Dealt a New Hand Chapter 2: II: Salt, Sharks, and Birds, a yu-gi-oh! arc-v fanfic

Dealt a New Hand

Summary: Duel Monsters. A children's card game that kids and adults alike can enjoy, even if the anime premise is silly. My problem? I just got Isekai'd into Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V, and I'm going to have to get involved in a dimensional war. "Well, might as well make every deck that was too expensive to be made in my original world!" Gamer!OC Fanfiction

II: Salt, Sharks, and Birds

"God damn it!" I roared in frustration, glaring at the screen in front of me with all the loathing I could possibly muster as I sat on my bed.

You might be wondering 'What could have possibly drawn this reaction from you?'

I'll fucking tell you what! Gacha!

I had forgotten in my naivety that Gacha Salt is eternal, and bad rates exist forever… I'm, of course, talking about the Booster Packs in the store.

After my duel with Yuto, the teacher glared at me but couldn't give me detention. So, I just hung out with Ruri, Shun, and Yuto for the rest of the class, getting to know them a bit. They'd invited me to come to their after-school 'club' that happened outside of school, but I'd politely turned them down for today, telling them I wanted to do a bit of deck tuning.

They'd, thankfully, not been offended and had agreed, so we'd parted ways.

I made my way home and checked my fridge. Thankfully, being dropped in this world had at least given me some basic provisions so that I wouldn't have to drop DP on money right away.

So, instead, I sat on my bed and began opening Booster Packs from the 'Sanctum of Spells' booster pack, one of the generic Boosters just gave out general Spell Cards like Monster Reborn, Foolish Burial, shit like that.

I was doing it to try and get a Polymerization. I'd already confirmed prices dropped when I got actual copies of the card. And the more copies I got, the cheaper it got from singles.

I would have just bought Polymerization outright, if it wasn't 5000 DP. So, instead, I tried my luck with the boosters.

But Gacha is eternal, and so is the salt that comes with it.

Don't get me wrong, I did get some good spells like Foolish Burial, Soul Charge, Future Fusion (non-anime version), and I even managed to pick up a Graceful Charity.

But I also got equally useless cards like Shien's Spy, Card Shuffle, the non-anime Card of Sanctity, and fucking Cold Feet.

What's Cold Feet you ask?

It's arguably the worst spell card in the game. It's a Quick-Play Spell that locks you out of setting or using the effects of any spell or trap cards for the rest of the turn.

Why is that bad?

Because it locks you out of it. Not your opponent, you yourself. And while you could potentially use it with Magical Refpanel, it's just not worth it unless you were running Magical Refpanel anyway, which in itself is kind of a niche card, needing for a spell to activate that targets 1 player to activate it.

Even then, I was pretty sure Cold Feet didn't even target!

Thankfully the packs only cost 150 DP per pack. But I was down to 232 DP, and I still hadn't pulled a single copy of Polymerization, which was kind of needed if I was going to teach the other three how to Fusion Summon.

And yes, while I could teach them with Future Fusion, Polymerization was a better teacher as it was literally the origin of Fusion cards… And if anime logic had taught me anything, they needed to be taught by someone else to get it…

Seriously, how the fuck did Yuzu not understand that Fusion Monsters needed to be in the Extra Deck?

I sighed and took a deep breath, glaring at the screen. "Come on Poly… One more pack that I can buy left… Just give me fucking Polymerization, god damn it!" I told the screen as I bought one last booster pack for the day.

The cards slowly flipped over one by one…

Supply Squad… Lightning Vortex… Swords of Revealing Light… Polymerization, finally… Was that a fucking Ultimate Rare Pot of Greed?

I did not hesitate to put Pot of Greed into my deck. The anime had no ban list, so I could run this card happily… I put Graceful Charity in there too, especially since some of my Cyberdarks were better off in the Graveyard anyway.

But finally, with Polymerization owned, I checked its new pricing.

Polymerization: 2500 DP

Okay, that was good! The price was halved, I'd be able to buy that no problem after a duel or two!

"… Wait do I get Free Duels?" I mused as I opened up my menu.

[Stats] [Shop] [Deck Editor] [Quests]

Damn it, I didn't have Free Duels like in Yu-Gi-Oh games… But I supposed that was fair. In the Tag Force games, Free Duels were kinda bad. And I remembered in the GX Tag Force games, you could just walk up to anyone and ask for a Duel.

"I suppose I should head out and look for a duel… Before that though…" I decided to try out Card Creation. It said that I could create one card outside of duels a day, so I was going to try it out.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, holding a hand out. What I eventually wanted to create was my own Archetype Deck that fit my playstyle and likes. I wanted a Deck based on the stars and Constellation, but not Consteller. I wanted it to be a swarming deck that focused on Special Summoning cards from the Deck or Graveyard, or adding them to your hand to perform combos… But to start that combo, you needed a card that could add a monster from your deck to your hand…

I felt a weight settle in my hand abruptly, eyes opening in surprise that it happened so fast, and I slowly looked at the card. I couldn't help but blush as it depicted a very pretty blonde woman with her hair in twin tails, around teenage, dressed very scantily and holding a sword- Wasn't this fucking Pollux from Fate/Grand Order!?

SolStar Pollux (LIGHT/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 500/LV: 4)

Yes… Yes, it was. I shook my head and focused on her effect, ignoring her… Risqué card art for now.

If you control no monsters on your field, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. When this card is Normal or Special Summoned to your field; add 1 Level 4 or lower "SolStar" monster from your Deck to your Hand. When this card is used as Material for the summoning of an Extra Deck monster; Draw 1 Card. You may only use each effect of "SolStar Pollux" once per turn.

Okay, this was a very good card if you asked me. A 'potentially turn the situation around' kind of card. Special Summoning if you control no monsters, adding a Level 4 or lower monster of the same Archetype to the hand, and drawing a card if you used it as material for an Extra Deck summon?

Yes, this was a very good card.

"I look forward to working with you, Pollux," I told the card, tilting my head as I listened in…

No response.

Perhaps the card simply needed time to develop a soul? Sort of like how Reiji's Pendulum Cards malfunctioned in his Duel with Yuya, they didn't have a soul to balance them out yet.

I slid Pollux into my Deck Box for the time being before I headed out the house, walking down the street and keeping my eye out for people, something to duel.

Sadly, after a full hour of walking around town- familiarising myself with the area at the same time- I still hadn't found anyone wearing a Duel Disk to duel.

I sighed in annoyance ready to just turn around and head home, before I spotted someone… And I had to stop my jaw dropping.

It was fucking Shark!

Holy shit, Shark from Zexal! Basically, the best male character in the show right alongside Kaito!

Holy shit, I had to work so hard not to fanboy right now! Shark was so fucking cool!

I was so glad I picked the option to add cut out characters now, Shark would be a huge addition to the resistance when the Fusion Dimension invaded.

Wait, shit, he was walking away. I quickly ran over to him. "Uh, excuse me!"

I saw him pause and he turned around to look at me. "You talking to me?" He asked.

"Yeah," I stopped. "If you have the time, I was wondering if you'd like to Duel?"

He stared at me, considering for a moment, and then checked his watch… Before he shrugged. "Why not? I got some time to kill before I have to meet up with my sister to buy groceries. You're on," he readied his Duel Disk.

I gave a grin as I stepped back and readied my own Duel Disk, glancing down as the screen came on.

Huh, so his name was Ryuga? Nice to confirm that all the names would be the Japanese names, not the English ones.

Because God, Zuzu was such a bad translation.

"Huh, so you're Ash?" Ryuga asked, causing my attention to be drawn to him. "My friends were talking about you at our after-school club, about how you use a different kind of summoning method. This might be fun after all."

"I'll try not to disappoint you, Ryuga," I told him, as I drew five cards from my deck.

Side Quest Issued: Defeat Ryuga!

I gave the barest of nods to the Side Quest as I prepared for the Duel.

He just smirked. "Well then, let's…"

"Duel!"

Ryuga LP – 4000

Ash LP – 4000

"I'll take the first move," he told me. "And I'll start by summoning Lantern Shark to my field!" He placed the card down, a tide of water surging as a shark shot up, a standard black/white shark with mechanical parts on its body.

Lantern Shark (WATER/Fish/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 900/LV: 4)

"Lantern Shark's effect activates," he told me. "When Lantern Shark is summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 3, 4, or 5 WATER monster from my hand in Defence Mode, but I can't summon anything from the Extra Deck this turn unless it's an Xyz Monster."

'And given how this dimension is, his Extra Deck likely only has Xyz Monsters,' I thought to myself, still panicking a bit. Ryuga was a secret fucking boss!? My luck really was shit!

"I Special Summon Buzzsaw Shark from my hand!" He placed the card on the field, unveiling a shark almost completely covered in armour with lights on its underbelly.

Buzzsaw Shark (WATER/Fish/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 500/LV: 4)

"Next I activate Buzzsaw Shark's effect! By targeting a WATER monster on my field, I can Special Summon another WATER monster from my Deck with the same level but a different name, with its effects negated! And I choose my Silent Wobby!" A card slid out of his deck, this time being some kind of purple… Fish… Shark… Thing? With sharp teeth wearing a face-mask.

Silent Wobby (WATER/Fish/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000/LV: 4)

"Three monsters just like that," I noted. "And something tells me you aren't done."

He smirked at me. "Correct! I overlay my Level 4 Silent Wobby and Lantern Shark!" The two monsters turned into blue lights that shot into the sky, before the Xyz Portal appeared in front of him and they shot down into it. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!"

I let out a gulp and prepared myself. 'Please don't be Silent Honors Ark! Please don't be Silent Honors Ark!'

There was an explosion of light as he pulled a card from his Extra Deck. "Howl, unknown beast! Rise from the darkness of the Abyss, and bring forth destruction to those who dare challenge you!" He slammed the card onto his desk, smirking. "Rise! Rank 4! Bahamut Shark!"

A hulking beast of a monster appeared with a Shark's body with arms and legs, the fins fanning out on its back to almost look like wings. Its underbelly was white, and its back was light blue, with sharp claws on its hands and feet.

Bahamut Shark (WATER/Fish/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2100/RNK 4)

This was arguably worse than Silent Honors Ark, if I was honest…

"I activate Bahamut Shark's effect!" Shark told me. "I detach 1 overlay unit, and Special Summon a Level 3 or lower Water Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck, and then Bahamut Shark can't attack for the rest of this turn!"

One of Bahamut Shark's overlay units shattered, as Shark's Extra Deck and he pulled out another card. "Beast from the deep! Rise from the darkness of the abyss, and sweep away my foes with a vicious tide! Rank 3! Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!"

A new monster formed on the field, this one looking like two sharks somewhat melted together at their fins, the front of their faces connected with some sort of glider, and a wheel on either one of them.

Submersible Carrier Aero Shark (WATER/Fish/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000/RNK: 3)

"… You're not done, are you?" I asked him. Because I knew, I knew, there was one more card he could bring out from his Extra Deck right now.

Shark only smirked at me. "Now, using Aero Shark, I rebuild the Overlay Network!"

Aero Shark turned into a blue light and shot up before slamming into the portal in front of Shark again. "Warrior from the abyss! Sharpen your fangs in the heat of battle, and destroy oppression with your Black Lance!"

He slammed a card onto his Duel Disk. "Rank-Up Xyz Change! Descend now! Rank 4! Full Armored Black Ray Lancer!"

Out of the portal rose a monster that made me gulp, in mild fear. It looked so similar to black ray lancer, but with orange coloured armour on his legs, arms, and back, wielding a huge black lance.

Full Armored Black Ray Lancer (WATER/Beast-Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2100/DEF: 600/RNK: 4)

I gulped. "… Trying to make me regret challenging you or something?"

"No, I just want to see you at your best," he said with a smirk. "Full Armored Black Ray Lancer gains 200 ATK for every material attached to him!"

Full Armored Black Ray Lancer ATK: 2100 – 2300

"Then, I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn! Your move!"

Ryuga's Hand: 1

"In that case, it's my turn!" I told him. "I draw!" I pulled a card from my deck and looked down at my hand.

Even if this was Ryuga, we were still duelling in the early part of the story, meaning he should still be beatable. Hopefully it meant he was lacking things like his Number Cards, if they even existed without me handing them out.

"While you control monsters and I control none, I can Special Summon Cyber Dragon from my hand!" I placed the card onto the field, causing the slim mechanical dragon to rise up with a roar.

Cyber Dragon (LIGHT/Machine/Effect/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600/LV: 5)

"Next I activate the Continuous Spell: Cyberdark Realm!" I slid the card onto the field, green orbs of light containing various Cyberdark monsters appearing on the field.

"What is this?" Ryuga looked around.

"This is Cyberdark Realm! When this card is activated, I can add 1 Cyberdark monster from my Deck to my hand! And I'm choosing my Cyberdark Claw!" I pulled the card out of my deck and showed it to Ryuga before putting it in my hand.

Cyberdark Claw (DARK/Dragon/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 800/LV: 3)

"But he won't stick around, because I activate his effect! By discarding Cyberdark Claw to my Graveyard, I can add 1 Cyberdark Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand!" I slid the card into my Graveyard. "And the card I'm choosing is my Cybernetic Horizon!"

Ryuga stared at me. "But that's not called Cyberdark."

"Its effect has its name always treated as being a Cyberdark card," I told him as the card slipped out of my deck and into my hand. "Then I activate Cybernetic Horizon! I discard my Cyber Dragon Core in my hand, and send Cyberdark Chimera from my Deck to the Graveyard, in order to add Cyberdark Chimera from my deck to my hand!"

Another card slid out of my deck, which I revealed before putting back in my hand.

Cyberdark Chimera (DARK/Machine/Effect/ATK: 800/DEF: 2100/LV: 4)

"Then, since I successfully added a card to my hand, I can send my Cyber End Dragon from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard!" I pulled it out and slipped it into the Graveyard. "The cost of using Cybernetic Horizon is that I can't Special Summon monsters from my Extra Deck unless they're Machine monsters."

"Huh, so that's a fusion monster," Ryuga smirked. "Come on, show me what you got!"

"Oh, I will, but first the effect of Cyberdark Chimera activates! When it's sent to my Graveyard, I can send another Cyberdark monster to my Graveyard, as long as it has a different name than the ones already sleeping in my Graveyard. And I'm choosing my Cyberdark Horn!" I pulled a card from my Deck and slipped it into the Graveyard.

"Next up, I activate Cyber Dragon Core's effect from my Graveyard! By banishing this card while its in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Cyber Dragon monster from anywhere in my deck! So, I Special Summon my Cyber Dragon Herz!"

Herz appeared on the field, coiled up and ready to strike… It was kinda cute, honestly, since it was so weak.

"Herz's effect activates! When it's Special Summoned to my field, it becomes a Level 5 monster! But in exchange I can only Special Summon Machine monsters this turn!"

Cyber Dragon Herz LV: 1 – 5

"Two Level Fives…" Ryuga's eyes narrowed as he got ready. "And here I thought I'd see something new."

"Oh, trust me, you've never seen this monster before!" I told him. "I overlay my Level 5 Cyber Dragon and Cyber Dragon Herz!" Both monsters became golden lights that shot up into the sky, spiralling around as the Xyz portal appeared in front of me. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" They shot into the portal, an explosion of light coming from it.

My Extra Deck opened up and I pulled a card out of it, my violet eye glowing brightly. "Mechanical Dragon sleeping in the darkness! Bathe in the light of the sun, and unleash an inferno upon this world!" I slammed the card onto my Duel Disk. "Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 5! Cyber Dragon Nova!"

With a mighty roar, my monster soared out of the portal, carrying Cyber Dragon's appearance but with black wings, a core in its chest burning red, and a new faceplate.

Cyber Dragon Nova (LIGHT/Machine/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600/RNK: 5)

"Not bad," Ryuga told me. "Not bad at all, that is something new. But it's not strong enough to defeat my Lancer or Bahamut Shark."

"Don't worry, I'm getting to that," I told him. "But first, I activate Cyberdark Realm's effect! When this effect resolves, I can immediately Normal Summon a Cyberdark monster in my hand! So, I summon out my Cyberdark Chimera!"

The monster appeared on my field, looking like some strange amalgamation of Edge, Horn, and Keel… I thought it was kinda cool.

"I activate Chimera's Effect. Now, by discarding Cyber Eternal to my Graveyard, I can add Power Bond from my Deck to my hand! And, once this turn, when I Fusion Summon, I can do so by also banishing monsters in my Graveyard as Material!"

Ryuga's eyes widened in shock. "What!?"

"And you know what, I think I'll use Power Bond!" I slammed the card onto my field. "With this card, I can fuse monsters in my hand and on my field to Fusion Summon a Machine-Type monster from my Extra Deck! So, I'll fuse the Cyberdark Chimera on my field, with the Cyberdark Keel in my hand, and I'll banish Cyberdark Horn, Claw, and Chimera in my Graveyard!"

Keel appeared on the field, floating up as the Fusion Portal appeared above me, ghostly silhouettes of my other three monsters appearing above me, all turning into different coloured orbs of light and starting to swirl together.

"Dragon residing in the deepest hell! Rise from your fiery prison, and show this world the way of Darkness!" I pulled a card out of my Extra Deck. "Fusion Summon! Rise up! Level 10! Cyberdarkness Dragon!"

From the portal soared out my monster, having the same basic appearance as Cyberdark Dragon, but now with Cyberdark Claw attached to the monster's chest, and Cyberdark Cannon on its back, aiming that cannon at Ryuga's monsters.

Cyberdarkness Dragon (DARK/Machine/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2000/LV: 10)

Ryuga gulped. "So… This is a Fusion monster…"

"Power Bond has an additional effect! The ATK of a monster summoned through Power Bond has its ATK doubled! But, in exchange, at the End Phase of this turn I'll take Damage equal to Cyberdarkness Dragon's Original ATK."

Ryuga's eyes widened. "Doubled!?"

Cyberdarkness Dragon ATK: 2000 – 4000

"And that's not all! Cyberdarkness Dragon has its own effect! When it's Special Summoned, I can equip 1 Dragon or Machine monster sleeping in my Graveyard to Cyberdarkness Dragon, and then he gains ATK equal to that monster's attack! And wouldn't you know it, but my 4000 ATK Cyber End Dragon is sleeping in my Graveyard!"

With a roar, Cyber End Dragon emerged from the Graveyard, before the claws on Cyberdarkness Dragon wrapped around him, holding the mechanical three-headed beast tightly against its body.

Cyberdarkness Dragon ATK: 4000 – 8000

"Eight-thousand ATK!?"

"And I'm still not done! I rebuild the Overlay Network with Cyber Dragon Nova!"

Ryuga's eyes widened in dumb shock. "You what!?"

I smirked as Nova turned into a bright light shooting up into the sky before slamming down into the portal forming in front of me. "Mechanical Dragon who's inherited the power of the sun! Push beyond your limits, and devastate my enemies with your endless strength!" I slammed the card onto my Duel Disk. "Rank-Up Xyz Change! Appear before us! Rank 6! Cyber Dragon Infinity!"

From the portal emerged Cyber Dragon Infinity, having inherited Nova's appearance but now with even more black plating along it, along with having crimson eyes that glared at Ryuga's monsters.

Cyber Dragon Infinity (LIGHT/Machine/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600/RNK: 6)

"Cyber Dragon Infinity gains 200 ATK for each Xyz Material attached! And I count three, which means he gains 600 ATK!"

Cyber Dragon Infinity ATK: 2100 – 2700

"Furthermore, I activate Infinity's Effect! Once per turn, I can target 1 Face-Up Attack Position Monster on the field and attach it to Infinity as Xyz Material!"

Ryuga's eyes widened as his Black Ray Lancer began to glow. "You wouldn't-!"

"I just did! Your Armored Ray Lancer is becoming part of Infinity!"

Ryuga's monster let out a roar before it became a golden orb of light that began to float around Infinity.

Cyber Dragon Infinity ATK: 2700 – 2900

I grabbed the last card in my hand. "Then I activate Limiter Removal! The ATK of all my Machine monsters double this turn, in exchange for being destroyed during the End Phase!"

Cyberdarkness Dragon ATK: 8000 – 16000

Cyber Dragon Infinity ATK: 2900 – 5800

"… I said I had time, but I didn't think you'd go out of your way to make this duel as short as possible," Ryuga snorted. "Go ahead, you win. My trap cards can't do anything against that."

I sighed in relief when I heard that. "Thanks, Ryuga… Though even if they did, this would still be mine. When you activate an effect, Cyber Dragon Infinity can detach an Overlay unit to negate and destroy the card. And Cyberdarkness Dragon has the same effect, but I have to send a card equipped to him to my Graveyard."

Ryuga laughed. "Man, you really set up your field to be 100% safe, didn't you? Go ahead then, claim your win."

I nodded. "Cyberdarkness Dragon! Attack Bahamut Shark! Over Darkness Burst!"

The canon on Cyberdarkness Dragon's back charged up with energy, before it let out a roar, unleashing a beam of dark energy straight at Bahamut Shark, who roared as he exploded from the force of the attack, a violent explosion causing a shockwave to ripple through the area.

Ryuga LP – 4000 – 0

Winner: Ash

I took a breath and wiped sweat from my forehead as the holograms faded, confirming my victory over Ryuga. The duel probably should have been much harder, but Plot Armour definitely came through and gave me another OTK hand. Though I wouldn't be able to rely on such luck forever.

Though I myself didn't know I was about to OTK until I was already midway through the process, and then I just decided to roll with it… Ah, and here came the notification screens.

You have defeated Ryuga!

2357 DP obtained.

Side Quest [Defeat Ryuga] Complete!

Objective: Defeat Ryuga

Bonus Objective 1: Xyz Summon against Ryuga

Bonus Objective 2: Fusion Summon against Ryuga

Reward: 1000 DP, Rio Kamishiro unlocked as Romantic Interest

Bonus Reward: 2000 DP, "Numbers Invasion" Booster Pack, "Emperor Shark" Structure Deck.

Oh, fuck yes! I didn't know beating Ryuga would give me a Booster Pack for Number cards! There was were so many good ones in there! Plus, I could give Ryuga, Rio, and Kaito their Numbers that they used in the anime to give them even better odds of beating back Academia when the time came!

… Wait, why was Rio unlocked as a Romantic Interest?

"Really, big brother? You were supposed to be waiting for me, not duelling," a voice came, causing both Ryuga and I to turn to see Rio standing there… And fuck if she didn't look good right now.

Usually, you only got to see Rio in her school uniform, but right now she was wearing a pair of tight jeans, black boots, a tank top that stopped just above her belly button, and a light blue jacket. God damn, she looked amazing!

"I was just killing time until you got here, Rio," Ryuga told her. "Ash, this is Rio, my little sister. Rio, this is-."

"I know who he is, Shark," Rio told Ryuga, and I blinked as I got confirmation of Shark's nickname being present here too. "I saw the entire duel. It was nice to see you lose for once."

"Hey!" Ryuga objected, but I could tell he wasn't really offended by her words. "So not cool, Rio."

She just rolled her eyes and turned to me. "I'm Rio, it's nice to meet you Ash. Thanks for entertaining my brother."

"It's nice to meet you too, Rio," I greeted her in turn. "And there's no need to thank me, I was the one who approached him and asked for a Duel, so you shouldn't blame him. It was my idea."

"He still agreed," she disagreed with me. "So, thank you. Hopefully this teaches my brother not to duel when he's supposed to be meeting up with me to do grocery shopping."

"Oh, come on, I had time to kill!" Ryuga complained.

Rio gave him a look. "You know how long duels can take, Ryuga," she reminded him. "If you hadn't gotten OTKed, that duel could have taken forever."

Ryuga only grumbled at her words, crossing his arms and… Oh my god, he was pouting.

Ryuga.

Pouting.

It was adorable and wrong, oh so wrong.

"Well, I shouldn't keep you both from your shopping any longer then," I told them. "Though could I ask for your number, Ryuga? I've heard about some cards I think would go great with your deck, so I'd like to be able to call you if I can get my hands on them."

"For real?" He grinned. "Awesome," he agreed, and the two of us exchanged numbers. "Make sure you give me a call if you can get your hands on those cards like you said! I'm gonna do some Deck Tuning so that next time, I beat you!"

I smiled at him. "I look forward to it. It was nice meeting you both," I bowed politely to them and waved as I left.

All in all, this had been very productive. I picked up some DP, made some new friends, and unlocked some of the most broken cards… God, I hoped they had their anime effects of being unable to be destroyed unless by fellow Number monsters.

Spoiler: They did.

-Line Break-

I hummed happily as I went through school the next day, a huge grin on my face. After getting home, I immediately started delving into the Numbers Invasion Booster Pack using half my DP, and I managed to get some good stuff that worked well with my current deck.

My favourite thing I pulled was Number 5: Doom Chimera Dragon. It was the downgraded version of Number C5: Chaos Chimera Dragon that Vector used in the Zexal anime. Even better, despite not being an 'anime' official card, it still had the effect that it could only be destroyed in battle by another Number monster.

I did also check the rules just to be safe, and the card limit was still 60. I preferred to not go too high over 40 though, but Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity were pure hand and grave advantage, so I was fine letting those cards slip into my deck.

I did have to take out Chimeratech Rampage Dragon to make room for Doom Chimera Dragon, but despite Rampage Dragon having a good effect that let me get Cyber Dragons from my deck to the Graveyard, I honestly just wasn't a fan of it.

I also slipped Slacker Magician into my Deck, just because it was a decent wall to have, and I did run three copies of Cyber Dragon Herz.

I paused mid-step momentarily when I saw Yuto, Shun, and Ruri all standing by the school's entrance, waiting for someone… Me?

I made my way over to them slowly. "Hey, you three."

They turned to me. "Morning," Ruri smiled warmly. "It's not like you to arrive at school so early. Change of heart after finally duelling?"

"Something like that," I told her. "Were you all waiting for me?"

"Of course," Yuto nodded. "You're our friend, and friends stick together. And besides, Ruri's been looking forward to duelling you all day."

"Yuto!" Ruri whirled on him, blushing warmly. "You didn't have to tell him that!"

"You're getting awfully flustered, Ruri," Shun said with a smirk. "Something you want to tell us?"

"Shun, I swear-!" Ruri glared at her brother half-heartedly, only pretending to be angry.

"Hey, we have some time before class, how about we duel now?" I suggested.

Ruri turned to me. "Wait, really?"

I nodded. "Of course. Nothing to start off the day like a good duel, right?"

"I'm interested to see how it goes too," Shun nodded.

"It'll be nice to see how Ruri fares, her decks tactics are very different than mine," Yuto agreed.

"Alright then," Ruri nodded, adjusting her Duel Disk as the two of us made our way into the courtyard, standing across from each other.

Side Quest [Song Birds Delight] has been added.

Objective: Defeat Ruri before she OTKs you.

Reward: 1000 DP, "Lyrical Flight" Booster Pack.

Failure: Increased chance of Yuri successfully kidnapping Ruri.

… Well, that was foreboding.

"Duel!"

Ruri LP – 4000

Ash LP – 4000

"You'll take the first move this time," Ruri told me. "I'm not gonna let you OTK me like you did Yuto."

I snorted softly. Wise. "Alright then," I told her, looking down at my hand. "I'll start by activating the spell Pot of Greed!"

On the field, a huge green pot with a big toothy grin appeared.

"What is that thing?" Ruri stared at it, unnerved.

"Pot of Greed's a nifty little spell card that lets me draw 2 cards from my deck," I told her, pulling the cards from my deck as the pot shattered, looking down at what I drew.

… Plot armour, I truly loved you right now.

"Next, I activate Graceful Charity!" I played the card. "This card lets me draw 3 cards, but I have to discard 2!" I pulled three cards from my deck and looked over my hand.

Hmm… Yes, I could work with this.

"I discard Cyber Dragon Core and Cyberdark Chimera," I told her, slipping the cards into my Graveyard. "AT this moment, Cyberdark Chimera's effect activates. When he's sent to my Graveyard, I can send another Cyberdark monster to my Graveyard, as long as it has a different name than the ones sleeping in there. So, I'll send Cyberdark Keel from my Deck to my Graveyard."

"You sure love just throwing your cards in your Grave," Ruri noted.

"Hey, not my fault if they have effects that work well in there," I told her. "Like this one! By banishing Cyber Dragon Core from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon my Cyber Dragon!"

I tugged the card from my deck and slammed it onto the field. The sleek, mechanical dragon roaring as it took the stage.

Cyber Dragon ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600

"That's a nice beat stick," she told me. "What else you got?"

"This! I summon Cyber Dragon Herz to my field!" I placed the card on my Duel Disk, the much smaller dragon letting out a cute roar.

Cyber Dragon Herz ATK: 100/DEF: 100

"Sure, he's a little small, but it doesn't mean he's useless," I told her. "Because now I activate Machine Duplication! I target 1 Machine-Type monster on my field with 500 or less ATK, and I can Special Summon up to 2 copies of it from my deck!"

Two more Cyber Dragon Herz appeared on the field, both roaring as best they could.

"Now I activate the Spell, Cyber Synchronize!" I told her, activating the Spell card I'd created just that morning. "When I control a Face-Up Cyber Dragon, I can target 1 'Cyber' monster I control, and all other 'Cyber' monsters I control become the same level as that monster! I target my Cyber Dragon, and make all monsters on my field Level 5!"

Cyber Dragon Herz LV: 1 – 5 x3

Ruri gulped. "Four Level 5 monsters…?"

I smirked at her. "I overlay my Level 5 Cyber Dragon and my three Cyber Dragon Herz!" The four monsters turned into golden lights that shot into the sky as the Xyz Portal spiralled into existence in front of me. "With these four monsters, I build the overlay network!"

A bright light shot out of the portal as my violet eye glowed brightly, brighter than usual, as my Extra Deck opened up and a card slipped out which I grabbed. "Dragon of Destruction, let your roar echo through eternity! Manifest before us with your vicious fangs! Xyz Summon! Descend now, Number 5! Doom Chimera Dragon!"

Out of the portal, a roar was heard as a giant purple dragon soared out, wearing skeletal armour with '05' on a huge spike on its back. This was Number 5: Doom Chimera Dragon.

Number 5: Doom Chimera Dragon (DARK/Dragon/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/RNK: 5)

"What kind of monster is that?" Yuto gasped. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"Number 5…?" Shun stared at it.

"It's got 0 ATK points," Ruri noted, gulping. "… But something tells me that's not going to last.

"You're correct," I nodded. "Doom Chimera Dragon gains 1000 ATK for every Overlay unit he has. Right now, he has four. That means, Doom Chimera Dragon's ATK is 4000!"

Doom Chimera Dragon ATK: 0 – 4000

"4000 ATK," Ruri gulped. "I'm really glad you can't attack on your first turn."

"You should be," I told her. "Next, I'll activate the effect of my Cyberdark Claw By discarding him, I can add any Cyberdark Spell from my deck to my hand, and I choose my Cyberdark Impact."

I slid the card into my Graveyard, before adding Cyberdark Impact to my hand. "I end my turn."

Ash Hand: 2

"It's my turn, I draw!" Ruri tugged a card from her deck. "I activate the Spell Card: One for One! By discarding Lyrical Luscinia – Cobalt Sparrow, I can add Beryl Canary to my hand!" She slipped the card in question into her grave, added Beryl Canary to her hand.

Lyrical Luscinia – Cobalt Sparrow (WIND/Winged-Beast/ATK: 0/DEF: 100/LV: 1)

Lyrical Luscinia – Beryl Canary (WIND/Winged-Beast/ATK: 0/DEF: 200/LV: 1)

"Next, since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Lyrical Luscinia – Turquoise Warbler!" The cute little monster shot into the field, looking like… Well, a young girl in a Warbler outfit.

Lyrical Luscinia – Turquoise Warbler (WIND/Winged-Beast/ATK: 100/DEF: 100/LV: 1)

"Turquoise Warbler's effect activates when I Special Summon her! I can add a Lyrical Luscinia monster from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand. I'll add Celestine Wagtail!" She pulled the card from her neck. "Next, I activate Sapphire Sparrow's effect! While I control a Winged-Beast monster, I can Special Summon her and a Level 1 Winged-Beast monster from my hand! Come out, Sapphire Sparrow, Celestine Wagtail!"

Both monsters formed on the field, looking just like their namesakes.

Lyrical Luscinia – Sapphire Sparrow (WIND/Winged-Beast/ATK: 100/DEF: 0/LV: 1)

Lyrical Luscinia – Celestine Wagtail (WIND/Winged-Beast/ATK: 200/DEF: 0/LV: 1)

"Celestine Wagtail lets me add any Lyrical Luscinia Spell or Trap from my deck to the hand when Special Summoned!" A card slid out of her deck. "I'll add to my hand and then activate Lyrical Luscinia – Bird Call! I pick a Lyrical Luscinia in my deck and either add it to my hand or send it to my Grave, then I can Special Summon another one with a different name from my hand! I send Celestine Wagtail from my Deck to my Graveyard, and Special Summon Cobalt Sparrow!"

A brown Lyrical Luscinia emerged onto the field, chirping happily.

"Since I control at least two monsters with the same Level, I can Special Summon Slower Swallow from my hand," She finished, placing the only non-Lyrical Luscinia card onto the field, and filling up all her monster card zones as a result.

"Five Level 1 monsters…" Yuto noted.

"It's coming. Ruri's ace," Shun confirmed.

I smirked. "Show me what you've got, Ruri!"

She smirked right back. "I overlay my four Level 1 Lyrical Luscinia monsters and Slower Swallow!" She told me, as they all turned into green lights that danced into the sky, before shooting into the Xyz Portal in front of Ruri, the girl pulling a card from her Extra Deck. "Birds with beautiful wings! Gather on the battlefield and take Brilliant Flight!" A light shot out of the portal. "Xyz Summon! Dance in the Sky! Rank 1! Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale!"

With a mighty cry, Ruri's ace monster descended onto the battlefield. I would admit, the monster was very beautiful.

Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale (WIND/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/RNK: 1)

But I also knew it was very deadly.

"Assembly Nightingale gains 200 ATK for every Xyz Material attached to her!" She told me, and my eyes widened as I realised, she had her TCG effect. Fuck, that wasn't good for me.

Assembly Nightingale ATK: 0 – 1000

"Now Sapphire Swallow's effect! When she's used as Xyz Material, my Xyz Monster gains an effect! When it's Xyz Summoned, I can attach a Lyrical Luscinia in my Graveyard to it as Material! Celestine Wagtail attaches itself to her as Material!"

An orb short out of a dark portal, floating around Assembly Nightingale.

Assembly Nightingale OU: 5 - 6

Assembly Nightingale ATK: 1000 – 1200

"Furthermore, since Cobalt Sparrow was used as Material to Xyz Summon her too, you can't target her with effects!"

"Someone's showing no mercy," I muttered. 1200 ATK, it could attack me six times too! And since it had its TCG effect, it could detach 1 Material as a quick effect, and prevent it from being.

"On top of that, Assembly Nightingale can attack you directly, and can attack for every overlay unit she has attached to her!" Ruri smirked. "She has 6! That means she can attack you 6 times!"

"Ohhh shit…"

Ruri smirked. "And I'm not done there! I activate Beryl Canary's effect from my hand, and target the Cobalt Sparrow in my Graveyard! Now I can Special Summon Beryl Canary in my hand, and Cobalt Sparrow in my Graveyard!" The two monsters both appeared on the field. "Cobalt Sparrow lets me add Turquoise Warbler to my hand!" The card slipped out of her deck. "Now I Normal Summon Turquoise Warbler, and I overlay my three Lyrical Luscinias!"

My eyes widened. 'Please not another Nightingale, please not another Nightingale!'

"Birds with beautiful wings! Gather onto the battlefield, and soar into the future! Xyz Summon! Take Flight! Rank 1! Lyrical Luscinia – Quartet Crow!"

A new monster, one I'd never seen or heard of, appeared on the field looking similar to Nightingale, but not as smooth, with black and grey feathers as opposed to the usually more colourful Lyrical Luscinia archetype.

Lyrical Luscinia – Quartet Crow (WIND/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/RNK: 1)

"Quartet Crow…" I whispered. That wasn't a card in the TCG or anime… It was an entirely new card!

"Quartet Crow gains 500 ATK for every Xyz Material attached to her!" She told me.

Quartet Crow ATK: 0 – 1500

"As long as Quartet Crow is on the field, my Lyrical Luscinia monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects!" She told me, smirking.

She had every right to; her field was set up beautifully. In a normal situation, this would be GG for her.

"Battle! Assembly Nightingale attacks you directly!"

I grit my teeth and lifted my arms up as Nightingale slammed into me from the front, sending me skidding back… Fucking ow.

Ash LP: 4000 – 2800

"Again! Nightingale attacks directly!"

I grunted in pain as she slammed into me from behind this time! Dear god, this fucking hurt!

Ash LP: 2800 - 1600

"Again!" And pain.

Ash LP: 1600 – 400

"This is the end now!" She told me. "Nightingale, attack him one last time and end this!"

"If this attack goes through-!" Shun began.

"Ruri wins!" Yuto confirmed.

I said moments ago that if this was a normal situation, Ruri would be the winner…

Sadly, for her, this wasn't a Normal Situation.

"I activate Battle Fader's effect from my hand!" I told Ruri. "When you attack me directly, I can Special Summon Battle Fader from my hand and end the Battle Phase!" I slammed the card into my Duel Disk. A small clock-like fiend monster appeared, letting out a sound that stopped Nightingale in her tracks and made her retreat.

Battle Fader (DARK/Fiend/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 1)

"Why didn't you play that to start?" Ruri asked in confusion. "If you'd done that, you wouldn't have taken any damage."

"But then that would be awfully boring," I told her. "It's much more thrilling this way, you know. You've got a stacked field, meanwhile my field only has a single monster and face-down. Isn't this way more tense and fun?"

All three of them stared at me like I was crazy… Okay, so I lied. I let myself get this low just so I could use Card Creation in this duel, I wanted an anime protagonist moment, sue me!

"Well, the least I can do is reduce your field then!" She told me. "I activate Quartet Crow's effect! Once per turn, I can attach a Level 1 Monster from either of our fields or Graveyards to her as Material! And your Battle Fader is the perfect victim!"

Battle Fader let out a groan as he was shrunk into another orb of light and was soon spinning around Quartet Crow.

Quartet Crow OU: 3 – 4

Quartet Crow ATK: 1500 - 2000

"My turn ends there," Ruri told me.

Ruri Hand: 0

I took a breath, looking over my situation. 'I have one card in my hand, Cyberdark Impact… My only monster is Doom Chimera Dragon with 4000 ATK. Her Nightingale is able to stop destruction of Lyrical Luscinia monsters in battle and by card effects and stop all battle damage by removing an overlay unit. And I suspect Quartet Crow has some kind of effect using overlay units too…'

I took a breath and placed a hand on top of my deck. 'Everything in this duel rides on this draw… Come on, Cyberdarks! I chose you for a reason, so give me a card that can turn this around!'

I took another breath. 'Destiny…' "Draw!" I forcefully pulled the card from the top of my deck, a shockwave somehow rippling from the force of the draw, making everyone's clothes ruffle.

I slowly looked down at the card in my hand, before my eyes widened in shock. 'This is…?'

I heard a loud roar echo in my ears and I turned my gaze to my Extra Deck… Now I understood how Yuya felt in the anime, when cards were created. I could hear the card calling out to me, with an earnest request.

Use me.

'As you wish… I'll free you!'

"I summon out the Tuner Monster, Cyberdark Synchron!" I placed the card onto my field, a new monster emerging, looking like Cyberdark Horn, but with a sleeker body, no tusks, and silver in colour.

Cyberdark Synchron (DARK/Machine/Tuner/ATK: 500/DEF: 500/LV: 3)

"Tuner Monster?" Ruri looked confused.

"Cyberdark Synchron's effect activates! When it's Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Cyberdark monster from my Graveyard with its effects negated! Be revived, Cyberdark Horn!"

With a roar, Cyberdark Horn emerged from a dark portal, reviving on the field.

"You've seen Fusion," I told Ruri. "You've seen Xyz… Now let me show you something new!"

"What? Something new?"

I smirked. "I tune my Level 3 Cyberdark Synchron to my Level 4 Cyberdark Horn!"

Eyes widened all around at my statement as Cyberdark Synchron burst into green rings, and Cyberdark horn soared into those rings, his body becoming see-through as white stars appeared within his body: 4 of them.

My Extra Deck opened up and I grabbed a card. "Intersecting destinies unveil a new evolution! Now, manifest as the dragon's wrath!" A bright light shot down through the rings. "Synchro Summon!" I slammed the card onto the wield. "Appear now! Level 7! Cyber Quantum Dragon!"

With a mighty roar, my new monster appeared from the light. It looked similar to Cyber Laser Dragon, but it had a pair of white mechanical wings on its back, extra green plating on his body, and a visor over its eyes that glowed bright green.

Cyber Quantum Dragon (LIGHT/Machine/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)

"Synchro Summon…?" Yuto's jaw dropped. "He had another summoning method from the Extra Deck?"

"Just who is he?" Shun stared at the new monster, then at me.

"Synchro Summoning…" Ruri breathed out. "That monster looks intimidating… But will it be enough to beat my Lyrical Luscinias, Ash?"

"Cyberdark Synchron's effect activates!" I told her. "When he's used as Material for a Fusion or Synchro Summon and is sent to the Graveyard as a result: I draw 1 card!" I tugged a card out of my deck. "Battle! Cyber Quantum Dragon attacks your Quartet Crow!"

Cyber Quantum Dragon let out a roar as green energy began to gather in its mouth, ready to attack.

"At this moment, Quartet Crow's effect activates!" She told me. "When your monster declares an attack against her, I can remove 1 Overlay Unit to reduce your monster's ATK to 0 until the end of the battle! Suppression Song!"

Quartet Crow let out a haunting melody that caused the lights to all go out on Quantum Dragon's body, one of her overlay units bursting.

Quartet Crow OU: 4 – 3

Cyber Quantum Dragon ATK: 2500 – 0

Quartet Crow ATK: 2000 – 1500

"With this, you'll take 1500 points of damage!" Ruri told me. "It's my win!"

"Cyber Quantum Dragon's effect activates!" I told her.

Her eyes widened. "What!?"

"Once per turn, when Cyber Quantum Dragon attacks an opponent's monster, at the start of the Damage Step, that monster is banished until the End of the Battle Phase!"

Ruri gasped as the light returned to Cyber Quantum Dragon's body, the beast letting out a roar.

"Go! Cyber Quantum Dragon! Time Leap!"

A green light unleashed from his mouth, slamming into Quartet Crow and sending it soaring into a portal that formed behind her.

"Since the battle is over, Quantum Dragon's ATK points return!" I told her.

Cyber Quantum Dragon ATK: 0 – 2500

"Furthermore, Quantum Dragon can attack one more time in a row!" I told Ruri. "Battle! Cyber Quantum Dragon attacks your Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale!"

Green light once again began to gather in Quantum Dragon's mouth, ready to attack her monster.

"Assembly Nightingale activates her effect!" She told me. "I use one overlay unit, and Lyrical Luscinia monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effect this turn, and I take no damage from battle!"

Assembly Nightingale OU: 6 – 5

Assembly Nightingale ATK: 1200 – 1000

"I've been waiting for that!"

"What!?"

"I activate my Counter Trap: Numbers Protection!" The card flipped face-up onto my field, a green barrier appearing around Doom Chimera. "When you activate a Spell, Trap, or Monster effect while I control a 'Number' Xyz Monster, I can negate that effects activation, and destroy that card!"

"What!? But you can't target Nightingale with effects thanks to Cobalt Sparrow!"

"That's fine! Numbers Protection doesn't target!"

Ruri's eyes widened in shock as the green light covered Nightingale, causing her to yell in pain before she exploded. "Nightingale!" Ruri cried out.

"Since my Dragon's target is gone, Battle restarts! And this time he's aiming at you! Go, Cyber Quantum Dragon! Attack Ruri directly! Quantum Evolution!"

Cyber Quantum Dragon let out a vicious roar as a green beam of light slammed into Ruri, making her scream as her body was covered in the green light.

Ruri LP: 4000 – 1500

"And I still have one more monster left to attack!" I told her. "Go! Doom Chimera Dragon! Doom Gaze Destructor!"

Doom Dragon's roar was even louder as the monster soared up into the sky, before unleashing an inferno of purple flames at Ruri, the girl protecting herself with her Duel Disk, though it wasn't enough to prevent the damage.

Ruri LP: 1500 – 0

WINNER: Ash

I took a breath as the cards and monsters faded from the field, slowly lifting Cyber Quantum Dragon off of my Duel Disk and staring at it.

Card Creation… It was even stronger than I thought. It really had created a perfect card to help turn the situation around, based on what I already had on my field. A Cyber Synchro Monster…

And one that had a similar effect to Cyberse Quantum Dragon, and even a similar name. It was incredibly powerful, and I was going to look forward to using it.

But right now, rewards! Gimme!

You have defeated Ruri Kurosaki!

1642 DP Obtained!

Side Quest [Song Birds Delight] Completed!

Objective: Defeat Ruri before she OTKs you.

Bonus Objective (Failed): Fusion Summon against Ruri.

Reward: 1000 DP, "Lyrical Flight" Booster Pack.

Triumph [Miraculous Turn Around!] Complete

Objective: Win a duel in 1 turn after the LP different between you and your opponent becomes 3000+ (With your opponent having more LP)

Reward: 1 Dark Anthelion Dragon (Anime)

Due to Pendulum Summoning not yet being created, Dark Anthelion shall only be an Xyz Monster until the creation of Pendulum.

Triumph [Descent of the Numbers] Complete

Objective: Summon a 'Number' monster on your first turn, then win the duel.

Reward: "Descent of Chaos" Booster Pack Unlocked

I hid a frown at seeing I'd failed the Bonus Objective, it was the first one that I'd failed, but it couldn't be helped. I couldn't do everything, after all.

Though I was very happy with the rewards I got from my two triumphs. Dark Anthelion's Anime (or really manga) version was insanely good. I was a bit miffed when I saw that it was just an Xyz Monster, not a Pendulum Monster. It seemed I had to wait for Yuya to create Pendulum before Dark Anthelion would become a Pendulum Xyz.

The reward from Descent of the Numbers was also good. If the name was any indication, I could expect to see Chaos Numbers and quite a few Chaos Rank-Up-Magics in that Booster Pack, along with a lot of Chaos Number support. This was good, very good.

I opened up my stat page and focused specifically on my DP.

DP: 5,381

Not bad, not bad at all. If Lyrical Flight held Lyrical Luscinia monsters, then that meant that hopefully Independent Nightingale was in there, which meant I'd be able to hand over Polymerisation and Independent Nightingale to Ruri to hopefully get some good affection points.

But I'd have to do a lot more Deck tweaking with my Cyberdarks. I was hoping they'd breeze me through, but I almost got completely destroyed by Ruri. It was pure luck I'd put Battle Fader into my Deck to counter the fact I didn't have a lot to stop my opponents' attacks.

I'd have to open the generic trap booster packs too, and hope I got some good traps to slide into my Cyberdark Deck. I hated being over 40 cards in my deck, but I needed more traps.

It was a stupid mistake I'd made and I could admit to freely, I made my deck thinking in the mindset of 'Life Points are 8000.' But Life Points were 4000 here, and that almost cost me the duel.

"Aw, I lost," Ruri said as she lowered her arms. "I'd accuse you of holding out on us, but we only saw you duel for the second time today. How many other secrets do you have, Glitch?"

"Oh, please don't start calling me Glitch," I told her.

She smirked lightly. "I don't know, you summoned two monsters I've never heard of before, Tuner and Synchro. I think my Duel Disk must have glitched out to register those as legal."

I groaned and covered my head, which only made Ruri laugh lightly, smiling as she walked over to me and offered me her hand. "It was a good duel, Ash," she told me. "I almost had you there."

"Yeah, you really did," I agreed, shaking her hand. "I won't lie, if I didn't have Battle Fader, you'd have won hands down. It need to tune up my deck more, this has made me realise I really don't have a lot of answers to being attacked. My Deck is set up almost exclusively for OTKs, so going first puts me at a huge disadvantage."

"Well, I'm glad I could help you out," she smiled. "I think I have a similar issue if I'm honest, though my Lyrical Luscinias can prevent destruction, banishing seems to be my problem, as your Dragon showed me."

"Then that just means we've both learned," I told her with a smile, earning one in return.

"Honestly," Yuto said as he walked over. "First was this Fusion stuff, and you barely gave us a day to recover before you pulled out something new. Synchro? Any chance you can teach me that too?"

"You're greedy, Yuto," Shun said, rolling his eyes. "Though it did look pretty interesting, I'd like to learn Synchro Summoning too."

"Lets focus on Fusion for you all first, then we'll see about that," I told them, before I pulled Polymerization out of my Deck Box. "Here, Ruri."

"Hm?" She blinked as she took the card. "Polymerization? What is this card?"

"That's the card you need to perform Fusion Summoning," I told her. "I know about a Lyrical Luscinia Fusion Monster that pairs really well with your Deck, but I'll need a little luck to get my hands on it. I could get it today, or tomorrow, or a month from now."

"That's fine," she smiled at me. "Just this is a big step, thank you."

"Any chance I Could get one of those?" Yuto asked me.

"Sorry, that's my only copy right now," I apologised. "I should hopefully be able to get my hands on some more copies soon though," I added. "Just takes a little DP."

"I don't mind transferring the DP to help you pay," Yuto told me.

"Me too," Shun agreed. "If it'll help speed things up."

I stared at them both in surprise before I smiled. "Sure," I nodded.

"Then I'll pay for however much this was," Ruri suggested, holding up the spell.

"No," I told her. "That's a gift from me to you for being the person who's come closest to beating me in a while."

Ruri stared at me before she smiled. "You're sweet, Ash."

I felt a blush dust my cheeks and I looked away from her, catching Yuto smirking slyly at me, while Shun's eyes were narrowed.

Oh, right. If I wanted to Date Ruri, I'd have to deal with her overprotective Big Brother.

… Same with Rio, now that I thought about it.

Shit, my time in Xyz was going to be a bit rougher than I thought.

Custom Cards

SolStar Pollux (LIGHT/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 500/LV: 4)

Cyber Synchronise

Spell

Activate only while you control a face-up Cyber Dragon by targeting 1 'Cyber' monster you control; all other 'Cyber' monsters you control become the same Level as the targeted monster until the End Phase of this turn. You can only activate 1 "Cyber Synchronise" per turn.

Lyrical Luscinia - Quartet Crow (WIND/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/RNK: 1)

2+ Level 1 monsters

Gains 500 ATK for every material attached to it. While this card is face-up on the field, 'Lyrical Luscinia' monsters you control cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects. Once per turn, you may target 1 Level 1 monster on either player's fields or Graveyards: attach that monster to this card as Xyz Material. When your opponent declares an attack involving this card, you may detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Reduce the attacking monster's ATK to 0 until the end of the Battle.

Cyberdark Synchron (DARK/Machine/Tuner/ATK: 500/DEF: 500/LV: 3)

When this card is Normal or Special Summoned; You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Cyberdark" monster from your Graveyard with its effects negated. When this card is sent to the Graveyard as Material for a Synchro or Fusion Summon; Draw 1 card. You can only use the effect of "Cyberdark Synchron" once per turn.

Cyber Quantum Dragon (LIGHT/Machine/Synchro/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)

1 Machine-Type Tuner + 1 or more non-tuner monsters

This card is unaffected by the effects of your opponent's Spell Cards. You may banish a "Cyber" card from your Graveyard; until the End Phase of this turn, your opponent cannot activate cards of the same type. You can only use this effect of "Cyber Quantum Dragon" once per turn. Once per turn, at the start of the Damage Step, if this card battles an opponent's monster: You can banish that opponent's monster, also, this card can make a second attack in a row. An opponent's monster banished through this card's effect is Special Summoned at the end of the Battle Phase.

So, I'm in a good YGO mood. Please nobody ruin it, I'm enjoying writing this fic and I'd rather not have it ruined because someone wants to be an asshole.