Author's Note: I'm not going to be taking up extra words to explain card effects very often unless it makes sense in the context of the scene for a character to explain it. I'm gonna assume the readers know what most of the cards do.

Chapter 2: New Rivals

"So, you're the son of the famous Rin Yaku," said Enzo in between bites of his burger.

The Breakers were seated at a local diner, taking up two booths between the seven of them. The diner was rather small, only able to seat maybe thirty people between the booths and the bar, with black and white checkered tiles and dim overhead lights, giving a 1950s Americana vibe, even down to the old jukebox in the corner which occasionally played songs that sounded like they definitely wouldn't be on a normal index.

"What the hell kind of interest does the son of a great Pro Duelist want with a little ragtag gang like the Breakers? You could have gotten into the Pro Circuit on your mom's name alone."

"I could, but I don't want to get in like that," replied Tatsumaki. "I want to get into the big leagues on my own merit. I don't want anyone to look at me and cry nepotism."

"So instead of riding your ma's coattails, you've decided to blaze your own trail to the top," replied Manda. "I can definitely respect that. Even so, there's plenty of legitimate semi-pro organizations you could have started out in. Why come to us instead?"

As they were talking, a boy and a girl who looked to be around Tatsumaki's age entered the diner and took bar seats.

"True, but joining them always requires an ID and background check. Once they figured out my family name, they'd accept me immediately, and that would just be another shortcut. I want to start out without any unnecessary advantages and work my way up honestly. With that in mind, a less legitimate group like you guys seemed like the best starting point."

"Well, either way, you're a great duelist," said Jo as he munched on a handful of fries. He hadn't noticed a bit of ketchup that had gotten into the end of his blonde hair. "Why not get a fake ID and pass yourself off as someone else?"

"I considered that, but nah. The truth would come out eventually, I think. Not much point in directly lying about who I am. But, approaching people like you guys who had no idea who I was to begin with and don't bother with background checks isn't exactly lying."

"I see," mused Ryo. "So you figure if you forsake all the advantages your name grants you and start from the absolute bottom of the barrel, no one will attribute your eventual success to your mom's legacy."

"Exactly. I want to truly earn my way to the top, even if it means throwing my lot in with people who are considered outcasts," replied Tatsumaki. "That said, I can't exactly ignore the fact that my mom's money is its own advantage. After all, it's the reason I can feed everyone here today. But I know that money won't last me forever, and I still want to make a name for myself in the Pro Dueling world."

"So, wait, are we just a springboard for you to jump off of?" asked Enzo suspiciously. "Are you just gonna leave us behind once you get what you want?"

"Of course not!" replied Tatsumaki indignantly. "I told myself from the outset that whoever I ended up teaming up with, I'd be doing what I could to help them succeed as well. Now that you guys have officially let me into the Breakers, I plan on getting all of us to the big leagues, not just myself."

The boy and the girl at the bar got up and approached. The boy had short red hair and brown eyes, and wore a black metal band t-shirt with holes in the armpits from being worn too much, blue jeans with rips in the knees and a split in the seam towards the bottom of the left leg, and a dirty pair of brown steel-toed boots. The girl had black hair that fell halfway down her back, brown eyes, and wore a gray long-sleeve shirt that looked like it hadn't been washed properly in a week, black leggings with several holes torn in them, and a worn out pair of red-trimmed gray running shoes. On both of their backs were matching black backpacks, both of which looked like they'd seen better days. "Excuse me," said the girl. "Did you guys just mention the Breakers?"

"Who's asking?" asked Enzo suspiciously.

"My name's Emi, and this is my friend, Noroi. We've been looking for you guys."

"Well, you found us," said Enzo. "You look like normal teenagers, so what do you want with us?"

"We wanna join up," said Noroi.

"Seriously? More kids?" wondered Taza. "You realize we're a gang of thugs, right? We're not a daycare."

"Yeah, and besides, can you two even duel?" asked Enzo. "I don't see Duel Disks on either of you."

"They're in our bags," said Emi. "We're not gonna just wear them around like fashion accessories, ya know. They're really bulky and awkward."

"Fair enough," admitted Enzo. "But you gotta show us your skill before we let you join. You gotta duel one of us and we'll decide if you can join or not based on your performance."

Noroi gave Tatsumaki a once over. "So this little pretty boy punk was good enough for you guys to let him in? I doubt that. He probably just bought his way into the Breakers."

"Noroi! Don't be rude!" chastised Emi. "Sorry about that, sometimes his mouth gets ahead of his brain."

"It's fine," said Tatsumaki. "You know, between the two of us, I'm the only one who's proven my skill to these guys. You haven't done jack shit yet, my friend, so mindless insults like that don't exactly make a good impression."

"I don't care about what impression I make on you," said Noroi flippantly. "I'm only interested in the Breakers."

"But I'm part of the Breakers now," countered Tatsumaki. "Whether you think it was by skill or by bribery is of no consequence to me. Fact is, I'm a Breaker, therefore my opinion on you carries weight as to whether or not you can join, so watch your damn mouth."

"Seriously, Noroi, watch your damn mouth before it gets us in trouble," said Emi.

"I'll give you both a chance to prove yourselves once we finish our meal and head back to the hideout," said Enzo. "You'll both duel one of us there."

"If that's the case, then I want Mr. Pretty Boy Punkass here," said Noroi. "I'll beat you and prove you don't have what it takes to be a Breaker."

"You'll certainly try," replied Tatsumaki nonchalantly.

"Since Noroi wants to be a dumbass and challenge the guy who's paying for everyone's meal, I'll take Mr. Strong and Silent Type if that's okay," replied Emi, pointing at Kiri.

"About that," said Tatsumaki. "Kiri hasn't said anything this entire time. Is he mute or something?"

"Nah, he just doesn't have a lot to say usually," said Enzo. "He can speak, he just chooses not to most of the time. Dunno why. And as far as these two kids' opponents go, we'll decide who you duel, you got that?"

"It's fine," said Tatsumaki. "If he wants to get his ass beat that badly, I'll duel this guy. I accept your challenge."

Kiri nodded, indicating he accepted Emi's challenge as well.

"Fine," said Enzo, "The jackass will duel Tatsumaki and Emi will duel Kiri. Everyone happy?"

"See, Noroi?" cried Emi. "The leader of the Breakers just called you a jackass. Cool your fucking temper before it costs us this chance!"

After everyone finished their meal, they headed back to the abandoned building to get the duels underway. All the Breakers save for Tatsumaki and Kiri stood off to the side to watch.

First off, Emi vs. Kiri. Duel Disks engaged and they began, with Kiri going first. His opening hand contained Luster Dragon, Spear Dragon, Smashing Ground, Stamping Destruction, and Ring of Destruction, with his draw for turn being Widespread Ruin. He Normal Summoned Luster Dragon, Set Widespread Ruin, and motioned towards Emi to indicate he was passing the turn.

"Alright, Draw!" exclaimed Emi. Her opening hand consisted of Gyaku-Gire Panda, Level Limit Area B, Ojama Trio, Just Desserts, and Secret Barrel, and she drew Nightmare Wheel for turn.

"I'll Normal Summon Gyaku-Gire Panda and Set four backrow cards. Then, I'll activate Level Limit Area B, forcing all Level 4 and higher monsters into Defense Position! I'll end my turn there."

Kiri drew for turn, getting a second Stamping Destruction. He activated the first copy, taking out Level Limit and dealing Emi 500 damage. He then activated the second copy, targeting the Set card to the far right, destroying Nightmare Wheel and dealing an additional 500 damage. He then switched Luster Dragon back to Attack Position and Normal Summoned Spear Dragon, moving to the Battle Phase and attacking the panda with Luster Dragon.

"When you declare your attack, I activate my Trap Card, Ojama Trio! This puts three Ojama Tokens on your field who can't be Tributed! And my Panda gains 500 Attack for each monster you control, meaning your Luster Dragon is running into a 3300 Attack Panda!"

Luster Dragon was destroyed, and Kiri went to Main Phase 2, activating Smashing Ground to destroy the Panda, then Setting Ring of Destruction and passing the turn.

Kiri: 6600 Life Points.

Emi: 7000 Life Points.

Emi drew Cyber Jar for turn, which was a pretty neat card to get in this situation.

"First, I activate my Trap Card, Just Desserts! This inflicts 500 damage to you for each monster you control!"

Kiri chained Ring of Destruction, targeting one of the Ojama Tokens.

"Fine, then! I chain Secret Barrel, dealing 200 damage to you for each card on your field and in your hand!"

Barrel resolved first, dealing 1200 damage to Kiri, then Ring resolved, destroying a Token. Finally, Just Desserts resolved, dealing 1500 damage. Then, the effect of Ojama Trio activated, dealing 300 damage for the token being destroyed.

"Now, I'll Set a monster and end my turn!"

Kiri: 3600 Life Points.

Emi: 7000 Life Points.

Kiri drew for turn. Delinquent Duo, which was a dead draw. Emi had no cards in hand. He moved straight to Battle Phase, attacking the Set Cyber Jar with Spear Dragon, dealing 1000 damage and activating Jar's effect. Kiri revealed Element Dragon, Masked Dragon, Breaker the Magical Warrior, MST, and Snatch Steal, Special Summoning all the monsters in Attack Position. Emi revealed Breaker, Kinetic Soldier, Just Desserts, Magic Cylinder, and Gravity Bind, Summoning both of her monsters in face-down Defense Position. Ojama Trio dealt 600 total damage for the destruction of the last two Tokens. Kiri attacked one Set monster with Breaker, destroying Emi's Breaker, then attacked the other Set monster with Element Dragon, who was receiving a 500 Attack boost from having Masked Dragon on the field, enough to run over the Kinetic Soldier. Finally, Masked Dragon attacked directly for 1400 damage. Kiri then Set MST, then activated Delinquent Duo, sniping Just Desserts out of Emi's hand. She chose to then discard Magic Cylinder. Kiri passed the turn over.

Kiri: 3000 Life Points.

Emi: 5600 Life Points.

"Alright! Draw! I activate Pot of Greed to draw 2 more cards! Next, I activate Heavy Storm to destroy all your Spell and Trap Cards! Then, I Normal Summon another Panda, Set one backrow, and attack your Element Dragon! That's my turn!"

Kiri: 2700 Life Points.

Emi: 5600 Life Points.

Kiri drew another Widespread Ruin for turn, Setting it and activating Snatch Steal to gain control of Gyaku-Gire Panda. Emi chained Gravity Bind to prevent Breaker from attacking, but still took 2200 damage from her Panda, as well as Masked Dragon both attacking her directly. Kiri then passed the turn.

Kiri: 2700 Life Points.

Emi: 3400 Life Points.

"My turn! Draw!" Giant Rat. Actually, that's a good hit here. Good way to buy time. Snatch Steal gave her 1000 Life Points during her Standby Phase. "I'll Set a monster and pass the turn!"

Kiri: 2700 Life Points.

Emi: 4400 Life Points.

Kiri drew Sangan for the turn. Considering it was one of very few monsters of his that could get under Gravity Bind, he Normal Summoned it in Attack position, then attacked Emi's Set card with Masked Dragon. Unfortunately, Giant Rat's Defense is 50 points higher than Masked Dragon's Attack, so he took a sliver of damage in that attack. With nothing else to do, he ended his turn.

Kiri: 2650 Life Points.

Emi: 4400 Life Points.

Emi drew Ceasefire for turn, setting it after Snatch Steal increased her Life Points to 5400 and ending her turn.

Kiri drew Call of the Haunted, Setting it and passing.

Emi drew for turn, and her path to victory became known. She Set another trap and ended her turn.

Kiri drew for turn, but it didn't matter what card it was.

"During your Standby Phase, I activate Ceasefire! This deals you 500 damage for each Effect Monster on the field, for a total of 2500! Next, I'll chain Secret Barrel, dealing 200 damage for each card in your hand and field for a total of 1600! You lose!"

Kiri accepted defeat, realizing he had no answer.

Kiri: 0 Life Points.

Emi: 5400 Life Points.

"So? What do you guys think? Am I good enough to join the Breakers?" she asked.

"Well, boys?" asked Enzo. "Your thoughts?"

"She seems good enough to me, even if her deck isn't the most fun to watch," replied Manda.

"She manages her resources carefully, and only Set a bunch of Traps at once when they were almost all chainable to a potential Heavy Storm," observed Jo.

"Anyone else notice she won even though she barely ever attacked?" asked Taza. "I think she'd be a great Breaker."

"I'm fine with it, even though I'm not thrilled with all these teenagers trying to join up," said Ryo.

"Kiri, your thoughts?" asked Enzo. "You're the one who dueled her, after all. Think she's got what it takes?"

Kiri simply nodded.

"Alright, it's official. Welcome to the Breakers, kid!"

"Fuck yeah! I'm a Breaker!" exclaimed Emi in delight.

"You're pretty good," said Tatsumaki, offering a handshake which she accepted.. "I look forward to working with you, Emi."