Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V re:Scaled

Chapter 7

Ghosts From the Past

"So what do you think of it so far?" The bartender, a man in his sixties with gray hair, asked one of his customers, who was currently ripping into a plate of Hitachi wagyu beef, a cup of tea to his left.

"Hmph? About what?" The cloaked individual asked, his mouth still full.

"Watch your manners, boy," the bartender reprimanded with a scowl. "I'm talking about the Maiami Championship," he continued. "The Leo Corporation's sponsoring it. Or didn't you notice that a chunk of the city got shut down to host it?"

"Sorry," the diner said. "But yeah, I heard a bit about it. I'm not too familiar with it, though. I just came to this country three days ago."

That was a lie. Well, more like a half-truth, really.

"Where're you from?" The man asked, his interest piqued. "You don't sound like a foreigner, at least."

"Japanese, same as you. Just spent the last couple of years sightseeing is all."

Another half-lie-truth-whatever. Really not too many ways to say that you were wandering the border between dimensions for the last year without immediately being committed to a mental hospital. He was many things, but insane wasn't one of them.

"Ah, I see. Do you duel? It's all the rage with the kids these days."

"Yeah. Haven't played in a while, though. Since I left the country, at least. The game's not all that popular in say, Romania or Venezuela," he said, silently praying that this world's geography was the same as his, at least for those two countries.

"So you've been all over, huh, kid?" Thank God, he thought. Er, not that one. "Heard something you might be interested in, then."

"Hm?"

"One the kids in the Junior Youth division beat the reigning champ. Still thinks he needs to prove himself, for whatever reason. Don't think I'll ever understand people like him, if I'm being honest."

"He beat the champion? Do tell," the cloaked man requested, his attention having been thoroughly caught.

"Yeah, kid's name is... I think it was Yuya Sakaki. Supposedly, his dad was the last champion. He invented a totally new kind of summon to win. Pendulum Summon, or something like that."

"... You said the championship was sponsored by the Leo Corporation, right?"

"Yeah, what's it matter to you?"

"There's something I need to check," he said, rifling through the rest of his food. He got up and stretched after placing the money for his meal on the bar.

"You're in a hurry all of a sudden," the barkeep noted.

"I'm going to have a little chat with the bigwigs in charge of this thing."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"Let's just say that I know a guy who knows a guy," he chuckled.

"... Who are you, boy?" the man asked, eyebrows raised.

"Just a phantom," he winked, a single scarlet eye visible beneath his hood.

"Hey, are you okay? Hello? Earth to Sakaki Yuya!" Someone called out. Their voice sounded so distant. For some reason, he could feel something jabbing into him.

"Mm'finne, Ma. 'll be op'n a nimute," he slurred, saliva streaming from the corner of his mouth.

And then it hit him.

"Wait, Sakaki Yuya?!" Scrambling backwards, he felt his back slam into a tree. Groaning in pain, he fully opened his eyes to the three figures from before (meeting them was apparently not a dream like he had hoped). Judai (the one with the lame costume), Selena (or was it Serena? T-the one that looked like Yuzu), and Johan (the one with the hair that looked like it was made out of rocks or something). Or was Johan the one with the costume? Wait, was it Judai that had the rock hair?

"Jumpy as usual, eh, Sakaki?" The one with the costume asked. He had been poking him with a stick he had found on the ground to try to wake him up. "You passed out for a few minutes there."

"... huh?"

"Yeah, I asked you why you looked miserable. Then you fainted."

"Oh. I... see," he said. Well, not literally. He had been crying when he (supposedly) fainted, so all of that water ended up getting trapped by his goggles and was now blocking his vision.

"Not to distract from this exhilarating dialogue you're having," Selena said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "But please tell me you brought some other clothes with you, bro. That costume reeks."

"Soap and water are at a premium right now. Haven't been able to wash it in a while. Not that I need to anymore. That cat's out of the bag now," he replied, setting the duffle bag he'd been carrying around with him down. Unzipping it, he began to sort through its contents.

"Fried shrimp, wallet, phone, secret weapon," he muttered, setting them off neatly to the side. "Here it is."

There, in the bag, lay a folded vermillion-colored jacket, a Duel Disk and a pair of red sneakers placed on top of it. The jacket itself resembled the one Selena wore, albeit with a few stark differences. The color of the jacket itself was much less vibrant, appearing almost faded. In addition, its collar seemed to be larger and was popped. The band on the left sleeve had the star that was there on Selena's version replaced with a stylized "H" logo. Invisible until Judai slipped it on was the fact that the jacket itself was much shorter than Selena's version. Rather than the large coattails that marked Selena's outfit, the bottom of Judai's jacket seemed to float freely behind him, though Yuya did admit he might just be imagining that last part. Or maybe not. He had observed a similar phenomenon with his own jacket in the past, after all. Unless he was just going crazy. That was definitely an option as of the last few hours.

To say that Reiji Akaba was not having a good day would be an understatement. As if Academia having begun its invasion of his home wasn't enough to sour his mood, the intruder alarm going full blast definitely was. He didn't have time to think before darting down from his platform and into the vast hallways of the LDS building. Everyone in this building was under his protection. It didn't matter to him who the intruder was. So imagine his shock that not only did said intruder just waltz up to him in the hallway as though this were a completely normal occurrence, but that this person also bore a striking resemblance to Yuya Sakaki. Really, had it not been for the slightly more narrowed shape of his eyes and the lighter shade of green in his hair, he would've thought he was Yuya Sakaki.

He admitted that he may have jumped the gun and initiated a Duel a bit too quickly, but given the present circumstances, he felt it better to try and discern the boy's identity than risk letting Yuya's Fusion counterpart run amok in Standard.

Turn ?: Yuya Sakaki(?)

Yuya Sakaki(?) LP/Hand: 300/2

Reiji Akaba LP/Hand: 1500/0

"It's my turn! Draw!" Yuya(?) announced, digging his heels into the floor. Taking a glance at the card he was currently holding, a small grin graced his features.

"Hey, Reiji. Do you know what hurts magicians the most?" he asked, his eyes barely able to contain his excitement. But more than that, they seemed to hold a sort of nostalgia. Almost as though he'd done this before, a long time ago. When the gray-haired teen failed to answer, he simply shook his head and continued.

"Even in this world, you still have zero interest, huh?" he sighed. "Well, listen anyway! It's when the audience just isn't enjoying the show! Now watch closely! I Tribute Starving Venemy Dragon!" he shouted, thrusting his card up towards the sky.

Reiji perked an eyebrow up at Yuya(?)'s declaration. Tributing a Level 7 monster for one that was only Level 6 at most? What was the point? Especially a Pendulum Fusion monster, something unheard of. While his suspicion that the boy was from Fusion died down throughout the course of the Duel, he had been extremely worried when he had unveiled Staving Venemy Dragon for the first time.

"My next monster can't be Normal Summoned or Pendulum Summoned from my hand, but I can Special Summon it from my hand by Tributing all of the monsters I control, including at least one Dragon Pendulum monster! Emerge from the pendulum that stopped between destinies! The flow of time begins anew in a thousand dimensions! Level 10! Echo for eternity! All-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"

All-Eyes Phantom Dragon

Level 10

LIGHT

PS: 0

ATK: 3000

DEF: 2500

[ Dragon / Pendulum / Effect ]

This card cannot be Normal Summoned/Set or Pendulum Summoned from the hand. You can Special Summon this monster from your hand by tributing all monsters on your field, including one Dragon Pendulum Monster. When this card's attack is negated, end your opponent's next turn and make it the Battle Phase of your turn. When this card attacks, it gains 1000 ATK for each Dragon Pendulum Monster tributed for its Special Summon, and your opponent's battling monster loses the same amount of ATK. During either player's turn, when your opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card, or its effect, you can send 1 Spell/Trap Card you control to the Graveyard to negate the activation, and make your opponent Set that card. It cannot be activated this turn.

"The fun starts now!" he laughed. "Battle! All-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks D/D/D-"

"Duel terminated," a mechanized voice spoke, as the Action Field dissolved into particles of light around them.

"Hey! What'd you do that for?!" Yuya(?) yelled, annoyed at not having been able to finish the match.

"That was a test. I've gathered all the data on you I needed. I know now that you are not my enemy," Reiji replied simply.

"I tried telling you that. Repeatedly," Yuya(?) sighed, slumping forward, an exasperated look on his face.

"When you're in the situation I'm in right now, it's best not to take chances. You may not be my enemy, but there are still things I need to ask you. I'd like you to come with me. Having two Yuya Sakakis running around could be... problematic, to say the least."

"Please don't say you plan to shove me down the nearest dimensional portal," he said, shuddering.

"What gave you that idea?" Reiji asked, puzzled.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I was stranded in a giant white void for a year the last time I tried crossing dimensions. I'm not doing that again."

'... I'd better not tell him about the fact he'll be crossing dimensions again soon,' Reiji thought to himself.

"Uh, Reiji? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"It's nothing. Follow me," Reiji instructed the doppelganger, as they made their way back to the computer room.

Far away, a light blue pendulum began to shine.

Blood. Blood everywhere. Things weren't supposed to go this way. Struggling to open his eyes, his view was met with a city of death. Something had gone horribly wrong. The energy had overflown and just... exploded. It hurt everywhere. He was pretty sure his legs were broken. The left side of his face had been all but burnt off by the initial burst of energy. Everywhere but his right arm hurt and... ohgodohgodohgodOHGOD! WHERE'S MY ARM?! His gaze darted around the mass of corpses. Everyone... no... The last thing he saw before his senses failed him was a golden light, streaking across the sky. And then everything faded to white.

Once again, I fail to update in any reasonable length of time. This one took a few revisions to write, but at least it didn't take seven months like Chapter 35 of Phantom's Requiem did. Anyways, Review Response Corner time.

Guest 01's Review: Well, i dont have a lot to say, but i guess Jaden met Yuya, and that was already surprising. And i have a question... Serena here is someone's lil sis, who is the someone? Well, thats all for now. Cya next time and hopefully ull still be ok with ur busy life. Cya.

-01, out! :D

You bringing up Judai meeting Yuya just made me realize he hasn't dueled since Chapter 1. Uh, oops. Either way, though, the next main chapter (when it comes out; next chapter overall is Memoir 2), will have a bit more Yuya involved. Also, Serena is Judai's little (adoptive) sister here. Backstory for that should be in Memoir 4 or so. Anyways, c'ya next time!