Sekhmet: Probably one of my favorite filler chapters. I don't know why. Maybe it's just me being a weeb.
Susano-o: It wasn't needed, even in the original show.
Sekhmet: It was fun though.
Susano-o: But it wasn't needed.
Sekhmet: But it was fun. On with the show!
Duel 21: It's Getting Hot In Here
"So this is the man brought sexy back?" Camula asked as looked at Rose's Justin Timberlake CD. "When did it go away?"
"Eh about 1990 or so, when the grunge era hit and people stopped bathing," Rose said shrugging as she plugged in her two headphones to her old school discman. "Ok now put these on."
Camula complied and soon she was she listening along with Rose. "This certainly is interesting," Camula said tapping along. "What other music do you have?"
"Oh I have a lot," Rose said smiling as she grabbed another CD. "This band is called Jamiroquai," She said putting in into the discman and hitting play.
Camula's eyes went wide as the opening trill started up. "Oh this is good!" She said excitedly.
"Wait till I teach you to dance," Rose said laughing as she watched the thousand year old vampire bump along to Canned Heat.
"Guys!" Yuko said from outside. It was still somewhat daytime, so she had to knock as not to disintegrate their new roommate. "They've got an onsen!"
"Huh?" Rose asked walking over and cracking the door. "What's up?"
"I was taking a walk, and apparently the island has an onsen!" Yuko explained. "It's a natural hot spring people back home bathe in!"
"I know what it is, hello immigrant here," Rose said with a stiff joking tune as she seemed to look away. "-But I'm good, and I think showing Camula one would kill the poor prude, if the sunlight doesn't first, give her a few weeks to get more acclimated."
"Well alright, but you're really missing out! There's a towel in the bottom drawer of my dresser, could you get it please?" Yuko asked.
"Yeah sure gimme a sec," Rose said closing the door and a few minutes later opening it up far enough to stick her arm out, towel in her hand. "You could ask Alexis and Midori to go, Alexis got discharged yesterday and Midori's been hanging out with her recently to avoid our new resident."
"Actually that's a great idea! Thanks!" Yuko said, and left to go ask. "Ok Camula, now this is called heavy metal, let's start with some Black Sabbath." Was the last thing she heard.
…
Yuko was the last of her friends to enter the public bath, as she had the most hair to wash. Being clean for the onsen was important, after all. Pinning it all up with a few elastics, she stepped out onto the grassy floor of the springs.
"It took you long enough." Alexis joked.
"My hair goes down my back, it's a lot to wash." Yuko joked back.
"I'm just glad we finally have some time to relax," Midori said submerging herself up to her neck. "And I can get away from the dorms."
"Yeah. I'll be honest, it's still weird having Camula around." Yuko admitted. "Then again, my family has been making unorthodox friends for a while now."
"I never thought I'd be friends with a vampire, and I use friends lightly." Alexis said.
"How are you two being so calm about this!" Midori yelled. "You saw what she did, why are we just letting her walk around freely!" She asked huffing. "Rose has done a lot, but this time she's really lost her mind."
Yuko leaned her weight on a nearby boulder. "Not to dismiss the severity of the situation, but we got them back. Everyone technically ended up fine." She said.
"As weird of a decision it is, I trust Rose's judgement." Alexis said. "She knows what she's doing."
Midori stared at her. "Really, the same woman who broke every door in the blue dorms looking for Yugi's deck? And the week before she broke 3 of the dorms windows, threw one student through a window, and another into the dumpster?" She asked raising an eyebrow. "You trust her judgement?"
"Well it hasn't come back to bite us yet." Yuko said. "In all fairness, in the few days she's been with us, she hasn't done anything bad. She's probably legitimately grateful to be alive."
"Rose once made a comment that blues only act humble after they've been beat, and has they won the would be lording it over everyone," Midori said crossing her arms. "I'll trust her when she can truly prove she's not going to stab us in the back."
"Fair enough." Alexis admitted. "But you should at least give her a chance."
Midori snorted but didn't respond. Yuko slid herself down the rock until she was fully submerged.
She thought through everything that had happened in the last month. "With everything that's happened recently, I don't blame Midori for thinking like she does. But my brother said that everyone deserves a chance at friendship, so that's what I'm gonna give Camula." She came up for air. "The stakes are higher than ever though. I probably can't afford to have this mindset."
Something out of the corner of Yuko's eye caught her attention. Maybe she had been in the springs too long, but she could have sworn she saw a large serpent with a forked tail submerge into the water behind some rocks.
"Eraser?" Yuko muttered, and went off to pursue the creature, going against all her horror movie instincts.
"Yuko? Where are you going?" Alexis asked, but Yuko didn't hear her.
"Yuko come on get back here," Midori said following after her.
Yuko looked around the rock Eraser seemed to disappear behind, but he was nowhere to be found. "If you're making me see hallucinations of you two, it's not funny." Yuko said. A moment later, Yuko fell into a honeypot in the shore bed. She felt like she was being pulled down into the abyss. In a flash of light, she plummeted onto the floor of a cave. It was cold, and the sand felt like baby powder.
"Why is it so cold down here?" Yuko asked, shivering. She realized that she was back in her school clothes, like she had never entered the onsen. As she looked around, her eyes caught on several spirits, all resembling Duel Monsters. They all seemed afraid of her. "Hello?" She asked, and a majority hid behind pillars. She heard a wubbing, and looked up to see two shadows approaching. Yuko got out of the way, and Alexis and Midori plummeted to the cave floor as well.
"What's going on?" Alexis asked.
"I don't think this was designed in the schools plans," Midori said cracking her back.
"No. Way too bizarre, even for Kaiba." Yuko said.
"Who're you calling bizarre?" A very familiar voice asked. From the crowd of monsters emerged a very iconic looking monster, a fusion of Batman and a Blue Eyes White Dragon practically.
"That's 'Kaibaman'." Alexis said bewildered.
"How bizarre, did we end up in one of Seto Kaiba's theme parks?" Midori asked.
"Kaiba, I'm no security expert, but I'm pretty sure this is NOT how you spy on your students." Yuko said. "I think your other method of posing as a student was working better."
"Wait what?" Alexis asked incredulously.
"You make a lot of statements, none of which are true." Kaibaman said.
"So why'd you even bring us down here?" Yuko asked. "Is this like your Batcave equivalent?"
"Wait is no one going to elaborate on Seto Kaiba spying on us?" Midori asked as well.
"You're not getting any answers unless you take me on in a duel." He declared, a duel disk extending from his gauntlet.
Yuko groaned. "For the last time, you can't fulfill your blood oath to beat my brother by beating me! That's not how any of this works."
"What's the matter? Are you scared?" Kaibaman said mockingly. "I certainly sense it."
"Yeah, I'm TOTALLY scared of a 3k beater with no special ability." Yuko thought.
"We're more confused over here," Midori said and Alexis agreed. "I'll have to canvas the red dorms, maybe someone's seen him," She said tapping her chin. "Sato Kiba keeps disappearing when I try to talk to him, maybe he'd have seen him around somewhere."
"If my brother can beat you, then I can too!" Yuko said, activating her duel disk.
"Not backing down, I see. Then you can look forward to facing this." He said, and held up a 'Blue Eyes White Dragon' card.
"Yuko be careful, that's one of the most powerful cards in the game!" Alexis said from the sidelines. "And knowing him he'll be able to support its weaknesses!"
"I know." Yuko said. "Just because I said my brother could beat him didn't mean that it was an easy victory."
"Does he have 'Blue Eyes Shining Dragon' as well?" Midori asked nervously. "I doubt anything you have could handle that."
"No idea." Yuko said nervously.
"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Kaibaman said mockingly.
"It's been a stressful week." Yuko said. "Hardly a reason to run. Now then, let's give our audience a show, as all great duelists do!"
"Fine, hope you're ready, because you don't stand a ghost of a chance," Kaibaman laughed.
"Duel!" (LP: 8000)
"I draw!" Yuko said. "I set a monster and two cards face down and end my turn."
"My move then." Kaibaman declared. "I summon 'Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands!" An ogre with hands just all over him appeared. (1400/1000) "And now he'll lend me a hand. When he's summoned, I can add 1 Ritual spell or monster from my deck to my hand, and I know just the one." A card stuck out of his deck, which he placed in his hand. "Go 'White Dragon Ritual'! Now I sacrifice my Manju to summon 'Paladin of White Dragon'!"
The ogre was sucked up into a white light, and it spat out a knight riding what looked like a bootleg Blue Eyes. (1900/1200) "Now go, Attack her facedown monster!"
"Oh that's not good," Midori hissed as she ran the numbers through her head. "He'll be able to summon all 3 blue eyes in no time at this rate."
"Don't think any high defense points will save you either. When 'Paladin of White Dragon" attacks a face down defense position monster, it's automatically destroyed!" Kaibaman elaborated. The card was shattered in pieces.
"Well it's a good thing you destroyed him! Since 'Nimble Momonga' was destroyed in battle, not only do I get 1000 Life Points, but two more take his place." Yuko said as she placed her cards on the board. (Yuko's LP: 8000-9000)
"Finally, I can use 'Paladin of White Dragon's other ability and tribute him to summon a 'Blue Eyes White Dragon'!"
The monster needed no introduction. (3000/2500) "Since he can't attack due to this effect, I end my turn."
"Oh no," Alexis said from the sidelines. "Yuko's only got one card that can stand up to that thing."
"Yeah, she's in quite the situation," Midori agreed.
Yuko however, remained calm and drew her card. "I activate 'Swords of Revealing Light! This will stop your attacks until the End Phase of your turn three turns from now." She explained as swords rained from the roof of the cave. "I also set a monster and another facedown card before ending my turn."
"If you think your swords can protect you from what's coming then you're sadly mistaken." Kaibaman said, drawing. "I play 'Burst Stream of Destruction'! While my Blue Eyes can't attack you, this spell can clear your field!"
"I don't think so! I activate the trap card 'Magic Jammer'! By discarding a card, I can stop your spell in its tracks!" Yuko said, activating her card. Purple fog engulfed 'Burst Stream of Destruction', dissolving it.
"Very well. I place one card face down and end my turn." Kaibaman declared. (Swords Counter: 1)
"She stopped it," Midori said in shock. "Woohoo go Yuko!"
"Yeah but he'll probably have more than one," Alexis said nervously.
"I draw!" Yuko said. An electric shock went up her arm. "Perfect. I've wanted to try out a new combo, but now isn't the time." "I tribute all three of my monsters to summon 'The Wicked Dreadroot'!"
The room got a lot darker as Dreadroot rose from the sand. (4000/4000) "When Dreadroot is on the field, all monsters except for itself have their Attack and Defense points halved!" (3000-1500/2500-1250) "Now Attack! Fears Knockdown!"
Dreadroot punched Blue Eyes in the gut, shattering it. (Kaibaman's LP: 8000-5500) "I end my turn."
"Do you think you've won simply by destroying my Blue Eyes? There's more than one way to beat a duelist." Kaibaman said, drawing. "And this'll prove it. I summon myself!" A copy of himself appeared on the field. (200/700)
"You can't summon yourself," Alexis said before turning to Midori. "Can you?"
Midori shrugged. "I'm not sure really."
"Now thanks to his ability, I can tribute him to summon another 'Blue Eyes White Dragon'!"
The man turned into a bright light, reforming as a new Blue Eyes. (3000-1500/2500-1250) "I end my turn. (Swords Counter: 2)
"Alright, my draw." Yuko said. "I play the spell card "Fairy Meteor Crush', and equip it to my "Dreadroot'. Now he can do piercing damage! Dreadroot, Attack that Blue Eyes with Fears Knockdown!"
Dreadroot uppercutted 'Blue Eyes White Dragon'. (Kaibaman's LP: 5500-2750) "I set one card face down and end my turn." Yuko said.
"I draw!" Kaibaman declared. "I play the spell card 'Silent Doom'! With it, I can bring a 'Blue Eyes White Dragon' back to the field! I'll set one card face down and end my turn." With the timer on Swords up, the barrier dissolved into the air.
"I draw!" Yuko declared. "Dreadroot, Attack 'Blue Eyes' once more with feeling! Fears Knockdown!"
Dreadroot once again punched Blue Eyes in the gut. (Kaibaman's LP: 2750-0. Winner: Yuko)
"She beat Kaibaman," Alexis said in shock.
"Wow, that's like beating Kaiba himself," Midori said happy for her pupil.
….In a office far away….
Seto Kaiba looked down at the broken bits of the pen he had just crushed in his hand, he didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he felt like Yugi was involved somehow. "Damn you Muto!" He yelled to the sky.
"Big Brother do I need to get the Yugi punching bag again?" Mokuba asked from the doorway.
"Yes, thank you Mokuba," Kaiba grumbled sitting back down and crossing his arms.
….
"Wait, so what was the point of that duel again?" Yuko asked.
"You needed to learn a lesson," Kaibaman said crossing his arms.
"A lesson in what?" Yuko asked.
"You were supposed to lose and come to terms with it. But since you won, the lesson doesn't apply anymore." He said.
"Actually I take losing pretty well." Yuko said. "At the end of the day, this is usually just a card game."
"...wait are you not Rose Warren?" Kaibaman asked.
"What? No, she didn't come here today." Yuko explained.
"...That damn ojama messed up!" Kaibaman yelled throwing his hands up. "This was the one day we had to do this and he did get the dates right!"
"To be fair though, the stakes placed on the duels lately have been unfairly high." Yuko said.
"What stakes?" Kaibaman asked annoyed.
"Peoples souls have been on the line. It's not great." Yuko explained. "We got so desperate that I invited a god of madness into my soul."
"Wait do you mean the Sacred Beasts are about to released!" Kaibaman asked in shock. "That wasn't scheduled for another two years!" He yelled before running back to the other spirits. "Everyone escape plan delta!"
And with that the spirits started freaking out before disappearing into nothingness, leaving the three girls alone in the cave.
"Wait, how do we get back?!" Yuko yelled.
As she yelled this, the three reappeared in the hot springs, naked again like they had never left.
"Well that's an experience I probably won't be repeating." Yuko said, sitting up on the rock they appeared on.
"What was any of that?" Midori said sighing.
"Who knows." Alexis said, rubbing the back of her head.
…
"I think this is the first time I've left the onsen more wound up than when I came in." Yuko said, holding a bottle of milk.
"Tell me about it," Midori grumbled. "I'm gonna crash, forget the vampire I want to sleep in my own bed tonight."
As the two reached their dorm the sounds of heavy metal could be heard blaring out of their room, including what the recognized as the ending of the Iron Man solo.
"Heavy boots of lead! Fills his victims full of dread! Running as fast as they can! Iron man lives again!" Camula sang loud enough to be heard outside the door.
"Looks like she found a favorite genre." Yuko said.
"Oh Ra now we have two, Slifer protect me," Midori sighed opening the door, only to immediately shut it again.
"What?" Yuko asked.
Midori sighed as she opened the door again, Yuko peeked inside over her shoulder. Camula had shed her dress and was now wearing a pair of skin tight denim jeans, high heeled boots, and a Sabbath Bloody Sabbath T-shirt, Rose had decided to go all KISS themed and was even wearing the Demon's make-up as she wiggled her tongue in time with her air guitaring.
"Honestly that's a good look for Camula." Yuko noted, completely ignoring Rose in general.
"Whatever," Midori sighed as she pushed her way past them and collapsed onto her bed. "It's bedtime everyone!" She yelled covering her head with a pillow.
"I wanna rock and roll all nite!" Rose yelled into her fake mic before pointing it at Camula.
"And party everyday!" Camula responded swaying her hips to the beat.
"Too bad, some people gotta sleep." Yuko said.
"I'll sleep when I'm dead!" Rose yelled.
"I'm already dead so woohoo!" Camula yelled as well.
"Some of us aren't though." Yuko said.
"Fine," Rose muttered as she got ready for bed. "Ok Camula, tomorrow we try video games."
"I look forward to it," Camula said with a smile.