Yuri blinked as he took in the invitation that Shuzo was waving about like it was the declaration of world peace "Enchanted Underworld Duel School?" He questioned, he hadn't heard of this place before and from the looks that Yuzu and Gongenzaka were giving him, they didn't seem to know either. "What's the deal with them?"
Shuzo was ecstatic to say the least, it looked like he was going to explode if he didn't get all of his energy out in time "It's incredible! They're an insanely impressive duel school that was only set up about a year or two ago but they've already got a reputation as one of the top schools in the whole nation, second only to LDS!"
"And why haven't any of us heard of them until now?" Yuri quirked a brow, this was all beginning to sound ridiculous, surely they would receive at least some media attention and send duelists to at least some of the championships?
"About that…" Shuzo rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "They're not exactly what you would call… Good publicity…" He pulled out a flyer that he had been given alongside the invitation. On it was the design of a rather macabre looking black building with evident decay marks and stereotypical gothic staples, like gargoyles and vampires. Shuzo tapped the picture at the bottom "It's all due to the owner and head teacher of the school, his name is Shiki Sogami." Shiki was to put it bluntly, nose bleed worthy in terms of look, with an incredibly handsome face that had green eyes and was framed by sandy blond hair that was shoulder length. The picture had him wearing a white dress shirt with a grey vest and two scarves, one white and one black. On top of his head was a black fedora hat with a strip of red on it, he was also tilting it rather seductively. "Some say that he has engaged in some rather dark methods and teaches his students violent attack patterns. They say he should belong in the underworld and not in the real world, hence why he decided to name the school 'Enchanted Underworld' as a jab at his critics."
The Predator Plant duelist skirted his eyes around the room, looking over at Yuzu who was standing rubbing her arm where her bracelet was. She didn't look like she had heard much of what was being said, barely even noticing the frantic excited nature of her father. Yuri frowned, usually Yuzu would be all up for learning about a challenge like this, she'd often in the past used it as a way to prove herself as just as competent a duelist as Yuri. But that event last night had Yuzu stunned the whole of their way back and it looked like it was still going on at this present moment. Yuri couldn't blame her, he could still feel the grasp of Jex's hand around his face. "So what about it then? Are they inviting us to a duel?" He said to get his mind off of the issue.
Shuzo brightened "Better yet! I'll read out the letter he attached to it." He cleared his throat and began to speak.
"You Show Duel School! It is I! Shiki Sogami! Yours truly is inviting you to my Enchanting Duel School of wonders and black magic! Now, you may be wondering why I've decided to grace you with the ability to come and duel my best students. A little birdie told me that a certain someone in your entourage has gained a new summoning method that no one else in the world has the pleasure of owning, and you see… My students are itching to have a go at taking Lily down. That is why I am offering you a tag team dueling match today at night time. Don't worry! There are no strings attached here, I'm not the crook everyone thinks I am! Anyway, I hope to see you soon.
Fly quickly my lovely little butterflies.
Yours truly, owner and head teacher of the Enchanted Underworld Duel School, total babe magnet, Shiki Sogami."
Yuri rolled his eyes at the incredibly egotistical and flowery letter, it sounded just like one of those attention seeking Slifer or Ra students would write to try and worm their way up the whole sordid ladder. But there was one particular thing that once he went over in it in his head began to make him blush "W-wait! Did he just call me Lily?!"
It was also at this point that a pair of young children came barrelling into the room, taking with them Shuzo and another new kid that none of them had seen before. "Wah! S-sorry, Principle!" That panicked voice belonged to a small red haired girl who was wearing a blue headband.
"I'm sorry too, Principle, please don't expel us!" That quivering voice came from a rather plump green haired boy.
Shuzo managed to pull himself up to the scene of the two kids bowing to him on the ground whilst taking note of the one remaining kid who had blue hair was looking around in a sort of dazed state "Woah! Come down, Ayu and Futoshi, I'm not angry. In fact, it looks as if you've brought a new student with you!"
The new kid shook as head as he smiled brightly, replying with the same level of enthusiasm that Shuzo had begun with "Hi! I'm Tatsuya Yamashiro!"
"You were here yesterday…" Yuzu finally spoke up for the first time but her tone was hollow with the events still evidently weighing on her as her shoulders were slumped in.
Yuri, in an effort to lighten the mood, replied coyly "See, told you guys. I'm just a genius at figuring these things out, even Yuzu's blatant barbarism couldn't possibly damage my ability to draw people in." However, instead of being met with a fan like it had been like in the past so many a time, he was met by a deafening silence as Yuzu still looked lost in her own skin.
The hot blooded Principle cleared his throat to dispel the tension in the room and bring them back to their initial topic of conversation "So, Yuri, what do you plan to do with this? Many people have gained an interest in this school solely because of the Pendulum summon and when LDS eventually get their hands on it, the school will lose its publicity and we will go back to the why we were. However, if we take Sogami-san's offer, we could earn even more mystique and may be even able to set up a permanent link to the school and more importantly, Sogami-san himself."
"Huh? Sogami-san…?" Yuri felt Ayu tug at his leg as he could see the cogs turning in the head of the three kids when their eyes suddenly widened "Yuri-oniichan! Does he mean that Sogami-san?! Shiki?"
"You've heard of this guy too?" Yuri groaned, he didn't like being one of the only ones who didn't know what was going on, it made him feel like an outcast again.
It was the new blue haired kid that explained it "He ran one of the duel schools my parents were thinking of sending me too. In fact! I met him when we went there! But why are you bringing him up?"
"Oh, he offered to take Yuri to his school for a match, I asked Yu-" Shuzo was quickly drowned out by the collective squeals and screams of adulation of the young children who collectively glomped Yuri.
"You have to do this, Yuri-oniichan!" Ayu squealed, shaking Yuri excitedly and nearly making said male throw up his lunch.
"It's giving me shivers just thinking about it…" Futoshi said, gently caressing himself while muttering under his breath.
Tatsuya weighed in too, and despite only being here for roughly two minutes, was already starting to mix in seamlessly "This is too good an opportunity to pass up! When I went there everything was really high tech and all of the students were really strong!"
"Strong, you say?" Yuri's interest now piqued, wanting to beat those that were supposedly strong was always something he had desired to do, in the past in Academia and even in Standard to a certain extent.
Tatsuya was totally oblivious to the predatory as he went on "Oh yeah! He had me watch an exhibition duel between two of his most prized students! It was just as entertaining as your duel against Strong Ishijima, they were so incredibly strong that it went down to the last card!"
Yuri grinned like the Cheshire cat "Then it's settled, let's take this offer."
The elation was short lived as Shuzo pointed out one little detail that had been missed throughout the whole conversation "You're going to have to find someone willing to duel with you, the invite was for a tag duel. The children are too young and Gong isn't officially a part of the school so to have him be there wouldn't work. That only leaves…"
"Yuzu…" Yuri looked back to see the startled Yuzu who had only just keyed in on the fact of the matter.
(Three years ago)
"YUZU!" A panting Yuri fell back on a patch of grass looking at the sky, his knees weak from the blistering run "Slow down for once in your life." During the four years he had spent here he knew Yuzu for a lot of things and if he knew anything about her, it was that her running speed and athleticism seemed to be in another universe by itself. Academia and entertainment dueling training be dammed.
"Speed up for once in your life Yuri!" Yuzu said siting on the grass next to him and staring into his violet eyes.
"What are we? I'd like an explanation" Yuri ranted, he wasn't best pleased by how all of this had stared in the first place "First you show up randomly at the house, second you literally pull me away from my plants nearly strangling me in the process and third you just ran away as I came to." Yuzu laughed causing Yuri to snap "Tell me or I swear to god I'll feed you to my Venus Fly Trap bit by bit!"
Yuri's face was a bright scarlet red as Yuzu continued to laugh as she spoke "Yuri, do you not recognise this place?"
Yuri subdued for the moment looked around as the realisation hit him. "This You Show…Where I first appeared here." Yuri saw the lopsided building behind him and his eyes widened.
"That's right for someone so smart you can be pretty short sighted at times." Yuri shoved Yuzu playfully causing a smile to creep onto both of their faces.
Yuzu looked over Yuri again she still couldn't help but feel sad when she saw Yuri as it brought back memories of Yuya. Yuri noticed this change of tone quickly and moved in to comfort Yuzu.
"You're remembering Yuya again aren't you?" Yuri looked on as Yuzu picked a handful of grass and rolled it between her fingers.
"What gave it away?" A solemn Yuzu said refusing to look at Yuri's face.
"I don't know maybe the fact you are crying." A tear dripped from Yuzu's eye as Yuri said this in a failed attempt to lighten the mood.
"Yuri…It's just…It's just" Yuzu buried her head into Yuri's shirt "I miss him…" Yuri held Yuzu's head.
"Look at me Yuzu." Yuri forced Yuzu head up "Yuya may be gone but I'm here now and I won't let anything more happen to you, one day Yuya may even come back then you'll have nothing more to worry about when it comes to him."
Yuzu wrapped her arms around Yuri's waist causing the male in question to blush a bright red "Thank you Yuri..." Yuri hugged back still blushing.
(Present Time) (Timeskip)
"This is the place?" Yuri looked around as Shuzo, Ayu and Futoshi gulped. The flyer really didn't do the place justice.
While the flyer did make it seem like a somewhat macabre and disturbing place, somewhere you might get a chill if you saw it once but then you'd quickly get over it. In reality, the place was even scarier up close. The way it loomed over everything made it look foreboding beyond belief, the way the eyes of the gargoyles at the front followed you everywhere they went. The way the entrance looked as if it was about to collapse in on itself. The statutes as well carrying sadistic expressions and large weapons made you fear if they could possibly come to life.
"Y-yeah…" Shuzo replied, tugging at his collar with sweat dripping down his neck. Maybe this wasn't the right choice after all… He reached out for the handle and…
The door creaked open.
He hadn't touched it.
Having spent the last few seconds staring at his hand, wondering just what the hell had happened, he then looked up to a pair of piercing green eyes and proceeded to jump back at least four feet. "Ah, you've finally arrived, my butterflies." Said a melodic, light voice that had just a hint of playfulness to it. A rose of being held in the man's left hand which he sniffed before he bowed "Shiki Sogami at your service."
"O-oh hello!" Shuzo shook Shiki's outstretched hand "It's a great honour to get to meet you, Sogami-san."
"Please, don't call me that, I'm 27 and it makes me feel old. Shiki is fine by me, that's the name I was given after all." Shiki smiled at Shuzo and then scanned over the kids, landing eventually on the form of Yuri who had Yuzu stood next to him "Ah, Yuri-kun, I can only congratulate you for your achievement, being able to defeat a duel champion like Strong Ishijima is impressive in itself but to also found a new summoning method in the same duel is something that made me want to search you out."
Yuri looked up at the school's principle and immediately he felt something was off about the whole thing. He couldn't explain how, but he couldn't shake the feeling of this dark bloodthirsty aura around both the school and its owner "Thank you, Sir." However, he had to act the part as not to arouse any suspicion.
"Well, we won't get anywhere if we just wait out here!" Shiki declared happily "Please, be my guest and enter an enchanted wonderland like you have never seen before in your life."
Yuri resisted the urge to throw up then and there 'God. Why does everyone here have to be so flowery and over the top? It's like it's a requirement to run a duel school or something!'
Contrary to what everyone was expecting, the inside of the gothic building was quite the Romantic place. Unlike You Show which was a relatively small place with only one arena, the Enchanted Underworld school had numerous arenas with some of them presently in use, the décor was far classier than the outside of the school would have you believe as it was lined with marble and various other decently pricy materials. What Yuri picked out to be the strangest feature was the rather odd fact that butterflies were flying haphazardly about the place, one of them even landing on Shiki's free hand "Don't believe all the negative publicity you hear about us in the press. This place's my own personal Eden of amour." He let the butterfly out of his hand and it proceeded to land on Yuri's face "Amour. That word means love, isn't it so heartpoundingly wonderful?" This time he outstretched the rose towards Yuri "Do you know that feeling, Lily?"
Subconsciously, Yuri's eyes gradually shifted over to Yuzu 'Do you know the meaning of personal sp… Wait! He did it again!' And Yuri turned bright red at the worst possible time as his eyes locked with Yuzu's.
Even more unfortunately for the Predator Plant duelist, Shiki was paying close attention "Ah, the alluring nectar of amour. Young love is so beautiful to watch bloom, it makes my heart flutter every time." A collective thought of "Weirdo" went through the brains of the You Show crowd as Shiki shuddered.
Shuzo was about to speak but he found himself cut off by a monotone phantom like voice addressing the other principle in the room from behind him "Umm… Sogami-san… Kioka-nee and I are ready for the… Duel…" The stop start voice belonged to a male who evidently was a few years older than them, probably around 17 or so who stood at an abnormally tall 6'5. He had long green hair that covered the right side of his face that had black highlights trapped throughout it in sporadic places. It hid his right eye and everything beneath it. The left side of his face showed the fact his eye colour was amber. His hair was tucked neatly around his ear on the left side of his face and exposed the sheer amount of piercings he had, including one through his lip, one through his ear, one through his eyebrow and a group of them just on his forehead. In terms of cosmetics, he appeared to be wearing some degree of make-up with pink eyeshadow being the main feature.
"Heh, Teru-kun." Shiki turned out to the green haired male "I thought I told you not to sneak up on people."
"Sorry, Sogami-san…. I'll try harder… Next time…" Teru droned with a bored expression.
"I see you're already dressed for the duel, go tell the others then. I'll be with you shortly." Shiki's words did little to clear up the strange nature of Teru's clothing. He was dressed rather similarly to the monster card known as Vampire Sorcerer wearing a black and red cloak with a purple claw securing it to his person, on top of his head was a hat similar to that seen in the card.
As Teru left, Shiki turned back around to the gawking crowd "Follow me." Was all that he said, wandering off into the school with the crowd following him.
"Umm, Shiki. Who was that?" The elder male could feel the tug of Ayu at his leg, all three of the kids had been shocked and somewhat scared by Teru's unexpected appearance.
"That, my butterflies, was one of my pupils that's going to be involved in Lily's duel. My protégée, Shion Teru-kun." Shiki replied with a smirk gracing his pale lips "But don't you worry your little head about him, he's only dressed like that for the duel."
"Why is that?" Ayu questioned now set slightly more at ease.
"Patience is a virtue, you'll be finding out soon enough." The principle replied cryptically as they started to enter into the arena. "Here we are! The main arena!"
Everyone, including the solemn Yuzu and the increasingly annoyed Yuri had their eyes widen at what they bore witness to. The main arena was arguably as large as one that some would see in LDS, the highest end duel school in the standard dimension, it encompassed the vast majority of the school and the You Show crowd could see that stands for audience members were filled with other students with each one of them sharing a gothic touch to them.
After taking in the scene, Yuri flicked his eyes over to the other side of the arena. There he saw Teru standing there with an incredibly bland expression and another person beside him. She was petite girl who was probably only around 5'4 that was only more noticeable when put near the giant Teru. She was dressed in a similar style to a gothic Lolita with the black frilly dress, boots and all the other stereotypical details of the outfit. Just like Teru she had long forest green hair but this time it was tied back into a pair of twin tails that were threatening to reach the floor. Like Teru, she too was wearing makeup with dark purple dusted across her lips and face, she also had amber eyes that had pink eyeshadow dabbed over them. Unlike the person next to her there were no piercings but there was a pair of dangling crescent moon earrings that nearly reached her shoulders. She was also carrying a black parasol that was opened despite being inside. If Yuri was to put it bluntly, she looked rather bitchy, not that the way she was scowling had helped her look otherwise.
"So you're the flower that Shiki wants us to test." The girl spoke and confirmed Yuri's suspicions of her being a total bitch with the arrogant, commanding and condescending tone being dead giveaways. "Teru-nii and I have been waiting for quite a while, you have better be good or else this will have all been a huge waste of our time."
"Now, now." Shiki said like a nagging adult to the newly revealed siblings "Bitch-chan, refrain from insult our guests, I taught you to be a great duelist, not a great sack of shit with no manners." He said with contempt and venom dripping from his voice. Yet the girl didn't look the least bit bothered.
"Kioka-nee I wouldn't anger… Sogami-san any further…" Teru mumbled, placing his large hand on Kioka's small head, further incurring the wrath of his smaller sibling.
"Shut up, Teru! Stop being such a teacher's pet!" Kioka exploded, shoving Teru away from her to the giant's surprise and Shiki's anger.
"Teru, Kioka! Leave!" Shiki's anger had piqued as he crushed his rose in a fit of rage, an act that shocked both the sibling and the crowd of students in attendance "And sometimes I wonder how we got such a bad reputation! If you act like this during other matches then it's no wonder! Go to the dressing room and re-evaluate!" He watched the pair disappear down the tunnel with shaking eyes.
After he was sure that they had disappeared, he turned back around to the stunned You Show crowd "Apologies, but those two do often try my patience, especially Kioka, I'll have a word with them before the duel but in the meantime do please take the other dressing room so you can work over your strategy." With that Shiki had vanished down the same corridor.
"Uh, what the hell just happened?!" Yuri felt all of his frustrations leave him all at once as he took Yuzu with him to the dressing room conveniently placed just at the start of the corridor whilst the others took the time to take their rather uncomfortable places amongst the school's gothic pupils.
In the dressing room, Yuri's pissed off expression softened and he took the still solemn, depressive Yuzu into his arms "Yuzu, look at me." Yuzu raised her head slightly to stare into Yuri's purple eyes "I know you're stronger than this, don't let some random creep influence you with this nonsensical talk about some made up 'Grimoire', or let him intimidate you with artificial goons. All I know, is that you are you and no one is capable of changing through anything in the world."
"Yuri…" Yuzu mumbled "Do you really think so?" Truth be told, Jex's effect on her had been far stronger than anticipated. It may have been the knife that had been inches from slicing into her skin or the reference to her being the key to this so called 'Grimoire' that was too important for him to let go, the fact he wanted to "devour" her soul didn't clear her head any further. Perhaps it was also the sudden of appearance of Demil as well that was throwing her off, the way that him and Jex seemed to know each other for some reason and that strange incantation that he had used to destroy Jex's men made her feel like a small fish in a very big pond.
"No one changes because of one singular event, do you remember what I was like I when I first came here?" Yuzu certainly did remember what a terror Yuri was when he originally came to You Show, always trying to scare Yuzu and how he would laugh anytime he saw Yuzu or anyone for that matter in pain. But he had changed over those times, he'd become caring and once you got past sadist Yuri you got asshole teenager Yuri. "If you are going to change your entire person just because of one event, then I'm going to rescind that opinion of you being the strongest person I've met in my life. Now, if you want to take control over yourself for this duel then I will see you out there, but if you want to be a coward wallowing in your own self-pity then don't even bother showing up."
Yuri didn't bother looking back as he went to leave the room, slamming the door with a resounding thump, leaving Yuzu deep in thought "Yuri…"
The other dressing room wasn't much better "Look at what you made me do!" In private Shiki was even more irate at his students, in his hand he held the crushed petals of what was once his rose, most of his anger had been directed towards the unfazed Kioka.
"Oh, what a shame, just take another one, you've got about 200 of them anyway." Kioka didn't even bother to look her principle directly in the eye, instead focusing on fixing up her makeup. "Don't complain about it, you old goat."
Shiki proceeded to blow the petals out of his hand and watched as they floated softly to the ground "Amore, Amore, I love you so." He then brought his attention back to the siblings "You two are such diamonds in the rough, like flowers blooming in the desert. So much shit I have to deal with for often time such little reward, but I put up with you because you put up with my training methods." There was a mischievous glint that filled his sharp jade eyes "Listen and do as I say, Teru-kun and Bitch-chan. Those two there are strong duelists in their own right, don't get overconfident in winning, as shown by his match against Strong, Yuri-kun is more than capable of pulling out a miracle out of nowhere. That girl he's going to be with is also quite the hard customer if her older duels are to be taken into account. Even still, I have the utmost confidence in your tag dueling whilst theirs is sorely lacking, take the chances that come to you. Flap your illustrious wings, my gothic butterflies and make me proud."
"Yes, Sir." The siblings replied dutifully.
Time passed and passed, Teru, Kioka and Yuri were all at the arena ready to duel, Shiki was stood in the centre wearing a black half cape over his shoulder with a smug looking expression on his face.
Up in the stands, the You Show crowd was getting concerned about the marked lack of Yuzu by Yuri's side "Oh please, please, please! Yuzu please show up!" Shuzo was bawling at the idea that if his daughter turn up soon, she might end up being branded as a coward just like Yuri had been when Yusho hadn't turned up for his duel against Strong.
"Stop your whining!" Gongenzaka said trying to bring sense back into the situation "Yuzu knows better than not to duel when the school's honour is on the line, have faith in her and she will show up."
Shuzo wiped the tears away "Yeah! Yeah!" He said rather enthusiastically "She will come! Hopefully…" His eyes wondered to the corridor.
"Yuri-kun, where's your partner?" Shiki asked, that mischievous look still remaining in his eyes as he lowered himself to Yuri's level "I'm afraid that I can't allow this duel to go ahead without her, I sent out an invitation for a tag duel and I'm a man of my word."
"So what?" Yuri replied bluntly "Whether I'm by myself or not, I'm still more than capable of bringing down your students single handed."
"Haha." Shiki laughed, placing his hand on his hat "I admire your bravery, boy. But bravery only gets you so far in life, you should learn that lesson well before you speak to me like that." Yuri could see something predatory slip through Shiki's mask, but he knew better than to already stoke the flames of someone who was very clearly angry. "Time's a ticking."
He was about to speak but he was cut off by a loud declaration "Then stop that clock!" Cue a cacophony of groans for the terrible pun and then a sea of gasps as Yuzu boldly stepped out of the shadows with her duel disk activated.
"Yuzu!" Yuri said happily, smiling as he saw the pink haired girl run up to the field. "So you finally decided to be a man after all, glad it only took you half my life."
Yuri knew that Yuzu was truly back to form when he felt the resounding thwack of her fan across the back of his head, he felt no malice from it though as she spoke "Can't believe you thought I wasn't going to do this. For someone so smart, you can be a real idiot sometimes Yuri."
"Amour, amour-the more you amour, the more amour will lure you into its clutches." Shiki shuddered as he straightened "Now that everything's ready, let us begin! I call upon the action field Vampire Kingdom!"
Instantaneous with Shiki's declaration the scene wrapped into a medieval setting at dusk, at the back of the Shion siblings side of the field, a large castle erected itself while at the back of Yuri and Yuzu's field a set of cast iron gates appeared, locking them in the field no matter what they may try to do. The scene also took on a slightly more reddish hue to it.
"Duelists locked in battle!" Shiki declared to the roar of the pupils in attendance.
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Yuzu continued on.
"They storm through this field! Behold!" Yuri grinned as the pair chanted together.
"This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
"ACTION…DUEL!" Their duel disks were readied and the duel began.
Teru and Kioka's LP: 4000 Yuri and Yuzu's LP: 4000 Cards x5
Turn 1
"We shall start… First!" Teru began, plucking a card from his hand "I activate the Spell card… Cerberus' Offering…" The first card played in the duel was rather basic in its art, a large white door could be seen in a room filled with marble pillars, cast onto it was the shadow of a large three headed dog "Cerberus' Offering gives me the ability… To search out… A level 4 or lower Cerbuian monster… And add it to my hand." The selected card ejected itself into Teru's hand, the amber eyed teen's blank expression not faulting in the slightest.
This was also the first time in her full state of mind that Yuzu had heard Teru speak and she was taken aback by his stop start speech pattern, so much so she had to ask about it out of curiosity's sake "What's going on with him? Why is he speaking like that? Is there something wrong with him?"
"Heh… That's not nice…" Teru replied before Kioka decided it was her who would explain it away.
"Do you know when you get that feeling that you can't speak for whatever reason? That's Teru-nii's issue, he's a naturally slow speaker, so that will often lead to it seeming like he's stopped in the middle of his sentence." Kioka replied swiftly "It's been that way since we were kids and it's not your place to comment on."
"Thank you… Kioka-nee…" Teru patted his sister's head to show his thanks much to the petite girl's annoyance "I now summon Cerbuian Loewen!"
The first monster that was summoned took the form of a medium sized guard dog with flaming blue fur and glowing yellow eyes.
Cerbuian Loewen, Level 4, Beast, FIRE, Effect (1300/400)
"Loewen's effect! When summoned… I can add one "Cerberus" or "Cerbuian" Spell or Trap card to my hand!" After taking a moment, Teru had made his decision, using the card as soon as it had entered his waiting fingers "I activate the continuous spell Cerbuian Allegiance…" This card's art contained what appeared to be a teenage boy with blue hair dressed in an aristocratic blue outfit, he was bowing at the side of the same gate that was in the Cerberus' offering card.
Kioka then decided to speak up "And so beings the tale we shall weave for the remainder of this duel." She spoke much to the shock of the You Show crowd, including Yuzu and Yuri who didn't have a clue what they were going on about.
"Ah, yes." Shuzo then said out of nowhere "I remember it being said that they have a unique form of entertainment dueling. Just as You Show is focused on acrobatics and flashy action dueling, this school is focused on narrative and weaving a story to regale the audience with."
"The Cerberus is a loyal watchdog, the guardian of the gates of hell." Kioka began "Legend says that there was once man who approached the gates, he sought to know all of the dark secrets of the world. He claimed that he wanted to collect all the evil and black magic of the world into a singular vessel known only as the Grimoire." Yuri could see Yuzu's eyes widen from the corner of his eyes at the mention of the Grimoire. "At the gate, the man met with Cerberus' human form and struck a deal with him. In return for conversing with Cerberus' master, Cerberus one day would return to take the man's soul and the Grimoire off of him."
"Hence my card… Cerbuian Allegiance… Cerberus swore his fealty to his lord and swore to stay around till the ends of the earth… So shall I." Teru took over briefly before his sister resumed the role.
"Teru-nii's card has the following effect, so long as it remains on the field, all Cerbuian monsters are immune from destruction through battle." She explained smugly, twilling the parasol in her hand. "Most importantly though, the Cerberus' will to carry out its master's will gives it an additional boost of 300 attack points during battle."
"Cerberus may be a watchdog… But even watchdogs bite…" Teru droned almost creepily "I set one card face down… Your go…" The card appeared and then vanished into thin air.
Teru's cards x3
Turn 2
"I draw!" Yuri decided that he would be the one to take the first turn for the You Show team, but just as he went to start his move, he was stopped in his tracks by the reveal of the card that had only just been set.
"Continous Trap… Cerberus' Gate!" The art once more featured the same gate and blue haired boy but this time there was the added person of an older looking man with purple hair and wearing a strange looking purple battle outfit. The pair were looking into the open gate with scheming looks barely visible on their faces "No monster that has a level equal or higher than… The Cerbuian I currently control can be summoned. All monsters on the field with a higher lever… Will be destroyed." A large seal formed over the duel arena, one couldn't see it from the floor but up in the stands it looked like it was in the shape of an eye but it had two spokes going off in different directions.
"What?!" Yuzu certainly had a much more negative reaction to this than Yuri did as he was currently deep in thought trying to analyse Teru's main purpose in this duel and the whole gimmick behind his deck. "How is that fair?! When you get your cards and we don't get ours!
The kids up in the stands were also horrified "Does that mean that Yuzu-oneechan and Yuri-oniichan won't be able to summon any of their best monsters? And that Yuri-oniichan won't be able to use Pendulum?"
Shuzo was solemn in his response "Unfortunately with both that card and his previous one, Yuri and Yuzu can't destroy that monster he controls and through that, the only way they can get out of that lock is to destroy the Spell and Trap cards themselves."
But Tatsuya had noticed something strange about the card's effect "But, he didn't say the effect was exclusive to just Yuri and Yuzu, in fact, he made no specific claim to the effect's range and chances are, it's an all-encompassing effect."
"I said…No monster… And I mean none… Not even I can summon anymore that are… Level 4 or higher." Teru said flatly, confirming Tatsuya's suspicion about the real effect of the card.
With that information, Yuri finally started his turn "I summon Lonefire Blossom!" Yuri's first monster was one of a blooming plant with a glowing bud
Lonefire Blossom, Level 3, Plant, FIRE, Effect (500/1400)
"I activate its effect, sacrificing itself to summon another plant type monster from my deck. I choose the second copy from my deck, then I'll repeat this again to summon yet another Lonefire. Finally for the last time I'll release it to summon my Predator Plant Ophrys Scorpio." The same scorpion that Yuri had used in his duel against Strong scuttled into view
Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio, Level 3, Plant, DARK, Effect, (1200/800)
"Ophrys Scorpio's effect! By sending one card in my hand to the graveyard I can summon Predaplant Darlington Cobra from my deck in defence mode." Darlington Cobra slithered into view. "Which will allow me to add Polymerization to my hand!"
Predaplant Darlington Cobra, Level 3, Plant, Effect, DARK (1000/1500)
"All level 3 monsters…" Kioka grunted through gritted teeth "You think you're so clever don't you? Since the effect is presently only targeting Level 4 and higher, you think that you can build up a wall of monsters to be able to defend yourself from our attacks." She took a card from her hand and smirked "This card will put you back in your place!"
"But it's still Yuri's turn!" Yuzu felt the need to shout out to the Lolita, in response said Lolita's smirk only got wider.
"That means nothing, this card can be activated on either player's turn. I play the effect of Occult Slazher Gamma from my hand!" Racing onto the field was a black cybernetic warrior held together by green electricity, as it charged towards Yuri and Yuzu's field it pulled out a long pike "If you control one or more monsters of the same level, I can use Gamma's effect and destroy one of those monsters." Yuri and Yuzu were both taken aback this time, it now became clear to them what the siblings' plan was "Gamma! Take out Darlington Cobra!" Gamma proceeded to cleave a hole through and skewer the flowery cobra, destroying it instantaneously.
"Tch." Yuri clicked his tongue in annoyance "How irritating." There went his plan for the turn but that didn't mean the full plan was going under the water just yet "I place two cards face down and end my turn!" Straight after, Yuri ran off in search of action cards.
Yuri's cards x3
Turn 3
"So let our tale restart as I draw!" Kioka drew her card for that turn with that smirk still on her face "Soon after the man made the deal with Cerberus, he was granted the ability to speak with the man or rather demon who was the holder of what he desired. The demon took on a human form to speak with the man and soon they formed a working partnership."
From his vantage point on top of the castle, Shiki had a smile grace his lips as he removed the half cape rather dramatically from his person, taking great care to sniff a new rose that he gained "Such a wonderful story, it makes me shiver every time I hear it."
"Together they crafted this, I activate the Continous Spell card The Forbidden Grimoire!" The card's art showed a large black book on the back of a starry back ground, numerous other seals could be seen and dark mist was slipping out of the pages.
"G-Grimoire…" Yuzu gulped, her eyes shaking and setting off alarm bells in Yuri's head as he arrived back, with an action card in his hand. "I-it can't be…"
'Don't go back there, Yuzu.' Yuri thought, staring at Yuzu's withering expression 'Remember what I told you, you've helped me before to get out of slumps. Don't make me regret helping you.'
Meanwhile, Yuzu's thoughts were set ablaze by repetitive chants of 'Grimoire! Grimoire!' Her bracelet began to glow in a soft pink that went unnoticed by most people in the arena, save for the person who was furthest away "Oh my lovely butterfly. That's your fate after all. Poor little you."
"The Grimoire of all Grimoires, together they achieved what the man had set out to do from the start." Kioka closed her eyes and let Teru take over.
"This Spell card gives all monsters…. That are summoned for the next two turns… 300 attack points for each level it has…" And once more, the effect seemed to be unfairly strong and the You Show crowd up in the stands were ready to complain again, only for Teru to jump in once more "However… For each monster that is boosted… A quid pro quo must be met… We lose life points equal to the additional power gained."
"Much like how the original Grimoire operated." Kioka opened her eyes back up "You see, the man who forged the contract used it to great effect forging a new era for the universe he inhabited. He won all that he desired, he won the adulation of the people and the fortune he so longed for. However, he was a ticking time bomb and he knew it. Slowly, oh so, slowly, his soul had become warped by the Grimoire's magic and he was soon transformed into a husk of his former self. I summon Occult Slazher Beta!"
The new monster was, just like the one that came before, a cybernetic warrior but this time it was a pure white colour held together by black electricity, it was wielding a doubled edged blade that was crackling with the same black electricity holding it together.
Occult Slazher Beta, Level 3, Machine, DARK, Effect (900/0)
Beta's ATK: 900 – 1800
Black mist began to seep across the field and enveloped the Lolita and giant, sucking away a portion of their life points. "Such is the nature of the Grimoire."
Teru and Kioka's LP: 4000 – 3100
"Now I activate Beta's effect, by sending one card in my hand to the graveyard, such as this one." The chosen card was soon dumped into the graveyard "I'm allowed to summon another copy of Beta from my deck to the field, although I will have to negate this one's effect." Beta proceeded to split itself in half as another version morphed onto the field.
Teru and Kioka's LP: 3100 – 2200
'Two Level 3 monsters.' Yuri thought suspiciously, a sentiment similar to his was running through Yuzu's head as well. 'That can only mean one thing…'
Kioka threw the parasol in the air as she went to declare her next move "Now! I overlay my two wondrous monsters!" The portal opened just as she caught her parasol in her outstretched hand "A monster made from the black arts that shines brighter than any other! XYZ summon! Rank 3! Occult Slazher Alpha Unit!"
The portal exploded and out of it emerged a monster that wasn't all too different from those that were summoned before it. It was only slightly larger than the monsters it was made from, but from the way the purple energy was crackling around it and the deadly sharp looking katana it was wielding, it was obviously the most deadly one of them so far. Green overlay units were floating around it.
Occult Slazher Alpha Unit, Rank 3, Machine, XYZ, DARK, Effect (2000/0) OVU's: 2
"Battle!" Kioka got a sharp, predatory look in her eyes as she called out to her monster "Attack that Predator Plant Ophrys Scorpio! Cursed Electric Slash!"
Alpha Unit charged out and went madly slashing at the plant scorpion, luckily for Yuri and Yuzu, Yuri had already thought ahead of time, the action card was about to become of use "I activate the Action Spell Evasion! This negates your monster's attack." The katana phased through the scorpion's body, much to the robot's surprise.
"Hahahahah!" Kioka laughed haughtily, bringing her hand beneath her chin and earning confused looks from Yuri and Yuzu "It's funny to me how you think you still stand a chance in this duel, if you're desperate enough to spend an action card like Evasion in order to protect such a monster than it shows you really have no clue what you're dealing with here."
"I suppose that's true I hadn't heard of you till about half an hour ago." Yuri quipped back, earning a glare from the two females on the field and a grunt from the still blank faced Teru.
"Well, then, Yuri-chan. You won't have much of an issue if I care to enlighten yourself about us further." Kioka said as Teru appeared beside her, again showing off the disparity in their size "We don't like to lose, Shiki isn't one for defeat either."
"When we saw you… Use Pendulum… We were intrigued."
"And thus we pushed Shiki to write to your school in order to see how we could deal with this. We wanted to take you down with our hands, to prove that we were the strongest young duelists in the country, not the son of some coward who invented a new summoning method out of thin air."
"Thus this duel…" Teru all of a sudden had managed to appear, without anyone noticing, behind Yuzu and had his hand crushed against her face "It's to prove a point… To see how good you are…. Without your Pendulum Summon and Fusion Summon…"
"And you will learn your lesson well! For I activate the effect of Alpha Unit!" One of the overlay units was sucked up into the awaiting katana of Alpha unit as its eyes glowed a ghostly ectoplasmic green "By using one overlay unit I trigger the following effect, Alpha unit can attack once more and all the damage we have taken this turn from all sources is added to its attack points!" That declaration made everyone from You Show's eyes widen. With the kids screaming out "What?!"
"Is that what the Grimoire card was for?" Yuzu asked, still rather uncomfortable over saying the word Grimoire, her bracelet still glowing.
"Yes…" Teru drawled, moving away from Yuzu and back towards his sister "By taken the damage from the Grimoire… We draw out more damage for you!"
The green haired Lolita cast a sly glance over in their direction "Do you know the best part of all of this? Alpha Unit is a monster that deals piercing battle damage!" And for the umpteenth time that day, Yuri and Yuzu had been put into a state of shock. "Do it again, Alpha!" Alpha charged with a renewed vigour as it went in for the kill.
Managing to recover from the shock, Yuri was quick to swing into action as Yuzu too went off in search of an action card "I activate the Trap Venomous Plant Wall!" The card showed three of Yuri's monsters, Moray Nepenthes, Fly Trap and Darlington Cobra all forming together to make a wall, while Starve Venom stayed just behind it, lying in wait for its next victim. "Using this card, my monster's destruction is prevented and you take half the damage we were supposed to receive." The cybernetic warrior's blade got lodged very quickly in the ever growing wall of thorns. As the thorns grew, they started to slink their way over to Teru and Kioka's side of the field.
"Teru-nii!" Kioka called out to her brother as they started to surround the pair.
"Yes… I activate… Cerbuian Dragnas!" As soon as the name was called out, another guard dog, this time with flaming red fur and blue eyes ran out in defence of the siblings "I put all my faith… In Cerberus a long time ago… Dragnas' effect! By discarding this card from my hand to the graveyard and paying 600 life points, any and all Spell or Traps activated during the battle phase are negated! Say goodbye to your worthless wall!" Flames spread from Dragnas' fur and incinerated the area around the field, including setting all the houses in the Kingdom, Yuri's thorny wall and eventually the siblings themselves as a payment.
"Ah, how sweet, a display of family amour. The guard dog who has to protect the violent aggressor. Perfect for how they duel."
Kioka and Teru's LP: 2200 – 1600
"Finish it, Alpha Unit!" Kioka declared after the flames subsided. Alpha Unit this time finally succeeded in its attack, tearing through Scorpion like it wasn't even there and succeeding in sending Yuri crashing back into the iron gates with a nasty gash across his body from the sword.
Yuri and Yuzu's LP: 4000 – 1000
Shiki sighed seeing the destruction "Oh lord, they've done it again, I should tell them to let off occasionally for the sake of the competitor's wellbeing. I hope little Yuri-kun is alright."
Yuzu was just in the process of figuring this out as the dust settled and Yuri's withered body was revealed to be crumpled around the smashed iron "Yuri! Yuri! Yuri!" She yelled and shook him, when he didn't respond something snapped inside her head. The glowing from her bracelet reached a boiling over point as it engulfed the field.
Whilst most were blinded by the light, one person couldn't help but have his jaw drop "What the hell? That can't be right…"
"You're going to wish you hadn't done that…" There was something dark in Yuzu's tone as her face contorted in rage, leaving Yuri's side and going back to the field. A dark aura was beginning to surround her with every extra step she took.
"And how do you propose… To do that…?" Teru asked, something finally bleeding through his bland voice as his tone turned into one of callous mocking.
"Teru-nii's right. Unless you have some method to break our lock then you're going nowhere fast. Plus, the Grimoire will only damage you more if you summon a monster!" Kioka backed her brother up. "I end my turn, try us!"
Kioka's cards x3
Turn 4
Yuzu laughed darkly "My turn, I draw!" There was a hushed silence amongst the crowd and especially within the You Show group, the three young kids were suddenly absolutely terrified of the girl they had always known as strict but also as kind. Shuzo couldn't believe that his daughter was acting like this and Gongenzaka was stuck in a state of surprise.
"I summon Score the Melodious Diva!" Yuzu's monster was a youngish looking girl with blue hair and wearing a white dress.
Score the Melodious Diva, Level 2, Fairy, LIGHT, Effect (200/200)
The Grimoire's dark power seeped through the pores on Score's skin filling the diva with a forbidden power. The mist also tried to take hold of Yuzu, however, it was beaten back by an even darker force to the surprise of the two goths.
Score's ATK: 200 – 800
Yuzu and Yuri's LP: 1000 – 400
"When I control one Melodious monster, I can summon Sonata the Melodious Diva to the field!" Sonata was a yellow skinned female with teal coloured hair and a similarly coloured dress.
Sonata the Melodious Diva, Level 3, Fairy, LIGHT, Effect (1200/1000)
Sonata's ATK: 1200 – 2100
"You've done it now!" Teru yelled, his impediment seemingly vanishing into nowhere "That is the card that shall send you over the edge! The Grimoire's effect now activates and will rob you of your last remaining life points!"
Yuu laughed darkly once more, flapping the action card in her hand mockingly "Keheheh. I don't think so, I activate the Action Spell Blood Serenade!" The scene was of a wine glass full of blood "Any effect damage I may take is negated." Teru scoffed in response.
"Sonata's effect! When this special summoned card is on the field, all fairy type monsters that I control gain 500 attack and defence points!" The two Melodious monsters sung in a higher resonating pitch as their power strengthened.
Sonata's ATK: 2100 – 2600
Score's ATK: 800 – 1300
"Battle!" A sadistic grin cracked onto Yuzu's crazed face as Yuri was finally rousing from the attack he had suffered "Sonata attack Loewen!" She plucked another card from her hand "I will also activate the effect of the second Score in my hand! By sending this card from my hand to the graveyard your monster loses all of its attack and defence points!"
"What?!" Teru and Kioka exclaimed, sharing worried glances with each other.
Sonata sung louder and louder, creating a discordant melody that harmed the ears of the watching crowd. Then she dived towards the awaiting hound, crashing into it and sending the two goths flying backwards, the perfect punishment for what they did to Yuri. "I win." She declared coldly.
But as the field failed to dissipate she grew annoyed, falling to notice Yuri staggering towards her with a soft cry of "Yuzu… Yuzu…"
"I told you." Kioka's voice pierced loudly through the air as the dust cloud settled, revealing the pair just barely standing with their clothes in taters and panting heavily "We don't like losing."
"How?!" Yuzu was blisteringly angry as Yuri had finally reached her side.
Teru took charge this time, holding a card in his hand "Cerbuian Allegiance's last effect! By sending this card I control to the graveyard all the battle damage we would have taken this turn is cut in half!"
Kioka and Teru's LP: 1600 – 300
"Damn you!" Yuzu cursed out much to the astonishment of the You Show bunch, including Yuri. But Yuzu still had one last attack to use and the Goth siblings wouldn't be able to survive it. "Scor-" However, she soon felt the added weight of a one Yuri Sakaki collapsed over her.
He was… Crying? Into her shoulder. Yuri didn't cry often, hell the last time he had cried had been about 10 years or so ago. He hadn't even cried when Yusho had disappeared as he held onto the errant belief that he would be coming back one day. But either seeing Yuzu in such a state or from the amount of pain he still felt as a result of Alpha Unit's attack, he couldn't help but bawl his eyes out on her shoulder "Don't… Yuzu. Don't become a monster…" This words had seemingly struck a chord somewhere in Yuzu's head as the dark aura began to fade "Academia made me a monster… You fixed that… So don't you dare fall into the same trap I did!"
The darkness seemed to completely fade after that exclamation and Yuzu collapsed to her knees, placing her forehead on Yuri's. "Yuri… What just happened…? I end my turn…"
Yuzu's cards x4
Turn 5
Teru was done, he wasn't going sit in silence any longer and be the watchdog, because as he had always believed "Watchdogs bite too…"
He took the Action in his hand that he had gained when he arrived over on Yuri and Yuzu's field "I activate the Action Spell Blood Ball! It gives my opponent 200 points of damage for each spell and trap card that we control on our field. That's exactly 400, Kioka-nee's Forbidden Grimoire and my Cerberus' Gate!" A ball of blood soon found its way into the giant's hands "My condolences." He chucked it at the crestfallen pair and vanquished their remaining life points.
Yuri and Yuzu's LP: 400 – 0
Kioka and Teru: Win!
'Come now, we'll open up the door this time forever. The door leading Makzis' domain, the key is in your hands, an unknown world is waiting for you two, Yuzu Hiiragi and Yuri Sakaki.'
(Fusion Dimension)
Reisuke sighed as he took a step back to observe his new piece. There were certain times where not even the soothing nature of the piano could calm him down from his frustrations.
"You did well on this one."
"Thanks…" He muttered to no one in particular as he set down a palette below the canvas in front of him.
When the piano wouldn't work, the Commandant turned to crafting works of art. Painting seemed to be another cathartic release for Reisuke as many times in the past it had stopped him from being destructive to those around him or even self-destructive to himself. "Shame, Li-Li is too busy to see it, he would like this one."
"Bah, don't bother yourself, Reisuke." He spoke out again, once more to none in particular as he picked up the portrait. "I think this one is going to go best with the Kyrie of Illusions, maybe it should be called 'The Pitiful Lullaby'. Isn't that a good title?"
The scene painted was very abstract and surrealist to say the least. It showed a city at night gradually warping into a scene of purple flames, there were two giants that were rooming this city. One of them was made out of parts of the city that included windows, buildings and even parts of people's cars. The other one seemed much more human like with big beady eyes that scoured the scene looking for anyone to destroy. Above all of them was a singular figure, a clearly human character with long flowing green hair but the main difference being that out of his back was a pair of long black angel wings.
"Yes, it is a crazy lullaby after all." Placing the portrait next to the sea of other ones, Reisuke returned to his piano with a mischief playing in his eyes. He rubbed his hand across the sleek white surface and the keys before he began to play once more.
"You are burned in the midst of the flames. Take my hand, this game is already over." Briefly, very briefly, a sheen of gold over took Reisuke's right eye "The fate of that dark look in your eye will never be taught."
He took a deep breath, eyeing another one of the paintings he had nearby, one of a certain teal haired male and his mechanical falcon "You lose all hope to defeat me. Believe that this "game" is already over. Such a Kyrie ah~ it's loved, let's sing...Destroy... destroy..."
"Ah "The world" will be destroyed..."
"...isn't it thrilling?"
In another room, something far more destructive and sadistic was going on. A grey haired male was sat with a grin on his face towards the purple haired girl tied up before him. The girl was clearly battered and bruised with scars running down her cheeks, a couple scars also went just below her eyes and on the bridge of her nose. "Hey, Ruri, little birdie. Don't you cry..." Yali cooed, grasping hold of Ruri's face despite the purple haired girl's best efforts "If you do that, then I'll have no choice but to remove those precious wings of yours." He then pulled something long and ruthlessly sharp from his sleeve.
"W-why are you doing this, Y-Yali-i?" Ruri quivered "We used to be f-" Whatever Ruri was going to say was cut off by Yali placing the metal of the blade on her cheek.
"So that you'll belong to me and Academia for the rest of time..." The way he tried to sound so sincere was sickening to the XYZ duelist. It was a lurid, perverted and fake kindness.
Seeing the person that she thought she knew so well doing this to her, Ruri began to tear up and soon singular drops turned to many that cascaded down her cheeks "Even all the tears that along your scarred cheeks will fall, I'll contain them with the rest of it as my eternal treasure."
"…Isn't it thrilling?"
A/N: So, that was finished much faster than I expected, it was something that I wasn't expecting to get even started on until after the end of my exams but I was able to find enough time in between revision session to get it done.
Anyway, this chapter is a bit of a hard hitting one isn't it? Yuzu going berserk, Ruri under the control of and being tortured by a far too happy Yali and a very creepy duel school to put it lightly.
Now onto the reviews
Jalen Johnson: I already talk it over with you, but thanks and I hope you enjoy this one.
Arianna1998: I've also gone over this one with you, thanks and I hope you enjoy this one.
ThePLOThand: Yeah, Starve Venemy is main deck for reasons that will be explained later in the story. The rest of it I talked over with you as well, at least in this chapter there is a further dive into the Grimoire, even though it won't do much to explain what it really is.
YugiFan1.1: Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like the chapter , I hope you like this one if you do read it.
Now, I have a QOTC this time round: What do you think overtook Yuzu and what do you think was the real reason behind the duel?
See ya!