Chapter 23: Intermission: Q&A:

The room was white and empty. It remained that way for a while, before a portal opened up in the ceiling. A red fox fell from the ceiling, dropping onto a chair that materialised out of nowhere.

"Welcome back!" It said, looking directly forward. "I imagine that this opening segment is mildly confusing to you, but eh! I felt like getting a little meta with this chapter, since it's going to break the fourth wall anyway! I posted this chapter a bit early. I doubt that there's much more to ask, anyway."

The fox settled peacefully on the chair.

"Anyway, I'm Blaise Candell! As you probably already figured out." It tilted its head. "Nice to meet you all! Thank you for all the support, reviews, questions, favourites and follows so far! It means the world to me. I never expected Six Dimensions to get the traction that it has—we're actually past fifteen thousand hits, which is an insane number for me! When I started, I was so sure that no one would want to read this story, since so many parts of it wouldn't properly make sense until the latter half of the Standard Arc, but seeing it come together in real time was really fun. In a sense, Six Dimensions is a fic that I can be proud of. (Still wondering if I might someday get that Fanfic Recs nomination, but for now, I'm very satisfied with how this is going.) Thank you to everyone for seeing through the Standard Arc with me."

The fox cleared its throat.

"But I'm very aware that none of you are here to listen to my rambling. You're here to meet the characters you know and love! And since there is no fourth wall in this chapter, all of them will know the things that are necessary to answer your questions! Though they will of course forget that they knew these things when they go back to the main story. Nothing here is canon, obviously. I already had ninety percent of this chapter written, so I'm honestly just waiting for the time limit to pass so that I can post this and move on."

The fox clapped its paws together.

"Alright, let's go!… what's that? Why am I a fox? Don't question things—I just needed a convenient non-human representation. Why not a stereotypical anime boy? My gender is troll not male—jk jk ok bye—"

From ShadowBladeChrono on AO3: For the Yu-boys, if you all had to switch Bracelet Girls, who would you pick?

"You're asking me to not have Rin as my best friend?" Yugo leapt out of his seat. Yuri rolled his eyes lazily. "What do you even mean by switch? Oi, oi—"

"I would never want anyone other than Ruri," Yuto said calmly. "Although, if we're speaking of who I personally feel like I would get along the best with, it would probably be Rin. I feel like she and I would get along quite well, especially because we're both very much the type to rebel against oppressors."

"Hey, are you trying to steal Rin from me, you bastard?" He who must not be named said.

Yuto stared at him speechlessly. "Platonically," he said, stressing the word.

"Oh, don't bother explaining it to him," Yuri said, rolling his eyes again. "Fusion's getting jealous too easily, as per normal. Anyway, I agree that every other girl here is inferior to Serena—" Five boys bristled, and Yuri clearly knew it too, grinning widely. "But if I absolutely had to, I would love to discuss my evil plans with Chiaki Katsuya. She seems like the kind that can help to take over the world."

"... you kidnapped her, bastard," Yuji muttered.

"Irrelevant, we're in a space where canon does not matter." Yuri grinned. "How about you, Fujita?"

Yuji seemed to weigh his options. "The faster we answer, the faster we get out of here?" He asked the fox, who just beamed back innocently. "... Kogami. She knows when to be quiet."

"Miharu sure does!" Yuno replied cheerfully. He and Yuya had been seated at the side, mutually agreeing to stay out of the crossfire in the middle, but at the mention of Miharu, he had immediately replied. Yuya closed his eyes next to him, preparing for the worst. "Uh, if we're talking about who I'd like to hang out with more, other than Miharu…"

Yuno stood there for a while, and five boys awkwardly stared at him.

"Yuzu," he decided. "Though I'm staying in my lane, Yuya."

"H-huh?" Yuya blushed immediately. "What do you mean?"

Five people stared at Yuya with absolute contempt. Even Yuto was speechless at this obliviousness.

"Anyway, if it's someone other than Yuzu…" Yuya blinked for a moment. "Ruri's pretty nice…"

"Serena's cool as hell!" Yugo was far more enthusiastic, next to him. "Though Rin's always the best!"

"That's an odd way to pronounce Serena," Yuri quipped, and the room descended into chaos.

The fox in the corner quietly sighed.

From ShadowBladeChrono on AO3: For the Bracelet Girls, if you had to switch Yu-boys, who would you pick?

"What happened here?" Rin asked, putting her hands on her hips. There was a chair that had been broken before the fox had managed to get the boys out of the room.

"Yugo slammed a chair on Yuri's head," the fox said with a sigh.

"Geez! That Yugo…"

"Yuri deserves it though," Ruri said, which was surprisingly vindictive for the usually sweet girl.

"Agreed," Chiaki said, which was decidedly less surprising. "Anyway, who would I pick, if not Yuji? Geez. Way to ask the hard questions."

"Yuto," Miharu said calmly, not even bothering to consider anyone else. Who else was she supposed to pick, other than Yuno? Socially inept Yuji, somehow more socially inept Yuri, socially unaware Yugo or easily peer-pressured Yuya? She'd prefer being friends with someone who was at least better with people than she was. She patiently stood at the door to the room, waiting to get out of there—or perhaps avoiding the bloodbath that might occur.

"Yuto," Yuzu agreed readily. "If I can't pick Yuya, at least… Yuto's the most responsible one."

Ruri's eyebrow twitched.

"Yuto," Rin agreed. "Might be nice to not have to worry about someone constantly for a change."

"Yuto," Chiaki said. "At least he can punch people."

"Yuto," Serena said loudly. "He's the strongest one other than Yuri, isn't he?"

All five of them looked at Ruri.

"Yuto," Ruri said.

"No, you're not allowed to pick him," Chiaki said, cracking a smile. Ruri sighed at the unfairness of the entire world.

"Yuno," she said. "Or maybe Yuya. They're… sweeter than the others."

"But Ruri, how could you not pick Yuto?" Rin teased.

"Please let me out," Miharu said, as Ruri twitched again behind her.

From ShadowBladeChrono on AO3: For Yu-boys & Bracelet Girls, what was the most embarrassing/funniest thing that your respective Yu-boy/Bracelet Girl did?

"Faceplanting the ground during a Charisma Duelist trick and getting back up, commenting that he just needed coffee and he'd be alright," Miharu answered immediately, much to Yuno's distress. "I had to dial the emergency hotline and do emergency repairs for his AR avatar because he was bleeding through the hologram, so that he wouldn't end up exposing his face. The livestream got age-restricted."

"Ok, you didn't need to say it that quickly!"

"We would have had to say it anyway."

Yuno sighed. Yugo and Yuri were both laughing at him. "Miharu destroyed the entire digital infrastructure of Den City in a single night," he said. The other ten people there, having been informed of what a digital masterpiece every part of Den City was, turned to stare at the blonde girl.

"… I really needed tea," Miharu said. "I was on a four day long coding spree… and I didn't have any caffeine. I ended up blanking out in the middle of coding, and then making and releasing a gigantic virus that cut off all communication until I fixed everything again."

"… what is wrong with you two?" Rin said incredulously. "The dumbest thing Yugo's done is get in a crash thrice!"

"In a row?" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah, why?"

Chiaki valiantly avoided laughing at the absurd idea of someone getting in a vehicle crash, and then standing up and driving again, before getting hit again.

"Honestly, still valid," Yuri said with a yawn. "Serena scratched a tree. We call it the cat claw tree now, in Academia, and everyone thinks we have a lion on campus, when it was just a pint-sized girl."

"I am not pint-sized! And how about you? You buried yourself alive to see what being a plant was like? Ryo-senpai had to spend an hour digging you out!"

"I still don't understand why plants like being underground," Yuri said with a frown, not just missing the point but flying in the opposite direction entirely.

Yuto cleared his throat before Yugo could intercede. "Ruri has never done anything embarrassing in her life," he said.

The fox at the entrance blinked slowly. "... he's such a simp that this is actually a correct answer from his perspective," it said to the audience. "And what about you, Ruri and Yugo?"

"Rin has never—" Yugo paused. "Uh. She mixed all the clothing in the orphanage in the same washing machine cycle, so most of the white clothes got stained?" Rin smacked his side. "Hey, no one really minded!"

Ruri cleared her throat politely. "I would love to be able to say that Yuto hasn't done anything embarrassing," she said, "but there was that one time that he started sleepwalking and walked straight into a swimming pool. Shun had to fish him out." She smiled at Yuto apologetically, as he nodded back at her.

Yuji, Chiaki, Yuya and Yuzu, who were the only ones who hadn't answered yet, were now subject to gazes from the others. Yuji shrugged. "Chiaki has never done anything embarrassing in her life," he said, passing the honesty check. Chiaki, however, rolled her eyes.

"Yuji's just blind to my flaws," she commented, oblivious to just how that sounded. "I once tossed a chair and forgot that things broke, so it flew straight through the window and broke that. And uh, Yuji's most embarrassing thing is that he once fractured his ankle from falling down a whole flight of stairs, because he was too engrossed in a book."

Yuya and Yuzu stared at each other, neither of them really wanting to expose the other.

"I'll say mine, you say yours?" Yuya offered. Yuzu nodded.

"I once thought that I was singing quietly in the shower when in fact I was belting out tunes loudly enough that the entire street could hear it," Yuzu said.

Yuya blinked. "I grabbed an Action Spell, slid across the ground and tore my pants in front of a crowd," he said. "At least I managed to play it off…"

Several appalled gazes met his. Play it off as what? Yuto, Rin and Chiaki seemed ready to ask.

Before anyone could comment, the fox leapt up, swiftly transitioning to the next section.

From Unlucky-Fausto on ffnet: Reiji, how does your scarf work, and Yuno, do you want Reiji's scarf?

"My scarf works on willpower," Reiji said calmly, as though any words that were currently coming out of his mouth would make sense in any context at all. "It moves to my will—we share a connection deeper than friends, man and scarf." He turned to Yuno. "And while I respect your strength, Sugisaki, you may not have my scarf."

Yuno lifted one fuzzy end of the scarf that Miharu had knitted for him. "Wouldn't dream of it! Really, I already have a nice scarf here… I would just want your scarf physics. Teach me how to make my scarf move like yours!"

Reiji nodded solemnly. "It's an ancient art known as scarfbending—"

From naminexriku2468 on ffnet: To all Dragon Boys and Bracelet Girls, what element from Avatar would you like to bend?

(For this, each Bracelet Girl and Dragon Boy was interviewed separately. Their answers, however, will all be presented in the same section.)

"Air," Rin said, raising an eyebrow. "Duh."

"Air!" Yugo grinned enthusiastically. "Nothing beats the wind!"

"Really, the idea of there only being four elements is so archaic," Yuri said, performing the sacred art known as shitposting. "Wait, waterbending lets you use plantbending? Well, obviously that then."

"... same as Yuri," Miharu, who had been eavesdropping, murmured under her breath. "And I do agree about the idea of four elements being—" (This has been truncated by the author for the sake of non-chemistry nerds in the audience.)

Yuno poked his head into the room. "And I just want waterbending for the sake of water, obviously!"

"Waterbending is stronger when the moon is out, so of course I would want the graceful art of waterbending," Serena said with a sniff.

"Who cares about grace?" Chiaki rolled her eyes. "Firebending, obviously. I love arson."

"… earthbending." Yuji said. From far in the distance, a fire alarm could be heard. "… I've heard dirt and mud is best at smothering flames."

"Airbending!" Yuya grinned. "Then maybe Odd-Eyes and I can fly together!" His dragon, the only one without wings, nodded.

"Airbending," Ruri agreed politely. "As you might expect."

"Earthbending," Yuto replied. "I would like to match Ruri… and also, it seems like the most practical one."

"Firebending." Yuzu pressed her hands together. "… there are several people I'd sometimes like to set on fire." She ominously smiled.

From bladeWriter3 on ffnet: To Chiaki, how would you redesign your deck to hypothetically better fit the autumn theme you were intended to have?

Chiaki glared at the writer, who retreated. Miharu cleared her throat, having been invited along to aid in the explanation.

"There are three specific explanations for this," Chiaki said, "and the general explanation is that the author fucked up really hard with my deck initially." She sighed. "So. Originally, my deck was supposed to be an OC deck that the author made for me, because the author really wanted to give me FIRE Plant Rituals and made a whole archetype. However, they realised that I would be the one dueling the most in the first few chapters and thus an OC archetype might confuse the readers, and they also thought that it would be weird for me to be the only counterpart with an OC deck. So then came a lot of frustration—"

"Yuno, mine and Yuji's decks were already decided on within a minute of our creation," Miharu said quietly.

"Yes, because your themes were convenient, obviously." Chiaki grimaced. "And the author really didn't want to use Nephthys, because they thought that the archetype wasn't versatile enough to carry a lot of duels without being boring. So of course, the next logical idea that they had was Fire Fist, and that idea died a fiery death because they didn't like the archetype that much and couldn't stand the idea of writing it for that long. And they also got impatient and decided to just give me a deck that they knew well. Aka Herald Counter Fairies. Especially because Light Law Medium was basically my soul animal because of how passive aggressive it was."

The fox cleared its throat.

"No, you don't get to talk. You fucked up." Chiaki tossed a pencil at the fox, who ducked. "Anyway. So I will say now that the deck I used at the start of the story isn't a deck I will be using throughout the story. I do love my cards, but, well, plot spoilers. So it works out—there was always another deck that I would prefer to have anyway. But yes, there is an archetype of autumn-based Ritual Spirit Monsters similar to Shinobirds that I was supposed to have."

The fox carefully leapt over to them, dropping another sheet of paper in Chiaki's lap.

"… huh? Would we want signature monsters similar to how Yuji and the others have their dragons? Yeah, come to think of it, are they the only ones who have actually stated aces in the story? Can literally anyone figure out what Yuzu's ace is meant to be?"

"… throwing shade at Arc-V, as though the author doesn't already do that every chapter." Miharu looked at the question. "… but that question is filled with spoilers. Pass."

From bladeWriter3 on ffnet: To Yuji and Yuno: Your counterparts' hairstyles have been compared to fruits and vegetables. What do you see yourselves as?

"Fruits and vegetables?" Yuno tilted his head. "Um, I honestly couldn't tell you! I don't eat fruits a lot—"

"Mandarin," Yuji said, staring directly at Yuno's hair. Yuno blinked, his messy hair puffing up slightly. "Orange-red, overly sweet." He shrugged. "That's my opinion. For my hair… there's not a lot of fruits or vegetables that fit it clearly." He pondered for a while longer. "… custard apple. Can I leave now?"

"No," the fox said. "You're mister famous over here, you get no rights. Carry on answering questions."

From Unlucky-Fausto: Kyorin, do you like cartoons?

"I most certainly do!" Kyorin smiled. "A long time ago, back when my character was first created, I was very different from the character that I am today! I used Toons, actually." She shrugged. "The original plan was for some of us to have antagonistic decks from the series our dimension was based on—for example, Shino's original deck was Evil HERO, and then Dark World, while [Synchro spoilers] had Timelords and Hitoda had Hydradrives. However, that was really early stages, and the author thought it would make us less interesting characters if we did have those decks, since they couldn't justify us having them, and she didn't want us to be overpowered. I think I prefer my deck now though, but I still do like cartoons. It's an oddly specific question to ask, but I appreciate it!"

From DSpaceZ on ffnet: To Yuji, what was the reaction of Academia when you 'joined'? Has anyone tried to duel you?

"No one talks to me." Yuji seemed rather pleased with that outcome. "No one's seen my face either—and come to think of it, the cloak probably makes me more intimidating… and also, Yuri. Being near Yuri is the ultimate people-repellent. Some people did try to duel me because they thought beating me would be an easy way to prestige."

The fox shrugged. "And?"

"Obviously they were wrong." Yuji leaned back. "I'm an outsider. Beating me would have earned them nothing in Academia anyway. I still won—but that was only because if I seemed to be weaker than I was, I thought that my value to Academia would decrease. Still though. It could be worse."

From Unlucky-Fausto on ffnet: To Shino: What is the most amusing part of Yuri and Yuji's interactions?

"It's like watching two aggressively dumb dogs headbutt each other over and over again while trying to make peace," Shino said cheerfully. "Because obviously, until that moment last chapter when Yuji, due to Yuno's empathy, reaches out to ask Yuri about why he does stuff, the two of them haven't really understood each other much. Yuri thinks that Yuji's the same as him, and that leads to him doing a lot of stuff that he thinks that he himself would be happy with, but ending up getting Yuji mad with him!"

She folded her arms, kicking up her legs.

"But it seems that I'm not going to have the front row seat to the Yu-Yu Punching Show anymore, considering what happened last chapter. I'm kind of glad that they came to an accord—they're both boys that can't survive normally in the world, you know? Life's easier when you're not alone."

From DSpaceZ on ffnet: To Serena: Considering your new revelation of Fusion, have you considered getting different Extra Deck Monsters, like Synchro?

"I have considered other summoning methods," Serena agreed. "But I… still won't give up Fusion. Because I believe that I can continue to draw out power from Fusions." She clenched a fist. "What I have realised is a flaw in my own dueling, and not my cards—which are blameless, and have followed me this far. But there is a single summoning method that I do want to try and learn, because I feel like it's the most fitting for me currently. It is—"

The fox held up a sign saying 'spoilers', ending the section.

From Drake-san on ffnet: Who has a better chance of getting his bracelet girl to agree to be his girlfriend, Yuji or Yuno?

"Obviously him," Yuji said after a moment.

"Obviously him," Yuno said at the same time. They both stared at each other.

"It's obviously you, because Chiaki and I aren't into each other that way."

"... ok, we're in a non-canon space, so I can say this." Yuno pointed at Yuji. "You're so deep in denial that you've dug a crater in Egypt. If you actually realised that you liked her and asked her out, she'd agree immediately."

"That's incorrect," Yuji said. "Because both you and Kogami-san already know you like each other—if you just asked—"

"We're both traumatised teenagers who haven't recovered particularly well from one terrible incident in our childhoods," Yuno said dryly. "I intend on never opening my mouth."

Pause. Record screech.

The fox leaned forward to whisper. "Neither of them. Probably Yuno, since he actually is already aware of his feelings." In the background, the two continued to argue.

From DSpaceZ on ffnet: Yuno: Why Marincess? Well, you would obviously want a Deck you can use Magnetic Current in, but considering all of your counterparts so far chose their Deck for a specific reason, I wanted to know if it's the same for you.

"Why I picked my deck…" Yuno chuckled. "It was really because I liked the ocean. And I know people might think that it's odd for a guy to use female cards, but I don't personally feel that way." He leaned his head on his arm, considering it for a while longer. "... in a way, I suppose it was because the cards all looked happy to just be there. Performers, but they weren't clearly 'putting on a show' in the way that the Trickstars were. They just existed, and their existence itself was entertaining and uplifting… and I wanted to be like that too."

From SuperQuantPlayer on AO3: And finally, for Yuno, when you go back to the Link Dimension, how the heck are you going to explain your hiatus from being Boundless Sea? And what would you consider your most reliable first-turn play?

"I mean, at this point, I'll truly be shocked if the people hunting us haven't already opened up to the public about the fact that they're hunting me," Yuno pointed out. "Even if I go back, I don't know what's been revealed about me. I'm trying to be optimistic about it, but most likely, life will never be able to go back to normal. If they couldn't find Boundless Sea, they would start asking people to look for Yuno Sugisaki."

He rubbed his forehead.

"So I'm honestly trying not to think about it too much. But uh, my most reliable first-turn play? Well, that's the usual Sea Horse play that allows me to bring out Marbled Rock with a single card. I have plenty of other cards that can combo too though, so it's not terrible if I don't draw her."

From Unlucky-Fausto on ffnet: For Ruri: How often does Assembled Nightingale effects get negated (or it isn't allowed to resolve its effects)?

"Against Yuto, every duel," Ruri said with a sweet smile. "Against anyone else? It really depends on how well they know me, or how much they're used to less direct strategies like mine. I used to just duel with Assembly Nightingale, but as people started to understand my One Turn Kill strategies better, I began to branch out into other Xyz Monsters too."

From SuperQuantPlayer on AO3: For Shun: What's your highest Rank XYZ monster you've summoned? Also, what are your current thoughts of some of the other Lancers?

"My Ultimate Falcon," Shun said after a moment. "So Rank 10. My thoughts on the other Lancers?... I suspect that they differ from my 'canon' self in certain regards. Yuto and Nue are my closest comrades, of course, and so they are the ones that I hold in the highest regard. After all of them, Serena and Yuya are probably the ones that I trust the most. After all, Serena has no reason to betray us now, not with what she has learned. And Yuto trusts Yuya, who also helped to drive off the Obelisk Force. Yuya was pretty avidly attempting to learn how to Xyz Summon too. I may not like that either of them use Fusion, but… I suppose if it's a part of their strength, I won't begrudge them that."

He frowned.

"As for the rest… Gongenzaka and Sawatari are both very straightforward in their own ways—I don't think either of them will betray us. Reira is a literal child. I don't think he should be involved in this war at all. Reiji Akaba is a schemer—I've already told everyone that I don't trust him. Sugisaki is… probably trustworthy. That scream that we all heard… no one's talked to him about it, but I recognised the fear and desperation in his voice. It was genuine."

He clenched his fists.

"As for the rest… Tsukikage follows all of Reiji Akaba's orders, so I'm not actually sure if he's trustworthy. Myojin seems like a rather straightforward and kind person, but she's Reiji Akaba's favourite. I don't trust that there isn't something more to her. Yuto seems to trust Makishima, but her smile, unlike Sugisaki's, doesn't feel genuine in the slightest. It's a similar problem with Mackfield—there is something else going on behind that smile, and I don't know if I like what it is. Rinsoka's a shy girl, but she's also determined—and she also wants to recover her comrades. I can understand that much." He sighed. "... overall, the Lancers are a decent enough group to work with. But I won't stop until I reach Academia and manage to save Ruri again."

From DSpaceZ on ffnet: To Nue: What's your comment on your monsters sharing a theme/name with Yuri, the guy who kidnapped Ruri?

Nue shrugged. "Don't really care. They're my cards, they're his cards, I'll do my best to beat the crap out of him if I ever see him. Even though he shares my brother's face, that just makes me want to punch him more for being my enemy."

From DSpaceZ on ffnet: To Yuya: Have you tried asking Reiji to make more Extra Deck Odd-Eyes cards? Like, a Link monster for example?

"I already have a Link Monster! Yuno got Reiji Akaba to make it for me before the Maiami Championship." Yuya glanced at his Extra Deck. "... and really, I did think of asking him for some stuff, but he seemed like he was in a rush to complete all the cards that he wanted to create for everyone else. I trust in my current cards for now. And besides…" He wanted to continue talking, but he was knocked out with another giant sign that said 'spoilers'.

From DSpaceZ on ffnet: To all the Lancers, please tell me that Reiji is giving you more than just Pendulum/Link Monsters…

"He's giving cards to us upon request," Yuno pointed out. "It's not like Link Monsters are easy to make, anyway—they're the hardest ones to create. But yes, I'm the representative here to say that while the origin of the new cards might not necessarily be Reiji, everyone will learn new summoning methods eventually."

From bladeWriter3 on ffnet: The Counterparts (All Twelve): Who tends to say swear words the most? Who swears the least? Who amongst you is legally forbidden from swearing?

"If Ruri ever swore, then Shun would get mad at whoever was around her for teaching her swear words," Yuto said. Ruri nodded in agreement.

"It's as if I'm not sixteen already," she complained.

"Yes, yes." Yuto raised his head. "I don't curse… much. But if we're talking about who curses the most…"

"Look, Six Dimensions is rated K+ so that I can say fuck," Chiaki said, shaking her head. Next to her, Yuji sighed. "I don't see a problem with this."

Yugo reached over and fistbumped Yuji. "Rin swears a lot too," he said. The two of them nodded at each other in sympathy. Rin smacked Yugo over the top of the head.

"I'm literally a Charisma Duelist," Yuno said. "I'm contractually obligated to not swear, since it might affect the brand names of people who sponsor VRAINS. And Miharu doesn't talk to people enough to pick up swears."

"… this is correct," Miharu murmured.

"Relatable," Yuri said. "I, too, am far above the paltry act of swearing."

"I don't think that word means what you think it means."

"Shut up, plant girl."

"I only swear when I'm losing," Serena said, and Yugo nodded enthusiastically, while Yuzu looked like she had been called out and didn't know how to feel about it. As they all continued talking, a sign rose up in front of them.

Cursing Tier List

- Help - Chiaki, Rin

- Quite a bit - Yuzu, Yugo, Serena

- Just a bit - Yuto, Yuya

- Practically never - Miharu, Yuri, Yuno, Yuji, Ruri

From bladeWriter3: To the Yu-Boys: If you could switch dragons with one another, whose would you want and why?

"Magnetic Current's my partner," Yuno said. Most of the other boys looked equally reluctant.

"I would take Empty Abyss," Yuri said calmly. "Of course, I love my beloved Starving Venom too much to ever go through with such a thing, but the point stands."

Yuji gave him a side-eye, before shaking his head. "Most of your dragons wouldn't work in my deck," he pointed out. "... Starving Venom, unfortunately, is the only one that would fit."

Yuri grinned.

"Wipe that smile off your face."

Yuya cleared his throat. "I love Odd-Eyes… and Yuto, I love Dark Rebellion too! But I think that I would like Magnetic Current. It's hard to bring out, but its pacifistic nature is something that I appreciate."

"Oh, what a coincidence!" Yuno laughed. "I was going to say Odd-Eyes, just because Odd-Eyes does match my hair a bit as well."

… just because of that? Not any kind of practical dueling reasons? The five other boys all stared at Yuno with visible confusion.

Yuto and Yugo met each other's gazes.

"Fuck!" Yugo rubbed his forehead. "Alright, it's you, fine! I can't stand that guy's dragon—" He gestured to Yuri, who actually looked somewhat offended. "That guy kidnapped Rin—" Yuji blinked. "That guy's dragon is more expensive to summon than any of ours—" Yuno tilted his head. "And that guy's dragon is in the Main Deck, so I'd have to draw it!" He gestured to Yuya last. "So yeah, it's yours!"

"I agree," Yuto said. "I don't have a Tuner, but more negation in my deck wouldn't hurt. Clear Wing is a beautiful dragon, by the way."

Mollified, Yugo nodded. "... thanks. She sure is, isn't she?"

"My Starving Venom is the most beautiful though," Yuri cut in.

Next to him, Yuji twitched and lifted his arm slowly.

The other four boys looked away as the duel disk smacked against the back of Yuri's head with a loud thud.

From bladeWriter3 on ffnet: To the Bracelet Girls: Which one of you would you say is the pettiest and most cutthroat of the group?

"Yuzu's too nice, Ruri's too sweet, Serena's too righteous, Rin has never been petty a day in her life…" Chiaki trailed off. The four that she had mentioned didn't argue with her assessment. "Oi, blondie, have you done anything pettier than anything that I could do?"

"... I once purged all social media accounts of someone who insulted Yuno at school, and exposed his internet history to the entirety of Den City on the billboards," Miharu said.

Chiaki quietly backed off.

From DSpaceZ on ffnet: To Sawatari: What's your opinion of the Abyss Actors Deck? Do you consider them to be a parody of Yuya's Entermates? Or do you like them for their playing style?

"Abyss Actors…" Sawatari shook his head. "They are not copies of that guy's cards! Yes, I like their designs…"

He looked down.

"But more importantly, the fact that Reiji Akaba gave them to me after I lost to Sakaki twice… it also means that they're a sign of his recognition of me! That's why I want to use them to their highest potential!"

From SuperQuantPlayer on AO3: For Dragon Boys: Describe your relationship with your respective dragon in a sentence.

(Yu Boys were asked this question without each other around.)

"We work together to make others smile!" Yuya said.

"She's my best bud!" Yugo said affectionately.

"He's the one card that I can never bear to leave out, even when I'm holding myself back," Yuno replied.

"... she never left my side, no matter how badly I treated her," Yuji muttered.

"Together, we will defeat all our opponents, no matter what," Yuto declared firmly.

"... she's the start and the end of everything," Yuri said, and did not elaborate.

The fox reappeared, drumming its paws on the ground. "I can't literally play a drumroll sound effect," it said, "But don't you want to know the results of that character poll?" It rolled its eyes. "... as though we all don't already know who first place is? Anyway, you all were allowed to vote for three characters each, and I've pooled the AO3 and ffnet votes in what we like to call 'addition'. There were 21 voters and 61 votes, and well…"

The fox leapt onto a chair, another chair forming next to it.

"In first place, to literally no one's surprise, Yuji Fujita, with 15 votes!" The white-haired boy dropped from the ceiling, straight into the chair. "Yuji, how do you feel?"

"No comment," Yuji said blandly. The author rolled their eyes.

"Yes. This was obvious from the get-go. Though I'll have you know that I wouldn't have voted for you. You were literally created to be a deconstruction of a stereotypically edgy OC. Nerdy bookworm, definitely one of the least likeable people that you'll ever meet in real life, but a really interesting character in a story." The fox smiled. "Even I'm surprised that people liked you, to be honest."

"I'm surprised too." Yuji shrugged. "Especially because currently, I'm a villain?"

"You are," the fox agreed. "People do like villains more though, and it probably helps that I personally am trying to get everyone in this story to make sense. No villains in this story, only antagonists."

Yuji raised an eyebrow. "If you're saying that antagonists are more likeable though…"

The fox let out a soft laugh. "You're right." They cleared their throat. "Tied in second place—Miharu Kogami and Shino Gitsune, with 10 votes!"

From the ceiling, Miharu and Shino dropped down as well, Shino already being in her wheelchair, while Miharu fell into a comfortable chair.

The fox gestured to Shino. "Now, you. I knew from the moment I made you that you would eventually be one of the characters of this fic that everyone liked."

Shino giggled. "Why?" She asked.

"You're antagonistic, you play a well-liked deck and while you're still a hypocrite, you actually have a plausible motivation that links into the nature of the Fusion Dimension." The fox rolled their eyes. "I tried to introduce you slowly so that I wouldn't overwhelm the readers with OCs, but pretty much, it was impossible not to draw attention the moment you played a card with the name 'Branded'."

"Well, that's fair!" Shino grinned. "Thanks for voting for me, people! Even though I only showed up for like five chapters in the arc!" She elbowed Miharu. "And you? How do you feel?"

"... surprised," Miharu said, blinking.

"I'm not!" Shino said cheerfully. "What about you, Yuji?"

"... not surprised." The other quiet counterpart said.

"See?" Shino turned over to the fox. "What's your comment, author?"

"It helps that you are the single OC with the most screentime in this arc," the fox pointed out, glancing at Miharu. "So the readers have definitely had more time to get used to you. After all, you and Yuno have had the most duels. And quite plainly, if we're talking about which characters have had the most character development and fleshing out this arc, it's you and Yuji. I'm not surprised at all." The fox waved a paw at Shino. "She's just an anomaly."

Shino beamed.

"Regardless, by the statistics—and yes, readers, I do keep an entire spreadsheet of how many duels, win records, etc that every character has—you and Yuno do have the most actual on-screen duels. Probably why Yuno Sugisaki came in fourth place, with 7 votes. And apparently, force of personality also made it through, because despite her barely appearing in this first arc, Chiaki Katsuya came in fifth place with 6 votes." The author cleared their throat. "I do intend on letting Chiaki take a bigger role soon. Be patient with me." They unfurled a scroll. "I don't want this bit to take too long, so I'll just reveal the rest of the votes now. Kyorin Rinsoka is next with 4 votes, and Mion Myojin, Nue Kamisoka and Hitoda Makishima all received 3 votes each."

The fox leapt off, bowing.

"Hope you enjoyed! The next two chapters are very short because they transition between the Standard and Synchro Arc. But we'll be getting back to regularly long chapters by Chapter 26! See you then!"

End Notes:

Well, it's been a while! I decided to drop the fox joke for the end notes. I was busy with the Synchro Arc and finalising its contents—just to make sure that I didn't end up including something that I didn't intend to follow up on. *coughs* Shinji in canon Arc-V *coughs* Anyway, welcome back, once again! Hope you enjoyed the Q&A! Thank you all for your questions! There was one question that I didn't answer, and that was bladeWriter3's question about English voice actors, because I'm not actually familiar with Western cartoons at all, so I know nothing about voice actors. I'm mainly going to answer parts of the reviews here that weren't necessarily appropriate for the format of the Q&A.

To phantomdragons, that is the vibe I was going for. Hope you enjoy what comes next.

To bladeWriter3, thanks for the review! :) Glad that you're enjoying the characters thus far. I think you'll enjoy the Lancers' arrival in the Synchro Dimension, if that's the case.

To Unlucky-Fausto, thanks for pointing out the mistake with White Rabbit. Yeah, I have a lot more planned for Academia's characters as well.

To the Guest asking about power levels, the order you gave is pretty much correct, yeah. I don't think that power levels in a game like Yu-Gi-Oh really exist, purely because of hard counters and things like that, so I won't say anything for sure. I'm declining to comment on any card evolutions for now.

To naminexriku2468, no comments on what cards Ray will use. If it fits the situation, then maybe I'll use Beyond the Pendulum.

To HunterHQ, I do intend for the Fusion Dimension residents to have good relationships with each other. They're all still people, after all, and it's still a school.

To LHOCIN, glad you're looking forward to meeting that character! What I will say is that the Synchro Arc does have quite a few OCs for the sake of fleshing out the world, but that there is only one major OC, as per normal. She is probably my favourite OC in this entire story, so I'm excited to introduce her! I love Jack Atlas too. There'll be some legacy characters coming back, but most of them are there as cameos. Only a few are playing major roles. I do intend to make Roget and Security more interesting and more of a threat than canon.

To Drake-san, I'm not commenting on the future development of their interpersonal relationships, since anything relating to that will be a spoiler. Yugo knows that someone with the same face as him kidnapped Rin, and while he saw Yuji's hair, he'll most likely assume that it was the one who uses Fusion. So yes, he thinks it's Yuri now.

See you guys next chapter! :)