
Yuzu's face was pale as she stood completely still as the "mouth" got uncomfortably close to her face.
"Guys… it smells…!" Yuzu gasped.
"ExCUSE me!?" Yuri exclaimed.
Suddenly, the sound of fast stomps filled the dorm.
Serena burst into the room while carrying a large bowie knife, "YURI, CALL OFF THE PLANT BEFORE I BURN IT AND EVERYTHING IN YOUR ROOM TO THE GROUND!" She yelled angrily.
"I WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, BITCH!" Yuri screamed.
Sally retreated from Yuzu, and Yuzu fell to the ground.
"Yuzu!" Yuya exclaimed as he ran to her side.
"Yuya, I can't feel my arms or my legs!" Yuzu panicked as she laid limply in his arms.
"IT ONLY LASTS AN HOUR, RELAX!" Yuri yelled.
"IT PARALYZED HER!?" Serena screeched.
Sora was standing outside the dorm, listening to what was going on from outside.
Suddenly, the thought of visiting them today sounded… less than appealing.
End
Right, literally the second I get past the writer's block I had in the summer, I suddenly start publishing chapters more consistently.
Woohoo!
Anyways, yep, Yuzu can use Pendulum now. I found it strange that in the anime, she only ever used Fusion Summoning, and Pendulum Summoning that ONE time. I expected her to use the other ones like Yuya, considering she was from "Standard" after all.
Unfortunately, she ended up fighting Sergey and ended up getting intimate with the side of a building, and then she stopped dueling altogether. (Yet another reason why Arc-V had great potential, a great start, but slowly got worse as time went on because of lazy writing).
Yuzu's new ace, Floribus En, is Latin because everything is cooler in Latin.
Her other two Pendulum monsters are named Larghissimo and Prestissimo, which are words in the music community for Really Slow Tempo and Really Fast Tempo respectively. It fits with the Melodious' theme as well, as all of their names are based on something related to music.
Anyways, see you all soon!