NOTE: Fanfic Original Cards can receive erratum at any given moment (These erratum will be as close to the previous iterations as possible). Erratum can be expected more in early chapters.

Yuga is on his way home after his Duel with Setsuko. He is feeling quite tired, but there is no time to rest. Today will be a busy day of answering the media.

(phone buzz)

"Nail? Hi."

"You just Dueled Setsuko, right?"

"Yeah. Anything?"

"I'm just curious about a certain inclusion in your Deck. You may know what I'm talking about."

"There are two reasons I used Otes' cards during that Duel. Firstly, I wanted to test the hypothesis of Darkness cards heavily affecting the personality of the user. During the time I was in Mutsuba Town, a strange phenomenon happened. Duelists in the town were infected with Darkness cards and there was a lot of chaos. Was Otes driven mad due to the use of Darkness cards? I questioned myself about that a lot."

"Did you experience anything abnormal during the Duel?"

"None. It's as if Otes' Darkness cards are just ordinary cards. But..." (cough)

"Yuga!"

"I'm... It's fine. Just a mild cough. I will have a long rest after today's interviews. Ah! It's almost morning. I have to go, we can talk later if able. Bye!"

Yuga abruptly ends the call. What a shame, Nail thought to himself.

"Yuhi and Yuamu told me about the Darkness incident yesterday. The negative turmoil is amplified by the dark power and drive the Duelists into extreme madness. Though... Sebastian."

"I live by your orders, Nail-sama!" The robot chair responds to Nail's plea.

"Can you call Yuhi and Yuamu over? Just for a brief talk, if they want to."

"I get you."

"For the meantime..." Nail lets out a long yawn before lying his head down on the keyboard. He has been up the whole night analyzing the information Yuhi and Yuamu had given to him while also doing his job as a Duel Overseer.

Sebastian covers Nail's frail body with a warm blanket before heading off.

::::::::::::

At Roa's apartment, the Ohdo twins are enjoying their sleeps. In the kitchen, Roa is busy making the most elegant breakfast to show off to them: Eggs Benedict, toast and sausage, pancake, etc.

"Time to wake up!" Roa shouts as he opens the curtain, inviting the sunlight to the room.

"Mmmm... Good morning, Roa-kun."

"Already morning, huh. I wish I can sleep more."

"Maybe don't Duel past the bedtime, then."

"I couldn't help it. Ah, my tummy. I'm hungry!"

Roa flicks his hand. All according to plan, after all. "Let's go to the dining room, then."

"Woah!" Their eyes are dazzled by the majesty of a feast made by the King himself. The smell of grilled toast and the aroma of crispy sausages excite the taste buds of the twins to its fullest extreme. After letting out a short stomach growl, Yuhi and Yuamu let their instincts do the work.

"Yum! Yum! So these are the foods from the future. The flavor is simply top-notch!"

"Don't bite your tongue, Yuhi. Keep it slow and enjoy this delicious breakfast."

"I'm jealous of the festival queen. Your tummy can handle much more than me. What a shame."

"Oh?" Yuamu shoves a pancake to Yuhi's mouth. "Come on, this is a once-in-the-lifetime treat!" (choking noises)

"You all are going to stay here for a while though, at least until Yuga-chan defeats whatever Lord of Chaos is. It's just like him to not take a break after doing something grandiose."

"Honestly. We were skeptical about Yuga's fear at first. He got his news from Rovian, a wandering mistrel and a self-proclaimed prophet. Her prophecies are mostly true to an extent, but it appears that Yuga places his faith on a fictional book. This is the first time we have heard of such book called SEVENS too. It doesn't help that Yuna goes along with everything Yuga and Rovian say, so..."

"To be fair, Yuhi, I was planning on going with Yuga to the future someday."

"But why?" asked Roa.

"I want to see the future of UTS with my own eyes. Truthfully, I didn't harbor this desire back then, but after being thrown to the future before... Knowing that UTS doesn't exist in the future, it hurts."

"Well, it's sad to hear. Though, there has to be some further changes in the past, or whatever."

Yuhi shakes his head, "We checked the records with Nail last night. Nothing changes."

"I am starting to wonder if the turning point only happens later on in our life."

"Don't stress about it. Your turmoil is why Yuga decides to venture out again."

"Yuga has been putting himself under a lot of responsibilities. We owe him a meaningful appreciation."

"He may not pay respect to ancestral cats well, but he is a reliable guy."

Roa and Yuhi continue with their feast. Although, even if their appetites are indulging in satisfaction, they couldn't help it but feel empathy for Yuamu. She hasn't eaten much after their earlier talk.

"Yuamu. I know your heart is burdened with a lot of worries. But we aren't alone in our quest. There is the cat... Ah, Nekoyama, and the genius Nail. We have comrades that are willing to lend us a hand."

"Mhmm." Yuamu slowly picks up her fork and tries to finish her dish.

"Let's Rush Duel, Yuamu. Time to lift up the spirit of this energetic young lady."

"Alright, alright. I heard that you are as good in Dueling as Yuga. Let's see if that's true."

"Challenge accepted."

RUSH DUEL - Yuamu vs Roa

"The King takes the first turn! I Summon 2 Royal Rebel's Fanatic and Tribute them. If you're prepared to throw away your very life for the king... A resilient Distortion Power Chord! And now, together with a heavy-metal highway lead! Sink your teeth into any who oppose you! Come forth! Royal Rebel's Heavy Metal!"

"So this is Roa's ace monster. It's an awesome one!"

"The commands of the king are absolute! Conquer the stage with the amplifier of rebellion! Amplify the sound of Heavy Metal, Royal Rebel's Amplifier! The equipped monster gains ATK equal to its Level times 100! I Set a card and end my amazing turn." (Heavy Metal: 2500 → 3300 ATK)

"My turn! I Summon Spindle Dragon. I send the top 2 cards of my Deck to the GY and add Red Boot to my hand. I Summon DBF Rebuildra and reveal Red Boot to Set Dragon's Boost Fusion from my GY to my field. I Tribute 2 monsters. Watts are volts and amps! Now it's time to switch on the acceleration with the strongest hertz! Rise and shine! Red Boot Boost Dragon! I shuffle Spindle Dragon and DBF Rebuildra to inflict 200 damage. Multithread Burst! I then Summon Booster Wyvern to inflict 600 more damage."

"That hurts, Yuamu-chan." (Roa: 4000 → 3800 → 3200 LP)

"Dragon's Boost Fusion! Using Red Boot and Booster Wyvern, I Fusion Summon! A symphony of hertz! Break through the ultra high-speed circuit! Come out! Red Boot Enhanced Boost Dragon! Thanks to using Red Boot as a Fusion Material, I can send the top 7 cards of my Deck to the GY."

"Red Boot Enhanced surely has an effect to power-up itself by shuffling monsters from Yuamu-chan's GY. Do I hit the bullseye?"

"Clever. Dragon's Boost Fusion can also send the top 7 cards of your Deck to the GY. The more monsters in the GY there are, the stronger Red Boot Enhanced becomes."

"Even so, my Heavy Metal will be the last one standing!"

"I think otherwise. Let me guess, your Trap Card may be King's Management or King's Majesty."

"Because?"

"During your Duels with Yuga, those Traps are your trump defensive cards. In a beatdown deck, your defensive options are limited; therefore, you opt for options with a strong payout. However, their Requirements are harder to meet, and I will show you why! Red Boot Enhanced's effect activates! I choose 9 monsters in our GYs, then Red Boot Enhanced can inflict 200 damage for each monster chosen by this effect and it gains ATK equal to the same amount." (Roa: 3200 → 1400 LP) (Red Boot Enhanced: 2900 → 4700 ATK)

"And? You are going to attack my Heavy Metal next, right?"

Yuamu smirks in confidence, "The chosen monsters are then shuffled back to our Decks."

"NO! So this is your intelligence, Yuamu-chan!"

"Now that I have cleared everything on my road, I attack Heavy Metal with Red Boot Enhanced!"

"You got me." Roa admits his defeat. (Roa: 1400 → 0 LP)

"That was a nice Duel."

"Of course. Well, I have to go to school now. Take care. (door knocks) Who's there? Oh, Sebastian. Picking up the twins?"

"Nail gives me this urgent request. Yuhi, Yuamu. If you two don't mind, can you come with me?"

"Sure thing."

"We can help Nail if he needs it."

::::::::::::

"Stay still." Yuna is helping Yuga with his tie.

"This is the first time I'm wearing tie. Thanks!"

"Don't stutter in front of live television. I can't dig a hole deep enough to hide your embarrassment."

"Gotcha!"

"Yuga! Yuna! Your breakfasts are ready!" Yuga's mom calls them for breakfast.

The two quickly heads towards the dining room. Yuga's attention is drawn towards his favourite dish.

"Kake udon! Yummy!"

"I figure you would enjoy this."

"Thank you, Mom! Time to dig in!"

"What do you think about Yuga, Yuna-chan?"

"He is crafty, creative and cool! He causes chaos in my heart and now I totally can't forgive him for making me feel in love with him."

"Why do you sound like you hate loving me then?" Yuga makes fun of Yuna's wordings.

"Come on! I'm being honest here."

"I'm glad you two get along well. It may have been rough for Yuga during the last two years without you by his side. He really appreciates you as a friend, and perhaps—"

"Mom!"

"It's rare that I see you flustered." Yuna leans closer to Yuga to take a closer look at his face. "There might be some sauce on your cheeks, I think~"

"Yuna—!"

The phone rings. Yuga's mother picks up the phone for Yuga. "It's Ohdo household."

"I'm Yuo. Can I meet Yuga?"

"He's eating breakfast at the moment."

"Can he come to our office soon? It is fine if he cannot make it, but it would be a pleasure if he can."

"Is there anything important?"

"Setsuko's Maximum."

"That young card designer—" (call ends)

"Was that seven seconds long. It could have charged seven million yen..."

"I'm sure that's a bluff, Yuo. What did Yuga say?" asked Setsuko.

"He's eating breakfast. I can't guarantee in delaying the interviews to test your Maximum and Nail's Darkness hypothesis. We can test in another day."

"Perhaps. I'm heading to the Duel Area first. It's Yuga. He is an unpredictable storm."

::::::::::::

"Full throttle, you all! Time is gold, and being slow means more time is being wasted!"

"Moving like a sailfish, tuna!"

"A batter can't afford to run slow after scoring a homerun!"

"Good spirits! We, Goha Siblings, can fulfill the task of carrying these equipments easily. Be careful of your surroundings to avoid tripping— Hey!"

Yuga is heading to the Duel Area in full speed. No, the speed of the bike is already beyond its normal capacity. A loud "MAKE WAY!" along with tons of smokes can be heard and seen in the hallway.

"Slow the hell down! I may fall off!"

"I know you can hold onto me well, Yuna."

"Not sure if that's a compliment or an insult, but whatever."

"Alright."

With 0.777 seconds left before being "late", Yuga manages to get there in time.

"Sorry for waiting."

"It's fine. You aren't late, in fact."

"Oh my, oh my. Now that the strings are laid out, the show will soon commence. Nail!" Yuo arrives to the scene.

"Good morning, Yuga."

"Hi!" Damamu brings Yuhi and Yuamu closer to the screen.

"Hey! Ah! Hi there, Yuga!"

"Have a nice day, Yuhi? Yuamu?"

"Obviously. Roa-kun's cooking is luxurious."

"So. What the fuss?" Yuna glares at Setsuko.

"You do know why. Yuga is doing an experiment on his own, perhaps inspired by you or having your collaboration."

"Experiment?"

"I heard that Yuga was doing some experiments on his own around the time the Darkness incident and the battle against The Creator. Though, he never disclose anything to us, not even Yuna."

"Those Darkness cards. Well, not really the same as the Darkness cards we had seen before, or else I wouldn't be conscious by now."

"You're right, Yuna. After my fateful Duel with Otes concluded, before we never saw each other ever again... He handed me his Deck. It's a way to pass the torch, I assume."

"Well. There are two possibilities. The first is coincidental naming. Perhaps Otes thinks Darkness is a cool name for the final enemy in the SEVENS book. As a card designer myself, I have to make sure the name of each card doesn't match those that were made before, or there would be major issues. The second..."

"I know." Yuga stops Setsuko in her words. "That's why you want to confirm it for us. To see if Otes is still influencing me all those years, or I am myself still!"

"Splendid! Let's see if you can beat me in our rematch."

"Rematch? Did they Duel before?" Damamu asks Nail.

"Early this morning. And Setsuko defeated Yuga."

"What kind of Deck does she use, Nail?"

"Something out of ordinary providence."

"Shh. Let it be a surprise, Nail. Don't spoil the fun."

"Fine, fine, fine."

RUSH DUEL - Yuga vs Setsuko (R2)

"I go first. Draw!" Yuga looks at the card he has drawn - Darkness Rogue. "A Darkness card... I activate Graceful Charity to draw 3 and send 2 cards from my hand to the GY. Then, I Summon Darkness Rogue."

"As expected! (clapping noises)"

"Is Yuga-kun okay?" Yuamu shows a bit of her concern.

"(deep breath) By placing Darkness Rogue on the bottom of my Deck, I can Special Summon this monster! No matter if walls, mountains, or even planets block my way! I'll carve open a road through them all and press onward! Let's go! Sevens Road Magician! I Summon Roadstar and activate Fusion! With the new power bestowed by the meteor! The hero of miracles bearing the name of Sevens comes into existence! Wield your demonic blade! Sevens Paladin!"

"The monster that makes even The Great King of Terror trembles!" Yuhi is pleased to see the return of the Magical Knight.

"Not a bad start, I see."

"By returning Roadstar from my GY into my Deck, Sevens Paladin lets me draw a card. Recovery Fate! Then, I activate Sevens Wonder Fusion. I will shuffle Sevens Road and this one - Darkness Zerorogue!"

"Here it comes. Otes' will." Setsuko smiles. She is eager to face this monster again, to try to understand how Yuga understood Otes back then, the one thing she is still trying to know even now.

Yuga hesitates for a while. The last time he Summons Dark Sevens, Asana just happens to be on the way. He didn't have time to explain much to her, and he regretted not being upfront right when he arrived at the bay. Would he disappoint Yuna too, if he happens to lose or falls into Darkness? No, he has tested Otes' cards before. Even when the Darkness cards plagued Mutsuba Town, those specific Darkness cards made by Otes didn't do anything harmful to his mentality. He was fine during his Duel against Setsuko earlier too, something Asana clearly saw. Nothing to worry... Perhaps.

There are just so much he wants to say, but there aren't much time left.

Is this what happens when you go through adolescence?

"I'm not a kid anymore. Right? Time flew by like stars drifting away to the edge of the universe. Just after I finished blinking, two years have passed. I wanted to see my old friends again. I also wanted to enjoy life more with my new friends too. I wanted to honor Otes' wish of purifying Rush Duel from the taints of stagnation. I wanted... to do much more."

Before Yuna shouted his name to his unresponsive nerves, the two cards in his right hand are brimmed with tears.

"I don't want to disappoint you too, Yuna. I'm sorry. I should have talked to you more. And to her more..."

"Nail! Nail! Yuga is not looking fine!" Damamu nudges Nail's shoulder in panic.

"Setsuko. I don't think Yuga is concentrating on the Duel at the moment. Should I?"

"It's fine. There's no point if Yuga is like this. If he wants to exempt himself from the interviews, that's fine. I will take full responsibility for this."

Nail shifts his focus to another screen. He accesses the battle log of the ongoing Duel.

"Setsuko Saionji / End Duel and declare the above player the winner?"

"Poor Yuga..." Yuamu feels hopeless. All she can do is looking through the screens, unable to reach out to Yuga by herself.

"He just has to deal with it. For now... If only we are there." Yuhi is holding back his emotions.

Nail is a second away from entering the input.

"NOT YET!"

"Yuna!?" Yuo is caught by surprise.

"See!" Yuna points at Yuga's hand. Sevens Road and Darkness Zerorogue are no longer seen in his hand.

Yuo opens his mask, revealing a hopeful smile in him. "The Duel can continue!"

"Hooray!" Damamu is also happy too. The twins share the same happiness.

"So there's light at the end of the tunnel."

Yuga raises his head up high, "At least this time, Yuna is with me from the beginning. There's no more doubts with us. And I can't give up a chance to Rush Duel a strong opponent like you, Setsuko. Through this Duel, I will share what I feel towards Otes that fateful night! And what I feel about you!"

As the dust settled back then, Setsuko disgustingly looked at Asana, "One day, I plan to settle the scores with you sooner or later, Asana. I will crush your weak heart and your goody two-shoes pride."

"Fusion Summon! Magician of Dark Sevens!"

The skeletal monster engulfed in blue flames appears side-by-side with the armored magician wielding its magical blade. The yellow flames around the magical knight stark an unseen contrast, yet said contrast is filled with unwavering resolve.

This will be a Duel no one has ever seen before. Yuga's turmoil will be resolved here once and for all.

"I Set 1 card. Your turn, Setsuko! I'll try to do my best!"

Setsuko calmly draws her card. "Heheheh... Let's see if that is happiness in ignorance."

She reveals the card she has drawn - Nidhoggr the Malice Dragon

FANFIC ORIGINAL CARDS:

Roa Kirishima

Spells

Royal Rebel's Amplifier

Equip Spell

[Requirement]: Equip this card to 1 face-up Tribute Summoned Fiend monster on your field.

[Effect]: The equipped monster gains ATK equal to [its Level] x 100.

P.S. Yuga's feeling quite tired. He has to answer the media about his life during the two years he went missing, the arrival of people from the past, and many more. But also, Yuga also feels the pressure of going through adolescence: the sense of fear for not spending enough time doing what you like, being afraid of the future ahead because there are many more things you want to achieve, yet time is limited. Just a few years later, Yuga would also be an adult. If then, would his passion for Dueling fade away? Would he still have time to have fun with his friends? If Yuga's worries for not talking to his friends as much as he should start to catch up to him, there's also the fact that Yuga does understand Otes. It's just that he cannot say that to anyone. And also, he wants to spend more time with the people of Mutsuba Town. Yuga deserves to enjoy his life with the new friends he meet... There are too much to say, and too little room to express. That's the turmoil Yuga has to go through. Will he manage to resolve the turmoil in his heart? How will Yuga fare against Setsuko's terrifying Nidhoggr this time? Would Asana be able to help Yuga find his resolve like with Yuna's presence? Why did Setsuko express such a negative sentiment towards Asana back then? Find out in upcoming chapters!