Yu-Gi-Oh! NEO
Chapter 3: Sudden Invitation? The Alina Duel Academy Entrance Exam!
"GAHAHAHAHA! Is that the best you can do, my prey?" The man said as he slowly approached the defeated Yuri, still roped by the duel anchor. "GAHAHAHAHA!"
Seeing this, Jonathan stood in between the man and Yuri. "Stop it!" he exclaimed. "You're getting way into your role!"
Hearing this, Yuri was shocked. "What…?" was all she could mutter.
"GAHAHAHAHA! Let me have my fun, Jon! It's been a long time since I last got to do this!"
"Has it really?" Jonathan scratched the back of his head. "I guess I'm getting old…"
Yuri has finally gotten enough strength to stand up again. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, this?" Jonathan beckoned to himself and the other man. "This was your entrance exam."
"Entrance… Exam?"
"You see, my prey, my name is Ash Barett, a teacher at Alina Duel Academy, and this little device here is bogus."
"The… Duel Academy?" Yuri is still confused, but she got the basic gist. She turned her attention to Jonathan. "Explain."
Jonathan raised his hands in front of him, as if to calm a beast. "Please don't give me that glare. I mean no harm."
Yuri kept her glare.
"Okay, okay," he said. "I at least owe you an explanation."
"Just start explaining."
"You see, Director Wright, the Headmaster of Alina Duel Academy, contacted me a few weeks ago. He wanted both you and Yumi to enter the Academy."
"Why? What does he know about me and my sister? WHAT DOES HE WANT!?"
"He knows a lot about you. And there's a lot of reason to want you in his school."
"Just tell me everything."
"All in good time. For now, we must go home. It's inappropriate to keep our guest waiting."
"Guest…?"
Yuri's eyes widened. Her heart raced as her body began to move. She darted through the dark streets, navigating through the many twist and turns to get back home and, to her horror, the door was currently unlocked.
"Yumi!" she shouted as she entered. She could see light coming from the kitchen, so she decided to go there. "Yumi!"
As she reached the kitchen, she saw her sister, bringing a bit of relief in her. But she also heard the laugh on an elderly man. "Who are you!?" she said.
The man screamed at the top of his lungs as she got a good look at the scene. It seems that Yuri is currently serving the man tea, but her sudden intrusion caused her to miss the cup and instead poured it into the man.
"Ah, sis!"
"Ms. Mayumi, I presume?" the man, currently slumped at the table and writhing in pain due to the heat of the water, said weakly.
"Answer my question!" She approached the table as she spoke, angrily stomping her feet along the way.
Yumi went in and tried to stop her sister. "Sis calm down!" she said. "This gentleman here is Mr. Wright, Director of Alina Duel Academy."
"Yumi go to your room now."
"But…!" Yumi was about to protest, but when she saw her sister's glare, she decided to just obey.
With her sister gone, Yuri took a seat across the table, directing her stare at the man on the other side. "What is it that you want from me and my sister?"
Having recovered from the shock, the man was finally able to sit down properly. "Please, calm down. I mean no harm."
"I know that already. What I want to know is why do you want me and my sister?"
He was about to answer, but someone cut them off from the outside.
"I'm sorry Anderson. She just darted off on her own." Jonathan's voice said, right before physically entering the room with the other man.
"Ah, I see you've returned!" Wright said. "So, how was she?"
"Still rough on the edges, but she can handle herself. You could tell her no problem."
"Tell me what?" Yuri asked them.
Wright's face took a serious turn and, as the other two men positioned behind him, he began to speak in a grim voice. "You want to keep your sister safe, don't you?"
The sun has finally risen as Yumi stretched after waking up. She's been holed up in her room since her sister sent her there last night, but things seemed to have quieted down now.
She dressed up, took her deck and duel disk, and went downstairs.
There she saw her sister who likely haven't slept yet. The other man is now gone, and it's likely that Jonathan is still asleep after last night's shift.
"Sis?" She then noticed tear stains in her sister's face, as well as her bright red eyes. "What happened?"
Yuri didn't speak. She just fell down on her knees and hugged Yumi as tightly as she could, tears once again streaming down across her face.
"Sis?"
She doesn't respond. She just kept crying and crying for what seemed like hours. After a while, she finally stopped.
"I'm sorry," she said, fixing herself.
"What happened?" Yumi asked again.
"Yumi," she said, drinking a glass of water. "Tomorrow you will take the entrance exam at Alina Duel Academy. We will study there under full scholarship."
"I get to go to school!?" Yumi exclaimed.
Yuri faked a smile as she looked at her sister. "Yes." she said.
Yumi's face lit up as she heard that. However, although she's happy to be able to go to school, she still has an uneasy feeling regarding her sister.
The next day came quickly and Yumi and Yuri found themselves in the enormous campus of Alina Duel Academy. Many people filled the grounds, mostly ones who are hopeful to get into the academy as students.
Yumi's eyes are wide-open as she looked around, seeing various students -including ones currently dueling - with different decks. And while some are less than happy to see them here, most are welcoming and are more than happy to play a duel with her little sister.
They didn't have long for sight-seeing, though, as a holographic face came up in under an hour.
"Hey sis! That's the Headmaster, right?"
She looked up to it, and it was indeed Anderson Wright. "Yes, he's the headmaster," she said.
"Attention duelists. I am Director Anderson Wright, Headmaster of this academy. I'd like to welcome you all to my Academy, but we still need to determine if you are worthy of calling yourself students of Alina Duel Academy. So, good luck to you all!"
The crowd cheered as students filtered through into the various examination rooms.
"Is this really okay?" Jonathan asked Wright within his office, watching the two sisters through security cameras.
"Her resolve is absolute." He put together his palms, resting his nose where they met. "Besides, this is her fight too."
"Duelist #612, please go to Arena #4."
"Sis that's me!" Yumi said excitedly.
"Yes. Now go get them!"
"Of course!"
Yumi ran straight to the arena she's supposed to fight in, taking her spot opposite to the proctor.
"I hope you studied well for this, young lady!"
Yumi was unsure about how she should respond, but eventually settled on stiffing up and saluting. "YES, MA'AM!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
The woman chuckled a bit, just soft enough that Yumi didn't hear, before quickly returning to a serious demeanor. "All you have to do is to defeat me in a duel, then you will pass the exam!" She readied her duel disk, placing her deck in the holder. "I will be using an Academy-issued deck, so prepare yourself!"
Seeing her confidence, Yumi got rather nervous. However, getting into the Academy will be the first time she goes to school, so this is not an opportunity she can pass up. So, after slapping herself real hard, she copied the proctor and readied her duel disk. "I'm good!" she said.
'DUEL!'
Yumi: 4000
Proctor: 4000
"As per Academy rules, the student takes the first turn, so go on."
Turn 1: Yumi
"Alright!" she said, finally getting into the groove now that her cards are out. "I'll start off by activating this! Solar Recharge!" After placing the spell card, she then discarded a card from her hand. "By sending 1 'Lightsworn' monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can, from the deck, draw two cards and send two others to the graveyard!"
"Playing aggressive?" the proctor noted.
"I set 1 monster and two face-down cards, turn end!"
"Or not…"
Turn 2: Proctor
"I guess it's my turn, then! Draw!" She looked over her hand, trying to formulate a plan. After a short deliberation, she smirked. "I'll start by playing this! Field Magic Magical Meltdown!"
Circles started to show up in the ground as she played her card. Once the circle was finished, the entire field was filled with a heavy magical presence, weighing in on everyone in there.
"As I activated Magical Meltdown, it calls upon the one who first made this spell, so I add Aleister the Invoker from my deck to my hand, who I normal summon!"
Immediately after taking a card from her deck, she played it on her disk. What came out was a young man in white robes, holding a book and a scepter. As soon as the man appeared, though, the magic of the field intensified.
Aleister the Invoker [Level 4/DARK/Spellcaster/1000 ATK/1800 DEF]
"So… cool…" was the only thing Yumi can say in face of the sorcerer,
"Now that I summoned Aleister, I can use his effect to add his favorite spell to my hand - Invocation!" Once again, the proctor took a card from her deck and immediately played it on the field, causing another circle to appear. "Invocation's effect activates! Once per turn, I can banish 1 "Aleister the Invoker" I control and 1 other monster from my hand, field, or graveyard in order to perform a fusion summon!" As she said that, Aleister and 1 other card from her hand disappeared.
"Magic born of light and darkness, pierce through the deepest parts of hell and call upon the strongest of demons! FUSION SUMMON!"
The circle produced by Invocation began to glow, causing the ground it covers to be consumed by a deep hole. From that hole appeared a tiny flame sprite with a sinister smile, followed by an incomprehensible creature made of the same flames as the tiny sprite.
"Appear! Invoked Purgatorio!"
Invoked Purgatorio [Level 7/FIRE/Fiend/2300 ATK/2000 DEF]
"This one's creepy!" Yumi squealed. "But it's still so freaking cool!"
"I'm glad you liked it," the proctor said. "I myself am not fond of these creatures, yet the director insists on using them." She fixed her glasses. "Anyways, I activate Purgatorio's effect!"
The purple flame demon burned a little bit brighter, raising it's attack.
Invoked Purgatorio [2300 ATK-2500 ATK]
"This card gains 200 ATK for every monster you control." She motioned dramatically, the first time during this duel. "Purgatorio, attack the face-down monster!"
The abomination of a creature moved forward, attacking a card, which revealed itself to be a weird mix between a dog and a cat, barking defiantly at the face of great danger but was, inevitably, destroyed. This destruction caused a powerful shock wave, sending Yumi back.
Yumi: 1600
"Hey!" Yumi said, both confused and irritated. "Why did I lose life points!?"
The proctor smirked, again the first one during the duel. "Thanks to his other effect, Purgatorio also deals piercing damage during battle! BUT, since I destroyed your monster, his attack goes down again."
Invoked Purgatorio [2500-2300]
"Doesn't matter! I activate Ryko's flip effect! By sending 3 cards from my deck to the graveyard, I can destroy your Purgatorio!"
After her cards disappeared from her deck, the spirit of the beast returned, attacking the creature. It struggled, though, and eventually gave up.
"What gives!?"
"Thanks to the effect of Magical Meltdown, Fusion monsters I control cannot be destroyed by card effects!" The proctor smirked again. "I set one card and end my turn here!"
"That's just cheating!"
"The first rule of the Academy forbids cheating of any sort." She looked directly into Yumi's eyes, piercing into her soul. "The second rule forbids any baseless accusations. Inability to comply with either results in permanent expulsion."
Yumi gulped, before putting her hands together to beg. "Please don't expel me before I get into the school! Please!"
The proctor let out an audible chuckle. "Just don't do it again," she said in a stern voice.
"Yes ma'am!"
"Now, draw your card and show me what you can really do!"
Yumi placed her hand in her deck. The proctor's last turn was really good. If she wants to win, she'll have to top that. However, she's not sure if she could. Her hand - Raiden and Lyla - couldn't really deal with her opponent's cards, and her face-downs won't be able to do a thing either.
Earlier that morning
"Yumi, I want you to have this card," said Yuri, all traces of yesterday's tears now gone.
"But this your card, sis!"
Yuri patted her head, ruffling her hair. "Consider it a good luck charm, then."
"That's it! I just have to draw that card!"
Having found a way to destroy Invoked Purgatorio, Yumi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She will win - no - she has to win this duel no matter what. Not only does her sister believe in her, but so does the Headmaster if he's willing to give her full scholarship. And more importantly, this will be her one chance to go back into school. Into a decent life before they had to move in with Mr. Ham. It's not that she doesn't like him, but she still misses her old life. Besides, if she gets in and graduates, there's no way she'll be forgetting him! So, she has to win this.
"DRAW!"
TO BE CONTINUED…
Hello again and thank you for reading this chapter! I realized that Chapter 1 is pretty weak on it's own, so I decided to make a one-time decision about releasing this two chapters at earlier so as to not leave it alone. In hindsight, I probably should've released a three-part opening right from the start. Also, some of you might be wondering about cards you've never heard about, like Exorsister Ascento and Last Second Chance, so I think I should say that they're custom cards to be used throughout the series, either to make the plot more interesting/make it move or to give boost to relatively small archetypes like the Exorsisters. I'll be uploading every 5 chapters to keep the actual chapters relatively short. Again thank you for reading and see you next time!