When Yuuna was little, she didn't really feel loved by her parents. Though she loved them so, so much.
Yubel was always Yuuna's true parent. They were the one who read Yuuna bedtime stories. They were the one who Yuuna asked the big hard questions to, like where do babies come from and if a bad place exists for people when they die. They were the one who were with Yuuna all the time, protecting her from knives in the kitchen and strangers at the door and other kids who called her a ghost boy.
But Yuuna still loved her birth parents.
She remembers her mother being fond of her when she was still really young, cooing about how adorable it is whenever she couldn't pronounce the harder adult words. Yuuna thought it was a game and she worked really hard to pronounce the harder adult words like 'actually' and 'because'. Her mother stopped caring about her not long after that.
She remembers her father being fond of her when she started to grow up, ruffling her hair and saying she was going to be a good man whenever she tried to do adult things. She wanted to make him so proud and show him how grown up she could be, so she would sit at the kitchen table and do paperwork with him, though she did doodle a lot. Her father was proud of her for working on her homework, but he stopped finding it cute when she'd try to join in on his business calls and use the same grown up language he did.
Yuuna loved her birth parents and some tiny part of her still loved them. Though after she came out she did all she could to bury that part of her. For Yuuna, the thought of her family loving her after all they did is a dream and a nightmare.
When she left for Duel Academy, she left with no regrets. She left nothing of value behind.
Just the half remembered daydreams of a bond that didn't last…And probably never existed in the first place.
CHAZZ PRINCETON: 4000
YUUNA YUKI: 4000
"CHAZZ IT UP!" The North Academy students scream. "CHAZZ IT UP THUNDER! TAKE HER DOWN!"
"Ask and you shall receive. I'm first, slime!" Chazz calls out as he draws.
He's gonna win this Duel, no matter what. Too much is on the line to lose now. He is not going to Emerald, he is not leaving North Academy, he is not losing his shot at becoming the King of Games.
He can not afford to lose. Not here, not now, not ever.
And especially not to Yuuna fucking Yuki.
"And we're off!" Melissa Trail calls out. "Chazz is taking the first turn of the match, let's see what he throws out. Do your best Chazz!"
Chazz looks at his hand.
Masked Dragon, Flying Kamakiri #1, Call of the Haunted, Negate Attack, Petit Dragon and The Grave of Enkindling.
No secret weapon yet, but that's fine. It'd be boring to pull out the big guns on the first turn.
"For my first move, I'm going to summon a monster with some bite!" Chazz throws out. "Rise, Masked Dragon!"
The mostly white dragon with the red underbelly arrives in DEF mode with 1100 points to it's name.
"That'll do for now." Chazz glances at the stands.
At his brothers watching him, judging him, but clearly oblivious to the switch. They know as much about this game as Chazz knows about latin.
"Not once you see what I've got for ya." Yuki calls out, grinning as she draws.
"Chazz started out strong with Masked Dragon with 1100 points in DEF mode, but let's see how Yuuna counters." Melissa Trail jumps up and down. "Fight on Yuuna!"
Yuki looks at her cards, smiling like this is just another game, just another ordinary day for her.
How can she be so relaxed when so much is at stake?
"I'll pull you up later Snoww, for now-" Yuki picks out another card. "I play Broww, Huntsman of Dark World in ATK mode!"
Yuki's weird as Hell archer arrives on the field with his massive arm and 1400 ATK points.
Chazz grins.
"On second thoughts, I should say Slayer Mode because that's just what he's gonna do to your dragon!" Yuki throws back her drawing arm as if she's drawing an arrow.
Broww mimics her.
"Ready, aim-" Yuki winks and throws her arm up high, pointing. "Fire!"
Broww releases the arrow, destroying Masked Dragon.
In the stands, Syrus leans forward, smiling wide. "Awesome! Yuuna's just taken the lead!"
Bastion shakes his head. "I'm afraid not, Syrus."
Syrus blinks. "Huh?"
"Masked Dragon was bait." Blair bites her nail. "Don't you know it's special ability?"
"It activates whenever Masked Dragon is destroyed in battle." Mindy folds her arms.
Jasmine leans forward. "Chazz can now Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type monster with an ATK of 1500 or less to the field from his Deck."
Syrus gasps. "A Dragon-Type monster that's safe from Yuuna's attack until her next turn!"
"When the mask falls away, the Dragons can still come out and play!" Chazz throws his Duel Disk up high, smiling. "Go ahead and see for yourself my Armed Dragon LV3!"
The tiny orange dragon with hands like boxing gloves appears with 1200 ATK points.
The North Academy crowd goes wild.
In the stands, Alexis narrows her eyes. "A level monster, huh?"
"3 is the lowest." Zane folds his arms. "If Chazz plays this correctly, the dragon will get even stronger. I wonder where Chazz got such a powerful card."
"Did his brothers buy it for him?" Alexis looks at the elder Princetons. "Or are they from North Academy?"
Zane glances at the North Academy students, spying the blue hair of a Duelist in a recent tournament. "Maybe North Academy is more powerful than we thought it would be."
Alexis nods. Her parents did consider sending her to North Academy instead, thinking it's harsher conditions would suit her training better. The only reason she insisted on going to Duel Academy was to find Atticus.
On the other side of the arena, in the teachers' seating area, Sheppard gasps in horror.
"Isn't that one of your school's top cards?!" Sheppard turns to Foster. "No Foster, you didn't!"
Foster only smirks menacingly. "I did what I had to do. I told you Sheppard, I want that prize and I'm going to get it."
"Oh yeah?!" Sheppard stands up. "Not if I have anything to say about it, my old friend!"
Fontaine stares at Sheppard and sighs, shaking her head.
Banner chuckles. "It's exciting when everyone is so competitive, isn't it, old friend?"
Crowler huffs, folding his arms and looking away.
Sheppard turns to the arena. "Let's go Yuuna! Come on! Yuuna it up! Yuuna it up!"
Foster laughs, head thrown back. "Show him how it's done boys!"
"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP, THUNDER! CHAZZ IT UP!" All the North Academy boys scream.
"Sweet card Chazz!" Yuki smiles like she doesn't have a care in the world. "I can't wait to see what it can do!"
Chazz smirks back at her, seeing his plans fall into place. "Don't worry, you'll have a front row seat."
A front row seat to your defeat.
"Till then, I'm throwing down a face down and ending my turn." Yuki does just that.
"Great, now I can start ending you." Chazz readies himself to draw.
"Yuuna's brave Huntsman destroyed the Masked Dragon, but now Armed Dragon LV3 has taken it's place, leaving Yuuna with only her Broww and her facedown to defend herself!" Melissa Trail smiles. "Let's see what Chazz does next!"
Chazz draws.
Then he laughs.
"Ya see, Yuki, during my Standby Phase, Armed Dragon's effect activates." Chazz pulls out his Deck. "By sacrificing his LV3 form, I can summon Armed Dragon LV5 from my Deck to the field!"
Yuki gasps, mouth dropped open in shock like the dork she is. "Say what?!"
"Now then, BOYS!" Chazz calls out. "Help me welcome your school's favourite monster played by your favourite Duelist! It's time to summon out-"
"ARMED DRAGON LV5!" The North Academy boys shout.
Armed Dragon LV3 blasts out a green light and out of it rises his slightly older, red and dark brown counterpart with 2400 ATK points.
"CHAZZ IT UP!" The North Academy students scream. "CHAZZ IT UP THUNDER!"
Jesse leans forward in excitement. "Gee willikers! This Duel is really heating up now!"
Czar laughs. "And Chazz is about to blow Yuki out!"
The two of them raise their fists, shouting out. "CHAZZ IT UP!"
At the other side of the stands, Yuuna's friends are getting worried.
"This isn't good!" Syrus bites his fingernails.
"Be careful Yuuna!" Bastion calls out. "By levelling up, Armed Dragon's power has substantially increased and he was plenty powerful before."
"Ah man." Mindy winces.
"This won't be pretty." Jasmine puts her arm around her girlfriend.
"Normally I'd be rooting for my fellow Dragons to win, but I don't want Yuuna to lose!" Blair shouts, hands on her cheeks.
Chumley bites his grilled cheese. "Not lishious."
"Wow Chazz, that's one sweet monster. But I got a trap-" Yuki throws out her arm. "Kunai With Chain!"
A metal weapon with a chain jumps out of Yuki's card, wrapping around Armed Dragon LV5, restraining him and making him fold himself up, points dropping to 1700 DEF.
"Now your Armed Dragon LV5 is forced into DEF mode, where he can't hurt Broww or anyone else in my Deck." Yuki shrugs. "Them's the breaks."
Oh she thinks she's clever?
Chazz laughs. "You want breaks?! I'll give you breaks Yuki! Because even with that kunai trapping my Armed Dragon LV5, I can still activate his special ability that is going to crush your creature!"
"How?" Yuki stops smiling.
"You see, by discarding a Monster to the Graveyard, like my Flying Kamakiri #1 for example, I can destroy any monster of yours with equal or fewer ATK points!" Chazz does so. "Meaning your Broww is about to go bye-bye!"
Yuki winces and sends an apologetic look Broww's way. "Sorry, Broww, my bad."
Broww ducks his head like he's ashamed to have to listen to her commands.
"Go, Shrapnel Blast!" Chazz calls out.
All the spikes on Armed Dragon LV5 shoot off and fly at Broww like rocket ships, destroying him.
"With my LV5 in DEF mode, I think I'll play nice and end it at that." Chazz looks at his cards, then hums. "Plus a pair of facedowns."
He sets Call of the Haunted and Negate Attack, just to be safe.
"Well ya know what they say." Yuki draws. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall!"
"Chazz just brought out one of the strongest monsters I've ever seen and it's effect alone was enough to wipe out Yuuna's only defence. If she didn't have Kunai with Chain, I don't wanna know what would've happened to her!" Melissa Trail fans herself off, then turns to smile at Yuuna. "It's all on Duel Academy's finest now!"
"I'll do my best to live up to that title." Yuki looks at her hand, then grins. "And I've got just the friend to help me with that! Everyone welcome Snoww, Unlight of Dark World!"
Yuki's freaky female monster appears on the field with 1700 ATK points. "While I may be willing to die for you Yuuna, I'd rather not do it here."
Chazz gapes at her.
What?
No, please don't tell him her Monsters talk to her as well?!
"Snoww you know I'd never leave you hanging like that." Yuki slots a spell card in place. "That's why I'm giving you the Axe of Despair, to raise your ATK points by 1000!"
The ugly axe that gave him so much trouble in their first Duel appears in the hands of the equally ugly female monster, bringing her points up to 2700.
"I always knew I could count on you. You'll make a wonderful Queen one day." Snoww twirls the axe between her hands like it's a fucking batton.
Wait. Queen?
Ugh gross, she believes Yuki can become the Queen of Games.
"Then let's begin our campaign by slaying another of Chazz's dragons!" Yuki punches the air in front of her. "Snoww get rid of that Armed Dragon LV5!"
Snoww shouts and runs forward, swinging the axe.
"Ha, you'll have to try harder than that!" Chazz snaps his fingers. "Go, Negate Attack!"
"Oh no!" Yuki gasps.
The invisible barrier cuts in between Snoww and Armed Dragon LV5.
"Them's the breaks, slime." Chazz smirks at her.
Yuki smiles back at him. "Well then, I hand the turn over to you."
Chazz draws. "It's about time."
"Yuuna's counter attack was strong with Axe of Despair super charging her Snoww, but Chazz's Negate Attack stopped her before anything could happen." Melissa Trail turns to Chazz. "With his only monster in DEF mode, how will Chazz fight back?"
Chazz looks at his drawn card.
Level Up.
Oh that's perfect.
"I'm gonna start by freeing up my Armed Dragon by taking this to the next Level!" Chazz throws his fist up high. "I play my spell Level Up!"
"What's Level Up do?" Sheppard calls out.
Foster gives him a judgemental glare.
"Wow, I guess it's true." Chazz rolls his eyes. "Those who can't Duel teach."
This school is ridiculous.
"It does exactly what it says." Chazz pulls out his Deck. "It lets me summon my Armed Dragon LV7 right from my Deck!"
"LV7?!" Yuki gasps.
Armed Dragon LV5 roars as the light consumes him, drawing out his next form.
Armed Dragon LV7, the red and black dragon, with 2800 ATK points.
"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP, THUNDER! CHAZZ IT UP!" The North Academy students scream. "SHOW NO MERCY THUNDER!"
Melissa Trail shouts. "That's one of the biggest and baddest dragons I've ever seen!"
Chazz laughs because this isn't even his final form. "And his effect is the same as his LV5 counterpart. By discarding my 2800 ATK Despair from the Dark I can destroy anything weaker than him!"
Snoww scowls. "Yuuna, I do not like this boy or his creatures."
"But he's such a cool Duelist Snoww!" Yuki protests, pouting. "No need to pout about it."
"Oh she won't be around to pout after my Shrapnel Blast melts her to the Graveyard!" Chazz punches the air in front of him. "Go!"
Armed Dragon LV7 roars as his spikes jump off his body, slamming into Snoww and destroying her.
"And with your little kunai gone, LV7 can still hit you with his direct attack!" Chazz smirks. "Armed Dragon LV7 hit her with your Inferno Roar!"
Armed Dragon LV7's claws light up red and he runs towards Yuuna, slashing the air with red streaks.
Yuki screams as an explosion goes off, making her bounce 3 times, hitting the ground hard.
CHAZZ PRINCETON: 4000
YUUNA YUKI: 1200
Chazz throws his head back and laughs. "So that's Duel Academy's finest, huh?"
The first blood is his and what a way to up the stakes.
"THE FIRST LIFE POINTS OF THE DUEL HAVE BEEN LOST!" Melissa Trail shrieks. "And what a loss it is for Yuuna, in just one move Chazz cut out over two thirds of her points! How will she ever recover?"
In the stands, the audience are in shock.
"Ah jeez, I knew those Armed Dragons were strong, but this is just ruthless." Jesse winces.
Ruby shudders on his shoulders, hiding her face in his hair. "Ruby, ruby."
It's no fun destroying an opponent's Monster that easily. It would've been way more fun to see if he could get rid of Axe of Despair, or he could use Amber Mammoth with Amber Crystal Circle to do it, or-
"CHAZZ IT UP!" Czar screams, waving the North Academy flag. "CHAZZ IT UP THUNDER!"
Right, no time to think about a Duel with Yuuna, though Jesse would love to have a match. He should try to get Chazz to introduce her to him after the Duel.
Meanwhile on the Duel Academy side of the arena, Yuuna's friends are shocked.
"Yuuna!" Syrus gasps.
Blair winces. "That looked like a painful fall."
"I'm glad I'm not down there." Chumley shudders. "I may look soft and bouncy but I'm really not."
"Good thing Yuuna is." Jasmine bites her thumb. "Still that's a pretty big hit."
Mindy clings to her girlfriend's arm. "She's bounced back from bigger hits than this. I know she can bounce back from this."
Bastion nods. "We can only hope so."
Above them, Alexis grips the railing, gritting her teeth.
"That is one impressive special ability." Zane says at her side.
"What's worse is Armed Dragon LV7's ability is stronger than LV5. LV5 has to discard a Monster for every Monster you want to destroy. But LV7 can discard one Monster and everything that's weaker than the discard is destroyed. That'll leave Yuki wide open." Alexis grips the edge of the railing tighter.
Zane nods.
Between the two sides, the teachers have more mixed reactions to the attack.
"Ohh I want to laugh because Signora Yuki is on the ground." Crowler chews on his handkerchief. "But I want to cry because that means Duel Academy is losing to these northern scoundrels!"
What can a man do in this situation?!
"Come on, get up please!" Shepard leans forward in anticipation.
Foster throws his head back and laughs. "Atta boy Chazz! That's how we win!"
Fontaine sighs. "I wish the students wouldn't be so rough with each other. I'd rather not have another Duel related injury in my infirmary today."
Banner hums at her side, tickling Pharaoh under his chin. "Have some faith in her, Fontaine. She's much tougher than she seems."
Pharaoh meows.
With the Princeton brothers, they laugh as they watch their youngest fight.
"She's finally acting like a Princeton." Slade smiles.
It's about time that useless little sister of his put her money where her mouth is. If she wants to be the King of Games, then she has to do whatever it takes.
"That's true, I just hope she doesn't win too fast." Jagger hums.
Slade turns to his little brother.
Jagger turns to him with a grin. "The longer she thrashes this Slifer, the more we make in commercial revenues."
Slade laughs. "Thinking like a Princeton, as always!"
That's the way of their family. That's how Jun should be acting.
"That was not one of your more graceful moments, Your Majesty." Lucent scolds her.
"Yeah, yeah, but it's not like I've ever been especially graceful." Yuuna grins.
With that she pushes herself up from her back, landing on her feet with a smile.
"Nice shot, Chazz." Yuuna rubs the back of her head which is a little sore from the rough landing. "All though I gotta say, I think for the next TV broadcast I'd like to get up skilled as a stuntman before the world sees me crash and burn."
She laughs it off, feeling ridiculous.
"Whatever." Chazz rolls his eyes. "It's your move slime."
"It sure is!" Yuuna draws.
"Chazz just hit Yuuna with a devastating blow, but she's bounced back better and cuter than ever! I believe in you Yuuna!" Melissa calls out.
Lucent rolls his eyes. "I'm with the pretty lady on this one, Queenie. I got your back."
"I would too if you just played me my Queen!" Kahkki growls.
Yuuna smiles. She's lucky she's got an army right behind her.
"Show them that you are no underachiever! That you're worthy of the Princeton name! That you have every right to stand beside them as their brother!"
Yuuna looks at Chazz.
Not even 15 minutes ago he was breaking down in the bathroom. Now he looks like a soldier going to war. Like nothing can touch him when he's got his gun on hand. Like he has his orders and he will complete his mission no matter what.
Like failure to do so means death.
Yuuna looks at her hand.
Lucent, The Gates of Dark World, Hate Buster, Kahkki and Dark World Dealings.
The Gates of Dark World, Kahkki and Hate Buster have been in her hand since the start of the Duel. She wouldn't be having as hard of a time if she'd played them earlier in the game.
"I'll never lose! I'll never be Jun again! I can't go back to being a fucking girl, I can't!"
But she can't get Chazz's screams out of her head.
"I can't be Judai anymore. I was never Judai, but my Mother and Father don't accept me. Please, Yubel… I can't be a boy!"
Screams that sound like her nightmares and memories of before Duel Academy.
"Ya know something Yuki."
Yuuna blinks and looks up.
Chazz scowls at her. "You've had bad luck in this Duel, huh?"
Yuuna laughs. "What do you mean?"
"When we fought before you did a Hell of a lot more with the cards you got. You've always been luckier than me." Chazz narrows his eyes. "But this time you're barely doing anything."
Yuuna winces.
He doesn't realise she's holding back, but he's noticed she's not fighting as well as she has in the past. She's not sure if that makes him stupid or smart.
"What, can't a girl have a bad hand every once in a while? We all have those days." Yuuna shrugs him off.
"Or maybe your luck's finally run out." Chazz smirks at her. "After all, I'm beating you in front of both our schools and humiliating you in front of the entire country. Maybe lady luck got too embarrassed to be seen with you."
Yuuna gasps, mock offended. "Lady Luck and I happen to be close friends! There's not one embarrassing thing about me."
"Some friend to ditch you when you're an embarrassment." Chazz rolls his eyes. "She better come back soon or this Duel is gonna be over before I've had any fun."
Yuuna blinks.
Fun huh? He doesn't look like he's having fun. But if he doesn't want Yuuna to hold back anymore, then she better make it look like she's getting her second wind.
Yuuna smiles at her cards. "Ask and you shall be in trouble Chazz, because I just drew my Dark World Dealings! We each draw a card and then discard one too."
Chazz discards one of his cards with a scowl, drawing a new one.
"And because I'm discarding my Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World, I can destroy one of your Monsters and you've only got the one Armed Dragon on your field!" Yuuna smirks. "How's that for luck?"
"It's about time Queen!" Kahkki laughs as he runs across the field in ghost form. "I was getting mouldy waiting on you to play me!"
Chazz twitches.
Kahkki dives at Armed Dragon LV7, cutting across his stomach and destroying him.
The Duel Academy side of the arena cheers, but not all are happy.
"I just noticed something strange, Slade." Jagger frowns.
Jagger has always been meticulous about how he spends his money and did his research on the rarest and most powerful cards. And he knows this card isn't one of them.
"That monster wasn't in the suitcase I gave Jun." Jagger leans forward.
Slade turns to him. "What?! Is she seriously using whatever cheap Deck she got at North Academy?!"
Jagger hopes not.
"What is that useless girl thinking?!" Slade turns back to the match.
Jagger doesn't know. He's never been good at understanding her.
"Thanks for that, it lets me play my trap!" Chazz calls out. "Call of the Haunted!"
"Ugh, not Call of the Haunted." Lucent groans.
Yuuna winces. "Oh man, my luck really isn't playing out for me in this game."
She needs to pull her shit together.
"Do you believe in ghosts, Yuki?" Chazz tilts his head.
Yuuna nods. "100%, my best friends are ghosts."
Yubel whispers in her Deck. "And we always will be Little Princess."
Yuuna smiles.
"Well freak you're about to meet another one and this guy doesn't want to be friends!" Chazz throws out his arm. "Because my Armed Dragon LV7 isn't going anywhere!"
With a blanket of fog, the dragon returns from the grave like he'd never been hurt at all, still standing strong with his 2800 ATK points.
"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP THUNDER! CHAZZ IT UP!" The North Academy students howl like hyenas. "SHOW NO MERCY!"
Lucent winces. "No disrespect Queenie, but that was shit."
Yuuna winces. "True, but it's still my turn."
Not that she can do much to Chazz with what she has unless Grapha is the card she just drew.
But he isn't. She's got The Forces of Darkness instead.
"Maybe what lady luck needs to come back to me is a change of scenery, which I'll give her by playing a field spell, The Gates of Dark World!" Yuuna calls out, sliding the card into it's slot.
The field adjusts accordingly, bringing out the great gates that lead to Dark World.
"Now all my Fiend-type Monsters gain 300 ATK and DEF points. And by banishing a Fiend-type Monster in my graveyard, I can discard a card and draw a new one!" Yuuna banishes Broww and discards Lucent. "And as I'm discarding Lucent, Netherlord of Dark World, I can special summon him!"
Lucent takes to the field with his 0 DEF points booting up to 300. "Took you long enough, your Majesty."
Chazz twitches again.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Lucent." Yuuna giggles, looking at her new card.
Burial from a Different Dimension.
Crap, she really is having bad luck this match.
"I'll just throw down a facedown for now." Yuuna sets The Forces of Darkness.
All she can do is hope her luck changes.
"CHAZZ IT UP!" The North Academy Students shout. "CHAZZ IT UP, THUNDER! SHOW NO MERCY!"
Jesse is on the edge of his seat. "Golly, I haven't seen a Duel this exciting in a while!"
"It took a lot for the young lady to take out that Armed Dragon LV7, but Chazz brought it back so easily." Emerald hums knowingly. "She'd make a good opponent for you, Jesse."
"Ah man, I wish I was in this School Duel." Jesse laughs.
"I can hear that cub talking to her Monsters as proudly as you do Jesse." Amethyst has a smile in her voice. "She'd make a fine opponent for you."
"Ruby, ruby!" Ruby sits up, ears perked towards the field. "Ruby?"
Sapphire hums. "Perhaps she does have a spirit partner, Ruby."
Jesse smiles. "I bet she'd love you Ruby, plus everyone else in my Deck."
"Oh sure, we're everyone else but Ruby is Ruby. Thanks for showing you care Jess." Cobalt complains teasingly.
"Now, now, we all know Ruby is the cutest of us all." Amber chuckles.
Topaz growls with a smile. "That's true. I wonder if that girl has any cute cards in her Deck of Dark Worlders."
"Even if she doesn't, I just wanna Duel her sooo bad." Jesse laughs.
Yuuna Yuki is so cool and interesting. He's gotta Duel this girl!
Chazz draws. "It'll take more than luck to beat me again slacker."
The Grave of Enkindling, Premature Burial and Thunder Crash. No monsters to discard now, but that's fine.
"Yuuna's luck seems to be changing after the probing questions from her rival got her gears moving. She's got the Gates of Dark World, Lucent on her field in DEF mode and she almost got rid of Armed Dragon LV7 for good if not for Chazz's Call of the Haunted!" Melissa Trail giggles. "Let's see what Chazz is going to do in the face of her impenetrable wall!"
Chazz scoffs. "Let's see just how impenetrable it is! LV7, destroy her Lucent!"
Lucent groans. "My Queen, you gotta stop putting me in DEF mode, it always goes wrong."
"My bad Lucent." Yuki smiles nervously.
It pisses him off.
"GO!" Chazz calls out, punching a fist forward. "Destroy her Netherlord!"
Armed Dragon LV7 roars and swings forward, slashing Lucent and sending him to the Graveyard. The North Academy students go wild, cheering him on aggressively.
"Lucent may be going belly up, but I'm not losing my monsters that easily!" Yuki slaps her facedown. "I activate The Forces of Darkness! This lets me add any two Dark World monsters I want from my graveyard to my hand, like my Snoww and Kahkki."
Chazz frowns. That's one of the cards that actually managed to defeat his Armed Dragon the first time.
"I play a facedown and call it a turn for now." Chazz folds his arms with a smug smirk.
His second most powerful monster is on the field. He's got full life points. The entire Duel he's been in complete control of everything, it's almost been too easy. This should please his brothers.
He glances at the stands.
Slade and Jaggar are glaring at him like there's something wrong with him. Like they're mad this is taking up so much of their precious time.
Chazz grits his teeth.
"Oh hey partner!"
Chazz turns back to Yuki.
She's looking at her drawn card like it's her favourite thing in the world. Probably her weak Yubel or that miserable Kuriboh.
"Thanks for your help, friend." Yuki smiles, then calls out. "I summon my Winged Kuriboh!"
Winged Kuriboh takes to the field in DEF mode, arms crossed and wings out like he matters when he's only got 200 points.
"Why'd you bring him out, Yuki?" Chazz narrows his eyes. "You planning to dust around here?"
Winged Kuriboh jumps up and down, angrily shouting. "Kuri! Ku-ku-kuri!"
"Awww, did I hurt his feelings?" Chazz tilts his head.
"It's okay if you did, boss."
Chazz snarls and turns around. "Not you again."
"I mean those furballs give me the creeps, just look at all that hair." There he is, the naked little yellow freak with the weird mouth and too big eyes. Pointing judgmentally when he's running around in a fucking red speedo. "I mean where do these Monsters come from? So weird-"
"Get lost!" Chazz shouts. "If I want your opinion, I'll give it to ya, you got that?!"
Ojama Yellow freaks then floats behind his shoulder. "I got it boss, sorry."
Chazz is gonna rip that little worm's card in two.
"So Chazz, who's your friend?"
Chazz gasps and turns around.
Yuki is blinking at him with an oblivious smile on her face, Winged Kuriboh looking awfully smug in front of her. "I mean, I can see the Duel Spirit you're talking to, but I don't recognise him. Where'd you find him? What's his name?"
Oh shit-
"What the Hell are you smoking Yuki?!" Chazz frantickly swats at Ojama Yellow. "There's nothing here, see, no Duel Spirits to speak off, leave me alone!"
If that little freak would stay still for one minute-
"Awww, you don't need to hide him from me, I bet he's really cool since he's your partner!" Yuki smiles condescendingly, like nothing matters. "But he's not cooler than Winged Kuriboh or Yubel."
"Kuri, kuri!" Winged Kuriboh jumps up and down, cheering.
Yuki laughs then looks over her shoulder, smiling. "I love you too Yubel."
And Chazz freezes.
No way.
No fucking way.
"I never back down from a challenge, especially when someone insults my monsters. I gotta defend their honour."
She wasn't delusional.
"Or is so low they'd throw out their own family! Because that's what your Deck is!"
All this fucking time she's had an entire army at her back, helping her and saving her and giving her the support that Chazz never-
"Chazz?"
Chazz snaps out of it. "What Yuki?!"
For the first time in this whole Duel Yuki isn't giving him some thoughtless smile. She's staring at him like she's trying to understand him.
It's weird as Hell. He doesn't like it.
"Why are you being so mean to your spirit partner? He clearly thinks you're awesome if he's calling you boss." Yuki narrows her eyes.
"That's no way to treat your Spirit Partner. Say you're sorry!"
Chazz's eye twitches.
He can never let Andersen and Yuki be alone in a room together. He is not dealing with them together or any kids they end up making.
Yuki tilts her head. "You say you want some fun, but you sure don't look like you're having any. If you're not having fun then why are you here right now?"
Of course.
Of course that stupid girl thinks that's all there is to it.
"What part about Duelling is fun?!" Chazz screams. "You never take anything seriously!"
Yuki's arm throws out. "You take things too seriously-"
"SHUT UP!" Chazz hisses. "You're a pitiful, thoughtless moron who acts like a puppy every time you have or see or hear about a Duel! There's nothing behind those dumb eyes of yours Yuki, no plans, no duty, no thoughts."
He glances at his brothers, feels them staring him down.
"You must conquer the world of Duel Monsters. You must be the best! You must never, ever give up!"
"It takes discipline to win, not just luck and giggles."
"Did you really think you could run away from your duties? No matter where you go, you will always be a Princeton and you have to answer for what that name means."
"You need to have a sense of duty, to those who are the only reason you're here."
"A prince is a young man who will one day become a king. We already are kings. You're the only slacker who still hasn't graduated and become king!"
"You need to have a plan to be the best, then another plan, and a different plan, and a 30th plan just to be safe!"
"You're an underachiever and a shame on the family name! You're a burden as you are now, just as you were a burden when you first became our brother!"
"I have discipline, I have a sense of duty, I have a plan and that's why I'm going to beat you Yuki!" Chazz throws out his arm. "I'll beat everyone in the entire world if that's what it takes! I can conquer anyone!" Chazz closes his eyes tight, then screams, both arms out. "I WILL BE THE NEXT KING OF GAMES, DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Chazz points to Yuki. "NOT YOU! SOMEONE LIKE YOU HASN'T SUFFERED ENOUGH TO EARN IT! BUT I HAVE!" He puts his fist to his chest. "I FOUGHT POLAR BEARS AND BATS AND ORCAS FOR EVERY CARD IN THIS DECK! I BEAT EVERYONE AT NORTH ACADEMY TO BE HERE! I GAVE MY BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS FOR THIS AND I AM NOT GIVING YOU THE VICTORY EVER AGAIN!"
Yuki is staring at him like he's a fucking lunatic.
Chazz probably should've saved the speeches for after he won.
"I…" Yuki looks at her hand. Then her eyes narrow and she slides a card into place. "I end my turn with a facedown."
"About fucking time to get back to business." Chazz draws.
"Yuuna summoned the adorable Winged Kuriboh, who looks a lot like Yugi's own Kuriboh, which is just precious. During this slight lull in the match, our Duelists had the time to chat over some shared interests." Melissa Trail jumps up and down. "Let's see what Chazz does next!"
He's going to kill this.
Yuuna has to stop this.
Chazz is suffocating under the pressure his brothers are piling on him, the threats of taking his identity from him, the North Academy entrance exam clearly messed with him too.
She has to get him away from his brothers forever. If they're already trying to cut ties, then the best thing to do is to piss them off even more by having Chazz do the one thing they're telling him not to: lose this Duel.
Yuuna has to win to save him. After she wins, she'll make sure they can't get to him again. For now-
"And your Kuriboh is about to get cooked!" Chazz calls out, pointing. "Armed Dragon LV7 attack with Dragon Talon Terror!"
Armed Dragon LV7 throws a punch forward, destroying Winged Kuriboh who lets out a frantic "Kuri!" before he goes.
"I think I'll leave it at that." Chazz smirks.
Yuuna looks up through the smoke and a plan starts to form in her mind.
"My go now." Yuuna puts two fingers over her next card, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
She has to get something good, right here, right now. It seems for the moment that Chazz has run out of Monsters to discard, but that could change any time. She needs something to make him attack her so she can activate Hate Buster.
"Be careful Yuuna." Yubel murmurs behind her.
Yuuna nods. "I will."
She's being filmed live on TV. She has to call to her powers without them being noticed.
Yuuna feels the darkness flowing through her, like water, like blood, sending energy and power to every part of her body. Now she just needs that power to go into her Deck.
She is the Supreme Queen of Games. It is her duty to use her powers to help others.
If she can be kind to Alexis, then she can be kind to Chazz.
He needs her help. He's like her. She has to help him, the way someone should've helped her.
She's the only one who can save him, right here, right now.
"I draw!" Yuuna does so.
She keeps her eyes shut, taking calming breaths, drawing her power back into her body.
"Despite Chazz's annihilation of her precious Winged Kuriboh, Yuuna hasn't given up!" Melissa Trail calls out. "Keep fighting Yuuna!"
Yuuna opens her eyes, praying the gold is gone as she looks at her card.
Battle Mania.
Perfect.
"I'm gonna start by summoning Kahkki in ATK mode!" Yuuna calls out.
Kahkki cackles as he appears on the field, his 300 ATK points rising to 600 thanks to The Gates of Dark World. "I can't wait to eat that dragon for breakfast!"
"You'll be eating Dragon for lunch and dinner too, Kahkki. For now, I play a facedown and that's all I got." Yuuna does so.
She's going to turn things around.
"We'll see who's eating who for dinner!" Chazz draws.
"Yuuna's counter attack is a 600 ATK point Monster against Chazz's overwhelming Armed Dragon LV7's 2800! What ever will that do?!" Melissa Trail gasps.
"You'll see when I play my Battle Mania!" Yuuna calls out.
The trap springs up.
Chazz snarls. "What the-"
"During your Standby Phase, I can activate this trap forcing you to enter the Battle Phase and attack my Kahkki right now." Yuuna smirks. "Unless you're scared?"
Chazz throws his fist forward. "You're suicidal Yuki! LV7 kill her Kahkki!"
Armed Dragon LV7 charges towards her.
Kahkki laughs. "It's a thousand years too early for you to kill me Princeton!"
"Kahkki is right, especially when I have my trap Hate Buster!" Yuuna calls out.
The trap pops up.
"NO!" Chazz screams.
Yuuna smiles. "You know what this does then, right Chazz? Hate Buster destroys both of our Monsters-"
Kahkki and Armed Dragon LV7 light up red and with a loud BOOM, they're gone.
"And you take Armed Dragon LV7's ATK points as damage!" Yuuna punches the air in front of her. "All 2800 of them!"
The wind rocks Chazz as his points drop.
CHAZZ PRINCETON: 1200
YUUNA YUKI: 1200
The entire audience is screaming.
On the Duel Academy side of the arena, Yuuna's friends are ecstatic.
"So lishious." Chumley leans forward. "Totally what I'd have done, ya know, if I had those cards. And if Yuuna was walking me through it step by step."
"Is that all?" Mindy giggles behind her fist.
"Do you want the big, strong Yuuna to hold your hand while you do it Chumley?" Jasmine giggles behind her palm.
The girls grin and then lean closer to him. "Do you have a crush on her?"
Chumley turns red and shakes his head. "Absolutely not! She's like a little sister or something, ya know?"
Mindy and Jasmine lean back and wink at each other. "Right…"
But things aren't looking so good on the North Academy side.
Jesse winces. "Shoot."
That's the first big hit Chazz has taken all Duel. This isn't gonna be good for his pride.
"Hahaha, nice to see someone take that arrogant boy down a peg!" Amethyst hisses.
Emerald hums. "Pride must fall for us to grow. He needed help."
"He needs a little more than that." Topaz growls.
Amber chuckles. "Perhaps Yuuna Yuki is strong enough to give it to him."
"Y'all could stand to be a little bit nicer to him." Jesse laughs nervously.
It's a little funny and scary that his monsters are down to fight so much when Jesse isn't.
Czar looks at him like he's crazy. "What have we done that isn't nice, Jesse?"
Jesse waves him off. "Oh no, I'm talking to the Crystal Beasts."
Czar scoffs and looks down. "You're crazy."
Jesse knows.
Meanwhile in the teachers' side of the arena, Sheppard smiles with renewed hope.
"Haha, the prize is so mine!" Sheppard leans up in Foster's face. "After all, looks like your boy's down for the count." He laughs. "Sorry!"
Foster scowls and stands up. "No he's not! Chazz, get up!"
"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP, THUNDER! CHAZZ IT UP!" The North Academy students scream, having not lost faith in their champion.
Unlike the Princeton brothers, who never had faith in their only sister in the first place.
"What does Jun think she's doing?" Slade hisses. "We've given her the best cards in the world, but she's not using them!"
"She's stupid! Useless!" Jagger growls. "She's a disgrace to the family and a disappointment!" He turns to Slade. "It's all your fault for allowing her to try becoming a boy!"
"My fault?!" Slade turns to Jagger. "Don't forget you helped us talk to Mom and Dad about it so she'd fit into the plan better!"
At the end of the day though, it isn't either of their faults.
The fault is always with that weakling, slacker of a woman they have to call sister, Jun.
"No way…" Chazz stares at her shakily. "It can't be."
Yuuna holds strong.
"WHAT A TURN AROUND FOLKS!" Melissa Trail looks between them both like she has no idea how this happened. "In just one move Yuuna not only took out Chazz's most powerful Monster, but brought his life points down to the same level as her own!"
Yuuna has to win this Duel to help him.
Chazz looks at his hand, then blinks.
He gives Yuuna a vicious glare.
"That perky cowgirl is wrong." Chazz closes his eyes.
Yuuna blinks.
"LV7 isn't my most powerful monster." Chazz snaps his fingers. "And I'll show you just how powerful he can be with this: Level Modulation!"
He slides the Spell card into it's slot.
"You draw two cards Yuki and I get to summon any LV monster from my Graveyard I want!" Chazz calls out.
Yuuna narrows her eyes but does so.
"I bring back my LV7!" Chazz roars.
Armed Dragon LV7 rises from the graveyard behind him with a roar.
"BUT NOW!" Chazz grabs the card he drew at the start of the turn. "It's time to say bye-bye to LV7-"
LV7 begins to glow white, growing bigger and shinier.
"-AND HELLO TO ARMED DRAGON LV10!" Chazz throws his fists up high.
Yuuna gasps. "Level 10?!"
With a roar the glow fades away. Revealing a huge red dragon, covered in silver armour, wings like blades, claws like swords and 3000 ATK points to use them.
Armed Dragon LV10 roars loud enough to shake Yuuna's knees.
"Yes!" Slade calls out, smirking.
Jagger hums. "She may turn this Duel around yet."
Perhaps she only allowed herself to be attacked in order to play as the underdog. People do love that trope, though it's not one befitting a Princeton.
But the teachers are less thrilled about this move.
"Level 10?!" Sheppard gasps, turning to Foster. "Last year your Armed Dragons only went up to Level 7!"
"Pegasus paid us a visit earlier in the year for a demonstration of North Academy's strength." Foster smiles. "He gifted us the upgraded monster and instructed that we protect it and use it well."
Crowler gasps and grabs a handkerchief, crying into it. "Why won't Pegasus visit our school?! We're the original Duel Academy!"
It's simply not fair!
Fontaine gasps as she stares at the arena. "Oh my. I may need to take Yuki to my office after all."
Banner puts a hand on her shoulder to support her. "Perhaps, but just watch for now."
Pharaoh hisses at Armed Dragon LV10.
On the other end of the arena, Alexis holds the bars tighter.
Zane leans on them. "Well it seems this Duel just gets more and more interesting. I wasn't aware the Armed Dragon had a LV10 form."
Alexis narrows her eyes. "I wonder how much more powerful it's effect has gotten in comparison."
It's ability was already frighteningly strong. How will Yuki escape this bind?
Meanwhile those below them are having a large variety of reactions to the new Monster.
Dmitri temporarily drops the act, voice going normal. "There's no way. She can't beat that thing."
Damon simply laughs, smiling as he looks at Armed Dragon LV10.
"YES, YES, YES!" Harrington screams at the top of his lungs. "KILL HER CHAZZ, SLAUGHTER HER!"
Higher in the stands, Brier hides himself in Beaureguard's coat.
Beauregard pats his back supportively.
Isaka grits his teeth. "Oh goodness."
"That is scarier than Jinzo." Mukouda whimpers.
"I think Yuuna might be toast." Torrey bites his lip. "There's no way she can beat that thing."
A little higher, Jasmine and Mindy scream and hug one another. "I can't watch!"
Bastion gasps. "Bloody Hell, that is one powerful card."
Chumley hides his face in his hands. "I'm not ready!"
Blair jumps up, grabbing the railing. "Yuuna!"
Syrus grabs Chumley, hiding his face in Chumley's shoulder. "What is that thing?!"
But the North Academy side of the Arena knows exactly what that thing is.
"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP, THUNDER! CHAZZ IT UP!" The entire North Academy school is standing up, clapping, stomping their feet, causing a huge ruckus.
Even Jesse is a little swept up in the whole thing, standing up and hollering with the others. "Go Chazz!"
This match is really heating up now!
The camera men are eating this up. "That's it baby, the whole world is watching you shine!"
"Awww what wong?" Chazz laughs as he points to the ceiling. "Not so talkative anymore? You don't have anything to say, Yuki?"
Yuuna blinks.
Then she beams. "Yeah I do! I gotta get me one of those, he's so cool! Trade for him?"
Chazz stares at her like she's mad. "No, I won't trade for him! What's wrong with you?! You should be scared of him, not admiring him!"
"But how can I not?" Yuuna grins and looks him up and down. "He's an incredible monster, this is an incredible Duel, how can anyone not be excited, I mean this is as good as it gets, I'm stoked! This is what Duelling's all about, thanks Chazz!"
"You're crazy Yuki." Chazz rolls his eyes. "It's your damn turn Slacker."
Yuuna smiles. "And I'll show you exactly what I can do with it!"
Yuuna searches for her powers in her heart, calling to them as she draws.
"Yuuna managed to trap Chazz into losing as many life points as she did and took out his LV7, but now he's got Armed Dragon LV10 on the field and Yuuna has nothing to defend herself!" Melissa Trail turns to Yuuna. "I hope she finds something to protect herself."
Chazz laughs. "Even if she does find something to defend herself, I can just discard any card in my hand that I want and all of her face up monsters will be destroyed!"
Yuuna looks at Chazz.
Chazz smiles at her. "Face it, Yuki, any way you look at it you're toast. If you surrender now I promise not to embarrass you on global TV."
Yuuna smiles at him. "Thanks for the consideration Chazz, but I'm not one for giving up that easily. If I'm gonna lose, I'm gonna go down swinging with a smile on my face."
Chazz scowls at her. "Are you serious right now?"
"Yeah, dead serious." Yuuna puts her hands on her hips. "Win or lose, a Duel should always be about having fun and I'm having too much fun to quit now."
"Gag me." Chazz snarls.
"It's true. And if I can have fun right now losing, shouldn't you be able to winning? It's really not that hard." Yuuna tilts her head. "Come on Chazz, don't you remember when you Duelled for the fun of it and not to get the approval of people who don't even care?"
Chazz is staring at her like she cut right through him.
Then he snaps out of it. "I only Duel to win."
"Well we'll see how far that gets ya!" Yuuna looks at her drawn card.
Grapha.
All she's done all game is sneakily destroy the Armed Dragons through effects. It's time to fight back.
"I'm gonna start by activating The Gates of Dark World!" Yuuna pulls Lucent from her Graveyard. "By removing Lucent from play, I can discard Grapha the Dragon Lord of Dark World and draw one new card!" Yuuna slides Grapha into the Graveyard slot. "And whenever Grapha is discarded, I can destroy one card on the field!"
Chazz's eyes widen. "Not again!"
"I destroy your facedown!" Yuuna declares as she draws.
Grapha's black smoke floods the field, consuming the facedown card.
Chazz stares at her in shock.
Yuuna looks at what she's drawn.
D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation.
Perfect. She looks at what else is in her hand.
Snoww, Black Pendant, Burial from a Different Dimension and Common Sacrifice.
It's over.
"Next I summon Snoww, Unlight of Dark World!" Yuuna does so.
Snoww returns to the field with her 2000 ATK points because of the field spell. "I do hope you have a clever plan for us, Yuuna."
"So? She doesn't stand a chance against my Armed Dragon LV10's 3000 ATK points." Chazz smirks. "You're way out matched."
"You forget our first Duel so soon Chazz?" Yuuna smiles.
Chazz narrows his eyes. "No way-"
"That's right!" Yuuna claps her hands. "I activate the effect of my Grapha! By returning a Dark World Monster to my hand, I can summon him from the Graveyard!"
Snoww glows in a great purple light and bursts into clouds and smoke, Grapha rising from the Graveyard with 3000 ATK points thanks to The Gates of Dark World.
Chazz snarls. "So what? They're evenly matched. If you have Grapha attack my LV10, they'll both be destroyed and you already normal summoned this turn. You can't get anything else out to fight me and it'll be my move next, and you will wide open!"
"Chazz, I'm not done, so don't interrupt me, okay?" Yuuna grins, brandishing her spell. "Especially when I have D.D.R - Different Dimension Reincarnation!"
Chazz gasps. "You have what?!"
"It's a spell that, after I discard a card for it, lets me bring back one of my Banished Monsters in ATK mode!" Yuuna discards Burial from a Different Dimension, bringing Broww back. "Like my Broww, Huntsman of Dark World!"
A hole opens on the field made of technicolour lights and Broww pulls himself from it, ATK points strong at 1700 thanks to The Gates of Dark World.
Chazz stares in horror.
"It's over!" Yuuna roars, punching forward. "Grapha, destroy the Armed Dragon LV10!"
"Yes my Queen!" Grapha roars.
Grapha charges across the field and Armed Dragon LV10 runs to meet him in the middle, both giant dragons grabbing one anothers' fists, pushing and shoving, snarling as they go.
Chazz stares up at the fight helplessly.
Yuuna stares up at the fight determinedly.
The two dragons roar and slam their foreheads into one another, both being destroyed by the impact, the wind of their clash slamming into Yuuna and Chazz.
Chazz stares at his empty field in shock.
"You were amazing Chazz, but it's time to end this!" Yuuna draws back her arm.
Broww mimics her pose.
"Ready, aim…" Yuuna points high. "FIRE!"
Broww releases his arrow.
She hears the audience shout, something about the cameras going off.
Then the arrow slams into Chazz and through him. He falls to one knee, hand over his heart, breathing hard.
CHAZZ PRINCETON: 0
YUUNA YUKI: 1200
WINNER: YUUNA YUKI