Cat: Hi. Apologising won't change the fact this is late.
Rena: We had this all written and finished yesterday but then! Fanfiction had a 503 Error and was down all night (at least, it was for me). So, here this is now.
Cat: We skipped the duel. I suck at inventing duels. If you wanted a full duel, it would probably take me several months to write it. This story is late as it is, so don't review whining.
Rena: THIS IS CHAPTER 40!
Cat: I can't believe it! I never thought i would be this committed! I never dreamed it would be this popular!
21,161 people have read this story so far! I have 258 reviews! This is head-and-shoulders above all my other fics! Thank you all and please continue to read and enjoy!
Rena: Follow this story to be alerted when chapters are uploaded! Favourites help us out and makes it easier for you to access! If you enjoy, please support and review :) Every review is read and appreciated!
Don't want to? No problem. Just read and enjoy!
Cat: 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 40- Warriors of Academia
I rubbed my sticky hands on my skirt, wiping away the drying blood. My hands were now screaming in pain, my short nails in tatters. Yuya hadn't appeared yet. He was probably still in the changing room.
I bit down on my lip. I was really worried. What on earth had that been? Yuya just… Flipped out. For no real reason. Kachidoki mentioned something about his 'dark side' and then Bam! Yuya wasn't Yuya anymore. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I would ask him later but for now, I would give him some space.
"Pardon the abruptness, but we have a change of schedule!" Nico announced suddenly over the speakers. I looked up at the screen to see him screaming down the mic, looking very agitated. "Regarding the third match… Due to the absence of LDS' Shijima Hokuto, Kirigakure Cooking School's Mokota Michio has won by default!"
"Shijima never turned up?" I gasped. Was he sick? That didn't seem like the flashy XYZ ace at all. And it wasn't like LDS to have a student lose by default. They would pull themselves onto the field, even if they were half-dead. That's just what they were like. So, where was one of their top duellists?
However, we were never given an answer and they swiftly moved onto the next match.
"I'm going home," I whispered, after a non-eventful second turn. Every single monster on the field was in defence position and the duellists stood stalk still. I was already fed up and it was only two minutes in. "I need to prepare for my duel tomorrow,"
"But what about Yuya-niichan?" Futoshi asked, as I stood up. I winced, feeling bad that I was leaving without having seen Yuya, who was probably moping in the ground levels of the arena. The thing was, what did I say to him? 'Congratulations for winning, even though you turned totally psycho'? 'Hey, no-one was smiling in the end, but they were at the start!'?
"I'm gonna go see him now," I said, shuffling past the sea of legs of people sitting in plastic chairs.
"Take these to him," my dad handed me a plastic bag, stuffed full of food. "He may be hungry."
I rolled my eyes, wondering why a bag of food was so important. I grabbed it and made my way to the main lobby, following the down stairs to the lower levels. It got slightly chillier as I descended and the bright yellow walls turned to the familiar grey concrete of building foundations.
I looked left and stared at the endless stretch of closed white doors along the grey wall. I looked right and saw the same thing. I pretended I was going to begin prepping myself before my duel. Where would I go before my duel? Where would I go after my duel? Where would I go after my duel if I was Yuya?
I made my way to the changing rooms. I knew that Yuya had been separated into Boys Changing Room 3 (he threw up an immense fuss that he had been moved from Room 1 to 3 in the second round. 'Room one's nicer' he puffed.) and that room was beside Girls Changing Room 3, which wasn't where I was stationed but at least I knew where it was.
Because we were not professional duellists, we weren't allowed to have our own separate changing rooms, like the pros and so, we all shared rooms with up to ten people, which was never that bad because only two people were duelling at a time and opponents were always separated, to ensure no back-stage fighting or cheating or whatever.
Actually, it could be pretty miserable sitting in the huge room by yourself.
I knocked politely on the door, knowing that I was probably breaking several rules by walking into one of the boy's rooms. I felt flustered, almost like I was entering the boy's bathroom (I prayed that Yuya wasn't in there, because that was one place I was not searching). When nobody answered, I took a deep breath and opened the door slowly. After straining my ears for a sound, I flung the door open when I realised that I heard nothing. Nobody was in here.
I shut the door and continued down the corridor, now worrying about my stupid best friend. Had he gone home without telling anyone? Had he gone off in an aimless walk across the city, which would result in him getting lost? Or worse, had he gone off looking for Kurosaki? I doubted it but there was always that possibility.
I checked the entrance tunnel, where duellists would wait minutes before their duels began. Yuya wasn't moping around there either. I shifted the (kinda heavy) shopping bag to my other hand and continued following the corridor. The stadium was circular, I would end up back at the start eventually.
I continued walking, pulling out my phone and calling him.
Let's start! Isshun no senkō kar-
Then, the music abruptly stopped. I whirled around to source the music from behind the door that was just in front of me. I stared down at my phone.
Call ended- Yuya.
I scowled and slammed the door open. "You just hang up on me, yeah!? That's what a concerned friend gets!?" My eyes zeroed in on him.
Yuya frowned, lying on his side on the green sofa, his goggles secured tightly over his eyes. "Go away, Yuzu."
"Why should I?" I snapped, folding my arms.
"I don't wanna talk to anyone," Yuya said in a monotone, staring at me but, at the same time, it looked like he was staring right through me. "Leave me alone."
I sighed. "Hey. Hey, come on," I dropped down on my knees right beside the sofa, dumping the food bag beside me. I smiled and placed my hand on his arm in comfort. "It's ok."
"No, it isn't."
"Yes, it is! Kachidoki wasn't hurt, was he? You weren't- Ok, you were hurt but-"
"I'm gonna have tons of bruises," he complained, making me smile more. He sounded a bit more like himself. "It hurts to move."
"But now no one else has to duel him in this competition. So, nobody else is going to get hurt. See, Yuya? You beat the bully!"
"I beat the bully by being the bully myself. Or, at least, something like that."
"You didn't hurt Kachidoki," I repeated firmly. "Sure, it wasn't… It wasn't your usual duel but… You won't do it again… Right?"
"I summoned Yuto's dragon. I don't know why. But I did." He said dully. "He asked me to bring smile's to people's faces. But I did the opposite."
"Yuya," I pressed. "It's alright. It's over now."
"I feel so… So…"
"Whatever you feel- guilt, sadness, anger- will go away, Yuya. We all have to learn to get through things." I reached up and clasped his goggles, pushing them back onto his head, which ended in the result of pulling his hair back tightly on his head. "You are such an idiot," I said quietly, as I pulled out a tissue from the food bag and wiped his wet, red, puffy eyes.
After a minute, he sat up properly and I sat beside him, as he chugged down a bottle of water, clutching onto a box of sandwiches as if they were going to run away if he slackened his tight grasp. He was still quiet and I knew he was still upset, my words wouldn't miraculously change his mood, I knew that.
As he ate, I looked around the dark room in which we were sitting. After a moment, I stood up and flicked on the lightswitch. The lights flickered and lit the room in a blinding white light. Yuya whined, to show his irritation but I just stared around. We were in a pro changing room. But not just any old pro room.
Yuya cheered, jumping down the stairs. I laughed and followed, Gongenzaka hot on my heels.
"He won! He won!" Yuya danced, as we turned and ran down another set of stairs. My short legs were screaming in exhaustion but I didn't care.
"He's the champion now!" Gongenzaka gasped, as we reached the landing, only to continue sprinting down the grey steps.
"That opponent stood no chance!" I giggled, as we finally reached the bottom floor. It was teeming with staff workers and security officials and the press. Yuya grabbed my hand and I grabbed Gongenzaka's and we wiggled our way through the crowds, finally arriving outside the door, a gold star painted on the front. It was a different one to the one we usually went to but that's what made it better.
Yuya shoved it open. "You won!" he screamed, tumbling inside, Gongenzaka and I right behind him. "You're the best ever, dad!"
Youshou roared with laughter, picking Yuya up under the arms and swinging him around. "You better believe I am, Yuya!" From the sagging green sofa, Yoko laughed, clapping her hands together before her husband passed their son to her.
"Congratulations on winning, Mr. Sakaki!" Gongenzaka boomed, which resulted in more happy laughter. He and I pulled ourselves up onto the sofa too, beside Yuya. His dad laughed and ruffled my hair.
"So, what did you think, Yuzu-chan?" he asked. "Did my duel make you smile?"
"Sure it did," I grinned toothily. "But something makes me smile even more!"
"Oh and what's that?"
"You've been asking for it for so long! But now you finally get this silly room with the star on the door!"
And with that, more hilarity ensued.
"This room belongs to Strong Ishijima now," I whispered, sitting down in the space I sat for the first time all those years ago.
"I beat him," Yuya said, through mouthfuls of crisps. "So, it belongs to my dad again."
"Not you?" I blinked.
He shook his head. "Not until I beat my dad. When I beat him, I will finally get 'this silly room with the star on the door'," I smiled sadly, nodding.
"Until then, then," I said, standing up. "So, seeing as this isn't your room yet, you shouldn't be in here."
"Why not?"
"It's upsetting you more," I replied, helping him to his feet and handing him the bag. "Go home. Sleep on it. Perhaps you'll feel better in the morning."
"I seriously doubt that," Yuya said miserably, as we walked out the door and back down the corridor.
"Then, perhaps you'll feel better in the morning of the day after," I shot back. He shrugged. "Anyway, I'm going home. I need to prepare for my duel."
"When is it?" he asked, even though it didn't sound like he was going to listen. I replied, only for him to nod his head. A Yuya gesture of 'I heard you but didn't at the same time'.
"Hey, I'll make it up for you," I said suddenly.
"Huh?" Yuya blinked.
"The main problem was that you didn't have everyone smiling, right? Then, tomorrow, I'll make sure that everyone smiles!"
Yuya smiled pathetically. "Sure."
"And you'll be there," I stated, not giving him a choice. "The smiling crowd will cheer you up and you'll be back to smiling yourself. Deal?"
"Deal…" Yuya said, after a moment of silence.
"I'll see you then," I whispered, as I began running up the stairs again, leaving him down in the bowels of the stadium, alone.
I awoke on day seven of the Junior Youth Championship and tumbled out of bed, half asleep. When I was properly awake, I realised I had washed and dressed myself in my sleepy haze. While making breakfast (bacon and eggs) I was following the early morning duels, watching duellist after duellist win but losing count of who-was-who.
After breakfast, dad and I walked to the stadium in silence. It occurred to me that this was the first time I had felt nervous before a duel in a while. In the first round, I didn't have time for nerves, I was too concerned about beating Masumi, an opponent I had duelled before and lost against. An opponent who had completely trampled all over my duelling, my self-esteem and my school.
Another thing that was different now that when I duelled Masumi was that I had no idea what duelling style Naname Mikiyo used. I knew beforehand that Masumi had been a Fusion summoner and I changed my deck accordingly. My new opponent was a complete mystery. Her previous duel she had won in three rounds, using only basic monsters. She may have had no special summoning style but I couldn't be sure. There had been no point to bust it out in her first match (her poor opponent never gave up much of a fight). But, in a way, that was half the fun of a duel, wasn't it?
We arrived at the lobby and went our separate ways, my dad to the stands, me to the changing rooms. I descended the stairs again, remembering the miserable conversation with my best friend the day before. I waited in the girl's changing room, sitting on a bench, clasping and unclasping my hands, until I was called.
I stood behind the automatic gate, staring onto the empty field. It was now or never. I could hear the cheers of encouragement from the three Junior class students and my dad's screams of 'hot-bloodedness'. I turned and waved, smiling. They all grinned and waved back.
All except Yuya, who looked like he was at a funeral.
He wasn't even looking at me. He was so quiet, I hadn't even realised he had been in the stands with them. Sleeping on it seemed make his mood worse. I exhaled, even more determined to win.
Then, Naname came onto the field. Or, should I say, Naname and her entourage, skated onto the field as if they were at a carnival. The cheers of the (mainly male) fan club could probably be heard down at the docks, as they went mental.
"Today I'll special summon all of your hearts too!" the blonde, pink-dressed skater smiled cutely, suddenly making me feel very plain.
I guess it could be worse. The crowd are already smiling and cheering. For my opponent but that's ok.
"As expected of the Idol Duellist…" I sighed, staring around at the crazed crowd, all waving flags and screaming Naname's name. "She makes getting her fans excited look like child's play. But I'm the poster girl of You Show Duel School!"
You're the only girl at You Show Duel School!
Not true! There's Ayu…!?
Yeah because a seven-year-old totally counts in this situation…
"I'll show you real entertainment duelling!" I grinned, pumping the air. I promised Yuya. I was going to get the crowd smiling and, my top priority (along with winning) was to cheer him up and get him smiling again too.
Cat: Hope you enjoyed. Chapters will be late from now on. I've started my art final (i want to continue in art, so it is very important for me to get good grades) and i have a chinese exam on Tuesday (which i also hope on continue studying so...)
Thank you everyone for understanding. I know it is EXTREMELLY annoying when Fanfics don't update immediately. I don't do it to annoy people, i do it because i have to. I am not going to put two years of studying to waste by failing now. So, please be patient. Thanks.
Explanation over :)
Rena: The question!
Are you excited for the Yugioh Arc V dub? Or are you dreading it?
They have changed so many names!
Gongenzaka's name is now Gong.
Hokuto's name is now Dipper (WTH?)
Reiji's name is DECLAN!?
Like, what? Original names never hurt anyone.
If they change Yuzu's name... I'll go on a killing spree.
(Dear people in the future, when the dub has been released. The Japanese version is the real version. If you can, watch it.)
Thanks everyone, you guys are my life xx
-animewatchers186