The day had finally come upon them, and now, the sky was filled with banners and different multi-coloured ribbons, streaming through the wind. Many posters were plastered all over the walls of the buildings, with various different duel monsters on them. The day was bright, early and peaceful—
"Yuri!"
Well, it was until now.
Yuya walked out with a frown. "Yugo?" He called, hearing his brother's voice as he continued yelling Yuri's name at the top of this voice. "Yugo, are you fine?"
Yuri was standing in the doorway, a smirk on his face. A green set of armour was covering most of his body, and he had a blade by his side, one that was green as well, though it was glowing slightly, a faint glow that reflected off his armour. Kind of a light saber. A green cloak stretched out behind him, and on his head, he was wearing an odd headdress of red and green leaves.
Yuya smiled. "Nice costume," he complimented.
"You too," Yuri said. "Guess Yuto's idea to get them separately wasn't that terrible after all…"
Yuya was dressed up in a large, slightly oversized red cloak. He had a bit of a golden headdress on his head as well, and he carefully adjusted it with a frown.
"A bit too heavy though," he said, voice muffled inside the hood. "It's squashing my head." Yuri laughed. "Why's Yugo yelling your name?"
Yuri rolled his eyes. "He asked Yuto to get him his costume, since he had to polish up his deck. Yuto asked me."
"What Yuri means," Yuto said, stepping in as well, "is that he walked in, told me that he stole the cash from me, and offered me photos if I would give the clothing to Yugo for him." He smiled, and for once, he and Yuri exchanged one of their rare fistbumps. "I agreed, obviously. I personally think that it was a perfect fit."
Yuya blinked.
Oh no.
The door was flung open, and Yugo stepped out. Yuya choked, leaning to the side and continuing to do so as Yuto patted his back and Yugo began yelling, while adjusting his red hat.
"Yuri! I wanted to go as something cool!"
"I don't know," Yuri said, shit-eating grin ever present. "I think that it's a perfect fit for you, Fusion."
"That's Yugo, not Fusion!" Yugo said automatically, before shaking his head. "You—"
Yuto snorted. "That's fitting, yeah. Swordsman of Landstar, huh? That clashes horribly with your hair."
Yuya finally stopped choking, getting back up.
"Oi, Yuto, you—"
Yuri, never able to resist a chance to rib one of them, poked him in the side. "I see that you decided to continue being the resident edgelord," he said with a smirk.
Yuto glanced at his tattered purple cloak and silvery armour, and shrugged. "I don't see a problem with it," he said. "Zure's still a better choice than Swordsman of Landstar." He glanced at Yuya. "And Dark Red Enchanter isn't the worst thing either."
"Anything to say about my costume?"
Yuto rolled his eyes. "Good to see you finally acknowledged that Xyz is the best Summoning Method."
"Oi—"
Yuto hummed, walking off.
"Oi, Yuto!"
"I'm hanging out with Ruri today," Yuto said, waving them off. "Later."
There was an awkward silence as Yuri, Yugo and Yuya stared at each other.
"… Green kind of clashes with your hair," Yuya said awkwardly.
"I'm going to go with Serena," Yuri said immediately, and made his strategic retreat. Yuya laughed internally at it, before he turned to Yugo.
"We could go look for an extra costume—"
"Sounds good," Yugo said, clearly relieved. "We can look for Rin and Yuzu later too! Let's go, let's go!"
Yuya laughed, and let Yugo drag him along.
The day continued, just as oddly bright as ever.
The gun at the carnival stall lifted up, pointing directly at the target. Then, there was the sound of a click as the gun fired, hitting the tent and completely missing the target. Serena groaned, taking a step back from it. She glanced at the game again.
God damn it, I hate losing…
"Oh, I did not expect you to get that salty over losing," she heard someone say, and Serena rolled her eyes. She had been immediately aware of who was behind her, and she picked up a coin from her worn wallet, turning to Yuri. She blinked.
"That's Fairy Knight Ingunar?" She said.
Yuri frowned. "Yeah, it is. I'm surprised that you know."
"Green kind of clashes—" She paused. "Well, not really. You kind of look like one of your Predaplants."
"In the insect way or the creepy way?" Yuri said dryly.
Serena rolled her eyes again (because that was the feeling that the Sakaki brothers invoked) and she roughly patted his shoulder. "The green and pink way, dumbass. Only thing you're missing is a tail made of bark." Yuri opened his mouth. "No dirty jokes."
Yuri shut his mouth.
Serena turned back to the game. "Not with your brothers?"
"You mean Sir Phantom Knight the First, Can't Dress to Save His Life and the nice one?" Yuri said, raising an eyebrow. "I'd much rather hang out with you. You're bound to make something stupid happen at some time."
"Sure, just don't distract me."
Yuri casually stole the coin from her fingers.
"Hey, I can play myself—"
"I know," he said, before dropping a small bag of coin tokens into her hand. "Go play."
"You're just giving me money?"
"Watching you fail will be funny," he said with a straight face.
"You suck at doing nice things," Serena said, though she was grinning. "Well, I won't mind wasting your money for you. Watch me!" She raised the gun again, and she aimed it forward. She pressed the trigger and both she and Yuri watched with bated breath as the bullet hit the stall owner directly in the forehead.
There was a moment of silence.
"I think we should go," Yuri said hurriedly, already running. Serena was right next to him, both of them running as fast as they could.
They ended up underneath a tree, and Serena rolled her eyes as she pulled out her water bottle, avoiding her attached wings as she did so.
"So," Yuri said after a moment, "what Fairy is this? Or did you go with a Warrior after all?"
"Neither," she said. "This one's Maiden in the Moonlight."
"Maiden of," he corrected.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's…" She paused, and she pulled out the card. "I retract my statement."
Yuri snorted. "Sure, sure. So, Spellcaster, huh? And Moonlight? Isn't that a bit on the nose?"
She stared forward, a deadpan look on her face. "Your name is Yuri," she said.
"True," Yuri said. "I'll retract my statement as well." They both snickered. "So? Want to walk around together?"
"Sure you don't want to look for Yugo, Yuto or Yuya?" She paused. "Yugo or Yuya," she corrected. "Yuto's on a date with my sister, after all."
"Still can't believe it took him that long," Yuri groused. "Yeah. I don't exactly want to hang out with Yugo now—he's a fashion disaster in every conceivable way." It didn't take a genius to notice that Yuri was grinning like a madman, which meant that he probably had a hand in said fashion disaster. Serena resisted the urge to roll her eyes again, because she'd probably get stuck that way constantly if she kept doing that.
"Fine," she said. "Then I guess you're my date for today."
"Sure, milady."
"Oh my god, not that way." Serena stalked forward, Yuri following behind her amusedly. "I'm never, ever dating you, Yuri, write that down."
"I don't have a pen," he quipped. "But sure, let's just go already."
She carried on, and so did he.
The first moment when they came across something even mildly interesting again was when they stumbled into the café nearby, with female cosplayers serving as the waitresses inside. They had stumbled in, sat at a table while still arguing, and picked up the menu before they were interrupted.
"Oh, you two are the Fusion specialists, right?"
Both Yuri and Serena paused, before they swerved around to look at the speaker.
Yuri was the first to speak up. "Tenjoin-sensei?" He said slowly.
The brown-haired man next to Asuka Tenjoin had been the one to speak up, and he let out a laugh. "I'm definitely not married to her," he said. "Though you aren't the first to think that, admittedly. We are in matching costumes… Judai Yuki. I'm the teacher in charge of Osiris Red, which is probably why we haven't met yet. I also teach the Fusion course to the second and third years, so I might get you two in the next few years."
"The Judai Yuki?" Serena exclaimed.
"Well, I don't know any others," Judai said. "Do tell, though."
Yuri shook his head.
Alright. Judai Yuki was much of a troll as Yuri himself was. Fantastic.
"Well, this is a good time! Duel me!"
That went from zero to a hundred in a few seconds as well… seriously? Judai grinned though, much to Yuri's surprise. "Sure," he said, smiling from ear to ear. "And if you guys impress me, I might end up getting you a drink."
Yuri frowned. "What do you mean by 'you guys'?"
"Well, it'd be rude of me to leave you out of the fun. Oi, Asuka!" Judai grinned at his fellow teacher, who looked faintly amused at him as well. "Want to do a Tag Duel?"
"Sure," Asuka said easily. "I'm curious, too."
Yuri shrugged. "Why not? Don't let me down, moon girl."
Serena, as expected, rose to the bait. "Huh? You—"
"Ok, ok, let's cut that out first," Judai said, while Asuka murmured something about them being 'like us back in the day'. "Let's go outside."
As they did, news spread like wildfire, and eventually, there was a crowd around them as they faced off.
Well, this should be entertaining…
"Duel!"
Yuri Sakaki & Serena Kurosaki: 8000LP
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 8000LP
"I'll start," Asuka said, much to both Serena and Yuri's surprise. "I'll activate Advanced Ritual Art!"
Oh?
"I can send Normal Monsters from my deck to the graveyard that are the exact Level of this Ritual Monster to Ritual Summon it," Asuka explained.
"Ritual Summoning?" Serena raised an eyebrow. "Don't you normally Fusion Summon? Like isn't that your thing? You did use it against Rin…"
Judai laughed, and Asuka smacked him on the back. "It's an easy mistake to make," she said. "I'm actually a Ritual specialist, but I try and duel with a more nostalgic deck for things like that." She sighed. "I'll send the Level 5 Millennium Shield (5*/0/3000/EARTH/Warrior) to the graveyard. Now, Angel of light hiding healing powers. Bring recovery with your lovely form. Ritual Summon! Descend! Level 5! Cyber Angel – Nasateiya!" (5*/1000/1000/LIGHT/Fairy/Ritual/Effect)
A strange, centaur-like woman emerged, stunning and dressed in golden armour. People around them let out loud 'oohs' and 'aahs' in admiration.
"Now," Asuka said, when all the sounds died down, "I'll be Normal Summoning my Freya, Spirit of Victory." (1*/100/100/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) A purple-haired cheerleader appeared with a cheerful wink.
"That's not a 'Cyber' monster," Serena noted.
"I'm not as limited as Kaiser," Asuka said wryly. Serena frowned, and Asuka shook her head. "Sorry. Not your brother. You do know that the title didn't start with him, right?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. Though I don't think now is the time to talk about that." Asuka sighed. "You can't target Freya for attacks while I control another face-up Fairy. And she grants all my Fairies 400 attack and defence points!" (Freya, Spirit of Victory: 100 + 400 = 500ATK/DEF) (Cyber Angel – Nasateiya: 1000 + 400 = 1400ATK/DEF)
The two monsters glowed, their stats increasing.
"And Nasateiya lets me target a monster we control once per turn and gain life points equal to half its attack points." She pointed to Nasateiya herself. "That's what I'll be gaining. Shining Grace!"
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 8000 + 1400 / 2 = 8700LP
"Over to you," she said.
Serena stepped forward, while Yuri frowned. That was an oddly fragile field…
"Draw! I'll discard Lunalight Black Sheep (2*/100/600/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect) from my hand." A black-coated dancer appeared behind her, transparent. "And with its effect, I'll add Polymerization to my hand!"
"Watch it, Serena," Yuri warned amusedly. "She wouldn't leave them like that for no reason."
"Anyway," the indigo-haired girl said, "it's fine. I make mincemeat out of Attack Position monsters, after all. I'll activate Polymerization to fuse Lunalight Purple Butterfly (3*/1000/1000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect) and Lunalight Crimson Fox (4*/1800/600/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect) in my hand!" She reached out her hands. "Purple masquerade dancing in the night! Beautiful red trickster! Swarm in a vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! Lunalight Cat Dancer!" (7*/2400/2000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect) Her ace emerged, claw-like fingers stretched out and ready to fight. "And with Crimson Fox's effect, since it was sent to the graveyard by a card effect, I will reduce Nasateiya's attack points to zero!" (Cyber Angel – Nasateiya: 1400 - 0ATK)
Asuka nodded.
"I'll have Cat Dancer attack your Ritual Monster! Full Moon Cresta"
"No," Asuka said. "When a Ritual Monster is targeted for an attack, Nasateiya can negate it, even if it is the one being targeted for the attack. Centaurian Barrier!"
The barrier of light knocked Cat Dancer back. Serena sighed.
"And I'm guessing that always happens, huh? But since Cat Dancer declared an attack, you take 100 damage!"
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 8700 – 100 = 8600LP
"I'll set a card," Serena said. She glanced at Yuri. "Sorry. I'll end my turn." (Cyber Angel – Nasateiya: 0 - 1400ATK)
Yuri sighed. "Don't apologise to me," he said.
She had nothing to apologise for, anyway.
"My turn," Judai said with a wry smile. "Draw. I'll Normal Summon Elemental HERO Solid Soldier." (4*/1300/1100/EARTH/Warrior/Effect) A strange warrior with drills on his hands appeared, silver metal all over his body. "And I will Special Summon a "HERO" monster from my hand with Solid Soldier's effect. Emerge, Elemental HERO Stratos!" (4*/1800/300/WIND/Warrior/Effect) A man in a silver and blue suit emerged, winds blowing around him. "And Stratos will add a "HERO" monster to my hand."
Yuri's eyes narrowed. Judai noticed, and he grinned.
"Your suspicions are right," Judai said. "I'll activate Polymerization! I'll fuse Solid Soldier and Stratos! Now, emerge! Winds swirl into a flurry in the skies! Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Great Tornado!" (8*/2800/2200/WIND/Warrior/Fusion/Effect) The first Fusion Monster of their teacher emerged. "Great Tornado's effect. I'll cut all your monster's attack and defence points in half." (Lunalight Cat Dancer: 2400 / 2 = 1200ATK; 2000 / 2 = 1000DEF)
Yuri frowned.
"Then, I will activate Solid Soldier's effect. I'll revive Stratos. And when Stratos is Special Summoned, I can use one of its effects again, so I'll destroy your set card!"
The card exploded.
"I will have Nasateiya use her effect. I'll gain life points equal to half of Tornado's attack points! Shining Grace!"
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 8600 + 2800 / 2 = 10000LP
"Ten thousand life points?" Yuri murmured.
"Attack her monster, Great Tornado! Nasateiya!"
Yuri Sakaki & Serena Kurosaki: 8000 – 1600 – 200 = 6200LP
"Over to you," Judai said, with that easygoing smile.
"Draw," Yuri declared, drawing his next card.
Cat Dancer couldn't be destroyed by battle, so…
"I'll have Cat Dancer change to Defence Position," he said. "And I'll Normal Summon Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio (3*/1200/800/DARK/Plant/Effect) from my hand." He sighed. "My usual combo. I'll discard a card, and I'll Special Summon Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra (3*/1000/1500/DARK/Plant/Effect) from my hand. Cobra will add Polymerization to my hand." He casually picked up the card. "I'll activate Predapruning. Return from the graveyard. Predaplant Chlamydosundew!" (2*/600/200/DARK/Plant/Effect) The strange lizard emerged, bright green with orange spots over its body. "I'll activate Chlamydosundew's effect. I will fuse using it and DARK monsters I control. I will fuse Darlingtonia Cobra and Chlamydosundew."
He twisted his hand in the air.
"These plants combine to form the deadliest of poisons! Fusion Summon! Level 7, Predaplant Chimerafflesia!" (7*/2500/2000/DARK/Plant/Fusion/Effect)
The beautiful red flower emerged.
"I'll then activate Chimerafflesia's effect. You won't be healing any more life points, sensei. I can banish a monster on the field with a lower Level than him, and guess what? Nasateiya qualifies." The angel vanished, and Asuka raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed. "And next, I'll activate my own Polymerization. I'll fuse Predaplant Chimerafflesia with Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio! Draconian creature with the power of the ones before, leap down with your predatory gaze! Fusion Summon! Emerge—Predaplant Dragostapelia!" (8*/2700/1900/DARK/Plant/Fusion/Effect)
The flower-themed creature appeared, standing up with an imposing aura around it. Its body was made of green stems and vines that all wove together to create a bipedal dragon, one lush with purple flowers and blooms surrounding it.
"That's not something I've seen you use," Serena said.
"I'm not surprised," Yuri said. "I don't use it that often."
But Starving Venom is taking a nap again, as he always is…
"Once per turn, Dragostapelia can place a Predator Counter on a monster you control, and it becomes Level 1 while the counter is on it. Furthermore, it cannot activate any of its effects. I'll be targeting your Great Tornado." He pointed forward, feeling the need to be somewhat more dramatic. "Our revels now are ended. Rest, hero of the wind!" (Elemental HERO Great Tornado: PC:0 - PC:1; 8* - 1*)
Serena scoffed quietly next to him. "Really?"
"Look, I'm wearing a cape. I can't get any more dramatic than that."
"True."
"So, I could have Dragostapelia kill that monster on its own… but I could also knock down your life points for Serena. I know which side I prefer, for sure. So I'll activate Predapractice!" He revealed the green card in his hand. "I can Special Summon a "Predaplant" from my hand and add a "Predap" card from my deck to my hand. However, I can't Special Summon non-Predaplants this turn… which honestly?" He smirked. "It's not much of a restriction for this deck. So emerge from my hand, Predaplant Moray Nepenthes!" (4*/1600/1000/DARK/Plant/Effect)
His odd, insect-like plant appeared, red highlights standing out on black and green fibre.
"Moray Nepenthes gains 200 attack points for each of the Predator Counters on the field. (Predaplant Moray Nepenthes: 1600 + 200 = 1800ATK) Now, I'll have it eat up your fairy!"
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 10000 – 1400 = 8600LP
And it proceeded to do so, in gory fashion. People let out shocked gasps as the fairy was tossed into the air, wrapped up by vines, before it was swallowed.
Yuri cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said.
"What the hell, Yuri?"
"In my defence," he said, "normally that's a dragon, or a piece of armour, or a machine… not a cheerleader or any kind of humanoid."
"What kind of defence is that?"
He rolled his eyes. "Moray Nepenthes will equip Freya to itself." He pointed forward. "I can't get rid of your Great Tornado, but that's fine. I'll set a card and activate Moray Nepenthes's effect. I'll send Freya to the graveyard and gain life points equal to her attack points. Pitifully low, but still something."
Yuri Sakaki & Serena Kurosaki: 6200 + 100 = 6300LP
"Over to you."
"Interesting," Asuka said. "You two are rather like Judai and I, in a way." She sighed. "Draw. I'll—"
"During your Standby Phase," Yuri said, "Chimerafflesia returns my Polymerization to my hand."
"I'll activate Preparation of Rites! I can add a Level 7 or lower Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand, and I can add a Ritual Spell from my graveyard to my hand. So I'll return Advanced Ritual Art to my hand, and I'll add Cyber Angel – Benten (6*/1800/1500/LIGHT/Fairy/Ritual/Effect) to my hand." She held out the spell. "And I'll activate it! By sending two of my Blade Skater (4*/1400/1500/EARTH/Warrior) to the graveyard from my deck, I can Ritual Summon from my hand! Beautiful angel from the past, now, descend to the field with your terrible beauty and strike down my foes! Ritual Summon! Level 8! Cyber Angel – Dakini!" (8*/2700/2400/LIGHT/Fairy/Ritual/Effect)
A brown-haired woman with a yellow veil over her head emerged, many hands reaching out with blades in them, as she gave them an imposing look.
"No," Yuri said.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to deal with it—"
"No, as in, actually no." Yuri flipped over his set card. "Sorry, Serena. I'm halving our life points here."
"No, I agree," Serena said. "Get it off the field!"
Yuri glanced back at their teachers. "You heard what the lady said. Solemn Judgment!" The famous Counter Trap emerged. "Get it off the field!"
Dakini was blown up as their life points fell.
Yuri Sakaki & Serena Kurosaki: 6300 / 2 = 3150LP
"Forgot that you had a copy of that," Asuka said with some chagrin. "You did use it during the exam…"
"Well, my brother used to use it, and then he decided that being an edgelord was enough." Yuri yawned. "Well, sensei? That's not the last of it, right?"
"No," Asuka said. "Well, I was hoping that I could save this for now, but I suppose I have no choice now. I'll activate Pre-Preparation of Rites!"
Oh.
Both Preparation and Pre-Preparation, huh?
"I'll add a Ritual Spell and a monster listed in that Ritual Spell's text from my deck to my hand. So, I'll be adding Hymn of Light and its Ritual Monster to my hand, and I'll be activating it now! By tributing my Benten, I will Ritual Summon. Accept my sacrifice and pull open the gates of divinity, angels that preside over heaven! Ritual Summon! Level 6! Saffira, Queen of Dragons!" (6*/2500/2400/LIGHT/Dragon/Ritual/Effect)
A white dragon emerged on her field, and Yuri frowned.
"A dragon?"
"Hey, that girl next to you used a dragon too, right?" Judai elbowed Asuka. "Hey, hey, I think Misawa used that dragon too."
"Probably," Asuka said. "But yes, a dragon. Benten will add a Fairy to my hand. Next, I'll have Saffira take out your Moray Nepenthes, and Great Tornado will take out your Dragostapelia!"
Yuri Sakaki & Serena Kurosaki: 3150 – 700 – 100 = 2350LP
"I'll end my turn there. And Saffira lets me draw two and discard one."
Yuri glanced upwards. "Sorry," he said. "Looks like I made no headway, either."
"What are you talking about? I never could've rid us of that angel on my own." Serena pats his back. "My turn! Draw!"
She glanced at the card.
"I'll activate the effect of Lunalight Purple Butterfly. I'll banish her from the graveyard and Special Summon a "Lunalight" monster from my hand. So come on out, Lunalight Emerald Bird!" (4*/1200/1000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect) She smiled. "I'll choose not to use its effect, 'cause I won't need it! Next, I'll activate Fusion Recovery! I'll add Polymerization and Lunalight Black Sheep back to my hand. After that, I'll activate Allure of Darkness! I'll draw two and banish a DARK monster from my hand!"
Her smile turned into a smirk. She turned to Yuri, who saw the card she was holding out. He nodded slowly.
"I got it. I'll activate Soul Release!"
"To banish cards? Why?"
"I'll banish Predaplant Moray Nepenthes, Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio, Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra and Lunalight Black Sheep from our graveyard, and Elemental HERO Stratos from your graveyard!" Serena flipped over a card in her hand. "And now, since I have three DARK monsters in my graveyard, I can Special Summon this card from my hand! Emerge, and serve the dancers under the moon! Dark Armed Dragon!" (7*/2800/1000/DARK/Dragon/Effect)
Yuri smirked as the dark dragon emerged.
Yeah, that fit her. Fierce, angry, protective, destructive in the right circumstances?
Well, wasn't that just the best description of Serena in the first place?
"I will activate Polymerization! I'll fuse Lunalight Cat Dancer and Lunalight Emerald Bird!" She pressed her hands together. "The beautiful beast dancing in the moonlight! Beautiful bird with the verdant green feathers! Swarm in the vortex of moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! Elegant beast dancing in the moonlit wilderness! Lunalight Panther Dancer!" (8*/2800/2500/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)
The dark warrior emerged in front of her, ribbons floating around her.
"Emerald Bird will Special Summon a banished "Lunalight" monster, like Lunalight Black Sheep in Defence Position!" Serena flicked out her wrist. "And now, I'll be having Panther Dancer activate her effect. She can attack each of your monsters twice this turn, and they are not destroyed by the first attack!"
Asuka smiled.
"Attack Saffira twice! Panther Dancer!"
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 8600 – 300 – 300 = 8000LP
"And next, Panther Dancer gains 200 attack points since she destroyed a monster by battle!" (Lunalight Panther Dancer: 2800 + 200 = 3000ATK) She pointed forward. "Take down the monster that took out Yuri's!"
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 8000 – 200 – 200 = 7600LP
She crossed her arms.
"And now," she said, "Dark Armed Dragon."
The dragon smashed a claw down, and Judai let out a yelp. "Wow! Ok, damn! Misawa never used it like that!"
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 7600 – 2800 = 4800LP
"I'll end my turn!" (Lunalight Panther Dancer: 3000 - 2800ATK)
"Ok," Judai said casually. "I'll go ahead and draw a card for my turn then." He glanced at the card. "Well, good job banishing Stratos. But I think I'll go ahead and activate Miracle Fusion! I'll banish materials from my field and graveyard to Fusion Summon an "Elemental HERO" monster! By banishing Asuka's Cyber Angel Dakini which you got rid of so effectively and my own Elemental HERO Solid Soldier, I'll call forth another one of my Elemental HEROes! For example, how about we try this guy? Shining light that rises into the sky, strike down those before me! Fusion Summon! The one, the only, Elemental HERO The Shining!" (8*/2600/2100/LIGHT/Warrior/Fusion/Effect) A white and gold warrior emerged, glowing with… well, Yuri thought it was pretty clear what it was glowing with, but for the slow kids in the audience, it would probably take them a while longer to realise that it was literally light.
"Isn't The Shining a slasher movie—"
Judai casually cut Serena off. "We don't talk about that unfortunate part of the name's history." Yuri snickered as the brunet carried on with his turn. "Regardless… Shining gains 300 attack points for each of the banished "Elemental HERO" monsters I have. And you did send one there for me." (Elemental HERO The Shining: 2600 + 300 x 2 = 3200ATK)
"And next?" Judai grinned. "I think I'll pull off a double Fusion here, too. I'll activate Neos Fusion! I can send a certain Type of monsters to the graveyard from my deck to Fusion Summon! So I'll send Elemental HERO Neos (7*/2500/2000/LIGHT/Warrior) and Neo-Spacian Grand Mole (3*/900/300/EARTH/Rock/Effect) from my deck to the graveyard. Now, emerge, the hero from down under! Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Grand Neos!" (7*/2500/2000/EARTH/Warrior/Fusion/Effect)
On the field, a grey-brown rock warrior emerged next to the warrior of light, both giving each other a fist bump.
"And next, I'll activate Grand Neos's effect. I can return one of your monsters to your hand, so I'll send your Lunalight Panther Dancer back to your hand! Or should I say, your Extra Deck!"
"That's likely," Serena said. "Or not. I'm banishing Crimson Fox to negate that effect!"
Panther Dancer laughed as a red light shoots out, batting away Grand Neos as the dark dancer swung around its ribbons, swirling around Grand Neos with a taunting smirk.
"And then we both gain one thousand life points!"
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 4800 + 1000 = 5800LP
Yuri Sakaki & Serena Kurosaki: 2350 + 1000 = 3350LP
"Nice," Yuri said.
"Very nice," Judai agreed. "But I'm still going to get rid of at least one of your monsters. I'll have The Shining take out your Dark Armed Dragon!"
Yuri Sakaki & Serena Kurosaki: 3350 – 400 = 2950LP
Serena winced.
"And I'll be ending my turn with a set card," Judai said cheerfully. "Grand Neos will return itself to the Extra Deck. Over to you."
"Draw!" Yuri glanced at the card. "I'll be borrowing your trick, Serena. Allure of Darkness!" He drew two and banished a card from his hand as well. "I'll activate the card I added with Predapractice last turn. Predapruning! Return to the field! Predaplant Chimerafflesia!" The large red flower emerged, the strange aroma swirling around it. He glanced at Serena. "Can I borrow your monster?"
"Sure," she said.
He smiled. "Good doing business with you," he said. "I'll activate Polymerization! I'll fuse Lunalight Black Sheep and Predaplant Chimerafflesia!"
Oi, you. Wake up.
Oi!
Starving Venom, you—
Fine, fine. I swear, you can be as lazy as Yugo sometimes.
Don't give me that attitude, you're being absolutely useless now! And Serena doesn't have a Pendulum Monster, so I can't bring out Starve Venemy either.
Fine. Just do your job and I'll let you nap again.
"Beautiful flower with an insect-alluring fragrance! Hunting predator that dances under the light of the moon! Now become one, and from the hell beneath your petals and your lovely ribbons, give birth to a new terror! Fusion Summon! Appear! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs! Level 8! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!" (8*/2800/2000/DARK/Dragon/Fusion/Effect)
His ace emerged, and it let out a loud roar, both ticked at being woken from its nap and at the same time ready to tear apart every other Fusion Monster on the field. Serena sighed.
"Black Sheep will return Emerald Bird to my hand. Then, I'll activate Starving Venom's effect. It'll gain attack points equal to the attack points of a Special Summoned monster that you control! And in this case…" He grinned sharply. "There's only one target that I can see! So now, take your rage and feed on the strength of your opponent! Hungry Fang!" (Starving Venom Fusion Dragon: 2800 + 3200 = 6000ATK) The dragon grabbed the white hero, tossing it to the ground as vines lashed out, energy lighting up his dragon's wings.
"Damn!"
"I'll set a card and a monster," Yuri said. "Attack his monster, Starving Venom, and wipe out as many of his life points as you can! Feast, my hungry dragon! Toxic Spore!" The Shining stood no chance, and it was blown apart as Starving Venom let out a victorious howl.
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 5800 – 2800 = 3000LP
Judai laughed. "I'll add two of my banished "Elemental HERO" monsters to my hand when The Shining is destroyed."
"Lunalight Panther Dancer will attack you directly! Lunatic Dance!"
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 3000 – 2800 = 200LP
"I'll end my turn," Yuri said.
"Very nice," Asuka complimented. "But it's over this turn."
Not possible.
Starving Venom is too strong for that.
"Draw!" Asuka glanced at the three cards in her hand, as Yuri added another Polymerization from his graveyard to his hand. "Heh. I'll activate Machine Angel Absolute Ritual. I'll shuffle monsters with an equal total Level in my graveyard into my deck in order to Ritual Summon a "Cyber Angel" from my hand. I'll shuffle Cyber Angel – Nasateiya, Blade Skater and Freya, Spirit of Victory into the deck. "Angel of light hiding eternal power. Now show your form to this vast world, and illuminate all creation! Ritual Summon! Descend, Level 10! Cyber Angel – Vishnu!" (10*/3000/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Ritual/Effect)
A beautiful, pink-themed woman emerged, purple arms reaching out—several of them, more than a human should have. A golden circle appeared above her, spinning slowly, as though hypnotising them. Long, pale wings stretched out from the woman as she looked forward at them, a cold regality in her eyes as energy gathered below her feet as well as around the circle above her.
"And now," Asuka said, "Vishnu will destroy all monsters on the field that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck! And then you take 1000 damage for each one! Ascension Burst!"
Oh. Yuri winced as Starving Venom let out a roar, and there was a cold screech as its petals spread out across the field. At the same time, Panther Dancer let out a loud shriek, bracing itself.
Yuri Sakaki & Serena Kurosaki: 2950 – 1000 = 1950LP
"Panther Dancer can't be destroyed by your card effects," Yuri shot back. "And when Starving Venom is destroyed," he said, "I can destroy all your Special Summoned monsters! Vengeful Storm!"
Asuka winked. "I know," she said. "But Vishnu here is the ruler of destruction, so once per turn, when a card or effect is activated that would destroy a card on the field, I can shuffle a Ritual Monster from my graveyard into the deck to negate it." She picked up a card from her graveyard, flipping it around to reveal Saffira. The petals all fell from the sky, drifting around them still, but no longer with the same intimidating power as before. "Admittedly, I didn't know about Panther Dancer's effect though… so you're right. I won't win against you this turn. Now, Vishnu! Take down that panther! Final Cataclysm!"
Vishnu ran forward.
"Sorry," Yuri said. "But Serena needs that. I'll activate my set Magic Cylinder!"
He thought about how Masumi had used this against him in his first duel to get into this school. How it had nearly stolen the win from him. It had failed, there.
Asuka smiled. "I knew it," she said. "But sorry. That won't work here." She flipped up her own card. "Meet Judai's card."
Yuri looked at them, and he laughed.
"Solemn Judgment," Judai finished with a peace sign. "So, we'll halve our life points, and we'll negate and destroy that card of yours!"
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 200 / 2 = 100LP
Yuri Sakaki & Serena Kurosaki: 1950 – 200 = 1750LP
"And now," Asuka said, "I'll be setting one card and passing."
Really?
"Yeah," Serena said. "I've got this."
"Don't mess up," he said teasingly.
She rolled her eyes, and she picked up her next card. "As if I would. You've opened it up for me already, after all." She pointed to the field, where there was still one card facedown. "I'll Flip Summon Lunalight Emerald Bird!" She smiled. "And now, I'll activate Lunalight Wolf (6*/S1/2000/1800/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Pendulum/Effect) in my Pendulum Scale." She pointed forward. "Wolf's effect! I'll banish Bird from my field and Black Sheep from my graveyard to Fusion Summon!"
Judai's eyes widened. "Oh, so no monsters from the hand at all?"
"Beautiful emerald songbird! Suited dancer under the beautiful moonlight! Swirl in the darkness and become a new power! Fusion Summon! The quiet one who watches over the dancers in the moonlight! Lunalight Cat Songstress!" (7*/S1/2000/1500/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Pendulum/Effect) Her Pendulum ace leapt onto the field, a delicate smile on her face before she hid it behind a veil.
"Really bringing back the nostalgia," Yuri remarked.
"Am I?"
"Yeah, yeah. Come on. Bag us the win already."
"Patience," Serena said. "I'll activate Cat Songstress's effect. I'll halve her attack points, and this turn, she can attack directly! (Lunalight Cat Songstress: 2000 / 2 = 1000ATK) So go on and win this! Melody in the Moonlight!"
Cat Songstress leapt forward at the duo of teachers, and Yuri let himself smile.
Judai Yuki & Asuka Tenjoin: 100 – 1000 = 0LP
Serena punched a fist in the air. "Yes!"
Asuka smiled. "Congratulations." Around them, the crowd was cheering. "Let's go in for now, Kurosaki-san. A little girl talk before Judai treats us all to food." The duo went in, and eventually, the crowd dispersed, leaving Yuri and Judai there.
Yuri let his smile fall.
"You don't look happy," Judai said, stating the obvious.
"Not really," Yuri said. "I don't like it when people let us win on purpose, sensei. I'm not stupid."
Judai laughed, not even trying to deny it. "Saw right through us, huh?"
"Your last set card," Yuri said. "Why didn't you activate it?"
Judai patted his head. "There was no need," he said. "After all, we all enjoyed ourselves, right? And that's what's really important." He flashed the peace sign again. "I don't need to win to be happy with how I duel."
Yuri scowled. "Maybe. But next time we duel, I don't want you to go easy on me. Or on Serena, if you duel her."
"Why not?"
"She's an idiot, but she's a prideful idiot. A bit skilled too." Yuri sighed. "You'll hurt her pride if you decide to go easy on her. Alright?"
"Sure," Judai said. "I won't hold back next time." He loosened his shoulders, before he grinned. "But you… make sure you enjoy yourself more during duels, alright? So many kids end up being so focused on dueling better that they forget that they have a purpose to duel in the first place. Or they get too hung up on winning and losing… you're kids, you know. You have the right to enjoy yourselves."
Yuri was about to shoot back an acerbic comment, but then he met Judai's gaze. The words died in his throat.
There was something almost… sad to his eyes.
"Whatever," he said.
Judai grinned, sadness seeming to evaporate. "Great! Now come along, I think they have fried shrimp sandwiches there, and that's always a good thing…"
Geez…
What a teacher.
"Do you think Kurosaki-san knows we went easy on you two?"
Yuri snorted. "I doubt it. She's a bit hard-headed a lot of the time."
Judai gave him a knowing smile, and they headed towards the café again.
"Hey, Tenjoin-sensei."
Asuka smiled as the café door shut. "Yes?"
"Don't go easy on us next time."
The blonde teacher slowly sighed. "Should've known you'd see through us. Was it that obvious?"
"Yes," Serena said bluntly. "That last turn made it really obvious." She glanced away. "Don't call me Kurosaki. Just call me Serena."
"Oh, Serena. Alright then. Well… we really didn't feel the need to win there." Asuka gave a comforting smile. "And either way, you two were far more synergised in terms of your decks than the two of us were. I wasn't using my usual Warrior deck, so Judai and I weren't exactly in sync as much as we could've been. That was unavoidable. You two deserved that win for being so helpful to each other." The teacher frowned. "Do you think Sakaki-kun knew that we went easy on you two?"
"No," Serena said with a frown. "He's an idiot, but also a prideful idiot. Skilled though. He's probably just teasing Yuki-sensei about the whole winning against you guys thing outside." Asuka nodded.
"Well," Asuka said, "I think you two work well together. No wonder you're together."
Serena blinked. "We're not a couple."
Asuka's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yeah," Serena said.
"And you don't like him?"
"The day I like Yuri is the day when hell freezes over," Serena muttered. "No, he's just my friend, and Rin's best friend. That's all we are."
"Do you want to be more?"
"Of course not."
Asuka nodded slowly.
"How about you and Yuki-sensei?"
Asuka let out a laugh. "Well, he's in love with someone else. We're not a couple."
"The fact that you two came dressed as Super Roboyarou and Super Robolady says otherwise," Serena said. "Most people don't come in matching costumes."
"Oh, that's because I went shopping for him to get the costume," Asuka said with a laugh. "He's kind of my irresponsible younger brother. I liked him back in our schooling years, but nowadays we're just colleagues and friends. I help his partner keep him in check."
Serena nodded. At that moment, the door opened, and Yuri and Judai stepped in.
"Sup," Judai said. "Let's get some food, shall we?"
"I'm ordering half the menu," Serena said bluntly, and Yuri choked on air as Judai laughed.
"That's the spirit! I'll order the other half for myself too. Let's do this."
"Absolutely nuts," Yuri griped as he sipped at his drink. "I am surrounded by people who are absolutely nuts."
Serena, who had just polished off the last dish in front of her, looked up. "Oh? Where did the teachers go?"
"They finished a while ago," Yuri said dryly. "So they went off. Mind if we stay here a while? Might let you stave off the inevitable stomachache."
Serena leaned back in the seat. "I really want to punch you for that, but you might actually end up being correct."
"Excuse me," Yuri said. "I'm Yuri Sakaki. I don't make wrong calls." He sighed. "You're really good," he said reluctantly.
Serena blinked.
"Your dueling… and…"
Serena finally got it, and she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I know already. I'll still beat you next time."
"When hell freezes over," Yuri said. To his surprise, Serena collapsed into laughter.
"Not that," she said. "If I'm lucky, that'll never happen. But I will beat you, yeah?"
He glanced up. "I might be glad if you did," he admitted. "I've only ever lost to one person, after all."
"Huh?" Serena casually stole his drink, sipping from the straw and returning it to him a moment later. Yuri raised an eyebrow at her, but she ignored it, and looked back at him. "Who have you lost to? Yuto?"
"I guess I have," Yuri said. "A while back. But if we're talking about definitive win and loss records… as in, someone who I've lost against more than I've won against? It's just my father. Even against Yuto, I win more than I lose. Not that we duel against each other often in the first place."
Serena frowned at the mention of that person. "Sorry I asked," she said. "Wait, no, that sounded a bit more sarcastic than I intended—"
"I get it," Yuri said. "Yeah." He glanced up, not meeting her gaze any longer. "Relax already."
"I'm already relaxed."
"Sure."
They sat there in awkward silence for a moment.
"Let's go," Yuri said, standing up. They headed out, before Serena tapped his shoulder. "Yeah?"
"Thanks for coming with me today," she said. "And going along with the duel. That was fun."
Yuri nodded slowly. "Same," he said. "We… should duel together more often."
"Yeah," she said.
They carried on. Yuri sighed.
Internally, a voice whispered quietly.
'Yuri Sakaki…'
'You won't admit it to yourself, right? How you're feeling?'
'This has already become something more, hasn't it?'
"You look thoughtful."
He banished the internal voice with a frown.
No one tells me how I'm feeling. Only I decide.
"I'm only going to say this once," he said.
"You are not boring in the slightest, so be who you want to be. You can satisfy everyone else in the world, but if you are not satisfied, that's pointless."
She looked back at him with wide eyes.
"I doubt your sisters would ever have done that if they knew it would hurt you," he said. "But in the end, you're the one that has to live with your choices. Everyone else will get over it, but you never will." He smirked. "Lighten up, you feral cat."
Of course he had quoted that dumb, dumb line to her. Of course he had…
"You're my friend," he said. "And I'm glad for that."
Serena stared at him, before she laughed. "You're choking on those words!" She patted his shoulder. "No, no, you can't just say it once! Say it again, say it again!"
He facepalmed, and he walked forward.
And then, his heart skipped a beat as she grabbed his wrist.
… shit.
A/N: So this concludes the longest duel I have written in one chapter to this date! Also, the longest chapter yet. *deep breath* Please don't be mad over the ending of this duel. Serena and Yuri, at this point, are stronger than a lot of their peers, but not stronger than Asuka and Judai. Not by a long shot. They may have won, but I hope to make it clear that they're very much still not as strong, both individually or as a team. They will grow, but whether they can surpass those two… either way, this was very much a generational meeting between these four. I wanted the four of them to interact, because Judai and Asuka are going to play a large role in the character development (and relationship development) of these two. They're not the only legacy characters that will show up… but they're the most important ones, as of now.
As a quick note, these are the current costumes of the characters:
Yuya: Dark Red Enchanter
Yuto: Zure, Knight of Dark World
Yuri: Fairy Knight Ingunar
Yugo: (currently) Swordsman of Landstar
Serena: Maiden of the Moonlight
Asuka: Super Robolady
Judai: Super Roboyarou
But yes. I'd like to spend a bit of time to clarify something very quickly—that being that the line about living with your choices that Yuri delivers to Serena in that flashback and Moonlight Runaway is from Divergent. I assumed that I put that in the author's note there, but I don't think that version saved.
Now, moving on to the celebration of 50 Favourites (51 now) and 49 Follows (50 now)! I still can't believe I got here, but IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! After this arc, I'll be proceeding on with the next planned arc, but at the same time, I have some… let's say, liberty in the order and way that later events turn out. We'll be having quite a few different subplots and revelations, as well as flashbacks about the pasts of our main characters. So, my question is quite simple—which is your favourite counterpart, and what Numbers do you like? You can leave a review, or PM… either way, I'd love to hear from you guys :) What I can say is that we're getting all of those revelations either way, but that the flashback arc may get… messier or easier, depending on who is picked first. Alright? :D (Also, guys, I set up a poll for this, so you can go to my profile and click on the poll too!)
Now, previews…
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...
We're nearing towards the end of the Duel Monster Spirit Day arc, but rest assured, there are plenty of plans for after it! I can't wait :D
Alright, thanks for reading this far! I'm really grateful that you took the time to read. Feel free to leave a review, or follow/favourite if you want to, but either way? Good to have you here! See you next time!
~Blaise
OC Cards:
Lunalight Cat Songstress
(7*/2000/1500/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Pendulum/Effect)
2 "Lunalight" monsters
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, you may reduce the damage from a battle to 0.
When this card is Special Summoned, if you control 1 or more other "Lunalight" Fusion Monsters, or if you have "Lunalight Cat Dancer" on your field or in the GY, this card gains the following effect:
- You may halve this monster's ATK; this turn, it can attack your opponent directly.
You can tribute a "Lunalight" monster you control, then target a "Lunalight" Fusion Monster you control: This turn, it may attack all your opponent's monsters twice, and on the first attack, the monsters are not destroyed. You may only activate each effect of "Lunalight Cat Songstress" once per turn.