Cat: I found this chapter quite difficult to write because Yuzu was so depressed. I tried to not make her to depressed. Don't kill me.

Rena: Oh, by the way, when it says that she was having a 'caffeine shot' or something because of the coffee, we are not suggesting she is addicted or anything along those lines.

Cat: Please review! And/or tell me what you think of Arc V 'cause i'm curious ;) Who here hates that theme tune?

Rena: This story is in Yuzu's POV. Please give me some artistic licence. If i put some stuff that isn't in the anime in here, don't flame. There would be no point in reading, if it was just the anime in words.

Chapter 8- You Show Duel School's Crisis! LDS Invades

For most of my night, I sat in my bath, my knees drawn up against my chest and my arms hugging them tightly. I sat there for hours, until the water became stone cold and my dad had to knock on the door, to see if I was alright.

Physically speaking, I was fine. Never better. But mentally, I was in complete shambles. I was desperately trying to convince myself that that person was not Yuya. That it was some weird coincidence or I was hallucinating. However, the only thing that bothered me was that Yuya was my childhood friend. I knew him better than anybody else. My instincts told me that that was Yuya.

But how could it be? He had purple hair. A weird shape disk. An XYZ monster! But, probably, the thing that bugged me the most was that he wasn't having fun. No showy lights, no light-heartedness, no happiness.

In the end, after three hours of sitting in the tub, I pulled myself out, dressed in my pyjamas and lay in my bed, desperately begging for an answer to this complicated puzzle or for sleep to take me.

Sleep came in small phases, only to be haunted by dreams of Yuya and the purple Yuya. Sometimes, Yuya morphed into the purple Yuya and other times, it was the purple Yuya transforming into Yuya. In a few, I was facing the two of them and they both stood there saying; 'choose one of us, Yuzu, only one.'

I awoke in the early hours of the morning, the first and only thing on my mind was the two boys. One I thought I knew and one I didn't. I slipped downstairs and began making myself countless cups of coffee, just for a caffeine shot. I had to wake up. I had to wake up properly.

It turns out, I didn't wake up properly, even though I had drank more coffee than my dad would in a week. If anything, I was more asleep. I couldn't focus or pay attention in anything. I wasn't even aware when people started talking to me or when Sora was eating food in class.

As per usual, I sat in my ordinary seat, next to Yuya. We have had those allocated seats for years and no one would dream of moving us from those positions. In front was Ayu and Futoshi, beside them was Tatsuya and behind him was Sora.

"I preform a fusion with vanilla ice cream and custard pudding!" Sora whispered, hiding the two pots behind his book. "Devour it all! Sweets Ruler Vanilla Prince!"

"Hey, that's not good!" Yuya chided, as Sora stuffed his face.

Weirdly, I was aware of their conversation but at the same time, did nothing. I was too busy thinking. Shut up inside my head. I couldn't face Yuya without seeing his face.

"…If you get caught eating that in class who knows when Yuzu's paper fan will…" Yuya stared at me, only to see me staring at the wall. Something I never do. My father's lectures could be boring but I always listened. It was like our roles were swapped. Yuya was paying attention and telling off the miss-behaviours while I stared at a brick, not paying the slightest attention.

Yuya's voice blurred into a fuzzy nonsense, as I deliberately didn't look at him. I was too scared to. I didn't want to be reminded of that masked guy, even though I couldn't get him off my mind.

"What're you doing eating in class, Sora!?" My father demanded, having a small rage at the front of the tiny room. For a second, it snapped me out of my thoughts, only to see Sora standing up and stuffing his face with doughnuts.

"Dad!" I shouted, pushing my chair away and standing up myself. "About XYZ! We don't teach XYZ's at this school, do we?"

Everyone in the room stared at me. I knew it sounded dumb. I already knew the answer, myself. But I had to know. What if Yuya had learned XYZ summoning at school, in some secret course? He was my dad's shooting star, his ace student, it wasn't farfetched to think that they did secret classes.

Ok, now thinking about it with a slightly clearer head, that sounds a bit weird. Neither of the two males could keep a secret for ten minutes, especially from me. The daughter to one and best friend to another.

"W-We don't!" My dad waved his hands. "I don't teach what I haven't done… They just recently started teaching it at LDS…"

Now that I thought about it, that was another point. Did Yuya do night classes? No. This was Yuya. His sleep was almost as important to him as his pendulum pendant. Besides, that class was probably the most high-paying and demanding class. Yuya wouldn't be able to keep up with anything.

And, another thing, that guy asked Sawatari what the LDS badge was. If he went there, wouldn't he know?

"Why're you bringing XYZ up, all of a sudden?" my Dad asked, suspiciously.

"No I was just… Wondering…" I said lamely, forgetting that nobody was with me during the duel last night or saw the XYZ dragon. I couldn't help but stare over at Yuya. He stared back, surprised by the scared and confused expression on my face.

For a second, it was just Yuya. Then, my vision pulsed and his face was replaced with the other Yuya. Frowning and serious. I didn't like this. I really didn't like this. I started, almost falling back into my chair. I knew I was seeing things but I couldn't help it. Fear was gripping me so tightly, I thought I was suffocating from it.

"What?" Yuya asked, holding my eye contact.

"Nothing," I said, smiling weakly. I felt pathetic. I couldn't look at my best friend, without freaking out. I sat back down and closed my eyes, head facing downwards.

That's right, there's no way that Yuya would use XYZ anyways. But…

"Ambushed him!?" a familiar voice bounced down the corridors. "Yuya would never do something so cowardly!"

My head snapped back to the closed door, where I heard the voices. I shoved my thoughts to the side. I had completely forgot about an even bigger problem.

"Gongenzaka?" Yuya asked, standing up and running out. My father followed him, leaving me and the kids in the classroom.

I had completely forgotten about Sawatari Shingo.

"… There were four, no, five witnesses at the scene!" one of the three Leo Duel School boys said. "Sawatari-san, us and… her too!"

Uh oh, I thought, as he pointed at me. I had just arrived outside to see the three students. Unfortunately, they had been at the warehouse and they had seen the Yuya-lookalike as clear as I did. But, they weren't doubting who it was.

Yuya and Gongenzaka turned and stared at me, not believing it. I bit my lip and shrunk away, slowly retreating back to the door, where the younger ones were staring at me.

"Isn't that right?" they all jeered. "Hiiragi-Yuzu-chan!" They all pulled the most unattractive and terrifying faces they could. I felt awful. I wasn't siding with those pigs but it was true, I had seen Yuya last night.

I took a massive step away. I didn't want to be part of this. Normally, I would be all in their faces and standing up for myself and my best friend. But now, I just wanted to run. Go back to yesterday and tell myself not to go into the warehouse, not to challenge Sawatari and to never see the face of that masked man.

"Is that true Yuzu, you saw it too?" Gongenzaka demanded, turning away from the students of our rival school and coming towards me.

What do I say? 'Yes, I saw Yuya' and get him arrested for assault? Or 'No, it wasn't Yuya' and get us both arrested for lying?

"Stop lying!" Futoshi yelled, standing in front of Yuya as the boys layered on the fact that Sawatari's father was running for Mayor.

"Yuya-nii-chan would never do something like that!" Tatsuya cried, also standing in front of the accused.

"The one who attacked first was Sawatari!" Ayu pointed out. "So, to stop him, Yuzu-nee-chan went to go duel him!"

"Wa-wait! So the one who duelled him wasn't Yuya but Yuzu!?" my dad cried, running over to Ayu for the details.

"Yeah!" Oh, that was a small problem. I didn't tell my dad where I was last night.

"And her opponent was?"

"Sawatari!" she said firmly.

"Then that means… The one who ambushed him… was Yuzu!?" my dad wailed.

"That's wrong!" all three yelled at him, momentarily forgetting about Yuya. Was my dad trying to make thing better or even worse?

"We just told you!" the black haired LDS kid said. "It was Sakaki Yuya!"

"I feel so sorry for Sawatari-san," the green haired one sighed. "He was injured so severely, he was hospitalised!"

"Hospitalised?" Yuya squeaked, realising how serious the crime he was accused of was.

"No way!" I gasped.

"His life could even be at risk…" he continued.

"Hey, say something Yuzu!" Yuya pleaded, running up to me. "You saw everything, right?"

"I did see it but…"

"Don't tell me you doubt me too, Yuzu?" Yuya's eyes grew wide. I had never doubted Yuya before, not even when we were really young. I was always on his side. But this time, I couldn't. I just couldn't.

I felt my heart being ripped to shreds. I didn't want to doubt Yuya. But the evidence was overwhelming and I saw his face as clear as day. Then, I saw the purple haired Yuya again and stared at the floor.

I didn't hear what they were saying. Just my own nagging voice.

Doubter

Doubter

Doubter

Doubter!

"The COPS!?" someone yelled. My broken heart lurched. Doubting Yuya was one thing but seeing him arrested was a completely different matter. A siren could be heard and we all stood with batted breath, only to hear it fade out. It wasn't for Yuya.

"Let me explain," a silky voice called, sending shivers up my spine. Was it the police? No, it was a woman. A scary woman. A scary woman with a really bad hairdo.

Akaba Himika, the current chairwoman of LDS. Having the cops would probably be better.

Out of politeness and the slight chill in the air, we invited the woman inside, after she sent her students away with her bodyguard. She sat in one sofa while my dad sat in the other, Yuya and Gongenzaka stood right behind him and I stood further back.

"Well, Yuya, did you really-?" my dad began.

"No, I didn't!" Yuya cried, distressed and really upset. "I would never do something like that!"

"I, the man, Gongenzaka, believe in my friend Yuya!" he announced, standing up for Yuya. That made me feel even worse. Everyone had pledged their trust in Yuya, except me. "It's the same for all of you, isn't it?"

"Of course!" Futoshi cried, backing Yuya up again.

"And you, Yuzu?" he demanded, having seen my reaction to Yuya outside. My insides turned and my heart burned.

It was now or never. I had to ask Yuya and put my mind at rest. I wasn't smart enough to figure out what this all meant and I had to put my trust somewhere. And I wanted to put it with Yuya, even though my heart was black from doubt.

"Yuya!" I turned to him. "That really wasn't you, was it, Yuya?"

"I don't know what you saw, Yuzu, but I didn't attack Sawatari," he said. His eyes shone brightly. There was no scrap of his lying-look about his face.

"I got it, then I'll believe in you too, Yuya," I whispered, the darkness around my heart lifting slightly. Given a few days, it would totally be gone.

"My, my, what strong bonds you all have," the chairwoman said matter-of-factly, with a hint of sarcasm.

She then launched into a speech, not about the injuries afflicted to Sawatari Shingo but to her number one school duellist and her school reputation and how it would be 'immensely damaged'.

My dad tried to interrupt. "But our Yuya didn't-"

"That is no longer relevant!" she shrieked, her silky voice gone. This woman was a snake. She never came to come for justice for Sawatari but for her thousand-million-US-dollar school monopoly.

"The only way to clear this disgrace is a duel between duel schools!" she hissed. She was the second person associated with that school that reputation had been 'dragged through the mud' just by the loss of one duel. Was it really that important?

Then, she regained her cool and back down on the sofa.

"If your party wins, we will ignore the case concerning Sawatari," she drawled. So, it obviously wasn't that big a deal. 'Life at risk', my butt.

"But, if we win, we will have you make this Duel School part of the Leo Duel School!" she smirked.

"What did you say?" Yuya exclaimed.

"No way!" my knees shook.

That was not good. We couldn't afford to attend Leo Duel School, so she was effectively kicking us out. That, and it wasn't our school to give. It belonged to Yuya's dad, who had been missing for three years. Wait, did that make it Yuya's? Or my dad's, seeing as he's the only teacher?

"Don't tell me, you set up the whole attack on Sawatari just for this!" my dad questioned.

"That is not the case!" she snapped. "But it is true that I grabbed the chance given to me."

She launched into, yet another, speech about the 'four pillars of duelling'. Fusion, Synchro, XYZ and Pendulum. According to this slime ball, they would hold up her school and make it the mightiest. She wanted to add Pendulum to the curriculum so that everyone could Pendulum summon.

I didn't believe her. There was something about her facial expression that I didn't like. She was asking for a lot. To clean her school's reputation (even though it was Sawatari's fault), to take over our duel school and to mass produce Yuya's cards.

But, at the same time, it looked like she wanted more. It made me wonder what her main objective was. It kept on changing. She came to press charges on Sawatari, then dropped it. Then, proposed a school duel. Then, wanted to take over our building. And wanted to put Pendulum onto Leo Duel School's teaching programme.

None of the above was her main, main objective. But then, what was? She was staring at Yuya as if she wanted to eat him.

In no time at all, we were out in the Duel arena of the school. She already had three duellists with her, as if she knew this outcome would happen.

It was three versus three. Yuya, Sora and me, the only three actual members of the school against three people I had never seen before. But that was better than facing Sawatari's three lackeys, who had vanished into thin air. Honestly, I was sick to the teeth of Sawatari and his gang.

I didn't even care that these three were aces in their courses.

Yuya was first, after the chairwoman shot Sora down. Sora stood sulking, as the snake announced that their duellist would be Shijima Hokuto, an XYZ user.

XYZ? I craned my neck to get a good look at him. Maybe… Just maybe… No, he had no resemblance to Yuya or the purple haired man last night. Sure, he wore purple and had purple hair but it was darker. No, it was definitely not him.

Disappointment struck me for a second. However, I pushed the feeling away and watched as the Action Duel began.

Cat: Please review!