"Big brother!"

Shun Kurosaki felt a sense of impending doom. Even so, he turned back to look at his sisters with a smile on his face, as any proper big brother should do. All four of them were there. Serena was the one to speak up first.

"Who's the strongest out of us all?"

Shun blinked, before he mentally reassessed his priorities.

Then, he bolted, delaying the question for another day.

Well, he thought, looking at the screen. That question was finally going to be answered.

The four Kurosakis faced off against each other.

"Taking bets, taking bets!"

"Again?" Yuto said with a sigh. Yuri only smirked, as the four jars filled up along with his notebook.

"I'm closing bets soon!" Yuri turned to Yuto. "I'll have you know that finances are required to start an evil empire." He did not explain more, and then after a few minutes where Nico tried to hype up the crowd, he clapped his hands together. "Alright, bets closed, thank you!"

The four jars were roughly the same height, which was very interesting.

Not even the audience knew which Kurosaki would win.

"To decide the order, the Kurosakis will reveal the top card of their decks before they shuffle them again. The one with the highest Level will go first!" Yuzu revealed Mozarta, a Level 8, undoubtedly going to go first. Rin revealed Blizzard Bell, a Level 5. Meanwhile, Ruri unsurprisingly revealed a Level 1 Lyrical Luscinia, and Serena revealed White Rabbit, a Level 2. So that meant that the order would be Yuzu, Rin, Serena and Ruri.

"Let's go!" Serena called, and they all raised their duel disks.

Yuri grinned, and closed off his jars.

Yuzu Kurosaki: 4000LP

Rin Kurosaki: 4000LP

Serena Kurosaki: 4000LP

Ruri Kurosaki: 4000LP

"Since I'm starting first," Yuzu said with a grin, "I'll go on and Normal Summon Solo the Melodious Songstress!" (4*/1600/1000/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) from my hand!" The pretty idol in a red dress appeared, a smile on her face. "I'll go ahead and Special Summon Canon the Melodious Diva (4*/1400/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) from my hand since I control a "Melodious" monster. A blue-haired woman appeared with a calm look on her face. Yuzu winked. "Open, circuit of melodious harmony!"

"A Link Summon?" Rin nodded. "Interesting."

"Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two Fairy monsters! I will set Solo and Canon in the Link Markers!" The two monsters vanished into the circuit above her. "Beautiful composer with the harmonic voice of angels! Appear now and bring out our lovely melody! Link Summon! Link 2! Bloom Harmonist the Melodious Composer!" (L2/1000/LIGHT/Fairy/Link/Effect/↙, ↘) A beautiful pink-haired woman appeared on her field, glowing with light and dressed in light pastel colours.

"Nice," Serena complimented.

"Thanks! I'll discard a card and with Harmonist's effect, I will bring out "Melodious" monsters from my deck with different Levels! However, they appear in Defence Position and I cannot summon non-"Melodious" monsters this turn!" She swiped two cards from her deck. "I'll Special Summon Soprano the Melodious Diva!" (4*/1400/1400/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) The first monster that appeared had lovely green skin and small vortexes swirling around her. "And also Shopina the Melodious Maestra!" (7*/2300/1700/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) The purple-themed monster appeared on her field, glowing. She smiled. "Soprano adds a "Melodious" monster in my graveyard back to my hand. I will add Solo to my hand. And Shopina adds a Fairy in my graveyard to my hand! I will add Canon back as well!" She grinned. "I'll now activate Soprano's effect to fuse using materials on my field! I will fuse Soprano and Harmonist!"

"Fusion as well."

"Genius composer! Supreme prodigy! With guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! Now come here to the stage! Schuberta the Melodious Maestra!" (6*/2400/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Fusion/Effect) The lovely orange-haired woman appeared in front of her. "I end my turn."

"Draw!" Rin declared. "Since I control no monsters, I will Special Summon Wind Witch – Ice Bell (3*/1000/1000/WIND/Spellcaster/Effect) from my hand, along with another "Wind Witch" from my deck! Come, Wind Witch – Glass Bell!" (4*/1500/1500/WIND/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect) It was a fairly standard and familiar move on Rin's part, and one that they were all incredibly familiar with. "Next, I will activate their effects! Ice Bell will burn Ruri for 500 damage, while Glass Bell will add a "Windwitch" to my hand, but stops me from bringing out any non-WIND monsters this turn!"

The winds pushed Ruri back slightly, though the black-haired girl seemed relatively unfazed.

Ruri Kurosaki: 4000 – 500 = 3500LP

"Oi, why Ruri?" Serena called. "Are you underestimating Yuzu and I?"

Rin sighed. "If you all were smart about it, you'd go after Ruri too," she said. "She has the first Battle Phase, and if she brings out Assembly Nightingale, she's quite literally untouchable. But of course… I'm not just going to burn Ruri this turn."

Yuzu inclined her head in acknowledgement, though she said nothing else. Ruri simply smiled sweetly.

"Next, I will go ahead and make the best first move, since Yuzu didn't bring out her ace!" Rin raised her hand into the air. "I will tune the Level 4 Wind Witch – Glass Bell to the Level 3 Wind Witch – Ice Bell! Midwinter wind. Make ice and snow my power and blow through! Synchro Summon! Appear! Level 7! Wind Witch - Winter Bell!" (7*/2400/2000/WIND/Spellcaster/Synchro/Effect) Rin's ace appeared, flying around her before landing abruptly, snowflakes falling all around her.

"Bloody hell, Winter Bell so quickly?"

"Not in favour of holding back," Rin quipped. "So you all had better catch up, yeah? Winter Bell's effect! I'll target Glass Bell in my graveyard, and burn Serena for 200 damage times its Level! Hypothermic Subzero!"

"What?" Serena said, before her life points dropped, the explosive gust of wind hitting her head-on.

Serena Kurosaki: 4000 – 200 x 4 = 3200LP

"Looks like you got your wish, Serena," Yuzu teased.

"Ugh, let's not talk about that."

"I'll set a card and end my turn," Rin declared. "Over to you, Serena."

"Draw!" Serena seemed pleased by what she saw there. "I'll discard Lunalight Black Sheep (2*/100/600/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect) from my hand to add Polymerization from my deck to my hand."

An even more standard move on Serena's part, especially if her next move was—

"Next, I'll Normal Summon Lunalight Emerald Bird (4*/1200/1000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect) from my hand!"

Oh. Never mind then. The green dancer appeared, sticking out her tongue at Schuberta, who rolled her eyes at the other monster's antics.

"With her effect, I will discard to draw. Next, I will activate Lunalight Fusion." She gave a surprisingly sardonic smile to Rin. "I'm going to one-up you, Rin."

"Hmm? How so?"

"If my opponent controls a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can Fusion Summon using a "Lunalight" monster in my Extra Deck or Deck as well! So I'll fuse Lunalight Emerald Bird on the field, Lunalight Crimson Fox (4*/1800/600/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect) in my hand, and Lunalight Panther Dancer (8*/2800/2500/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect) in my Extra Deck!"

The realisation had dawned on all of them slowly, but the only one to react to it aloud was Rin. "Shit."

"Yup," Serena said. "So, let's go! "Elegant beast dancing on the moonlit wilderness! Emerald wings glowing in the pale light! Red hunter with cunning intentions! Swarm in a vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! The king of beasts dancing atop the summit of the moonlight wilderness! Lunalight Leo Dancer!" (10*/3500/3000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect) The 'ace beyond aces' appeared on the field. "Emerald Bird will bring back Lunalight Black Sheep from my graveyard in Defence Position." She smirked. "I'll set one card and end my turn."

"Damn," Yuzu said. "You're really not holding back."

"As if I would!" Serena turned to Ruri. "Come on, Ruri! We're all dropping gauntlets here, so how about you raise it even further?"

Ruri, who seemed completely unfazed, simply took the top card of her deck with a smile. "I will activate Tribute to the Doomed. By discarding a card, I can destroy a monster you control! I will destroy Wind Witch – Winter Bell!"

Rin let it be destroyed, not saying anything in response to it. Then, Yuzu herself spoke up. "Let me help you make that a bit more permanent, Ruri. I'll activate Schuberta's effect! Once per turn, I can banish up to three cards from any of our graveyards to give her 200 attack points for each. I will banish Lunalight Crimson Fox, Wind Witch – Glass Bell and Wind Witch – Winter Bell! Lovely Inspiration!"

Rin's eyes widened, before she sighed. "Chaining my set card. Ice Wind's Refrain!" The pink-bordered card appeared. "Since it resolves first, I will activate its first effect to Special Summon a "Wind Witch" monster from the graveyard, like Wind Witch – Winter Bell!" The beautiful crystalline monster reappeared. "And now your effect only banishes two cards!"

Yuzu nodded. "That's fine," she said. (Schuberta the Melodious Maestra: 2400 + 200 x 2 = 2800ATK) "Sorry I couldn't help much, Ruri."

"No, thanks for trying!" Ruri took another card from her hand. "Since I control no monsters, I will Special Summon Lyrical Luscinia – Turquoise Warbler (1*/100/100/WIND/Winged-Beast/Effect) from my hand!" The yellow-green monster appeared on the field, winking. "And when Turquoise Warbler is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon a "Lyrical Luscinia" monster from my hand or graveyard! I will Special Summon Lyrical Luscinia – Cobalt Sparrow (1*/0/100/WIND/Winged-Beast/Effect) from my graveyard!" The card that she had discarded returned in the form of a girl dressed in brown feathers. "And Cobalt Sparrow will add a Level 1 Winged Beast from my deck to my hand, so I will add Lyrical Luscinia – Sapphire Swallow (1*/100/0/WIND/Winged-Beast/Effect) to my hand. Next, since I control a Winged Beast monster, I can Special Summon Sapphire Swallow and another Level 1 Winged Beast from my hand! Come, Sapphire Swallow! And also, appear, Lyrical Luscinia – Garnet Pitta!" (1*/0/0/WIND/Winged-Beast/Effect) A dark red winged humanoid appeared, a smile on her face. "Finally, since I control only WIND monsters, I can Special Summon Wind Witch – Snow Bell (1*/100/100/WIND/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect) from my hand!"

"Wind Witch," Yuzu said with a sigh. "It does fit well in your deck, but Rin, this shows your favouritism."

"Yeah, Rin!" Serena was quick to join in the teasing. "Any reason why only Ruri gets your cards?"

"Oh my god, both of you, stop now."

Ruri laughed. "I'll discard Lyrical Luscinia – Ruby Raven (1*/0/0/WIND/Winged-Beast/Effect) since I control at least 2 "Lyrical Luscinia" monsters. With her effect, I can draw two cards." She flicks out her hand. "I will overlay my five Level 1 monsters!" The five WIND-themed monsters drifted above her, turning into green energy that swirled around. "Birds with beautiful wings! Gather on the battlefield and take brilliant flight! Xyz Summon! Dance in the sky! Rank 1! Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale!" (R1/0/0/WIND/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/OU:5)

"Oh," Serena said. "Come on, Ruri."

"Sorry!" She said cheerfully. "Sapphire Swallow lets Assembly Nightingale gain another Overlay Unit from the graveyard, and we all know that Assembly Nightingale gains attack points for each of her Overlay Units. So I'll let you all see the result yourself!" The multi-coloured winged-woman flew around, six brightly coloured orbs surrounding her. (Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale: OU:5 + 1 = OU:6; 0 + 200 x 6 = 1200ATK)

"Damn," Yuri said. "Guess I underestimated her just a bit. It's plain to see just how much her handicap from the previous match dragged her down, right?"

Yuto nodded, watching the dancing monster.

It was as beautiful as ever, and suited Ruri Kurosaki as much.

He…

He was so freaking screwed.

"Assembly Nightingale can attack once for each of her Overlay Units!" She pointed forward. "Attack Rin directly!"

That made sense, Yuzu thought. Rin was probably the only one that could hurt Ruri while Assembly Nightingale remained on the field. And by far the most direct in dealing damage, meaning that letting Ruri take her out would be good for them all.

"During the Battle Phase, Winter Bell lets me Special Summon a "Windwitch" monster from my hand!" Rin declared. "I'll Special Summon Wind Witch – Glass Bell from my hand! And with her effect, I will add Wind Witch – Blizzard Bell (5*/1800/1800/WIND/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect) to my hand!"

"I'll take that replay," Ruri said. "I'll have Assembly Nightingale attack you directly again!"

Once again, Yuzu simply watched.

Someone else acted.

"Set card, the trap Breakthrough Skill!" Serena declared, the card flipping up. "I'll negate your Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale's effects until the End Phase!" Assembly Nightingale froze, stuck in place. "So since you can't attack directly or attack multiple times, what are you going to do?"

Right. Breakthrough Skill was a very good card to use against Ruri and Yuzu in particular, since their aces relied so much on effects.

"Without her effect, Assembly Nightingale can't do much," Ruri admitted. "I'll set a card and end my turn."

"Draw!" Yuzu declared. Alright. Serena clearly helped Rin out, and she helped Ruri… so either she stuck to this weird alliance, or she tried to make everyone unpredictable. Either way…

Alright. She had her answer.

"I will activate Polymerization," Yuzu said. "I will fuse Shopina with Canon the Melodious Diva in my hand!" The two monsters swirled in a portal above her. "Supreme prodigy! Youthful genius! With the guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! Now come here to the stage! Sing the song of victory! Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir!" (6*/1000/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Fusion/Effect)

Her ace emerged and sang out a few notes, joyful and youthful.

"Oh great," Rin said with a sigh. "Bloom Diva's out too."

"As if Assembly Nightingale wasn't enough," Serena agreed.

"Don't sound so upset!" Yuzu chided. Ok… so attacking with Bloom Diva was a surefire way to lose her monster since Breakthrough Skill could be used in the graveyard, right? So she should probably attack with Schuberta first. "I'll have Schuberta the Melodious Maestra attack Wind Witch – Winter Bell!"

"During the Battle Phase, I can Special Summon a "Wind Witch" monster from my hand with a lower Level than one that I control on the field!" Rin declared. "I'll Special Summon Wind Witch – Gale Bell (6*/2000/1000/WIND/Spellcaster/Effect) from my hand!" A pale silvery-grey witch appeared, sitting on a broom covered with tinkling bells, all silver and bronze, contrasting and yet creating a lovely melody. "On the turn that Wind Witch – Gale Bell is Special Summoned, my "Wind Witch" monsters cannot be destroyed by battle!" She pointed out a finger at Yuzu. "If you want to ally against me, Yuzu, let me show why I'm the strongest here, because you're going to be taking more damage from this battle than I am! Gale Bell also deals you 500 damage for each "Wind Witch" monster I control when it is summoned, including itself! Freezing Gale!"

Yuzu braced herself as the winds brushed across her. At the same time, Schuberta hit Rin with a shockwave as well.

Yuzu Kurosaki: 4000 – 500 x 3 = 2500LP

Rin Kurosaki: 4000 – 400 = 3600LP

"This, Rin," Serena quipped, "is what I would call disproportionate revenge."

"You… really have no room to talk, Serena," Yuzu joked. "Or are you not going to shove Leo Dancer in our face once it's your turn?"

"Point made," Serena said.

Rin rolled her eyes. "Get along with it already, Yuzu."

"I'll end my turn," she said. "After I set a card, of course."

"Then I will take that Main Phase 2 of yours and send Wind Witch – Blizzard Bell from my hand to the graveyard to deal 500 damage to my opponent." She turned to Serena. "That will be you!"

Serena had absolutely no time to react before the wind hit her.

Serena Kurosaki: 3200 – 500 = 2700LP

"How does it feel to be betrayed, Serena?" Yuzu said dryly, and Ruri let out a giggle before restraining herself.

"They look like they're having so much fun," Yuya said cheerfully, even as Yuri, Sora and Yugo were practically howling with laughter next to him. Gongenzaka nodded.

"They all have the spirit of a duelist," he said.

"What does that even mean?" Yuto said, full of as much snark as Yuzu in that moment. "Anyway, if you mean that they're competitive but good-spirited? I guess that's a thing. But only one of them's actually going to win."

"That's Rin, of course," Yuri said, after he calmed down a little.

Yuto raised an eyebrow. "Is it?" He said enigmatically, but did not elaborate more.

"Oi, Rin!"

"Sorry," Rin said with a sigh. "My turn. Draw!" She nodded at the card. "I'll take a page from Ruri's book and Special Summon Wind Witch – Snow Bell from my hand!" She smiled. "I will activate Wind Witch – Winter Bell's effect. By targeting the Level 5 Wind Witch – Blizzard Bell in my graveyard, I will deal Ruri 200 damage for each of its Levels! Hypothermic Subzero!"

The spellcaster shot out a bright gust of wind, and Ruri's life points shot down.

Ruri Kurosaki: 3500 – 200 x 5 = 2500LP

"Now," Rin said, "I'm going to tune the Level 1 Wind Witch – Snow Bell to the Level 7 Wind Witch – Winter Bell!" The two monsters turned into a single ring that Winter Bell flew through, turning into green and blue light that swirled around her, before exploding, icy crystals flying around her and turning into a humanoid made of blue crystal, the horizontal crescent connected to its body made of white and gold metal. "Beautiful, shining, pure ice! Swirl around in the bright wind and create a new form of direct, unbreakable shape! Synchro Summon!" Blue crystal filled up the metal outline as well, ice crystals floating around it in an orbit. Two limbs made of gold and white metal but disconnected to the body appeared as well, thin and sharp. "Level 8! Wind Witch – Diamond Bell!" (8*/2800/2400/WIND/Spellcaster/Synchro/Effect)

If Leo Dancer and Panther Dancer were the aces beyond aces of Serena, then Diamond Bell would be that for Rin. She had only seen it… maybe three times before? Either way…

"You can't defeat any of us with that effect though," Yuzu pointed out.

"Right?" Rin smiled. "That's on purpose. Anyway, I'll be activating Diamond Bell's effect. When Synchro Summoned, by targeting a "Windwitch" monster in my graveyard, I can deal you damage equal to its attack points. I will target Winter Bell and deal half its attack points as damage to Serena! Diamond Hailstorm!"

"Oi, Rin!" Serena sighed. "Banishing Breakthrough Skill from the graveyard to negate your Diamond Bell's effects!"

"Mmm." Rin smiled. "I knew it. Alright then. I can't let you go on that easily with Leo Dancer still on the field."

"Is that your problem with this?"

"Yes," Rin said bluntly. "If Leo Dancer goes on, Yuzu and Ruri have ways to protect themselves. I don't. So I have to do what I can now, don't I?"

Yuzu sighed. That was right. The only one whose ace had no built-in protection was Rin, so it made sense that she would have tried to push Serena back.

"And now, I'll Normal Summon Wind Witch – Ice Bell from my hand." She pointed forward. "I'll deal you 500 damage! Icy Wind!"

Serena Kurosaki: 3200 – 500 = 2700LP

"But you're not going to be able to burn through all my life points in one turn!"

"Unfortunately," Rin acknowledged. "But I can do my best to open up that path. Tuning the Level 4 Wind Witch – Glass Bell to the Level 3 Wind Witch – Ice Bell! Wind of the forsaken. Clear a way through the corpses of the ones you struck down! Synchro Summon! Level 7–Wind Witch – Niflheim Bell!" (7*/S4/2400/1500/WIND/Spellcaster/Synchro/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect) The silvery-grey bell-themed woman appeared. "With her effect, I will add two "Wind Witch" monsters to my hand. I will now activate Niflheim Bell's effect! I have seven "Windwitch" monsters in my graveyard, so I will burn Yuzu for 1400 damage! Cold Whirlwind!"

Yuzu Kurosaki: 2500 – 1400 = 1100LP

"And now, I'll enter my Battle Phase! And with Winter Bell's effect—"

Oh.

Oh.

"I will Special Summon the Wind Witch – Gale Bell that I added to my hand from my hand!"

Rin had three monsters on her field. If she Special Summoned Gale Bell, that would be four. 2000 damage.

The beautiful bell appeared, glowing.

"I'll activate her effect! Freezing Gale!"

Who is she—

"I'll target Serena!"

Serena Kurosaki: 2700 – 2000 = 700LP

"Why didn't you just target Serena with both? She would have been down for the count if you had."

Rin smiled, before she pointed forward, not answering the question. "My first Gale Bell will attack Assembly Nightingale!"

"I'll detach an Overlay Unit to negate its destruction and all battle damage I take from battle involving it for the turn! Feather Barrier!" (Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale: OU:6 – 1 = OU:5; 1200 – 200 = 1000ATK)

"Knew it," Rin said. "Next, I'll have Niflheim Bell attack your Black Sheep!" The dancer shattered easily. "I'll end my turn and set two cards now. Over to you, Serena."

"It is, and I'm going to pay you back for all of that!" Serena drew her next card, before grinning. "Heh, here I go! I'm having Leo Dancer attack Wind Witch – Gale Bell!"

The monster zoomed forward, before once again, someone else acted. "I'll activate my set card," Ruri said. "Storming Mirror Force!"

"How can you activate that when I'm not attacking you?"

"It only requires you to declare an attack," Ruri said with a smile. "Not for that attack to be directed at me. So, non-targeting, non-destructive removal! And if that effect affects all of you, that sends every monster on your fields back to your hands! Or in the case of most of them, the Extra Deck!"

Oh no.

Every monster on the field vanished—both Gale Bells, Leo Dancer, Diamond Bell, Niflheim Bell, Bloom Diva, Schuberta. All except Assembly Nightingale, who was now gleaming brightly as it looked at them.

"Rin, this is your doing for not just burning her," Serena groused.

Yuzu saw the way that Rin's lips were curved into a smile.

Rin wasn't actually trying to win here, though… right?

If she was… she could have won already, by this point. What was she waiting for?

"I'm just going to end my turn," Serena said. "Over to you, Ruri."

Ruri smiled.

The smile of someone who was actually aiming to win this entire time, who was the only one who had focused all their attentions on one opponent in particular. The one who Rin had practically hamfisted her monsters' effects into assisting.

Seriously?

So the alliances all along were…

Yuzu laughed, because this was honestly a really hilarious situation.

Rin had literally allied with the one person who was gunning for her.

"Draw!" Ruri nodded. "I'll banish Garnet Pitta from the graveyard with its effect to add a "Lyrical Luscinia" monster to my hand. I'll Special Summon Sapphire Swallow and Cobalt Sparrow from my hand, and with Cobalt Sparrow's effect, add a Level 1 Winged Beast monster to my hand." She held out her hand. "I'll overlay my Level 1 Sapphire Swallow and Cobalt Sparrow! Bird of stars that sings in the glowing sunset. Appear before us! Xyz Summon! Rank 1! Lyrical Luscinia - Recite Starling!" (R1/0/0/WIND/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/OU:2) The night-themed Xyz Monster appeared, gleaming, beautiful. "With her effect, I will give 300 attack points to a monster on the field for every Overlay Unit that she has! Gift of the Stars!" (Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale: 1000 + 300 x 2 = 1600ATK)

Oh, they were so screwed.

"I'm taking you down first, Yuzu! Avian Gale!"

She had Score in her hand, but she couldn't use it without a "Melodious" monster on the field, so she smiled and let the attack go through.

Yuzu Kurosaki: 1100 – 1600 = 0LP

"And now, I'll be having her take out Serena! Avian Gale—Two!"

And Serena didn't run hand traps, so that would be it. She sort of knew her sister's deck well enough to know that.

Serena Kurosaki: 700 – 1600 = 0LP

"Thanks for your help, Rin."

Rin smiled, not saying anything.

"Avian Gale—Three!"

Assembly Nightingale flew towards Rin—

"Set card activate," Rin said. "Checkmate, Ruri. Negate Attack."

"I'll set a card and end my turn," Ruri said. "Over to you."

"Draw," Rin said. "I'll activate the Spell, Miracle Synchro Fusion!"

Fusion.

Oh…

"Rin can Fusion Summon?"

"Why are you so surprised?" Sawatari said.

"I assumed that clearly, like us, they were obsessive specialists." Yuri hummed. "Now that is impressive…"

"I can banish materials on my field and in my graveyard for a Fusion Summon of a monster that lists a Synchro Monster as a Fusion Material." She takes Winter Bell and Ice Bell from her graveyard. ""Sound of the wind running through a snowfield of midwinter. Become one with the inner voice, and give a more violent echo! Fusion Summon! Appear, bell of crystal echoing solemnly! Wind Witch - Crystal Bell!" (8*/2800/2400/WIND/Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect)

A dark white and purple bell appeared, like a corrupted version of Winter Bell, letting out a solemn tolling.

"I'll then Normal Summon Wind Witch – Glass Bell. I will add Wind Witch – Freeze Bell to my hand and Special Summon it. I will now activate Freeze Bell's effect to increase its own Level by 1!" (Wind Witch – Freeze Bell: 3* + 1* = 4*)

Ruri sighed, smiling. "Good duel," she said.

"Yeah," Rin said, smiling back. "You got really close this time, Ruri."

They all shared that same smile. Even though Rin had said Ruri's name, they all knew this.

None of them had ever won against Rin before. Privileges of the oldest sister.

"I will tune the Level 4 Glass Bell to the Level 4 Freeze Bell! Again! Beautiful, shining, pure ice! Swirl around in the bright wind and create a new form of direct, unbreakable shape! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Wind Witch – Diamond Bell!" The monster appeared, gleaming. "Diamond Bell's effect! I'll deal you damage equal to half of Glass Bell's attack points! Diamond Hailstorm!"

This time, the effect went through, burning Ruri's life points.

Ruri Kurosaki: 2500 – 1500 / 2 = 1750LP

"I will now activate my other set card."

The card that they had all realised was there.

"The Continuous Trap, Skill Drain. I have to pay one thousand life points to activate it, but it negates the effects of all monsters on the field."

Rin Kurosaki: 3600 – 1000 = 2600LP

"I will win next time," Ruri said, even as Assembly Nightingale's attack points trailed down. (Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale: 1300 - 0ATK)

"Yup," Rin said. "Crystal Bell! Crystalline Hellstorm!"

The attack hit, and the victor was decided.

Ruri Kurosaki: 1750 – 2800 = 0LP

Yuzu smiled, clapping.

This outcome was alright.

They would win next time.

Her sisters later left the stage, before Asuka Tenjoin stepped onto the stage. Rin gave a polite bow. "Tenjoin-sensei," she said. "Let's have a good duel."

"I'm not surprised that it's you," Asuka said, a gentle smile on her face. "Shall we go ahead and do this then?"

"Yup!"

She readied herself.

I am Miss Duel Academy, now.

I may not win. But if I can, I definitely won't go down without a fight.

"Duel!"

Rin Kurosaki: 4000LP

Asuka Tenjoin: 4000LP

"I'll start," Rin said. Ok, she didn't have Ice Bell in her hand now, but that was an easy fix. "I'll set a card. Next, I'll Normal Summon Wind Witch – Glass Bell (4*/1500/1500/WIND/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect) from my hand!" She reached out her hand to her deck. "With its effect, I will search for and add Wind Witch – Ice Bell (3*/1000/1000/WIND/Spellcaster/Effect) to my hand!" She placed the card with the other cards in her hand, fingers tight and grip slightly tense. "I'll end my turn!"

"No burn damage from the start?" Asuka said, raising an eyebrow. "That's lucky for me, I guess. Draw." She placed a card on her duel disk. "I'll Normal Summon Cyber Tutu (3*/1000/800/EARTH/Warrior/Effect) from my hand!" A pink ballerina appeared on the field. "And when I Normal Summon a monster, I can activate this card! Allegro Toile!" The Quickplay Spell appeared as a hologram next to her. "I can destroy a Spell or Trap you control!" Rin's Negate Attack was blown away, though she remained unfazed. "I'll set two cards of my own. And now, since all monsters you control have higher attack points than Cyber Tutu, she can attack you directly! Nouvelle Pointe!"

Oh.

The ballerina leapt forward, shoving Rin back harshly.

Rin Kurosaki: 4000 – 1000 = 3000LP

"Is this considered too rough for a teacher?" She quipped. Surprisingly, Asuka cracked a smile and shot back her own banter.

"I believe in tough love. Over to you, Kurosaki-san."

"Draw!" She couldn't Special Summon Ice Bell for advantage now, but… "Activating Chime of the Windwitches! I will target Glass Bell and Special Summon a different "Wind Witch" in Defence Position from my deck! I will Special Summon Wind Witch – Ice Bell! And with her effect, I will deal you 500 damage! Icy Wind!" The light gust flew past the ballerina, hitting Asuka as well.

Asuka Tenjoin: 4000 – 500 = 3500LP

"Next, I will tune the Level 4 Wind Witch – Glass Bell to the Level 3 Wind Witch – Ice Bell!" The two monsters floated above her. "Midwinter wind. Make ice and snow my power and blow through! Synchro Summon! Appear! Level 7! Wind Witch - Winter Bell!" (7*/2400/2000/WIND/Spellcaster/Synchro/Effect) Her ace appeared once again, ready to assist. "I'll activate Winter Bell's effect! I'll target Glass Bell and deal you 200 damage times her Level! Hypothermic Subzero!"

Asuka Tenjoin: 3500 – 200 x 4 = 2700LP

"You truly are quite the impressive burn duelist," Asuka complimented.

"Battle Phase! I'll activate Wind Witch – Winter Bell's effect to Special Summon a "Wind Witch" monster with a lower Level than a "Wind Witch" monster on my field from my hand. I will Special Summon Wind Witch – Blizzard Bell!" (5*/1800/1800/WIND/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect) She pointed forward. "Blizzard Bell will attack your Cyber Tutu!"

"Trap, activate," Asuka said calmly. "I'll activate Negate Attack."

A very standard move, then… "I'll end my turn."

"Draw." Asuka nodded at the card that she had picked up. "Activating Polymerization!"

Oh, a Fusion user?

"I will fuse Blade Skater (4*/1400/1500/EARTH/Warrior) and Etoile Cyber!" (4*/1200/1600/EARTH/Warrior/Effect) The two monsters disappeared in a vortex. Something about dueling someone that also used dancers reminded Rin a little of Serena. "Lovely skater on the ice! Deadly beauty in graceful stillness! Become one, and dance across a more lively stage! Fusion Summon! Level 7! Cyber Blader!" (7*/2100/800/EARTH/Warrior/Fusion/Effect)

Rin guessed that the monster that appeared was probably Asuka's ace. With light purple skin and dark blue hair, it struck an imposing figure, not to mention the fact that it was at least two heads taller than her, towering over the field in a striking red suit.

"When you control a certain number of monsters, Cyber Blader gains some effects. If you control two, like you do now, her attack points double!"

Rin's eyes widened. (Cyber Blader: 2100 x 2 = 4200ATK)

"Battle Phase," Asuka said. "I'll have Cyber Tutu attack you directly again!"

"I'll chain Wind Witch – Winter Bell's effect!" Rin declared. "I'll Special Summon Wind Witch – Ice Bell!" The young witch appeared again. "Icy Wind!" However, the monster did not move. Asuka was still smiling.

"My monster's attack points may no longer be doubled," Asuka said, "but the effect that Cyber Blader has when you have three monsters is that all your Spells, Traps and monster cards have their effects negated." (Cyber Blader: 4200 / 2 = 2100ATK)

"What?"

"So now, I'll have Cyber Tutu attack you directly with the replay! Nouvelle Pointe!" The attack hit again, and Rin winced.

Rin Kurosaki: 3000 – 1000 = 2000LP

"And now, Cyber Blader will take out Wind Witch – Ice Bell!"

Why not any of the others with higher attack points?

She winced as more damage came in.

Rin Kurosaki: 2000 – 1100 = 900LP

"Sorry," Asuka said, winking. "My playstyle can get quite rough, especially for those not really used to it."

"Don't apologise," Rin said. "I have two monsters, now, so your monster's attack points double. (Cyber Blader: 2100 x 2 = 4200ATK) That's correct, right?"

"Yes. I end my turn."

"Activating Blizzard Bell's effect. During your second Main Phase, by sending it to the graveyard, I will deal you 500 damage!"

Asuka Tenjoin: 2700 – 500 = 2200LP

"Draw!" Rin glanced at the card. "I'll activate Wind Witch – Winter Bell's effect to burn you for 200 for each of Blizzard Bell's Levels! Hypothermic Subzero!"

Asuka Tenjoin: 2200 – 1000 = 1200LP

"Your monster's attack points are currently lower than those of Winter Bell's," she pointed out. "So I'll take it out now! Attack Cyber Blader! Wintry Hurricane!"

The attack landed.

Asuka Tenjoin: 1200 – 300 = 900LP

But Cyber Blader did not fall.

"Sorry again," Asuka said. "But when you only have one monster, Cyber Blader cannot be destroyed by battle."

"I see," Rin said. She sighed. "I…won't give up that easily. But I will end my turn, for now."

"Draw." Asuka smiled at the card. "I'll have Cyber Tutu—"

"Activating Wind Witch – Winter Bell's effect! I will Special Summon Wind Witch – Gale Bell! (6*/2000/1000/WIND/Spellcaster/Effect) The silver-themed witch appeared, holding out her staff. "I can deal you 500 damage for each "Windwitch" monster I control! Freezing Gale!"

"You really do go for the throat!" Asuka flipped up her set card. "Since I control a monster with 1000 or less attack points, I can activate Pure Pupil!" The trap appeared. "I will negate your monster's effects and destroy it!" Gale Bell vanished. "And now, my replay! Attack directly! Nouvelle Pointe!"

Crap.

Crap.

The attack landed, and Rin sighed.

Crap.

She really didn't want it to end so easily.

Rin Kurosaki: 900 – 1000 = 0LP

She sighed.

"You did your best," Asuka said.

"You didn't," Rin said, shaking her head. "Someday, Tenjoin-sensei… I'll take you down."

Asuka Tenjoin smiled. "I look forward to it, Kurosaki-san. I'll be taking note of what you do in this school from now on."

Rin stepped off the stage. She saw the others backstage and sighed—before she got hit with what felt like a missile to the chest as Ruri pulled her into a tight hug, and Yuzu quickly joined in. "Good job, Rin!"

She glanced over at Serena expectantly, who sighed and moved over, joining in the hug.

Yeah.

She did a good job.

It was still not really enough for her.

But… she still did a good job.

"Nice job!" Asuka heard as she walked backstage. "Up high." She let out a quiet laugh, raising her hand as Judai gave her an enthusiastic high-five. "Those four aren't half-bad, and their opponents were interesting too. Looks like this year's shaping up to have people like our year, right?"

"Hopefully minus evil forces trying to take over the island," Asuka said, not realising the cosmic irony of her statement. Judai gave her a cheerful look.

"Really? You have no genre-savvy at all, Asuka."

"Is it weird for me to hope that this batch of kids won't end up as weirdly traumatised as we were?" She sassed. "Look, people can come of age without massive traumas."

"We have the Sakakis in this batch," Judai pointed out.

"Yes, and we already agreed that we would protect them." Asuka sighed. "No one's getting hurt while I'm still standing. I want to protect people, you know. Especially because this batch kind of reminds me of our own."

"Is that just because Sora Shiun'in has Sho's hair?" Judai said with a laugh. "Yeah, I get what you mean. That Rin Kurosaki… she kind of reminds me of you, Asuka. And Yuto Sakaki reminds me of…" he paused. "Huh. It's been a while. Should I still be calling him Marufuji-senpai?"

"He's been telling you to knock it off for years," Asuka chided. "He literally told you that over the video call last week. Don't you pay attention, Judai?"

"I think I was playing closer attention to Amethyst Cat somehow learning how to use sign language from Johan," Judai admitted. "Tell me I didn't miss anything important?"

"You're always like that," Asuka said with a sigh. "Seriously, Judai… I don't know how Yubel deals with you all the time."

Judai seemed to crane his neck to listen to something that someone was saying next to him, before he turned back to her. "Yubel agrees with you," he said. "She also says I'm unbearable." He sounded way too happy for someone who was saying those words, but exasperated and amused, Asuka let the comment pass.

"But if you're talking about Johan, I do think that Ruri Kurosaki resembles him a little? No clue. Anyway, should we really be comparing our students to our friends? You're inviting cosmic irony."

"Oh, so now you're genre savvy, Asuka? Also, you started this in the first place!"

There was a moment when the two of them remained silent, before laughing.

"Come on, let's get lunch."

"Yeah."

"Hey," Rin heard as she walked out, Yugo awkwardly shuffling his feet. "Uh… good match."

"… thanks." She sighed. "Did you wait just to tell me that?" After all, her sisters had all left a while ago, to go to various places. It was… a really long while. To think that Yugo might have waited that long… it was kind of touching—

"Sort of?"

Never mind. Idiot. "Then why were you waiting?"

He sighed. "Look, I'm terrible with words." He sighed. "I… like… I thought you were really cool on that stage. Just wanted to say stuff like that. Also, Yuri knew I was waiting, so he told me to pass you this." He held out an envelope that looked to be near bursting with cash. Rin stared at it awkwardly for a moment, trying to process it, before she bluntly replied.

"Is this a money-laundering scheme?"

"How could you even think that?" Yugo said, after half a minute of sputtering. "No, uh, it's half the money that he won this time from the bets. He said that you should have it."

Rin sighed. "It's his enterprise, isn't it?" She said, only slightly sarcastic. "Tell him to keep his own profits. I don't need it."

"Is it that you think that you don't need it… or that you feel bad for losing and taking it?" Yugo said.

She froze.

"I know I'm not the most insightful, but…"

She sighed. Idiot. Such an idiot. "No," she said. "You're overcomplicating it. I mean that I don't need it, and you guys do."

Yugo frowned.

"Come on, I'm way more insightful than you are." That came out more harsh than she intended, but Yugo didn't seem to take it to heart, which was good. She didn't actually want to hurt him. "You guys… you guys don't live with your mother, right? Even though you think that family is important. Maybe it's because you think that that you tried to run away from her. You guys don't live in luxury. You just live normally. If anyone needs the cash… it's you guys."

Yugo shook his head. "We're not poor."

"Well, neither are we."

"We're… comfortable."

"You know," she said, "I'm convinced of that much." They carried on walking. Considering that they were both Ra Yellows, and it was already close to the evening, (had she really spent two hours sulking inside?) they were trekking the path back to the dorms, around halfway across the island. They were in the more forested part as a shortcut. "But…" her words got stuck in her throat. Yugo glanced at her.

"Huh?"

"Is that enough for you all? Wouldn't it have been easier if you didn't have to take care of yourselves?" She couldn't imagine living without her parents, without Shun. She couldn't imagine being responsible for that much. And yet Yugo… Yugo of all people could do something like that, help out in the house, help out to support his own family?

Yugo, who was so oblivious that he still hadn't realised he didn't tie his shoelaces on his broken, worn shoes.

"It's what it is," Yugo said. "I mean… is there anything else we can do?"

"Hmm?"

"Yuya," he said. "We'd do anything for Yuya. That's why we did all that we did. That's why we're here."

How… devoted.

She would scoff at the idea of that much care being given to someone else, but she could believe it. She had heard Yuri's 'Yuya tangents'. (Coined by Serena.)

It was this moment that she realised that maybe she wanted to get to know Yugo just a bit better.

"So, anyway," he said, "congrats, Miss Duel Academy." He grinned. "Guess you proved yourself, huh?"

She rolled her eyes. Still as childish. Still though… "Let's walk around together on Duel Monster Spirit Day," she decided.

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

"That's very friendly of you!" Yugo grinned. "So, Rinnn~ Like me more than Yuri now?"

"As if."

But maybe, just maybe, he would have some kind of place in the empire as more than just Yuri's brother, if they really did end up taking over the world. (Maybe. A very, very small maybe.)

A/N: Yeah… I'm sure that the result of the second duel was quite obvious, but I hope the first one was at least somewhat tense? After all, that first duel is the main highlight of this chapter. Asuka giving a bit of a curb stomp battle to Rin here is a bit of a given result, since even though Rin has deuteragonist powers, Asuka is about a decade older than Rin, and went through an AU version of GX in the past, meaning that this version of her is probably not going to lose to anyone yet. Also, of note is that this is one of the first chapters where I used anime exclusive cards, so just a note for those of you who don't recognise some cards.

Generally, this entire chapter sets up rivalries, learning and getting better. I'm sure many of you would have wanted Yuzu or Serena to win… but this is what I believe is the most realistic result.

Also, show of hands, who liked the counterpart bonding and character development? I really wish that Rin and Ruri got more screentime, but this free-for-all was just so fun to write with their personalities in mind. Not just the sisters, but Yugo and Rin talking at the end was also fun, and I hope that I communicated Rin starting to defrost a bit towards him properly, without making her OOC.

Next, I did promise some extra previews, right? So, here are the previews! The four new ones are part of the Duel Monster Spirit Day arc, so I hope that you all are looking forward to that!

Chapter Preview: Chapter 15—Burden of the Older Sibling

After the Miss Duel Academy contest, Yuto decides that he needs to talk to Rin about their mutual experiences. What starts as a comfortable and normal talk later leads to a full-on clash between them and certain other older siblings in the school, and they start to understand each other's philosophy better.

Chapter Preview: Chapter 16—Wind and Steel

Rin doesn't particularly like it when people insult the way her sisters duel. Sawatari is prone to putting his foot in his mouth. And Yuto and Gongenzaka are just here to watch with popcorn.

Chapter Preview: Chapter 17–Will of the Brother

After spotting them hanging out with Rin and Yuzu, the Kaiser challenges Yuto to a duel. What occurs next horrifies the entire crowd as the two overprotective brothers face off, and Xyz Monsters flood the sky!

Chapter Preview: Chapter 18—Going Toe to Toe

Neither Yuri nor Serena planned to actually cut loose during this carnival, but then they bumped into two of their professors having a completely platonic outing at a stall. Serena challenges the HERO duelist of the academy, while an entertained Yuri lets himself be pulled into her pace.

Chapter Preview: Chapter 19—Wings in the Sky

Ruri and Yuto are walking around the carnival together, participating in games. Eventually, someone tries to ask Ruri out, and gets aggressive when she refuses. Yuto intends to step in, but Ruri is more than capable of handling things herself…

Chapter Preview: Chapter 20—Ice Ladies

Rin isn't sure how she got stuck with Yugo, but she supposes that it's not that bad. Either way, she ends up bumping into the previous Miss Duel Academy, Olga, who decided not to run that year. While she originally intends to challenge her predecessor, Yugo ends up jumping the gun and challenging her first…

Chapter Preview: Chapter 21—Carnival Fun

The start of the Duel Monster Spirit Day is bright and happy, and Yuzu and Yuya are just having fun going around. Then, all of a sudden, Yuzu challenges Yuya to a duel...

So, I know that it looks like Rin is very much in focus in this next few chapters, but the focus will be turning to other parts of our… octet? Eight main characters… yeah, our eight main characters soon. And as you can see from the previews, we're going to have some fun interactions between the counterpart pairs soon! Although admittedly I do like some counterparts more than others, I am trying to give them equal treatment, and I hope that shows through in my writing of their characters, duels, relationships, development, etc.

Cheers! Hopefully I can keep to this updating speed for a while.

- Blaise