So, there's a duel again, this is why this took me so long. It was difficult to think of how to best write it due to the both duelists, also I changed a bit the format of the duels to identify by turns, tell me if you prefer it like this or the old way, also I'm not following the anime dueling rules for this before anyone comments how Fusion monsters can't attack same turn. Again, if there's any glaring mistake in the duel, please inform me via review or PM so I can fix it. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter XXXIV

The one at the top

Birds chirped outside Ryou's room, he zipped his overcoat up, walking downstairs to the kitchen, across from the kitchen counter, he saw Rie working at the sink counter, her ponytail wagging when she flipped around, greeting him with a tiny smile.

"Did you wait too long?" her hair flicked abound as she denied. "Do you need any help?"

Swaying her head in denial, her cheeks flushed. She shaped rice balls, the cooked grains stuck to some of her fingers.

A smile flashed on his lips, he came around her, supporting one of his arms on the counter by her side, he leaned on planting a kiss to her cheek, startling her, he then kissed her lips softly as she turned her face around, in a planned move.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist."

She fussed with her rice-grainy dirty hands, flustered for a moment before going back to her task.

Backing off while letting out a chuckle, he dragged a chair with a creak and sat down, supporting his elbows on the counter, watching Rie's silhouette from her back as she worked diligently, there was something charming in the sight.

She cast a subtle glance over her shoulder. Ryou's been more bold lately, at the same time, he also looks happier. Maybe he shed a bit of that tight skin of perfection people always labeled him for, to become a more normal boy and act his age.

That moment was disrupted when someone else barged into the room. Ellis held the knob of the door, blinking aplenty at the sight of the teens, Ryou stood up on the spot.

"Dad? I thought you were still at the Osiris red," he said, folding his arms.

"I was, but I got bored, the Obelisk dorm looks so different when it's empty," his eyes roamed around enthusiastically," stopping at the girl who jolted and resumed her task. "Did I come too early?" he pushes his glasses up, giggling and provoking. "I was surprised you suddenly called me last night, but I didn't think you'd be here in the kitchen."

"Rie wanted to prepare some snacks since we'll be out for a while."

She turned around at the mention, her face blushing a little when she communicated with him through signs, Ellis didn't get the meaning, but Ryou gaped briefly, like he understood fully what she wanted to say, clearing his throat:

"You've met her before," he spoke solemnly, for him it was a necessary step. "But I'd like to introduce Rie again, as my girlfriend."

She bowed quickly, fidgeting along the way, her hands laced together, halting at Ellis' lighthearted chuckles, she panicked upon seeing the grains of rice stuck to her apron, washing it off immediately.

"You don't need to be so polite, we've already met after all!" he scratched his head, peeking over the symmetrically crafted rice balls she put on a food container.

"Not even I tried her cooking yet, you're in luck," Ryou commented on the side, shielding the side of his face, in a low tone. "You better behave."

"You know how to cook, Rie?"

She smiled wryly, showing a pint between her fingers while drying her hands and taking off the apron. To type on her PDA.

"I started to make meals on my own a while ago."

"Those look very good, I'm impressed," he let out a short, kind giggle. "I took the cooking duty at our house, Ryou's mom is a lawyer, so she's very busy and doesn't have time for chores."

Her curiosity was piqued, she glanced over at Ryou as if asking him why he'd never mention it, his shoulder twitched up, a drop of sweat delineating his face, he averted his gaze ashamed for not telling anything before, it seemed like Rie would love to hear about it.

"But don't you have anyone to cook for you, Rie?" Ellis interrupted expertly.

"Ever since I came to the academy, yes, the academy's cook prepares the dorm meals."

Her shoulder spiked uptight when she typed, answering like a questionnaire, her gaze seeking aid from her boyfriend, who simply assured her with a nod and a tiny smile, to tell her she's doing well.

"But before that I was living on my own."

"All alone? I mean, do you not have any family members living with you?"

"Ellis," Ryou called out.

A saddened glint flickered on her eyes, Ellis sweated, perhaps he asked too much out of curiosity, but she put up a smile, replying to him.

"My uncle was too busy and he lives on this island because of his work, so he arranged a place for me to stay and gave me money, but I was on my own for a while…"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Did you not have any other relatives besides your uncle, like grandparents or other uncles?"

"My mom didn't have any siblings, and I don't know if my uncle is related to my father or not… But my mom was adopted by a couple, my grandparents," she put a lid on the plastic container, placing it on a bag. "Unfortunately they died shortly before I was born."

"So your mother was also alone? I'm sorry I'm reminding you of such sad stories."

"It's okay, I'm not bothered anymore," she strapped the bag around her shoulder.

The three of them set out, Ryou led the way, leaving some space for Rie to talk with his father, a growing concern in his chest that made him often cast glances behind him.

Ellis could not refrain himself from asking more, despite his son's constant warnings to not pry too much.

"Why did you come to the academy? Do you also want to be a pro duelist?"

"It was a suggestion of my uncle, since I could study and be closer to him like that.

"I see…"

They arrived at their destination, Ryou opened the door of the garden with a firm push, a fresh gust of wind blew their hair, shaking the strands gently. The sight of greenery was equally refreshing.

"Whoah, that's a great place, why did we never come here before, Ryou?" Ellis beamed.

"There wasn't any particular reason," he shrugged off.

"Oh, I can think of a reason," his eyes lidded in half, a teasing smirk playing on his lips.

His lips curved almost in a pout, such a fading, tiny blush on his cheeks as he admitted. "I'm helping Rie with her deck and dueling."

Ryou went ahead, to hide his embarrassment, taking a seat at one of the benches nearby, Rie tagged along, sitting beside him and Ellis took a seat across from the, supporting his elbow on the table, his face docked on his palms as he flung his legs excitedly.

"Hmm, that sounds intriguing, which type of deck do you have, Rie?" his eyes sparkled intrigued, it was hard to think of him as Ryou's father.

"Behave yourself," he reminded his father.

"I get it, I get it," he scratched his head, straightening up.

"I use Adamancipators," she wrote quickly.

"Adama-" his tongue rolled at the name. "I never heard about it, are they new?"

Nodding briskly, she pulled out her deck case, offering it to him. He smiled kindly, but his gaze seemed somewhat scrutinizing.

"My uncle helped me find those, but they're not well known since they're new."

Flipping through the cards, his expression varied from crooked brows of confusion to amused stares as he read all the effects, the amount of effort he put into it, drifting into his own world elicited a small giggle on Rie.

"He looks like you when checking your cards, but with a wider array of expressions."

She joked, Ryo curved his lips down, troubled at the comparison, but soon it turned into a tiny, fond smile, his gaze transfixed on her profile. If Rie was comfortable enough to make jokes, it was a good sign.

"I must say this deck is very interesting, it has lots of potential," he commented out loud, still admiring the cards. "Have you two dueled against each other yet?"

They flinched, exchanging a glance and denying in unison. Ellis gasped in utter shock as if they'd just commit a sin.

"Not even once?!" his eyes widened. "Ah, I'm so jealous, if your mother knew how to duel, I'd have challenged her so many times!" he sighs heavily, a tad disappointed in his son. "Your girlfriend duels and you're not challenging her? Not only you, you too, Rie-chan you too, you're missing a chance here to face the best duelist in the academy, you know?"

Her typing speed increased so much the clacks of her keyboard made them flinch, she wrote with nervous fingers.

"I'm still learning how to best use my deck, I don't think I'm prepared to face Ryou, plus I'm not sure which career path to take yet."

"Oh, so you're not aiming to be a duelist? Hmm, even so, I think it's such a missed opportunity," he rubbed his chin, looking up to the sky thoughtfully, coming up with an excuse, raising his finger. "Besides, don't you know duelists express themselves their best in a duel? You might get closer to Ryou if you duel him, who knows?"

"Ellis," he called out, graver this time, frowning at his father.

The man laughed it off, but Rie was stunned at those words. To understand Ryou better through a duel? That sounds great, but would she really connect more with his true feelings like that?

"Rie doesn't have a lot of dueling experience because she was in a normal school before," he explained. "That's why she's worried about her grades, if she fails, she will drop out of the Obelisk dorm."

"Right, there's the whole ranking system in your school," he trailed off, Shou's face coming to his mind. "Well, I can help you too if you want, Rie."

She snapped awake of her daydreaming at his sudden suggestion. "I have much to learn."

"That's not a bad suggestion," Ryou said. "He used to be part of the pro leagues, Rie, though I don't know how his rank would stand currently," he noted, casting a sharp glance to the side, his father just kept smiling cheerfully at the indirect message. "He also helped me a number of times."

"Is that true, Mr. Marufuji?"

"Ah, please, you can call me Ellis, Ryou is also a Marufuji after all," he stuffed his chest proudly. "You can tell me what are your difficulties with your deck, I'll see what can be done about it to help you."

"I don't think I can fully extract the potential of Adamancipators yet. I haven't played them for long, but I have difficulties understanding how to best play them and when to use the combos."

"Hmm, if that's the case, would you lend me your deck for a while?" he asked nonchalantly, the two teens exchanged a glance.

Rie pursed her lips, offering her deck case, Ellis' gaze rushed through her cards, reading the effects so quickly she was dizzy just watching him.

"Are you familiar with synchro summons?" she asked.

"Ah, yeah, I teach some kids of the neighborhood how to duel and I've seen the synchro summons becoming a popular choice lately."

"You do?" Ryou asked flabbergasted,

"Well, I don't have two kids to take care of anymore and a lot of free time," he admitted between chuckles. "Besides, I like to keep up with the new card trends, it's a good way to do it."

"What about my deck? Is there anything that could be improved?"

"I don't think the deck has anything wrong per se, but I never saw you dueling, so the best way is to give a glimpse of it. Of a duel with those cards, I mean. Do you mind if I show you instead of just explaining?"

She was afraid of questioning his expertise, but Ryou was bold enough to contest.

"What do you mean?"

"Hmm, let's see… That professional duelist friend of yours, Edo Phoenix, is he around the island today?"

"You can't be-" he gasped, interrupted by his father.

"If he isn't, I can always ask Samejima."

"H-he is probably available, but…"

"Nice," his glasses shone, reflecting the sunlight. "We're going in for a field lesson, then! Do you mind if I make some adjustments to your deck, Rie-chan?"

Rie swayed her head in a no, not knowing what exactly he meant by "adjustments". And what does Edo have to do with this now? She thought, clutching the straps of her bag.

Meanwhile, on the way to the academy building,

Edo and Asuka walked on the main road, she skimmed through her deck while sometimes letting out low, "hm" grunts, bothered by something.

"Do you need some advice?"

"I would gladly take some, but currently I'm just trying to figure out how to tinker with my deck," she smiled briefly at him. "They've released some new cards for the Cyber Angel archetype and I was thinking of including them, but I'm not sure what I should take out."

"Which cards?"

"Cyber Angel Natasha is the one I'm interested in. But I want to make sure it synergizes with my deck."

"If that's the case, I can take a look at it."

"Isn't it cheating to get the help of a pro?" her brows curled guiltily.

"If you're friends with one, why not borrow their help?" he declared nonchalantly. "Do you want to grab a drink?"

"N-Now?" she choked on her own saliva.

"Yeah, why not? I can tell you some improvements if you show me that card you wanted to add."

Turning around, they ended up in the small snack bar near the beach and coast of the island. Asuka sat shyly looking at the sides, but the place was rather empty, the waitresses aside. Cupping her chin on a hand, she watched Edo skillfully spread the deck over the table, so concentrated it looked he was preparing for his own duels in the pro league and not for some simple advice session.

Her mind drifted away, a myriad of memories washing into it, the first time she visited the academy and the other times too, Fubuki would come here with her, to the spot on the corner of the open air bar, without realizing it, her gaze landed there, on the round, wooden table.

"Do you want to sit over there?" he looked over, curious to why she's been fixated on it.

"Ah, no, not really. I was just feeling nostalgic. I used to come here with Fubuki a lot, sometimes, Ryou would tag along, but he was never much of a swimmer. My brother, on the other hand, was surfing a lot back in the day."

"He surfs?"

"Yeah, he said it was fun and girls were all over him for that."

"Oh, he's that type."

"Aren't you also practicing those more radical sports?"

"Hey, I just enjoy them, I'm not using it to bait girls," he sounded almost offended at it, she snickered. "Plus, I need to have some amount of skill to be able to sneak around places like what I do on the island, it's all for my objective, not for any fame."

"Hm, I never thought of that. Maybe if I try something like that, my father will stop giving me pepper spray…"

"You'll always be his little girl. I doubt he will skip on that pepper spray," Edo noted.

As they chatted in a cheerful mood, from afar, behind a tree, Akira hid, spying on the scene, wiping his teary eyes with a finger. Asuka is growing and he's proud to see it, but it would be rude to interrupt them when she's smiling so brightly.

Edo's phone rang, he flinched, alarmed at the sound. Asuka had witnessed the scene many times, of him getting work calls, but his expression changed as soon as he read the name on the display screen, distinct wrinkles forming waves on his forehead.

Without another word, he stopped, turned around and answered immediately. "Hello, D.D., did something happen? It's unlike you to call me like this…"

[You're so invested into this duel academy, I thought I'd see how you're doing.]

"What do you mean?" he looked around. "Aren't you still busy with the leagues?"

[I took some time off between duels, I'm here at the island. Why don't you come and meet me?]

Edo scanned the surroundings, searching for the coast, that was when he spotted the sea and a tiny-looking cruise in the distance, he's sure it's not this small in person and he also knows who that boat belongs to.

"R-right, I'm on my way."

This is the first time Asuka saw Edo stutter, he darted off without saying much, she was compelled to follow him, questioning:

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Ah, it's… It's my guardian, he showed up on the island and he asked me to meet him. You don't need to come," he added the last part reluctantly, almost fearful.

You're kidding me, right?! If it's really that D.D. no way I'm missing meeting such an important person and world famous duelist!

She thought, with no time to voice that, she followed him silently and unannounced when he hurried to the port, just to find D.D. jumping off a small boat he took, his cruise was anchored somewhere in the horizon.

"Edo," he pulled his glasses up with his thumb, a dry gaze cast at the youngster. "I thought you would resume your activities in the pro league as soon as the 'winter vacation' of your school started."

"I've had some complications with my manager and decided to stay, plus I found interesting clues regarding the case of my father."

"In the school?" he raised a brow, folding his arms. "And which clue would that be?"

"It's complicated," he sighed wearily, sensing an impending argument.

"Did your manager fail to schedule appointments for you, then?"

"No, that's not the problem, I just think my time will be better used here and I can resume the leagues once this vacation is over."

Before that conversation continued, a voice came from afar, startling them both:

"Wait, don't just-"

"Hey, pro-boy! And whoever you are, Mr.!"

"Dad," Asuka's face slapped herself, reprimanding him. "That's D.D, the most famous duelist in the world currently."

"Really? I'm sorry, I didn't know you were a celebrity too. Pretty-face has his smile stamped all over magazines," he pointed at Edo.

"Mr. Tenjouin, I didn't expect to meet you here, or you Asuka," she jolted at his sharp glance.

"Do you know them, Edo?"

"They're my classmate and her father. I've told you it's common for the parents of the students to come over and visit during the breaks."

"Did you?" he narrowed his eyes, it was a tad menacing.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, Mr. D. and Edo, but we're going back now, right, dad?" she elbowed her father softly.

"Ouch!" he paled at Asuka's killing glare for his antics. "Huh, yeah, yeah, I'm sorry, we're going."

As they turned around yet another group person barged into the scene, shouting:

"Hey!"

From afar, Ellis waved at the group, Edo flinched, his anxiety aggravating, he took a peek at D.D.'s expression and that deep crease between his brows wasn't the best, he'd seen the man angry and he sure hopes this won't happen here, in front of them.

"Hello, Mr. Marufuji," he greeted politely. "What brings you here?"

The strong aura D.D emanated stung his back, in a way he adjusted his feet to find a more comfortable position to stand.

"I want to challenge you to a duel!"

From behind the father, Ryou slaps his own forehead, shaking off his head as if that shouldn't be happening.

"How did you know I was here?"

Ryou cast a side glance to Asuka, she smiled wryly in an apology for as she had no idea the situation would become so convoluted.

"Are those also your classmates?" D.D. asked yet again.

"Ah, yeah, most of them," he pointed with his whole palm at Ryou and Rie. "They're upperclassmen."

When D.D's gaze landed on Rie, a shiver ran down her spine, her blood ran gelid, her eyes widening, the life drifting off of them, she had this inkling sensation that maintaining eye contact would get her in trouble, turning around in a rush.

There was this urge in her whole body, shouting at her, sending all sorts of alert signals to convey a single message.

That man is dangerous.

A memory flashed in her head, as the dark silhouette of a man entered a room, and a bright light shone behind him, occulting his traits. So quick she didn't know what to make of it.

"Rie, are you fine?" Ryou asked worriedly, his arm coming around her as he bent slightly closer to match her height.

Her lips split apart for an answer, but she didn't muster any sentence. He was taken aback when she finally faced him, a glassy, lost gaze.

"Rie…?"

Flinching awake, she hugged herself, massaging her arms to heat it up, shrinking her shoulders, nodding to him it was fine whilst sending a distrustful glance at D.D.

D.D narrowed his eyes, his brows twitching subtly, she averted her gaze again, this most strange feeling urging in her chest, that she has seen this man before, but he looks no different than a stranger.

It's impossible she's met the top duelist of the world league before, right? She must be mistaking him for someone else, her head is confused.

Ellis continued, waving shortly at D.D on the back, the man answered with a frown, folding his arms.

"So, do you want to duel me Edo?"

"Now?!" he was startled.

"Why? Do you have any appointments?"

"Well, I… Don't, but why do you want to duel me?"

"Ah, yes, I'd love to see how the young duelists of the pro-league are doing. I'm sure you can understand it too, D.D."

Edo gaped at the proposal, casting a side glance at his mentor who sighed heavily, pushing up his glasses, an arrogant tone as he spoke out:

"This is a waste of time, but go ahead, at least your opponent is someone who used to be in the pro leagues and not a random student."

Everyone looked at D.D. in that moment, how could he know about Ellis? Keeping a friendly smile, he giggled and scratched his head, the statement was no surprise to him.

"Are they both acquainted with each other?" Ryou muttered in a low tone, squinting his eyes.

Asuka didn't hold back a scowl, her father was also rather silent, almost bothered, that man spared but a cold glare at them, like they were a hindrance, it was so brief they wondered if it was their imagination.

What's with him?

"I sure hope you're not squandering your time dueling all the students that challenge you either," he huffed, folding his arm, an authoritarian, unapproachable posture.

"I'm not slacking off in my training, you don't need to fret," Edo rebuked, tensing up the mood. "I will gladly accept your duel, Mr. Marufuji, "

"Oh, I'll be using a borrowed deck, though, I hope you don't mind," he chuckled.

"If you believe it'll pose enough of a challenge," he started his duel disk.

Ryou set up a duel disk on his father's arm, stepping back, beside Rie after, she glanced over the duel, twiddling her fingers, entangled close to her chest, a jittery leg, her gaze switching back and forth from the duel.

"He does have the presence of a world famous duelist, I guess," Ryou commented in a low tone, to not raise attention to them. "But you don't need to worry, we didn't come here to talk to him, we came here to see your deck in action, right?"

He tapped her shoulder in reassurance, his touch making him realize Rie has been shaking softly this whole time. Why is she so terrified of his man? Not that he isn't doing his part in playing the scary villain type, but this is out of the ordinary.

"I didn't know your father wanted a duel."

"Neither did we," his brows furrowed a bit. "Still, I'm curious to see how he will handle a new deck."

"You may start the duel, Mr. Marufuji," Edo offered.

Turn 1 - Ellis

"Don't mind if I do, then," he drew the first hand, gleaning over it before starting the move. "First, I'll set a card down! Then, I'll summon Adamancipator Crystal Raptite (ATK 0/DEF 2200)! Now that I have an Adamancipator monster in my field, I can activate the effect of Adamancipator Researcher from my hand and special summon it! Now Researchers tunes Crystal Raptite to bring forth a synchro monster: Adamancipator Risen- Raptite (ATK 2200/DEF 2800)! And with this, I end my turn!"

Turn 2 - Edo

"A deck that excavates cards, huh? Is this your main deck?"

"Ah, to tell the truth, this isn't my deck!"

He chuckled, scratching head, baffling the watchers, Ryou sighed heavily in the background for the antics of his father.

"I promised someone I'd help them see just how good this deck is, but don't mind me! I'm sure you also have to try out new decks from time to time."

Indeed he can't deny many of the "exercises" D.D had him execute through the years was to be very flexible and use a wide variety of decks so he can both understand and be able to counter it as well as improving his quick thinking when dealing with the unknown.

"I'll not hold myself back," he stated haughtily. "I use Polymerization from my hand to fuse two of my D-Heroes, come on, Destiny Hero Dystopia (ATK 2800/ DEF 2400), now I'll set a card down" the duel disk made a holographic noise as he placed the card. "And we can proceed to the battle phase! Attack his Raptite!"

Destiny heroes in the Graveyard: Destiny Hero Disk Commander, Destiny Hero Dreamer.

LP: Ellis - 4000 - 3400 Edo: 4000

From afar, D.D's eyes squinted, to think Edo is going all out even against a random opponent, the moment he thinks that, EDo voices himself, almost synchronically, as if feeling the disapproving glare of his guardian.

"My D-Heroes are my pride, consider using them as my form of respect for you, since you're a former pro-duelist, besides I'm also curious to see how 'rusty' you are."

"Whoah, I'm elated. Frankly, I'm also intrigued to know how rusty I've become!"

Turn 3 - Ellis

"My turn!" he draws, smiling happily at the success of it. "I summon Adamancipator Crystal Raptite (ATK 0/DEF 2200), and from my hand I activate the effect of Adamancipator Seeker (ATK 1200/DEF 1000), if there's any Adamancipator monster in the field except one equal to it, I can special summon it! With this, I now tune my Crystal, but let's try a different monster this time," he snickered, having fun like a child summoning for the first time. "Adamancipator Risen - Leonite (ATK 2400/DEF 2200), awaken!"

"Synchro monsters, huh, they're not as popular in the leagues yet," Edo rambles to himself.

"They're still a work in progress, but I guarantee, they're in no way a disappointment! I'll activate the effect of my Leonite to excavate the 5 top cards of my deck, and I can choose one Adamancipator card I excavated to bring to my hand, also place the other cards in any order atop my deck," the sunlight reflected on his glasses as he took a card to his hand, scheming. "But that's not all! I activate the field spell Adamancipator Laputite, all my rock type monsters gain 500 ATK and DEF while this is on the field!"

Leonite: 2400- 2900 ATK/ DEF 2200- 2700

"Not only that, but once it's activated, once per turn, I can excavate my deck for 5 cards and place them atop it in the order I desire, I'll do just that. Now that I'm all set, Leonite, attack his Dystopia!"

"That won't do," Edo interrupted, frowning. "From my hand, I activate the effect of Destiny Hero Blade Master. During your battle phase, I can activate it from my hand and all my D-HERO monsters gain 800 attack!"

Destiny heroes in the Graveyard: Destiny Hero Disk Commander, Destiny Hero Dreamer, Destiny Hero Blade Master.

"Quick reaction."

"And that's not all, If Dystopia's attack points are different from its original value, I can activate one of its effects, it can target one of your cards and destroy it at the cost of lowering his attack to its original value!"

"It's my time to say that won't work, I open my trap card: Infinite Impermanence! It negates the effect of one of your monsters," he defied. "Dystopia won't get to destroy Leonite now and the battle resumes!"

Ryou's eyes widened at the sight, the hologram of the card was that of a Dragon whose armor cracked when facing the blast of light, it was similar to a Cyber Dragon. Where did he get that? And why is he just shoving it into Rie's deck?

"Not so fast!" Edo disrupted the battle yet again. "I activate my trap card! D-Counter! When a Destiny Hero I control is targeted for an attack, the attacking monster is destroyed!"

"You got me here!" he admitted, enlarging his smile.

"Infinite Impermanence isn't part of the Adamancipator Archetype," it was an affirmation, not a question, he was puzzled.

"Indeed, it isn't," he laughed heartily, very aware of his mischief. "I just made some add-ons to this deck since I thought it could be fun!"

Turn 4 - Edo

Dystopia is still weaker than Leonite. But that won't be a problem.

"Draw! I activate the spell Destiny Draw, sending a monster from my hand to Graveyard," he glances over the card inserted, Destiny Hero Dynatag. "Now, I summon Elemental Hero Stratos! (ATK 1800/DEF 300), when it's normal or special summoned, I can choose from 1 of two effects, and the one I choose is to bring a monster from my deck to my hand! Now, I end my turn!"

Destiny heroes in the Graveyard: Destiny Hero Disk Commander, Destiny Hero Dreamer, Destiny Hero Blade Master, Destiny Hero Dynatag.

Asuka watched the turn finished without much development, concerned on how this would unfold, while she does believe in Edo skill, Ryou's father had this pressure around him of a seasoned duelist. Similar to how she felt when watching Edo in that duel.

Turn 5 - Ellis

"I summon Adamancipator Analyzer (ATK 1500-2000/ DEF 700 - 1200), as of course I'll excavate my deck for cards, then, I can choose any Adamancipator monsters and special summon it to the field, and I choose Adamancipator Crytal - Dragite! (ATK 0/ DEF 2200), and since Crystal Dragite was special-summoned, I can activate its effect, it lets me draw another card this turn!" he slips the card out with a smirk. "Now, Analyzer tunes Crystal Dragite into Adamancipator Risen - Dragite! (ATK 3000- 3500/DEF 2200 - 2700)."

"A different one this time?" Edo huffs. "Fine, bring it out."

"I'll set a card down, and now let's use the effect of my Dragite, I can excavate the top 5 cards of my deck, and I can send your cards back to your hand up to the number of rock monsters I get."

The revelation sent a chill down Edo's spine as Ellis carefully laid the plans ahead, having five of his cards as rock monsters due to all the previous excavating and reordering the deck.

"Though, I know your Stratos, so I won't send it back to your hand, it's a different case for Dystopia."

The D-Hero disappears from play, Edo begrudgingly takes the card to his hand, scowling at this point.

"You know what will happen, don't you?"

"This isn't my first duel, by all means, continue."

"Dragite, attack his Stratos!"

"From my Graveyard, I activate the effect of Destiny Hero Dreamer! If a monster of mine is involved in a battle, I can special summon this card (ATK 0/DEF 600) and I take no battle Damage."

"Phew, you're really prepared for anything, aren't you? But this is only a temporary solution. Leonite, attack his Destiny Hero Dreamer"

LP: Edo: 4000 - 1900 Ellis - 3400

"When Dreamer leaves the field after this effect, it's banished," he concludes the explanation, letting his duel disk swallow the card.

Destiny heroes in the Graveyard: Destiny Hero Disk Commander, Destiny Hero Blade Master, Destiny Hero Dynatag.

Turn 6 - Edo

"My turn! I summon Elemental Hero Liquid Soldier (ATK 1400/ DEF 1300) in attack mode from my hand, and since it was normal summoned, I can make use of its effect, special summoning Destiny Hero Disk Commander (DEF 300/ ATK 300) from the cemetery in defense position!"

"Hmm, you're mixing a few E-Heroes with D-Heroes? That's smart, they can kinda make up for each other's flaws," he pondered with a hand to his chin.

"My heroes have no flaws! I activate the effect of Disk Commander, " he shoved his hand onto the air. "If this card is special summoned from the graveyard, I can draw two cards! "

He gapes in awe at the two cards, realizing Destiny might just be on his side for this duel. Flipping one of the draw cards, with a furrow on his brows, he declares:

"I will activate the spell Called By The Grave!"

"I can't let you do that, that is a troublesome spell for me!" Ellis raises a finger in an objection. "I activate Dragite's second effect, when there's a water monster in my graveyard, which Crystal Dragite counts as, I can negate the effects of any spells or traps once per turn and destroy the card."

The hand that was raised from a tombstone on the ground became nothing more than shards as the Dragon shaped by Crystals blew an icy breath at the command of the Adamancipator Analyzer mounting it. Edo shielded his eyes from the leftover gust of wind produced by the effects, still irritated at the contesting.

Rie's eyes wavered at the display of skill. Her Adamancipators could do all that even Edo would have a hard time dealing with? Ryou gave a tiny smile from the side with how concentrated she was, still what happened before weighed in his mind.

"I get it, this is what Adamancipators are," Edo tapped his head. "A bouncer deck, not only that but like some of my heroes, all your cards have effects to profit from. It's impressive that you can do that with a deck you've never used before, but…"

Ellis chuckled, adjusting his glasses. "But?"

He proclaimed in a grave tone. "True Heroes shine the most when the future ahead seems the darkest! And your destiny to lose hasn't changed yet!"

"Destiny?"

D.D. scorned the word with a snort, Asuka and Akira both exchanged a glance at how he was averse to the word.

"I activate Miracle Fusion! By tributing Stratos and Liquid Soldier, I fusion summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero! And let me tell its effect: if this card leaves the field, all your monsters are destroyed, and since this is a monster effect and not any trap or spell, there's nothing your Dragite can do.."

"I see, you've broken my fangs here," he laughed nervously, but there was this calculative glint in his eyes.

"I am done, your turn."

Turn 7 - Ellis

"Okay! I summon Adamacipator Crystal, Leonite (ATK 0/DEF 2200 - 2700), now by using the effect of my Adamancipator Researcher (ATK 100 - 600/DEF 2100 - 2600), I special summon it to the field, and now, I will synchro summon Adamancipator Risen Raptite again! However, this time as I have a wind monster in my graveyard, I can banish a card from your graveyard, and I choose Stratos!"

Edo doesn't flinch when the duel disk auto-shuffles Stratos out of his cemetery and sends it to another area, his cold-blooded attitude seems to reflect a bit of D.D in there, Ellis conjectures mentally.

"Tell me, Edo Phoenix, if I were to destroy your Elemental Hero Absolute Zero, I could get rid of its tricky effect, and I'd be able to regain my monsters quickly just by excavating, but will you be able to rearrange your field to last another turn?"

It sounded like a test, Ellis was probing whether he had what it takes to be bold in the battlefield and he knew that.

"You're assuming I'll let you have another turn? Forget that, this ends in my next turn."

"If you say so," he accepted the challenge. "Let's see if you have what it takes to back up your words! Leonite, attack his Disk Commander!"

The red lion with a yellow mane jumps and bites the Hero off, making it crack into shards.

"Now, for the finishing act, Dragite, attack his Absolute Zero!"

As soon as Absolute Zero was destroyed, the damage calculator is done, but all of Ellis Adamancipators break into pieces, dissipating from the field like clouds of dust.

LP: Edo: 1900 - 900 Ellis - 3400

"We'll both start from zero, nothing more fair, don't you agree?"

"Humph, taunting the kid won't work," D.D. can't take it anymore and snaps at Ellis. "He was trained from early on to not fall for scare tactics like yours, but I take it you've lost your edge, Marufuji."

Ryou and Asuka both gaped, surprised, D.D. even remembers the surname of Ellis?

Turn 8 - Edo

Asuka watches Edo afflicted, he has a single card on his hand, but that pose of his as if victory had been achieved that exuding confidence didn't disappear, if she didn't know him enough, she'd think it was a bluff to hide how desperate he felt, but it wasn't.

"I've been prepared for this," he declares, closing his eyes, speaking in a calm, collected voice. "From my hand I activate my last card, and the one that will win me this duel: Fusion Destiny!"

"Another fusion card?"

"I can use materials from my hand or deck with this card, but the monster I summon with it will be destroyed on the End phase of next turn. Of course, since my hands are free," he shakes them. "I will use two materials from my deck, Two Destiny Heroes unite to become Destiny Hero Dangerous (ATK 2000/DEF 2600)!"

Destiny heroes in the Graveyard: Destiny Hero Disk Commander, Destiny Hero Blade Master, Destiny Hero Dynatag, Destiny Hero Decider, Destiny Hero Diamond Dude.

"Now, I activate Dangerous' effect, I can choose a Destiny Hero from my deck or hand and send it to the graveyard and Dangerous gains 200 ATK points for each Destiny Hero in the Graveyard!"

Destiny heroes in the Graveyard: Destiny Hero Disk Commander, Destiny Hero Blade Master, Destiny Hero Dynatag, Destiny Hero Decider, Destiny Hero Diamond Dude, Destiny Hero - Captain Tenacious.

"And with the Dangerous effect, I have 6."

Destiny Hero Dangerous: ATK 2000 - 3200

"That's awesome, but you're still a bit short on attack there to win in a single blow."

"Not really, I had it figured out from the start," he scoffs confident. "I activate the effect of Dynatag from my Graveyard, by banishing it, I can target a Destiny hero I control and add 1000 ATK points until the end of your next turn. You won't be dueling this long, though…"

Destiny Hero Dangerous: ATK 3000 - 4000

"It's over! Dangerous, attack his field!"

The menacing looking muscular Hero darted towards Ellis, flapping its wings to break its flight and hover above the duelist, Ellis looked up and the monster used its claws to attack him, he squinted one of his eyes at the perfect show of lights, despite knowing it wasn't true.

LP: Ellis - 3400 - 0

"Ah-ah, there goes my life points," he chuckled, relieved as the holograms stop as the duel ended. "I really lost there."

"I hope you enjoyed the duel," Edo walked up to him, a smile sprouting on his lips as he politely shared a handshake with Ellis. "I'd love to duel when you're using your own deck next."

"You don't need to pay respects to someone that dropped out of the league, Edo," D.D. spoke aloud. "You didn't do more than your job in defeating a lower level duelist. Now, if you excuse us, I'd like to have a talk with you, in private."

He eyed every single person in the vicinity, from the angry faces of Akira and Ryou to the confused Asuka and Ellis, stopping on Rie, who averted her eyes as soon as he looked her way.

"I understand you're not known as the most friendly duelist, but you could try using some tact, D.D."

Edo berated, dissatisfied with the behavior, but the man walked ahead, indicating he was done having conversations in front of that bunch, like he deemed them all unworthy. Edo sighed heavily, waving his hand at the before following his guardian.

"Admit it, you just wanted a duel with him, didn't you? You weren't thinking much of Rie there, Ellis," Ryou's scolding tone startled the man.

"Hey, that's not true, I wanted to show how much her cards can do too, but I also wanted to test the new blood of the pro leagues, ahaha," he lifted his nose. "I'd also love to duel you when you enroll in the pro leagues," he finished, casting a sharp glance.

"This flattering won't work, you vowed you'd help her, but you were just chasing your own goals here."

Rie flailed her hands to try to appease the mood, Ellis sniggered, aware of his ambitious move of both teaching Rie and getting a duel. She typed a message to him:

"Couldn't you have won if you had stalled and gotten a card to get rid of his Absolute Zero?"

"No, that win was… impossible," his expression harshened. "It seems he sealed my 'destiny', regardless of whether I had attacked Absolute zero or not, Dynatag was in his graveyard from early on to counter in case I tried to destroy his monster regardless, the boy is really a genius!"

"Hm, but didn't he get lucky with that last fusion card coming to his hand right as he needed?"

"Luck is also an important skill of a duelist, Rie-chan."

"Well, It's not every days you get to see your own cards used by a pro," Asuka tapped Rie's shoulder. "I'm sad I didn't get my share of it, though."

She sighed demotivated, remembering how Edo almost helped her with her deck too. Then, she flinched awake of her own depression:

"By the way, Mr. Marufuji, you know the world champion?"

"You mean D.D.? yeah, I've dueled him about ten or so years ago…"

"He was in the league back then too?" Ryou angled a brow in doubt.

"He was… And he lost that duel."

They teens exchanged glances. No way, the world champion? Ellis complemented his explanation after witnessing their disbelief:

"Well, he was very different back then, I can tell he's completely changed. How he went from a poor duelist to championship, I don't know, but it's all in the past. The world goes round, you can't stop the flow of time."

"Also, Ellis," Ryou called him out once more. "What's with putting Infinite Impermanence on Rie's deck? And where did you get it from?"

"Ah, actually, that was a gift for you, heh," he rubbed his own nose with a finger? "Are you astounded yet? I pulled some strings from people I knew to get this on my hands, they're going to release yet more monsters beyond synchro."

"Beyond Synchro? Wait, that still doesn't explain why you mixed it in her deck."

"Aha, I just thought it'd be cute if it felt like you're giving Rie a hand by having a card from your archetype in her deck."

Rie's shoulders bristled up, she flushed blabbering abashed words, Asuka giggled, covering her mouth with a hand, casting a glance at Ryou, she could swear there was the slightest tinge of pink on his cheeks too.

"You should maybe take the girls to the dorm, I'd like to talk a bit with Akira. I'll sleep on the Osiris red tonight, so you don't need to wait for me, Ryou."

"Oh, I don't intend to go to the dorms now, I'll pay a visit to the osiris red myself, Shou and Judai were very worried about Manjoume."

"What happened?" Ryou asked.

"I have no idea," she shrugged her shoulders. "They're going to tell me when I drop there,"

"In this case, take care on your way!"

Leaving the precinct, Asuka took a different pathway from Ryou, as soon as the kids were gone, Akira had this most bothered expression.

"There's definitely something wrong with that guy."

"Excluding his attitude with me because of our past, he was really awful. No matter how I look at it, this goes beyond the strictness of a tutor."

"Hm, I can't have Asuka's possible partner in trouble."

"Since when are you deciding on her partners? Isn't that her own decision?"

"No! I'll veto anyone that isn't worth her!"

And so they started bickering under the sunset, on the way to the Obelisk dorm, Rie stopped, her brows curled.

"Do you need to talk?"

Hesitating while bringing her hands close to her chest, she affirmed with a tilt of her head, that expression changing into astonishment when Ryou wrapped her hand on his.

"Fine, we can go to the boys dorm, since it's closer and I'll take you to the girls dorm after we've talked," he smiled gently, to soothe her concerns.

Reciprocating that warm grip of his hand, she followed him without a doubt. At that same time, D.D, stopped somewhere on the coast, Edo's posture tensed up noticing the unbearably insidious aura emanating from the man, yet his semblance was as placid as a lake.

"Edo, I see you're having 'fun' and dawdling around this place, treating as if there's some sort of mysterious force here that can give you clues and answers that you've been searching for so long to no result..."

"I'm not only having 'fun', I'm keeping up my tabs in the pro league."

"Yes, but you're wasting precious time here. You could be on world tours, but instead you shackle yourself to this puny island, limiting yourself."

"This place is a school for dueling and although I can't say the rulings and basics are something I need to learn from the beginning, I still learned a lot here."

"It's a pity you think like this," he heaved, pushing his glasses up, looking down on Edo, making sure he understood the difference in their eye levels. "I'll get to the point: Edo, I want you to drop the duel academy and go back to fully concentrating on the pro leagues."

Edo gasped, he knew this was coming, but he thought maybe, D.D. would understand. Saiou told him to come, now D.D tells him to leave, the conflicting interests caused him a momentary dizziness. Whom does he listen to and what should he do?