"Ok guys, get in!" shouted Shuzo as he stood outside of a bus waiting to take the You Show students to the Miami Stadium.
Yuzu, Yuya and Rin were outside of the bus while Ayu,Futoshi and Tatusuyawere already buckled in and ready to go. Yuzu and Yuya slowly got on board the bus but Rin didn't follow. Yuzu looked back.
"What is it Rin?" asked Yuzu.
"I only ride two wheels; I shall be using my D-Wheel during the Championship."
"But Rin... we don't have D-Wheels in this dimension!" replied Yuya.
"So? It's just another motorcycle to you lot. I have been riding it everywhere else?" she replied.
"I know, but what Yuya means is that we won't be dueling on D-Wheels in the Championship." Rin's face lit up with shock.
"You what!" she replied.
"I thought you knew?" asked Yuzu.
"I thought that they would let me! You mean I have to duel on Acton Fields all the time?!"
"I'm afraid so Rin but I have been teaching you a few basic moves." Yuzu replied.
"I guess, but I have only just begun to understand Action Cards... fine." Rin said reluctantly. "But I can at least ride it there." Rin ran over to get changed into her turbo dueling gear and to fetch her white D-Wheel. Yuzu rolled her eyes.
"She is a stubborn one." Yuzu said as she and Yuya entered the bus and strapped in. Shuzo was at the wheel.
"Okay kids. Time to go!" shouted Shuzo as he turned the key on the bus and it started up. He turned around to face them. "Remember. We don't know much about what is going on with these dimensions or why Rin looks like Yuzu. Reiji has never called a tournament like this before and with all this weird stuff going on, he is clearly using this as a way to find stuff out. We are all in this together!"
"Don't worry Principal, we will help out Yuzu and Yuya as much as we can!" yelled Ayu.
"We will help sort out this mess!" replied Futoshi
"You Show will win the tournament!" added Tatsuya. Everyone smiled at each other as the bus drove off with Rin following behind.
On board the bus, Yuzu looked at her bracelet and begun to think. "Rin, Ruri and a girl who looks like me from the Fusion Dimension. That's what I know so far. These new summons came from other dimensions and I guess since Ritual exists, then there must be a Ritual girl who looks like me as well. Yuya also has lookalikes... Yugo, Rin's friend and this Yuto guy. Yuzar appeared from Ritual and I guess that there is a Fusion Yuya. I wonder if he kidnapped that Yuto guy... that Shun, he didn't tell me much. This tournament will reveal a lot and will we be ready."
Stadium
Across Maiami City, there was a colourful scene brewing. Numerous people were walking around with loads of stalls outside, selling merchandise. All the roads led up to the giant Maiami City stadium which was harder to miss then to see.
Maiami Stadium was slap back in the middle of the sea and had numerous roads connecting to it. Around the stadium, it had smaller arenas for dueling while the main stadium was used for the big duels.
The main stadium was already packed as the opening ceremony was starting later that day. The centre field was covered in rainbows stripes and had "Miami Championship" written on it. In a gantry, Nico Smiley was commentating with his microphone and stirring up the crowd.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! In just under an hour our opening ceremony will begin and we have a special guest in the crowd today. You rarely see him as he is busy running LDS, it is the duel genius himself, the man who reached pro status at a young age, it is Reiji Akaba!" Reiji stood in the gantry along with Himika Akaba. Both were waving.
Inside the centre, Yuzu and the others had arrived as did Rin who had changed back into her normal outfit. The inside was a waiting room filled with seats and different desks for everyone to register for the next round. The room was covered by an outer glass dome.
Shuzo had walked over from the desk and had given each of the You Show students a black card to be used later. Each of the students was gathered around Shuzo. "Okay guys. You are all registered to go and you will enter in ten minutes. I have to go to the stands now but I wish you all the best of luck. Yoko says good luck by the way Yuya, she will be up in the stands with me."
"Oh ok! Tell her thanks." said Yuya.
"Remember, I don't know what Reiji is planning with this tournament but be careful. Also extra luck to my precious Yuzu!" said Shuzo as he embarrassed Yuzu before leaving.
"Dad!" yelled Yuzu in embarrassment. Shuzo departed and the room was slowly getting more filled. Yuzu looked around and there stood in the background, they could see a welcome sight. They could see a bruised Gongenzaka. Yuzu and Yuya ran over to him.
"Gongenzaka!" yelled Yuya. Gongenzaka looked at the two and he smiled as well.
"Yuya! Yuzu!" the three all came around and reunited. "When did you get out of hospital?!" said Yuzu. "Are you still hurt?" Gongenzaka smirked.
"Slightly but it takes a lot more for the man Gongenzaka to be kept down. I am ready to duel with my new power!" he replied.
"New power?" asked Yuzu. "Did you learn a new summon? In three days?!"
"I did. Synchro" he said. "When you're in hospital, you have a lot of free time."
"But how did you?! Learning a new summon takes a while to learn?" added Yuya.
"My father, he is a wise old man. He may not teach anything other than Steadfast Dueling but he supported the decision to evolve our schools style. He is a quick learner and teacher." replied Gongenzaka.
"Wow. That's amazing, I'm happy to see that you can evolve your own style." said Yuzu.
"Well you two added more to Entertainment Dueling by using Pendulums."
"Who is on your team?" asked Yuya.
"A guy called Gen Ankokuji and another top duelist from our school." replied Gongenzaka. "Talking of which, I must get back to them since we need to be together to enter the field."
"Ok well we will see you out on the field!" replied Yuzu as they went back to Rin. Yuzu continued to look around and Rin noticed this. "Why are you staring around like that?" Rin said.
"I'm just wondering if anyone else from the other dimensions will be here. Reiji wants answers." Yuzu replied.
"Well you said Reiji gained power from the items to reopen the portals. All the dimensions can be opened at will now." Rin replied, she sounded sad.
"I know. You miss Yugo."
"Yes. That idiot would lose his head if it wasn't attached to him." said Rin in an annoyed tone.
"We will get you back Rin, but since you're in this mess as well, we will have to do this together." said Yuzu.
"I know... thank you Yuzu. Since coming to this dimension I might have been slightly rude to you but you and Shuzo have been great to me. I just hope Yugo is ok." said Rin as she turned to face Yuya who didn't notice Rin looking at him.
"DARLING!"
Yuya could hear a voice coming from somewhere and he quickly saw Mieru running up to grab him. "What the hell?!" Yuya side stepped and Mieru went flying past him. Mieru landed on the floor.
"Mi..Mieru?!" shouted Yuzu as she looked down at the ground.
"Hi Yuzu!" she shouted in response as she quickly got back up. "Hi Yuya!" she waved her hand at Yuya.
"Hi... Mieru." responded Yuya. "I see your school got three wins then?"
"Yes. It was easy!" she replied. "I will see you out there Yuya!" She walked off waving. Yuya gave an awkward wave while Yuzu looked annoyed.
"I have a bad feeling about her." Yuzu said to herself. Rin picked up on this.
"You jealous?" Rin asked playfully.
"NO I AM NOT!" shouted Yuzu. Yuya once again was oblivious to all of this.
"Duelists. Please be prepared to enter the stage in your categories and teams."
The duelists had heard the loud speaker and Ayu, Futoshi and Tastuya all made their way to the entrance.
"Good luck guys!" shouted Yuzu and Yuya as the three all waved back while the Youth section went in first. As the Junior Youth watched on, Yuzu saw another familiar face. "Oh no. Not him." said Yuzu as she saw Shingo Sawatari.
Shingo saw her and he walked over with a swagger. "Ah. I see you guys made here as well. Clearly the standards aren't all that high then." he said to the three.
"Hi Shingo..." replied Yuzu with sarcasm as she tried to keep her anger in check.
"Shingo." added a stern Yuya. Shingo looked at him and Rin who had joined them.
"Yuya... and the girl from Synchro." he replied.
"So you qualified as well? But how... LDS is only one school." Yuya said.
"Wrong. LDS owns many branches across the world and I am registered to one of them. Eighty percent of the people in this tournament are LDS." Shingo said.
"Sounds like a loophole." said Rin.
"You can talk... you're only here by accident." Shingo spoke to Rin.
"OI!" said Yuzu.
"Well its true isn't it? Reiji told me everything about the whole dimension nonsense."
"After being his lapdog..." Yuzu replied.
"I WAS NOT HIS LAPDOG!" Shingo yelled but he coughed and went back to speaking in his own tone. "I merely did a few different jobs for him."
"Fine. Why did he organise this tournament?" asked Yuya. Shingo shrugged his shoulders.
"Why would I know that? I haven't heard from him for a while. LDS have been keeping quiet. Now if you excuse me, I need to return my team! Ootomo, Yamabe and Kakimoto will be lost without me!" Shingo walked off.
"Four in a team? How unfair." said Yuya.
"Reiji probably gave them an extra slot due to lack of brain cells." replied Rin.
"Junior Youth. Please report to the main desk and prepare to enter the field."
"That's us." said Yuya. "Let's go." Rin and Yuzu nodded in response. The three all lined up in a tunnel and they could see numerous duel schools in the same line.
There were different duelists gathered. Some dressed like magicians while some wore knight amour. Bit by bit, Nico Smiley would announce a duel school and the line got shorter. Eventually You Show were next in line.
"Next up we have a style of Action Dueling which we thought was long gone but they have fought back with a magnificent show. It's You Show Duel School!"
A loud cheer went up and Yuzu, Rin and Yuya all walked out onto the field. Their sight from the darkened tunnel soon turned into a bright light of the Maiami sunshine. A loud road could be heard as they entered the stadium.
Yuzu and the others could see the entire stadium cheering for them. A stark contrast to when Yuzu dueled against Shingo first time around. They looked around; high in the stands they could see Shuzo and Yoko cheering them on. Yuzu and Yuya waved back.
As Yuzu continued walked, she noticed Reiji looking at her with a stern look, Yuya also noticed this and both looked back to him with the same gesture. Rin meanwhile was taking this all into her stride."What a stage..." she thought. "I and Yugo dreamed of making the Friendship Cup and dueling the champion."
School by school, they all gathered onto the field along with their Youth counterparts. The Junior Youth slowly came to an end but as the last group came out, they saw a shock sight. Walking out with two random LDS students was a male in a battered coat. It was Shun. "No way..." said Yuya as they saw him enter.
"How the hell did he get here? Last time I saw him, he had escaped LDS." replied Yuzu.
"So he's that XYZ dimension person." added Rin as she saw him for the first time.
"Yeah. His sister looks like us, Rin." added Yuzu. "But she went back to XYZ and he is here alone. Why is he with LDS?!" Shun slowly walked into the field with his typical cold shoulder body language. Shun turned around and saw Reiji high in the stands with Reiji looking back.
A Few Days Earlier
Shun was walking around the streets, he looked exhausted as it had been days since he escaped LDS and dueled Yuzu. He was leaning against a building in an alleyway. He looked injured and tired.
"Damn this world. Stupid Akaba! Removed my dimension crossing software from my duel disk. Why would he let me go?!" he said to himself.
"Because you are a useful asset to me." Shun looked around as he heard a male voice, he could see a figure in a dark blue hoodie walking up to him. Shun looked surprised.
"Who are you?!" He shouted.
"An ally." The figure removed his hood and it revealed Reiji Akaba.
"YOU!" shouted Shun as he launched a punch towards Reiji but Reiji caught the punch with his open palm and pushed him back.
"You're a good duelist but you're poorly trained in combat. Thankfully this war is done with cards and not force." he replied calmly.
"What do you want Akaba?! Shun replied.
"I tagged your duel disk so I could find you." Reiji said.
"So you're stalking me?"
"No. I removed your dimension software so that I could keep you here. I knew you would be useful to me. "
"KEEP ME HERE?! As a caged animal?!" Shun replied.
"Basically. But I have good reasons."
"Reasons?! You're keeping my away from my home, away from my sister! Academia are there! The Resistance will come for you!"
"If they were going to come then they would have come for me now. Something tells me you're little group is losing."
"How dare you! What about Ruri?!"
"I'm sure she can protect herself. I need you here." Reiji replied.
"But that girl is after her?!"
"I said she can look after herself. She escaped from my place with ease. I kept you here because I knew I would need you, for the fight."
"Fight?" asked Shun. "I feared an evil dimension was out there, and I was correct. However I just assumed we could fend it off with our LDS students. But then I scanned your mind and saw the evil of Academia. I saw how organized they were and what strength they have. Then I had to come up with another plan. The Lancers.
"Lancers?"
"A team who we will take across the dimensions and recruit help. We will take the fight to Academia while everyone else defends this dimension."
"And you want to recruit me?" replied Shun.
"Yes. I kept you here without a purpose but I knew you would be useful to me somehow."
"You slimy snake!"
"But now you are needed. I did organize the first three members of my team but that fell."
"How did it fall?" said Shun, slightly taken aback. "Two were carded." said Reiji.
"Carded?!" Shun responded. "Academia is here?!"
"Yes. One was here but got sent back... and one of the members was brainwashed by Academia."
"Brainwashed? What context, did she change sides with her own will?"
"No idea, but someone inside my organization is a mole for Academia and I can't trust anyone. Someone brainwashed her from within. I need you to go into a tournament I am organizing and spot out potential recruits. I can't be everywhere at once." Reiji replied. "I'm looking for the best duelists as well as those who can work in a team. This is my mandate."
"So you want me to spy for you? And why would I do that?! You're father is what caused this mess!" Reiji clenched his fist.
"We shall disagree on that as I have said. My father would never do such a thing."
"But why would I join with you? You kept me locked here in this dimension?!"
"Because I saw you're memories and fights with Academia. You know you are losing this war, why else would you have come here and try to use me as a bargaining tool." Reiji replied while pushing up his red glasses. "No one knows I am here so you will be my little secret."
"I can't join up with a snake! LET ME GO HOME! No one ever tells you no do they?!"
"Then you will remain wandering this dimension. Alone." Shun gritted his teeth. "I have put you in a hopeless position. Don't work with me, then you will never see your sister again. I tried to be nice but as ever, people never make it easy. I am the only one who can open the portals at will from this dimension."
"You're lower then a snake. I should have known, you're name is Akaba! I see why Leo Akaba is your father. You're just like him."
"So we have a deal?" Reiji said smugly. Shun gritted his teeth.
Flashback End
After the senior duelists had entered the stadium, Nico Smiley was ready with his microphone in head.
"Folks! We have our duelists and they are ready to find out who is the best! Now a word from the LDS CEO, Mr Reiji Akaba!" Loud cheers went around the stadium as everyone turned to face Reiji.
"Thank you." said Reiji as he stood up with a microphone in hand. "I designed this tournament to truly see which duel school is the best. Different styles, different duelists and now of course different summons. We stand here as fellow duelists and all of us I am sure, will wish to fight fair and square, with dignity and honor." Rin blew her lips in disgust.
"Dignity and honor, he can talk." she said.
"Now I wish you all the best of luck!" Reiji concluded.
"Thank you CEO! Now! This is how the format will work. You qualified as teams but now you will fight on your own!" shouted Nico.
"WHAT?!" yelled Yuzu along with the rest of the crowd.
"Yes! You will fight for your own school while fighting for yourself!"
"No way." said Yuya.
"Now please place your registration cards into your duel disks and find out your opponent!" Rin, Yuzu and Yuya all grabbed the black cards from their pockets and looked at them.
"We got these upon registration." said Yuzu. "Here we go." she said as each one of them placed the cards into their duel disks.
Yuzu's duel disk showed her picture and then a "VS" appeared. It showed a picture of a girl in a blue furry winter jacket. It showed that she was up against a girl called Olga.
Yuya placed his in and it showed up a picture of a magician. He was due to face Yuzo Tanegashima.
Finally for You Show, Rin had been drawn to play Mikiyo Naname.
"Interesting." said Yuzu. "I take on a student from the LDS Arctic site."
"Mine is a magic style duelist." replied Yuya.
"And I get an idol... great." said Rin with sarcasm. The three made their way to Gongenzaka who they had now found.
"Who did you get Gongenzaka?" said Yuya.
"The person the man wanted." Gongenzaka showed them his opponent on his duel disk. Isao Kachidoki.
"Kachidoki?!" said Yuzu. "Are you ready? He was brutal."
"Not just brutal. He went against the spirit of dueling." he replied. "I the man Gongenzaka is ready."
A while later, Yuzu and the rest of You Show as well as Gongenzaka were now sitting down in the players' lounge. The tournament would begin in an hour. Yuzu looked at the three kids.
"So you guys all got good opposition then?" she asked.
"Yeah! Nothing You Show can't handle though!" Ayu replied.
"You're match is first, isn't it Yuya?" Shuzo asked.
"Yes. I will begin in an hour. Whatever Reiji has planned for us... we will be ready." Yuya replied.
Reiji's Office
Reiji was looking at a holoscreen and he was looking at Shun's opponent. It was Shingo. Himika walked in.
"Reiji. What are you doing? We need to observe the tournament." Reiji closed his holoscreen. "Is something wrong?"
"No Mother. Just checking out the competition." he said.
"Ok then. Don't be late." she replied. Reiji narrowed his eyes at Himika as she left; he looked at her with a non trusting stare.