III
For many kids in the world, music is an influence on their lives. It drives their creativity, allows them to discover new vistas that their minds might otherwise never bothered to entertain. For some, this need to search and create may be born from a need to escape their surroundings—to de-stress from the rigors and minutiae of their daily life, and afford themselves a moment of peace in their own little world. So it was with Yashiki Yūrei.
The Wight Duelist had barely moved from the corner of Kaede's home-away-from-home since she'd whisked him upstairs in a blur of blonde hair, and into the bonus room her grandmother had turned into a bedroom. She was a tornado on a sugar high, flitting between her prissy, perpetually unmade twin bed; her dresser, strewn with more bottles and vials of cosmetics than he'd ever seen in one place; and just about everywhere in between, bouncing off the pastel-pink walls like a pachinko ball wherever she went. Only just now had the Cuisine Duelist come to a stop in front of her television—a plastic microphone in her hand and a wicked grin on her face as she slipped in a disk.
Yūrei knew full well that such a grin boded ill for him even before she'd switched it on and started singing along.
For him, music wasn't just some mere escape—it was an actual, tangible goal. He'd harbored dreams of being a musician when he was growing up, and some element of this pursuit persisted even as he discovered and refined his talent in Duel Monsters. After all, there was nothing stopping him from taking the education he'd learned at the Wight School and putting his own spin on it—indeed, Yūrei often liked to fantasize that if he ever went pro, it'd be as both a Duelist and a musician. His Duels wouldn't just be matches, but entire concerts played at venues packed to capacity, a device that was equal parts guitar and Duel Disk slung over one shoulder, while Duel Monsters would wail and whirl around him in the sort of ever-changing melody that dominates the brain of many a young boy.
That melody was trounced and trodden beneath polished white heels an instant later.
" … Hito wa dare mo
Isshō no uchi
Nankai aiseru no darō?"
It wasn't that Kaede was singing an overly cutesy song that was rankling him so—or that said overly cutesy song had an even more overly cutesy music video blaring on the television. Nor was it even that she was singing said song in one of the many overly cutesy dresses that threatened to burst out of her overly cutesy closet and all over her overly cutesy room.
It was just that the Cuisine Duelist's singing voice was as far from "overly cutesy" as a ten-year-old girl could get.
To describe it as microphone feedback from the scream of a boiling lobster would have been an injustice to the lobster, the microphone—and probably even the cooking pot. It squashed all trace of inspiration out of Yūrei's mind; all fantasy of being a musician-Duelist was gone in a flash. He squished his eyes shut, conjured up the lyrics to "Dozing Green" in his mind's eye, and hoped that whatever song Kaede was singing didn't have a lot of verses.
It wasn't working.
"Sonna tokimeki wo kanjite
Hana wa hokorobu no ka na … "
Both children were so distracted that they never gave their Duel Disks—tossed aside onto the plush white duvet of Kaede's bed—a second thought. Which meant that the two vibrating devices, their screens flashing silently amidst the noise of the room, had been condemned to convey a message that would never be answered:
CALL INCOMING – UNKNOWN NUMBER
Five blocks away, in an alley darkened by Solid Vision, Sakuragi Yū exhaled through his teeth in displeasure.
He still carried the edge in this Duel; his field presence was gone, but the La Maison and Étoile he controlled yet remained—and he also had much more of a hand than his unknown opponent. That still didn't change the fact that the monster standing opposite him was stronger and higher-leveled than any he carried in his Deck—and much stronger than any he had a chance of Summoning next turn. Inverz Glez seemed well aware of its superior strength right now, too; the car-sized monster was leering at him, all four of its muscular arms crossed at its broad chest.
But what concerned Yū most was the unexpected Continuous Trap this Duelist had been carrying in their Deck—apparently unaware or unwilling to care that using Compensation of Blood at all carried a severe risk to his body. He knew he had to get rid of that as soon as possible—not simply so he could save the madman from harming himself any further, but also to figure out why in the world he'd apparently been stalking him for at least this entire day.
"Two cards face-down," announced his opponent just then. "Since I Released a monster for an Advance Summon this turn, I can now activate Advance Zone's effect: because at least one monster was Released, I can target a Set Spell or Trap Card on the field—and destroy it!" Glez wasted no time in doing just that; its tail-mouth whipped out a second time like a mace and chain, lashing the pavement barely a meter away from Yū. The shattered remnants of Hidden Spellbook faded from view, useless to him now.
"Then, since two monsters were Released this turn, I can draw a card," continued the Duelist, "and because three monsters were Released, I can add a monster from my Graveyard right back into my hand!"
Yū bit back a curse. He'd been keeping track of the number of cards in his opponent's hand—not an easy thing to do, since he couldn't see them in the first place—and he was aware that the two cards he'd Set to end his turn had been the last ones he'd been holding. And yet here he was, with the beginnings of another—and no doubt ready to use his Compensation of Blood with them once more, to bring out another powerful monster, which in turn would keep on fueling his hand with more and more cards …
Yes, he knew—he'd have to be very lucky with his next draw, if he wanted to stay in this Duel for much longer.
"My turn!" he declared, drawing with a flourish. Yū turned it over in his fingers, and—ooh, this could work, he thought with a slight smirk. But there were a few things he needed to take care of first—not least of which was …
"During my Standby Phase, if I have a Spellcaster-Type monster in my Graveyard, I can activate the effect of my Field Spell: La Maison," the LDS Duelist said. "By placing a Spellbook Spell Card from my Graveyard on the bottom of my Deck, I can then draw an additional card!" He extracted his Spellbook of Grimo—its ability as a searcher and a Deck-thinner was indispensible—slipped it into his Deck, and then drew—
Now that's more like it. "I Summon Mat the Magical Fool in Attack Position!" Yū cried, slapping that same card onto his blade. The magician that emerged from the darkness moments later looked much like himself; his hair was a darker purple rather than lavender, and Yū knew from experience that robes and hats were not his idea of fashion statements. But under all that yellow-and-green finery lay an expression of confidence on Mat's face that the LDS Duelist was quick to equate with his own (Level 3: ATK 1600 » 2200/DEF 900).
"Once per turn, Mat's effect allows me to send a Spellbook Spell from my Deck to the Graveyard," explained Yū as he ejected a card from the bottom of his Deck, then slid it elsewhere into his Duel Disk, "and so I'll use that effect to send the same Spellbook of Grimo I returned with La Maison's effect!"
He smirked. That takes care of one monster. "Next, I activate the effect of the Diable you sent to my Graveyard," he continued, "and banish 3 Spellbook Spell Cards from my Graveyard to Special Summon it back to my field!"
The LDS Duelist threw out his hand—"Be reborn!"—and as if it had been a prearranged signal, the earth cracked before his feet. Moments later, Diable rose from the wide gash in the pavement, sword and all, none the worse for wear—though its narrowed eyes, burning aura, and guttural growl left it in little doubt that it sought swift vengeance upon Glez for breaking its neck just a few minutes ago (Level 6: ATK 2500 » 3100/DEF 1200).
It was good—but not quite enough, Yū knew. "Now, since I control a Spellcaster-Type monster," he added, "I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Spellbook of Goethe! That in turn activates the effect of my Continuous Spell: Étoile, and adds another Spell Counter to that Spell!" Which means, he knew as he watched another star-like lamp materialize overhead, causing Mat's and Diable's ATK gauges to rise to 2300 and 3200, that my field is already right where I want it.
However … "Additionally, Goethe's effect allows me to banish up to 3 Spellbook Spells from my Graveyard and apply a different effect depending on how many I banish! And by banishing three more Spellbooks," Yū added, watching the holographic tome in front of him shine a bright, pure gold, "I can also banish 1 card my opponent controls—like your Compensation of Blood!"
It was a pity he could not see the Duelist's face at that moment, he thought as he extracted Sefer, Ldra, and Grimo from his Graveyard slot, sliding them into a separate compartment along with Torah, Archive Crescent, and Archive Solein—which he'd used to fuel his Special Summon of Diable. He would have liked to know how valuable such a dangerous card was to his strategy. Perhaps it was just as well that he would never find out for sure; as he watched the golden light of Goethe radiate out from the tome within, and vaporize its target into a hurricane of photonic dust, Yū felt a great sense of relief that he would not have to put either himself or his enemy through its torturous effect.
He glanced at his hand, and pursed his lips. Maybe it was time to get rid of a few more Spells in his hand so he wouldn't have to discard them at an inopportune time again. "I now activate the Spell Card Spellbook of Alma," he therefore said, watching the Solid Vision book in front of him flare with blinding white light, "which lets me target 1 of my banished Spellbook Spells and add it to my hand! That's one more Spell Counter thanks to Étoile, and a hundred more ATK for both my monsters!"
He already knew which card he wanted to retrieve, and he swiped it on his Duel Disk before another pair of arcane lamplights appeared over his head—and well before Mat and Diable had finished growing to 2500 and 3400 ATK. "I'll add and activate the Quick-Play Spell: Spellbook of Torah," Yū went on, "and this card allows me to target a Spellcaster-Type monster on the field and render it immune to other Spells or Traps for the rest of this turn! So I'll target my Mat the Magical Fool!"
As the light from his tome darkened slightly from pure white to a spectral green, washing over Mat in the space of a second, Yū was well aware that he might be setting himself up for a blunder. It would have made more sense, after all, to use Torah's protective effect on his stronger monster. But even if Diable was somehow destroyed by one of those face-down cards the unknown Duelist possessed, Yū had deliberately used enough Spells this turn that he'd be able to Special Summon it by its own procedure again next turn. What was more, he had every intention of getting as much mileage out of Mat as possible—and that meant making sure it lived to see the end of the turn.
There was still, however, the matter of the Duelist's field presence—and Yū knew now was the time to address it. "Battle Phase!" he declared, stabbing his finger at where he thought his opponent might be. "Mat—attack and destroy Gatekeeper!" Yū shouted, and the junior magician leapt forward to obey. One swing of his golden staff expelled a blast of arcane yellow light, disintegrating the squat form of Gatekeeper in the time it took to blink.
So far, so good … "Next! Diable—attack Inverz Glez!" Yū knew from the start that the attack would do no damage to the Duelist—and not only that, because of their equal ATK, both Glez and Diable would be destroyed. But Yū would have wagered his last tournament purse on Glez not having the same sort of revival effect that Diable did—and that would give him the edge on his next turn when he—
"Trap, activate: Drain Shield!"
Yū's train of thought shuddered to a halt. What?!
Diable was rushing headlong for Glez, sword to claw—but Glez was already moving to respond. "When an opponent's monster declares an attack," cried the Duelist, "I can target that attacking monster and negate the attack—and then I can gain Life Points equal to that target's ATK!"
CLANG.
Diable's sword—on course to decapitate its target—instead merely bounced off the chitinous skin as a sickly green shockwave erupted from the point of contact. The shockwave hurtled out in a ring of light, washing over Glez and causing Yū to avert his eyes, and continued on until it reached the insect-man's Summoner—while Diable's sword was lost completely and sent into a nearby wall.
When Yū next chanced a look, it was to suppress another curse; his opponent's Life Points were now at 5400—almost half as much again as his own. That was sloppy of me, thought the LDS Duelist; he'd even expected that this Duelist had to have a way to heal his lost LP at some point—but he knew it couldn't be helped. At least he still had his Diable on the field; that was a plus compared to what could have been.
And so he spared enough time for a sigh of relief before he made his next move. "During my End Phase, if I activated Mat the Magical Fool's effect—and if I have at least five different Spellbook Spell Cards in my Graveyard," he added, "I can Release it to Special Summon a Level 5 or higher DARK-Attribute Spellcaster-Type monster from my Deck! And I choose to Special Summon Rouede the Magical Beast Master in Attack Position!"
Mat disappeared with an echoing gasp of pain, disintegrating into a thousand golden fragments. In his place rose a far bigger monster, easily half as tall again as Yū: a muscular, lion-headed warrior with a massive, bladed shield that shone with the light of many magical sigils (Level 8: ATK 2700 » 3600/DEF 1700).
Yū spared a moment to grin at the strongest monster he'd Summoned this Duel. Then: "Rouede's effect activates if it's Special Summoned by a Spellcaster-Type monster's effect," he explained. "I can target any number of banished Spellbook Spells and shuffle them into the Deck—and any remaining Spellbooks I don't shuffle go right back into my Graveyard!"
Rouede hefted its shield aloft with a growl, its mane flowing majestically in the arcane shockwave that radiated from the metal surface. Yū only needed to target one Spell—Grimo was too important to his strategies that it should stay in the Graveyard for any longer than it had to—and once the auto-shuffle function had rearranged the single card back into the rest of his Deck, he'd extracted the rest of his banished Spells and slid them into his Graveyard slot.
"Turn end," he said smugly. He rather thought Kaede and Yūrei would have been proud of him for pulling that off.
That smug feeling didn't last for long, though. His opponent had barely even taken his fingers off the card he'd drawn before making his move.
"Trap, activate: Means of Infestation!" he shouted. "By sending an Inverz monster from my Deck to the Graveyard, I can target another Inverz monster I control, and make it gain 800 ATK until the End Phase!"
Yū took an instinctive step backward as Glez flexed all four of its arms. The gigantic insect-man was growing, filling the alleyway completely with its wingspan as its ATK grew to 4000—
"And then," snarled the unknown Duelist, "I activate Inverz Glez' effect—by paying half my Life Points, I can destroy every card on the field save for itself! Which means," he bellowed, as dark energy slithered all over his body, dropping his LP gauge to 2700, "that you're history!"
Yū's mouth fell open. Every card?!
He watched wild-eyed as Glez rumbled into the air, its wings beating with deafening force—a sound that sounded uncannily like one of those old wartime bombers. Dark lightning crackled from its four hands, arcs snapping all over the alleyway; once or twice Yū smelled ozone from how narrowly those arcs missed him—
BOOM.
Glez had moved with a quickness that belied its size; in an instant the air was awash with a thunderstorm's worth of lightning, dust, and choking darkness. Diable and Rouede were vaporized an instant after that, their roars and howls of pain being the last thing that remained of their existence. And the devastation didn't stop there; the shadowy bolts tore into the lamplights of Étoile, shattering them all with impunity into a million shards apiece. The smooth walls and floors faded from view, replaced piecemeal by the dank and drab brick and asphalt of the alleyway.
Yū had only a moment to take all this in before his vision was suddenly filled with several tons' worth of rapidly charging Glez. "And now to finish it!" roared the Duelist. "Battle Phase! Inverz Glez, attack his Life Points—!"
He got no further—and neither did Glez: a wall of blue-white light had suddenly flared in front of the Duel Monster, shielding Yū from being reduced to a thin paste against the monster's bulk. Glez roared in agitation at the sudden obstacle, and tried to claw its way through, but to no avail.
"When Glez destroyed my Spellbook Hall Étoile," Yū grunted, taking several deep breaths to regain his composure and calm his racing heart, "you activated that card's second effect—if it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard after accumulating even a single Spell Counter, I can add a Spellcaster-Type monster from my Deck to my hand, whose Level is less than or equal to the number of Counters Étoile had when it was destroyed!"
"And how does that help you?" the Duelist spat derisively.
"Because Glez' effect also destroyed my Field Spell: La Maison," retorted Yū. "And wouldn't you know it, that card also has an effect that activates when an opponent's card effect sends it to the Graveyard!" The wall blocking Glez from finishing him glowed a bit brighter at this. "That effect lets me Special Summon a Magical monster from my hand or my Deck, whose Level is less than or equal to the number of Spellbook Spell Cards in my Graveyard!"
He grinned. "You want to count them with me?" he said daringly, ticking off fingers. "Let's see—La Maison, Étoile, Alma, Sefer, Ldra, Organization, Torah, Goethe, Archive Solein, and Archive Crescent! That's ten different Spellbooks," he crowed, crossing his arms at the breast and showing his fingers—extended to a one. "And you're going to love the monster I'm going to use every last one of them to Summon!"
He threw out a hand. "Come out—Tout le Monde the Magical Angel!"
The light that flared from the tome in front of him was such that he was forced to cover his eyes, and take a few instinctive steps backward. He felt a mighty wind whip at his hair, and hunkered down on his knees to keep himself from being blown away—figuratively or literally.
But as soon as the surge of light and sound had started, it was over—and in its place stood a figure resplendent in billowing robes of purest white, shining with aquamarine magic that shone from dozens of sigils and spilled forth from wide, blank eyes (Level 9: ATK 2900/DEF 2400). Six white wings unfurled, their very presence forcing Yū to squint—such was the purity of white that poured from every feather—and with a single beat they carried the wizard into the air until he was eye level with Glez.
"Tout le Monde's effect activates when it's Special Summoned through the effect of a Spellbook Spell Card or another Spellcaster-Type monster," Yū explained, "and lets me target 2 Spellbooks in my Graveyard and add them right back into my hand! And then," he added, grinning madly, as he plucked a pair of cards out of his Graveyard, "since I added cards to my hand with that effect, I'll reveal my Spellbooks of Necro and Hygro—along with the Étoile and La Maison that I just added to my hand—and destroy all other cards on the field!"
He flipped each of those cards in his hand over—one, two, three, and four—for just long enough to show the green borders characteristic of Spell Cards. That was all Tout le Monde needed to go to work with a will; the wall of light that now extended from his hand now became a lance of light made solid, spinning in the air so rapidly that Yū could have sworn it was generating a miniature tornado at its tip.
Then, Tout le Monde made a motion with his wrists—and suddenly that lance was growing out of Glez' back, hurled at such a velocity that even at point-blank range, it had almost gone straight through the Duel Monster. Glez swayed where it stood for a long moment, then finally toppled backward and exploded in a shower of photons.
Yū almost wiped his suddenly sweaty brow in relief—he remembered the Dueling psychology classes he'd taken at the last moment. Part of a winning strategy, they'd said, was to make your opponent to think every move you made had all been part of the plan—even if they'd been happy accidents. Judging by the long, drawn-out growl that was coming from the other side of the field, he'd succeeded—and made his opponent all the more mad in the process.
"All right, then," hissed the Duelist. "So you can bring out some high-Level monsters, too. Big deal. I've chewed through bigger in my time. So I think it's time we took this Duel up a notch, wouldn't you agree?"
Before Yū could even react: "I Summon Inverz Caller in Attack Position—and then," snarled his opponent, not even bothering to wait for the slender insect-man (Level 4: ATK 1700/DEF 0) to materialize onto his field, "I activate the Spell Card: Dual Summon to give me a second Normal Summon this turn! I'll use that Summon to Release my Caller—and Advance Summon Inverz Madith in Attack Position!"
Yū covered a hand with his mouth, suddenly green in the gills: Caller had dropped on hands and knees, every inch of dark chitin on its body writhing, contorting, and expanding—as if it was suddenly molting right before his eyes. Black scything blades were sprouting from its forearms, a wriggling tail was growing from its spine, and the armor plating on its chest was expanding into a blue-black cuirass, to make room for the new arrival on the field (Level 5: ATK 2200/DEF 0).
"Inverz Caller's effect!" bellowed the Duelist. "If it's used to Advance Summon an Inverz monster, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Inverz monster from my Deck! I Special Summon Sharp of the Inverz in Attack Position! And I won't stop there!" he added, as another black-armored humanoid shimmered onto the field to Madith's left, with wings and a barbed abdomen that made it look like too much of a hornet for Yū's comfort (Level 4: ATK 1850/DEF 0). "Because Inverz Madith's effect allows me to pay 1000 Life Points when it's Advance Summoned with an Inverz monster—and Special Summon another Inverz monster from my Graveyard!"
No sooner had he grunted in sudden pain—his LP gauge dropping to 1700—then Caller was back onto the field, hovering to Madith's right with a buzz of wings (Level 4: ATK 1700/DEF 0).
"Let me ask you something," hissed the Duelist, barely audible over the buzzing and chittering noises of his three monsters, "before I start annihilating everything you stand for. What do you believe in when you Duel?"
Huh? Yū drew back, flummoxed by the unexpected question. He couldn't have led off with that question before we even started fighting? It was difficult to think of an answer while staring down a veritable horde of insect-men—even if none of those insect-people were capable of defeating his Tout le Monde—but he had a stab at it regardless.
"Knowledge is power." He shrugged. "That's it. That's all there is to it. The more I learn when I Duel, the more I know for whatever future awaits me. And the more I know for that future," he said, thinking of Kaede and Yūrei, "is the more I believe that future can learn from me."
He felt the unknown Duelist staring back at him, boring into his face with an inquisitive eye. "Admirable," was the eventual reply. "But even the greatest of teachers have a lot to learn. Sometimes from the people they expect the least. So let me show you the kind of power I know, Sakuragi Yū."
A pause. "Watch now, as I use my Inverz Caller and my Sharp of the Inverz—to construct the Overlay Network!"
What?!
Yū's jaw had gone completely slack. He hadn't expected this turn of events at all. Compensation of Blood had been merely unthinkable—but this … this bordered on impossible! All those high-level monsters … and now this?!
He watched, as excited as he was scared, as Caller and Sharp shimmered with violet energy, their chitinous bodies slowly absorbed by the light it gave off. He braced himself barely a second before a miniature galaxy of light had yawned open behind the Duelist, sucking both monsters inside and allowing Yū to see his opponent's tall, stocky silhouette up close for the first time—
"Great servant of the endless iron swarm, spread your wings and turn the tide of battle!"
"Xyz Summon!" roared the Duelist. "Come forth! Rank 4! Inverz Roach!"
A hurricane of wind tore through the alley, knocking Yū off his feet and flat on his back. A few moments later, he was back up—cursing and wincing all the while—but all words and thoughts died in his mouth the moment he saw the creature that had been Summoned.
It wasn't that big—barely half the size of Glez, if that. But the spiked, gold-black armor of Roach that plated it from head to toe—and on its broad black wings, unfurled to their fullest—shone with a brilliant sheen, even in the false darkness that had swallowed them all. Nowhere was this more evident than the thin, rapier-like sword it held aloft, resolve etched within every facet of its blood-red compound eyes (Rank 4: ATK 1900/DEF 0; ORU 2).
"I end my turn," said the Duelist smugly. Clearly he'd believed Summoning Roach had stunned Yū into silence—and so he had, though not perhaps for the reasons he'd been imagining. The mere sight of this Xyz Monster, in a Deck that didn't make sense to include any Xyz Monsters at all, made everything feel doubly unreal to him.
Who was this Duelist? Why was he stalking him? What sort of game was he trying to play, with a Deck far stranger and more self-destructive than any he'd ever faced in his life?
And why, he wondered, had he gone through all that trouble to Summon a 0 DEF monster—and an Xyz Monster at that, a type of monster only a handful of students had the chops to Summon—in Defense Position?
The answer, when it came, stunned him so thoroughly that it felt as though he'd been struck by lightning. It wasn't a question of whether he was stalking him to begin with. If that had been the case, then his Deck would have been tailored to counteract every move Yū made. He had said so himself: Hybrid construction betrays minimal weakness. Employ overwhelming force. That overwhelming force … hadn't overwhelmed him at all.
He'd sounded like a hunter then, and the LDS Duelist admitted—however privately—that he'd been afraid of him. But hunters were calculated in every move they made, in the game or out of it. They were never this reckless, so scattershot in their tactics. He knew now that he had very little reason to be afraid anymore.
His opponent wasn't here to hunt down Yū. He wasn't even looking for his charges, Kaede or Yūrei.
He was just looking for a fight.
To flex his muscles, rattle his cage.
To what end, Yū still did not know. But he would soon enough.
"DRAW!"
He put much more effort into the single word than he needed. For some reason, people often believed that doing so would actually help give them the one card that ensured their victory. But such strategies revolved too much around luck to be viable. Better to have all the cards you needed first before you risked it all on a single draw.
And the single draw, as Yū suspected with an inward groan, would not help him in any way. But that did not matter much to him. He already had all the cards he needed—he'd drawn the last piece of his strategy ages ago, when he'd started his last turn. The incantation he'd spent this whole Duel creating had almost reached its full potency.
First, though, it was time to test a theory. "I activate the effect of my Diable!" Yū cried. "By banishing three Spellbook Spells from my Graveyard, I can—"
"Too slow!" snarled the darkness. "Inverz Roach's effect! If a Level 5 or higher monster is Special Summoned, I can detach an Overlay Unit, negate that Summon—and destroy that monster! Which means your Diable is going right back where it belongs!"
And true to his words, Diable barely showed the tips of his horned head before Roach struck the pavement with the tip of his saber. A wave of energy rocketed outward from the point of impact, rushing across the portal from which Yū's monster was emerging. There was a fizzling noise, and a shimmer of light—and the portal winked out in the space between one beat and the next of Yū's thundering heart.
He cursed. At least he knew what Roach could do now. Sacrificing his Diable had not been in vain; his opponent had overplayed, and made a crucial error in response. The time to capitalize on it was now or never.
"I Summon Force the Magical Warrior in Attack Position!" he therefore said. A much smaller figure materialized on his field, childlike next to the billowing robes of Tout le Monde: a red-haired woman, surprisingly lithe and trim for the massive, lion's-head axe held tightly in her grip (Level 4: ATK 1500/DEF 1400). "And once every turn, I can activate Force's effect—by shuffling a Spellbook Spell into my Deck, I can target a Spellcaster-Type monster on my field, and boost its ATK by 500 and its Level by 1! So I'll target my Force!"
As he slipped Divine Judgment back into his Deck, the auto-shuffle routines kicked in. But the noise they made was lost amidst the growl of Force as she hefted the axe in her hands, her ATK now at 2000 and her Level at 5.
"Next, I reactivate my Continuous Spell: Étoile and my Field Spell: La Maison!" Yu went on—and the familiar marble halls, lit by their lamp-like glow, shimmered across the alleyway once more. "Due to Étoile's effect, it gains a Spell Counter every time I activate a Spellbook Spell Card—and every Spellcaster-Type I control gains 100 ATK for each of those counters!" he added, watching Force's gauge bulk up further still to 2100, and Tout le Monde's to an even 3000.
"But I'm just getting started!" crowed Yū, slapping yet another card on his blade. "I play the Equip Spell: Spellbook of Necro! With this, I can reveal another Spellbook Spell in my hand, then banish a Spellcaster-Type monster from my Graveyard—and finally, I can Special Summon another Spellcaster in my Graveyard in Attack Position by equipping it with my Necro! So I'll reveal my Spellbook of Hygro, banish my Mat the Magical Fool—and revive Batel the Magical Spellbook Keeper!"
As Force and Tout le Monde swelled further still, their gauges now at 2200 and 3100, the hard-light pages of the tome before Yū flared with silver-blue energy—their edges tinged with bloody red from the influence of the Hygro he'd briefly flicked out from his hand, showing it to his opponent—and flipped en masse to a different point in the book. Moments later, the teenaged Batel had reappeared in a flash of light, looking none the worse for wear from its sojourn in the Graveyard (Level 2: ATK 500 » 700/DEF 700).
"All that for two monsters that can't even touch me?" The rough voice of his opponent was mocking. Inverz Glez folded its upper pair of arms as if in agreement with its Summoner, snorting in disdain at the field Yū had mustered.
But the LDS Duelist paid no heed to the stinging remark. "They don't need to touch you," he shot back, smirking. "Because my Spellbook of Necro has a second effect: any monster it's equipped to gains the Level of the monster I banished to activate it! And since the Mat I banished to Summon Batel was a Level 3 monster … " He gestured to Batel, and let its gauge finish his sentence for him: the monster, once Level 2, was now Level 5.
The darkness was unnaturally quiet. " … Two Level 5 monsters?" mused the voice within.
This only served to make Yū's smile all the wider. "That's right!" he whooped. Now I've got him! "And I'm going to use them both"—he paused for dramatic effect, as wizards often did—"to construct the Overlay Network!"
Scarlet light encased his Force, and a bluish glare enveloped Batel. Seconds later, both monsters had risen into the air—lost to sight amidst the unnatural darkness, even with the energy that brimmed from their bodies—but seconds after that, the hurricane of stars that bloomed among the arcane lights of Étoile revealed their shrinking forms, little more than silhouettes in the shadowy sky:
"Mystic ruler of the arcane realm. Cast your most élite of sorcery, and crush all who would oppose you!"
"Xyz Summon!" bellowed Yū, hands held aloft. "Behold! Rank 5! Trice the Magical Empress Saint!"
Two silhouettes became one—and one flash of light later, something bulky and blocky descended from the sky. But the red and blue lights of its component materials still remained, and illuminated the monster in greater detail, revealing its square form to be merely an ornately worked throne. Upon this throne sat an austere-looking woman dressed in green-and-white silks lined with purest gold. White tassels, inscribed with black runes, billowed in the air alongside her long silver hair, and amber eyes surveyed the scene with utter dispassion as her seat came to rest upon the ground at last (Rank 5: ATK 2000 » 2200/DEF 1700; ORU 2).
Yū was pleased to discover that the Duelist had no ready quip to this latest twist in the Duel. He waited several seconds more, watching the darkness opposite him—but still no reply was forthcoming.
There was no doubt now—he had him. All he'd needed to do was bypass Roach's effect by Summoning lower-Leveled monsters to his field, then altering those Levels via their effects to give him the ones he needed. That was what he liked about his Dueling style so much—intricate and complex it was, and perhaps a little long-winded, but that was how it was when casting spells. The more complicated they were, the more visually spectacular they could be—and the more defense against errors or unexpected setbacks they provided.
The time for preparation was complete—that had only been step one. Now, it was time for Sakuragi Yū to draw in his audience—to build the hype for the finale just as he'd built up the spell he'd made for just the occasion.
"My Trice's effect grants it 300 ATK for each Overlay Unit attached to a monster I control," he explained, and a simple intensification of the already narrow glare Trice was leveling at the opponent's field was enough proof of its greater strength—now at 2800, so said the point gauge. "But"—he eyed one more card in his hand—"I still need one more addition to my incantation.
"And to that end, I activate … the Spell Card: Spellbook of Hygro!" he howled, slapping the card on his blade and watching the digitized tome before him flare a vivid, burning scarlet. "By targeting a Spellcaster-Type monster on my field, I can make it gain a full thousand ATK this turn! Behold!"
Slowly, imperiously, Trice rose up from her throne, clutching a long scepter in her hands. The same crimson fire that was erupting from the holo-book in front of Yū was brimming from the stone set in its crux. Translucent tendrils streamed from the jewel, seeping into the gold-encrusted gems expertly sewn into the monster's regalia.
Then—with a loud, bell-like noise—Trice brought the scepter down on the asphalt, and the scarlet energy rushed over her entire body. Her eyes took on the glow of molten gold, and the gauge above her head—buoyed by Étoile's latest contribution of strength—now ballooned even further to a massive 3900—
Yū checked and re-checked the math, and grinned. That was step two—now came step three. Delivery.
"This Duel ends now! Battle Phase!" He threw out his hands. "Tout le Monde—attack Inverz Roach!" And as the seraphim flapped its six wings, storming forth towards the human-bug hybrid: "And Trice—attack Inverz Madith!"
His Xyz Monster twirled her scepter once, releasing a scarlet hurricane right as the blindingly white wings of Tout le Monde unfurled to their fullest extent. The effect was immediate: both of the Inverz cringed at the sudden onslaught of brilliance, and turned to run away—but Yū's monsters were too much for them. Roach sizzled and died like an ant underneath a child's magnifying glass. Madith shrieked and flailed to no avail; the scarlet energy of Trice's Hygro-enhanced attack roasted it alive.
But most importantly of all, Yū saw what was happening in the alleyway for the first time since the Duel had started.
Yes: his monsters' twin attacks had done more than just vanquish his opponent; they had released enough light, sound, and energy that every nook and cranny of the cramped space had been filled with every photon. At last, Sakuragi Yū saw the person who had followed him, and had intimidated him with knowledge of Kaede and Yūrei that had made him fear for their lives more than even his own.
What he saw made him forget all about the deafening onslaught, and the Duelist's LP gauge careening to zero.
He was tall—certainly a head taller than he was—and much more stocky and muscular. His hair was thick and untidy, so dirty with grime and general disregard that Yū almost didn't see the dark green streaks that lined it. His face was still a mystery, however—partly because of the goggles and scarf Yū could faintly see covering his face, and partly because of the arm the Duelist was holding up to shield the glare from his monsters' destruction.
That arm, a stunned Yū now saw, bore the blood-red blade he'd seen once before, belonging to the Duel Disk he hadn't up until now. The body of the device was black as night, lined with the dark purple of dusk, and far more solid- and rugged-looking than his Duel Disk; fireproof and shatterproof, certainly—possibly even shockproof.
It was a device made for the long haul—perhaps even for battle.
Yū knew this because it was instantly familiar to him—just as it was to anyone who had ever known Kurosaki Shun.
The sight lasted for only a second. The light and sound lasted for only slightly longer than that. But the afterimages and aftershocks rippled through Yū like waves in a stormy sea, to the point that when they finally left his shaking body, he was not quite sure how much time had passed.
It couldn't have been very long, though; now that the Duel was over, the Solid Vision that had blanketed the alley in darkness was nowhere to be seen. Night had long since fallen, but floodlights installed in the thin space—perhaps to dissuade any subversive human elements—had switched on, and thrown the boy's figure into sharp relief.
Somehow—even after Yū's final attack—the black scarf had still stayed on, covering his mouth and the bottoms of the silvery lenses that covered his eyes, like high-tech swimming goggles. Camouflage pants, so thick as to look like military fatigues, covered his legs in various shades of black, silver, and lavender, while a gunmetal-gray greatcoat—so torn and frayed that no fashion-conscious person would have given it a second look—was draped over his shoulders, the wide sleeves left empty and draping over his shoulder blades like tattered, useless wings.
"Your Duel Disk," Yū managed to say. The sudden quiet of the alley seemed to magnify his voice tenfold. "I've seen it before. Just … just the once."
Silence. He decided to press on. "You know Kurosaki, don't you?"
That got a reaction; immediately the mask whipped in his direction. But still the man stayed where he was, and Yū took that as a good sign. "You're one of the people he said he fought with," he said. "When he was Dueling Sora."
The mask tilted. "Shiun'in Sora?" The voice that issued from it was raspy and gruff, with a metallic edge that didn't sound as though it was entirely the product of the concealing garment. "I knew him, too. Wish I didn't."
He walked towards Yū, then, his fingers working at what must be the clasps of his goggles, for they were beginning to loosen over his face, and his scarf was already being pulled down under his chin. "Yeah. Kurosaki's a friend of mine," the man continued as he continued to unmask himself. "We … we go back a ways."
The Duelist forced a laugh. "I guess that whole Duel we fought was pretty pointless, huh?"
He extended a hand, but Yū didn't take it. Not out of suspicion for the man, but because he'd just seen his face in full for the first time, thanks to the lights in the alley.
A cursory glance at his weathered skin might have suggested early, maybe mid-twenties. The faintest of five-o'clock shadows graced his craggy jaw and cheeks. One of them bore a deep, thin scar that ran across his nose and all the way to his hairline. An inch to the left or right would have cost him an eye. And the eyes themselves … Yū saw the youthful glint to the man's deep-set gaze—a strange shade of yellow-green that pierced the night like the transient glint of a firefly's phosphorescence—and instantly knew he was much younger than appearances made him seem … perhaps he was even a boy in his late teens, like himself.
It was the Duelist's mouth, however, that turned his appearance from merely intimidating to genuinely frightening. Some jest of nature—or more likely, he mused, some bold and unconventional artist—had turned each and every gleaming white tooth beneath his thin lips into a triangular point, the flat edges whittled away into ripping fangs that tore the breath right out of Yū's very lungs. Air hissed from the gaps in between, and the breaths he took were long and ragged, as though each one was a blessing to the ravaged boy who now stood before him.
Yū resisted the urge to swallow. This boy didn't just look like he'd come straight out of a war—he looked like he'd been fighting one. That scar on his face looked thin enough that he wondered if it was possible for a Duel Disk's blade to inflict such a wound on bare flesh. The notion of that made him want to swallow even more.
It was a long time before Yū felt ready to speak again—and even then, his faculties of speech nearly failed him. "Yeah, well"—he plastered a jaunty smile on his face and hoped to God it stuck—"I've heard it said that you never really know a man until you bite hi—fight him!"
A hundred curses exploded in his mind at his slip of the tongue. "Fight him—well, Duel him. You … you know what I mean," he finished lamely, before nodding at the Duelist's mouth. "Sorry. It's the, uh … the teeth. Got distracted." He laughed nervously. "I, uh … I'm Yū. Most people I know just use my family name—Sakuragi."
"Sakuragi Yū … " mused the boy. He nodded. "I can get behind that."
He offered his hand again, and this time Yū shook it—though still with some reluctance. "Call me Kurokōri."
The LDS Duelist blinked. "Just Kurokōri," the Duelist went on. "No need for nicknames or call-signs yet. And don't mind the teeth," he grinned lopsidedly. "You're not the kind of person they're meant for."
"That's reassuring," Yū said dryly. "So—what're you doing here?" It was only by the skin of his teeth that he resisted asking, "So you're not here to stalk me or the kids I've been teaching, is what you're saying?" instead.
"That's a story I wish I had time to explain tonight," said Kurokōri, "but it may have to wait." He was looking up and down the alleyway—at one point looking past Yū, and then above him, so intently that the LDS Duelist craned his neck to see where he was staring, but saw nothing every time.
Finally, Kurokōri sighed. "Look—here's all you need to know for now. I'm from another dimension. I'm part of a group that was fighting a war with a third dimension. From what I heard, that war spilled over into your dimension not too long ago. Now it sounds like you're wading into the fray as well with these Lancers I've heard about."
Several seconds passed before Yū was aware of a tingling in his eyes, and realized he'd forgotten to even blink. "Okay, I'm sorry, you lost me," he said blankly. "Just … what."
Kurokōri pinched his brow in agitation. "There are four dimensions known to exist," he said impatiently. "Three of them are named after the Summoning method they use: Fusion, Synchro—and Xyz, where I'm from. You can probably guess which dimension those invaders belong to. Yours is the fourth dimension—the Standard. Don't ask me why it's called that—my guess is you guys haven't nailed down a name just yet."
None of this was explaining anything to Yū at all—if anything, every sentence Kurokōri spoke aloud seemed to birth scores more in his brain. Possibly the Xyz Duelist had noticed, because the moment Yū had opened his mouth: "No—no, don't ask questions," he said hurriedly. "I've got no time; I don't know if I was followed here. I'll give you the distilled version when we have more time to talk."
Yū huffed, and crossed his arms. "Get to the point, then. Tell me why you're here." He'd barely known this boy for five minutes, and he'd already exhausted his daily quota of tolerable secrecy. Any more than that and Yū would start entertaining a second call to the police—one that wouldn't be jammed by any Duel Disks this time.
Kurokōri took in his impatient tone, and sighed. "About the Lancers … " he said. "I've heard some talk about what they're aiming to do to that evil Academia school. I just want you to know, I have nothing against the Lancers—I just want to be the one who throws the first punch. Before I start winding up, though, I may need your help."
He started pacing around, back and forth, his odd yellow-green eyes never leaving Yū's for a second. "I saw you with those kids earlier today," he said. "They like you, I think—they look up to you. They're the sorts of people who could follow you into battle. I've seen younger kids than them pick up a Duel Disk and fight Academia's Dueling soldiers. Some of them even won. Think they'd want in?"
Yū stood there, shell-shocked. No, he hadn't been hearing things, he eventually decided; Kurokōri had just asked him, as straight-faced as could be, if kids that hadn't even hit puberty were fine with signing up to fight a war.
But before he could categorically say no—or barring that, to politely tell this man where he could shove his offer—a memory had resurfaced in Yū's mind, one of many he'd made on the day he'd first met his two pupils …
" … Okay, then. So we know why you came to the table," he said, taking a moment to stretch his legs. "It's time to see what you're bringing to it."
Yūrei's spiky hair whipped upward. Kaede leaped up from where she'd been sitting as if from a springboard. "Are we gonna Duel?" she squeaked hopefully. "Sweet! I wanna see what kind of cards you've got!"
"Well … " A thought had occurred to Yū just then—a reason why, perhaps, Himika had sent him to scout these kids out. "Here's the thing. You know how I mentioned before that it takes more than a Duelist to be a Lancer?"
They nodded.
"I think the reason the Lancers are the Lancers isn't only because they're just that good at Dueling," Yū explained. "It's because they're able to thrive under pressure as well. They're put inside an unfamiliar situation, and told to solve it as only they can. If they can solve it, boom—they're a Lancer."
Yūrei looked puzzled. "I don't get it."
"I'm getting there," Yū smiled at him. "Now, if you were watching the Maiami Championship, then I'm guessing you saw at least one of my Duels there. I was a returning champion, after all—they'd have been crazy to not show at least one. But you probably saw a bunch of the cards I played in those Duels. Am I right?"
Another pair of nods.
"So you already know what to expect from me, then. But," and Yū's smile grew a little wider, "this is the first time you two have met, haven't you? So neither of you has any idea what the other can do."
"I know she's a better cook than I am," Yūrei admitted, pointing a thumb at a brilliantly blushing Kaede.
But the little girl recovered quickly. "And I know he's not as mean as he looks—he's a big ol' softie," Kaede sniggered at Yūrei, who failed to hide a blush of his own even as he stuck his tongue out at her.
"That's all well and good," Yū told them, "but neither of you knows what this means for their Dueling abilities. Which is why you're not going to Duel me … "
Yū blinked. If it were any other time, he would have tossed the idea into the closest bin he could find. They were in an alley—he could have had his pick of them if he wanted. But in the time since that day, he'd come to learn a lot about Kaede and Yūrei. For all that they were little kids, boisterous and belligerent, sometimes kids had a unique way of looking at the world that adults, and even bigger kids such as he, couldn't quite match.
And so it was that he made his decision. He took out his Duel Disk, and began punching in numbers. "If you think ten-year-olds are cool with being … freedom fighters," he said as he did this, "then maybe it's best you don't take my word for it. Be a little patient—then you can ask them yourself."
He brought the device to his ear. "Give me a sec."
One "sec" later, the call came through—and Yū instantly regretted doing what he had. A karaoke song was blaring in the background—he could tell because someone was trying to sing along with it, and failing miserably. So loud was the noise from both song and singer that he almost didn't hear the "Hello?"
"Yūrei?" Yū furrowed his brow in concern—the Wight Duelist sounded as though he'd aged well into his teens.
"Yū? Oh—thank something it's you! She's a lunatic! If you hadn't called me when you did … "
She?! Then Yū heard the screechiness of the voice that was singing—and finally put two and two together. That's supposed to be Kaede?!
"Can you tell her to stop for a bit?" he asked. "I've got a question for the both of you."
Yūrei was heard to utter a sigh of resignation. "Hold on."
There followed some very colorful language—Yū would have to talk to them about that at some point in their next lesson—and finally a gasp of delight. Whatever song was blasting forth ended suddenly, replaced with what sounded like Kaede sprinting for Yūrei's Duel Disk and snatching it out of his hand against his protesting.
"HIYA, YŪ-SENSEI! MY GRANDMA JUST BAKED SOME SNACKS AND YŪREI SAYS I HAD TOO MANY OF THEM BUT I SAID THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN HAVE TOO MUCH OF MY GRANDMA'S COOKING AND HE TOLD ME TO PROVE IT AND NOW—"
There was a sudden flump and a muffled, squeaky "Ouchie … " It sounded to Yū—still massaging his already aggrieved ear from the onslaught of noise—as though Yūrei had smacked Kaede upside the head with a pillow.
Yū massaged his temples. " … And now you're a little bit hyper?" he finished tentatively.
"And now she's a little bit hyper," Yūrei echoed, mercifully more quiet than Kaede. "Sorry about that."
But Yū waved it off. "We'll talk about it later. Just put me on speaker for right now—I want her to listen in." He paused until he heard the telltale click of this being done. "Okay—question for you both. How early can you meet me in Central Park tomorrow morning?"
Yūrei exhaled. "I'd have to spend the night here. Kaede lives a lot closer to the park than I do." Yū thought he heard giggling from Kaede, wherever she was, but Yūrei must have glared at her to desist. "But we could make it there by lunch if she hurries with getting ready for class."
There was the sound of a very wet raspberry in the background. "That's why you want to meet us there, right, Yū?" asked Yūrei. "Are we practicing again?"
Yū stared at Kurokōri. The Xyz Duelist nodded for him to go on. " … Not exactly," he said after a fashion. "See, I ran into someone on the way home tonight. Apparently he saw me tutoring you and Kaede earlier today, and now he wants to meet you as soon as you're both free."
"Wicked." Yū could practically hear the Wight Duelist grinning. "Can we bring our Duel Disks?"
He laughed. "Go right ahead. I had a feeling from the get-go that he wanted to see what your Decks can do."
"Awesome! Wait—hold on." Yūrei was heard to duck away; Yū thought he'd heard Kaede said something, but she was either too far away from the speaker or too out of sorts from her sugar high that he couldn't make it out.
Before he'd thought too much of it, though, Yūrei was back. "Okay … so," the Wight Duelist said hesitantly, "Kaede wanted to know if we could, um … bring friends?"
Yū froze. He'd expected his plan to go off the rails at some point—but definitely not this quickly. It was bad enough that Kurokōri wanted preteen Duelists to help him fight a war that said Duelists probably had more interest in fighting firsthand than he did himself. But the thought of them inviting friends to this—inviting, as if the whole thing was some sort of field trip—was so ludicrous that he could not help but feel a sense of dread hanging over him about this entire venture already. Putting that many kids in the line of disaster was a catastrophe waiting to happen.
And yet … "Hold on," he muttered, and rounded on Kurokōri. He could tell the boy had heard everything; the look on his face suggested to the LDS Duelist that he was doing some very quick thinking.
"I don't know how many friends they have," he eventually said. "Or how many they might want to invite. But I understand why you're concerned. And I do want to keep this circle small—if too many people are involved, it'll be too easy to lose track of even one of them. So let's narrow it down—I want anyone they think is the best of the best. Anyone they think can keep a cool head under pressure. And most important of all … I want Xyz Duelists—only Xyz Duelists," he stressed. "If they use anything else, or if they don't use it at all, I won't take them. They're out. I'll understand if they can't find anyone," he grunted, holding his hands up in defense, "but I'd like to hope."
His lips briefly twitched in a smile. "I haven't had the chance to hope for a long time. Not until I met you."
Touched Yū certainly was, but that was still a lot he was asking of kids, he thought as he relayed Kurokōri's words to Yūrei. Most kids were hardly the "best of the best", even if they liked to boast that they were to anyone who would listen. And, sometimes, standouts did pop up every so often. Yū, however, had learned the hard way that not every prodigy could stay calm in times of crisis. And of the three different methods of Extra Deck Summoning that LDS had a course for, Xyz Summoning was considered the most difficult to master. It wasn't something every other kid in Maiami City would have learned how to do before they'd entered their teens.
But perhaps this could be the chance to find out, he thought. " … anyone you know that uses Xyz," he finished.
"Got it!" said Yūrei. "I can think of at least one person who might be able to help you out." He made an "oh!" noise just then, as if he'd remembered something. "Hey, did someone try to call you earlier?"
Yū blinked. "Not sure. We were … talking for long enough I didn't think to check. Why?"
"No reason. Someone tried calling me and Kaede earlier asking about you. I only saw because I was looking at my Duel Disk when they called me again. Sounded like a man. Big man, too. He said he was with your school."
With LDS? Yū racked his brains for any big men he might have seen on the campus, but came up with zero faces. "Probably something about my homework," he decided, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I'll give you two some time to scout around tomorrow morning," said Yū. "We'll meet up at noon with anyone you find. You get all that, Kaede?"
There was a bout of uncontrollable giggling from the Cuisine Duelist. Then: "PILLOW FIGHT!"
Then, for the second time tonight, Yū heard a muffled flump—and suddenly it was Yūrei's turn to topple to the floor with a groan. Any chance of hearing an answer among the squeals and shrieks that followed came closer to zero with every second. Eventually, Yū gave up and ended the call, sensing that he would have to trust Yūrei as the more sensible half tonight, and pray that was enough for neither of them to forget the plans they'd made.
"Well," he said as he turned to Kurokōri, "I did the best I could. We'll have to see who meets us—"
But he broke off suddenly, and with good reason: Kurokōri was nowhere to be seen.
Confounded, the LDS Duelist turned in a full circle, wondering when the Xyz native had seized the chance of leaving the alley. It must have been sometime when he was too absorbed in his call to notice what Kurokōri was doing—but even then, the only way out of the alley was the slice of city nightlife he was looking at right now. He couldn't have left through there … could he?
Yū stared at the scene without really seeing anything for a few long moments. Then, he yawned—and all of a sudden he was aware of just how tired he was. Tracking Kurokōri down could wait, he decided. He needed rest for the long day he was certain lay ahead.
And so he set off for home, uncertain about what tomorrow might hold—but Sakuragi Yū could not deny the excitement that came with the possibilities tomorrow always brought with it.
Within seconds of his departure, the alleyway was as quiet and undisturbed as it had always been.
Later
The car arrived quietly, with little fanfare. Three men got out, each of them big and burly. The biggest of them was in the lead, stepping out of the passenger seat and drawing himself to his near two-meter height.
The lights of the alley cast shadows on his face. A single gesture sent the other two men into the car. They emerged seconds later with some complex-looking devices, slightly larger than a Duel Disk, but nowhere near as portable.
He produced a mobile, and dialed a number. "We've reached the Duel site," he said brusquely, wasting neither words nor time as he spoke. "No sign of Sakuragi, or whoever he was Dueling. Permission to pursue?"
"No need, Nakajima," said the cool voice of the colder woman on the other end of the line. "I'm reading his vital signs now—he must still be wearing his Duel Disk, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary. He arrived home a few minutes ago. Probably went straight to bed—from the look of things, he fell asleep wearing his Duel Disk. Again," she noted with a tiny humph. "He certainly takes his tutoring seriously, Sakuragi."
Nakajima nodded. The news reassured him slightly. When they had failed to contact Sakuragi, they had tried reaching out to his two pupils instead. For whatever reason, they had not answered either—which was why Nakajima and his team had found themselves out here so late at night, looking for something he didn't even know might still be here. His orders were orders, however—he had no choice but to follow them.
"All right. We'll canvass the area," he said gruffly. "We already know a high-level Xyz Summon took place here." Nothing too strong, he remembered from the readouts the scanners had detected earlier, but definitely nothing from their end. "We got here soon enough that it's possible there may still be some residual energy left behind. That could help us find out about whoever he was Dueling."
"I'll hear from you tomorrow," said his employer. "Don't attract attention." The call ended a second later.
Nakajima was no stranger to his calls ending abruptly. But scarcely had he pocketed his phone when one of the men he'd brought with him came up. Concern was etched all over his face.
"We found something," he said.
Nakajima nodded. "Then it's definitely a foreign Xyz Summon?"
"Not just that," said the technician. "It's … You'd better see this for yourself."
He took Nakajima to one of the walls of the alley, pointing to the decaying mortar that bound the bricks together. On that mortar was something the LDS employee had to squint to see in full.
His lips peeled back in apprehension. " … What the devil is that?"