"Whatever. I'm gonna go see what Yuya's up to. Hopefully it's a lot more interesting than snobby rich stuff."

Zarc left Yuto's mind because his XYZ reincarnation hadn't told Lulu about how he was still lingering around; heck, even he knows Ray has the same ability as he does now, only she can only do it with the Bracelet Girls. Not only that, but after spending the morning in the Obsidian residence, from the discussion of how wealthy people live their lives far differently than what he expected to Yuto's amusing hair mishap, he needed someone else to talk to after witnessing this rich stuff fiasco. Hopefully, seeing what Yuya was up to can help concentrate on something else instead of this, especially because it's not like the American cartoons he has seen.

As he whisked away from the city's Heartland quarter, he traveled into the Paradise section where the morning was taking place; as of matter of fact, the morning rush was happening in all four corridors, with everyone busy with their own schedules for the day, so he wanted to see how Yuya was doing for today after attending the Faire. Unfortunately, as he entered into his mind, he was unaware—for a short time—of the fact his Pendulum reincarnation was in a pickle about something. What could he be so focused on that made him feel stressed, pressured, and unsure?

"Uh… Hi, Yuya?"

Even though he was awake, Yuya hasn't gotten out of bed to have his mother's pancakes for breakfast yet because he has been staring at his deck for a while, shuffling and scanning through his Performapals, his signature ace Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, and the dragon's current variations as his thoughts dragged him away into his own mental conscious…that is until Zarc's arrival caused him to snap back into reality and jump up from his bed.

"Wow, you're awake and still in your pajamas? Something must be on your mind."

Yuya let out a groan as he stood up. "Morning Zarc," he said.

"So what's bothering you?"

"Oh, nothing," Yuya lied. "Just trying to figure out how these new Magician cards can work with my deck."

"Yeah, I'm not falling for that. You're technically a part of me, so I can tell you're upset about something."

"I told you, I'm fine," Yuya insisted. "It's not like I feel empty about the whole separation thing and I don't deserve to be a pro anymore." He let out an obviously fake laugh.

Zarc simply stood beside Yuya's bed with his arms crossed, giving him an expression that clearly reads he wasn't buying it, complete with an eyebrow raised upward. He knew what Yuya said was exactly what's been bothering him: ever since Leo performed the blood separation, he has been feeling empty without his counterparts around and he feels like he isn't an actual Pro Duelist because of that emptiness.

"You can drop the act. I know you miss the other dragons."

Yuya sighed sadly. "I became a pro thanks to Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing, and Starving Venom. But now…" He fanned out his Extra Deck. "…even their Odd-Eyes upgrades are gone. My deck feels incomplete."

"So you're short a few cards. Big deal. Can't you go to a card shop and get new ones?"

"It's not that simple," Yuya explained. "When I accepted myself as you, I felt complete. I finally discovered my dueling identity-"

"Yuya, please shut up for once. You're not me, you bozo! You're you! You have goofy circus pets in your deck instead of just mystical Magicians and Sorcerers! Heck, before I gave into peer pressure, my Dueltaining mimicked basic gymnastics. So basically, you are NOTHING like me!"

"But-" Yuya started to say.

"But nothing. I'll even help you get started. Take out your pendant and put it next to Tuning Magician."

"Why?" Yuya asked.

"Trust me on this one. You'll thank me later."

He shuffled through his cards and stopped when he found Tuning Magician somewhere in the middle of his deck. He pulled the card out and placed it in front of him before putting the rest of his cards on top of his bureau where his pendant rested. With his left hand, he grabbed onto the string that held the pendant and lied it down next to Tuning Magician to see if there would be some kind of reaction. So far, there seems to be no results from this and he was questioning exactly why Zarc wanted him to do this and if he knew what he was doing. Just then, the pendant started to glow blue-green, the same color that coincides with the Synchro Dimension, whether it was from Yugo when he Awakened, Rin, or the aura of the dimension itself.

"Wh-What's going on?!" Yuya asked.

"It's the true power of your pendant. It can transform any plain old monster card and unlock its hidden Pendulum abilities, kind of like when it gave Odd-Eyes, your first two Magician cards, and a good chunk of your Performapals much-needed Pendulum makeovers."

Yuya was left mesmerized by this small yet amazing performance. The green energy from the pendant synchronized with the Tuning Magician card and it began glowing the same color before changing it to light blue, the same color as the pendant. As the card glowed, energy ascended from the bottom of the card, unlocking Tuning Magician's Pendulum abilities and transforming her into Harmonizing Magician, a Scale 8 Level 4 DARK Spellcaster-Type Pendulum-Tuner monster with 0 ATK and DEF. Her monster effects prohibit her from being special summoned from the Extra Deck and used as Fusion, Synchro, or XYZ Material unless all the Materials are Pendulum Magicians. Additionally, if she was Pendulum Summoned from the hand, a Pendulum Magician monster—except herself—can be special summoned in defense position with their effects negated and can be banished when it leaves the field, but this can be done only once per turn. Her newly awakened Pendulum effect allows her to give every monster Yuya controls 100 ATK and DEF for every face-up Pendulum Magician on the field.

Yuya was at a loss of words and his mouth was left ajar from what he witnessed. His pendant didn't just awaken Tuning Magician's Pendulum abilities like it did with most of his monsters… It caused her to undergo a metamorphosis! He wasn't sure if this was actually her Pendulum counterpart and if she could switch between herself and Harmonizing Magician, much like how he and Zuzu switched between their dimensional counterparts when their souls all harbored an individually respective body.

"Zarc, was Tuning Magician originally one of your cards?" Yuya asked after he regained his voice.

"Nah, I never had that card in my deck. But I must say, that's a much better look for her. Maybe all that love and care you gave her caused her to evolve into that new form."

Yuya's eyebrows rose up in epiphany because what Zarc said could be true. He picked up Harmonizing Magician's card and was locked into a deep stare with it, reminiscing the monster's past. Jack Atlas did find Tuning Magician when he was a child and wanted to return her to her original owner, but he could only do that by becoming a strong Duelist, which inspired him to take part in the Friendship Cup and become the Master of Faster and New Domino City's Duel King. When he handed her to Sam, the latter interpreted his statement of her being more suitable for him as being a weak monster, which was why he gave that card to Yuya. Even if that wasn't the actual interpretation of what Jack said, he was glad to incorporate her into his deck; with Harmonizing Magician, he might have to rethink his Synchro strategies a little.

He then heard a knock on the door and rose his head up to see who it was, only for him to greeted by Sora, who wanted to see what his adopted older brother was up to. There was no way they were going to miss out on Yoko's pancakes for breakfast.

"Geez, you're still in your pajamas?" Sora asked. "What's up with you?"

"Sora, do you know any card shops?" Yuya asked in response, taking Zarc's advice of getting new cards.

"'Course I do," Sora answered. "Before this whole dimension war thing started, the Professor would treat his best students for a field trip to Domino City. One of the best hangout spots was Card Craze, a local card shop."

"That's perfect!" Yuya suddenly exclaimed as he rushed over to his closet. "Contact Zuzu while you're at it!"

"Well someone is unusually cheerful," Sora noticed.

Yuya started to rummage through his closet. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked. "I need to come up with brand new strategies with new cards!"

"Oh, right," Sora remembered. "You're now a pro-"

"Who cares about that?" Yuya asked. "I'll talk to Declan about my new dueling status later." He took out a maroon t-shirt. "For now, it's time I regain my identity as an individual!"

Identity? Why would he focus on regaining his individuality instead of starting his new life as Pro Duelist? Sora pondered on why Yuya was concentrated on figuring himself out, but he didn't mind it; as long as he gets to check out Card Craze, that's fine with him. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if Zuzu wanted to join them, so he notified Yuya he'll be downstairs, which was responded with an "okay" as he pulled out a pair of blue jeans, a white, short-sleeved hoodie with the hood and pockets bearing an orange hue, a plain black chocker, and his usual pair of sneakers. He knew having a different attire would help himself show his individuality during his personal mission.

After he got dressed, he ran towards the firepole and leapt towards it, holding onto it firmly with his right hand and his legs wrapped around it, leading to him sliding down to the first floor. Even before he landed on the floor, he could smell the essence of his mom's pancakes coming from the kitchen and couldn't wait to have some. What slowed him down, however, were some of the family's pets greeting him, including En, Core, Kilo, and Watt.

"Good morning," Yuya cheerfully said as he knelt down to scratch En's belly as the corgi laid on his back. "It's great to see all of you!"

"Yuya, breakfast is ready!" Yoko called out from the kitchen.

"Coming!" Yuya replied as he stood to his full height.

He scurried into the dining room, with the pets following him from behind, where he saw Yusho and Sora already at the table and Yoko cooking some pancakes for them. Sora was just about done contacting Zuzu to see if she had any plans for today and if she wanted to come with him and Yuya to Card Craze.

Yuya sat next to Sora at the table and started helping himself to pancakes. "Uh, Yuya?" the Frightfur user asked. "I'm not sure Zuzu is coming."

"Mmm?" Yuya asked, already eating his breakfast.

"She said she hasn't been interested in dueling lately," Sora explained. "Ever since the separation procedure, she's been feeling indifferent about her Melodious cards. Almost like they feel foreign to her."

Yuya swallowed his mouthful of pancake. "What?!" he asked.

"That's what she just told me," Sora continued. "She wants to focus more on her dreams of being a music composer. In fact, she was apparently writing a new violin piece when I called her."

"I know that bit," Yuya recalled. "Ever since we were little, she has always dreamt of playing a grand symphony to everyone in the world."

Zuzu had always enjoyed orchestras and symphonies when she was a child, even before the grand opening of You Show Duel School. Just watching people play their assigned sheets of music depending on if they're part of the woodwinds, brass, percussions, or strings group fascinated her because of how coordinated and well-timed each group member plays thanks to the conductor. She even did a well-researched essay on Tchaikovsky as part of a history assignment and gave a copy of it to her music teacher, so why would she not be interested in dueling anymore? Her Melodious monsters emphasize her love for orchestras, from their names referencing famous composers to their regal designs that resemble musical notes or musical-related objects.

"Wait, so she really has a violin?" Sora asked.

"Well yeah," Yuya confirmed. "She writes and performs her own original music. She's so good at performing that it's why she joined the school band."

"That's a relief," Sora remarked. "But I don't like how she apparently abandoned dueling."

"Me neither," Yuya agreed after swallowing another mouthful of pancake. "I hope she's feeling alright."

Meanwhile, at the Boyle residence, Zuzu adjusted a few sheets of paper with musical notes onto a stand to help her see what notes to play. She took a few steps away to pick up a small case from the floor and placed it on her bed, opening it up to reveal her violin and bow. Taking them out of the case and holding the violin in her left hand and the bow in her right, she walked back to her stand where her newest and original piece rested. She really was going to practice performing her song, and after everything that had happened up to the blood separation, this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

"'The Enchanting Nightingale'? Is this one of your original works?"

Zuzu raised her head up a little and had a subtle yet noticeable surprised look on her face. Standing in front of her was an apparition of her incarnation Ray, who was browsing through the sheet music; although Zuzu wasn't expecting to have some company, this wasn't the first time this has happened to her.

"…It is," Zuzu finally answered.

"I take it that you're surprised by my appearance."

"I am," Zuzu confirmed. "I thought you were spending the day in Rin's mind."

"I did earlier today, but ever since she and Yugo started dating, I thought it might be best to give them some privacy. So with Celina busy getting a school uniform for Paradise Prep and Lulu unaware of my presence, I figured I might as well hang out with you. So what's with this particular song?"

"It's something I wrote shortly after I was revived," Zuzu explained. "The song's story is about a guardian angel that takes the form of a little bird."

"So that stuff you told Sora is true? You're feeling a bit bothered because of me?"

"No!" Zuzu blurted out. She calmed down a bit. "Having you in my head is great, but that's not what's bothering me."

"Does it have to do with those special lessons with-"

"Shh!" Zuzu blurted out. "I want to surprise Yuya. He can't know about…" She took out two cards from her deck. "…this."

These two cards were Opheli the Melodious Operetta and Beetho the Melodious Songstress, which were both created by Declan. Having their cards based on Pendulumstatues White Flower and White Butterfly respectively, they're both LIGHT Fairy-Type Pendulum monsters, but Opheli is a Scale 9 Level 4 monster with 400 ATK and DEF while Beetho is a Scale 1 Level 10 monster with 1000 ATK and DEF. They also have effects that work in a similar manner in different circumstances given the types of cards they're specifically targeted towards: Beetho's Pendulum effect gives all the Melodious Divas and Melodious Maestras that Zuzu controls 200 ATK once per turn and her monster effect permits her owner to add a Melodious Spell card from her deck to her hand if she was special summoned; likewise, Opheli's Pendulum effect increases all the Melodious Choirs that Zuzu controls 200 ATK once per turn and her monster effect allows a Fusion Spell card to be added from the deck to the hand if she was special summoned.

"Ah, so you want to surprise your boyfriend with new summoning techniques."

Zuzu blushed heavily. "Yuya isn't my boyfriend," she denied. "He's just a friend with pretty eyes and very soft hair." But Ray let out a laugh in response.

"You can't hide your feelings from me. Lulu might have all my love and affection, but even I know you have a crush on Yuya Sakaki."

Ray was right; despite acting like the straight man in all of Yuya's acts of buffoonery, Zuzu has developed a crush on him over the years. Even before and during their involvement in the Interdimensional War, she had shown evident signs of him harboring feelings for him, and overtime, he had soon realized his true emotions for her in his desperate mission to rescue her. Zuzu, however, tried her darnest to deny this obvious speculation despite knowing it was true.

"I don't have time to think about this," Zuzu said, attempting to change topics. She got into position for playing her violin. "I need to see if I got rusty after all these weeks."

As she held onto the violin, her fingers pressed down on specific areas of the strings and slid the bow across to create the sound of the first note. Its pitch was exactly how it was depicted on the first page of the sheet music. No problems so far. She then moved onto the next few notes, swiftly shifting her fingers to different places and sliding the bow back and forth, capturing the varying tones. So far, so good. She proceeded to go through the page to tackle all the notes in her musical number, only stopping to flip it to the back side to continue. This was admittedly a minor nitpick for Zuzu; she enjoyed playing the violin and writing all her compositions, but if there was one thing about practicing, it's pausing in order to get to the next couple pages. It didn't bother her back then, but she hasn't played the violin in what felt like forever. Even though she has the techniques memorized, she wished she could practice "The Enchanting Nightingale" straight through without dealing with the hassle of turning the pages.

As Zuzu continued her violin practice, a voice interrupted her concentration. "Zuzu, Yuya and Sora are here!" Skip called out.

"Tell them I'm busy!" Zuzu replied, not breaking concentration from her music.

A few seconds later, Skip called out again. "They still want to speak to you!" he said.

"I told you, I'm busy!" Zuzu insisted.

Unfortunately for her, Yuya and Sora still went to her bedroom because they were worried about why she suddenly became disinterested in Duel Monsters after regaining her body. As for Zuzu, her predicament did involve dueling but not what her friends were thinking; she didn't want to spoil her surprise for Yuya about her new Pendulum monsters and something else she has been practicing.

"Alright Zuzu, start talking!" Yuya demanded.

However, Zuzu didn't respond, wanting to concentrate on her music.

"Sora said you lost interest in Duel Monsters!" Yuya continued. "Is it because of Ray?"

"It has nothing to do with Ray," Zuzu replied as she continued her song.

"Does it have to do with that 'world symphony' Yuya mentioned?" Sora asked.

"If you mean my dreams of being a professional music composure, then yes," Zuzu answered. "It's more important to me than being a Dueltainer. I've been focusing on dueling for so long that I lost track of my true dream."

"What, so you're just gonna abandon dueling all together?" Yuya asked, starting to get annoyed.

"It's only temporary," Zuzu clarified. "I'll get back interested in dueling once I perfect my violin skills."

How long will that take exactly? Surely, she can't spend so much time devoted to her dream career. She has already shown to be a great violinist during her time at Paradise Prep and she has easily managed the tasks of going to two schools, one for education and one for dueling, so if it wasn't Ray that led her to abruptly stop dueling, then was it the war itself? Yuya's irritation at the thought of her decision began to gradually boil; he does respect her dream for the future, but why would she do this to him? Sora spotted Yuya's pacing change in emotion and stepped off to the side in worry while gesturing his head at Zuzu to have her see what's going on.

Zuzu stopped practicing her song and carefully placed her violin on her bed. "Yuya…?" she asked, sounding concern.

"Please don't leave me…" Yuya begged, his eyes glowing red. "I beg of you, please don't leave me…"

Zuzu was surprised by the sudden mood swing. "I'm not going to leave you-"

"Do you even know what happened to me during the Interdimensional War?" Yuya interrupted. "When you faded in that green light…I lost control of myself." A desperate look appeared on his face. "I need to be with you, Zuzu Boyle. You complete me."

The green light… She knew this has recently become a trigger for them, but did it mentally hurt him that bad? Having her transferred into ARC-V against her will was the scariest thing that happened to him; it was even worse when all the dimension hopping in his dire rescue mission was nearly all for nothing because he was extremely close to losing her for good, especially when the Standard Dimension became the Pendulum Dimension. With everyone starting their new chapters of their lives, Yuya was hoping he would do the same thing with her. Now that she thought about it, she was certain this Card Craze place would have something that helps suit her surprise for him.

Zuzu let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright," she said. "If you really want me to come to Card Craze with you, I'll come." She started to put her violin and bow back in the case and her sheet music in a nearby folder.

"Great!" Yuya happily said, almost like his irritation never happened. "I've never been to this Card Craze place before, but Sora said it's a hangout spot for Duel Academy students."

"Just leave all the talking to me," Sora informed.

"How come?" Zuzu asked.

"Rumor had it that the store was once operated by the Rare Hunters, a group of rogue card thieves led by dueling cheat Keith Howard," Sora explained. "They kinda disappeared after the whole dimension crisis, but I suspect they're still hiding in Domino City."

"Rare Hunters…?" Yuya mused to himself.

Where did he hear that phrase before? He couldn't help but ponder on who this group is because he felt like he should know who they are. Maybe in another life? That could be it because he could picture in his head what appeared to be Domino City but looked more like an actual Japanese city instead of the one he and his friends were used to. All around him were dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of Duelists battling each other and receiving these transparent cards with portions of a full picture called Locator Cards. Was some kind of tournament going on? From the look of things, it was, especially when kept hearing what the name of it was: Battle City.

From within his memories, his surroundings weren't the only thing he remembers. He seemed to know what took place at the time because he just so happened to be one of the many Duelists taking part in Battle City, which was weird considering he only participated in only two tournaments. Maybe this was his alternate self? Who knows. He did perceive the fact he only attended because he wanted to stop the Rare Hunters and their leader from getting their hands on the three Egyptian God Cards. This was peculiar because the Rare Hunters appeared to be more of a larger threat than the ones Sora explained; they even had a different leader who went by the name Marik Ishtar. Although a handful of them are willing to do his bidding, he would brainwash or deceive others into joining him, such as a former stage magician who became sadistic and insane as he challenged the alternate Yuya on who was the true Dark Magician master.

"Uh, Yuya?" Sora asked. "You feeling alright?"

"Huh?" Yuya muttered, snapping back to reality. "Oh, I'm fine." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, mussing up his fluffy hair in the process. "Let's just get to Card Craze already."

Sora led the way as Yuya and Zuzu went downstairs and out of the house to the nearest bus stop. According to the bus schedule that was displayed online through Sora's Duel Disk, the earliest bus they can from Paradise to Domino will be arriving in less than ten minutes for its 10 AM departure. It was rather shocking that there were already buses that traveled through all four sections of the main city shortly after the Original Dimension returned; then again, this must be practice for them to get adapted to driving through a much bigger city.

A bus soon pulled up in front of the trio to pick them up and they all went through the open door; they then sat down in a few seats that were in between the front and middle portions of the bus before leaving the neighborhood. As the scenery transformed from Paradise's modern city structures to Domino's Venice-esque landscape, Yuya couldn't shake off the feeling of this Arkana person he was suddenly "remembering." This was his first time hearing about the Rare Hunters yet he felt like he has known about them for a long time; the ones Sora recalled sounded less notorious than their alternate selves, but nonetheless, they still weren't to be treated lightly.

"Hey Sora, you mentioned someone named Keith Howard," Yuya recalled. "Who is he?"

"The biggest cheat in dueling history," Sora answered. "He cheated his way through professional tournaments, but his methods were usually overlooked. However, during the final round of the Intercontinental Championship tournament a few years ago, his opponent caught him pulling spare cards from underneath his wristbands, specifically countless 7 Completeds. He was instantly disqualified for not only sneaking in more cards despite the 40-card deck limit, but also having more than three copies of a single card. He was banned from taking part in future tournaments since then, officially earning the nickname 'the Bandit'."

"Is that why he joined the Rare Hunters?" Zuzu asked.

"He didn't just join the Rare Hunters," Sora continued. "Rumor has it he founded that group out of spite. Now he makes a living hunting Duelists for their rare cards."

That didn't sound good at all yet he had a couple questions. If this was because Keith has so much spite against those that banned him, why was he searching for rare cards specifically? For that matter, how come no one in Domino has actually brought it up to the public? Was it because they view him and the Rare Hunters as a minor threat? Yuya just somehow could tell the danger they actually pose even though he has never interacted with them before.

"Alright passengers, we've arrived at Domino City, Building 134 in Block 75," the bus driver announced. "Remember to take all your belongings before leaving the bus."

Yuya turned his head from the window to where the bus driver was sitting, suddenly getting another feeling of déjà vu. Something about his voice sounded very familiar to him. Could it be? No, it couldn't, Yuya thought. As he, Zuzu, and Sora got up from their seats, they all departed the bus through the door, where he caught a glimpse of what the driver looked like. He had spiky, black hair with a ponytail in the back and several thin strands on the front sides of his face and a smaller strand over his forehead. His eyes were a piercing emerald green and his skin was darker than a fair skin tone yet lighter than a tan one. What made him stand out to Yuya the most was his six-sided die earring on his left ear and his pendant he wore around his neck. Yuya slightly gasped at the person he saw, and right when he got off the bus, he was still in disbelief at the identity of the bus driver.

"Yuya?" Zuzu asked. "You alright? You seem to space out a lot today."

"I'm not sure…" Yuya admitted.

"Well we can worry about it later," Sora said. He cheerfully grinned. "Time to visit the old hangout spot!"