Cat: Hey hey hey! Here's episode 14 in the Mind of Yuzu!
Rena: Please review!
Chapter 14- Hot Blooded! Shuuzou Theater
"That was pretty amazing, wasn't it?" Sora asked us, staring down at the vanishing action field, revealing the warm glow of sunset. Had it been that long? "To think he could even use Pendulums…"
The door slid open to reveal Yuya, looking like he had just been resurrected from the grave. He slouched unhappily and his arms dangled pathetically but the tale-tale sign was his goggles, secured in front of his eyes.
"Yuya!" I cried, as we all ran to him. He crashed to his knees and stared at the grey floor.
"How could he know how to pendulum?" Yuya whispered. Great, he was back to this again. "Pendulum Summon is unique to me…"
"Yuya…" I sighed, standing a few meters away.
"Man…" a familiar voice drifted in, as my dad descended the stairs and entered. "Good for us…"
"Good for us?" I demanded. Did he not see Yuya on the ground? Did he not watch the last duel?
"Yeah, LDS left," my dad smiled, facing us. "First and foremost, we managed to protect our school thanks to everyone's efforts…"
"Even if you say 'everyone', the only one who actually won was Yuya…" Sora called over the heads of Futoshi and Ayu. Yeah, thanks for the reminder Sora. My stomach squirmed. It was my fault I had put everyone in such a tight position. If I had just focused I would have had a better chance at winning. Bam, two wins and they could have gone hours before.
"You didn't even fight for us! How can you complain?" Tatsuya demanded. I blinked. It was the first time I had seen the dark blue haired kid so riled. It was probably because of all the tension that needed worked off somehow. Today had been a killer, stress wise.
"Yeah, yeah, sorry," was all Sora said, as the other two younger children laid into him. Then, he just walked off.
"If LDS tries to attack us again, I'll protect us next time!" Tatsuya announced.
"Me too!" Futoshi shouted.
"Me three!" Ayu squeaked.
I doubt I wasn't the only person in the room to hope that LDS would not attack again for at least five years, if those three were planning on fighting for us.
"So please, train us again!" Tatsuya leaned over to Yuya. "With your Pendulum Summoning-"
"Pendulum Summoning isn't just 'mine'!" Yuya shouted, shooting up, pushing Tatsuya aside and running off.
"And where do you think you're going?" My father demanded, holding Yuya's wrist in a tight grip. "Reality won't change even if you run from it! Just as you said, Pendulum Summoning isn't something unique to you anymore."
If someone had walked in at that second, judging by Yuya's expression, you would have thought my dad had slapped him across the face.
"Pendulum cards were a power granted uniquely to you," he continued, still gripping onto Yuya's arm. "Despite that, more people who use them have shown up. That's a shock to you, isn't it?"
We all glanced at Yuya, to see if he would actually reply. But he remained silent, apart from a small tsk.
"I don't know how Akaba Reiji got his hands on Pendulum cards. Maybe his company developed them in the first place…"
Wait, did I hear correctly?! Did he just say-
"Company?" I squeaked.
"Akaba Reiji is the CEO of Leo Corporation," he explained. "For his company, which boasts the world wide number one share in duel systems, decrypting the secret of Pendulum cards could just be child's play…"
So, he's basically saying that the first time he Pendulum summoned, which was on national television, it was no longer his.
"If that is true, one day the world will be overflowing with Pendulum Cards." My dad said bluntly. Yuya flung his hand out of his grip and tried to make a run again.
"Yuya!" my dad and I both shouted.
"Duel me, this instant!" my father shouted, pointing at my depressed friend. "I'll beat that pessimistic personality of yours into shape with my hot-blooded guidance!"
Uh oh.
"Wait, what are you saying, Dad?" I shouted.
With one movement, he gripped Yuya's goggles and forced them back to where they normally rested on Yuya's head. "That's why you couldn't defeat Akaba Reiji! Now duel me!"
I had had enough of this. It had been an extremely long day and everyone just wanted to go home. I found that the best way for Yuya to bounce back was to step back and leave him alone. Yuya might run from rooms but he doesn't run from his mind. He would probably come to terms with it by himself. "Yuya won at first, didn't he?"
I also didn't understand why my dad was so angry, all of a sudden. He was the happy one, in the beginning! "I'm the one who lost! If you're going to get mad, get mad at me!"
Suddenly, I felt a large, warm hand fall on my shoulder. "No need for interference…" a voice said from behind me.
"Gongenzaka…" I looked up at the much taller student.
"The principal is challenging Yuya to a serious duel. You can tell just by looking at his eyes."
"No way…" I whispered. Then, it hit me. I ran a few meters away, fumbling for my mobile phone in my pocket. Yanking it out, I went to speed dial, calling Yuya's mum. It may seem weird but I ended up calling her quite a lot, normally along the lines of 'Yuya's gone and done this… Can you please come?' or 'Yuya's lost his phone again and was wondering if you could bring his deck to the duel school?'
"Hey, Yuzu-chan, does Yuya need me to pick him up? I found his phone by the way, it was in the bathroom…" Yuya's mum's voice floated from the machine.
"No- I mean, yes… Can you please come to the school? You need to see this. It's… It's really urgent…"
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Please be quick," I said, hanging up, not answering her question.
Placing my mobile back in my skirt pocket, I realised it was a bit quieter than when I had made the call. Turning, I realised that Yuya, Gongenzaka and my dad were missing. Three young faces stared up at me.
"Where are they?" I asked Ayu, Futoshi and Tatsuya.
"Sensei and Yuya-niichan are gonna duel," Futoshi pointed through the glass, into the empty duel field. Down on the floor, my dad was dragging a very angry looking Yuya into the room.
"I still haven't agreed to this!" Yuya's voice could be heard on the speakers.
"And Gongenzaka?" I stared around, not seeing the dojo student.
"He's in the booth," Ayu pointed to the tech room, where (sure enough) Gongenzaka was standing.
"Action field- ON!" the said person announced. "Field magic: Magical Broadway activated!"
The field exploded in a burst of light, buildings spouting out of nowhere, the lights shining down on the duellists. Street adverts popped up and decorated the buildings. It lit up like… Well, Broadway.
"It's so pretty!" Ayu cheered.
"Could this be…?" I gasped, walking closer to the glass. It was an extremely familiar sight but I had not seen it for quite some time. Not since Yuya's dad disappeared.
What was my father doing!? Rubbing salt on wounds? Not only had he yelled at Yuya about his attitude over the pendulum summoning but he was going to use the Action field that was Yuya's dad's signature field? Bringing up his dad now was not just a harsh move, it was an unforgivable mood. What had Yuya done to deserve this? My dad was in for a world of hurt!
"In place of Sakaki-senpai, I'll show you what a real entertainment duel looks like!" my father announced. Suddenly, I really regretted calling Yuya's mum and asking her to come around.
"Yuzu-neechan?" Ayu whispered, tugging lightly at my skirt. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I smiled sweetly at the young girl, then turned away and let my rage consume me. "Just hoping my dad is ready for a beating!" I pulled out my fan and squeezed it between my hands.
"Y-Yuzu-neechan is scaring me…" I heard Tatsuya whisper to Futoshi, who just nodded quickly.
"Are you saying my duels are fake?" Yuya yelled across the field at his opponent.
"Your duels aren't even comparable to those of your father!"
"Like your one to talk, moron," I hissed, twisting the fan slightly.
"They're not even comparable to mine!" my dad announced. Oh great, now he was really going to make a fool of himself. I have a very fuzzy memory of my Dad trying to do an entertainment duel against Yuya's dad when Yuya and I were about four or five. My father was not the strongest entertainment duellist and he ended up in hospital with a broken arm from falling off a ledge in the Action Field.
Then, the duel began, Yuya now fiercely determined to beat my dad (not that I blamed him) and my dad determined to kick some sense into Yuya.
"I summon Guts Master Fire from my hand!" my dad announced, activating its effect. Once per turn, it can special summon one 'Guts Master' from his hand. He special summoned Guts Master Heat and activated its effect, the exact same one as the monster before, summoning Guts Master Red.
"Hot-blooded monsters on Broadway…" Tatsuta muttered.
"It's kinda unfitting…" Ayu gazed down, unimpressed.
"It's so stifling!" Futoshi groaned.
With that, my dad set two face-downs, leaving his hand completely empty and ended his turn. However, the second Yuya drew for his turn, he activated a continuous trap: Full Throttle Soul. While my dad controlled a 'Guts Master' on his field, each player had to reveal their hands.
Yuya's five cards appeared above his head but nothing appeared above the principal.
"He said 'both players' but the only hand that's been revealed is Yuya-niichan's!"
Obviously, I have duelled my dad thousands of times. Ever since I picked up a deck. We would duel on the living room table or outside on our disks. This combo was a really old combo of his that I was very familiar with.
"The principal's hand is at zero, isn't it?" Ayu asked Futoshi, who wasn't understanding.
"That's it! That's why he set all his cards!" Tatsuya exclaimed.
Now, we all had a show of Yuya's hand. Every single card in his hand was a monster. But the thing that stuck out about them was that he had his two favourite pendulum cards, Stargazer and Timegazer.
"So, of course, you're going to Pendulum, right?" my dad asked. "Come at me!"
Yuya scowled.
"Unless what? It's not like you're afraid of being compared to Akaba Reiji and can't use them, is it? Isn't that right, Mr. Sore Loser Yuya?"
Back in the corridor, I was running through all of the horrible things I could do to my father after this duel. One of the many thoughts was either shoving him in the river during the walk home or putting the whole bottle of chilli sauce in his dinner.
"That's horrible! Why would he harass Yuya like that?" I demanded, pulling my usual angry face that was normally only reserved for Yuya.
"You're the worst!" Ayu backed me up, sticking out her tongue, so that my dad knew he wasn't making himself very popular. Normally, that comment would kill my dad, due to his happy-go-lucky personality but today he didn't bat an eyelid.
"I summon Entermate Friendonkey!" Yuya announced, slamming the card down on his disk. "When this card is successfully summoned, I can special summon one level four or lower 'Entermate' monster from my hand!"
From the box strapped to Yuya's donkey's side, a bolt of lightning shot out of it and revealed Whip Viper.
"Hey now! Are you really not going to use your Pendulums?" my dad taunted.
"Shut up!" Yuya snapped, attacking with his Fiendonkey.
"Nope, that's not going to work…" I muttered, as the donkey flew in to attack.
"I activate Guts Master Fire's monster effect!" my dad announced, pointing to the said monster. "Once per turn, I can prevent another Attack Position 'Guts Master' from being destroyed in battle!"
The smaller monster intercepted the donkey, causing it to return to its master (who wasn't looking too pleased) but my dad still lost 100 life points. Then, he activated the effect of his Guts Master Heat, destroying Yuya's donkey because it battled a 'Guts Master'.
"Hmm… A spectacular combo by three monsters," Gongezaka muttered from the bird's eye room. "This is truly the technique of a professional!"
What professional!? I don't see one! I just see Yuya and an idiot down there! …I just see two idiots duelling! Nothing professional about them!
"I'm just getting started!" my idiot father announced, running off and swinging through a neon floating hoop in the sky.
Hopefully he'll fall and end this nonsense! Unfortunately, he didn't but successfully grabbed an action card and landed perfectly on his feet. Even though Yuya had seen him grab the Action card as clear as day, he still attacked with Whip Viper.
"I activate the Action Card: Illusion Dance!" Dad announced, showing the green card. Suddenly, the room filled with an odd music and all the monsters began dancing to it and switched to defence mode.
"That's right! Shake it! Shake it!" My dad cheered, dancing along with his monsters. I hid my face in embarrassment. "This is the true original way of making the entire audience smile, the Sakaki Yushou style Action Duel!"
"But I thought Yuya's dad was cool," Futoshi whispered, having never actually met the man but heard tons of stories from Yuya.
"Not as lame as Yuzu's dad- I mean, the principal," Tatsuya smiled apologetically, as I tried not to turn into a puddle on the floor.
I gripped the fan even tighter, brandishing it so that he would see it clearly. I decided not to let embarrassment fill me but my irritation instead. "Dad… You're really getting full of yourself!"
"Oh dear, Shuzou-kun's just as tactless as always," a recognisable voice said merrily. We all turned to see Mrs. Sakaki, Yuya's mum. "Our guy would certainly be able to get the message across more stylishly."
"Message?" I asked. "What message?"
However, she didn't answer and just stared down at the duel, where her son ended his turn, still scowling.
"I end my turn here," Yuya glowered. My dad explained that the Action Card had worn off, so all monsters returned to attack position and so, they stopped dancing.
"That was an Action Duel in my father's style?" Yuya inquired. "My dad was way more magnificent and way cooler than that!"
"Exactly!" my dad confirmed. "Sakaki Yushou was an entertainment far cooler and more magnificent than anyone else. But it wasn't always like that."
Wait, what did he mean? I blinked, looking up at Yuya's mother, seeing if she had an answer. However, she had her eyes closer and was obviously reminiscing. I left her, feeling wrong to ask annoying questions when she was thinking of her missing husband.
"Sakaki Yushou brought thrills and speed to Action Duelling," Dad lectured. "However, his acrobatic style attracted a lot of criticism. But, eventually, the jeers turned into cheers, and Sakaki Yushou became a real shining star of the Action Duel World!"
Behind me, I could sense Mrs. Sakaki nodding. That was obviously just before Yuya and I were born because, for as long as I could fuzzily remember, he was always swamped with admirers on the streets.
"The door to a new world won't open unless someone with courage pushes it! And now, Yuya! You've opened a new door called Pendulum! But now, Pendulums aren't exclusive to you anymore! Eventually, anyone will be able to Pendulum Summon!" Drawing, and playing his spell, Diary Exchange of Youth, my Dad was on a roll.
The effect of his spell, Diary Exchange of Youth, let him draw two cards and swap them for two cards in Yuya's hand. Oh, I saw where this was going, I could see it miles off and Yuya was not going to be happy.
My Dad threw his two drawn cards across the field to Yuya, who caught them and placed them in his hand, the two cards appearing above his head.
"And the ones I'll take in exchange are Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician!" Yuya had no choice but to fling his beloved cards over. "The monster cards I add to my hand can't be normal or special summoned this turn."
"He took Yuya's Pendulum cards!" Futoshi whispered.
"And he doesn't look happy about it," Tatsuya muttered.
"Well, he never really was great at sharing," his mother sighed, chuckling.
"In addition, I activate the Magic Card: Youth Call!" the older duellist announced. "When my Guts Master cards are in my opponent's hand, I can return them to my hand!"
"And you think Yuya is bad at sharing?" I asked the blonde woman, who dissolved in a fit of giggles.
"The monsters I got back cannot be summoned this turn, BUT I can Pendulum summon them!" he said with glee, showing Yuya the cards he had just borrowed. I was starting to think that my dad wasn't teaching Yuya a lesson as much as just wanting to summon the one-in-a-kind cards himself.
Sure enough, with no hiccups (surprisingly) he managed to Pendulum summon. Yuya looked just like he did when Reiji Pendulum summoned. And when Sawatari Pendulum Summoned.
"What is it?" my dad asked. "Shocked that even I can Pendulum summon? Sakaki Yushou would never feel that way. When everyone started Action Duelling like him, he was overjoyed!"
"Overjoyed?" Yuya asked.
"That's right, and he undauntedly polished his skills. Everyone around him followed his example and created the prosperity of Action Duels we know today through diligent training!" My dad continued his speech.
"Only the best know what it's like to be the best!" he pointed at Yuya. "You have to become the best, Yuya! As the first one to open the door called Pendulum Summoning, you need to set an example for those to follow! Fearlessly hone your skills against Akaba Reiji!"
And then, he ended his turn.
"What? He's not attacking?" Futoshi questioned.
"I told you he's tactless, didn't I?" the blonde woman smiled at us, her hands on her hips. "He's always said that there are things more important than winning. If he didn't think that, he would have been more successful as a pro duellist."
Then, she turned and began to leave.
"Huh? Mrs. Sakaki, are you leaving?" I asked. I thought she would at least stick around until the end of the duel. And maybe give us a lift home in her car.
"It's not my turn to chime in yet," she winked and left.
"Yuzu-neechan!" Ayu pointed at the screen. "The effect of the Diary Exchange of Youth is over! Yuya gets his magicians back!" I nodded, knowing the effect, just glancing my dad throwing the cards back.
"…Have courage and step forward!" Yuya shouted suddenly. That got our attention back on him pretty fast. What was he thinking?
"I can't see the next evolution of Pendulums," Yuya announced to everyone, grasping his pendant with his right hand. "However…"
Not ending his sentence, he drew. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Now I'll show you the true original Sakaki Yuya style Entertainment duel!"
"Alright, he's back in the game!" Ayu cheered.
"I would say he just joined the game," Tatsuya smiled.
"Go Yuya! Give my dad what for!" I shouted, waving my arms in the air, as he shot off with Whip Viper coiled around his arm, serving as (funnily enough) a whip. Grabbing an Action card that was lying on the roof of one of the buildings, he revealed it to be another Illusion Dance, making all the monsters dance and change to defence mode.
"Guts Masters only use their effects on their friends who are in attack mode," I explained to the confused younger ones, knowing the monster effects like the back of my hands. They were good cards, with good combos, until they went into defence.
Yuya jumped onto the highest building in the field, and raised his arms above his head. "Now, the moment you've all been waiting for, today's main event!"
"I, using the Scale One Stargazer Magician and the Scale Eight Timegazer Magician, set the Pendulum scale!" Yuya shouted, summoning three monsters through his unique summoning. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Entermate Spike Eagle and Entermate Plus Turtle!"
Jumping down and swinging through one of the neon hoops, he landed perfectly on top of Odd-Eyes and activated the eagle's effect, meaning that Odd-Eyes could inflict piercing damage if he attacked a monster in defence mode.
"Moving on! I activate the effect of Entermate Plus Turtle! Once per turn I can increase the levels of all monsters on the field by one!" Yuya announced, as every monster levelled-up. "And now, I select Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon as the target for Action Magic: Illusion Fire!"
What an Action card to pick up!
"By its effect, other monsters cannot attack but Odd-Eyes can attack for each monster I control!"
"Odd-Eyes is going to attack three times!?" Tatsuya squeaked.
Yuya landed his first attack. Odd-Eyes sent an explosion of flames towards one of my dad's monsters. Entermate Spike Eagle combined with the attack because that was the attack that was on the behalf of the small monster. The flames combined with the bird and it lit up the already lit Broadway Scene.
"Woah, it's a real phoenix!" My dad said, completely awed, not caring that it collided with one of his monsters and dealt him damage. Double the amount he was due, actually, thanks to Odd-Eyes effect, dipping it to 2300.
Then, he attacked Guts Master Heat, on behalf of the turtle. The turtle bounced along the stream made by the dragon and crashed into the monster, completely obliterating it.
"The damage is doubled!" Yuya held up two fingers.
Dad's life points hit 500.
"This is the end!" Yuya declared. "Attack Guts Master Red!"
Whip Viper slithered along the dragon's attack and they all collided, causing a massive smoke cloud to go up, shielding my father from view. However, we all knew the outcome.
"I'm burning! I'm burning! I've burnt out!" He cried as his points hit zero and Yuya and his monsters took a bow.
Finally, the Action Field shimmered away for the last time in that extremely long day. My Dad lay on the ground, not moving.
"Principal! Hang on! Are you ok?" Yuya wailed, running over to him.
Oh great, here we go again.
Without a word spoken between us, we all ran out onto the field where they were, just in time to see my dad 'die'.
"Principaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!" Yuya screamed into the sunset. It was like a death in a really bad Shojou anime. The three kids buckled over in laughter.
Crack!
"Owwww!" my dad yelped, as I slapped my fan down hard on his face.
"Don't just die like that!" I tried to yell angrily, struggling to hide my smile.
Baka.
"Thanks principal," Yuya grinned at him. "I'll train harder than anyone else. I'll get better and stronger! So I can become a duellist who puts smiles on everyone's faces like my father!"
"Yuya…" I muttered.
Now, I just had to believe in him.
I pulled a determined face. It had been a long day. And yesterday night made it feel even longer. But I couldn't let that Dark Duellist put me down.
I just have to believe in, Yuya.
How hard can that be?
Cat: Yeah, how hard can it be? But i have a feeling (thanks to watching tons of Yugioh) that is not the last of the 'Dark Duellist'... I hope they give him a name because i hate writing 'purple haired duellist' and 'masked man' and stuff.
Rena: Please review!
Cat: TWO QUESTIONS TODAY! :)
1) Following last weeks question, who is your least favourite bad guy from any Yu-Gi-Oh! series? I actually find this one quite hard 'cause i think they're all pretty bad ass.
2) So, you may have noticed that Yuzu hasn't mentioned her mum. I have been tempted to make an OC of her mum for this fanfiction, for the story. What do you guys think? The only problem is, do i make an OC and add her in this story but then the anime shows her mum at some point, so this story won't make sense? Or not risk it?