What I say I'm doing during the time between chapters: Working at making this thing work properly.
What I'm actually doing: Temporarily giving up because of writer's block and going on Duel Nexus to waste time.
This chapter was longer than I thought it would be.
Chapter 16: Go Even Faster!
Yugo sat in the locker room, where he would wait until the match today started.
His brothers weren't there yet… he was only there because he was too nervous to be anywhere else right now.
"Yugo?"
Yugo turned his head as he heard a female voice.
"Rin?" Yugo questioned as a familiar girl entered the room.
"Wrong! It's me, Serena!" Serena declared angrily as she entered the room.
"S-Sorry!" Yugo exclaimed as Serena glared at him.
Serena sighed. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be here in two hours, and you're never early…" she questioned.
"Hey! I can be early if I want to!" Yugo said with a frown.
Serena raised an eyebrow.
"…What?" Yugo asked.
"You're nervous, aren't you?" Serena asked.
Yugo cringed. Of course, she managed to hit the nail on the head…
"N-No…" he lied.
Serena saw right through it. "Is it because of the little bet you made about Rin?" She asked.
"You know?" Yugo asked.
"Rin told me," Serena explained.
"Does anybody else know?" Yugo asked.
"Nope, just me…" Serena answered.
Yugo let out a large sigh as he leaned backward.
"Why are you so stressed? You were already planning to fight with everything you've got, so what's changed?" She asked.
"Oh, nothing…" Yugo explained, "Just the sudden realization of exactly what's at stake here…" he said sarcastically.
"That still doesn't explain the obvious look of disappointment on your face…" Serena stated.
Yugo stared at her. "How can she read me so well?" He questioned in his head.
Yugo sighed and pulled out a rulebook. "One of the rules in the tournament…" Yugo sighed, "If a duelist is allowed to use a D-Wheel IF it is constructed by themselves, AND authorized by at least five teachers…" he explained.
"Seriously? That's a rule?" Serena asked.
"Yup," Yugo stated, "Of course, it doesn't look like anybody's done it… probably because of just how HARD it is to construct one of the things by yourself without any prior experience…" he sighed.
"Wait… is that what you've been doing?" Serena asked.
In the past few days, Yugo had been slipping away from the group at strange times, and only be found again when the day was almost ending.
Yugo pulled out a gray disk from his pocket and tossed it on the ground in front of him.
When it hit the ground, it suddenly began to glow and shoot lights all over the place.
"W-What the!?" Serena yelled.
The light suddenly died down, and in its place, was-lo and behold… a D-Wheel.
Well, a shoddy one.
There was no paint, leaving it with a dull gray color. Machinery was sticking out in too many places for Serena to count. The metal that covered the machine wasn't anywhere close to symmetrical, and dents were prominent among the entire thing, showing evidence that the metal had been pounded repeatedly (and badly) into a shape that just managed to click in place.
Serena didn't need to know anything about D-Wheels to be able to tell that the thing was a pile of junk that was shoved together.
"The engine doesn't work, it's always leaning too far to the right, pieces fly off now and then…" Yugo explained as a large screw suddenly flew off of the machine with a loud "pop!"
"Did… did you build it?" Serena asked.
"Did I work on it? Yes," Yugo answered, "did I do a good job? Nope…" he sighed.
"How did you… even get the parts?" Serena asked.
"I've always wanted to build one of these things myself…" Yugo explained, "so I've constantly been saving up money and parts… and I finally thought I could at least throw together something decent…" he sighed.
"What about the disk thing?" Serena asked.
"Oh, that was simple… I told Mr. Fudo what I was trying to do…" Yugo said nonchalantly, "he gave me a D-Storage device and then wished me luck… too bad I failed…" Yugo groaned.
Yugo stood up and walked over to the machine, where he then pressed a button on it, which caused the thing to glow again as it slowly shrunk down into the disk that Yugo had thrown earlier.
"Needless to say… it didn't pass any of the inspections, especially not the safety ones…" Yugo sighed.
"But why? You're still strong without it…" Serena asked.
"It was a precaution," he said, "I have to win this… and having a D-Wheel is perfect for a duelist that uses Synchro… because then it becomes possible to use Accel Boost!" Yugo groaned.
Serena remembered the term from a class earlier in the year. Accel Boost is a technique for Synchro Monsters that can only be achieved by transforming while moving at incredibly fast speeds.
But it wasn't just something you could do. Even for pro duelists, the technique was ridiculously hard to pull off.
Though, Yugo probably either didn't care or didn't listen to that part.
"So? Who said you needed something like that if you wanted to defeat Yaiba?" Serena asked.
"Nobody… it's just that there's a lot of stuff at stake here…" Yugo sighed.
"You're right, there is…" Serena replied bluntly.
Yugo chuckled. "Wow, are you even trying to be comforting?" Yugo asked.
Serena grinned, "Nope, I shouldn't have to comfort somebody with nothing to worry about!" She said with a smile.
A bit of relief showed on his face at that statement, but it wasn't enough.
"What do you think Rin will say when she gets her choice?" Serena asked.
"How should I know?" Yugo replied, "If I'm being completely honest… dueling for her 'choice' wasn't because I was being chivalrous or anything…" he said with a frown.
"Then why did you?" Serena asked.
"Because… it was the only thing I could duel for…" Yugo sighed, "The first thing that came into my mind was to duel for her to pick me… but I could never force something like that on her… and it's not like she'd want me anyway…" he sighed.
"Why's that?" Serena asked.
"Why? Hah, you know why…" Yugo chuckled, "You guys have said it for yourselves, I'm a perv… as if Rin would wanna be with a guy who's constantly checking out every female they see…" he sighed.
"She deserves better…" he sighed.
Serena stared at the boy. "So, Rin likes you, huh?" She thought.
"Why? Are you saying that you'd be unfaithful if she chose you?" Serena asked.
Yugo's head snapped to Serena. "No! Of course not!" He shouted.
Serena smiled as the gears started to turn in Yugo's head.
"B-But… I mean… you would know since you're a girl… girls don't want a guy like me, right?" He asked.
"That's a pretty negative assumption to make about yourself," Serena replied.
"But it's true, right?" Yugo asked.
"Maybe for some people… but not everybody," Serena answered.
"What, are you telling me that you of all people like me?" Yugo said with a grin.
"Hah, in your dreams, Fusion!" Serena laughed back.
"Hey! It's Yugo, damn it!" Yugo yelled angrily, "Don't tell me that you're doing it too, now!" He cried out.
Wow, Yuri was right. Yugo's attitude DID change the second she called him Fusion instead of Yugo.
"Well, regardless, you're dueling for Rin's sake here," Serena said as she turned and began to walk towards the door. "So do your best, and try not to eat dirt like you did back in the preliminaries!" She said as she left.
"Hey! That hurts!" Yugo yelled as she left the room.
"Yuya, may I speak with you for a moment?"
Yuya turned around to see Kachidoki standing behind him.
Yuya's brothers were nowhere to be found since Yugo had up and vanished for some reason, Yuri had gone off to look for him, and Yuto was talking with Shun.
"Huh? Oh! Kachidoki!" Yuya exclaimed.
Kachidoki smiled, "You're fighting today, right?" He asked.
"Yup! Are you gonna cheer me on?" Yuya asked.
Kachidoki chuckled, "Of course, I want the person who managed to defeat me to win, after all!" He declared.
Kachidoki had seemed much more… happy, lately. When Yuya first met him on the battlefield, he was incredibly cold towards him.
"Say, remember that black dragon you used against me back in the preliminaries?" Kachidoki asked.
"Huh? Oh, you mean Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon?" Yuya replied, "Yeah, why?"
Kachidoki frowned. "Are you able to use him?" He asked.
Yuya sighed, "No, unfortunately, I can hardly keep him out for more than a second…" he explained.
Kachidoki nodded. "Hm, I figured as much…" he muttered.
"Huh?" Said Yuya.
"Yuya, after this match, tonight… meet me at training-room four, I have something to show you…" he whispered.
"H-Huh!?" Yuya exclaimed.
But suddenly, Kachidoki was gone.
"What was that about…" Yuya wondered.
"If I can use Mind Crush on Soul again… I might be able to reach his seal and undo it…" Syrup muttered, "but it might not work… and I still have no clue how Mind Crush is supposed to work…" she sighed.
Her plan so far was this:
Step 1: Use Mind Crush on Soul
Step 2: Assuming that you can reach the Seal through Sou's mind, try and find his seal.
Step 3: Break the seal
Step 4: Try and stop Soul from re-sealing
Also step 4: If Soul goes berserk from his power… stop him, somehow?
Step 5: Celebrate, I guess?
The plan was still in the making, and there were too many unknown variables…
She could probably assume that Soul would notice if she tried to break the seal and try to protect it… and she didn't even know if she could access the seal through his "mind"
He was sleeping right now, though… maybe she could go inside his mind and check without him noticing?
"Just in and out… and try not to wake him up…" Syrup repeated as she stood at the side of his bed and transformed into Apprentice Illusion Magician.
"Alright… Mind Crush!" Syrup declared.
Syrup opened her eyes nervously.
She was in her normal form again, and she was in a long and dark corridor.
At the end of the corridor, was a large door.
"I guess… it worked…" Syrup muttered.
She remembered her meeting with Atem a few days ago.
She might not know exactly how to use Mind Crush… but going into Soul's mind was exactly what she wanted.
Although… how would she get out?
The second she thought about how to get out, another door appeared behind her with the words "Exit" on it.
"Ah, I see…" Syrup mumbled as she walked past the door and towards the one at the end of the corridor.
There was nothing else there, so she assumed that this door must lead to his mind.
The door was heavy and hard to open, but with enough force, Syrup was able to pull the door open.
Inside was a large and dark bedroom.
There was a light-switch on the wall, but when Syrup flicked it up, nothing happened, and the room remained dark.
A window was on each wall, and black curtains were drawn over them, blocking out all light except for a few small rays that managed to get through.
There were hardly any decorations, and the bed was ridiculously messy.
But what caught Syrup's attention the most was sitting on a small desk in the corner of the room.
A cage.
It was a small, black cage with a dark-blue card floating inside it. Occasionally, the cage would suddenly shake and rattle, but it would quickly return to stillness afterward.
Syrup almost felt drawn to it… but she kept her distance.
Yellow hazard-tape was wrapped around the cage with words like Caution, Warning, and Danger on it.
But more prominently… the word SEAL was on it as well.
She slowly walked over to it, her eyes gazing at the cage in wonder.
"Is this… the seal?" She said out loud.
She heard a soft growl come from within the cage.
Well, that was easier than she had thought.
She was tempted to tamper with the thing right here and now… Soul wasn't here, after all.
But she held herself back.
What if Soul still couldn't control it, and went berserk? He'd blame himself, tell her something along the lines of "I told you this would happen!", and then seal it again.
No, she had to get rid of the seal while making sure that Soul wouldn't repair the seal.
Of course, this was easier said than done.
In the meantime, however, she quickly left the room, as well as Soul's mind.
Syrup woke up with a start, quickly looking at her surroundings.
She had fallen against the wall after using Mind Crush and entering Soul's mind and had unfortunately ended up in a rather uncomfortable position.
"Ow…!" Syrup grunted as she got to her feet.
Soul still snored away on the bed.
Suddenly, she saw the clock on the side of the bed.
"Soul! We're going to be late!" She suddenly screamed.
She had spent more time in Soul's head than she had thought… and at this rate, they would have to run to get to their seats for the tournament.
"H-Huh…?" Soul muttered as his eyes slowly opened.
Soul was suddenly yanked out of bed and pulled out the door.
Thank god he slept in his hoodie and pants…
"Yugo! There you are!" Yuri exclaimed.
"Hey! I guess I was early this time!" Yugo replied nonchalantly as Yuri entered the locker room.
"Yeah, too early, Fusion!" Yuri exclaimed, "We still have two hours before our match starts!" He scolded.
"My name is Yugo! Not Fusion!" Yugo exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Fusion…" Yuri groaned. "Anyways, Rin wanted to talk to you for some reason, so get off your ass and stop being pathetic!" He said harshly.
"Fuck you too, Yuri!" Yugo said as he got up and walked past him.
Yugo ignored Yuri, who was holding both hands up with his middle fingers pointed to the roof.
"Rin wants to talk to me, huh…?" Yugo muttered.
"What. The. Actual. Hell…"
Yuzu was glaring daggers at a specific girl, who was seated right next to where Yuzu, her sisters, and their friends were going to be sitting.
Mieru Hochun… a tiny girl who seemed to be constantly professing her love towards Yuya.
How did they even meet!? Why does she like him!? And keep your hands off of him you little-
She quickly stopped the thoughts there and resorted to simply glaring at the girl.
She was… fine with the fact that Yuya had fans… yeah, she was perfectly fine.
So then WHY is she wearing THAT!?
Sora, who had been standing next to Yuzu, whistled suggestively.
Mieru was wearing a small orange cheerleader outfit with a skirt that was too short, and a top that exposed her midriff and belly. Yuzu was glad that in terms of chest size, she had nothing to speak of… because if she did, there would be MUCH too much cleavage being shown.
Oh, and let's not forget the orange pom-poms that were the size of her head, as well as the word "Yuya" written across the front of her top.
"Go! Go! Knock them dead, Darling!"
Yuzu felt a nearly-uncontrollable urge to walk over and start a fight with the girl.
"Wow, Yuzu! I can practically feel the hostility coming off of you, and it's not even directed at me!" Sora said nonchalantly.
"Ah! I've heard of this before!" Ruri exclaimed as she walked up to them, "Is this what a 'jealous tsundere' looks like?" She asked.
"I'm not a tsundere!" Yuzu exclaimed.
Sora stared at her.
"I'm not!" She exclaimed again.
"What she's doing looks fun, though!" Ruri said as she watched Mieru, "Maybe we should dress up like that!"
Both Sora and Yuzu took a double-take.
"NO!" Yuzu screamed.
"YES!" Sora yelled, earning him a smack in the back of the head with Yuzu's paper fan.
Yugo found Rin waiting outside the locker room. "Hey, you wanted to talk to me?" Said Yugo.
Rin fidgeted in place. "Hey, um… well… are you doing okay?" Rin asked.
"Well, I'm super nervous, but I'm fine! Why?" Yugo asked.
"Listen, I just… I wanted to thank you for doing this for me… but you don't have to…" Rin said sheepishly.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Yugo said in confusion, "Wait… do you actually wanna date that Yaiba guy!?" He exclaimed.
"N-No! It's not that!" Rin defended herself, "I just… you don't have to fight on my behalf, you know…" she mumbled.
"Well, yeah… you're definitely strong enough to fend for yourself…" Yugo muttered, "but still… that guy needs some sense knocked into him, anyway!" He said with a grin.
"Besides… if I'm being honest… I just don't wanna see you with anybody else… which, now that I think about it… is pretty selfish of me…" Yugo thought.
"Well… if you're going through with it… I thought I'd wish you luck…" she said as she took a plastic bag out from behind her.
"Hm?" Yugo raised an eyebrow as she held the bag out in front of her.
"I… I couldn't help you with whatever it was you were planning… but I thought I could at least help like this…" she said with a small smile.
Yugo peered inside the bag, and his eyes widened. "Rin is this…?" Yugo gasped.
Inside the bag was what looked and felt like a high-quality riding suit, consisting mostly of white and gray, along with a red and blue on the chest, and a gold-yellow here and there as well.
Heck, it was even outfitted with the protective pads along with his knees and elbows like a real riding suit.
"Rin, where did you get this!?" Yugo exclaimed.
"D-Do you not like it…?" Rin asked.
"Like it?" Yugo muttered, "I LOVE IT! It's perfect!" He exclaimed.
Rin let out a sigh of relief. "Good… he likes it…" she thought.
"It's so soft as well! Seriously, where did you get this?" He asked.
"I made it myself…" Rin said as she twirled one of the locks in her hair.
"Huh? Seriously?" Yugo questioned, "You're serious? Something as incredible as this?" Yugo asked.
Rin puffed her cheeks. "What, surprised that I'm good at stuff like this?" She asked, "I just practiced knitting and crafts in my spare time when I was young, and I guess I had a natural talent for it…" she explained.
Yugo stared at her with disbelief. "But… this can't have been easy to make…" Yugo muttered.
"It wasn't… but it was something I wanted to do…" Rin said as her cheeks reddened a bit, "I wanted to give you something that you would treasure, and you always talk about how much you wanted your own D-Wheel…" she explained.
"Rin…" Yugo said as he held the outfit.
"Well… there's no way I can make a D-Wheel by myself… but I saw some of the doodles you make on your homework, and I saw your design for a riding suit…" she explained.
"Wait, you designed this… off of my crappy drawings!?" Yugo exclaimed.
"Well, I had to tweak it here and there… but yeah!" She beamed.
Yugo suddenly threw his arms around her in a hug. "I love it! Thank you, Rin!" Yugo exclaimed.
Rin's face was bright red. "A-Ah! Y-Yeah!" She stuttered.
Yugo jumped away from her, a giddy look on his face.
"Hold on! I'll go and change into it right now!" Yugo said as he dashed into the locker room.
A few minutes later…
Yugo ran out of the locker room, wearing his new suit.
"Rin, it even fits perfectly!" He exclaimed.
"Well, yeah! I managed to get your measurements thanks to Serena, though I have no clue how she managed it…" Rin explained.
Serena, who was listening from nearby, remained silent.
A few nights before this…
"You remember our deal, right?" Yuri asked.
"Yes, I remember my deal…" Serena groaned.
"Really?" Yuri said with a grin, "You remember that I have the right to make you do one thing, no matter what it is, without question?" He asked.
Serena rolled her eyes. "Yes, I remember… and you need to remember that I'm only doing this for Rin!" She hissed.
Yuri stood with his hands lifted at his sides, completely shirtless.
Serena was holding some measuring tape, a pen, and a notebook.
Luckily for Serena, all of the boys had pretty much the same measurements. There was no way Serena was staring at Yugo without a shirt on, Yuto would NEVER agree to this, and Yuzu would kill her if she dared to feel up Yuya, even if it was for innocent reasons.
That only left Yuri… and his demands.
Serena shuddered at the thought of what Yuri would make her do after this… but she was a woman of her word, and she would do her best to bear it with dignity.
After an excruciatingly long session of Serena obtaining Yuri's, and by extension, Yugo's measurements. Yuri was finally allowed to put his shirt back on.
"Well… what do you want me to do in return…" Serena sighed.
"Hm… I'm not sure yet… I think I'll save it for now and cash it in later, okay?" Yuri teased.
"You're an asshole…" Serena growled.
"Why, I'm flattered…" Yuri said with a pompous grin on his pompous face.
Back to the present…
Serena hoped to god that she wouldn't forever regret her decision.
"Listen, I just have a favor to ask of you…" Rin said softly.
"Hm?" Yugo tilted his head.
Suddenly, Rin ran forward.
Yugo felt a strange, soft, and slightly moist sensation on his cheek.
Rin's face was shockingly close to his face.
Meanwhile, Yugo's last three working brain cells:
1. Right, I think that's our queue to leave!
2. See you all, never!
3. I never liked this job anyways…
Yugo's eyes widened as Rin stepped backward, moving slightly away from him.
His hand brushed lightly against his cheek as he stared at her.
Her face was bright red, and she was averting his gaze.
"Think… think of me when you wear it…" she said embarrassingly.
"Huh…?" Yugo muttered, "Y-Yeah, of course, I will…" Yugo muttered.
Rin nodded before suddenly running off, holding her cheeks with her hands and squealing.
Yugo felt the soft fabric of his suit's gloves brush against the small bit of saliva that remained on his cheek.
"Haaaa…" Yugo gasped, "Did… did I just get a kiss…?" He gasped.
Everyone was now seated in the audience, and it was… more rambunctious than usual.
Soul was, as usual, sleeping. Syrup looked exhausted (apparently she had sprinted here while carrying Soul from the hotel), Yuzu was glaring daggers at Mieru, who was still wearing a cheerleader outfit and cheering optimistically.
Rin's face was bright red for some reason, Serena was crumpling up a picture of Yuri, and Ruri was wondering out loud if it would be a good idea to dress up as a cheerleader.
"Go! Go! Darling!" Mieru chanted.
"He's not even out yet! Stop being so loud!" Yuzu suddenly yelled.
"Ah! I remember you!" Mieru exclaimed, "You're that girl who's constantly with my darling! Stay away, love rival!" She declared.
"L-Love rival!?" Yuzu yelled in surprise.
"Ah, here we go again…" Serena sighed as an argument broke out between Yuzu and Mieru.
"Hey, where did you get that suit, Yugo?" Yuya asked as he stretched inside the locker room.
"Oh, well um… Rin gave it to me…" Yugo said quietly.
"You three heads up, we're heading out soon!" Yuto shouted.
"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, brother…" Yuri groaned.
"Hey… guys, one of the people on the other team is a Synchro Monster user…" Yugo suddenly spoke up, "I'd like you guys to leave him to me, okay?" He asked.
"Why?" Yuya asked.
"It's for a personal reason, okay?" Yugo said hotly, "Listen, just… I have to face him by myself, okay?" He said as he rubbed the back of his head.
Everyone was silent for a moment.
"Fine, but if you have too much trouble, we're gonna drop in and help out, okay?" Yuto sighed.
"Just call for Yuya, since he'll be staying behind and defending the crystal while we take the spotlight this time!" Yuri laughed.
Yuya pouted, "But I wanna make the crowd smile!" Yuya complained.
"Just do a comedy routine or something while we're fighting…" Yuto sighed, "Now come on, let's get out there…"
"Sora, how much sugar can you possibly stuff in your pockets…?" Serena asked with slight disbelief.
Sora smirked as he stuck his hands in his pockets and pulled out:
Four chocolate bars.
Two different bags of gummies.
Five lollipops.
Ten Mini-Reeses.
Three packs of bubble-gum.
Seven Jawbreakers.
And finally… a single plastic bag filled to the brim with different varieties of chocolates.
"How… why… how!?" Serena said as her eyes widened at the unnecessarily-large supply of candy.
"Why? Well, why not?" Sora replied, "As for how… well, I have to keep some secrets…" he said with a mischievous grin.
Serena had a feeling that nobody would ever figure out how Sora could manage to fit a pantry-sized hoard of candy on his person at all times.
"Hey, look! It's starting!" Syrup suddenly exclaimed.
Everybody's eyes turned towards the arena, where the four boys were now walking into.
"Are you sure you don't want any help?" Yuya asked Yugo.
"As much as I appreciate it… no, this is something I have to do myself…" he said with a determined look on his face.
"Why is this so important to you?" Yuya questioned.
"Well… let's just say that it's personal, okay?" Yugo said quickly.
"Hm… okay then," Yuya said as he gave Yugo a pat on the back, "Good luck, 'kay?" Yuya said with a comforting smile.
There was something about Yuya that always seemed to calm Yugo's nerves. "Yeah, don't you worry about it!" He declared, "Big-Bro Yugo will be sure to bring home a win!" He said confidently.
"Know your place, second-youngest!" Yuri said with a hard slap to Yugo's back.
"Ow! Hey, watch it!" Yugo yelled as Yuri cackled.
"Hey, quit messing around and focus already!" Yuto scolded.
"Aw, is Mama-Yuto trying to scold us?" Yuri taunted.
"Know your place, third-youngest…" Yuto took Yuri's words and shot them back at Yuri at full force.
"Don't let your ego get the best of you, Mr. Oldest-Child!" Yuri shot back.
"I could say the same to you, Grapehead!" Yuto shot back with a look of annoyance.
"Keep talking, Eggplant!" Yuri shot back.
"Grape… eggplant…?" Yuya questioned.
"Yuya… it's no secret that our hair makes our heads look like food…" Yugo sighed.
Yuya: Tomato
Yuto: Eggplant
Yugo: Banana + Spiky-Blueberry
Yuri: Grape
The crowd watched in silence as Yuya and Yugo ignored Yuto and Yuri, who were now rolling around on the ground, grappling for each other's throats.
"We don't know them… we don't know them… we don't know them…" Serena repeated.
Yuzu, meanwhile, was holding her paper-fan menacingly.
The boys finally stopped fighting when the opposing team came out.
Yuto quickly got to his feet and brushed off the front of his shirt, while Yuri scoffed with a look of annoyance.
Masumi, Hokuto, and Yaiba.
Fusion, Xyz, and Synchro users respectively.
"Yuya, we're gonna be fighting each of them individually… if you see a chance to attack the crystal, take it, okay?" Yuto said calmly.
"Got it!" Yuya said firmly.
Yugo cracked his knuckles and glared at Yaiba, who returned his glare with a cocky grin.
A screen appeared in front of the opposing screen (It was to be expected, after all… it was three versus four, after all).
Yugo tapped his foot impatiently. "Come on, damn it… pick a damn stage… I'll kick your ass no matter what…" he growled.
The screen vanished, and the floor began to glow from underneath them.
"W-Whoa…!" Yuya exclaimed as the section of floor that they had been standing on began to rise into the sky.
They now found themselves standing on what seemed to be… solid clouds?
Action Field: Heavens Battlefield
The field consisted of many different floating, cloud-like islands.
Yugo grinned, "Heh, this is perfect for aerial monsters… we've got this in the bag!" Yugo declared.
"I wonder what would happen if you were to fall off…" Yuri muttered.
Two large islands floated at each end of the stadium, where each team stood with their crystal.
"Okay, stay here, Yuya…" Yuto said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Let your big brothers handle this one…" he said as his gaze turned cold and serious.
They paid no attention to the enthusiastic commentary and waited for a single word that would signal the start of the battle.
…
…
…
DUEL!
In a flash of white light, Yugo was the first one to take off at full speed, nearly blowing away his brothers in the process.
A flash of white light shone on the other side of the arena, and Yaiba took off similarly.
"Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Yugo yelled as he transformed into the white dragon and flew forward at full speed.
"XX-Saber Gottoms!" Yaiba declared as he changed into a large warrior clad in white armor, wielding a large blade with blue energy running along with it.
With a loud crash, they met in the middle of the stadium and clashed, Clear Wing's head against Gottoms' blade.
Meanwhile, just as the match started…
"I'm gonna do it!"
"Yuma, you're going to kill yourself…"
"I'M GONNA DO IT!"
"Please, no…"
Nobody knew why, but for some reason, a large pyramid of plastic cans had been stacked in the middle of the VIP spectator room.
Nobody knew why it was there… because it was there when they arrived.
But when Yuma entered the room, he had an idea that was doomed for failure.
"I, Yuma Tsukumo, am going to run, jump, and clear this entire thing without touching it!" He declared.
The pyramid was about ten feet tall.
"Yuma, the world-record for the highest vertical-jump is about eight feet…" Yusei said calmly, "Are you saying that you can somehow beat that record by more than two full feet?" He asked nonchalantly.
"Kattobingu" Yuma said (as though it was supposed to mean something).
"Yuma, what the hell does that even mean!?" Judai cried out as he held his head in mild-panic.
"Godspeed, Mr. Tsukumo!" A man dressed in white, Jack Atlas, suddenly yelled dramatically.
"Jack, stop encouraging him…" Yusei sighed.
Kaiba scoffed and quickly moved to the other side of the room.
"Astral! Give me a quick number-crunch!" Yuma declared.
The blue ghost appeared hovering next to Yuma.
"I calculate that the chances of you managing to clear this, with human strength alone, are about… 0.0000000000001%" Astral said calmly.
"I LIKE THOSE ODDS!" Yuma declared.
A blue-haired male suddenly entered the room. "Alright, who's screaming at the top of their lungs…" he growled.
"Ryoga, please stop your friend…" Judai sighed.
"We ain't friends… and stop Yuma from doing what?" Ryoga asked.
Suddenly, he saw the enormous tower of cans.
He put two and two together, and everything suddenly clicked into place.
"Yeah, that's a hard pass…" Ryoga said as he quickly turned to leave the room.
"KATTOBINGUUUUUUU!"
Everything seemed to move in slow motion from that point onwards.
Yusei remained with his usual poker-face as he stared at Yuma.
Judai's eyes widened, and his jaw began to drop.
Ryoga started to switch from a casual walk to a desperate sprint for the door.
Jack was standing up, his fist waving in the air as he cheered, though a smile was nowhere to be seen on his face.
Kaiba had his hand pressed against his forehead.
And finally, Yuma was making a ridiculously high leap as he reached the tower thanks to a full-power sprint.
For a second, it looked like he was gonna do it…
CRASH!
Nevermind.
Yuma ended up diving straight into the center of the pyramid, and cans flew everywhere.
A fair amount collided with Yusei's face, but his expression never changed.
Judai fell backward as a wave of cans flew into him, smacking him to the ground.
Ryoga didn't escape in time and was knocked to the ground by a can that flew into the back of his head at high speed.
Jack, who had his mouth open in a loud cheer, fell backward as a can flew perfectly into his open mouth.
Kaiba, meanwhile, simply scoffed as a single can hit the ground and rolled over to his foot.
And then another can flew into his head.
Yuma groaned as he laid among the pile of cans, and his expression quickly changed to fear as Kaiba now towered over him.
Nobody saw Yuma again for the rest of the day.
"Rebellious Lightning Strike! Disobey!"
"Come! Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7!"
Yuto charged at Hokuto, covered in purple electricity. A yellow barrier formed around Hokuto as he transformed into a large mechanical dragon.
Electricity sparked in every direction as Yuto attempted to pierce the barrier with the fang on his chin, only to be blown away in response.
"Come! Gem-Knight Lady Dia!"
"Devour everything! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"
Yuri's wings were opened at full size, and countless beams of green energy were being fired at Masumi, who was countering each beam with a purple beam of light of her own.
The battle was everywhere, and despite Yuya's best efforts, there were hardly any openings for him to take advantage of because of his brothers fighting evenly with their opponents.
But the real problem wasn't Yuto and Yuri's fight… it was Yugo's.
"Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" Yugo yelled as he charged at Yaiba.
The two synchro duelists were clashing everywhere around the stage. Yaiba was incredibly fast and could keep jumping from island to island, avoiding Yugo's attacks. Yugo, on the other hand, had nearly complete control over the sky and was chasing Yaiba endlessly.
"Quit running!" Yugo yelled angrily, "Dichroic Mirror!" He declared.
Clear Wing's wings glowed as Yugo roared, sending a powerful beam of light at Yaiba.
Yaiba held his sword up defensively and blocked against the stream of energy, quickly using his blade to push himself out of the way, before charging and jumping at Yugo.
"Take this!" Yaiba declared as he swung his blade down on Yugo, who raised a large claw to counter.
Both struck the other, and they both started grappled with each other in a struggle as they collided with an island below them.
"Crap, get back in the air…!" Yugo grunted as he quickly righted himself.
Before he could react, however, Yaiba charged at him and struck Yugo, sending him into a wall nearby.
"Now that you're on the ground, you won't escape!" Yaiba yelled as he raised his blade, "Double-X Break!" He yelled.
"Agh!" Yugo cried out as Yaiba swung a glowing blade down on him, which somehow struck Yugo twice despite only being swung once.
Yugo collided with the wall behind him and flew through it with a loud crash, debris flying everywhere.
"Not done! I said I wouldn't let you escape, didn't I!?" Yaiba declared as he leaped off the island after him.
"Crap…!" Yugo grunted as green energy formed in his maw, "Take this!" He yelled.
Clear Wing roared and fired a stream of green energy from his mouth, like a breath attack, while Yaiba raised his glowing blade and swung down.
"Double-X Break!" Yaiba yelled.
His blade cleaved straight through the middle of Yugo's breath attack and struck Yugo, hitting him again with the two-hitting attack.
"Gah!" Yugo yelled as he flew through the air.
"Crap… I'm moving to his momentum…!" Yugo thought frantically as he tried to balance himself. His body ached like crazy because of the attacks he had just taken.
And it wasn't over yet.
"This duel is mine!" Yaiba yelled as he started to fly at Yugo, thrusting his blade forward at Yugo's chest.
"Dichroic Flash!" Yugo yelled as his wings glowed even brighter, sending streams of energy in every direction.
"It's not enough!" Yaiba yelled as he thrusted his blade forward, cutting through the energy and striking Yugo square in the chest.
Yugo gasped as he felt pain shooting through his body.
During the shock, Yaiba had moved behind him and was raising his sword once more.
"Crap, at least land a hit to throw him off…!" Yugo grunted as he twisted his body midair.
"Double-X Break!"
"Screw off!"
Yugo swung his tail around and struck Yaiba square in the face, while Yaiba swung his blade down on Yugo.
The result was Yaiba being blown backward into an island above them, and Yugo flying down and crashing into the lowest island in the arena.
"Gah…!" Yugo gasped.
Yugo couldn't breathe. Had the impact knocked the wind out of him?
"Heh, you got me there… but it's over now…" Yaiba grinned.
Yugo managed to make out Yaiba jumping off of his island and falling towards him, ready to deliver the finishing blow.
"Crap… I can't breathe…!" Yugo thought as everything seemed to go in slow-motion. "Damn it… I messed up…!" He mentally cursed.
He had been nervous, frustrated, and all in all… not thinking properly either.
He had spent the entirety of the first part of his fight just chasing Yaiba and not landing any hits… he should have switched to a long-range strategy the second Yaiba started keeping his distance.
But no, he just kept chasing him with Helldive Slasher. This inevitably became predictable, and when he finally DID switch to long-range, he did it sloppily and ended up getting hit by Yaiba, which then resulted in getting hit even more.
Moving wasn't an option… he didn't have any air in his lungs, and his lungs weren't taking any air in.
Rin flashed through his mind momentarily.
"Shit… sorry, Rin… I guess I do suck…" he cursed mentally.
"YUGO!"
Yugo gasped as a flash of red blurred his vision, and Yaiba was gone.
At this moment, his body finally started to work properly again, and the air was finally entering Yugo's lungs.
He gasped as his transformation dissipated, and he quickly looked around.
"What happened…!?" Yugo gasped.
He finally saw Yaiba, who was now fighting with Yuya (transformed into Odd-Eyes), who had jumped down and left the crystal to be protected by Timegazer and Stargazer.
"Yu… ya?" Yugo muttered.
"Spiral Strike Burst!" Yuya yelled as he shot a stream of spiraling flames at Yaiba, who dodged to the side and ran at him.
"Get outta the way! This is between me and Yugo!" He yelled.
Yuya jumped backward and continued to breathe fire at Yaiba, who ducked and swerved around the attack as he got closer and closer.
"He's fast…!" Yuya grunted, "In that case…"
Yaiba reached Yuya and raised his blade, "Go away!" He yelled.
Yuya stopped his stream of fire and turned his head towards the brunt of Yaiba's blade.
And in a split-second, Yuya opened his mouth and clamped down on Yaiba's blade.
"W-What…!" Yaiba exclaimed.
Yuya grunted as he held onto the tough blade as tightly as he could.
They each stood firm on the ground. Yaiba pulled and tugged at his weapon to try and remove it from Yuya's grip, while Yuya continued to bite down on the blade and held onto it tight.
"Spiral… Strike Burst…!" Yuya thought as fire began to form in his maw.
"Crap…!" Yaiba exclaimed.
Yuya's eyes gleamed as he let loose another stream of fire.
An explosion erupted between them, and Yaiba was blown backward while his blade landed next to him, which had broken into two pieces where Yuya had bitten down.
Yuya, meanwhile, skidded against the ground as the recoil sent him to Yugo's side.
Yugo stared at him in amazement. "He… he stopped the attack… by biting the sword…?" Yugo thought.
The attack had damaged Yuya as well due to the reckless attack, but he had done more damage to Yaiba then he did to himself.
"That's so reckless though… but even still, he's moving forward even faster than me and everybody else…" he thought as Yuya stood firm, smoke trailing out of the corner of his jaw.
"Am… am I that weak…?" Yugo thought.
A long time ago…
"Ah! Yuya! What happened to you!?" Young-Yugo exclaimed.
"This… this is when we were kids…" Yugo thought as the memory flashed through his mind.
Yuya's entire front was covered in mud, scratches covered his face, and his right eye looked like it was beginning to swell and turn purple.
Even still, he had a smile on his face.
Didn't his injuries hurt? How could he possibly smile?
"Oh, I just tripped and fell while I was playing with the other kids!" Young-Yuya said cheerfully.
Yugo knew Yuya well enough to know that Yuya's words roughly translated to: A bunch of older kids came up to me while I was leaving school and pushed me into some mud, made fun of me, then beat me up.
"Who did it! I swear I'll kick their asses!" Young-Yugo yelled angrily as he shook Young-Yuya back and forth from his shoulders.
Yugo mentally cringed. Had he always been vulgar with his words when he was a kid?
"What are you talking about? We were just having some fun!" Young-Yuya said with his ever-present smile.
"Exactly how were you having fun!?" Young-Yugo exclaimed.
"I just tripped in some mud, and it was funny, so the other kids laughed… it was fun…" Young-Yuya said quietly.
Okay, now it's getting even easier to see that Young-Yuya was lying.
"Yuya, it's not good when kids laugh at you for something like that!" Young-Yugo exclaimed.
"Why?" Young-Yuya asked, "It made them smile, it made them happy… isn't that a good thing…?" The youngest brother asked.
Another memory, though in words this time, flashed through his mind.
You have an incredible smile… I'm sure that wherever you go, you'll be able to make people happy…
"Yuya…" Young-Yugo said quietly.
He had brought Yuya home that day to his brothers, who reacted the same way that Yugo did. When their dad got home, he gave them a sad look before quickly taking out the first-aid kit from a drawer nearby and began to clean and apply medicine and band-aids to Yuya's injuries.
After that… Yuya's brothers refused to leave Yuya's side.
They would walk to school with him while glued to his sides, escort him to class, sit next to him during lunch, and walked alongside him on the way back home.
Occasionally, the bullies would follow them and ambush them on the way home. It would be a choice they would live to regret every time.
Four older boys would walk up to them, start talking shit, and immediately get attacked by Yuya's brothers.
All four of the brothers ended up with larger bruises and injuries than what the bullies had gotten, but they still made sure to inflict as much pain as possible.
Yugo would aim for the crotch and deliver a crushing kick.
Yuri would latch onto one of them and mercilessly try to scratch his face.
Yuto would just straight-up aim for anything vital (thank the internet for providing a young child the information on how to hit somebody bigger than you).
Unfortunately, as the fight only started after the bullies started calling them names, which at that point, caused Yuri to attack first. Because of this, all four brothers got suspended for a week, while the bullies had their parents called.
"Hah! I'll take a suspension! They deserved it!" Yuri said proudly as he sat in the nurse's office with his brothers, tissues being stuffed into his bleeding nose.
"Dad would understand, right?" Yuto asked as a large bandage was wrapped around his forehead, where he had obtained a large cut, and scalp-wounds like that bleed quite a lot, even if not serious.
"I'm sure he will! He's a duelist! It's his job to beat up bad people!" Yugo said as the nurse took out a cotton swab and started dabbing his left eye (which was completely purple and swollen to the point where Yugo couldn't open his eye) with a type of medicine that stung like mad when applied to Yugo's wounds.
Contrary to what they thought, their father wasn't exactly "proud"
They each turned completely silent as Yusho Sakaki looked at them with a serious gaze, each of them piling into the car in complete silence.
"So, what happened?" Yusho asked calmly.
Immediately, three different voices started drowning each other out.
"ThebullieswhoattackedYuyatriedtohurthimagainsowewalkedwithhimandwhentheyattackedwekickedtheirasses…"
"WewereprotectingYuyaandthenthesebulliesshowedupandtheyinsultedussoIwentfortheeyesbecauseiftheylosetheireyesitwillsuckevenmoreforthem…"
"WewereplanningtoonlyfightbackiftheythrewthefirstpunchbutthenYuriattackedfirstandtheentirethinggotworsefromtheresowejustwentwithit…"
Yuya remained silent the entire time, using his goggles to cover his eyes.
"Everyone, everyone!" Yusho exclaimed, promptly quieting the boys.
Yusho sighed. "What am I going to do with you all…" he sighed.
Yugo looked up sheepishly, "Are… are you mad at us…?" Yugo asked.
Yusho looked back at them and sighed.
"Yes, I am…" he admitted.
"But they deserved it!" Yuri said angrily.
"That doesn't matter… I'm not angry at you for protecting Yuya… I'm not even mad at all…" Yusho corrected himself, "I'm disappointed…" he sighed.
Everyone was silent.
"Violence should never be the first and only solution, especially when it comes to bullies…" Yusho explained, "Hatred only breeds more hatred, and by reacting this way, nothing has been solved…" he sighed.
Well, he wasn't wrong.
"I don't wanna hear about something like this again, do you hear me?" Yusho said sternly.
"Yes…" the boys said quietly.
"I'm sorry…" Yuya said softly.
"Don't apologize, I know you didn't do anything wrong, Yuya…" Yusho said softly.
Despite the injuries on Yuya, he had never fought back and had simply gotten injured in the crossfire.
Yuya still looked sad, however.
Yusho sighed and gave in.
"Hey, get your chin up," Yusho said with a kind smile, "Here, we'll stop and get some fast food on the way home…" he said.
For children at their age, fast-food was a godsend.
Yugo and his brothers instantly lit up, and Yuya nodded his head and removed his goggles, allowing a small puddle of tears to drop down onto his pants.
"Not for you three, you're being punished…" Yusho said sternly.
"Aw, what!?"
"Not fair!"
"Nooooo…"
Yusho laughed, "Oh, fine… I'll let you off the hook this time, but I better not hear about anything like this ever again, do you hear?" He said with a grin.
"Yes, dad!" Yuto said seriously.
"We promise!" Yugo said enthusiastically.
"Yeah yeah, less talking, more driving!" Yuri said loudly.
Yuya chuckled slightly, and Yugo remembered seeing Yusho smile.
Ever since then, Yuya's brothers continued to be at Yuya's side, protecting him.
Though, they refrained from getting into the elementary-school equivalent of a bloodbath anymore.
Occasionally the bullying would get more… physical. But even then, they shrugged it off and kept walking.
Eventually, the bullies got bored with them and left them alone. Though, they never did get any new friends in school due to their closely-knit, brotherly group… and Yuri's naturally-hostile reactions to new people.
But that entire time… it was always Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri being the strong big brothers that Yuya could rely on, no matter what.
So… when did that change…?
Back to the present…
In the preliminaries, Yuya was the reason they had won. Yugo and everybody else basically just got knocked around the whole time.
And even after doing their best to get stronger after that… Yuya still ended up being the most reliable of the four.
It wasn't that Yugo was upset about this… it's great that Yuya has gotten more and more confident… as well as strong enough to defend himself.
But he was the older brother… he shouldn't be relying on his little brother, especially for something like this.
This was his fight… it was for Rin.
It wouldn't mean anything if it wasn't Yugo who defeated him.
"Spiral Flame Strike!" Yuya started to yell.
"Wait!" Yugo yelled.
I'm injured… I don't have enough strength to defeat him…
"Huh? What?" Yuya quickly stopped his attack and looked back at Yugo.
I need strength… I need to win… I need to do this, for Rin…!
"Yuya… go back to the crystal…" Yugo said firmly, "I can handle this…"
Channel your rage…
Yugo's chest felt hot, and suddenly a wave of negative thoughts was flooding his mind.
What if I still lose…?
Damn that guy… I won't let him take Rin…
Rin's watching, right? I bet I look pathetic…
God, this pisses me off…!
Yuya stared right into Yugo's eyes.
"Alright, you can do this, okay?" Yuya gave in and ran off, jumping and flying towards the crystal he was supposed to defend.
Unleash…
Yuya landed in front of the crystal and shifted back to normal, before suddenly clutching his chest.
"W-What the…?" Yuya gasped.
Similar sensations shot through Yuto and Yuri as well.
"My chest…!" Yuto gasped.
"It's… hot…!" Yuri wheezed.
Jealousy can be a form of rage… use it…!
Yaiba got to his feet and picked up the remains of his blade. "Tch, I'll admit it, you got me there…" he grunted as he stuck the pieces back together, which caused the whole thing to start glowing and repair itself.
"What… what's happening…?" Yugo thought as the heat in his chest grew.
You are jealous, correct? You watch him flirting and hitting on the girl you like, it is only natural to be jealous…
A deep voice was booming in his head, and it wasn't a voice Yugo was familiar with.
Use those feelings… let them give you strength…
"Clear Wing… Synchro Dragon…" Yugo muttered as he crushed the white card in his hand.
A flash of white and the dragon now floated menacingly above the ground, growling deeply.
Yaiba instinctively took a step back.
"What the hell… I can't explain it, but this guy seems different…" Yaiba thought as he readied his blade.
Yugo suddenly roared, and at the same time, Yuto and Yuri did the same.
"What… is this feeling…?" Yuya gasped as he held his chest.
Each dragon's eyes were glowing as they roared, and it caused Yaiba, Hokuto, and Masumi to each step backward.
Suddenly, Clear Wing was right behind Yaiba.
"What the!?" Yaiba mentally panicked, "He wasn't this fast before-"
Yaiba was suddenly slammed into the ground, his head ruthlessly grabbed by Clear Wing and driven into the ground.
"Gah…!" Yaiba gasped.
He quickly recovered and swung his blade behind him to strike Yugo.
The sound of something shattering was heard, and Yaiba's eyes widened in disbelief.
He had indeed managed to hit Yugo, but the second he did, the blade shattered into pieces like glass.
"But that's…!" Yaiba tried to speak.
Suddenly, he was dragged through the ground before bursting out through the island, only to be thrown into another one floating nearby.
"Agh…!" Yaiba groaned, "What the hell… he wasn't nearly this durable, fast, and strong a moment ago…!" He groaned.
He didn't get to think on it for too long, as Clear Wing was suddenly flying at him, using Whirlwind Helldive Slasher.
With a roar, Clear Wing crashed into Yaiba and blew straight through the island, sending Yaiba flying into another one, where he landed with a loud thud.
Meanwhile, similar things were happening with Yuto and Yuri.
Dark Rebellion roared as it charged forward, electricity crackling around it and its fang.
Hokuto put up another barrier for protection, but in a single instant, Dark Rebellion's fang pierced through the barrier and continued straight for Hokuto.
And while that was happening, Starving Venom had sent purple vines of energy at Masumi, who had attempted to slash the vines away, only for the vines to instantly regenerate and restrain her as Starving Venom charged up a multitude of green beams of light.
With a synchronized roar, Yuto struck Hokuto and charged both of them onto an island. Yuri, meanwhile, let loose the countless dangerous beams, striking Masumi and blasting her high into the sky.
"My defenses… no way…!" Hokuto coughed.
"AGH!" Masumi yelled as she crashed into the invisible barrier that surrounded the arena and kept duelists from getting close to the spectators.
Yuya's eyes widened as he watched his brother's attacks increase in speed, power, and ferocity.
"Treason Discharge!"
"Ability Devour!"
"Dichroic Mirror!"
With each of these yells, each respective dragon unleashed the attack.
Purple Electricity shot towards Hokuto and bound him. Yuri's wings extended and shot towards Masumi, biting down on her monster's body and draining her abilities. And finally, Yugo's wings glowed bright green as he fired a large stream of white light at Yaiba, mercilessly blasting him.
"Hey…" Yuya said as he held his chest, "Hold on, isn't that a bit much…?" He gasped.
Suddenly, all three dragons roared into the sky as they began to glow.
All three roars seemed to resonate with each other, and the pain in Yuya's chest increased.
He felt a roar echo from within him. "O-Odd-Eyes…!?" Yuya gasped as he suddenly felt the urge to transform, but resisted it nonetheless.
Their friends watched similarly (except for Soul, who had opened one eye to observe).
"Hey, were they always this strong…?" Serena asked.
"Don't ask me…" Soul replied coldly.
Sora looked almost excited. "Woah… this is incredible…" he muttered.
Yaiba got to his feet and held what was left of his blade (the hilt, as well as about three inches of the sword).
"Damn it… don't think I'm just gonna lie down and take this…!" He growled, "Just you watch… I'll win… and then Rin will finally…" he gasped.
His sword started glowing, and in an instant, completely regenerated back to its full length.
Clear Wing growled in response, ready to attack once again.
Rin gazed at the arena in silence.
What was happening? Since when did Yugo fight like this?
"Hey, what's happening with Yuya?" Yuzu asked with worry in her eyes.
Yuya was leaning against the crystal for support as he held his chest, his breathing hard and ragged.
"Ah! Is my darling sick!?" Mieru exclaimed.
"He's not your darling!" Yuzu yelled.
Mieru stuck her tongue out at Yuzu, which prompted Yuzu to pull out her paper fan and start another scuffle with the small girl.
"Still… what's going on?" Ruri questioned, "I've never seen Yuto fight this ruthlessly…" she muttered.
"Yuri usually likes to be oppressive and cocky… and I can see him fighting like this…" Serena admitted, "But he's never had this much power behind him…" she pointed out.
"Maybe they just got mad for some reason…"
Everybody turned to the person that said that: Soul.
"What?" Soul asked, "Becoming stronger thanks to emotions… it isn't unheard of. Plenty of people can put more force into something if, say, incredibly angry or emotional…" he said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, but what reason would Yuto or Yuri have to be angry?" Gongenzaka pointed out.
Soul shrugged. "Who knows… I might be wrong, so who cares…" Soul sighed.
Rin stared at Yugo with worry in her eyes.
The usually bright and beautiful Clear Wing now felt more like dark and terrifying.
"Yugo…" Rin mumbled.
Suddenly, her bracelet started glowing faintly.
Not only hers, but Yuzu's bracelet, Serena's, and Ruri's each started to glow their respective colors.
Rin's glowed green, Yuzu's glowed pink, Serena's glowed blue, and Ruri's glowed yellow. Each light was faint, but it was still noticeable by their wearers.
"What the…" Rin muttered as she stared at the green shine.
"My bracelet, it's…" Yuzu said softly.
Ruri and Serena each similarly stared at their bracelets, each mesmerized by the light.
Suddenly, all four lights briefly increased in intensity before dying back down.
"Huh? What just…?" Soul muttered, "Why did it get so bright for a moment…?" He muttered as he rubbed his eyes.
"Hey, look!" Syrup suddenly pointed at the arena.
All three dragons were now completely still, and a wave of relief washed over Yuya's face.
Not only that but around each dragon was something strange.
Around Dark Rebellion, yellow feathers were floating around him, and he was covered in yellow light.
Above Starving Venom, was what looked like a miniature moon that floated above Yuri's head, and Starving Venom was covered in blue light.
Green wind was blowing around Clear Wing, and a green aura surrounded Yugo similarly to the lights around his brothers.
"What is this…?" Yuya wondered out loud as a pink aura surrounded him, along with pink flowers sprouting at his feet.
Suddenly, both Yuto and Yuri reverted to their normal forms, both of them holding their foreheads and wincing.
"What happened…?" Yuto muttered.
"Why do I feel like this is Yugo's fault…?" Yuri groaned.
Yugo, however, remained in his form as Clear Wing and shook his head as if he was snapping himself out of a daze.
"Agh… my head hurts…" He groaned.
The three brothers looked around at their surroundings until finally noticing their opponents, who were now getting back to their feet.
"Tch… that's it, no more playing around…" Masumi growled.
"Crap, Dark Rebellion!" Yuto yelled.
However, the card didn't appear in his hand.
"Huh?" Yuto gasped, "Dark Rebellion! Hey! Transform!" Yuto yelled again and again.
Again, nothing happened.
Yuto looked over at Yuri and was surprised to see that he was having the same problem.
"Starving Venom! Damn it, come on!" Yuri said as he waved his arm frustratingly.
Hokuto and Yaiba each charged at Yuto and Yuri respectively, and the brothers each jumped backward to dodge.
"Why can't I use my dragon!?" Yuto yelled.
"Try using something else!" Yuri yelled back.
Yuto and Yuri each landed and attempted to transform again, and a blue and purple card appeared in their respective hands.
"Rend them! The Phantom Knights of Break Sword!" Yuto yelled.
"Come! Predaplant Chimerafflesia!" Yuri declared.
In a flash, they each transformed into a different Xyz and Fusion monster respectively. Yuto taking the form of an empty suit of black armor with blue flames forming the body within, though the monster lacked a head. He was also riding a horse that, just like Yuto's form, was made entirely out of black armor and blue flames from within.
Yuri, meanwhile, transformed into a monster that happened to be a part of Yuri's favorite species: A plant. His entire body was made up of green vines and roots, along with a beautiful top of pink petals, but a menacing eye in the middle. To top it all off, he had what looked like venus flytraps for arms.
"So we can transform into other monsters, but not our dragons…!?" Yuto exclaimed.
Yuto quickly held up his sword, which happened to be quite obviously broken, but still a good length, which provided the question of just how long was that sword originally? Either way, it functioned the way it was supposed to function and blocked an attack from Hokuto, who was still transformed into Messier 7.
Yuri in the meantime raised his "arms" and fired multiple blasts of purple liquid. It was a powerful venom that would weaken anybody hit by it tremendously, but it was also easy for someone like Masumi, who was transformed into Lady Dia, to dodge.
"Crap… they won't be able to hold out for long if they're stuck fighting like that…!" Yuya panicked.
He quickly transformed into Odd-Eyes and leaped from the island to help his brothers, leaving Timegazer and Stargazer to guard the crystal.
However, after only one jump, Yuya suddenly fell to the ground, out of breath.
"What the… I feel so sluggish…!" Yuya gasped as he forced himself back to his feet and kept running.
"What happened? Why aren't Yuto and Yuri using their dragons?" Syrup asked.
"Yeah, and Yuya looks slow for some reason…" Sora pointed out.
The girls glanced at each other, and then their bracelets.
What just happened, and was it their fault?
Yugo, however, remained in his form as Clear Wing, and instead of losing energy like what had seemingly happened to his brothers… he felt better than ever!
"Whoa, what the heck…" Yugo started to speak.
"Take this!"
Yugo quickly snapped out of his trance and raised Clear Wing's arms, blocking Yaiba's slash.
This time, however, Yaiba's sword didn't break.
Yugo quickly flew backward, escaping Yaiba's range and making it so Yaiba was now chasing after him.
"Hey! Get back here, damn it!" Yaiba yelled angrily.
"I don't remember what happened… but Yaiba got pretty banged up somehow…" Yugo muttered as he weaved past a floating island and dodging another one of Yaiba's slashes. "I might be able to take him down now…!" He realized.
In one way, he was right. But he soon found out that it wasn't that easy.
Yaiba's attacks were as fast as ever, even if he was injured. "Fine, then I'll outrange him!" Yugo declared as his wings glowed. "Dichroic Shower!" He yelled as countless green lasers fired from his wings, going up before curving back down and flying at Yaiba.
Yaiba held up his blade and parried countless beams before suddenly swinging his blade and deflecting one at Yugo, which Yugo barely managed to dodge.
"Damn, he's more focused… is he having an adrenaline rush?" Yugo thought as he dodged yet another slash from Yaiba, who had jumped up to attack but was just out of range.
"In that case…!" Yugo grunted as he flew backward and stopped, waiting for Yaiba to attack.
"Take this! Cross Slash!" Yaiba yelled as he jumped at Yugo.
"Now!" Yugo yelled as he began to spin around, green wind blowing around him, "Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" He yelled.
Both monsters clashed. Yaiba's blade against, well, Yugo's head.
"GRAAAAAAGH!" Yugo roared, his attack increasing in intensity and blowing through Yaiba.
Yaiba, despite having taken Yugo's strongest move, landed on an island and remained standing.
"Damn it… is Helldive Slasher not enough!?" Yugo exclaimed.
He looked up and saw Yuya, who had finally reached the area where Yuto and Yuri were desperately defending.
Yuya gasped for air but raised his head regardless. "Spiral… Flame Strike!" He gasped as he fired a stream of spiraling flames at Masumi.
But even Yugo could tell that the attack was weaker than normal. Was it exhaustion? But how was Yuya exhausted? He had been guarding the crystal this entire time.
Either way, Yuya was now multitasking by trying to support both Yuto and Yuri at a distance. Eventually, however, either Hokuto or Masumi would break past and charge at the crystal.
If Yugo were to join, however, he would be able to charge at the opposing crystal while Hokuto and Masumi remained pinned down by the other three brothers.
But if he left Yaiba, not only would it question the validity of the agreement, but Yaiba would likely take this chance to dash at the crystal that Yuya had only left guarded by spirits.
So, he only had one choice, didn't he?
"Yaiba! I'm taking you down, right here!" Yugo declared.
Yugo spun around as he charged at Yaiba again with another Helldive.
"Gather your emotions… think of Rin!" Yugo yelled in his mind, "Think about her! Turn your feelings into strength! Go all out, damn it!"
"WHIRLWIND HELLDIVE SLASHER!" Yugo screamed as he flew at Yaiba.
"Take this, my strongest attack!" Yaiba yelled, "Triple-X Punishing Slash!" He yelled as he swung his sword, which now glowed with golden light.
Clear Wing roared as the two attacks connected, clashing dramatically.
Yugo felt a surge of adrenaline hit him as he pushed against Yaiba's attack, which was ridiculously stubborn.
Yugo suddenly felt a sharp pain at the top of his head, where he had collided with Yaiba's blade.
"Crap… I'm being pushed back…!" Yugo thought as he felt his body move slightly backward against Yaiba's attack. "Damn it, don't think about that! Think about Rin! Keep going! Break your limits, go even faster!" He screamed inside his head.
Clear Wing suddenly started to glow bright white, it's wings shining an even brighter shade of green, and even turning lighter to the point where it was almost white.
Yugo roared as his power surged, suddenly beginning to push back against Yaiba.
Yaiba responded in kind, increasing the force in his attack and yelling at the top of his lungs.
Suddenly, images started to flash through Yugo's head.
He saw Clear Wing, and a monster he had unlocked during his time at school.
Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice.
Behind the two monsters was the silhouette of another dragon, its eyes gleaming bright yellow.
"I get it…!" Yugo exclaimed, "So this is how Synchro works!" He exclaimed.
An orange light suddenly shot from Clear Wing's chest and flew around in a circle before stopping above Yugo.
The light shattered, and for a brief moment, the dice monster appeared before suddenly glowing once more and changing into a small orb of white light.
The orb of light burst and a green ring suddenly appeared around Yugo.
"What the!?" Yaiba yelled, "Are you serious!? You're tuning, at a time like this!? Don't mess with me!" Yaiba yelled.
Yugo felt his focus reach even greater heights as he felt a surge of energy course through him. "I tune Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Come to me, my new power!" Yugo yelled.
A pillar of light erupted around him, surrounding him and blowing Yaiba away.
"W-W-What's this!? Yugo Sakaki... is he…" Nico commentated.
Melissa interrupted him. "He's performing a Tuning in the middle of a battle!" She yelled.
"Hey, isn't tuning a delicate process?" Serena asked.
Rin had a surprised look on her face. "Yeah, it is…" Rin replied, "When I first tuned my monsters for Winter Bell, I had to be completely focused the entire time…" she explained.
Ruri could remember the day Rin first obtained Winter Bell. If she remembered it correctly, Rin had put on noise-canceling earmuffs and spent the entire day in her room. Apparently, she had done it about twenty times before she lost count, and when she finally managed to do it successfully, she looked outside and saw that the morning had suddenly turned to almost evening.
Of course, it was her first time trying, and it was common for the first time to take a while. But Yugo's only Synchro monster at this point was Clear Wing, which he had obtained right off the bat.
"Wings that shine with holy light, envelope my body, and strike down my enemies!" Yugo chanted, "Come forth! Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!"
The light vanished, and Yugo was still transformed into Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, but a white card floated in front of him.
With a roar, Yugo chomped down on the card in front of him, shattering the glowing card and causing a flash of white light to envelope him once more.
Even when the light dissipated, Yugo still looked like he was glowing.
Blinding white light shone off of the new dragon's form. It resembled Clear Wing, but its wings were larger and made up of large white crystals that exuded a divine light that illuminated the entire stadium.
"Who cares if you have a new form!?" Yaiba declared as he held his sword up, which was still glowing, "This attack strikes twice!" He yelled.
Yugo roared, and suddenly, he was gone.
"Wha!?" Yaiba exclaimed as he looked up.
Yugo had flown up and had moved faster than Yaiba's eyes could perceive.
And not only that but immediately after Yugo reached a certain altitude, he made a sharp turn and went down at an angle.
This happened again and again, and even everybody else who was fighting stopped and stared.
Yugo's turns had no curve, he was switching directions immediately, and not losing any speed either.
"W-What, how is he so fast!?" Yaiba yelled.
Wind started to swirl around Crystal Wing as it started to go faster and faster, "Take this, Yaiba!" Yugo yelled as he flew through the sky.
"Bring it on!" Yaiba yelled.
Yugo flew up again, and in a flash of light, changed directions and flew straight at Yaiba, wind swirling around him as he cut through the sky.
"Crystallos, Edge of the Gale!"
Spikes suddenly appeared on Yugo's wings as he charged at Yaiba, who was swinging his blade to counter Yugo's attack.
In a single instant, Yugo blew past Yaiba, shattering his sword and blowing through Yaiba.
And with a single roar from Crystal Wing, an explosion erupted around Yaiba, and he fell backward, reverting to his human form as he fell unconscious.
"Crap, the crystal…!" Masumi exclaimed as she jumped away from Yuri and dashed for her crystal.
A flash of light from Yugo, and another flash of light from Masumi, who had drawn her sword and taken a defensive stance.
"Masumi!" Hokuto yelled as he tried to assist her, only to have his path blocked by Yuto, who jumped in front of him and attacked him with a rush of attacks.
"Go! Yugo!" Yuto yelled.
"Don't mess it up, Fusion!" Yuri yelled.
"I keep telling you, damn it…" Yugo growled as he charged at Masumi and the crystal.
Wind flew around Yugo as he flew forward.
"MY NAME IS YUGO!" He declared as he blew past Masumi and the crystal.
In a single instant, a thin line appeared in the center of the crystal.
With that single line, that single crack.
The crystal split in two, before it's remains shattered into pieces.
The crowd cheered as Yugo landed and skidded to a halt, rearing his head and roaring to the sky.
"They did it! They won!" Syrup exclaimed.
Rin let out a sigh of relief as she leaned back into her seat.
"They won…" she sighed.
Hokuto reverted to normal and threw something against the ground in frustration as the islands began to glow and descend back to the ground, returning the stadium to normal.
In a flash of light, Yugo returned to his human form and collapsed onto the ground. "Hah… hah… man, I'm exhausted…" He sighed.
Suddenly, he felt Yuya tackle him as Yuto and Yuri walked over, both of them clapping their hands.
"That was incredible, Yugo!" Yuya exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah… don't let it get to your head, Yugo…" Yuri said with a small smile.
"Congrats, this win is thanks to you, Yugo," Yuto said as he patted him on the back.
When Yugo didn't answer, each of them looked at Yugo in confusion.
He was asleep, completely passed out.
"Aha… aha!" Yuya laughed.
Yuto chuckled as well. "Good work, Yugo…" he said softly.
Bonus Scene (Teaching!):
Rin: Hey everyone! Sorry, there's no bonus scene today, so instead, we're here to teach you all about something in our world!
Yugo: Are we sure this is a good idea?
Rin: Of course it is! It's like the Taisho Secrets in Demon Slayer, or previews for the next episode that's done in other anime!
Yugo: But this isn't an anime… this is a fanfiction…
Rin: Hush! We're already breaking the fourth wall right now, no need to shatter it completely!
Yugo: Okay, okay!
Rin: Now that we have that out of the way… Mr. Yugo and I are gonna talk about something briefly mentioned in this chapter… Accel Boost!
Yugo: Like the Accel Synchro from 5ds, right?
Rin: Yes! Though they aren't the same thing.
Yugo: Well, duh! We transform here, we don't summon monsters (except for Yuya and anybody else who uses pendulum or servant spirits…)
Rin: Now then, Accel Boost is a phenomenon exclusive to duelists that use Synchro Monsters, and it pretty much requires a D-Wheel.
Yugo: Yeah! You see, if you transform into a Synchro Monster while moving at a ridiculous level of speed, you get a huge boost in power for a little bit!
Rin: More specifically… Accel Boost improves the user's strength, power, speed, durability…
Yugo: Everything, basically!
Rin: Well, if you put it lightly- wait, Yugo, how do you know about this? Don't you sleep in like, every class?
Yugo: Hey! So does Yuya!
Rin: Don't use your little brother as an excuse! I was sure that you were passed out in the middle of class when we learned this!
Yugo: Hey! I can pay attention when I want to!
Rin: You mean you can pay attention when it interests you…
Yugo: Exactly! Wait- hey! No! That's not true!
Rin: …
Yugo: Hey! Don't give me that face! Come on! Please! That face hurts me emotionally!
Rin: Ignoring Yugo… every monster type has a special ability that is exclusive to them, except for standard monsters!
Yugo: Yeah! Even pendulum has one! Remember back in the preliminaries when Yuya did something called "Eternal Pendulum"?
Rin: Yes, that's Pendulum's unique ability. Once a day, a pendulum-user can heal all of their wounds and return them to peak condition, while also giving them a large power-up!
Yugo: Specifically, it lets them bring out more than just two spirits to help them. But it can only be used once a day, so it should be used sparingly!
Rin: Wait, shouldn't we have let Yuya and Yuzu explain this since they're the pendulum users?
Yugo: Ah, crap! Sorry, Yuya!
Rin: Well, I think that's enough for today…
Yugo: Alright! I can't wait for the next chapter!
Rin: And why is that, Yugo?
Yugo: Um… well… ah! Cut the feed, cut the feed!
Rin: We'll see you all next time! Now, get over here Yugo! I have some questions for you!
Yugo: EEK!
End
This chapter… is ridiculously larger than I thought it would be.
Turns out, shoving the entirety of a fight into a single chapter is a recipe for a chapter that has like, 12000 freaking words.
But at the same time, it wasn't worth it to cut the fight in half and put one half in this chapter and another in the next, because just one half of this fight isn't enough for a full chapter, and then I would be stuck with the next chapter, which I wouldn't be able to end immediately after the fight, because it would be too short!
Either way, you guys can have fun with this abnormally long chapter now, because while I did have fun writing this… it was tiring.
I'm more used to writing duels in the card game, and not actual full-on fights.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter… and you'll be getting teaching sessions from the characters now and then to explain certain things that are briefly mentioned in the chapters now… kind of like the Taisho Secrets in Demon Slayer.
Now, if you don't mind, I am gonna go hibernate…