Chapter 28: Musings of the Fusion Duelists
Hey guys, finally back and here for the next chapter. This will shed a bit more on future events, and it's going to start building up the story for the future. I'll explain everything in the ending notes, but no dueling here. While chronologically, this takes place in episode 106, where we first saw what Yuri's dragon could actually do, this chapter will show how they got their. There's also going to be Yuri's new plan forming, as he needs to reach his counterparts soon for multiple reasons. There's also going to be a few shades of grey from Yuri and Barrett, as well as a deeper view into theirs and Aki's psyche. Also, there are a few surprises at the end, but I'll explain at the bottom, I hope you enjoy :)
(Fusion Dimension: Academia)
"And this is my room Aki. Here is my humble abode." Yuri showed her as he went in, "This is where I usually am when I'm not on a mission."
Aki looked around, "Mahogany desk, bookshelf, and bed frame, swivel chair…" She peered at the windowsill, "Weird plants."
"Sarracenia and Stapelia plants." Yuri grinned as he moved one, "I take great pride in them."
Aki looked at most of the books Yuri had, "How'd you afford these?"
"The Professor agreed to let me have them, one of the perks of being useful. There are a lot of great books in there, like Beowulf and The Count of Monte Cristo."
"Along with books written by Nietzche, gothic literature, and other creepy stories." Aki pulled them out, prompting Yuri to take them from her, "Are you having a hard time?"
"A good question…another time to answer." Yuri responded before shoving the books back.
"Why not talk? We're still waiting for Barrett and your other friend to get a boat for us to get to the mainland. Speaking of which why can't we just teleport?" Aki stated as she sat on Yuri's chair.
He sighed, "There's no real rush into things, and we're not traveling by dimension. Probably also a security boost for the annual celebration coming up. As for talking about myself, well I can't say I'm that interesting."
Aki chuckled, "Wow, so all that confidence and intimidation and that's really it. Just some bland mercenary soldier who enjoys chaos and battle. What happened to that 'tortured sprit' you had in you?"
Yuri snickered, "Well, not many of us like talking about it. Sometimes, we prefer being seen as monsters."
Aki looked at Yuri, who was now leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, and a tired scowl on his face. It was such a difference to the composed, articulate, yet vicious persona he had on before. Yet, whenever it was just her and Barrett, that seemed to just fade away to a more monotonous, cold, and depressed individual, who just seemed to be exhausted from it all. She looked down sadly, "You were never really good at making friends either, were you?" When Yuri said nothing, "When I was little, people used to hate and fear me for my psychic powers, I only really had my parents for support before I lost them. Was it the same for you?"
"I'm not really a psychic." Yuri stated, "Never knew my parents. As for friends, well for me, most of the other kids didn't like me because I was too strong of a duelist. They resented it, how I was always the best of my peers, along with several of my superiors. People either saw me as an enemy, or a tool to use for their own means." He sighed, some things about you never changed. When it came to dueling, destroying, sucking up, or trash talking, Yuri was a pro. Actually holding a conversation with someone just for the conversation…for Yuri, he'd never known how to do that.
"I've been there. The only people in my life that never did that to me were my parents and Arcadia." Aki noted. "Things were okay, before Security eliminated Arcadia following them taking my mentor prisoner. After that, my life went to hell, and I was forced to fight for my life, while Roger performed tests on me and others to make us weapons."
"Let me guess, bad results led to elimination, weakness to torture, and the 'rough training' was little more than your suffering for their amusement." She looked at Yuri, who simply looked at her glumly. From the way others had looked at them when Yuri and Barrett, she could've imagined a few of them being a couple, but they would've been fools. What she had for Yuri was simple understanding, not affection. They had both been reduced to living weapons. While Aki may have escaped her old life as one, she ultimately knew she had become a new one now, and that Yuri was desperately trying to free himself from his own chains. "I'll also assume that punishments were dealt with whips, electric torment, and watching others die."
"That was it. What, does your Professor make everyone undergo that here?" Aki asked.
"No, it was called the, 'Survival Duel Program,' an attempt to create the ultimate Duel Warrior. Only a small amount of handpicked students end up there, and only one ever got out with his mind intact." He then chuckled, "Or whatever you'd consider my mental state."
"So…I'm guessing barely holding on by a thread?" Aki questioned, prompting Yuri to laugh. "I wasn't joking."
"I know, it's just funny, that's all."
Aki looked at him, "Why did you originally join Academia?"
Yuri looked out the window, "It wasn't so much a choice, so much as there was really nothing else to do back then. It was either join or wait around hopelessly praying to get adopted, which knowing my luck, probably wouldn't have happened. The Professor told stories about how the new, united world would be a paradise we'd forge for everybody, a place where everyone would be able to duel and enjoy their lives in peace. It was interesting, so I guess a lot of people joined in because of it."
"So basically you guys were indoctrinated into a Nazi duel school." Aki summarized.
"What's a Nazi?" Yuri asked her.
"Long story, basically they were a regime that believed in the utopia of a superior race through the cleansing of all that were impure." Aki summarized, realizing that the different dimensions had different histories. "Except you guys use RSV rather than nuclear warfare, guns, etc."
"Ah yes, back in the days when wars weren't waged through trading cards. It must've been a weird time." Yuri noted, "But yeah, when you put it like that, that's basically what we are."
"Great, so I traded one totalitarian regime under Roger for another one under your master." Aki sighed as she got up.
"Hey, I told you, we're far from the heroes of this war. Though if you had my opinion, heroes never existed, so what does it matter." Yuri stated bluntly, going towards the door along with Aki.
Aki had known that anyway, she hadn't expected a worthwhile existence. To be honest, she cared nothing about her future. After having accidentally murdered her parents, she had fallen into despair that Roger had only made worse. She cared little for her own life, whether she lived or died. At this point in her life, Aki would accept death without any real care whatsoever. She'd have already been dead if not for Yuri.
Yuri on the other hand, could only think of the possibilities on the covert operation he was doing under the Professor's nose. If even a single hair fell out of place, it would all be over, and then everything he went through would've been for nothing. It was a maddening thought, to not have really accomplished anything. For 5 years, his life had gone into a deep abyss, spiraling so far out of control he didn't know what would come next. Now, he finally had a chance to free himself from his chains, he just needed to figure things out. If something went wrong, he'd die… either by the Professor, or the Black Shadow. He refused however, to let that happen. Yuri knew what he had to do, and if that made him heartless, so be it. What did it matter to him if others had to die? So what if he was once a good person who didn't ask for what happened to him? All that mattered to him was what he would soon be…the most powerful predator. Suddenly, his thoughts returned to an image of Serena holding his arm to keep him from falling, leading him to shake the vision out of his mind. The past was the past…it should be left as such…
Having gotten a message from Barrett to head to the docking bay, they both made their ways there when Aki asked, "Hey Yuri, if our dimensions have different histories…why do we have the same books?"
Yuri stopped, actually at a loss of words before replying, "Don't know, it's probably not that important."
When they finally reached the boat, the found Barrett and another duelist in a weathered and ripped black officer uniform, a scarf covering his mouth, black shades, a Duel Monsters card on his necklace, as well as his black hair done in a ponytail. Aki found him rather resembling Kurosaki Shun in that sense. "I assume that this is Tachibana?"
"Yep, Aki meet Tachibana Ikkaku." Yuri said casually. Tachibana simply waved to Aki before getting into the boat. Yuri then turned to Barrett, "Everything set?"
"If it wasn't I wouldn't have called you all here, let's go." Barrett stated, prompting them to finally set off on their mission. Barrett handled driving and navigating the boat, Aki and Tachibana sat on the sides, while Yuri sat in the back. "I assumed that you were briefed about the mission, Tachibana-kun."
"Yes, we're after a girl named Hiragi Yuzu, who was apparently saved by traitors of Academia. We need to find her and put an end to this possible rebellion." Tachibana summarized while he fiddled with the Duel Monsters card he had on his necklace, clenching it tightly before placing it inside his jacket.
"Even if we catch Yuzu, what's stopping her from teleporting us away with that necklace of hers?" Aki questioned Yuri and Barrett.
"That's not how it works." Yuri stated, prompting Tachibana and Aki to look at him while Barrett listened while focusing on driving. "For better or worse, her bracelet only teleports me away when one of my lookalikes, aka Yuya and Yugo, are in the same vicinity."
"Why's that and who are Yuya and Yugo?" Tachibana questioned.
"Oh right, I never brought you up to speed. Well, in short terms, our enemies include 2 guys that resemble me from Standard and Synchro. Dennis told me about another guy who looked like me from the Xyz Dimension, but I never met him. For whatever reason though, Yuya has his dragon and he and Yugo have been chasing me. Also this Yuzu girl looks just like Serena, who also resembles these 2 girls from Xyz and Synchro that I kidnapped, Ruri and Rin." Yuri explained.
"Is it just me, or does this seem a little too coincidental?" Tachibana noted, "I know that Serena is being held prisoner, and now so are these other 2. We also have to kidnap this Yuzu girl. 4 dimensions, 4 guys that look alike and 4 girls that look alike. This sounds pretty farfetched if you ask me."
"Tachibana, even I've asked questions regarding it." Barrett stated, "The Professor declared the matter closed. Besides, we're soldiers. We were given orders and that's all that matters."
"Even if you know that they're wrong?" Aki questioned.
"War is war, there's nothing glamorous about it. Things such as chivalry and honor have no place in it." Barrett stated, "If you're a part of a war, then you're almost certainly going to do something vulgar. Trying to sugarcoat it, or pretend that there is some honor to it, is a fool's belief. All you can really do is hold on to what's important, and let the rest be."
"Wow…that was deep, and boring." Yuri stated as he let his head rest, feeling the ocean breeze on his face. 'He's right on a good deal of it, but considering that the Professor's plot has to deal with me, I don't want to take my chances. I can sense Yugo somewhere on the mainland, but I can't just teleport to find him. Hmm…in that case, I guess Yuzu's bracelet is going to be an asset this time around.' "Wake me up when we get there." Yuri finished, closing his eyes along with Tachibana and Aki, who decided to catch up on rest as well.
(You Show Duel School: Fusion Dimension)
The door to the shower room popped open and Yuzu drying her hair with a towel Asuka handed to her. "Thanks for the spare clothes Asuka-san."
Asuka smiled, "No problem. Follow me." With that, the 2 girls came to a new room, "These are my quarters. Until arrangements have been made, you can stay with me for now."
"That's fine, the fact that I'm not sleeping on concrete and dirt is fine enough." As Yuzu sat on the bed, she found a strange picture next to a lamp. "Asuka-san, what is this?" She could tell the faces of Asuka, Sho, and Manjoume, but there were 2 older duelist with them. One with darker blue hair with a black jacket, the other had a similar jacket but had eyes like those of Asuka, and darker brown hair, with a rather teasing expression on his face.
Asuka took the picture and looked at it sadly, "This was back during my time in Academia, before I learned the truth. The darker blue haired one is General Marufuji, Sho's elder brother. The other one was supposed to be the Commander-in-Chief, my own big brother, Tenjoin Fubuki."
"He's hot." Yuzu noted, prompting Asuka to sigh.
"Yes, if I had a dollar for every single girl who pretty much drooled at the sight of my brother and his antics, I'd be richer than Manjoume. Despite that, my brother was little more than one of the best duelists around, second only to the Kaiser himself. He was known as the 'Fubuking,' mastering the Red-Eyes Black Dragon to its peak potential." She sighed, "Like Sho was to Ryo, I was always a step behind my own brother when it came to dueling, not helped by all the different styles he had at his disposal. He could burn you to death, overwhelm you, or disrupt and confuse you, and he could do it with consummate ease. Things were going well, but then…"
(1 year ago: Academia)
"What do you mean? Where are you going?" Asuka asked her brother as he got packed a bag to take with him as he got on the boat.
"I have a mission to do…and I might not come back for a while." Fubuki responded as he armed his Duel Disk and deck.
"What kind of mission is this?" Asuka asked, concerned with the serious and forlorn look that was on her brother's face. Her brother had always sported a calm, cocky, and warm smile, even in a heated duel against his opponents. He was unshakably strong and easygoing both on and off the battlefield. Now however, it seems that whatever he was about to do robbed him of any humor. For the last few days he had been quiet and aloof, as though he were taking a note from Kaiser. But even Ryo-san had no clue as to her brother's changed demeanor.
Recognizing Asuka's troubled gaze, Fubuki smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry little sister. Most likely I'll be back in a few days, a week at most. But this is important, alright. Promise me you'll keep yourself safe when the battle starts, I don't know what I'd do if I heard that you had been hurt."
"I promise, I'll be okay." With that, the 2 siblings gave each other a hug and then Fubuki got the boat started. "Goodbye big brother, good luck."
"Goodbye Asuka." With that, he rode off, but as he left, Asuka couldn't help but here a name uttered from his mouth… "Sara."
(Back to the present)
"He never came back, and I never heard from him again." Asuka sadly finished, placing the photo on her desk.
"Is that why you left…to find him?" Yuzu asked, while Asuka shook with rage,
"No. My brother's departure left me confused and fearful. Not even Kaiser knew the actual mission my brother had been assigned. What truly made me lose my faith in Academia came months following…"
(5 months ago: Academia)
Most of the soldiers had finally come home, a lot of them were talking with their friends and family. Manjoume had come back from the battle, though he was contacting his brothers right now. Sho had left to catch up with his own brother, leaving Asuka mostly walking through the halls by herself. However, she noticed an Osiris Red soldier huddled in a corner by a column with tears in her eyes. Concerned, Asuka knelt next to her, "Are you okay? Why are you staying all by yourself? Let's go talk to some of your friends."
However, the girl simply slapped her hand aside and brought herself even deeper in her own grip, "I can't, not after everything that happened." The girl said shakily.
Asuka tried to give her a smile and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Easy, I can only imagine that going onto the battlefield must've been stressful, but from the news, the Arc Area Project is coming to fruition. Let's enjoy ourselves right now."
"I don't know what the Project's real purpose is, but it's not worth it, not at the cost of what we did." Tears streamed down her face as she looked right into Asuka's eyes, "We carded them… we carded almost every last one of them."
Asuka looked at her sadly, "I know it's hard, but it's like the Professor says, sometimes unscrupulous actions are needed for a better place. I'm sure the opposing army fought back just as hard."
"There was no army…" The girl responded glumly, "The battle started with us attacking hordes of defenseless people, and ended with us carding them all…" She was hyperventilating, "I carded…oh God she was just as young as my little sister…and I carded…" At that point she could no longer form a coherent sentence, and Asuka wrapped her arms around the girl in a consoling manner.
'She's just shaken…that's all. She just needs some time away, time to calm down.' Asuka thought that night when she hitched a boat and drove the girl back to the mainland. She figured that bringing her away from the other duelists, maybe some comfort food, and a good deal of rest, and the poor soul would be alright.
However, as they were walking on the docks, a searchlight glared right on them. "Looks like we found ourselves some deserters." As Asuka looked through the glare, she made out the images of the Juvenile Officers, before she could explain, the leader grinned, "Fear not traitors, as cards you will still aid the Arc Area Project." At that moment, the younger girl shoved Asuka away as she was enveloped in a bright light, leaving Asuka capable of just picking up her carded form in shock. "Sorry lovely one, you're next."
However, at that moment, an giant extravagant magician picked up Asuka, and she then found herself next to a carnival like man with a cane and another, dark blue haired duelist at his side. "Sorry about that my good men, but I assumed that you should know that it is only proper etiquette to not harm a lady like that. Now for the next part of the performance…"
"Let me Sensei Yusho, time to pull a dragon out of a hat." After the dragon took care of the officers, Yush oand the other duelist took Asuka away from the area. "I'm pretty sure we lost them."
The man placed a hand on Asuka's shoulder, "Young lady, what is your name."
"Asuka." She replied.
"Alright then Asuka, if you are willing to join me, we may be able to work together to stop Academia. You may join or not, it is up to you…"
(Back to the present)
"And so, I joined. Sho and Manjoume came as well a few days later. Sho plans on facing down his elder brother when the time comes while Manjoume wishes for atonement and to free himself from the grip of his own siblings, but we've all kind of come together thanks to Yusho's teachings." Asuka finished, smiling at Yuzu.
"What are you guys planning?" Yuzu asked.
"Our plan is to hijack some of the boats during the festival in a few days and use them to ride to Academia, and from there, stop the Professor." Asuka stated, "All we can do now is keep planning, and hope Academia can't find us…"
(Fusion Dimension: Mainland Docks)
Having finally gotten on solid earth, Barrett headed to talk to the Juvenile Officers while Aki, Yuri, and Tachibana hung back as they began their mission to find Yuzu and the rebel group. "I haven't been here in years." Yuri noted as he took a look around him, remembering some familiar sights back when he was younger.
"No, we were here fighting only about 8 months ago against the Western Academia." Tachibana noted as he adjusted his specs.
"Yeah, but I didn't really have time to look around at nighttime on a wild battlefield." Yuri responded while Aki looked around with cheer.
"This reminds me of some of the festivals I used to got to when I was younger!" Aki noted with glee.
"Glad you're happy Aki, now let's get going." With that, Yuri headed to Barrett, "So what's the news, any ideas where these defectors were heading."
Barrett sighed, "No, from what I gathered, they couldn't trace their location. They were all knocked out and the rest couldn't get there in time. Other eye witness reports are spotty at best. Only thing I did get was that they were riding a gondola beforehand."
"So basically, we're shooting blindly in the dark." Tachibana noted.
"Then let's get exploring while there was still daylight." Aki stated.
"Though, how do we search if there are literally no clues whatsoever?" Barrett pondered.
"Hmm…in that case, there's not much we can do here right now except enjoy the carnival." With that, Yuri looked at Barrett pleadingly, who relented and threw Yuri, Aki, and Ikkaku each a parcel of money. "Might as well enjoy the events going on while we can. Come on Barrett, it'll be just like the good old days." With that, Yuri and Barrett started walking into the town's square followed by the rest of the group.
Tachibana adjusted his shades before turning around stating, "I'm going for a stroll, see if I can pick up on anything incognito. Call me if you need me."
With a small sigh, Aki looked around and eventually set her sights on a shopping store. Remembering her times going shopping with her mom, Aki ran off shouting, "I'M GONNA BE SHOPPING BE BACK SOON!"
Yuri simply looked at her departing figure in wonder, "Huh, I don't remember Serena ever being like that."
Barrett chuckled, "No, she usually spent more energy into trying to beat you than in clothes. Though I'm surprised you haven't walked off yet. You and Serena used to leave me scrambling trying to find you both when you two disappeared just to get a look at well…anything."
(7 Years prior)
"Come on you guys, speed up!" Serena proclaimed as she dashed out of a pawn shop with a sail boat in a bottle in her hands. All of a sudden, Serena tripped over a crack in the ground and fell down, only saved in the nick of time by Barrett, who caught her and her gift in an arm.
"Careful Serena, you're going to get yourself hurt." Barrett stated, "Let me hold on to that so you don't break it." With that, he extended an arm while Serena huffed, but ultimately gave the item to him.
"Where's Yuri," Serena asked, prompting both her and Barrett to see where Yuri went after leaving the pawn shop. It took about 5 minutes until they found him, "Over there!"
Yuri himself had just been handed a free potted plant and was walking away when he noticed Serena and Barrett behind him, "Hey guys."
"Yuri, did you steal my wallet again?" Barrett questioned.
"No, I got this for free." With that, he waved towards the nice old lady at the stand he received it from before walking around with Barrett and Serena. "went with roses, trying to go for something normal."
"Let me guess, it was the only one that had anything pointy or threatening about it?" Barrett surmised.
Yuri sighed, "Yeah."
"You can be really weird about plants Yuri." Serena stated.
"Says the gorilla girl." Yuri shot back, grinning as he dodged the punch Serena threw his way before running off with Serena in pursuit, "Catch me if you can!" Barrett simply looked at them, sighed, and then ran after them to make sure they didn't get themselves hurt.
(Back to the present)
An hour later, Yuri was contently chowing down on a large fried chicken sandwich with fries and honey mustard while Barrett had called in Tachibana before calling Aki and to come to their location. Upon finishing his meal, Yuri looked around before calling to Tachibana, "Hey goth boy, check this out!" He then proceeded to walk to a skull tattoo parlor and pointed at one of the designs. "Doesn't that tattoo look like your curse mark!?"
Tachibana looked at it, "I suppose it does…what's your point?" He growled, not liking the reminder.
"I'm just saying, could it be the brand you've been given by the Reaper may in fact be…a knockoff?" Yuri questioned in a mockingly innocent tone.
Ikkaku took a deep breath, "Yuri…" Yuri gulped and backed away, "…YOU'RE DEAD!"
Suddenly a large explosion was heard throughout the town and Yuri was sent flying hundreds of feet into the air towards the ocean. However, Yuri activated the teleporter function on his duel disk…ending up plummeting from hundreds of feet from the air to where Barrett and Tachibana were. "HHHEELP MMMEEEEE!" Yuri screamed.
Aki, who had left the shop in a new outfit and carrying a bag, saw Yuri before taking out a card, muttering, "Rose Tentacles…" With that, her giant rose monster materialized and stretched its tentacles to catch Yuri and brace his impact.
Unfortunately, while it cushioned the blow, Yuri just found himself tumbling of the body while getting hit with the creatures thorns while he descended, "Ouch, my spleen…my internal organs…oh god why…" slipped from Yuri's mouth as he finally rolled off the creature and onto the ground. 'The things I will do to get results…' "Ugh…" With that he opened his eyes and stared at Aki, "Oh god, I must have fallen pretty hard if I'm starting to fantasize about Aki."
Barrett sighed, "If it's what I think you're seeing, then no, you're not fantasizing."
Yuri simply blinked, "Aki…what are you wearing?"
"What, I did tell you I was going to the store." Aki replied.
"And the best you could get was that kinky outfit. If you're trying to have it weaponized, go head, though I personally prefer fear to seduction." Yuri stated bluntly.
Tachibana smirked, "Hey, I'm not complaining." To that end he was whacked in the head by Barrett, "Hey, I'm a guy, I can't help it."
"So that's your excuse, labelling all men to such a base level is crude and pathetic. Become more than your impulses Tachibana." Barrett replied.
"Yes sir."
Yuri slowly got back up and looked at the crowd of people they'd gathered, "That's our show folks, if you want more, pay up."
Eventually, things had died down again and Yuri turned to Barrett, "Alright, I humiliated myself, just as planned. Now did you find anyone?"
Barrett grinned before tapping his eyepatch, "Let me show you."
A little while later, a teenager had silently made his move and ended up on a row boat. 'Alright, time to head back to You Show and bring them the news.' He thought as he carefully rowed the boat without alerting anyone. As he rowed however, he felt something hit the back of the boat, prompting him to turn around and look. "Hmm, a root, probably just from an underwater plant." he thought, using his Duel Disk and confirming it wasn't Solid Vision. With that, he got back to rowing and in a few hours finally managed to reach the hidden school. "Okay guys, I'm coming back in." He whispered on his Duel Disk communicator.
"Did you make sure you weren't followed?" A female voice responded.
"Yeah, I'm sure." He said.
"Maybe you should've double checked then." A voice whispered right into his ears, causing him to jump back and turn around to see slit amethyst eyes. "Hello, and goodbye…" From the other side end of communications, the girl could only hear her friend's scream…
(Fusion Dimension: You Show Training Room)
"Ritual Summon!" Yuzu shouted as the area brightened up. She then sighed, "Almost got it."
"Don't worry, you've made really quick progress. Soon you'll be able to Ritual Summon with ease." Asuka noted.
"Trying to be a teacher now, Asuka?" Manjoume noted, "Hope you don't pass on your anti-Fusion ways to her."
Asuka glared, "How can you still use those cards after everything the form has done?"
"Asuka, Manjoume has a point. I have a reason to hate Academia and Fusion more than anyone; most of my friends fell because of them. Still, for Yuzu, I think its best you learn to use the 2 styles in tandem with one another to better your versatility." Johan noted.
Asuka sighed in defeat while Yuzu nodded, "Well, let's try it again." Suddenly, Sho came running in at breakneck speed. "Sho, what's wrong!?" Asuka questioned.
"A squad of Academia members followed one of our recon members. They're carding the other students. With that, Sho, Manjoume, and Johan ran out.
Asuka turned to Yuzu, "They're after you, maybe it's better if you stay put…"
"No way am I staying behind while others fight for me, I'm coming too!" Yuzu declared, chasing right after.
When they ran out to fight the invaders, Yuzu gasped as she recognized the abominable dragon that swept through the other students, ending them while his controller carded them. As the dragon vanished she swore it was staring right at her with a cruel look in its eye. His owner then revealed the 6 carded duelists and licked his lips, "Well, well. Looks like we've finally found you…my little Yuzu."
"You…" Yuzu hissed.
"You know that guy?" Manjoume asked as he looked at Yuri and his group.
"Yeah, he's the psychopath who's been trying to kidnap me wherever I go." Yuzu stated.
"Said psychopath has saved your life and has a name. It's Yuri, got it Yuzu?" Yuri replied. "Anyway, we were trying to find the deserters and you, so thanks for saving us the trouble and coming right to us. I see you even brought friends. I see the Kaiser's adorably treacherous little brother, the sad and pathetic Manjoume Blunder, and everyone's favorite Academia slut!" Yuri finished.
"What did you just call me!?" Asuka roared.
"Ever looked in the mirror, Asuka, because you've always seemed to like disregarding Academia dress ware in favor of those?" Yuri responded with a smirk. "And finally…" Yuri looked right at Johan before his eyes widened, "No, it can't be…"
"Oh, it is…you don't know how much I've prepared for this…Yuri…" Johan hissed, causing the rest to turn to him in shock.
"So after all this time, one of Cobra's dogs finally got balls to show himself, and out of all of them, it's the pathetic mutt that had to be saved by a flying magician…" Yuri stated.
"Sensei Sakaki Yusho won't need to save me this time! With this I'll avenge what you did to Jim and my other comrades!" Johan declared.
"Please, ever since you disappeared I trained body, mind, and soul into this. Show me what you got…Gohan-san."
"I'm sorry what?!" Johan stated, Yuri's comment throwing off the mood.
"Wait, you're not 'Gohan Henderson?'" Yuri said, surprised.
"You got my name wrong, it's…"
"No hold up, never mind, got it now!" Yuri replied as he quickly shuffled through his Duel Disk data pad, "Alright!" He said in a serious tone once more, "If that really is you, then yes, I am planning on ending you! On the day of the battle the storm you caused left me walking back to Academia with my socks all cold and wet Amon!"
"No, for goodness sakes, my name is…" Johan began.
"Jim! Dmitri!" At that point, Yuri just sighed before guessing, "Jesse?"
"Oh for crying out loud it's Johan!" Johan declared, leading Yuri to laugh at Johan's angered face.
"Are you done tooling people Yuri?" Tachibana stated, bored.
"Yeah just about. Oh yeah, say hello to a pal of mine, Tachibana Ikkaku! Johan might remember him from the battle we had. And Yuzu, I'm sure you're familiar with Barrett and Aki." Yuri finished.
Yuzu turned to Aki and glared, "So you really have joined Academia? You really just betrayed your old dimension just to join them?!"
"Honestly, compared to what I went through before, the trade's been worth it." Aki responded.
"How the hell did you guys find us!?" Manjoume questioned.
Barrett grinned, "Well, Yuri and I came up with a solution to find one of your classmates after we failed to find information on where you went."
Yuri laughed, "Your ally did a good job keeping in the shadows, so we decided to give the people in Town's Square a show to draw him out. Friendly tip on entertaining Yuzu, make sure it's at someone else's expense." Yuri recalled, "I just had to get Tachibana triggered enough to send me flying high up to the sky, and then Aki saved me. The spy went to look at the spectacle from within the crowd, but unfortunately Barrett managed to pick him out."
"While the officers weren't able to catch you guys, they did tell us you 3 were traveling by canoe. That meant that you had to be travelling to a place by water while you could cloak yourselves without noticing, so we guessed he'd do that next." Tachibana stated.
"And when he did, I used my powers to have a root trace him all the way here, then we teleported here and got the jump on him and his comrades." Aki finished.
"And that leads us to right now. But pray tell, it seems a new development comes upon us. Your comrades mentioned their new teacher, as have you. This Sensei Sakaki Yusho, Yuya's father I presume?" Yuza gulped, prompting Yuri to grin, "Ah, so I was right. It was he then who saved Johan from my blade, though it puzzles me as to why he would be here of all places. Not that it matters now. Hand us the girl and we might spare you and welcome you back in the fold, you may join to Johan. It's the least you all can do to atone for getting in our way." Yuri stated.
"As if we'll hand her over or return to you lot! We won't stop until Academia is stopped. And as Ryo Marufuji's younger brother, I'm the one who will help my brother see the light in Sensei's words!" Sho declared, brandishing his Duel Disk.
"Well, democracy has failed. Time to card the trash then." Tachibana declared, arming his Duel Disk himself.
"Time to complete the mission." Barrett stated, he and Aki doing the same.
"Very well, let the fun begin in 3…2…1…"
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE YOU BASTARD! THIS TIME I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY!"
Yuri sighed as he saw Yugo bolting out of nowhere and going right at him, following by the flashing light of Yuzu's bracelet, "Here we go again…"
With that, Yuri, Tachibana, Aki, and Barrett vanished in the pink light. Yugo huffed, "DAMN IT I WILL SO KILL HIM!" He then spotted Yuzu and cried, "YUZU!" He ran towards her, throwing his arms out…only to whacked in the head by Yuzu's paper fan. "Seriously, why do you always do that?"
"Because you didn't show up sooner, where have you been?" Yuzu asked.
"Hey, trying to find your way on unfamiliar soil is kind of an ass. I had to deal with these officers who mistook me for a renegade and have been trying to find you and the Lancers ever since we fell into the wormhole! Then Clear Wing directed me here, probably due to that asshole who stole Rin, and then I found you."
"Um, who are you?" Asuka asked, dumbfounded at this new lookalike of Yuri, along with her companions.
"Names Yugo, and I don't know about you, but I could go for some food, and if you're friends with Yuzu you're friends with me, so let's go!" Yugo replied.
A little bit later, when they all returned with Yugo to Yusho's office and Yugo finished his story to Yusho, the elder Sakaki gave the teen a pat on the shoulder, "Have no fear, we'll rescue your friend when we stop my old friend Leo."
"I don't think it will be that simple, Sensei." Sho replied along with the group, "Academia knows our location now. It won't be long until the Professor launches an attack here."
"And when they do, we'll be ready." Yuzu turned and saw Sora behind her. "Hey Yuzu, what's up!"
"Sora!" Yuzu cheered and gave her old friend a high five.
"Yes, Sora is right, and we have no time to waste." With that, Akaba Reiji, Reira, Crow, and Tsukikage all came into Yusho's office. "Greetings Yusho-san, time to get back to work.
(Academia: Throne Room)
"So, in other words, this was the same as last time." The Professor summarized in a deadpan tone.
"Sorry Professor, but Yugo and Hiragi Yuzu's bracelet are a combo that never stop interfering." Yuri stated.
"Even so, the 4 of you did your job well. You've managed to discover the hideout of the deserters. We will ready our forces here to strike there, you 4 shall go with them." Leo Akaba stated.
"Um, Professor, I don't mean to be rude. But could I got to the Xyz Dimension instead, because I'm more likely to get teleported all over again. If Yuya and the other Lancers are in the Xyz Dimension, wouldn't I be better suited to go there and deal with Yuya and his allies rather than just getting teleported again?"
'That cannot happen, as long as I keep Yuri stays away from his counterparts, especially that one, the demon will not reform until the time is right.' "That will not be necessary Yuri, tomorrow morning, I'll be sending the Tyler Sisters as well as the Obelisk Force to aid our army there, and your help will not be required." Leo Akaba stated. "Dismissed."
With that, the 4 of them all left, though Yuri turned to Leo Akaba, "By the way Professor, where's Dennis?"
"He's on a mission in Standard. He'll be back shortly."
"When he gets back, please inform me, I'd like to talk to him." With that, Yuri left to chase after his companions.
"Since your Professor's allowing me to be a part of the group, where am I sleeping?" Aki asked.
"You can take Serena's old room, Yuri, you know where it is, take her there."
"I'll go too, got nothing better to do." Tachibana noted.
"Where are you going Barrett?" Yuri asked him as Barrett began walking towards the jail rooms.
"There's something I've got to do Yuri." Barrett replied. With that, he made his way through Academia's prison cells until he finally came to a cell with the door only having one small window to show someone's face for communication. As he walked, his mind flashbacked to older times…
(11 years ago)
"I've heard all about your achievements and medals on the battlefield, but I have a different, but just as important, job for you. I need you to safeguard someone for me. To act as both her mentor, and her protector. You are to guard her from those who will try to hurt or take her life, understood." Leo Akaba stated to Barrett as they made their way to a locked room.
"Understood, Professor." Barrett responded. With that he opened the door to meet the life he'd been entrusted to protect…"
(Back to Present)
"Serena…" Barrett stated to the girl who he saw as his own sadly as he looked upon her pained form.
Serena simply laid down on her side upon the hard bed, her head on the pillow, and her eyes bloodshot, as though she had spent a good deal of time crying. When she spoke, she lacked the brashness and confidence she once held, but was now simply monotonous and somewhat broken. "What do you want Barrett?"
And that wraps up this chapter, the next one will give a much deeper look into Yuri's, Serena's and Barrett's backstories, as well as the seeds that made Yuri what he is today. Anyone wondering what happened to Fubuki in this world, that's far down the road, I'll get to his story when the time comes. Any Aki fanboys, rest easy knowing she's in her usual getup that she wore in 5ds :). If you're wondering how Reiji managed to find Yusho's hideout, well, they all wound up in the Fusion Dimension as well and Tsukikage had spotted Yuzu when the Officers were chasing her. He was about to intervene before Asuka and the others showed up, after which he followed them back to their hideout. Also, anyone wondering where Reiji got the boat he used in the Fusion Dimension when he and the others rescued Yuya from...Captain Solo...he stole it from Yuri and the others while they were off enjoying themselves. Never liked how that was never explained. As for what Yuri's planning, he knew that he'd eventually find Yuzu, but he also knows the Professor won't simply let him go after his counterparts, and thanks to Starve Venom and Supreme White Dragon, he could tell Yugo was around there as well. So he purposely drew out the search for the sake to get Yugo on his trail, then when he finally found Yuzu, her bracelet would teleport himself, and his comrades, away, all while making it look like he's doing his level best to capture her on the Professor's orders. As of right now he's also after info on Dennis about Sakaki Yusho, because he (rightly) figures Dennis took queus from someone else when making his Entermage deck. What his final end goal will be, as well as the struggle he has within himself, will be revealed later. Until then, catch you later!:)
