Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V. I do not make any revenue from this story.
"You're such a little kid," Emma grumbled, dragging her feet as she trailed after Sara.
"Oh, come on! It's the first time we've been to Maiami City. Let's try and see as much as we can," Sara said, skipping ahead.
"...Right. Who knew our princess was such an explorer?"
For the next few days while the rest of the tournament participants acquired their wins to qualify, Sara and Emma did as much sightseeing as they could.
"You go on ahead. I'll just stay here and wait for you."
"Really, Emma? It won't be that bad, I promise."
"Ahh, but I have a seat down here!"
"You'll have fun up there."
"Uh, I think I'd have the same amount of fun upstairs as I would staring at this dirt stain on the floor."
Sara practically dragged Emma up the stairs into the rock and minerals exhibit.
"Wow, you're right. Look at how much fun we're having...staring at a bunch of rocks."
"If I didn't know better, I think you were doing your best to annoy me."
"Oh, I would never," Emma chuckled. Sara just rolled her eyes. After years of having her as a teammate, she no longer grew angry or frustrated at her friend's contrary attitude.
"What do you want? Why are you looking at me like that?" Emma asked when she noticed Sara glancing at her.
"I seem to recall a certain grumpy friend of mine complaining about the museum and yet, said friend is blinding me with her smile.'
"Oh, shut up. You think I enjoyed that? I'm just glad we're finally getting out of that dump." Sara just shook her head.
"You can't fool me. I know you enjoyed yourself."
"Yeah, yeah."
Together, the two friends walked all over the city, enjoying the cinema, watching a theatre performance, hanging out at two separate arcades, and thanks to Emma's finicky tastes, several high end restaurants.
"Those prices were ridiculous. That's the last time I ever take YOU out for dinner," Sara told Emma when they arrived back at their hotel room.
"Alright, so it was a little expensive," Emma agreed.
"A little expensive? The amount of money we just spent could have fed a family of three for a month!" Sara called out as she stripped down to her underwear and got into her sleepwear, which was basically just a large t-shirt.
"Yeah, but it was really good, wasn't it?" Emma asked over the sound of the television, settling down onto her bed.
Hmmm, it was delicious...and it's not like I'm strapped for cash, thanks to my winnings...Still horribly overpriced, though, Sara concluded. "I can't say no to that."
"That's right. Think of it as good luck for the championship tomorrow."
"...I don't think that's how it works," Sara muttered, beginning to feel the sleep creeping in on her senses.
The girls awoke bright and early.
"You ready?" Emma asked even though she already knew the answer.
"You bet. Don't lose too early," Sara joked.
"Yeah, right. I don't plan on losing this one. Let's show them what it means to be a Starfall Academy elite!" Emma cheered. Sara smiled as she watched her friend in a rare moment of demonstrated enthusiasm. "I'm going to get a cup of coffe. Wait for you in the lobby, okay?'"
"Kay," Sara replied as her friend walked out of the door. Sara finished getting ready for the day, checking herself out in the large mirror. She wore cargo shorts and a black t-shirt. Her hair was held in a low, braided bun and she swapped out her usual bead dangle earrings for her golden hearts dangle earrings. She slipped the strap of her messenger bag over her head, strapped on her black-bodied duel disk, and turned the lights off before leaving the room. She hummed to herself on the elevator ride down to the lobby. She was looking forward to seeing Yuya again; she wanted to see if he had come up with an answer in the past few days.
"Here. I got you a muffin," Emma said quietly, dumping a paper plate into Sara's hands.
"Thanks," Sara replied, biting into the muffin. Emma smiled back before finishing up her coffee. "That was yummy." She tossed away her paper plate and the two girls walked out of the hotel towards the Maiami City Championship opening ceremony.
"You think the ceremony is going to take long?" Emma asked absentmindedly, more for the sake of distracting herself on their walk there.
"Probably. You know how these things usually are." Sara read through a few texts on her duel disk, a grin breaking out on her face. "Hey, look at this! Everyone's wishing us luck." She showed Emma the texts from their fellow students and teachers.
"Aww, that's cute. We better not disappoint them then, right?"
"You took the words right out of my mouth."
"Geez, they really go all out, huh?" Emma was in awe as she stared at the massive gathering of spectators. Blimps and helicopters zoomed throughout the skies, capturing everything in video as various broadcasters and news channels set up their spots to cover the tournament.
"Of course they would. This is one of the largest tournaments in the world!" Sara had always watched the Maiami City Championships. Even though this would be the first year she personally would participate in it, Starfall Academy had sent other representatives in previous years to battle for the cup. Her own brother, Largo Taylor, had earned his nickname "the Ace" when he single-handedly carried his team through a special portion of the tournament that emphasized on teamwork. Largo and his two other teammates had not been prepared at all for this and their decks were ill equipped to function together, but through will and strategy, Largo managed to fend off those who would drop him from the tournament. Since then, Starfall Academy restructured the curriculum to include things like team battling. Usually grouped up in fours, the students would learn with their group and hopefully come to trust them as much as they trusted their own cards.
"Hey, Emma."
"Hmm?"
"Remember the talk we had half a year ago?"
"Yeah? What about it?" Emma stopped looking around and gave Sara her undivided attention. She wouldn't speak of it at a moment like this unless it was something important.
"Some of the things I've found out pertain to LDS Academy. It seems like a lot of things are happening in Maiami City. Certain people have been disappearing without a trace."
"Disappearing?"
"Yeah. It's being kept real hush-hush, probably by the Leo Corporation so they can host their tournament without any hiccups. At first, I thought it was a series of murders but it doesn't line up. No bodies have been found at all."
"That...is quite frightening."
"Yeah. Additionally, everyone who disappeared was involved in a duel either during or just before their disappearance. Duel disks recovered from those sites hold the records of those duels but are unable to identify the opponent, which means there's someone running around without a Duel Pass ID and making duelists disappear like magic."
"What in the world? How is this even happening? You mean, there's a lunatic out there right now?"
"Shhhhh! Keep it down. I'm sure the ones in charge of this city aren't just twiddling their thumbs and I'd bet that Leo Corporation is already diverting a fair amount of resources towards catching the perp. I suppose it's just a matter of time now. Until he's caught, though, please be careful. Don't trust anyone who duels with XYZ or Fusion monsters."
"Don't trust XYZ or Fusion? What are you talking about? What about you? Aren't you using XYZ monsters this tournament?"
"I meant other people, obviously. If anything happens, call me." With that, Sara walked towards the ceremony entrance where the other tournament participators were waiting. Emma walked behind her after a moment and the two stopped in their designated spot in the middle of the open dome stadium.
"Well, well, well. Two little girlies from Starfall Academy." A large bodied boy with a messy brown-red hairstyle sneered at the two, his diamond stud earrings gleaming in the sunlight.
"Hey, doofus. Don't underestimate them! Starfall Academy's representatives have always been strong," a shorter boy with shiny black hair tinged with gold warned, giving the two girls an apologetic shrug.
"Hah! They look weak! Looks like Starfall Academy is finally scraping the bottom of the barrel."
"You'd know a lot about that, wouldn't you? You look like the weakest duelist here, you oaf!" Emma taunted back, enjoying the look of anger that crossed the bully's face.
"Please excuse Gen's rudeness. It appears he requires a remedial course on how to treat a pair of lovely young ladies." A young man with orange hairs and red bangs wearing a blue vest and tie over a light pink shirt and white cream pants with a yellow pattern walked towards the four of them.
"Ahh! It's Mokota Michio! The Cooking Duel Prince!" Emma squealed. "I love your recipes!"
"Hey, you! Who are you calling rude?" Gen began to argue before the shorter boy dragged him away.
"Thank you, miss."
"Emma! And this is my friend and teammate, Sara." Sara watched on in wonder as Emma freaked out like a fangirl over meeting one of her idols. Michio flashed them one of his famous dazzling smiles. Emma did her best to not swoon.
"Thanks for sticking up for us," Sara said. "It's nice to know you're one of my potential opponents, Michio."
"Ha ha! I could say the same of you! It's not every day you'll meet one of Starfall Academy's famous students."
"Hey, don't look now but there's a group of people headed for us," Emma warned, snapping out of her fangirl mode for a second. "You think that bully brought some backup?"
"Hmm? Oh, hey! It's those guys I told you about. The ones from You Show School."
"You mean the Pendulum user?" Emma asked as Sara waved at the group.
"Sara!" Yuya called out when the two groups met.
"And Mokota Michio! There are some real strong people here, it seems," Gongenzaka noted.
"Mokota Michio? What's he famous for?" Shiunin Sora asked, licking his lollipop.
"You don't know? He's Cuisine Duel School's most famous chef, the one referred to as the Cooking Duel Prince," Gongenzaka clarified.
"Duel Prince? How funny."
"How so?" Yuzu asked, looking at Sora.
"The Cooking Duel Prince talking to Starfall Academy's Battle Princess. It's like they're a royal couple or something," Sora finished, unwrapping another lollipop.
"Royal Couple!?" Everyone in the group sported blushes at Sora's words.
"I-it's not like that at all!" Michio stammered.
"Yeah! It's just coincidence. Coincidence!" Sara reinforced, shooting a half-hearted glare at Sora. The blue haired boy merely shrugged.
"Ha ha ha...It is kind of funny, now that I think about it," Yuya said. "A Dueling Prince and a Battle Princess...a weird fairytale, isn't it?"
"Shut it, Yuya!" Sara commanded.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Like, how the princess is trapped inside the castle and the prince has to come and rescue her," Yuya continued.
"Hey! If anyone's doing the rescuing, it's going to be me!"
"That's fine, then. You can rescue the trapped prince."
"Hey!" Michio shouted playfully.
"Anyway...if you're done poking fun at me," Sara started. Everyone shared one last laugh before quieting down at the glare she sent them. "It's great to see you all made the cut."
"I told you I would. I promised you I would show you my resolve."
"...Is there something that I'm missing here?" Michio asked as he watched Yuya and Sara interact.
"Sara pulled Yuya out of a funk a few days ago," Gongenzaka explained. "Well...more like she beat him out of it. Either way, she told him he would find his own path to strength."
"Yes, you did. Have you found an answer?" Sara asked.
"...I'm still trying to find ways to further the evolution of my Pendulum Summon...but in the past few duels, I feel like I am advancing."
"That's good! Keep at it."
"Yeah...I will." Yuya scratched the back of his head before continuing. "I never did thank you that day for kicking me into shape. Thank you, Sara."
"Ha ha! You're welcome. I want to see just how strong you get."
Suddenly, the crowd erupted into cheers as Akaba Reiji walked onto his private balcony.
"The crowd's going nuts!" Yuzu yelled over the uproar.
"Yeah. Akaba Reiji is one of the strongest duelists alive today," Emma explained. "He's rarely seen in public, too."
"I wonder how strong he is," Yuya mumbled.
"Hmm...it's hard to say. I've watched a few of his duels but it's difficult to pin down precisely how good he is."
"In the duel with Yuya, he was using an experimental deck so I can't gauge him properly off of that."
"They say that the only other duelist who comes even close to him is your brother, Sara," Gongenzaka added.
"You know, I've heard that a few times myself. Can't we ballpark Akaba Reiji's level by using your brother's skill level as a reference point?" Michio suggested.
"Hmmm...I wish I could. The truth is, I don't know the full extent of my brother's abilities. It's not that he holds back or goes easy on his opponents...but sometimes I get the feeling he's capable of so much more."
"Still, if those rumors are true, then Akaba Reiji must be a monster," Emma pointed out, recalling the various times she had watched the Ace in a duel.
"Yeah, speaking of Akaba Reiji, keep an eye out for those LDS students," Yuzu warned Emma.
"Leo Duel School, huh? Their participants are always high grade material," Michio commented.
"That's true but they're not the only ones to look out for. I saw a few worthy duelists out there during the ceremony procession," Sara pointed out.
"Yes! There's someone among the LDS duelists you guys should watch out for. He's the one dressed in the long purple overcoat." Yuzu pointed discreetly at the tall man with spiky two-tone green hair.
"Who is he? I don't recognize him from anywhere. Maybe an uprising rookie?" Emma asked.
"No. He's somehow involved in the duelist disappearances. I don't know the exact details but he's dangerous."
Sara and Emma glanced knowingly at each other briefly before Sara continued their last train of thought. "Hmm...another person I'd personally look out for is Kachidoki Isao from Ryozanpaku School. He was the runner-up in last year's tournament; no doubt he's on the hunt for blood in this one. I've also heard Ryozanpaku has gotten their hands on some pretty exclusive fusions so I'd be careful around him. It's not just his deck that's aggressive. Isao himself is a savage beast and he'll tear you apart if you let him," Sara told the group.
"Wow, Sara! You've really done your research," Gongenzaka nodded.
"I try to prepare as much as possible."
"What about the LDS duelists? You don't think they'll be tough to beat?" Yuya asked as he remembered his duel against the XYZ user from LDS, Shijima Hokuto.
"I crafted this deck for the purpose of defeating LDS students. I've noticed a trend in how LDS students construct their decks, depending on the courses they take. Besides, none of this years LDS contestants are superstars. They're all good duelists, no doubt about that, but definitely not unbeatable. I'm more worried about those people from that international school, Knights of Duel. I have no idea what to expect from them."
"...You really crafted that deck to fight LDS students?" Yuya briefly wondered if he should have done the same.
"Well...I created it and edited it with some cards that I felt would be more ideal in certain situations. Against someone who doesn't fall into the category of player I built against, my deck will be weaker than it normally would have been. However, against those I plan on dueling against, my deck is stronger. I think the trade-off is worth it."
"So you made your deck stronger against LDS but weaker against everyone else, more or less," Sora summarized. "Doesn't that mean the Battle Princess will be easy pickings?" Sara glared at him again for using her hated nickname.
"Sometimes you have to make sacrifices and just hope it pays off. Besides, I'm sure I could still wipe the floor with you."
"Ha! I'd like to see you try."
"Shhh. It looks like they're starting!"
A portly man dressed in a business suit walked up on the stage in the middle of the dome theater to the podium. "All of you who have gathered here are the elite, having won you way out of many other duelists. We expect you to duel your best while exhibiting fair play!" When the man finished his short speech, another man, tall and gangly with slick black hair dressed in a pompous black and yellow vertically striped suit, took the microphone. He was Nico Smiley, a manager for Pro Duelists. He had aided Yuya by sanctioning official duels for him to qualify for the championship.
"Next, we will be conducting the oath of fair play!"
"Ugh! Not this again," Emma muttered.
"It'll be over soon," Sara laughed. Emma was always like this.
"The players' representative this year is! You Show Duel School's Sakaki Yuya!" Nico Smiley pointed his long finger at Yuya.
"Huh?! Me ?! I'm saying the oath?!"
"Yuya!?"
"Wa-wait a second!" Yuya cried out. "No one told me about this!"
"Sakaki Yuya to the stage please!" Nico Smiley called out.
"Get on up there!" Sara shoved Yuya forward.
"Yuya, if you're a man, get it right in one go," Gongenzaka shouted out as encouragement. Behind him the rest of the group sweatdropped.
"I don't think that has anything to do with it..." Emma whispered to Yuzu. Both girls giggled. Up on stage, Nico Smiley spoke to Yuya for a moment before handing over the microphone.
"Alright then! T-t-the oath of p-pair flay!" Yuya raised his hand to the sky.
"Ah, Yuya, you idiot," Yuzu said to herself.
"What's he so nervous about?" Sara wondered. Before anyone could answer, she yelled out, "Hey, Yuya! Get it together! The whole world is watching! If you freeze up at this, how can you ever be a professional duelist?" In the front, Yuya took in her words and palmed his crystal necklace. He inhaled deeply and threw his arms out wide.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Pardon me for my earlier mistake. In order to turn that around, this is the oath of fair play...is what I'd like to say, but I would like for you to listen to what I have to say first. My father is the Duelist Sakaki Yuushou! The world's greatest Entertainment Duelist! But three years ago, before his duel began, he went away somewhere...Since then, everyone's called me the child of the runaway Duelist, and I practiced Entertainment Dueling desperately, saying 'I'll prove them wrong!"
Yuya paused as he looked around the stadium. "But at some point...I think I ran away from actually dueling. After discovering my Pendulum Summon and dueling with some strong people, I came to enjoy dueling more than ever. I realized I want to keep dueling. I want to be like my father, the best Pro Duelist! A Duelist who can make everyone enjoy dueling even more!"
The stage burst into a cacophony of clapping. Everyone cheered at the end of Yuya's heartfelt speech about his resolve.
"That was Sakaki Yuya's oath of fair play as well as his declaration of his determination! Excellent!" Nico Smiley spoke when Yuya handed back the microphone.
"Nice job, Yuya." Gongenzaka nodded as Yuya returned to the group.
"That was really sweet, Yuya," Yuzu said with a warm smile.
"Yeah, good one." Sara punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"Thanks, guys!"
"Now then! We will announce the first matches!" Nico Smiley withdrew a plastic card from his shirt pocket and waved it around. "Everyone who qualified for this tournament received a registration card. Please insert it into your duel disk!" He demonstrated with a standard duel disk and placed the card in the spell / trap entrance. "The registration card receives communication from the tournament operator's computers and will guide you to your opponent. It will also update when you qualify for the next round of the tournament, of course."
"That's convenient." Yuya followed Nico Smiley's instructions and inserted his registration card.
"Not really. They couldn't just use a bracket system?" Emma grumbled as she dug out her registration card from her hip pouch.
"You know they always have to make these things more complicated than they need to be. Remember the tournament at Kaiser Academy?" Sara laughed at her friend's look of digust.
"Ugh! Don't remind me," Emma shivered.
"What? Sawatari Shingo?!" Yuya exclaimed when he found out who was to be his first opponent.
"Who'd you get, Sara?" Emma asked as she peeked over her shoulder.
"Yamada Takao. Based on what I saw from last year's performance, he's a decent duelist. This is perfect."
"I thought I recognized that dumb grin. If he combed back that mop on his head, he might be a little cute."
"Hmmmm..." Sara squinted her eyes. "I'm not sure about that one. You want me to give him your number when I beat him?"
"Sure, do what you want."
"Who'd you get?"
"Kimura Keitaro. Some no-name. My match is starting soon."
"Mine is later today."
"Hey, Sara, Emma! We're going to watch their duels. Are you coming?" Yuzu gestured to the younger children in You Show Duel School's group.
"Nah. I have my own match to attend," Emma answered before walking off to find her stadium.
"Yeah, and I'm going to watch. Sorry."
"Oh, it's okay. It's a shame we'll miss her duel. In case we don't see each other before our matches, good luck!"
"Yeah, you too!"
"When does your match start?" Yuya asked.
"In three hours. Stadium B-03. I should really get going. Bye!" Sara took off, racing after her friend as she disappeared into the distance.
"Are you going to watch their duel?" Gongenzaka asked as the participants from You Show School walked over to the Junior section of the championships.
"I want to. Sara is strong...and she helped me get back on my feet. I want to support her when she duels."
"She'll also be pretty interesting to watch, if she's as strong as they claim," Sora said. He tossed a bundle of lollipop sticks away in a trash receptacle. Hiiragi Yuzu remained quiet as they walked towards Futoshi's match against a hotheaded kid from a lesser known dueling school.
"They're nice people," Emma admitted quietly once she was alone with Sara.
"I told you they were. Their school isn't big or anything but they've got heart. I'm rooting for them."
"More like you're rooting for a certain someone.. You know, a certain Pendulum user."
"A girl says a guy has pretty eyes and she never lives it down, huh," Sara shook her head.
"Yeah, I'm not letting that one slip by. Anyway, I'm off."
"Break a leg!"
"Yeah, yeah," came the expected half-enthusiastic, half-indifferent response. Emma walked down into the arena where her opponent eagerly awaited her.
"Alright, now that both contestants are here, we can start this match between Starfall Academy's Emma Takahada and LDS's Kimura Keitaro."
"Are you ready to lose?" Keitaro taunted, hoping to get a rise out of the girl calmly turning on her duel disk.
"Not really."
"Hah! You better prepare 'cuz I'm going to bring down one of Starfall's elite students."
"...Sure. You do that. Can we just get started already?" She looked over at the proctor who nodded his head. "Excellent. Duelists locked in battle."
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! Action Duel!" The cards spread throughout the forest Action Spell Card.
"Girls first!" Keitaro called out.
"That's fine by me. I activate Pot of Duality. I reveal the top three cards of my deck and I select one to add to my hand. I add Cardcar D. I set three cards on the field and then I summon it. I activate my monster's effect." Emma drew two cards and immediately ended her turn.
"It's my turn! Draw! I activate Fire Formation – Tenki and add Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Bear to my hand. I also activate Fire Formation – Tensu which allows me to normal summon 1 additional Beast-Warrior monster each turn. I normal summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Gorilla and Bear! Next, I activate Gorilla's effect. I send Tenki to the Graveyard to destroy the facedown card on my right!" The card destroyed was revealed to be Trap Stun. "Attack! Bear attacks you directly!"
"You've walked right into my trap. Mirror force!" Emma revealed the middle facedown card.
"Shoot! I knew I should have hit that one. From my hand, the Quickplay Spell Card, Forbidden Lance! I use it on Bear and although he'll lose 800 ATK, he won't be affected by any other Spell or Trap Cards this turn."
"Chain! Breakthrough Skill! This will negate your Bear's effect for the rest of this turn!"
"Argh! He can still attack you! Go Bear!"
"But you don't get to search a Fire Formation card from your deck," Emma replied as her Life Point counter went down to 3100.
"I set a facedown and end my turn!"
In another stadium, Yuya and his friends supported Yuzu as she fought against the Fusion user from LDS, Koutsu Masumi.
"It's amazing how far Yuzu has come," Gongenzaka declared in slight awe as he watched his friend run around the hallways of the duel arena.
"It's only natural. Yuzu's been training hard since Masumi defeated her last time," Yuya commented, also impressed by the skill she demonstrated. It was way different from the last time they had seen the LDS students; the Yuzu back then hadn't even been able to put up a fight. They eagerly cheered as the duel snapped back and forth between both sides.
"My move. Draw...and it's just what I needed. I summon Nikitama. It's ability allows me to Normal Summon one more Spirit monster this turn so come on out, Aratama! I search out another Nikitama from my Deck to my hand through Aratama's effect. I overlay Aratama and Nikitama! XYZ Summon! Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer!" A winged beast carrying a musket and clad in armor soared through the sky before pointing its musket at Bear. "I detach two XYZ Materials to target your Bear and shuffle it back into your Deck."
"No way!" Keitaro cried out.
"Attack him directly!" Keitaro's Life Points were reduced by 2000. "I set two cards and end my turn."
"You've gotten lucky so far but I'm not about to give up."
"I'd hope not. The game just started."
"I draw! From my hand, I activate a second Tenki and I search out Coach Soldier Wolfbark which I summon to my field. His effect Special Summons the Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Gorila in my Graveyard in face-up Defense Position but its effects are negated. Now I'll show the power of the XYZ Summons of LDS. Using Wolfbark and Gorilla, I XYZ Summon the Rank 4 monster Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Tiger King!" A majestic warrior garbed in armor reminiscent of the samurai of legends landed on the field, his presence fierce and commanding. "When he's XYZ Summoned, I get to set one Fire Formation Spell or Trap Card from my Deck to my side of the field. I choose to set Fire Formation – Tensen. Thanks to my spells, Tiger King's attack rises by 200 points! Your Castel can't stand up to him. Go, Tiger King! Fire Burst Strike!" The monster destroyed Castel with a powerful punch.
"Not bad. Since I took damage, I can Special Summon Tragoedia from my hand. It gains 600 ATK for every card I have in my hand. Do you end?" Tragoedia, the swampy demon from hell, stared intently at Keitaro with its sunken yellow eyes.
"Yeah. I'm done for now. Try and beat that! "
"Heh...careful what you wish for. I draw. I summon Nikitama which allows me to Normal Summon Yaksha! I activate Yaksha's effect to return the facedown card that isn't Tensen!" Emma smiled as she noticed the nervous look on Keitaro's face. "I activate Tragoedia's effect. I can target one monster in my Graveyard and change Tragoedia's Level to match that monster's. I choose Aratama so Tragoedia becomes Level 4."
"Three Level 4 monsters? No way!" Keitaro shouted incredulously.
"Using these three monsters, I construct the Overlay Network! Drowned in the darkness of your disease...spread your wings and your influence! Appear now, Evilswarm Ouroboros!" A black dragon with dark blue wings and gold accents roared its aggression towards the sky, its representation a sacrilegious mockery of what it had once been before its corruption.
"Evilswarm Ouroboros? This card looks familiar," Keitaro muttered in amazement as the dragon flapped its wings and produced a mighty gust.
"It should look familiar. This used to be Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier before it fell victim to the lswarm virus. Now, you shall fall victim to the same power. Ouroboros, I activate your ability! Return his Tiger King back!"
"No! My Tiger King!" Keitaro had his field wide open.
"Attack! Pandemic Laser!"
With no way of stopping the attack, Keitaro had to admit defeat as his Life Points were wiped out.
"And the winner is decided! The one to progress to the next stage is Emma Takahada from Starfall Academy!"
Emma walked over to her opponent and extended her hand. Keitaro eyed her for a moment and accepted the handshake with a graceful smile. "Looks like I need to work on my dueling more. Good game."
"Good game to you too. May I ask why you didn't use any Action Cards?"
"Ha ha...I thought I could beat you without them. I didn't think you would be that good of a duelist. May I ask why you didn't either?"
"...I didn't use them because you didn't. At the start of the duel, I picked up an Action Card. It was No Action. Since you can't pick up more than one Action Card at once, and you never used an Action Card for me to activate my own, I couldn't use it."
"Heh...seems like you had me beat either way."
"Don't take it too hard. It's not that you're a bad duelist. Just practice being less predictable."
"I'll work on that. Good luck in the rest of your duels."
"Thanks. See ya." Emma bid him farewell and located her friend waiting for her at the bottom tier of the spectator stands.
"Good job. I'm surprised you got out Ouroboros. You usually don't go for the flashy finish."
"Eh...I felt like it this time."
"I'm not complaining. You looked awesome out there!"
"Was there ever any doubt?" Emma quirked an eyebrow at Sara.
"Well, when he took out Castel..."
"Nothing I could do. He would just Tensen over my Forbidden Lance."
"Fair enough."
Both girls searched around, scoping the competition. Together they spectated duels involving different people.
"Yep, I knew it. Isao's still a strong bastard."
"Hey, isn't Sara's duel starting soon?" Tatsuya asked.
"Where was it again? B-03?" Ayu chimed in, trying to recall the conversation.
"That's right. We still have time to get there," Yuzu said, directing the group in the right direction. The group found a good spot from where to watch the duel. The good seats had all been taken, the people whispering to each other in excitement at witnessing one of Starfall Academy's Battle Princess' duels.
"Wow, she really is famous, huh," Yuya stated, hearing the buzz around him.
"Uh huh. A lot of people here are fans of the Ace and Sara herself is a good duelist so it's expected she's garnered a fanbase of her own," Yuzu explained. Her eyes combed the crowd in an attempt to catch sight of the black haired girl. She gave up after a couple of sweeps and decided to just wait.
"LDS, huh? That's her opponent?" Tatsuya pointed at the dark haired boy with beady eyes waiting on his side of the arena. He was dressed in a Maiami Second Middle School uniform consisting of red slacks and a pressed cream blazer accented with gold.
"There she is!"
Sara walked onto the arena with a determined smile on her face. The female announcer turned on her microphone once both duelists got into position.
"We will now begin the duel between LDS' Yamada Takao and Starfall Academy's Battle Princess, Sara Taylor!" Sara grimaced when she heard her hated nickname before focusing on her opponent. Takao was a deceiving duelist; he never looked confident in himself and as a result, many of his opponents underestimated him. Sara was determined to not make the same mistake.
"I hope we have a good duel. It's an honor to duel the Ace's little sister."
"I hope we have a good duel also."
"Then, duelists, we will begin the duel. Action Field on! Frontier Fang Castle!" The projector covered the stage in light as it generated the Solid Vision for the duel. Both Duelists found themselves on opposite ends of a bridge held in place by sturdy rock pillars. To their right, a tiered castle stood grandly on its own island. The rest of the area was covered in a lush green forest.
"Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! Action Duel!"
A/N: Thanks for reading. Have a good one.