Starting Notes:
Welcome back! Here we go—it's Keika vs Masumi. Hope you all enjoy!
#6: True Metalphosis
"On the screen, that's…"
"Yes." Sitting in the room was the silver-haired young man from before again, looking at a tablet that was currently displaying a strange sight. One of their students—the top student of the Fusion Course, Masumi Kotsu—was talking to two visitors, but that wasn't the strange part.
The strange part was the two girls that she was talking to.
One of them was easy enough to recognise. Keika Sakaki looked as detached as ever, though there seemed to be some fire to her eyes as she accepted the challenge that she had been offered. However, the girl next to her, the one with the long brown hair, who was clearly teasing her…
The fact that the girl had the same face as her…
The silver-haired youth had only seen something like that once. He was still trying to figure out what Yuzu Hiiragi's similarity to that girl from before meant in the grand scheme of things—trying to figure out those things that he had found sitting in his father's computer.
"Akaba-san."
Reiji Akaba turned back to look at the man who had spoken to him—a man who, even now, seemed somewhat concerned for him.
"Do you want to watch this?"
"… it will be interesting to see how she does against someone that might match her skill," Reiji said. He tilted his head. "Let's put it on a larger monitor."
He did not express his true thoughts for now.
If this girl had the same face as Keika Sakaki…
She was most certainly important to keep an eye on. If only so that Reiji could figure out if she was an enemy.
"As you can tell, LDS's facilities are very good," Masumi said, gesturing to the large Duel Field that they were standing in. "A place that suits you better than that rundown school of yours, don't you think?"
Keika tensed up for a brief moment—quick to anger, as always. Masumi seemed to notice, and she raised her hands, an apologetic look on her face.
"I'm not trying to mock you," the dark-haired girl clarified. "It's simply—I've been told I can be blunt."
Keika took a deep breath. "I'm not mad," she said, her voice calm. "It's true that your facilities here are better than ours in any way, shape or form. And it's also true that by being here, we might be capable of improving more than in You Show… I'll give you that much, at least. But I don't think it suits me to take all of this—" She waved a hand through the air, as though gesturing to all of the luxurious machines and facilities at once. "So seriously."
"Will you take me seriously as an opponent though?" Masumi replied. "I didn't ask you here to have you go easy on me, the way that you went easy on Sawatari. I want to see you, Keika Sakaki."
From the stands, Kanae stifled a laugh. She picked up a piece of popcorn, still watching.
Keika didn't reply to her question, because there was a much more pressing point there—"You've seen my duel against Sawatari?" She asked.
Masumi smirked for a brief moment, looking amused. "You'll find that Sawatari and his group aren't actually very popular around here," she replied. "I think that the video of you and him dueling has circulated through the whole school at this point."
… well, great.
"If you want me to go all out," Keika said, "don't complain."
"I won't, then." Masumi raised a hand. "Let's go. Action Field, activate! Lake of Memories" The projector above them glowed, casting a bright light on them, before their environment changed. They were now standing in a shallow lake, with an island in the middle, a large rock on the island that was dimly glowing yellow. Small plants could be seen floating all around them, across the surface of the water—flowers and leaves, purple, white and green. "I decided to pick an Action Field that I'm not particularly familiar with—thus, there is no advantage for me."
"Appreciated," Keika said shortly. "Duelists locked in battle!"
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Masumi responded, seeming just as eager to start the duel as Keika was.
"They storm through this field!"
"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
"Action—"
"Duel!"
And the Action Cards scattered around them.
[ACTION DUEL!]
Masumi Kotsu: 4000LP
Keika Sakaki: 4000LP
"You can have the first turn," Masumi offered.
"… I won't reject you then." Keika held out two cards from her hand. "I will set the Scale 1 Metalphosis Silverd and the Scale 1 Metalphosis Goldriver in the Pendulum Scales." The two cards rose up in pillars of blue light around her. Masumi didn't seem surprised seeing her set two monsters with the same Pendulum Scales in her Pendulum Zones—meaning that there was a high likelihood that Masumi knew what her main gimmick was. "I will use the Pendulum Effect of Metalphosis Goldriver. By destroying another face-up card I control, I can set a "Metalphosis" Spell or Trap directly from my deck to the field."
Obviously, she destroyed Silverd, since it was the only possible target. A set card appeared on her field immediately afterwards.
"I will then set the Scale 1 Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon in my Pendulum Scale." Keika continued. The lovely, bright orange dragon appeared in the pillar of light, golden mane trailing down its neck as its feathery orange and white wings burst forth, covered in flames. "And I will use Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon's Pendulum Effect. By destroying itself, I can add a "Pendulum" Pendulum Monster or a "Pendulum" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand, but I can't activate the effects of cards with that name for the rest of this turn." Her dragon burst into flames like a phoenix, before Keika picked up a card from her deck.
"Self-destruction for card advantage," Masumi said, sounding unsurprised.
"I will now set the Scale 8 Metalphosis Volflame in my other Pendulum Scale," Keika called. Her two Pendulum Scales were finally ready. "With this Pendulum Scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from Level 2 to Level 7. Swing, pendulum of lost souls. Cast your hopeful light across the aether in a streak of flame! Pendulum Summon! Come from the Extra Deck—Metalphosis Silverd." The pink-haired woman with a red visor appeared in front of her. "And in a burst of beautiful flames—Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon!" The beautiful dragon reappeared, one gold and one red eye staring forward at Masumi, even as she rested in Defense Position. Silverd, meanwhile, stood aggressively in Attack Position.
[Metalphosis Silverd (3*/S1/1700/100/FIRE/Psychic/Pendulum)]
[Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon (7*/S1/2000/2500/FIRE/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect)]
"I'll end my turn," Keika said.
"You seem very confident in your set card," Masumi said. "Very well. Let's test you." She drew a card. "I will Normal Summon Crystal Rose." A strange red rose made entirely out of crystals appeared in front of her—glistening brightly.
[Crystal Rose (2*/500/500/LIGHT/Rock/Effect)]
"Crystal Rose can be treated as a substitute for any Fusion Material while it's face-up on the field," Masumi explained.
Keika narrowed her eyes. A Fusion specialist, huh?... no wonder this girl had challenged her. She was probably rather strong too, unlike Sawatari…
"I will thus activate the Spell Card, Gem-Knight Fusion. I will fuse Crystal Rose on the field, treated as a "Gem-Knight" monster, with Gem-Knight Lapis in my hand. The blue and green stones that hide mysterious power. In a whirlpool of light, combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance! Now, become light and appear! Fusion Summon! Level 5! Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli!" A woman with light blue skin appeared, dressed in dark blue robes, staring at Keika imperially with cold eyes.
[Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli (5*/2400/1100/EARTH/Rock/Fusion/Effect)]
"I will banish Gem-Knight Lapis from the graveyard to add Gem-Knight Fusion from my graveyard to my hand," Masumi continued. "And I will activate the effect of Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli. I will send a "Gem-Knight" monster from my deck or Extra Deck to the graveyard, and by doing so, I will inflict 500 damage to you for each Special Summoned monster on the field. That's three monsters. Lazuli Blast!"
Keika, naturally, moved to look for an Action Card, just because. The water kicked up around her feet as she ran towards a card that was floating on a flower. Masumi mirrored her movements, even as Lady Lapis Lazuli floated up in the air, three bright blue orbs of energy flying around her, before they all flew at Keika.
"Action Card, Acceleration," Keika said, lifting the card. The three orbs missed her, hitting the water and splashing it upwards around her. "I negate one instance of effect damage."
Masumi had picked up another Action Card from a nearby lilypad as well. "I see," she said. "Action Card, High Dive. I can target a face-up monster on the field, and it gains 1000 attack points until the end of this turn. I will choose my Lady Lapis Lazuli, naturally." A soft glow surrounded her monster.
[Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli: 2400 + 1000 = 3400ATK]
"Lady Lapis Lazuli attacks your Metalphosis Silverd."
This time, while Keika spotted an Action Card and walked to pick it up—quite calmly, in fact—her monster was still destroyed.
Keika: 4000 - 1700 = 2300LP
"You don't seem bothered," Masumi said, sounding rather surprised.
"I'm not," Keika replied. She flipped over her set card. "Trap Card, Metalphosis Counter. If a card I control is destroyed by battle, or by a card effect, I can Special Summon a "Metalphosis" monster from my deck."
"The same card that you used against Sawatari," Masumi acknowledged. "So you wanted me to destroy that monster."
"Come from the deck!" Keika declared. "Raremetalphosis Bismagia!" Another pink-haired woman appeared, this one riding a motorcycle that was rather colourful—a spectrum of gold and pink. The motorcycle was made of sharp shapes, resembling the sharpness of the mineral, bismuth.
[Raremetalphosis Bismagia (1*/S8/0/0/FIRE/Psychic/Pendulum/Effect)]
"I will end my turn then," Masumi said. She took a step backwards—turning her head to glance around for Action Cards. "It's your turn, Sakaki." Lady Lapis Lazuli's attack points fell back to normal.
Keika drew a card, before raising the Action Card that she had picked up. "Action Card, Floating Petals," she said. "I gain 300 life points times the number of monsters I control." Two petals flew around her, landing in the water, even as her life points went up.
Keika: 2300 + 300 x 2 = 2900LP
"I will then activate the Pendulum Effect of Metalphosis Goldriver," Keika continued. "By targeting Raremetalphosis Bismagia, I will destroy it and set a "Metalphosis" Spell or Trap from my deck." A set card appeared on her field, even as her monster was shredded. "The effect of Raremetalphosis Bismagia activates as well. When destroyed by battle or card effect, I can add a "Metalphosis" monster from my deck to my hand during the End Phase." She raised a hand. "Swing, pendulum of lost souls! Pendulum Summon! Return from the Extra Deck! Metalphosis Silverd! And come from my hand! Metalphosis Goldriver!" The two monsters reappeared on the field.
"Interesting," Masumi said. She picked up an Action Card. "So? Are the rumours true, You Show Duel School's Ace-san? Can you use it?"
"You challenged me because you wanted to know if that was true?" Keika said. She knew very well what rumour Masumi was talking about, after all.
"They say you're a talent," Masumi said. She tilted her head. "I think you're an unpolished gem."
"… so, you think that I'm not at my best?"
"I think that you usually avoid dueling at your best on purpose," Masumi replied, surprisingly perceptive despite her blunt words. "Am I wrong?"
Keika brushed her fringe from her face. She pressed her hand to the card on her duel disk, before activating it—because the card was enough of an answer to Masumi's question by itself. "Spell Card, activate," she said. "Metalphosis Fusion."
Masumi nodded. "So it's true then," she said. "Somehow, you, a student of a school that isn't LDS… you managed to learn one of the methods that should be unique to us."
"Is that why you've observed her so much, President?"
Reiji pushed his glasses up. "I've observed that girl as much as her brother," he said. "And it's for the same reason as her brother—that they're Yusho Sakaki's children. Nothing more, nothing else."
Nakajima frowned. "Still though, is the fact that she can use Fusion not enough of a reason to suspect her for being a spy?"
" … perhaps if she learned Fusion with no effort at all," Reiji said. "But with what I know about that girl… it was not an easy process for her. She suffered to learn it. So no… I don't suspect her at all."
" … what should be unique to you?" Keika replied after a moment. She did not choose her words carefully at all. "Do we or do we not live in a meritocracy? There is no such thing as 'should'. Your school doesn't have the right to keep these methods to itself. If I put in the effort and learned it, it's mine." She snapped her fingers. "I'll fuse Metalphosis Silverd and Metalphosis Goldriver." The two monsters shot up, turning into a torrent of colourful flames as they spun around each other. "Unconquerable, untamable shining metal forged in the fierce flames. Crash down and break down those that would suppress us! Fusion Summon! The blazing machine single-mindedly focused on combat! Metalphosis Adamante!"
A man with light blue-grey hair appeared in front of her, dressed in a complicated metal suit that was primarily grey and bright red. Holding onto two long flaming swords, each of which was as long as Keika's body, he faced towards Masumi's field.
[Metalphosis Adamante (5*/2500/2500/FIRE/Psychic/Fusion)]
"I'll change Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon to Attack Position," she continued. "And Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon will attack your monster. And when Sunburst Spark attacks a Special Summoned monster, she gains 500 attack points for each Special Summoned monster on the field other than herself until the End Phase. Wrathful Solar Ignition!" The flames around the dragon grew far greater, even as it let out a roar.
[Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon: 2000 + 500 x 2 = 3000ATK]
"I see," Masumi said. "A powerful effect—on the offensive, that is." She revealed the Action Card she had picked up. "Action Card, Evasion. I negate the attack." She immediately began to look for another Action Card—
But Sunburst Spark flew past Lady Lapis Lazuli, her wings spread out, blocking off Masumi's route to any nearby Action Cards.
"Metalphosis Adamante attacks Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli," Keika declared, looking unsurprised by her monster's actions. "Blazing Rebellion!"
The attack hit, and Lady Lapis Lazuli was destroyed by it.
Masumi: 4000 - 100 = 3900LP
"Main Phase 2," Keika continued. "I will activate the Pendulum Effect of Metalphosis Volflame. By destroying a face-up card I control, I can set a "Metalphosis" Spell or Trap from my deck to my field." She clenched a fist. Flames shot up behind Masumi, causing the girl to turn her head and look as Sunburst Spark was consumed and burned to ashes. Another set card appeared on Keika's side of the field. "Then, I will shuffle Metalphosis Fusion from my graveyard into the deck with its own effect to draw a card. I end my turn. Bismagia lets me add a "Metalphosis" card from my deck to my hand, if you needed that reminder."
"Destroying your own ace for card advantage…" Masumi raised an eyebrow. "You're quite cold."
"… was that an attempt at a pun?" Keika asked, even as crickets chirped in the distance.
"… no," Masumi said unconvincingly. She drew a card. "Still though, you're right."
Keika frowned. Right about what?
"I don't know how you learned Fusion," Masumi said. "But if you managed to learn it on your own, you have my respect. I'm not going to look down on you just because you're not from LDS."
"… good," Keika said. I'd get mad if you did.
Masumi looked through the five cards in her hand. "I will activate the Spell Card, Gem-Knight Fusion again. I'll fuse Gem-Knight Ganet and Gem-Knight Lazuli in my hand." She sent all three cards to the graveyard. "Gem burning with flames. Green gem sparkling brightly! In a whirlpool of light, combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance. In the magma and flames, be forged into the steadfast warrior! Fusion Summon! The one and only Gem-Knight Madeira!" A warrior with coppery red armour appeared on her field, wielding a glowing sword that was made of magma.
[Gem-Knight Madeira (7*/2200/1950/EARTH/Pyro/Fusion/Effect)]
"Since I used Gem-Knight Lazuli as Fusion Material, I can add a Normal Monster from my graveyard to my hand," Masumi explained. "I will add Gem-Knight Ganet back to my hand. I'll then banish Gem-Knight Lazuli from the graveyard to add Gem-Knight Fusion back to my hand as well."
Keika narrowed her eyes.
"I will activate Gem-Knight Fusion again," Masumi said, the card reappearing on her field. "I will fuse Gem-Knight Ganet and Gem-Knight Alexand in my hand. Gem burning with flames. Gem with facets of day and night. In a whirlpool of light, combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance." That seemed to be her main catchphrase, from what Keika could tell. "Fusion Summon! With your powerful fists, rain down blows on my opponents! Gem-Knight Zirconia!" A grey and blue warrior appeared, with a long purple cape fluttering behind him.
[Gem-Knight Zirconia (8*/2900/2500/EARTH/Rock/Fusion)]
That was… a non-Effect Fusion Monster, correct? The same as her Adamante?
"I will have Gem-Knight Zirconia attack Metalphosis Adamante!" The strong warrior charged forward, punching towards Adamante. Keika spotted an Action Card, but it was further away and quite frankly, she couldn't be bothered, so she just let Adamante be destroyed, even as she briskly walked over towards the Action Card.
Keika: 2900 - 400 = 2500LP
"And Gem-Knight Madeira will attack you directly!"
Zirconia moved to block Keika off with a punch, similar to how Sunburst Spark had blocked off Masumi earlier. Keika, however, jumped onto the large fist, hopping off it and climbing up over Zirconia's shoulder, jumping over it and grabbing an Action Card.
"Before you try to activate that," Masumi replied casually, "you can't activate cards or effects when Madeira attacks or is attacked."
Keika tilted her head upwards slightly. The Action Card hung loosely from between her fingers as the attack hit.
Keika: 2500 - 2200 = 300LP
"I'll end my turn," Masumi concluded.
"Draw," Keika said, still unfazed. Her field was now empty except for her Pendulum Zones and the set card in her backrow, while Masumi had Zirconia and Madeira on her field. Keika, however, had six cards in hand, not including the Action Card that she had picked up, and thus, she had plenty of resources to use. "I will activate the Continuous Trap, Metalphosis Combination." Her set card flipped up. "Swing, pendulum. Come from the Extra Deck. First—Metalphosis Silverd. Then, Metalphosis Goldriver." The two smaller monsters appeared first. "And then—return, faithful partner. Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon!" The beautiful orange and red dragon reappeared on the field, roaring as flames emerged from its mouth.
"So all three of your monsters are back…"
"I will activate the Pendulum Effect of Metalphosis Volflame. I will destroy the Metalphosis Goldriver in my Pendulum Zone to set a "Metalphosis" Spell or Trap from my deck."
From above, Kanae tilted her head. " … her deck is very consistent," she murmured. "Almost as much as mine, really…" And really, by that, she just meant that Keika was just as consistent as her, but her ego wouldn't let her accept that equality. Her hand drifted over her duel disk, thinking about the deck in there. She heard a graceful roar in her head. "… and you want to face her someday, huh?"
She looked at the red-haired girl in the field thoughtfully.
"… just wait a while," she murmured. "Wait. She's stronger than most of the weak idiots here, but I want her to become herself first, before I duel her. She'll be… a worthy opponent of us, if we give her time to grow."
And that, she decided, was that odd feeling of friendship that she got around Keika Sakaki. She wouldn't allow anyone to impede this girl's progress.
She had never felt so keenly interested in seeing someone grow… or well, that was all from what she remembered, anyway.
"Kanae-san?"
Kanae tilted her head over. "Yuya," she greeted with a smirk. Sora and Yuzu were there too. "You're just in time to see your sister be cool."
"Huh?" Yuya glanced towards the field. Kanae's smirk never faded as she looked back at the field.
"I will activate the Spell Card, Metalphosis Fusion again," Keika declared. "I will fuse Metalphosis Silverd and Metalphosis Goldriver again. Pure metal lost to myth and legend. Be reborn in golden glory, clear and unrusted. Fusion Summon! Warrior powered by legend! Metalphosis Orihulk!"
A dark-haired warrior in a red mask appeared, golden rings and wheels forming large wings around it. He was holding onto two short axes made entirely of flames.
[Metalphosis Orihulk (8*/2800/2200/FIRE/Psychic/Fusion/Effect)]
"A Fusion Summon?" Sora exclaimed. "That—she can Fusion Summon?" There was genuine surprise on his face, and Kanae watched him through the corner of her eye. Hmm.
"Yeah," Yuya said with a sigh. "… it took her a while to learn that."
A while? Hmm. Interesting.
Very fascinating.
"Metalphosis Combination's effect," Keika said. "Once per turn, when a Fusion Monster is Fusion Summoned—I can Special Summon a "Metalphosis" monster from my graveyard with a lower Level. Return to the field—Metalphosis Adamante." The previous Fusion Monster reappeared on her field.
"Two Fusion Monsters with a single move," Masumi said, and it sounded like a compliment.
"Yes," Keika said. "Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon will attack your Gem-Knight Zirconia. You know how her effect works. She gains 500 attack points for each other Special Summoned monster on the field—and there's four. Wrathful Solar Ignition!" Sunburst Spark roared again.
[Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon: 2000 + 500 x 4 = 4000ATK]
Masumi ran for yet another Action Card. Come to think of it… Keika usually only used as many Action Cards as her opponent used, but Masumi really did seem to rely on Action Cards for her defences. Did she have no Traps?
Masumi picked up the card just a second before the attack hit. "Action Card, Damage Banish! I'll reduce damage to 0!" Zirconia was still destroyed, but she didn't take any damage.
"Adamante will attack Gem-Knight Madeira. Blazing Rebellion!" The other monster was destroyed before Masumi could get another Action Card.
Masumi: 3900 - 300 = 3600LP
"And Metalphosis Orihulk attacks directly," Keika concluded. Her monster charged forward, firing off several blasts of flame. "Meteorburst Mash!"
The attack hit as well.
Masumi: 3600 - 2800 = 800LP
"I'll activate the effect of Metalphosis Fusion, shuffling it into the deck to draw another card," Keika declared. "I'll then activate the Spell Card, Pendulum Halt. Since I have three or more face-up Pendulum Monsters with different names in my Extra Deck, I can draw two cards. However, I cannot add cards from my deck to my hand for the rest of this turn." She glanced at the cards in her hand. "I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn."
Masumi nodded, drawing a card. "Your monsters are very aggressive," she praised. "But… even if you get my life points so low, yours are still low too. All I need is one attack."
"Burn through them if you can," Keika replied calmly.
"I'll do my best," Masumi snarked. "I'll banish Gem-Knight Alexand from my graveyard to add Gem-Knight Fusion back to my hand. And I'll activate the Continuous Spell Card, Brilliant Fusion. I will—"
Her card fizzled, before exploding. Masumi's eyes widened.
"Wh—what?" Then, as she glanced over at Keika's field, she saw the card that Keika had just flipped up.
"Counter Trap, Paradox Fusion," Keika said. "When a monster would be Special Summoned, or a Spell or Trap Card is activated—I can banish a Fusion Monster I control to negate the summon or activation." Adamante dissolved into flames.
Masumi looked at her, and then she ran for an Action Card. Keika sighed. Next to her, Sunburst Spark turned over. Keika reached out, a small smile growing on her face, and she brushed a hand along the dragon's neck, where the flames had receded slightly.
She turned over when Masumi called out again. "I will activate the Action Card, Aquatic Gift! I can draw a card, but I cannot add cards from my deck to my hand for the rest of this turn!" She drew a card. She sighed in relief. "I will activate the Spell Card, Gem-Knight Fusion! I will fuse Gem-Knight Saphire and Gem-Knight Roumaline!" A blue and yellow streak appeared, zooming around above her. "Gem tinged with lightning. Gem on the ocean bed! Now, in a whirlpool of light, combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance! Fusion Summon! Gem that strikes like a streak of lightning! Gem-Knight Prismaura!"
A knight dressed in shining silver armour appeared, with golden trim on their armour. They held up a thin rapier and a bright circular shield, and rainbow light shone on the ground through the transparent crystals on their shoulders.
[Gem-Knight Prismaura (7*/2450/1400/EARTH/Thunder/Fusion/Effect)]
"And that's it!" Masumi had no cards left in hand, but she looked confident. "Attack Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon! Rainbow Lightning!"
The streak of lightning shot towards Keika—
Who raised an eyebrow and played her final card.
"Trap Card," she said. "Fire Spirit Art - "Crimson"." She turned to her dragon, nodding. "By tributing a FIRE monster—you take damage equal to its original attack points." Sunburst Spark dissolved into golden flames, swirling around her. Masumi gasped. The flames shot forward—
And the duel ended.
Masumi: 800 - 2000 = 0LP
Winner: Keika Sakaki!
"Couldn't you have activated that at the start?" Masumi asked, as she walked over.
"I could have," Keika agreed.
Masumi narrowed her eyes. "… were you looking down on me?"
"No," Keika said. "I… wanted to see more from you. I wanted to see if you could still persevere." She shrugged. "You're good."
Masumi watched her suspiciously for a moment. Keika didn't know what she was seeing. Then, the black-haired girl raised a hand. "You're better," she said. "That duel proved that."
Keika raised an eyebrow, showing her own disagreement with the sentiment. She took Masumi's hand though. It was rather soft. They shook hands.
"Come back to LDS sometime," Masumi offered. "I'll show you around."
"… if you can keep Sawatari away," Keika replied, because she was bad at giving direct responses, and now that the duel was over, she was very much reminded that Masumi was, in fact, a cute girl, and that they were currently holding hands. Thankfully, Masumi let go of her hand before Keika could say anything embarrassing.
"It's a date then," Masumi said. She smiled, before she waved and walked off.
Keika looked after her, slightly uncertain.
"Keika!"
The red-haired girl looked over, seeing her brother, Yuzu, Sora and of course, Kanae. "Did you forget that the last time you came here, you guys got kidnapped by that idiot?" She said, of course referring to Sawatari.
"We came here because we heard that you came here," Yuya protested.
"And because the Solid Vision projector broke again," Sora said faux-secretively, waving a lollipop towards Yuzu, who looked slightly embarrassed.
"You're very talented at breaking machines," Kanae quipped from behind them. "I'll take a look at that for you, if you want."
Yuya looked at her incredulously.
"I'm good with machines," Kanae said, rolling her eyes. "Really, what's the harm? It's not like I can break it more than it's already broken, right?"
"True," Yuya said. Yuzu smacked him over the head with her fan. Keika glanced away, hiding her annoyance. Yuzu, however, didn't follow up on that. Instead, she turned towards Keika.
"Why did you come to LDS?" She asked. "Is something wrong?"
Keika looked back at her.
The thing was, the reason that she had come here, before she had gotten distracted by Masumi, was to interrogate Sawatari. It was to avoid having to ask Yuzu exactly what was going on with her.
However…
Kanae nodded her head slightly in encouragement when Keika looked at her.
"I came to ask Sawatari what happened," Keika said bluntly. "Since I didn't want to disturb you."
And Yuzu blinked, before she glanced down, looking slightly ashamed. "Oh. Is that it?" It didn't take long for her to raise her head again, her eyes filled with determination. "Alright. Let's go back to You Show. I'll tell you guys about it."
Keika nodded, betraying none of the nervousness that had stopped her from actually admitting her motives before.
Maybe there was something to this directness after all.
"And you can explain to us how you know Fusion!" Sora interjected. "Because I'm super curious too!"
OC Cards:
Sunburst Spark Pendulum Dragon
(7*/S1/2000/2500/FIRE/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect)
Pendulum Effect: You can destroy this card: Add 1 "Pendulum" Pendulum Monster or 1 "Pendulum" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand, but you cannot activate cards with that name this turn.
If this card attacks a Special Summoned monster: It gains 500 ATK for each Special Summoned monster on the field, except itself, until the End Phase.
Action Card - Floating Petals
(Spell/Action)
Gain LP equal to the number of monsters you control x 300.
Trivia: I learned that Action Fields are supposed to have unique Action Spells. Thus, I made this and tossed it in just so that technically, there's one, even if it has no effect whatsoever on the duel.
Action Card - Aquatic Gift
(Spell/Action)
Draw 1 card. You cannot add cards from your Deck to your hand for the rest of this turn.
Different Card Effects from TCG:
Crystal Rose - Anime effect. It says any 1 Fusion Material, rather than a specific Fusion Material, and thus, can substitute as non-specific Fusion Materials as well.
End Notes:
Woo! It's out! So yeah, the fact that I've been struggling not to give away—Keika already knows Fusion. How? Why? Good questions—that will be answered in the next chapter, when Yuzu finally talks about Cloud Piercer and Keika explains how she learned Fusion. By the way, that's it for now—Keika's not holding anything more back about her strength. She currently has Fusion and Pendulum. What other summoning methods will she learn? I feel like one, at the very least, is very obvious. It'll take a while though.
I do love Masumi as a character. Will she get to do more compared to canon?... eh. We'll see.
Anyway, just a quick note before this ends—please don't send reviews pressuring me to update. It's stressful, haha. It actually makes me update slower.
Thank you to phantomdragons, Stan Marsh, king, LHOCIN, Luna Tenma, SenkuXKohaku, the three Guests and T.V.2000 for reviewing.
To phantomdragons, I'm glad that you enjoy Kanae! When I made the decision for plot reasons that I couldn't reveal her deck too early, I knew it would be Empty Abyss all over again. Kanae and Keika's friendship is probably the most important relationship in the grand scheme of the story, though Cloud Piercer's later interactions with Keika are also pretty important. Thus, it was very important that even though she isn't dueling, the audience knows what Kanae is like early on.
To king, good catch on Yuno's last name! I was wondering how many would notice that. What I can say is that all of the K-counterparts have a relatively good relationship with their brothers, even in the present.
To LHOCIN, I didn't think about it like that, but you're right about the comparison to Yuya/Yuto! Keika and Kanae are a lot more truthful to each other than the rest.
To Luna Tenma, I was thinking about giving hints more early, but it's one of those things where revealing them right now would give it all away. I'm… planning on updating this one more eventually? It's more that there were some things in the Standard Arc of this fic that would have been spoilers for my other fic, even if they're not spoilers here. It'll get faster eventually.
To the Guest asking about the names, I do have the girls' names all decided, and they all reference the characters' decks/roles, so I probably won't be changing any. You'll have to wait and see. :D
To T.V.2000, I'm glad that you're enjoying it! Good catch with Yuno's last name, and with Kanae as well.
To the Guest guessing about which sisters might be stronger than their brothers, I can't confirm anything, but thanks for your enthusiasm!
To the most recent Guest, Kaname/Kyorin/etc don't exist in this world. Just Yuji/Yuno/Chiaki/Miharu.
Alright, that's it. Thank you!