Chapter 17: Destiny
"Brave Claw Revolution!"
It was an easy fight, especially since Reiji didn't even need to do anything.
Right from the start of the match, Shun had taken off and annihilated the entirety of the opposing team, along with the crystal.
Now, who were fighting next…
The Yu-Boys, as he was now going to call them for short, had won their match beforehand, and they had their match immediately afterward.
Now let's see… somebody named Kaito had chosen to fight alone, and he was up next. This normally wouldn't worry him… but he had been a complete monster in the preliminaries, and even if you hadn't seen the clips of him, you could get a first-hand account of his strength from the mountain of students he had crushed.
Luckily for them, they weren't going to cross paths with the boy anytime soon. Therefore, the plan could continue smoothly.
Well, whether it was a plan at all was still up in the air.
All he knew was that his father was planning something terrible… and it relied heavily on one of four certain individuals winning the tournament.
Yuya Sakaki, Yuto Sakaki, Yugo Sakaki, and Yuri Sakaki.
From what he could tell… the brothers had no involvement with Leo's plan, at least, not knowingly.
In the meantime, however, he would keep tabs on his "sisters" and the boys, since they were key pieces in this game.
"So? What do you think of that?" Yugo declared.
Rin stood next to Yugo, who was standing firm while facing Yaiba.
Yaiba sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah yeah, I get it…" he sighed.
Yugo raised an eyebrow in doubt.
"Hey, don't give me that look! I know when to admit defeat!" Yaiba defended himself.
"So… you'll leave me alone now…?" Rin asked.
"If… if that's what you want, I guess…" Yaiba sighed, "you can go ahead and be with her, Yugo…" he said in defeat.
Yugo's face flushed red. "W-What do you mean by that!?" He exclaimed as his face rose in temperature.
"What, isn't that what happens when you win?" Yaiba tilted his head.
"N-No! She gets a choice if I win, that's all!" Yugo yelled as he tried to cover his face.
"A choice?" Yaiba questioned.
Rin gulped, it was bound to happen eventually.
Yugo was trying to hide his face, but Rin could tell that he was looking at her through the small cracks in his fingers.
I mean, you did kiss him earlier…
"Why do feelings have to be so complicated…" Rin thought as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face.
She suddenly noticed Serena, who was standing nearby, but out of sight from Yugo and Yaiba.
She saw Serena mouth some words at her.
"Just say what your heart wants, it's your choice"
What does her heart want…?
In her heart, she would feel rapid beating every time she was around Yugo. She would feel happier, cheerier, and all in all, better.
Just because of his presence.
But at the same time, the thought of being in a relationship at this time…
Her heart fluttered at the thought… but it also shuddered in nervousness.
The answer… it was clear.
"Nobody!" Rin said with a smile.
"Huh?" Yugo said as he stared at her.
"As if I'm just going to choose somebody, right here and now!" She said with a soft smile, "I don't feel ready for a relationship yet, and I don't have to be in one if I don't want to be in one…" she explained.
She turned and looked right into Yugo's eyes, her amber eyes meeting his blue eyes.
"Maybe one day, though…" she said with a smile.
It felt like a cool and gentle breeze had just washed over Yugo… but they were indoors, so how?
Rin turned on her heel and walked away, a smile on her face while Yugo still processed what had just happened.
Rin turned the corner and promptly collapsed against the wall, her heart beating a mile a minute.
She felt satisfied with the answer she had come to. She was sure that if she had asked Yugo out, this feeling of satisfaction wouldn't exist.
Of course, there was the fear that Yugo might be taken from her because she chose to wait… but this was her decision to make.
Maybe one day, though…
"Come on, guys! Dinner's on Yuto!" Yuri called as they left the building.
"Wait WHAT!? Hey, no! I'm broke!" Yuto yelled desperately.
"What, does that mean you're gonna make you're younger brothers pay?" Yuri taunted.
"Urk…!" Yuto groaned as Yuri played the "you're-the-oldest card" on him.
"Or are you gonna make one of the girls pay?" Yuri continued.
"HNGH!" Yuto nearly fell to one knee as Yuri pulled at his gentlemanly-side.
"Guys, I have a lot of money saved up, so maybe I should…" Yuya started to speak up.
"No"
"Absolutely not"
"Huh!?" Yuya exclaimed as both Yuto and Yuri shot him down at the same time. "Why not!?"
"Because you will never, and I mean NEVER, have to lose money because of us…" Yuri growled.
"As the little brother, you have this privilege…" Yuto said with a serious look on his face that was too cool for the situation.
"Wow… talk about favoritism among siblings… and it's for the same sibling as well…" Soul muttered.
Yuri's favorite: Yuya
Yugo's favorite: Yuya
Yuto's favorite: Yuya
Yugo suddenly ran up to them, rejoining the group with Rin following closely behind.
"Guys, wait up!" He yelled as he caught up to them, gasping for air while Rin casually walked up.
"Oh good, just in time… Fusion…" Yuri said deviously.
"MY NAME IS NOT FUSION, IT'S-" Yugo started to yell.
"Whoever's not paying, NOT PAYING!" Yuri suddenly yelled.
It was like a bolt of lightning shot through everybody's skulls, causing them either to act out the next few seconds on either instinct or desperation.
"NOT PAYING!"
Everybody except Yugo yelled those words simultaneously, most of them did it out of desperation for their wallets, while Yuya did it instinctively.
"Wait, what?" Yugo tilted his head.
"Well well well… I guess we know who's treating us to dinner, then!" Yuri said as an evil smile spread across his face.
Realization spread across Yugo's face, as well as a sense of dread.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Sora had taken his leave immediately after the matches ended, and said that he would be back at the hotel soon.
After that, he promptly turned a corner and entered an alleyway.
A hooded figure was waiting there for him.
"So, what happens now, teach?" Sora asked.
"Teach?" The hooded figure questioned.
"Oh, don't underestimate me…" Sora grinned, "I may not know who you are, but I found out that you're a teacher…" he explained.
"For the sake of the mission, I suggest you refrain from 'learning' anything else…" the hooded figure warned.
"Yeah yeah, I was just curious, that's all…" Sora pouted.
A mask was covering the hooded figure's face, making it impossible to even imagine the person's face thanks to the combination of the darkness of the alley, the black and edgy hood, and the apparently dark-blue mask.
"Do you have what we need?" The hooded figure asked.
Sora grinned and pulled out a small flash drive from his pocket. "Of course I do, who do you think I am?" He asked.
"A sugar-crazed student that just so happens to be useful to Academia, that's what…" The hooded figure said coldly.
Sora pouted. "Damn, you don't have to be so cold, though…" he said with a playful pout.
The man scoffed, "You should get going now… and remember to take cover when it starts to rain…" the man said cryptically.
Sora understood and nodded, "Yes sir!" He said with an enthusiastic smile.
"A-All of this… is coming out of my wallet…?" Yugo gulped.
Yuri had specifically chosen a fairly expensive place, just to spite Yugo.
Yugo could practically feel his wallet growing lighter as he stared at the menu of expensive food.
Normally, they'd never be able to afford this… but because they were students and members of the tournament, they got a massive 75% discount on everything (much to Yugo's happiness, and Yuri's frustration).
Yugo's wallet was still going to suffer, regardless.
Yuya's appetite knew no bounds, and neither did Yugo's appetite. Yuto would probably stay on the reasonable side, but Yuri was probably going to get as much as he could fit into his stomach just so Yugo's wallet could die.
Yuzu, Ruri, and Rin were each ordering about medium portions, which meant that they were taking full advantage of the free meal since they usually ordered small.
Serena, on the other hand, was eating just like Yuri, but not because she was being mean to him… it was because she was a freaking gorilla that ate everything in sight.
Serena suddenly glared at him, and Yugo jumped back in fear. "Can she read minds now!? Is she a psychic gorilla!?" He panicked inside his head.
Serena could not read minds, but she could instinctively tell when Yugo was thinking something about her that she didn't like. Unfortunately, she wasn't allowed to slug him because of thoughts she couldn't hear.
Thank god that Syrup and Soul decided to leave upon seeing the place, both of them staring at Yugo with a look of pity in their eyes.
Yuya looked at Yugo with a sympathetic look. "If you can't afford the bill, we can split it…" he whispered.
You see, this right here, is why Yuya was Yugo's favorite.
The table was eventually completely covered in different plates, and Yugo was grateful for Yuya's hospitality because he would NOT be able to afford this.
"Wait, everybody shut up for a second…" Serena suddenly hissed.
Everyone's heads tilted as they turned to face whatever Serena was staring at.
"Holy shit…"
"So the rumors are true…"
They did NOT expect to see their teacher, Yuma, walk-in with the assistant teacher, Kotori.
Ruri (who was a sucker for romance stories) suddenly gushed. "Aww! Are they finally a thing?" She asked.
"Let's not make any unnecessary assumptions…" Yuto coughed.
"Crap, guys! It would be super awkward if they knew that they had students here…!" Ruri suddenly hissed.
"Crap, you're right… I don't want to be the awkward factor in a date…" Yuri hissed.
"Don't worry, I come prepared for every situation…" Serena said as she pulled something out of her bag.
…
It was just Yuma treating her to dinner, as a form of apology for the stunt he had pulled earlier that day.
It was, by no means, a date.
Nope.
No way.
Not like she would date him, anyways.
The fancy clothing was just a formality.
Why was his heart beating so fast? Did he have a heart condition!?
Fuck it, Kattobingu all the way!
"Yuma, your heart rate is abnormally high! If it rises much higher, you will need immediate medical assistance!" Astral exclaimed from inside his head.
"Oh fuck, seriously?" Yuma panicked inside his head.
"Yuma are you okay?"
Yuma looked down at the green-haired woman, who was wearing a very… well… oomph, that dress is beautiful on her…
Wait, what?
They quickly found a seat and buried their faces in the menus, hiding their faces in embarrassment.
"So, uhh… what do you think…?" Kotori suddenly asked.
"Huh? Think of what?" Yuma asked.
"Well… of me…?" Kotori clarified.
"Oh shit… okay, Yuma Tsukumo… think fast, and talk smart…!" Yuma thought frantically.
"Well, you're definitely really important to me…" Yuma said quietly.
Kotori looked up from her menu.
"You're an important frie-"
Right before Yuma made a horrible mistake that he realized he was doing as the words started to escape his lips, a loud bang was heard from the table behind them.
"Don't Fucking say something as dumb as that…!"
"Ruri, be quiet! And don't curse!"
"I never thought I would hear Ruri of all people, curse…"
"She gets heated when it comes to her ships…"
"Wait a minute…" Yuma muttered as he leaned over and looked at the people at the table.
Eight people were crammed into the booth, and they were wearing… funny disguise glasses?
"Oh, uhh… good evening, good sir!" The green-haired girl started speaking in a forced British accent, "How may we help you?" She asked.
"What kind of accent was that!?"
"Shut up, shut up!"
Yuma's eyebrow twitched as he could hear the whispers.
On top of that, disguise glasses are never useful.
"Hello, Sakaki's and Kurosaki's…" Yuma groaned.
"I TOLD YOU THESE WOULDN'T WORK!" Yuri screamed as he threw the disguise glasses at the ground.
"I have BEEN SCAMMED!" Serena screamed, doing the same thing as Yuri.
"How much money did you spend on gag glasses of all things!?" Yuto exclaimed.
"TOO MUCH!" Serena shot back.
It was going to be a long night…
"I'm just saying, it could be a good idea!" Ruri exclaimed.
"No, definitely not, no way!" Yuzu shot back.
"Come on, it'll be fun!" Ruri pouted.
"Serena, help me out here!" Yuzu begged.
"I honestly couldn't care less, Yuzu…" Serena deadpanned.
"Serena!" Yuzu cried.
The boys didn't hear the rest of the conversation, as the girls had entered their room at that moment, leaving whatever they were talking about a mystery.
"By the way, Yugo… where did you get the riding suit?" Yuya asked.
"Oh, this?" Yugo looked down at his suit.
It had gotten pretty dirty… no thanks to the match earlier. Thankfully, it could be washed just like anything else, according to Rin.
"Rin made it for me…" Yugo said with a smile.
"Oh?" Yuri raised an eyebrow, "What, did she give it to you and then confess?" Yuri asked.
"C-Confess!?" Yugo exclaimed.
His memory shifted to the kiss on the cheek he received, and his face turned red.
"N-No… I don't think anything like that is gonna happen anytime soon…" Yugo sighed.
Yuto stared at him for a moment, before letting out a long sigh.
"Alright… a full explanation, please?" Yuto asked.
Yugo explained the entire situation to them.
"Ah, so that's why you wanted to fight with that Yaiba guy so much…" Yuya muttered.
"Yeah, well… I guess it ended well, and I got a new power as well…" Yugo sighed.
"Oh yeah! Hey, what the heck was that, by the way!?" Yuri suddenly exclaimed.
"We can talk about Yugo's new power after we finish this topic…" Yuto said sternly, much to Yuri's displeasure.
"You do realize that she technically never turned you down, right?" Yuya asked.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"I mean… she just said that she wasn't ready yet, right?" Yuya continued, "What if you wait for something like, I dunno, a school dance before you ask her?" Yuya asked.
Yugo put his hands on Yuya's shoulders.
"Yuya… have I ever told you that you're a genius?" He asked.
"Please… wake up…"
Syrup opened her eyes in surprise, quickly scanning her surroundings.
It was a large and beautiful field. Grass stretched on for miles, and the grass was the most brilliant shade of green that she had ever seen. Upon further inspection, there were also countless flowers of every color littered about the scenery, along with large purple mountains with white tips in the distance.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Syrup jumped in surprise as she turned and saw a small girl sitting at her side. "Ah! Who are you!?" She exclaimed.
The girl giggled, "What, you don't remember me?" She asked.
Syrup's eyes widened.
She recognized the girl, but not from her memories… from Soul's.
"You're… Cahya…!" Syrup gasped.
A dream, this had to be a dream.
"Well, you aren't wrong!" The girl said cheerfully.
"Did… did you just read my mind…?" Syrup asked.
"In a way, yes…" Cahya replied nonchalantly.
Cahya turned and looked out at the scenery that expanded out in front of them. "This is your mind… I came here so that we could speak…" Cahya explained.
"So we could… wait, aren't you dead?" Syrup asked.
Cahya didn't respond.
"Hey… can you answer me…?" Syrup asked kindly.
Cahya gave her a sad look. "My brother blames himself for what happened to me… and no matter what I do, I can't get him to listen when I try to talk to him…" she said sadly.
"Wait, talk to him!?" Syrup exclaimed, "Wait wait wait… this is too much! Explain, please!" She said loudly.
Cahya giggled, "I'm sorry, I don't have enough time to explain everything in detail…" she said apologetically, "but I promise that I'm here to help… listen, just focus on getting rid of the seal on my brother, and I'll handle things from there…" Cahya said.
Cahya suddenly started to glow, and the scenery around them was starting to vanish. On top of that, Syrup suddenly felt a wave of fatigue washing over her.
"This isn't just a dream… when you wake up, you'll be able to tell…"
…
Syrup shot out of bed with a start, breathing heavily.
"What… what was that…?" She gasped.
So much had just happened, and way too quickly for her to process it properly.
But… there was something in her hand that was glowing faintly… and it wasn't something that was there before.
She seemed to instinctively know what it was.
Later that night, Yuya remembered his conversation with Kachidoki.
This prompted him to quickly go down to the training rooms and look for the one that Kachidoki told him to meet him in.
Upon opening the door, the long-haired boy was sitting in the middle of the room, his legs crossed.
"Ah, you're here…" Kachidoki said as Yuya entered the room.
"Y-Yeah… did you need anything?" Yuya asked nervously.
Kachidoki stood up and stared right into Yuya's eyes. "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon, how long can you use him for?" He said promptly.
"Oh! Uh… about two seconds…" Yuya said sheepishly.
Kachidoki nodded, "Hm… that's better than I thought it would be…" he muttered.
"Huh?" Said Yuya.
Kachidoki walked over to him and looked him dead in the eyes.
"If you want to win in this tournament, you're going to need Odd-Eyes Rebellion," Kachidoki said sternly, "therefore, I am taking it upon myself to make sure that you get strong enough to maintain that form as easily as anything else in your arsenal!" He declared.
"H-Huh!?" Yuya exclaimed, "W-What do you… I mean, why now!?" He exclaimed.
"During the preliminaries, you managed to defeat me spectacularly…" Kachidoki said as he turned and walked towards the other side of the room, "however, if not for Rebellion, you would have lost, correct?" He asked.
Yuya nodded sheepishly.
"The reason you cannot use Rebellion consistently is due to your weakness," Kachidoki said harshly, "You might be able to use that power when in a pinch, or perhaps in a moment of extreme emotion… but you should not rely on that," he said as he tapped the wall, bringing up a screen.
"From now on, every night, I am going to train you until that dragon of yours will have no choice but to come out at your command!" He declared.
As he said that, the room began to glow and change, now taking the appearance of a large and grassy plain.
"W-Wait, every day!?" Yuya exclaimed, "B-But I haven't even said yes…" he tried to say.
"Do you mean to say that you wish to stay this way!?" Kachidoki yelled, "Your principles of entertaining the crowd will not carry any weight if your opponent is stronger than you!" He declared.
"Yuya Sakaki, I hold immense respect for you," Kachidoki said as a purple card appeared in front of him, "therefore, I shall train you until no matter what I do, I would stand no chance against you!" He yelled.
Kachidoki jumped and kicked the purple card in front of him, shattering it and causing him to transform.
"Shura the Supremacy Star!" He yelled.
Yuya quickly transformed as well. "Come! Odd-Eyes!" He yelled.
"Wrong monster!" Kachidoki yelled as his transformation finished, immediately charging at Yuya, "Bring out Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!" He yelled as he thrusted his spear at the red dragon Yuya had transformed into.
The spear collided with Yuya's skull, and Yuya felt himself go flying backward.
But the attack didn't carry as much weight and power as they did in the preliminaries, which confused Yuya as he got to his feet.
Kachidoki stretched his arm as he walked towards Yuya. "It seems that, for some reason, I cannot use the same level of power as I did in the preliminaries…" he said calmly, "but that may be for the best since that same power was also destroying me…" he explained.
Regardless, Kachidoki was a strong opponent, and it didn't look like he was letting Yuya leave.
"Move forward and become stronger! Yuya!" Kachidoki yelled as he jumped into the air, twirling his spear.
"Come, Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!" Yuya yelled.
For a brief moment, Yuya's strongest dragon erupted out of blue and green light, flying upward to clash with Kachidoki.
However, the form suddenly vanished, and Yuya was back in the form of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon once more.
Kachidoki's spear struck Yuya down once again, and Yuya struggled to get up this time.
"Two seconds, not even long enough to unleash a single attack…" Kachidoki scolded, "However, I promise you that by the end of this, that fact will change!" He declared.
Yuya grunted as he got to his feet, "Hah… okay, okay… bring it on…!" Yuya gasped.
"Hey, look at that…" Yugo said as he, Yuto, and Yuri scanned the brackets for the tournament.
"There's a loser's bracket here, meaning that even if we lose, we'll still be in the tournament…" Yuto muttered.
"That's not an excuse to lose since being in the loser's bracket will make things harder in the long run…" Yuri pointed out.
Those who are in the losers bracket would have to fight one extra match. The normal brackets for the team duels consisted of three matches before you would get to proceed to the next stage of the tournament.
If you lose in any of these duels, however, you are shoved down into the losers bracket, which functioned the same, but only gave the chance to continue forward to one team, and if you lost in the losers, you were out for good.
"Who are we fighting next, then?" Yugo asked.
"Let's see… we're fighting a team of two called… the Amazon Sisters…?" Yuto mumbled.
"Ooh, they're quite attractive, aren't they?" Yuri teased as he looked at the picture of the team members, revealing twin sisters that looked almost identical, except one had blonde hair and a kind face, while the other had white hair and a cold face.
"They come from Academia, so we should be careful," Yuto said cautiously.
"What about the girls, then?" Yugo asked.
"The girls are fighting… a team from Sector…" Yuto sighed.
"What's with the sigh?" Yuri said with a raised eyebrow.
"It's just like their last match with Obelisk Force… it's four people with completely identical uniforms and everything…" Yuto explained.
"Well then, they should have no problem with them…" Yuri said nonchalantly.
At that moment, the door opened, and an exhausted Yuya walked inside.
"Hey, where have you been?" Yuto asked.
"Kachidoki… he was training me…" Yuya sighed before collapsing on the ground, asleep.
"Ah, so that's what he wanted with Yuya…" Yugo said half-mindedly.
"Speaking of training, we should probably do the same…" Yuto said as he shoved the bracket information into a drawer and stood up.
"HUH!?" Yuya exclaimed, "But… I'm tired…!" Yuya whined.
"Listen, we hardly ever do this as a full group, you're coming along!" Yugo said as he dragged Yuya out of the room, Yuto and Yuri following from behind.
"You still need to practice using Crystal Wing, Yugo…"
"One of these days, I'm gonna be strong enough to completely crush all of you, so look forward to that!"
"Yuri, shut up…"
Syrup stared at the brackets and gulped.
If they won the next match, and the boys won their match as well.
They would be facing off.
It might be perfect. Her plan was finally coming together.
So, going to an adult for help would likely just shut Soul off completely, so that was out of the question.
In the end, Soul himself needed to accept his power.
But since he couldn't control it, undoing the seal would undoubtedly cause him to lose control, and if he hurt anybody because of it, everything would go to waste.
That's why somebody would need to keep Soul's body occupied while she helped Soul to control his power.
How she was going to do that… was something she didn't know.
The dream she had the night before was real… she could remember every detail, and not only that, but she had physical proof of the encounter, somehow.
A small key that fits in the palm of her hand and radiated a soft and constant glow.
It was for the seal, and while she had no idea how she knew this… she still knew it to be a fact.
The number of complications and things she didn't know was giving her a headache.
"Argh… why can't things make sense for once!" She exclaimed as she rubbed her head in frustration.
She sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I'll… I'll need to tell them if I want this to work…" she sighed.
"Mr. Roger, Sir!"
Roger turned away from the chessboard he had been eyeing to face the man who was addressing him. "Yes?" He replied.
"Leo Akaba's daughters are to fight one of our teams in the next round, should we have them forfeit?" The man asked.
"Hm…" Roger hummed as he eyed the chessboard again, in particular, one of the white pawns.
"No, let them fight, but have them throw the match if they should start to win…" he said as he bent down and picked up the pawn, moving it a single space forward… and right where it could be easily taken by the black queen, but nobody else.
"Very well, consider it done!" The man declared, quickly leaving the room.
"Leo Akaba…" Roger thought as he eyed the pawn he had put up for sacrifice, "I will play along with your plans… for now…" He thought as he picked up the black queen and moved it forward, dispatching of the white pawn with ease.
"Does everyone know why they have been called here?"
Atem, the person who had spoken, sat at a large round table with Yugi sitting next to him. On the other side, sat Judai Yuki, Yusei Fudo, and Yuma Tsukumo.
"Um, are we supposed to…?" Yuma asked.
"It's been a while, but I remember the conversation vividly…" Yusei frowned.
"Wait, which conversation?" Judai tilted his head in confusion.
"Does everybody remember the first day of school?" Yugi cut in.
"Of… this school year?" Yuma asked, "Well, of course! It's the first day of a new year! That and the fact that we were attacked…" he sighed.
"We held a meeting that day to discuss what had happened…" Yugi reminded them, "remember what we talked about?" He asked.
Yusei frowned, while both Yuma and Judai looked dead confused.
"A traitor…" Atem's voice rang through the room.
Oh, right.
"I have called you all here because you all are not only the strongest duelists in our school but also some of my most trusted companions…" Atem explained, "I also had to keep the group small to remain discreet…" he explained.
"So, have you found the traitor…?" Yusei asked.
"No, but I have a list of suspects…" Atem took out a sheet of paper and had it slide to their side, "I have closely examined every teacher this entire year, and unfortunately, the traitor is skilled at hiding their tracks…" he sighed.
"I still can't believe that anybody would be a traitor…" Judai sighed as he picked up the list, which only increased his frown.
"Hey, no way! There's absolutely no way!" Yuma exclaimed.
"I have confirmed that there is only one among the teachers, Yuma…" Atem pointed out.
It did not feel nice to consider anybody on the list to be a traitor.
"There are three people on that list, and I want each of you to pick one and monitor that person…" Atem explained.
Suspects:
Ryoga Kamishiro
Jack Atlas
Asuka Tenjoin
"I can't see Jack betraying us…" Yusei muttered.
"I can say the same about Asuka…" Judai agreed.
"Shark is off the table, period!" Yuma exclaimed, "We've known each other since we attended this school as students! There's no way!" He exclaimed.
"I want to keep personal feelings out of this as much as possible, so I have assigned you to someone myself…" Yugi said as his face turned serious.
Atem looked at Yusei, "Yusei, you will be monitoring Ryoga…" Atem said sternly.
"What!? Oh, come on!" Yuma whined.
"Yuma, I understand how you feel, but please try to understand," Yugi said calmly, "We're simply taking the necessary precautions, and we can't have you monitor Ryoga because you would be biased for him…" he explained.
Yuma couldn't say anything against that.
Atem cleared his throat and continued. "Yuma, you will be monitoring Asuka, while Judai monitors Jack…" Atem finished.
Judai gulped at the thought of being near Jack (it usually ended badly. Either with Judai being turned into a guinea pig for an experimental D-Wheel, which usually ended with something exploding).
"That will be all, and remember that this information must remain inside this group…" Atem said sternly.
"Stop being a bitch and stay still!"
"Why don't you catch me first!?"
Yuri was angrily trying to shoot down Yugo, who had transformed into Crystal Wing and was flying around at a speed that Yuri couldn't hit.
Suddenly, Yuto crashed into Yugo, starting a midair grapple for dominance as they both collided with the ground.
"Y-Yuya! Help me hold him down!" Yuto exclaimed.
Yuya, though he was transformed into Odd-Eyes, was curled up and fast asleep.
"YUYA!" Yuto yelled.
Yugo broke free and took to the skies again. "HAHAHAHA! YOU SHALL NEVER CATCH ME, FOR I AM INVINCI-" Yugo started to taunt.
And then he flew into a tree.
He then kept going, because of how fast he was moving, and tore through the ground, effectively eating a metric ton of dirt.
"What's that? I can't hear you over how shit you are!" Yuri taunted.
"EXCUSE ME!?" Yugo screamed as he burst out of the ground with a roar.
"DISOBEY!"
Yugo yelped as Yuto rammed into him again, throwing them against one of the Real-Solid-Vision mountains.
Yuya, meanwhile, was yawning.
Yuri's wings opened up and extended, shooting towards Yugo and latching onto his wings, draining his energy.
"W-What the!? Are you eating me!?" Yugo exclaimed.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing…" Yuri said sarcastically.
"EW! EW! EWWWW!" Yugo shrieked as he flew around sporadically.
And then he crashed into Yuya.
"Hey! I'm trying to sleep!" Yuya yelled angrily.
"We're training! Stop sleeping!" Yugo shot back.
"SPIRAL FLAME STRIKE!"
Yugo quickly dodged the stream of flames, which went on to blast Yuto out of the sky.
"Why… me…?" Yuto wheezed.
"Yuto! No!" Yuya cried.
"Yuya! Cut it out with the friendly fire, we're trying to beat up Fusion!" Yuri exclaimed.
"FOR THE LAST TIME, MY NAME IS YU-"
After the training, Yuya promptly returned to his room and passed out, and Yugo was found by Rin as he was returning to the room with Yuya.
"Oh! Yugo, I was just looking for you," Rin said as she ran over to him.
"O-Oh, Rin!" Yugo said as his cheeks pinkened, "What's up?" He asked.
"You said you were working on something for your match, right?" Rin asked, "Was it, Crystal Wing?" She asked.
"Well, no… that just sort of happened…" Yugo admitted.
"Then what were you working on?" She asked.
Yugo rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Promise you won't laugh?" He asked.
"That depends on what it is," Rin said with a grin.
"Well… come with me, then," he said, motioning for her to follow him as he started to walk.
…
"This is…" Rin muttered.
"Terrible, I know…" Yugo sighed.
Yugo had taken her to the roof, where he had deployed his attempt at making a D-Wheel.
"Well, yes…" Rin admitted, "But honestly… considering that you were the only one working on it, this is pretty impressive!" She said positively.
"You don't have to say that," Yugo started to say.
"No, I'm serious!" Rin said as she walked over to the piece of machinery, "Yes, it's a bit shoddy… the balance is almost nonexistent, and almost zero symmetry, combined with the fact that the system programmed terribly… but even still, it's more progress then I would have thought anybody could make on their own for a first try!" She said with a smile.
"Yeah, but it's still a failure, I can't use something like this," Yugo sighed.
"Hm…" Rin said as she took a closer look at the machine, "Well… you're in luck," Rin said as she stood up.
"Hm?" Yugo looked up.
"Think of it as my way of paying you back for what you did for me," Rin explained, "As of now, we're going to be working together on this!" She declared.
"Huh…?" Said Yugo, "Wait, huh!?" He said with an even louder voice.
"You heard me," Rin said with a grin, "we're going to work on this, and make you a working D-Wheel by the next round of the tournament!" She said confidently.
"A-Are you serious?" Yugo asked, "But… then won't you be giving me an advantage by helping me? We aren't on the same team, you know," Yugo pointed out.
"Maybe," Rin replied, "but it's the least I can do, and I already made you a riding suit!" She said cheerfully.
"Maybe we can share it…?" Yugo suggested.
"Nope!" Rin shot the idea down immediately.
"Huh? Why! You'd be allowed to use it since you helped to make it!" Yugo exclaimed.
"This isn't going to be my D-Wheel," Rin said as she looked him right in the eye, "It's going to be yours, and yours alone," she explained.
"Rin…" Yugo mumbled as she smiled at him.
"Fine, but on one condition!" Yugo said as he pointed at her, "Ditch the whole idea of this thing only being mine! This is going to be OUR D-Wheel, no question about it!" He declared.
Rin raised her eyebrows but smiled.
"Alright then, it's a deal!" She said with a smile.
"Shun, can I ask you for a favor?" Said Yuto.
Yuto was walking with Shun while Ruri went on ahead of them, and was currently getting all of them an ice-cream cone.
"What is it?" Shun asked.
"I… I need to get stronger," Yuto said firmly, "and I want you to teach me something," he said.
"And what, exactly, do you want me to teach you?" Shun asked.
"You do it all the time, it's the way you fight," Yuto explained, "I want you to teach me how to Rank-Up," he finished.
Shun raised an eyebrow, "Rank-Up?" He questioned, "Yuto, it's not easy to learn, you're only a first-year," he pointed out.
"I know, and I don't care," Yuto said firmly, "You're only a second-year, but you Rank-Up like it's second-nature to you," he pointed out.
"Well, you're not wrong," Shun admitted, "but it was different for me, you call it a special talent. I'm naturally suited to the Rank-Up process, which is why I can Rank-Up so many times in succession since not many people can do that," he explained.
"I don't have to be able to Rank-Up again and again," Yuto explained, "just one is fine, so can you teach me?" He asked.
"Here, you two! It's on me!" Ruri exclaimed as she ran over, a smile on her face as she held three ice-cream cones.
"Alright," Shun decided, "meet me at the roof tonight, we'll start then," Shun said as Ruri handed him a cone.
"What are you boys talking about?" Ruri questioned as she handed Yuto his cone.
"Don't worry about it," Shun said as he took an enormous bite out of his ice-cream.
"Brother! You're supposed to lick it, not swallow it whole!" Ruri scolded.
"Why not? I like eating it this way," Shun said calmly.
"If you're just going to eat it like that, tell me so I can get you a bowl instead of a cone!" Ruri pouted.
"But I like the waffle cone," Shun said calmly.
"I'm just saying, it could work!" Ruri said with a smile.
"No, there is no way I'm wearing something like that…" Yuzu said as she stared at the paper Ruri was holding up.
All of the girls were sitting in their room, along with Soul, who Ruri had dragged along because of his artistic talent.
After that, Ruri whispered something into his ear, and Soul replied to her, "Alright, give me a few minutes…"
About five to ten minutes later, Soul came back into the room, holding a piece of paper in his hand, a pen in the other.
Ruri took the paper and looked at it, and her face immediately lit up with a smile.
"Thanks, Soul!" Ruri said as she ran over to her sisters, giggling like mad.
She then showed what was drawn on the paper.
Serena remained without an opinion, her face remaining straight and emotionless.
Yuzu blushed, and Rin stared at Ruri with wide eyes.
"It'll be fun!" Ruri pouted.
"How would you even get something like that? It's way too detailed," Serena pointed out.
"That's where Rin and Soul get in!" Ruri said with a smile, "Rin is good at crafts and has an eye for intricate details, and Soul is probably the same!" She said with a smile.
"I don't usually make costumes, but I can…" Soul said with a yawn.
"No! No way! As if I could wear something like that in public!" Yuzu cried out.
"What, you wanna keep losing to Mieru?" Ruri said with a smirk.
"Wha…!? I'm not losing to her, I'm not even competing!" Yuzu exclaimed.
"Oh, so you're fine if she and Yuya become a couple?" Serena asked.
"Of course not—I mean, o-of course I am! I don't care who Yuya loves!" Yuzu stammered.
Everybody in the room stared directly at her, the room filled with a deafening silence.
"So… are you in denial now?" Serena broke the silence.
"If that's the case, how do you feel about this?" Soul asked as he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolding it and handing it to Yuzu.
It was a quick sketch, illustrating Yuya holding hands with Mieru.
Yuzu promptly ripped it to tiny shreds and tossed the shreds at Soul's face, his expression never changing even as some paper got close to his eyes.
Yuzu realized what she had done and immediately covered her face with her hands. "I-It's not what you think! I-It was just… the picture…!" She stammered desperately.
"Are you saying my art is bad enough that you had to rip it up the second you saw it?" Soul asked, his gaze icy and cold.
"N-No, it was good art, don't get me wrong, but… Yuya and Mieru!?" Yuzu exclaimed.
"So you do care?" Rin asked.
"Ughhh! Stop it already!" Yuzu whined as she covered her face, which was slowly growing redder.
"Listen, this will be great!" Ruri said excitedly, "Not only will it be a fun and unique experience, but we'll be able to encourage the boys in the best way possible!" Ruri exclaimed.
"Well, it'll either encourage them or distract them," Serena said bluntly.
"Come on! Just this once?" Ruri begged.
"I… I can't! Come on Rin! Say something!" Yuzu begged.
"I mean… It's a little embarrassing… but it's just one time, right?" Rin said sheepishly.
"Serena!" Yuzu cried out.
"What? Don't look at me, I don't care," she said bluntly.
"So we have two that are for it, one that doesn't care, and one against it!" Ruri exclaimed, "We have the majority!" Ruri declared.
"No! Everybody will be staring at us!" Yuzu protested.
"We'll get seats at the very front, that's where all of the people who do stuff like this are! People will hardly notice us!" Ruri said optimistically.
"No! They'll still look! I know it!" Yuzu exclaimed.
"Yuzu, think about what Yuya will think," Ruri whispered into Yuzu's ear, "Imagine it… he'll look at you, and I bet he'll say 'Wow, Yuzu! You look great!' right?" She said, imitating Yuya's voice.
Yuzu's face flushed. "I… I…" she stammered.
Ruri shot a look at Soul, who sighed as he got to his feet.
"Yuzu, I am going to give you a once-in-a-lifetime deal," Soul said as he twirled a pencil in his hand, "If you do this, I will draw you a fully-colored, high-quality image that only YOU will see… in any situation with Yuya that you want," He said calmly.
"W-What?" Yuzu asked, "W-Wait, why do you think I'd accept that!?" She exclaimed.
"Because I usually charge twenty dollars for each commission—by the way, Ruri, you owe me twenty bucks now—and I will make sure that while I have the image in my possession, the only people that will see it will be yours truly—since I'm the artist—and you…" Soul explained.
"T-That's…" Yuzu mumbled.
Serena sighed, "I'll throw in forty bucks…" she groaned.
And that, everybody, is how Yuzu ended up agreeing to whatever Ruri was planning.
"Oh, and keep this a secret!" Ruri hissed, "Including you, Soul! Don't tell a soul! No pun intended!" She said firmly.
"My lips are sealed," Soul said as he left the room.
"When are the boys fighting next?" Rin asked.
"Tomorrow… we won't have enough time to make these things by then, but we should be able to finish them in time for their final match!" Ruri said with a smile.
"That's assuming that they win," Serena pointed out.
"Well, maybe you should have a little faith then!" Ruri said with a pout.
Yuya, Yuri, and Yugo sat in the waiting room, and Yuya noticed Soul and Syrup waiting in the room as well.
"Ah, I forgot that you two had a match today as well," Yuya said as he walked over to them.
"Yup! Wish us luck, okay?" Syrup said optimistically.
Soul stared at her, "She's planning something…" he thought.
"Eh, whatever…" Soul thought as his eyelids drooped.
"Right! Good luck!" Yuya said with a smile.
"Right back at you!" Syrup said with a smile just as big.
"Too bright…" Soul muttered as he put his hoodie over his head, shielding his eyes from Yuya and Syrup's blinding and unending optimism and positive attitudes.
Yuto suddenly burst into the room, countless female cheers coming from behind him until he shut the door, gasping for air.
"What the hell was that?" Yuri asked as Yuto sat down.
"I have a Fanclub…" Yuto sighed.
"A Fanclub? I thought that was what Yuya had," Yugo said as he handed Yuto a bottle of water, which Yuto gratefully chugged down.
"No, Yuya has a singular fangirl," said Yuto, "Apparently, I've had a secret Fanclub since early in the year, and now that they have enough members… they've changed from being subtle to just chasing after me, screaming my name and begging me to date one of them," Yuto explained.
"But why do you even have a fanclub…?" Yuya asked, "We look almost the same…" he said.
"Apparently being 'mature' and knowing how to cook makes you husband material… which confuses me to no end," Yuto sighed.
"I mean, girls like a guy who can cook, you know," Syrup pointed out.
"What a pain…" Yuto groaned.
"Man, it must suck to be you…" Soul muttered.
"Not helping…" Yuto said coldly.
"Come on, get yourself together," Yuri said as he leaned against the wall, "We're gonna be going out there soon, and if you're off your game, I'm not carrying any of you!" He declared.
"I plan to use my Blade-Messiah's, okay?" Soul said as the brothers started to depart for their match, "Everybody's seen them, so there's no point in not using them anymore…" he sighed.
Syrup nodded.
Soul raised an eyebrow at Syrup's lackluster reply but ultimately brushed it off.
He took his hands out of his hoodie pockets, they were visibly shaking from the cold, but nobody else seemed to feel any cold.
The side effects were worsening.
He sighed and pulled out a pair of gloves from his bag, pulling them over his freezing hands and promptly putting his hands under him so he could sit on them, which was an effective method of warming up.
Syrup cast a worried glance at him as he warmed his hands.
"After this… I'll have to tell them so they can help…" Syrup muttered, "but for that to happen, they need to win…"
"Rin, are you okay?" Sora asked.
Rin had bags under her eyes, and her hair was an absolute mess, but nobody would be able to tell thanks to the white beanie that she had shoved over her disgruntled hair.
"Yeah, why?" Rin replied.
"She was up all night, don't question it any further," Serena deadpanned.
Rin had indeed been up all night, multitasking two different jobs.
The first job: Programming the D-Wheel's interface.
Rin had to program the technology that would be at the front of the D-Wheel, as well as the display screen that displayed various information while using the vehicle, as well as connecting that same interface to the helmet that she and Yugo bought and customized.
Not only that but since neither Rin nor Yugo could bear to do anything halfway, the completed design of the machine (drawn up by Soul for fifteen dollars) had a large number of lights going around the design and even the wheels.
All in all, there were a LOT of steps that needed to be taken, and Rin was doing quite a lot of the technology-focused work.
The second job: Making the "surprise"
While Rin was typing various lines of code on a computer connected to a strange rectangular device, she also had to help Soul with Ruri's "surprise"
And no, she couldn't ask for help from Soul, because he was already doing most of the work anyways, including but not limited to:
All of the paper-mache work
At least half of the paint-work
Making all of the paper-mache look good, and not just like, well, paper-mache
Adding the intricate designs on anything that isn't on the actual-clothing parts
Making sure that the whole design wouldn't just fall apart
To put it simply, they were working on a cosplay, and a high-quality one at that, with only two people and not even a month to finish.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Rin now lived off of coffee and energy drinks, and Soul… surprisingly enough, he was not falling asleep as one would expect.
Instead, the problem was that he was now completely ignoring his fatigue, and the quality of his work was now being compromised.
So now, they had to FORCE him to sleep.
It was like hell hath frozen over.
Either way, Rin was on her last legs.
"Rin, I think you need to sleep…" Ruri said softly.
"No… sleep is for the weak!" Rin declared.
"Sleep is what you need right now, now shhh…" Ruri said softly as she held Rin's head against her chest.
"No… I'm fine…" Rin muttered as her eyelids began to flutter and close.
After about two minutes of Ruri rubbing Rin's head and gently shushing her, the girl promptly fell into the clutches of sleep.
Ruri shifted her body to allow Rin to rest her head on her shoulder, and Sora promptly took a picture.
"That's wholesome…" Sora muttered as he looked at the picture before putting his phone away.
"One must always remember to rest the body…" Gongenzaka said approvingly.
"Maybe we should help her out next time" Yuzu suggested.
"I don't think Serena should be allowed close to it during the manufacturing process, it's pretty delicate, after all," Ruri sighed, "Sorry, Serena…" she said solemnly.
"Don't be sorry, I know what I'm capable of," Serena waved her off, "I know that I'll probably spill something on something important," she stated bluntly.
"What about you, Ruri?" Yuzu asked.
"I get nervous when it comes to arts and crafts," Ruri sighed, "My hands start shaking, and then I usually end up messing something up," she explained.
"Oh… I have the same problem…" Yuzu sighed.
"By the way, will our brother be fine with this?" Serena asked.
"Well… we'll cross that bridge when we come to it…" Ruri said quietly.
Meanwhile, Shun let loose a loud sneeze.
"Tch, damn allergies…" he grumbled.
End
Bonus Scene!
"Yuya, I can't believe that you're the one who suggested this…" said Yuri as he crouched down behind Yuya, sneaking behind him as Yuya moved quietly to the door that connected the boys' room to the girls' room.
Normally, since Yuri was usually the one instigating these things, Yuto would have stepped in.
But the initial shock that this was Yuya's idea had frozen him in place, and he was now watching intently.
Yugo, meanwhile, took out a camera.
The girls were chatting in the other room, and the door between the rooms was slightly open, just enough so that a large water balloon could sit on top of it.
Now they just had to be quiet.
Yuri now had Yuya on his shoulders while Yuri stood on top of a stool.
Yuya was ever-so-carefully placing a red water balloon that was the size of his head on top of the door.
The balloon was almost ready to burst, so if it fell, it would burst the second it collided with something.
Yuya carefully took his hands off of the balloon, grinning as the water-nuke sat perfectly, yet dangerously, on the door.
"Alright, bring me down…" Yuya whispered.
"On it… w-whoa…!" Yuri hissed as he felt himself wobble.
Yugo gasped as they began to lean backward…
Suddenly, Yuto was behind them, propping Yuri up.
"One time…" Yuto sighed, "one time only…!" He hissed as he helped Yuri down from the stool.
"Alright, so now what?" Yuri asked, "It's a simple plan, but are we seriously just going to wait for any of them to walk through?" He asked.
"No," Yuya snickered, "listen up, here's what I need you guys to do…" Yuya huddled them in and began to whisper.
Yugo continued to record the entire ordeal, his jaw on the verge of falling off and hitting the floor.
…
It was a simple day, that's all it was.
Yuzu had woken up without a care in the world, her hair (surprisingly enough) wasn't messy at all when she woke up, and the breakfast today was delicious.
And then, suddenly…
*CRASH!*
Yuzu and her sisters each jumped as a ridiculously loud crashing noise reverberated through the room, sounding like a combination of multiple plates breaking, glass shattering, and a bookshelf falling.
Which was immediately followed by: "Oh shit, Yuya!"
Yuzu immediately got to her feet and ran towards the boys' room, "Yuya! Are you okay—"
She shoved the door open, and time seemed to slow down.
Inside the room, there was:
Yuya, who was sitting on the ground, a wide grin stretching across his face.
Yuri, who's eyes had enlarged to the size of dinner plates.
Yugo, who had a camera out and was supposedly recording everything.
Yuto, who's jaw had dropped.
And a large speaker connected to Yuya's phone, his phone displaying the words " 3"
She suddenly felt something heavy fall on her head, and stay there.
It was… bouncy, wet, and cold…?
Yuya's face paled, Yuri took a double-take, Yugo dropped the camera, and Yuto's eyes widened.
She slowly raised her arms to her head and removed the object from the perfect balance it had achieved on her head.
"A water balloon…" Yuzu muttered as she stared at the larger-than-average water balloon.
"I would like to quickly point out that, despite what you may think, this wasn't my idea," Yuri said immediately.
"He always takes credit for his work, so he speaks the truth," Serena said bluntly from behind Yuzu.
Yuzu's face slowly contorted into a glare, and all of the boys in the room flinched or took a step back.
"Who…" Yuzu growled.
The room remained silent, none of the brothers speaking.
"You aren't ratting out the culprit, eh?" Yuzu said as her glare turned into a terrifying grin, "In that case, I guess this was the work of everybody in the room, isn't it?" She said in a sickly-sweet tone.
Immediately, all three brothers pointed at Yuya.
"W-Wait, what!?" Yuya exclaimed.
"Trust me, the pain is shockingly high at first, but you get used to it…" Yugo whispered as he quickly left the room.
"We'll see you later if you survive…" Yuto said as he followed Yugo.
"If it makes you feel any better, the fact that the balloon didn't burst is bullshit," Yuri said as he slowly opened the glass sliding door that led to the balcony, "but regardless, I promise to recover whatever is left of you after… well…" Yuri said as he quickly exited into the balcony, shutting the glass-sliding door and quickly dashing to the side, hiding.
The sound of sharp cracks began to resonate through the room, and Yuya looked back at Yuzu in fear.
She was slowly walking over to him, smacking her paper fan into the palm of her hand menacingly as she cracked her neck.
Yuya looked over to the girls behind her for help.
Instead, they slowly closed the door, leaving Yuya to fend for himself.
"Y-Yuzu, we can talk about this, r-right?" Yuya said as he slowly walked backward, away from the girl who was slowly approaching him.
"Sure, Yuya!" Yuzu said as her glare turned into a beaming smile, which was even more terrifying when you combine it with the dark and menacing aura surrounding her. "You can tell me all about it after I finish ending your life!" She said cheerfully, her grip on the paper fan tightening.
"N-No, please!" Yuya begged.
Yuya's screams echoed through the room and even a fair portion of the hotel.
Shun, who had been coming over to visit his sisters, raised an eyebrow in concern as Yuya's screams reached his ears, even though he stood outside of the room.
"I… I think I'll visit them later…" Shun said as he quickly walked away, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face as he made the tactical decision to not enter that battlefield.
Even as he walked away, he could hear the screams.
"No, please! Wait… no! Yuzu put the chair down! AAAAAAAAAAGH!"
The End
I have had too much free time since the last chapter…
Anyways, I'm sorry if this upsets some of you, but a relationship with Yugo and Rin isn't happening since Rin isn't ready for something like that yet.
I might just enjoy torturing viewers, who knows?
Anyways, to answer the three people who messaged me about when the next chapter is coming out, here it is, and a chapter is published when it is FREAKING FINISHED.
I do NOT have a schedule, I work on my fanfictions in my free time, meaning that the amount of work I get done depends entirely on how much time I have that I would usually waste, and whether or not the writer's block has come up and punched me in the gut or not.
So, I would like to kindly ask that I stop receiving messages about when the next chapter is set to come out, because there is no set date, it comes out immediately after I finish it, and you have NO idea how many times I just delete everything in a document and start over because I f—ked up a plot-point.
But on the bright side, if it weren't for all of you readers leaving reviews, I might not have been able to keep going.
Alright, now that that's out of my system…
New Odd-Eyes support! Empyrean Magician is useful, and Pendulum Dimension made it so much easier to chain multiple extra-deck summons, so much so that it became possible to have Z-ARC in the deck as an emergency boss-monster, though my deck doesn't revolve around summoning him.