Starting Notes:
Welcome back! This chapter was a nice cooldown after the last two chapters, lmao. I think I gave people the idea that the breakout was going to be super intense, but it's really not. I'll explain more in the end notes, but enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 32: Safe and Sound
The Underground Arena was deserted, as expected. After Security's raid on it several days ago, no one had been confident enough to return here. They would definitely come back eventually, but for now, it was perfectly empty—and thus, perfectly safe for her to investigate.
The woman walked through the deserted corridors, taking down notes on everything that she could see. She had plenty of theories about this place—curiosity about how it managed to always reopen and run for a few months before being shut down again, theories about how the manager of this circuit always managed to get off scot free. Of course, without proof, that was all that her thoughts were—theories.
That was what she was here for. To find proof and answers.
She headed up towards the booth. Inside, she didn't find any of the documents that she had been hoping would be there. However, the absence of the documents was circumstantial proof of what she had been suspecting.
She had been wondering for a long time if the Underground Arena was an inside job—run by Security, to catch more criminals by luring them into the arena. After all, everything about it was too convenient…
She spotted some crumpled papers beneath one of the audience seats, and she reached down, picking the paper up.
"Featuring special guests today to the Underground Arena," she read out loud. "With interesting new Special Summoning methods, they'll entertain the crowd with their savage power! First, Dennis Mackfield, and second, Shun Kurosaki…"
Alright. If these two were here, that meant that they had been captured by Security. They were just individuals, and more importantly, she didn't know who they were, so there was no point. What was more important was the mention of new Special Summoning methods. From the leak within Security, she had found out that there had been some odd duelists with new summoning methods that had shown up within the City recently. Were these two part of that group then?
"What did you just say?"
For a moment, the woman didn't respond—but then, her brain processed that she was not alone down here and she blanched, falling backwards and adjusting her glasses. Behind her was a tall young woman with black hair in a long braid, staring at her intently with eyes the same dark colour as her hair. Sitting behind her was a girl that was messing with her green hair bun, which seemed to have loosened. (It looked like a person's hair after they rode on a D-Wheel—no matter how tightly a person tied their hair, it would loosen against the sharp air pressure that came with riding along the streets)
The black-haired girl stepped forward. There was something sharp to her movements—not elegant in any form, but alert and ready to respond to anything.
"What did I just hear you say?" The dangerous girl repeated.
"Um—" She flailed. "I need to go!" Still holding onto the piece of paper, she was about to bolt, before she realised that while she was looking at the dark-haired girl, the green-haired girl had carefully positioned herself in front of the exit. "Um, um, I'm just a humble investigative reporter, really, and I'm just going to leave now."
"One of these days, your curiosity is going to get you in trouble, and I'm not going to be there to bail you out. Be more careful. If not for your own sake, then at least for mine."
"And you're really intimidating me," she said, directing her words towards the green-haired girl. "So, uh, if you could move aside…"
"I'm not threatening you," the green-haired girl said, flashing a confident, sweet smile that would melt the hearts of anyone in the world. Not even the reporter was immune to it.
"I am," the black-haired girl said sternly. The green-haired girl sighed, leaning back.
"Alright, never mind. Apparently we are. I've never threatened someone before, this is a new experience. What is the common feeling when threatening someone?"
"Boredom or stress," the black-haired girl replied. Neither of them had taken their eyes off the reporter this entire time.
"Oh! Interesting."
"Um," the reporter—a black-haired woman with swirly glasses—said, taking a step forward. "See, I really need to get back, but I can tell that you two want something from me, so…" They were probably Commons who were trying to rob her, right? Maybe they were participants of this illegal circuit that had ended up without any income at all. "How about we decide things in a duel? I win, you tell me what you know about this place and uh, anything else I decide to ask you."
"Huh? Dueling?" The green-haired girl shrugged. "I mean—"
"All yours, Makishima." The black-haired girl leaned back on a seat. "It's not like we've had to deal with anyone from this dimension—she might be a good measure for seeing what our opponents will be like. If we win, she answers any questions we have."
"... well, I guess!" The girl raised her duel disk. "You have a deal, miss…"
"Uh."
"Oh, come on, it's not like telling me your name is going to change anything."
"Carly Nagisa," Carly blurted out, and immediately regretted it. In an attempt to regain some ground, she gestured to the girl frantically. "Um—what's your name?"
"Hitoda Makishima," Hitoda said, offering another one of those sweet smiles. "Now, we'll uphold that promise, yeah?"
Carly nervously raised her duel disk. She had learned a few new tricks, but…
Well, hopefully it was enough.
[DUEL!]
Carly Nagisa: 4000LP
Hitoda Makishima: 4000LP
[Turn 1: Carly] [H:5]
"I'll start!" Carly called shyly. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Terraforming! And I'll add a Field Spell to my hand, like Future Visions!" She activated the card, and bright rectangular figures in the shape of cards spun around them, showing different places from around the world. "And I'll Normal Summon Fortune Lady Light!" A blonde-haired girl appeared, floating in front of her and spinning around through the air, holding onto a yellow crystal-tipped staff in her hands.
[Fortune Lady Light (1*/?/?/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"And when a monster is Normal Summoned while Future Visions is face-up on the field, I can banish it until my next Standby Phase. And um, that applies to all monsters you Normal Summon too!" Fortune Lady Light vanished into one of the strange card-shaped portals. "I will then activate the effect of Fortune Lady Light. Since she left the field by a card effect, I can Special Summon a "Fortune Lady" monster from my deck. Come—Fortune Lady Water!" A blue-haired woman dressed in a blue robe appeared on her field, looking rather calm and holding a thin grey staff between her hands.
[Fortune Lady Water (4*/?/?/WATER/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Fortune Lady Water's original attack points are equal to 300 times her Level," Carly explained.
[Fortune Lady Water: ? → 1200ATK/DEF]
"I'll then activate Pot of Desires. I'll banish ten cards from the top of my deck to draw two cards. And then, I'll activate the effect of Fortune Fairy Hikari! Since I drew her, I can Special Summon her from my hand!" A younger, cuter version of Fortune Lady Light appeared, with her hair sticking up in the shape of wings. She seemed rather cheerful.
[Fortune Fairy Hikari (1*/0/0/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Since Hikari was Special Summoned from the hand, I can send a monster I control to the graveyard to Special Summon a Level 1 Spellcaster monster from my deck! I will send Hikari herself to the graveyard to Special Summon Fortune Lady Past from my deck!" A woman in a dark cloak and with an orange staff in her hand appeared, a large eye on her hood and a sinister laugh coming from her lips.
[Fortune Lady Past (1*/?/?/DARK/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect)]
"A Tuner!" Hitoda called, sounding genuinely intrigued.
"Yeah." Carly had a little more confidence now—after all, everything had gone completely according to plan in her head. "Past's original attack and defense points are equal to her Level by 200."
[Fortune Lady Past: ? → 200ATK/DEF]
"I'll, uh, activate Fortune Vision, and add a "Fortune Lady" card from my deck to my hand! I'll then set two cards facedown! Over to you!"
Hitoda nodded, though she seemed a little disappointed. "I thought I was going to see a Synchro Summon, since I haven't really gotten to duel someone with a Synchro Monster yet… ah, well." She smirked. "You and I are very similar, I think!"
"Huh?"
"Our decks, at least. Yours are fortune tellers, right? Mine are something similar!"
[Turn 2: Hitoda] [H:6]
"Draw," Hitoda said. "I will activate the Quickplay Spell, Spirit Charmers. I'll discard a card and take two cards from my deck which fall under at least one of the following criteria—"Charmer" monsters, "Familiar-Possessed" monsters or "Possessed" Spell or Traps." She swiped two cards from her deck. "I will set one and add another to my hand." A set card appeared in her backrow. Carly blinked. "You've cut off my Normal Summon, so I suppose I'll have to lay low for a moment longer. I'll set a monster and another card. Then, I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Awakening of the Possessed!"
"I'll activate the Counter Trap, Bending Destiny!" Carly called. "I'll negate your card's activation, and banish it! Then, it returns to your hand during the End Phase!"
"Oh." Hitoda blinked. Her card vanished, but she shrugged. "That's fine, I guess. I'll end my turn with that." Awakening of the Possessed floated back to her hand.
… what? Why wasn't her opponent making any large moves? Carly had been prepared to protect her weaker monsters, but Hitoda hadn't even made an attempt to attack them. It was baffling. Fortune Vision would have reduced the damage from the first attack to 0 too, since a card had been banished from the field of Carly's opponent, but… none of that preparation had been needed in the slightest.
"It's your turn," Hitoda said, sounding a bit amused. "Don't worry, you'll see in time. Or predict it. Isn't that what a fortune teller should do?"
[Turn 3: Carly] [H:2]
"Draw," Carly said. "During my Standby Phase, Fortune Lady Light returns to the field." The yellow-haired girl reappeared on her field. "And all Fortune Ladies I control gain a Level during the Standby Phase! Their attack and defense points increase accordingly!"
[Fortune Lady Light: 1* + 1* = 2*; 200 + 200 = 400ATK/DEF]
[Fortune Lady Past: 1* + 1* = 2*; 200 + 200 = 400ATK/DEF]
[Fortune Lady Water: 4* + 1* = 5*; 1200 + 300 = 1500ATK/DEF]
"And I'll tune the Level 2 Fortune Lady Past to the Level 5 Fortune Lady Water!" She declared, feeling a moment of hope. She had managed to learn how to properly set up a Synchro Summon recently, and it was time for her efforts to bear fruit. For her to try to match that man that she cared for so much. "Infinity, become the magic that I wield and tear open a path to clairvoyance! Synchro Summon! Level 7! Fortune Lady Every!" A pretty woman with light blue hair in a white dress appeared, dancing around in front of Carly with a staff in her hands. Her first Synchro Monster. Carly's hands shook slightly.
[Fortune Lady Every (7*/?/?/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Synchro/Effect)]
"Fortune Lady Every's original attack and defense points are equal to its Level times 400!"
[Fortune Lady Every: ? → 2800ATK/DEF]
Hitoda smiled, tilting her head. "I'm glad to see that!" She said, sounding calm but also rather friendly. "It wouldn't have been fun without that."
"I will activate the Spell Card, Time Passage! Fortune Lady Every's Level increases by 3 until the End Phase!" The blue-haired woman glowed, powering up even more.
[Fortune Lady Every: 7* + 3* = 10*; 2800 + 400 x 3 = 4000ATK]
"And I'll activate the Spell Card, Fortune Lady Calling! Since I control a "Fortune Lady" monster, I can Special Summon another Fortune Lady from the deck, but I cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn, except Synchro Monsters! Come from the deck, Fortune Lady Dark!" A purple-haired, conventional-looking witch appeared, holding onto a gold staff with a purple gem in the middle.
[Fortune Lady Dark (5*/?/?/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Fortune Lady Dark's original attack and defense points are equal to her Level times 400!"
[Fortune Lady Dark: ? → 2000ATK/DEF]
"Now, Fortune Lady Dark attacks your set monster!"
And then, Every could attack directly, and—
Dark cast a spell, shadows flying towards Hitoda's set monster, just as the green-haired girl flipped up her set card.
"Continuous Trap, Unpossessed," Hitoda said. "My "Charmer" monsters can't be destroyed by battle." The shadows dissipated harmlessly, and a white-haired girl stood up, looking rather nervous, a Happy Lover floating next to her. "This is Lyna the Light Charmer."
[Lyna the Light Charmer (3*/500/1500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Flip/Effect)]
Charmer…
"And when Lyna the Light Charmer is flipped face-up, I can target and take control of a LIGHT monster you control," Hitoda said, and Carly reeled. Hitoda smiled gently. "I'll take control of Fortune Lady Every!"
Carly paled slightly. Her strongest monster was dragged over to her opponent's side of the field.
I got too anxious! I should have waited to see what other cards she could bring out before I used my Counter Trap… especially because she gets the card back anyway. Ugh, this is the worst…
"I will end my turn," she said. Her set card should still protect her, right?
[Fortune Lady Every: 10* → 7*; 4000 → 2800ATK]
[Turn 4: Hitoda] [H:4]
"Draw," Hitoda said. She smiled to herself. "Now, as a sign of goodwill, let me share something with you. If my Charmer leaves the field, you get your monster back. Which is why I have to make use of her while I have her. During the Standby Phase, Fortune Lady Every's Level increases by 1, and I'll banish a monster you control!" She made use of the effect of Carly's monster, gesturing to Fortune Lady Dark and causing her to vanish from the field in a flash of light.
[Fortune Lady Every: 7* + 1* = 8*; 2800 + 400 = 3200ATK]
"Since a monster I control was banished by a card effect, I can use Fortune Vision's effect!" Carly called. "This turn, my monsters can't be destroyed by card effects!"
"I don't think I have any effects that destroy a monster," Hitoda said with a small smirk. With a flourish, she pointed to both monsters. "I will activate the Continuous Spell, Awakening of the Possessed again. Open, multi-coloured circuit. Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are two monsters, including a LIGHT monster. I will set Lyna the Light Charmer and Fortune Lady Every in the Link Markers! Appear now, ascended figure of the light! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Lyna the Light Charmer, Lustrous!"
A white-haired woman appeared, a golden fairy floating next to her, eyes closed and looking rather peaceful.
[Lyna the Light Charmer, Lustrous (L2/1850/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]
More importantly, Carly was confused. What on earth was a Link Summon? Was this one of those alternative summoning methods other than Synchro?
Wait, so when she had said those two people's names aloud, had the two of them overheard her and assumed that she knew something about their comrades, the other people that used these different summoning methods?
"Wait," Carly called, but before she could say anything else, Hitoda chuckled.
"No," she said. "I don't think I will—not in a duel, at least. Awakening of the Possessed allows me to draw a card" She gestured to Lyna. "With the effect of Lyna, I will revive a LIGHT monster from your graveyard to my field." Fortune Lady Every reappeared on Hitoda's field. "And she's at Level 7 again, I'm assuming. Anyway, Awakening of the Possessed grants my monsters 300 attack points for each different Attribute I control, and with Unpossessed's effect, when Lyna attacks your monster, she gains 800 attack points. Lyna attacks Fortune Lady Light!"
[Lyna the Light Charmer, Lustrous: 1850 + 300 + 800 = 2950ATK]
[Fortune Lady Every: 2800 + 300 = 3100ATK]
"Trap Card, Slip of Fortune!" Carly called. "I'll negate your attack and banish my monster until the next Standby Phase!" Fortune Lady Light vanished again. "And since Fortune Lady Light left the field by a card effect, I can Special Summon another "Fortune Lady" monster from my deck! Come—Fortune Lady Fire!" In front of her, in Attack Position, a woman in faded red robes appeared, red tattoos on her face.
[Fortune Lady Fire (2*/?/?/FIRE/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Fortune Lady Fire's original attack and defense points are equal to her Level times 200!"
[Fortune Lady Fire: ? → 400ATK/DEF]
"And when Fortune Lady Fire is Special Summoned in Attack Position by the effect of a "Fortune Lady" card, I can target and destroy a face-up monster you control!" A large fireball shot towards Fortune Lady Every, destroying her. "And then I can inflict damage to you equal to that monster's attack points on the field!" A large fireball hit Hitoda, and the green-haired girl took a step back, but gave no other visible reaction.
Hitoda: 4000 - 2800 = 1200LP
"Meet karma," the black-haired girl commented from behind Carly, and the green-haired girl laughed as she seemed to recover.
"I mean, what's prettier than a blast of fire?" Hitoda said. "It's what people like to see the most too, anyway." She nodded to Carly. "I'll set another monster and a card, and then I'll end my turn, Carly-san. All yours."
"During the End Phase, since Fortune Lady Every is in the graveyard, I can banish another "Fortune Lady" from the graveyard to revive her!" The blue-haired woman reappeared on Carly's field. Hitoda didn't seem surprised. Clearly, she had read the effects of the card when she had taken control of it.
[Turn 5: Carly] [H:1]
"Draw!" Carly called. "Fortune Lady Light returns to me! And my Fortune Ladies gain another Level!"
[Fortune Lady Fire: 2* + 1* = 3*; 400 + 200 = 600ATK/DEF]
[Fortune Lady Every: 7* + 1* = 8*; 2800 + 400 = 3200ATK/DEF]
[Fortune Lady Light: 1* + 1* = 2*; 200 + 200 = 400ATK/DEF]
"And since Every gained a Level, I will banish your, uh, Link Monster! Wrongful Warp!" The woman seemed to fall through a portal, vanishing from the field. "I will then activate the Spell Card, Fortune's Future. By returning my banished Fortune Lady Water to the graveyard, I will draw two cards!" She nodded to her monsters. "I will Normal Summon Fortune Lady Wind!" A rather calm and composed green-haired woman appeared.
[Fortune Lady Wind (3*/?/?/WIND/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Fortune Lady Wind's original attack and defense points are equal to her Level times 300!"
[Fortune Lady Wind: ? → 900ATK/DEF]
"And with her effect, I can destroy a Spell or Trap you control for each "Fortune Lady" monster I control! I'll destroy your three backrow cards!" However, the effect didn't activate. "H-huh?"
Hitoda shrugged. "Does it say 'up to' or 'equal to'? If it says 'equal to', then sorry, but that doesn't work, since you have four "Fortune Lady" monsters but I only have three backrow cards for you to destroy."
"O-oh!" Why didn't she realise that? Oh no! That meant that she couldn't get rid of Unpossessed, and if Hitoda's set monster was another one of those Charmers…
Well, Carly currently had two Attributes on her field, so she had a one in three chance of getting one of her monsters stolen—and more importantly, Hitoda had already seen part of what her deck could do—
Wait.
"Thanks to my Field Spell, Fortune Lady Wind is banished until my next Standby Phase!" Carly called. "And now, Fortune Lady Fire attacks your set monster!" She called. Fire shot forward, sending forth a bright burst of flames.
"It's Aussa the Earth Charmer," Hitoda said. In front of her, the brunette tomboy appeared, adjusting her glasses.
[Aussa the Earth Charmer (3*/500/1500/EARTH/Spellcaster/Flip/Effect)]
Carly raised a hand as the backlash of the attack hit her.
Carly: 4000 - 900 = 3100LP
She couldn't help but be a little crestfallen.
"I know what you were thinking," Hitoda said. "You were hoping that my effects were compulsory, and I would have to take your weaker monster, allowing you to attack it with Fortune Lady Every for the win. And if it wasn't, you would just have to wait until the next Standby Phase and banish that monster with Every's effect." Carly blinked—for all that the girl seemed a little too flashy with her moves, there was clear substance behind them. "And you know what? I can appreciate the effort. You're completely right. If it was Hiita, your plan might have worked." She raised a finger. "But it didn't."
It really didn't. And Carly had no way to clear away that monster, if it was protected from battle destruction.
"I'll end my turn," she said reluctantly. She didn't have any way to protect her monsters right now, but at least her opponent didn't seem to run a very offence-based deck? The fact that somehow, Future Visions hadn't slowed down her opponent at all was something that she had never seen before.
[Turn 6: Hitoda] [H:4]
"Draw," Hitoda said. "Now, I'll—"
"Makishima," the dark-haired girl said, rubbing her forehead. "You've dragged this on long enough. I know that look on your face. Hurry up and end this."
"... well, be a killjoy, why not?" Hitoda's hand shifted to a different card from the one that she had been about to play. "I'll Special Summon Inari Fire from my hand, since I control a Spellcaster monster!" A small orange fox surrounded by flickering flames appeared.
[Inari Fire (4*/1500/200/FIRE/Pyro/Effect)]
"Sorry, Carly-san, but apparently, Nue-san wants me to stop playing nice." Inari Fire and Aussa both went up in flames, the flames coalescing into a single Main Monster Zone. "By tributing both Inari Fire, a FIRE monster and Aussa, a Spellcaster monster, I can Special Summon Awakening of the Possessed - Greater Inari Fire from my deck!" The fox reemerged, far larger, an evolution of the monster from before, flames burning down everything.
[Awakening of the Possessed - Greater Inari Fire (5*/2000/200/FIRE/Pyro/Effect)]
"I will activate Greater Inari Fire's effect," Hitoda continued. "I can inflict damage to you equal to the original attack points of a monster you control. And since your Fortune Ladies have their effects change their original attack points specifically, I will target Fortune Lady Every!" The flames shot forward, and Carly's eyes widened.
The flames washed over her, wiping her out.
Carly: 3100 - 3200 = 0LP
Winner: Hitoda Makishima!
Wait—so had her opponent just been holding back this entire time? Had Carly been imagining that she was strong enough to hold her own?
"I'm not an aggressive player," Hitoda said. "Nor do I want to be. My dueling style uses the strength of others against them." She smiled contentedly.
(A nicer person might have seen Carly's lack of confidence in herself and attempted to help. Both Hitoda and Nue noticed her mild distress, but neither of them addressed it—one out of apathy, one too consumed with concern for someone else.)
"So. Our questions."
"You're the people that are using summoning methods that aren't from here, right?"
Nue raised an eyebrow. "How do you know about that?" She asked, seeming to be the one leading the conversation.
"Security's on high alert. Apparently, they think that all of you and the people like you are a threat."
"A threat?" Nue muttered. "Then—you said his name just now. Shun. What happened to Shun?"
Hitoda let out a slightly mocking cough from behind her. "And, you know, all the rest of the Lancers, but specifically Kurosaki."
"Not the time," the girl snapped tensely.
"You know, I think we're all strung up—" Carly cut herself off as the girl turned her glare back towards her. "Um—I think they got arrested, if they were here? Security conducted a raid on this place earlier this week."
"Arrested…" Nue narrowed her eyes. "Shun knows how to stay discrete. Something must have happened—something unexpected. But if they're arrested, then…"
"Do we need to break them out?" Hitoda asked.
"No," Nue said with visible hesitation. "If the rest of our comrades are together, then they should be fine… Reiji Akaba has built up an understanding with the Council. At most, we should be able to get them released by talking to him. For now, we don't do anything with regards to that, but there's something else that I want to find out."
Who was Reiji Akaba? Was that their leader?
"You, glasses girl." Nue flipped her braid over her shoulder, looking at her. "Who runs this place?"
And Carly was faced with a decision. Because these two were most certainly dangerous, but they didn't seem to be dangerous to her—they clearly had priorities elsewhere. And if they could finally get this dangerous place to shut down, the city would be better off for it.
And well, Carly was dating the man who cared the most about this city. Of course she wanted things to get better here.
"He's called Gallagher," she said, and then, completely unprompted, she opened up her backpack and handed over all the information that she had on Gallagher. She had copies of it back in the office, after all. "Here you go."
Nue took it, looking suspicious.
"I want this city to be better," she said. "So, promise me that you'll figure out a way to shut him down."
"... it's a deal, Carly Nagisa," Nue said. She turned to Hitoda. "You said you were bored, right? Should we go do this now?"
"Take revenge for your boyfriend being sabotaged?" Hitoda smiled. "I'd be… well, I'd be fine with helping."
Carly looked at the two of them. She took a deep breath.
"If you find anything incriminating about him there," she said, "will you send it to me?"
"Why not come with us?" Nue said, not making eye contact with her. "You can find your evidence yourself."
Carly gulped, but then, she nodded. This wasn't how she had intended to spend today, but… at least it would help with her investigations, right?
Gallagher was perhaps one of the better-known criminals in the City, and yet, for some reason, he had never been arrested by Security. Rumours had circulated about how that could be possible—some had claimed that it might have to do with bribery, some had claimed that it might have to do with being an informant, and the wildest theory that Carly herself had ever come across was that Gallagher was the Security Director's long lost family or something like that, and that was why Security tended to give him a certain level of mercy.
From what Carly had tracked down, the man himself had no criminal record either, despite everyone knowing that he was a criminal. He was a Top that seemed to earn an extraordinarily high amount of money every month, despite supposedly just working as an independent musician.
Nue and Hitoda seemed like opposites. Despite one of them being far too uptight and the other being a little too laidback, between the two of them, they seemed to have an extraordinarily high amount of experience in staying hidden. The two of them managed to get into the residential area that Gallagher lived in without being spotted, and they managed to get Carly there along with them.
"How are you so sneaky?"
"Used to have to avoid being seen when I was a Charisma Duelist," Hitoda remarked. Carly blinked. What did that mean?
Nue held out a hand, stopping them in their tracks. "The man has security guards," she muttered. "I saw him upstairs by the window, but we will have to go the long way round to get to him."
"What are you planning on doing?"
"Figuring out how Shun got mixed up with him," Nue said, clearly referring to the person who Hitoda had called her boyfriend. "And seeing if my brother got mixed up with him too."
Brother, huh?
Carly sighed.
The resulting beatdown was so easy that it wasn't even worth showing on screen. After letting Carly have the evidence, the two of them headed back towards the Council building.
When they got back, Tsukikage popped out of nowhere. "You two have been out for a while," he said, his voice rather deep. "Reiji-dono wants to know where you've been."
"I've been looking for Shun and Yuto," Nue said, not even bothering to hide it. "And I know where Shun is."
"You do?" Tsukikage's eyes widened.
"Yes. So let Reiji Akaba know that we'll have to get them out of prison."
Nue turned to walk off. Hitoda hurried after her.
"You're following me around quite a lot today," Nue said curtly. "What do you want?"
"You're the most interesting one here," Hitoda explained, as though that was a perfectly valid response. "Tell me about your experiences, oh almighty Nue-san."
Nue rolled her eyes. "... come along," she said. She glanced behind Hitoda. "Were you watching us? Where's your brother?"
Reira was looking at them shyly. When Nue called him out, he ducked his head.
"Well, you can come along too. I can't leave you stranded here."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, after Tsukikage reported to Reiji, he happened to see Gongenzaka seated on the edge of the roof above them. He quickly scaled up, heading next to Gongenzaka.
"Gongenzaka-dono, are you alright?"
Gongenzaka opened his eyes, looking over at Tsukikage, who nodded at him respectfully. "I am simply performing my evening meditation," he explained. "As a member of the Gongenzaka dojo, we have to practise meditation regularly. Even though we're not currently in the Standard Dimension, I am continuing with my dojo's teachings."
"Ah, I am also continuing with my family's teachings," Tsukikage shared. "Would you mind terribly if I joined you?"
"Of course not. In fact, I would enjoy learning about your family's teachings." Gongenzaka stood up, bowing respectfully. "We are comrades after all, Tsukikage."
So his Lancers were in the Facility. Reiji would admit to a lack of surprise on his part—most of the other Lancers didn't seem like the kind that would be good at staying out of trouble. Even so, it would not be good to have them stuck there for long. What troubled him was the strange interest that Security seemed to have taken in his Lancers. Was there an Academia spy among Security? He would have to investigate that.
For now though, he would have to continue playing nice with the Council, despite his own personal distaste for them. (His experience as CEO had inoculated him to people being long-winded but explaining nothing at all, but even so, meetings like that would never not be annoying to him.)
Regardless, the idea that the Council had come up with was not without merit.
Having his Lancers prove themselves to the crowd here, and earn their respect in order to find allies… it was not a bad idea in the slightest. Either they would earn respect, or they would command fear. Reiji had enough confidence in the Lancers' strength, and either response from the Synchro Dimension would assist them.
The only possible downside was that some of their cards or strategies might be revealed to others.
However—
By having them be a spectacle, he could investigate in the background and figure out whether or not Academia truly had a foothold in this dimension.
Hopefully they would see it that way, at least.
(And even if they didn't, he trusted that they would follow his orders.)
Back in their cell in the Facility, Yuya was gaping at what Yuno was showing them on his duel disk.
"How did Miharu-san get this?" Kyorin looked rather impressed too. "How'd she even know that we were here?"
"She has a tracker in my duel disk," Yuno said idly. "Anyway, it should help us escape."
"These are even more comprehensive than what Damon got for us," Crow muttered, examining the documents in wonder. He and Shinji had agreed to escape with the rest of them. "Whoever this person is, are you sure that you can trust them? They have an in with Security, if they've managed to get these documents…"
"Pretty sure, yeah," Yuno said flippantly. "She's my best friend." He pointed to the corridors and the areas where cameras were marked. "The easiest way out is through here." He pointed to the corridor that led to solitary confinement.
"… Yuno," Yuto said slowly. "I don't know if you just accidentally pointed to the wrong place, but that's the place with the most security cameras." Sure enough, the red dots of the security cameras filled that entire corridor.
"Yeah," Shinji said. "Wouldn't it be better to hide in the sewers and escape that way? The sewers clearly don't have any cameras."
"Exactly." Yuno pulled out another document—the stipulated patrol times of the guards. "The sewers are the most obvious place where people can escape from. Has anyone ever escaped the Facility?"
Silence met his words.
"The sewers are a trap," Yuno explained. "The lack of cameras there are because the outside of the Facility is always monitored, specifically the place where the sewer exits. And that place has the highest number of guard patrols."
"Is that why everyone always got caught?" Crow muttered, as though considering something.
"Clearly, they're baiting people to escape, so that they can then execute them," Yuto said after a moment. "To open up more cells to be used. How… calculated, but awful."
"Yes." Yuno cleared his throat. "But the reason why we should escape through that corridor is because Miharu already has control of the cameras. Therefore, we don't have to worry about being caught there. And there are no guard patrols there, because why would any prisoner walk themselves to solitary confinement? So in a sense, it's actually the most unguarded place. From there, there's a fire escape ladder that we can climb down to get out, and it's in the blind spot of the guards outside—they don't patrol there."
"… back up," Shinji said dryly. "She has control of what now?"
"The cameras," Yuno repeated, blinking in confusion. "Sorry, was I going too quickly?"
Mion snorted, glancing away. Shinji and Crow, having not been inoculated to the sheer nonsensical-sounding logic that Yuno tended to use, just continued to seem baffled.
"Uh, Miharu wouldn't have sent me the details unless she could make sure that I wasn't being watched," Yuno pointed out. "She could only do that by being able to see me on the cameras. If she couldn't control the cameras, she wouldn't have bothered sending this until she could."
"You're telling me that a single sixteen-year-old girl managed to crack into Security's network," Crow muttered. "Alright, sure, why not? Your entire group is just more and more surprising all the time. So, it's easier to escape like that? Do we need a distraction?"
"Why would we need a distraction if no one patrols there anyway?" Yuno said, sounding baffled. "No, we'll just sneak out at night to that ladder."
"… uh, the cell is locked."
"With an electronic lock," Yuno said. "So it's not a problem." He waved off the idea. "Any other problems?"
Yuya watched as Yuno managed to talk his way through any questions, charismatically convincing everyone that he had the best idea. Afterwards, they all separated within the cell.
"Hey. You look a bit too serious."
Yuya met Mion's eyes as the auburn-haired girl sat down next to him.
"Oh, I was just… thinking."
"Something bothering you?"
Even though Yuya normally didn't like to talk about his own feelings, he ended up speaking up. There was something about Mion that was just comfortable. "… I sometimes wish I could be a little more like Yuno," he admitted, trying to keep his voice quiet.
Mion patted his head, letting out a soft laugh. "You are perfectly fine as you are," she said. "What makes you think you need to be more like him?"
"He's… confident. Charismatic. He seems to make people smile a lot more easily than I do."
"… oh, Yuya." Mion sighed. "It's… oh. Is this about your ideals then? Do you want to be more like him, because you think that he's better at making people smile? Because that doesn't work. The best way to make others smile is just to be yourself."
She smiled at him.
"I like you as you are. Yuno likes you as you are. We all do, yeah? If anything, the one difference between you and him is that he's a lot more confident in who he is, while you haven't really figured that out yet."
"Figured out myself?"
Mion stopped, and then she nodded. "Maybe you'll figure it out someday," she said. "Be patient. Don't try to grow up too quickly. When you find a chance to grow, then take a moment to consider yourself. And become a person that isn't here to cater to anyone's expectations. Become yourself."
Yuya looked at her. He felt a sense of familiarity that he couldn't quite shake. "Thank you," he said.
I wish I had someone like you to help me, back when I was crushing myself under the weight of my own expectations.
Roget picked up a post-it note that had been left on his desk. In elegant, spindly handwriting—
'Today night, the special priority prisoners will try to escape the Facility, at 10p.m.'
He smirked. "How cruel, to give them hope and ruin it immediately," he murmured. "But this is a good way to properly take possession of them."
In the middle of the night, the Lancers finally began their escape. At a time with less patrols, they managed to get out, the electronic doors deactivating. Yuya glanced up at the cameras, but it seemed that whatever magic Miharu Kogami had worked with the cameras had worked. Together, they snuck towards solitary confinement. Serena and Kurosaki were both kept in separate cells within solitary confinement. The rest had began to descend down—it was a dangerous climb, so they were going one at a time. As they did so, Yuto and Yuno had headed to solitary confinement. It was guarded by many cameras with no blind spots.
However, cameras, no matter how many of them there were, were no match for Miharu.
As such, their escape was going rather smoothly.
It was going smoothly until they headed over the moat, and a spotlight lit up, revealing an entire Security squad.
That wasn't possible. They shouldn't have known.
"It should be a perfectly normal night," a smooth voice said. "Did I mistake the date? Is there a swim meet going on?"
A tall, pale man stepped forward.
"The cameras did not pick you up. You obviously had outside help. Well, I suppose that we'll have to be careful with you all."
Yuno bit his lip. So close, yet so far—
"We didn't come to your city to cause problems," Mion said tensely. The man glanced at her, raising an eyebrow, but didn't respond. He simply gestured to the guards, but before they could approach the group of escapees, another voice spoke up. A familiar one, at that.
"I'll thank you to keep your hands off my subordinates."
And the confident, tall figure of Reiji Akaba walked right in front of them, facing towards Roget. At that moment, he truly looked like a leader, composed and ready to fight.
The man tilted his head. "Excuse me? Are you associating yourself with these criminals?"
"We have not yet proven ourselves to be threats," Reiji said without any flinching or hesitation. "And besides, you are not the only authority in this City—Security Director, Jean Michel Roget."
There was a tense standoff—Reiji was confident enough and charismatic enough that none of the guards had approached, and Roget was simply examining them as a group.
"Yes, but the other authorities in this City are busy people. I'm sure that I can handle—"
"Ah, but you do not speak for them." There was a glint in Reiji's eyes. "The High Council has ordered our presence. All of ours, and yours. Will you disobey them in view of the whole city?"
When Roget scowled, Yuno knew that Reiji had won this round. He glanced into the shadows. Miharu had to be nearby, right?
Best that she wasn't caught up in this for now though. He would see her soon anyway.
All of them were escorted to the tallest, most opulent building in the City, standing before the holograms of five people. These, Reiji had explained on the way here, were the leaders of the City, the High Council.
It took Yuno around ten seconds to decide that they were far less efficient or skilled than someone with that role should be.
"First, Director Roget," White Taki said (Reiji had also told them the names of the leaders, though Yuno was just hazarding a guess as to who was who. Of course, by necessity of the narration, he was correct.) "You seem quite dissatisfied that we did not let you handle them at your own discretion. Might I inquire as to your reasoning?"
"... Council members," Roget said, sounding rather pleasant despite his clear frustration. "These people are threats. They have shown up with no records at all, and until I figured out why they were disrupting this City's peace and order, I did not wish to alarm you."
"Stop messing around!" Sawatari shouted.
"Yeah, we did nothing to deserve this!" Yuya agreed. "We were simply trying to find our comrades!"
"You resisted Security," Roget said coldly. "That alone is an indisputable crime."
Reiji adjusted his glasses. "And yet, that does not matter," he said. "After all, Director Roget, the Council has already been informed of the circumstances. And they have already made their decision."
Roget glared at Reiji. "Is that so?" He said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "And what, pray tell, is the decision that has been made? Who are you, anyway?"
"... I suspect that you know very well who we are," Reiji said pleasantly—although the look in his eyes was a cold challenge. "We are the Lancers. It is, of course, short for Lance Defense Soldiers. We came to the Synchro Dimension to protect it from the invasion of a hostile force, Academia." Shinji and Crow, who had already heard some of this from Yuto and Yuya, didn't seem quite as surprised.
"Indeed," Gael spoke up. "We've already heard about this from Reiji Akaba."
"About the Dimensional War—"
"And the Lancers."
"What matters most is what their existence means for our City," Bordeaux said. "Isn't that right, Chairman?"
"Yes," White Taki said.
"Does the Council really believe such nonsensical claims?" Roget demanded.
"We don't know if it's nonsense or not."
"After all, there are people who have indeed come from different dimensions before us. What else could explain their summoning methods and their odd technology?"
"You believe in the existence of other dimensions, which is why you had them arrested for investigation. Isn't that correct?"
"... I suspected that they were enemies from elsewhere," Roget said. "But if the Council wishes to negotiate with unknown parties…"
"Mind your tone, Director." Bordeaux said, voice sounding rather clipped.
"... indeed. Even so, Security will determine who these people are—"
"No, that is up to us," Gael spoke up again. "After all, while Reiji Akaba makes a convincing argument, we cannot know for sure if you have the capabilities that make you worth allying with. Therefore, the Executive Council will handle everyone present."
"If you are our allies, we would like you to prove that to us."
And that was how they were somehow entered into the biggest tournament in this dimension. All of them, at the same time.
Yuno fought the urge to facepalm.
"Isn't this great? We get to show off our Entertainment Dueling to the citizens of this dimension and fire them up!" Sawatari slapped the back of the person closest to him, Yuya. Yuya, however, just looked somewhat discouraged.
"More importantly, we have to find Yuzu soon…"
"Oh? Yuzu Hiiragi?"
All of them looked at Roget in shock. Roget smirked.
"She's your comrade? How interesting. And I suppose that the same goes for Miharu Kogami?"
Yuno stiffened.
"Did you arrest Yuzu too?" Yuya demanded from next to him.
"No," Roget said. "Neither of those girls have been arrested, though their resemblance to Akaba-san there is startling. They are both participants of the Friendship Cup as well. While they have no records, they intrigued me enough that I allowed them to participate, even before I knew who you Lancers were."
So Yuzu and Miharu were still safe…
Yuno leaned back and watched as Crow objected to being entered in the tournament, but was talked down by Shinji. The two of them definitely seemed to be each other's common sense. After that, Roget turned back to the five holograms. "I understand. I'll consent to their participation in the Friendship Cup as well—though that does mean that you're placing a lot of work on the backs of Security, for us to set up so much with only two days left before the Friendship Cup. Therefore, I only have one request." He gestured to Yuya. "Every year, on the eve of the Friendship Cup, the king carries out an exhibition match. How about letting him serve as the opponent?"
"Me?" Yuya said, sounding incredulous.
"Why him?"
"From what I've seen, he's the most adept at the strange summoning method called Pendulum, and he seems to be a performer." There was something sinister to Roget's smile. "I suspect that it will be a novel experience for those watching."
"Very well."
Reiji stepped forward. "I will take my Lancers to the agreed-upon location now," he said. No one objected. He turned around, walking away as his scarf swished through the air. Yuno touched his own scarf for a moment, before he followed. All of them did.
Once they were out of the building, Kurosaki was about to speak up. However, Reiji held up a hand to stop him.
"I… apologise for taking so long," he said, and Yuno blinked—was Reiji actually taking some level of responsibility for them? "We will speak when we meet up with the rest."
The… rest?
They walked into a building nearby.
"This is the accommodation given to the participants in the Friendship Cup," Reiji explained. "All of you, save for me, are going to be participating." He pushed open a door, straight into a dining room, with an attached kitchenette to it.
And sitting in the kitchen were the rest of the Lancers.
Gongenzaka was currently preparing some cup ramen for himself, though his eyes were wide as he looked towards them. Hitoda was currently destroying both Nue and a comically serious Tsukikage in Go Fish, from the looks of it, with Reira glancing curiously over her shoulder.
Silence filled the room.
"Yuya!" Gongenzaka shouted, and leapt forward, grabbing Yuya in a hug. That was the signal, and around them, everyone started greeting each other as well. Nue was fussing over Yuto, with Kurosaki also standing awkwardly near them. Reira timidly approached Mion. Meanwhile, people were breaking off into groups, filling each other in on what had happened, and so on.
"Yuno," Hitoda greeted, walking over.
"Yo," Yuno said, offering a smile.
Neither of them said anything more. Hitoda gently ruffled his hair.
I'm glad you're safe.
A bit later that night, Yuya found himself walking out from the room that he had been assigned, and heading down towards the kitchen.
He couldn't sleep. The idea of dueling this famous King of the city—of such an immoral city too…
"Hey."
In the kitchen, Yuno was currently making some cup ramen. The gold-eyed boy smiled at Yuya, offering him the cup in his hands.
"Just prepared," he said. "But I figured that since it was here, we might as well eat it—it's not like we were eating well in the Facility, after all." Yuya shuddered at the reminder of the terrible meals that they had been given back when they were in prison. He took the cup, sitting down at the table.
"Thanks," he said. "I, uh, couldn't sleep."
"Yeah, I get it." Yuno was still smiling. "Nerves, huh?"
"I don't really know why. I've dueled in front of other people before. But for some reason, it just… unnerves me when I think about it."
"I don't think it's weird," Yuno said. "You're dueling in an unfamiliar environment, for people that you know have a fundamentally different attitude towards dueling compared to you." He shrugged. "I would be surprised if you weren't nervous. We're just kids, after all."
"Kids…" Yuya smiled. "Yeah. I'm surprised that they didn't pick you though… you're also an entertainer."
"... ah, you see…"
"If they want to put you out as an exhibition match, they want to see you defeated," another voice said. "And Roget probably thinks that you're a better sacrifice than Yuno."
Yuya slowly turned towards the door. There were two people standing there, and he was frozen in place.
"Yuya," Yuzu Hiiragi said, her eyes wide—and he saw some tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
"Yuzu!" Yuya leapt to his feet, and Yuzu tossed herself into his arms, the two of them hugging each other tightly—finally reunited with their best friend. "I was looking for you—I—"
"I was looking for you too! I was so worried when I heard that you were arrested…" Yuzu hugged him so tightly that Yuya felt like he was losing oxygen, but he didn't care—as long as she didn't let go, as long as she was here with him. Because Yuzu was safe. She hadn't been taken by Academia, she hadn't been hurt. She was here, and they would be able to go home together, once they were done with everything.
So he hugged her back just as tightly.
(Later, they would share what had happened to them in this dimension. Yuya would tell Yuzu about what exactly Reiji Akaba had planned for the Maiami Championship, and Yuzu would tell Yuya about Yugo, the orphanage and the terrible conditions that the people in this city lived in.)
(But all that could wait, and for now, they could just be here, happy to finally be together.)
Meanwhile, Yuno had been the one to dash towards the door, straight towards her. Miharu at least had the presence of mind to shut the kitchen door, before leading him towards the balcony to give them some privacy.
"... we went back to get our things once we saw you get arrested again," Miharu said quietly. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. They should never have known that you were escaping—"
Yuno reached out a hand, lifting up her hand in his. (Miharu had never been one for physical contact, so no matter how much he wanted to hug her, he would respect that.) Miharu stopped talking for a moment, just looking at him.
"I missed you," Yuno said. "I missed you so, so much."
"We've been apart before," Miharu pointed out, as logical as ever, and Yuno had missed that so much.
"Not like this," he said. "When we were apart back then, I knew you were safe and happy, doing what you enjoyed… but when I thought that Academia had taken you, I…"
Unspoken feelings hung between them, in the same way that they always did. Both of them having worried for so long over the other, but unsure what to say now that they were together again. Fleeing through worlds together, but always looking for each other.
And—
If Yuno didn't say it now, after all that they'd been through, when else could he say it?
He didn't want to waste any more time.
"I would have done anything to find you," he said. "Because I…" His words got stuck in his throat.
"… someone told me that it was one thing to be cared for by others, another thing to be understood," Miharu said. "I think that you and I… we've always cared about each other. And even if we didn't understand, we didn't mind, because we knew each other well enough to simply accept things each of us did that were a little different from others."
She squeezed Yuno's hand.
"I know what you want to tell me, Yuno. I've… always known. So, instead of saying that, could you help me to understand you? Could you tell me what it is that makes you so afraid to lose people? To lose me? What makes you cling on so strongly to the people around you?"
She was asking him—
She was asking him about that. And she was asking him about it so gently too. As though she was approaching a fragile, wounded lamb.
And Yuno finally realised something.
Has it never been about her? Have I misunderstood my own intentions this entire time?
Maybe it's not that I was waiting for her to be ready to tell me about what she went through. Maybe I was afraid that I would have to be honest. That somehow, telling her about what happened to me would make her see me any differently.
Because I try to hide it. I try to forget. I try to pretend that those things never happened, because they never happened to me when I was Yuno Sugisaki.
Maybe the reason why we've both waited so long is because I was waiting for her to be ready, but she was waiting for me too.
Then, if I don't want to wait any longer…
"It's a long story," he said.
Miharu nodded. "We have time," she said.
Yuno cracked a smile. "And you always listen to me," he said. He leaned on the railing of the balcony, taking a deep breath. "… before I was fostered and then adopted by the Sugisakis, I was fostered by a different family. They were… well, they provided for all my material needs, but admittedly they were a little neglectful. However, my brother was a little different from the rest."
He took a deep breath.
"His name was Chikyu. Chikyu Kazuhara. He was a really, really talented duelist. He was the one that gave me my first card." He opened up his Extra Deck, pulling out a card with a slightly trembling hand. Miharu leaned over and looked at it.
"Marincess Crystal Heart," she murmured. "I've seen this before, but you've never summoned it."
"Yes. This was my brother's favourite card." Yuno closed his eyes. "... my brother used it in most of his duels, and when he gave a copy to me, I decided to make a version of it for myself as well. That was around the time when I first started to use my Marincess monsters too. I loved him a lot. Being with him was the first time that I ever felt that I was loved."
"Then…" Miharu seemed to sense what had happened. "You lost him?"
"Chikyu and five other talented duelists were kidnapped," Yuno said. He thought about the feeling of seeing his brother lying there, still in the hospital bed, never opening his eyes again. "To this day, no one knows where they were taken, or what happened to them. My foster parents were distraught. They… naturally worried about him so much that they sometimes forgot about me. And then, a while after my eighth birthday, the six kids were found—abandoned in a back alley."
"… did they kill them?"
"No," Yuno said. "But they were catatonic. They were alive, but they might as well not have been, you know? They couldn't open their eyes, move or hear. They said that it might be some kind of damage done by VRAINS. And then, I heard that they were planning on pulling the plug. And you know, those people were only being kept alive by IVs and tubes and things like that. Once I heard that, I begged to be moved to another foster family. I… I couldn't bear to actually watch Chikyu die." He was shaking slightly now. "And ever since then, I've… tried my best not to think about it." He turned to Miharu. "So yeah. I guess that's the reason that I'm scared when you're in an unfamiliar place without me. You're one of the most important people in my life, Miharu. They never caught the people who did that to my brother. If you were hurt too…"
He thought about his own terror back during the Maiami Championship, when he thought that Miharu had been hurt while he wasn't around. He thought about his own conviction that he had found—the wish to support and protect the hearts of others. And even though he wanted to make everyone happy, to save everyone, there was one person who he most wanted to be there for.
"I want to protect you," he finished.
Miharu was looking at him, those spring green eyes seeming to study him. Yuno didn't mind—he would never mind her looking at him like that. "… I am sorry," she said quietly. "That must have been awful." She gently brushed her fingers over the knuckles of his hand, which he had clenched into a fist unconsciously, slowly coaxing them open, easing the tension from them. "But it was not your fault, Yuno. You can't be blamed for not wanting to see your brother die, so don't blame yourself."
Yuno slowly nodded. (He still didn't quite believe it.) "Then, what about you?" He asked. "What makes you so withdrawn but so… self-sacrificial, all the time?" It was a question that he had always had, but one that he had never been able to ask until now.
"… I was an orphan. To this day, I still don't know where I came from. Not even Ryoken or father have been able to find out where I really came from, before everything. But when I was two, someone kidnapped me from the orphanage for an experiment. I don't know why." She folded her arms, seeming to curl in on herself slightly. "They experimented on me and made me duel everyday, and they used to stick me with needles and talk constantly over my head about me, as though I wasn't a person."
Yuno thought about how detached Miharu was, how she avoided other people, and his throat felt tight when he spoke up. "That's terrible," he said. They made you learn to disregard yourself and your own needs, because you were too afraid to be a person…
"Ryoken said that too," Miharu said. "… I was rescued by father when I was six. But the experiments left me without much of a sense of self. If not for the people around me, my family, I would never have recovered from that, I think. They taught me to think for myself and try to find things that I enjoyed."
"… we were both saved by people that loved us," Yuno said.
"Yes," Miharu replied. Then, in a quieter voice, she confessed: "But I still don't understand what it means to be hurt. I only know that what was done to me was wrong because others told me that, but I still don't understand. I only perceive it as hurt, as abuse and as pain because I was told that. But I can't quite comprehend that. To this day, my morals are still a blunted edge—I can never quite condemn anyone directly for their actions towards me."
"That's alright," Yuno said. "I will. Someday, I'll find the people that hurt Chikyu, and the people that hurt you, and I'll bring them both to justice."
"… and I'll do the same."
Yuno met her gaze, and he saw her lips curve up slightly—a small smile. She was one of the prettiest sights that Yuno had ever seen.
Before he could regain any common sense, he leaned in and brushed his lips across her cheek.
Neither of them blushed, because neither of them were embarrassed. Her smile did widen just the smallest amount though.
How could it ever have been anyone else?
"No matter what, I would search for you," Yuno said softly, leaning forward towards her. He was still seated on the railing, and she was still standing in front of him, but their foreheads were almost touching from how close they were. "I would search for you through every part of every world."
"… and I would always find you," Miharu replied. "No matter how hidden you were, no matter what happened to you, I would always find you and be by your side."
And they did not say it. They did not say those three words, because they did not need to.
Because for the first time since they had met each other, they could finally understand each other.
And with that understanding, they wouldn't need to speak those words for the other to know the truth.
It would always be the two of them, to the end.
Duel 1 Summary: Carly Nagisa vs Hitoda Makishima
Duel Format: Normal Duel
Turn 1: Carly Nagisa
Carly activates Terraforming, adding the Field Spell, Future Visions from her deck to her hand. She then Normal Summons Fortune Lady Light. (1*/?/?) Since Light was Normal Summoned, Future Visions banishes it until Carly's next Standby Phase. With Light's effect, Carly Special Summons Fortune Lady Water. (4*/?/?) She then activates Pot of Desires, banishing 10 cards from the top of her Deck to draw two cards. Then, she Special Summons Fortune Fairy Hikari (1*/0/0) from her hand since she drew her. Hikari sends herself from the field to the graveyard to Special Summon Fortune Lady Past (1*/?/?) from the Deck. Carly activates the Continuous Spell, Fortune Vision, adding a "Fortune Lady" card from her Deck to her hand. She then sets 2 cards and ends her turn. (FLP: ?* → 200ATK/DEF) (FLW: ? → 1200ATK/DEF)
Turn 2: Hitoda Makishima
Hitoda draws. She activates the Quickplay Spell, Spirit Charmers, discarding a card to add a "Charmer" monster, "Familiar-Possessed" monster or "Possessed" Spell/Trap from her Deck to her hand and setting a card that meets the same conditions to her field. She sets a card and a monster, and she activates the Continuous Spell, Awakening of the Possessed. Carly activates the Counter Trap, Bending Destiny, negating the card and banishing it from the field. Hitoda ends her turn. During the End Phase, Awakening of the Possessed returns to her hand.
Turn 3: Carly Nagisa
Carly draws. During her Standby Phase, Fortune Lady Light returns to the field. Her Fortune Ladies gain a Level. (FLL: 1* + 1* = 2*; 200 + 200 = 400ATK/DEF) (FLW: 4* + 1* = 5*; 1200 + 300 = 1500ATK/DEF) (FLP: 1* + 1* = 2*; 200 + 200 = 400ATK/DEF) She tunes the Level 2 Past to the Level 5 Water to Synchro Summon Fortune Lady Every. (7*/?/?) (FLE: ? → 2800ATK/DEF) She activates Time Passage to increase Every's Level by 3. (FLE: 7* + 3* = 10*; 2800 + 400 x 3 = 4000ATK) She also uses Fortune Lady Calling, Special Summoning Fortune Lady Dark (5*/?/?) from the Deck. (FLD: ? → 2000ATK/DEF) Dark attacks Hitoda's set monster. Hitoda activates the Continuous Trap, Unpossessed. Thus, Lyna the Light Charmer (3*/500/1500) is not destroyed by the battle, and she takes control of Fortune Lady Every. Carly ends her turn.
Turn 4: Hitoda Makishima
Hitoda draws. Every gains a Level and banishes Fortune Lady Dark from the field. Carly uses Fortune Vision's effect to protect her monsters from card effects this turn. Hitoda activates Awakening of the Possessed, before she uses Lyna and Every to Link Summon Lyna the Light Charmer, Lustrous (L2/1850/↙, ↘) to her Extra Monster Zone. Awakening of the Possessed lets her draw a card. Lyna's effect lets Hitoda Special Summon Fortune Lady Every from Carly's GY to Lyna's Link Marker. Awakening of the Possessed grants all monsters she controls 300 attack points for each Attribute she controls and Unpossessed grants Lyna 800 attack points when she attacks. Lyna attacks Fortune Lady Light. Carly activates Slip of Fortune, negating the attack and banishing Fortune Lady Light. With Light's effect, she Special Summons Fortune Lady Fire (2*/?/?) from her Deck. With Fire's effect, she destroys Every and inflicts damage to Hitoda equal to the attack points of the destroyed monster. [HM: 4000 - 2800 = 1200LP] Hitoda sets a card and a monster, ending her turn. Carly banishes Fortune Lady Water from the GY to revive Every with her effect.
Turn 5: Carly Nagisa
Carly draws. Fortune Lady Light returns to her field, and both of her Fortune Ladies' Levels increase by 1. (FLF: 2* + 1* = 3*; 400 + 200 = 600ATK/DEF) (FLE: 7* + 1* = 8*; 2800 + 400 = 3200ATK/DEF) (FLL: 1* + 1* = 2*; 200 + 200 = 400ATK/DEF) With Every's effect, she banishes Lyna from the field. She then activates Fortune's Future, sending her banished Fortune Lady Water to the GY to draw two cards. She Normal Summons Fortune Lady Wind. (3*/?/?) (FLW: →900ATK/DEF) Fortune Lady Fire attacks Hitoda's set monster, Aussa the Earth Charmer. (3*/500/1500) [CN: 4000 - 900 = 3100LP)] Carly ends her turn.
Turn 6: Hitoda Makishima
Hitoda draws. She Special Summons Inari Fire (4*/1500/200) from her hand. She then sends Aussa and Inari Fire from the field to the GY to Special Summon Awakening of the Possessed - Greater Inari Fire (5*/2000/200) from her deck. She then inflicts damage to Carly equal to Every's original attack points. [CN: 3100 - 3200 = 0LP] Hitoda wins!
End Notes:
Carly appears! I don't intend on giving her a major role or anything overall, but considering that she's an investigator and I needed an organic way of letting Reiji find out that the Lancers are in the Facility, she gets to deal with perhaps the most annoying duo in the story—Nue, who is stubborn as hell, and Hitoda, who is not helpful in the slightest. I decided to make her a bit more down-to-earth—she's not that interested in dueling, and she only learned it to protect herself when investigating. That's why Hitoda kinda owns her, and it really shows in the duel itself—I wrote it to show that if she didn't activate all of her cards too early out of anxiety, she would have been a lot better off.
There was originally going to be a duel between Gongenzaka and Tsukikage here, but it was literally just filler, so I cut it. Also yup, we're skipping the Battle Royale in the Facility because it literally didn't serve a purpose. Instead, our heroes are going to try to escape without drawing attention. And of course, they would have succeeded, but Roget is tipped off about them before they go, so… whoops?
There was one thing that I wanted to try in this chapter, and that was to have the Lancers actually succeed in making it out. They are only stopped due to Roget already knowing that they're going to escape, but otherwise, it would have been a perfectly successful moment. Why didn't I have a dramatic escape scene?… eh. I felt like having them draw so much attention to themselves was an extremely reckless plan. Also, if I were to try and imitate canon, it would just be the same thing, except with more duels against the guards, and that would be a bit too useless. Instead, I took a moment to try and show that the Lancers are coordinated and competent enough to escape without it being a big deal. I would rather move towards the Friendship Cup more quickly, considering how much content that is going to be already—we don't need more filler duels in an arc with a tournament. :)
Also, Reiji directly comes to help his Lancers when external factors cause them to fail. Why? Because I don't think we got enough scenes of the Lancers actually being led by Reiji. In a sense, I want Reiji to have to earn their respect directly.
The ending of this chapter with Yuzu and Miharu was actually the start of next chapter, but I decided that I would prefer to end on fluff for once.
There is also a gap between the Lancers escaping and the Friendship Cup starting. Why? Uh, I thought that it was unrealistic that Security and the Council managed to squeeze in so many people without any delays, so I just gave them another day to be able to work out logistics. It also allows me to have the people in the Friendship Cup interact, because having them all be locked in their rooms is a bad idea for character interactions—it would just be duels and reactions constantly. So yeah, no locking them up in rooms.
So now that we're here, how am I planning on running the Friendship Cup? Obviously it's not one duel per chapter, since we'd be sitting here forever. I am not going to shorten the Synchro Arc, since I found a lot of potential to work with here, but I am going to try and be efficient about it. There are… uh, a maximum of thirty-one duels in the Friendship Cup—thirty-two duels if we count Jack vs the winner. So the next question is "Blaise, are you nuts enough to write around 32 fucking duels?" (Give or take a few, considering that some duels might be the same as canon and the plot may or may not cover the full Cup.)
… um. Yes?
So this is the time to say that I've already completed the basic duel outlines for the entire Friendship Cup, and it took me forever. Obviously, the chapters themselves aren't written yet, but yeah. Anyway, that does mean that I'll be able to make there be more than one duel in a chapter, hopefully, and work with narrative breaks. So hopefully, this arc won't drag on for too long. But there's some duels in the arc that need to happen for character development. I'll try my best to have at least one major duel in each chapter. :) Oh, but I have to go back on something that I said in a previous chapter. While I really wanted to implement Speed World's effects in some way, it just ended up making duels more convoluted and less fun to write, so in the end, duels will just be normal but on D-Wheels instead.
And nothing else important happened in this chapter, so I think we can move on—
*gets hit in the face by a door*
Alright, alright. We'll talk about it. No, Yuya and Yuzu aren't dating yet. They do get to reunite here, because with the setting that I was creating, participants aren't locked in their rooms, so there was no reason to separate them. However, Yuya is still too oblivious, and thus Yuzu is still fully in the friendzone.
On the other hand, Yuno and Miharu are… kinda sorta dating? Like, let's be real, they were already basically dating even before this, but the more significant moment is the two of them finally sharing their trauma and gaining a better understanding—basic communication skills for a relationship to work out. That cheek kiss is the most that you're getting for now though, no actual kiss yet. :) Of course, we're only in the Synchro Arc. Both they and the other counterparts have a long way to go.
Review responses!
To T.V. 2000, glad that you liked the card debuts and duels! This was definitely a large part of their arcs, and a part that I had planned since the start—even before I posted Chapter 1, heh.
To naminexriku2468, you're not annoying me by asking questions. Glad that you enjoyed Kiryu and Sherry's appearance. They're two of my favourite characters from 5Ds, so I really wanted to do them justice. I don't mind suggestions, but I generally already know what decks will show up, so I hope you aren't offended if what you want doesn't show up. I do enjoy Scrap, and Naoya will probably duel once or twice more, but considering that he is a minor OC, don't hope for too much. Chino, on the other hand, will definitely duel a few more times. The decks that you suggested are interesting, but they're too far in the future to comment on. Hope you understand.
To DSpaceZ, not going to lie, Kiryu and Yusei were just planned to be really, really close best friends, and then I wrote the actual chapter and tons of ship tease turned up. This is actually the toned-down version of the original chapter. I intend to mostly keep it ambiguous though, since I personally don't have an opinion on the ship. (Of course, maybe the next chapter that mentions them will absolutely destroy my intentions.) The other counterparts will gain different summoning methods eventually—remember, there are technically around seven full arcs in this story, so we're still rather early on in the plot. I went to search up Maelstrom, and I get what you're referencing, but it's actually not based on that. :)
To the Guest that asks if Yuji will use Pendulum Summon… eh, that's spoilers whether or not he does. Either way, if he did, it wouldn't be before he properly masters the other summoning methods.
To phantomdragons, I probably won't explicitly mention the other protagonists for a very long time, if at all, but what I will say is that the protagonists will never directly show up on screen, yeah. Dark Requiem is a great dragon, and I will forever be bitter that the show did not give it a win. Like, even without the sheer level of rewrite that I'm doing, Arc-V could have just added in a character like Saiou as a secondary antagonist, have Yuya duel, have the opponent say something about the Professor's words being gospel and that following them is the only logical outcome, and then have Yuto evolve into Dark Requiem. That way, the stained glass wings make sense as him rejecting them for his own morality and his own 'judgement'. :D But yeah, I love Dark Requiem, and if all the dragons I've made haven't made it obvious, I love making the wings of dragons unique in their own way too. Thanks for the review!
To LHOCIN, I did really enjoy giving him a proper one on one! And yeah, I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter's content overall. Hope that you enjoyed this one too!
Next chapter, we'll show the Friendship Cup preparations, the rest of the Friendship Cup participants will show up (though not all will be there initially) and the exhibition duel will happen, before we go on with the Friendship Cup. See you then!