If we are lucky the next updates will come in the next month. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who has commented on the story, I know I don't usually review them due to time, but it's still appreciated that this series has an audience. Unfortunately, the update for the month of March will be the last update until June or May depending on what happens. In the meantime, if we're lucky, we're going to start uploading a Spanish version of this fic starting in April.
leave a comment or you can also read a webcomic I'm working on with friends call Lightning Hunter, which is on webtoon.
Thanks to Antimattering, Pure Red Crane, Crimson Dreams, haohryuzarc for helping me write this chapter.
Chapter 9: The debut of the amazing ultra amazing Shingo Sawatari "
Tatsuya wrote everything she said in his notebook, from how to keep a straight posture at all times to being careful not to slip on an Action Field made of ice. They were essential parts that not everyone took into account in Action Duels, but necessary so that someone didn't break their head in two. The other two kids in the class just watched, keeping their heads up so Yuzu wouldn't call their attention.
"Pay attention. Remember that your audience has to keep their interest in you, so you should always notice their reaction. If you just behave like clowns and don't concentrate on your act, you will never be able to please the audience." The hint that she was aiming towards one of the students in the class was quite clear when her sharp eyes pointed to the boy with green hair. That boy grumbled. His pride was hurt, but his attention to the class remained intact.
The strange boy in purple couldn't help laughing a bit, causing him to receive a blow with her fan within seconds for talking in class. The other children held back their laughter, not wanting to be Yuzu's next target.
As much as it pained him to admit it, she was a professional at what she did. It showed in her determination when speaking, in her duels, and in the way she addressed both the public and her own students.
However, distraction began to attack Yuya. He kept thinking that maybe he should take Yuzu's advice instead of drawing dragons in his notebook.
There was something Yuya didn't like about Yuzu's classes: it was the strict way in which she structured her explanations. You always had to keep notes at hand in order to follow everything she said.
His mind wandered during the theory classes that Yuzu taught. That led him to suffer the consequences of Yuzu's powerful fan.
The interesting classes, for Yuya, were always the practice ones: summoning the monsters and surrounding themselves with friends on the field. But, those kinds of classes were very limited because Yuzu was worried about the children getting hurt, so they were forbidden to jump in open Action Fields and make maneuvers of a dangerous nature.
Yuzu didn't allow Yuya to do risky stunts because the kids would imitate him. Maybe it was because she didn't want to get sued if someone broke a leg or something.
There was a time when Yuzu had to interrupt the class for a bit to confiscate Yuri's manga. The kids obviously had their eyes closed. Yuya, however was listening to the way Yuzu and Yuri were fighting as if they were in some kind of very conflictive marriage.
"I'll punish you if you bring those comics to this class again."
"That's discrimination. I could sue you, you know?"
"For the last time, it is not homophobic to take away your perverted drawings."
The argument ended with Yuri's comics being taken by Yuzu, forcing him to behave or else she would burn them.
After that, the day went on as normal.
These classes made Yuya wonder if this was the path all professional duelists had to go through. Being a professional duelist probably wasn't as interesting as they made it out to be. Still, noting how Yuzu managed to be such an excellent duelist, perhaps this was the work he needed to do so he could one day become one too.
Yuya couldn't help but wonder what Yuzu's motivation to become the best was. The duelist's past turned out to be an enigma to him. Yuzu spoke little about her life. She didn't usually give details of her life outside of dueling.
The photos that Yuzu had in her home never showed her mother. This intrigued Yuya deeply. He thought it was possible that her father had raised her alone all this time. It may be that Yuzu's motivation was to prevent her father's business from being ruined.
Also, there were still details of Yuzu's life that Yuya couldn't get out of his head. For example, there was the strange tension between Masumi and Yuzu, as if they knew each other more than he could imagine now, or the fact that Yuzu had an extra deck that she showed in her duel against Yuri.
The only thing Yuya could observe from the girl was her deep hatred towards LDS, which would be an understandable reason for why she was so strict.
He remembered the promise he made to her during their last duel and how urgent it was to keep it: he had to do everything possible to make she enjoyed dueling again.
Maybe he was wondering too much about her life. It didn't sound like a good idea. He felt like he was violating her privacy.
The whimpers of the children brought him out of his musings.
"Yuri... c'mon!" Tell us how you do the fusion!" Ayu pleaded, shaking Yuri from his arm.
"Rather, how can you Fusion Summon? Where exactly do you come from?" Tatsuya asked, a little more thoughtful.
"Huh? Where does he come from? He comes from here! And teacher Yuzu summons Fusions that give you chills! Well, she summoned-" Futoshi mentioned, making a pose.
At Yuri's silence, the children were filled with more doubts. They insistently repeated the questions to Yuri, trying to deduce some things. For example, if Yuzu taught him how to Fusion Summon or if he came from another country. Futoshi drew the wild conclusion that he came from a parallel dimension.
Yuya couldn't help but laugh. "He's not an alien or something that weird. He's just talented," He didn't realize that this comment brought a drop of envy. "However, nobody's used to talking with such a skilled fusion user. I'm curious," He hummed, resting his chin on his hand.
Yuya's comment encouraged the children to urge Yuri for an answer.
Yuri smiled, glancing at Yuya. "Since we're so curious, why are you so thoughtful?"
This question caught Yuya off guard, who blushed and shuddered in his chair. "I... Well... I... I was thinking about..." he stammered, unable to say anything coherent.
"Oh! You blushed! Were you thinking of someone? Mhm?" Yuri joked.
"Were you thinking of Miss Yuzu?" Ayu squeaked.
"No! No!" Yuya touched his cheeks trying to hide his blush, still unable to defend himself from embarrassment.
A crash saved him from the awkward situation, but he found himself in much more confusing circumstances.
All of the students = were startled by the violent sound of the door being kicked open. At the same time, the person = shouted: "I'm here!"
Surprised looks were directed at the boy with blond locks and a smug smile. He walked as if he owned the land. Yuya glanced sideways at Yuzu, waiting for the beating to come to whatever this guy was that dared to walk into her class like this. If it was a student, new or old, he was dead.
However, Yuzu wasn't too bothered by the new presence. She barely looked at him. Yuya was about to react for her until Yuzu finally said something:
"You're late."
Yuya made a face full of disgust and confusion as he watched the way Yuzu controlled the situation. If this was a student, who seemed to be the same age as him, then Yuzu shouldn't treat him so calmly. If Yuya were to be in this boy's situation, he wouldn't have even had time to breathe because he would already have the fan against his head.
"Of course not!" The boy replied, not looking for a place to sit. He stood in front of Yuzu, turning his back to the rest of his classmates as he crossed his arms like a capricious little boy. "Actually, I got here earlier than usual."
"So you're late?!" Yuya yelled without realizing that he had thought it too loud.
Yuzu sighed, shaking her head as the boy turned to look at Yuya, looking deeply offended.
He slowly walked towards Yuya, fixing on the smaller boy as if he were a fly that just buzzed in his ear and he wanted to squash him with his foot.
"Who do you think you are, dwarf?"
With his hands furiously resting on his desk, Yuya stood up to face this guy. "I'm…!"
The boy raised his hand to the level of his face to interrupt Yuya. "I don't care, 'cause you're talking to the fabulous, fantastic, divine and perfect duelist, Shingo Sawatari-san~" Saying this, Sawatari gently stroked his hair, again with a smug smile. "Well, brats like you should call me '-sama'."
Yuya growled like an enraged puppy. In the short time he had been with Yuzu, he had never heard that name. Why was he so important that Yuzu didn't give him what he deserved?
In fact, no one seemed to care about that name, and if they knew it, they still might not care because the kids just seemed annoyed and Yuri did his best to show how little he cared about the whole situation while scratching his ear.
"Are you going to fight or are you going to pay attention to class?" Yuzu chimed in impatiently.
"We're going to fight, of course!" Sawatari turned to take Yuzu's hand, taunting Yuya even more. "I'll give you a free demonstration of what you'll never be. I bet you'll try to use your lousy little trick to defeat me."
"'Trick?" Yuzu frowned, letting go of Sawatari's grasp.
"Pendulums, obviously."
"Yuzu is not a cheater! Don't talk about her if you don't know her!" Yuya argued, startling Yuzu and annoying Sawatari.
"Yuya…" Yuzu muttered, repeating that same name but angrily. "Yuya! Don't mess with him either if you don't know what it's about!"
These words confused and disappointed Yuya a bit, but instead of getting more frustrated he tried to trust in Yuzu, thinking that she would probably accept the challenge because it would be the best way to shut Sawatari up.
Sawatari laughed. "You're not so tough now, are you, tomato head?"
"Are we going to have that duel or not?" Yuzu growled.
Sawatari gave up on him by having Yuzu's challenge in his hands, having arranged with Yuzu to meet outside to duel.
"Well, at least you accepted the duel, although it's not even worth your time. Let me take care of him, Yuzu!"
Yuzu looked at Yuya as if he had said the most ridiculous thing he could say in his entire life. She was picking up her stuff. The class finished, and everyone was supposed to leave, but her students wanted to stay and watch how she defeated that asshole. Yuya was the first in line.
No. Yuya wanted to defeat him with his bare hands.
Yuzu sighed and held out her backpack. "Carry this for me, will you?"
Yuya held the backpack that weighed more than he imagined. "What do you carry in here? Rocks?"
"My patience, Yuya, and if you keep playing with it… Well, you won't do so well!" she yelled at him, flushed with frustration.
"I wasn't the one who made fun of you."
"I know what I do. Stay out of my way."
Yuya was initially annoyed by the mystery that Yuzu brought to the situation, which just seemed like a series of denials of how permissive she was with this guy. However, a grin spread across his face when he realized what this meant.
Yuzu had everything under control. Her way of silencing this brainless was through a duel. Yuzu would kick his ass!
Ten minutes later, both duelists were outside, still on You Show, where they usually did their dueling practices.
Yuzu didn't plan on using her school for these purposes. She wanted to get out of this situation as quickly as possible.
Yuzu put on her duel disk and looked at her opponent, trying not to look at him in disgust. She had to pretend.
Yuya followed her. He clearly didn't want to miss that guy's defeat at Yuzu's hands.
"Before we begin, let's put things as they are. The duel will only be with 4000 life points and we won't use Action Cards." Sawatari replied.
"Wait, that's not an Action Duel!" Yuya retorted angrily.
"Of course, losers like you enjoy those children's games," Sawatari affirmed without any hint of irony, believing himself to be superior to a group of children, Yuya and Yuri. "People like me know that real dueling doesn't require somersaults or anything like that."
"Got it. Let's just get this over with," Yuzu said, and then turned to her dad on the board. "Dad, turn on the Action Field."
The field was activated and it was a grassland. The Plain Plain course was named for its simplicity.
Before Yuzu could even utter the word 'Duel', Sawatari was already demanding something else. "And please! Fix the reflectors so they bring out my best side! I don't want to look ugly while embarrassing you."
Yuya hit his forehead hard while Yuzu was already showing an irrepressible scowl. "Do you also want a hamburger and fries?"
Sawatari held up his hand, refusing. "No, thanks. I'm on a diet."
With a deep sigh, Yuzu looked to her dad to arrange the reflectors just the way Sawatari wanted them. As soon as Yuzu confirmed that Sawatari was satisfied, both duelists activated their duel disks and yelled at the same time:
"Duel!"
"I'll take the first turn."
To Yuzu's inconvenience.
"I will summon Eidos The Underworld Squires."
A huge dark knight manifested from the darkness, emanating a dark aura that scared the You Show students, even when his attack was insignificant.
Eidos the underworld squires 800 ATK/ 1000 DEF.
"Then, I activate two Ookazi Spell Cards."
Flames completely surrounded Yuzu, affecting her life points. She covered herself with her duel disk, but the damage still hit her.
Yuzu LP: 4000-1600=2400.
"This will end my turn. Why don't you try using some of your tricky witch tricks? Maybe that way you can beat me," Sawatari declared, looking down at his perfectly filed nails. "Oh, wait! You won't ever be able to beat me in a million years. The Fantastic Sawatari!"
Sawatari points to Yuzu with a strange grin. The duelist herself was embarrassed by the strange behavior of her student.
"What is he doing?" Yuri asked with equal confusion.
"It's his victory dance." Ayu answered him.
"He does that all the time?" Yuya asked his follow-up question.
The three kids nodded. They were ever observant of Sawatari's horrible performances. Even Futoshi, who was the most cheerful of all and made the strangest poses, was embarrassed to see Sawatari.
Yuya let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding back. He had been waiting for Yuzu's turn ever since the duel started. He was sure that Yuzu wouldn't give this guy room for any more taunts. Yuzu wouldn't let herself be trampled just like that.
Yuzu sighed and then drew a card from her deck. In a different situation, this hand would have been a great help, but this time, she would have to let it go.
"I put Melindra Scale 6 and Amaryllis Scale 1 in my Pendulum zone."
Melindra Scale 6-Amaryllis Scale 1
"Amazing, if you were a baby," Sawatari retorted.
Sawatari's comment was enough to make Yuya go wild with rage. Yuzu ignored Sawatari.
"I activate Amaryllis's effect that lets me search five cards from my deck and then summon a monster between my scales."
Each of the cards that came out could have been a good advantage if this was another type of opponent, but she had to pretend she was playing poorly so her opponent wouldn't think otherwise. An almost difficult task, knowing that she had all the ingredients for a perfect victory.
"I Special Summon Majestic Knight Hana Celestial Melody."
The armored angel emerged from her side of the field.
Majestic Knight: Hana, the Celestial Melody 1200 ATK / 0 DEF
"Then, I sacrifice Hana who is treated as two tributes." Yuzu took the card in her hand and struck the blade of her duel disk with it, even though Hana had little time on the field. Yuzu did as she promised and Hana exploded into colorful particles.
"I will summon Majestic Knight: Pendulum King of Justice."
The pillar of light exploded behind her as she picked up her ace monster card.
"Heavenly Guardian, protector of the helpless and the innocent. Appear! Level 7! Majestic Knight Pendulum King of Justice!"
The floor shattered with great magnitude. From there came the pair of mechanical wings that spread out of the light. The beam split and dispersed to reveal the towering monster behind Yuzu.
Majestic Knight Pendulum King of Justice 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF
The You Show students were shocked. This meant that Yuzu had a huge advantage over Sawatari. For Yuya, it meant that she would shut Sawatari's mouth up once and for all, although it seemed that it didn't happen, given his reaction.
"It's big, a bit cute, maybe too flashy," Sawatari analyzed it as if he were an expert critic. "But without its effects, it's a pathetic mastodon." Sawatari complained.
"Surely, he doesn't even know what mastodon means," Yuya mumbled.
"Oh, that's right. How could I forget?" Yuzu exaggerated, trying to act as if it really affected her. "How could I make such a clumsy move?"
"Eh..." All the kids said that. They weren't even convinced of that reaction.
It was obvious that Yuzu hated saying that. Even Yuri looked at her, not believing this act that she was doing. It didn't even seem like some kind of strategy. They were moves made on purpose.
However, Sawatari kept his smug attitude. "I don't blame you. You must be too fascinated with my magnifiness."
"'Magnificence'," Yuya chewed, trying not to jump at Sawatari's jugular.
"Battle phase! Destroy his monster! Pendulum King of Justice!"
Directly charging, the huge knight used its fist to immediately pulverize Sawatari's monster.
"Majestic Slash!"
The blow was strong enough to throw the monster against the wall.
Sawatari LP: 4000-1700=2300.
"I set a card face down and end my turn."
The card materialized in Yuzu's field.
"Is that all? That move wasn't even that good," Sawatari commented after drawing a card. "Now, I will show you what true power is."
"Filing his nails better than Yuzu is true power?" Yuri sneered under his breath, making the kids laugh. Yuya could scoff as well, but he was so angry and confused that he didn't have the energy to laugh.
Yuya was taken aback by Yuzu's moves. She was a professional, too demanding. She wouldn't forgive herself or anyone else for being the kind of duelist who made clumsy moves.
"I activate Landrobe the Rock Vessel's effect."
A strange figure appeared from the ground. No one could identify where it was, until suddenly, the monster shot down to hit Yuzu's monster directly, causing it to suddenly go into prone mode.
"Oh, woah. How could you do that?" She said without an ounce of sincerity, making him believe that he really surprised her.
"This is due to the effect of my monster that allows me to target one of your monsters and put it in defense position. At the same time, it lets me summon from my hand," Sawatari explained, feeling smart.
The armor-clad Rock monster leapt onto its owner's field.
Landrobe the Rock Vassals 800 ATK/ 1000 DEF.
"It's not impressive at all. Yuzu can defeat that deck at any second." Yuya commented.
"But she won't," Tatsuya declared, surprising Yuya, "Miss Yuzu let her first chance slip by making a rookie mistake. Don't you think her intentions to win are somewhat nil?"
"Maybe she wants to torture him a bit?" Yuri said. The kids and Yuya looked at him, curious. "Oh, you know, make him believe that he is the best in the world and then destroy his illusion. It would score a lot of points if Yuzu ever did something like that."
But Yuzu didn't seem to be that kind of person, at least Yuya thought so. Yuri was probably right about something and Yuzu was trying to make a show out of all of this, or maybe Sawatari was some kind of character too.
Perhaps Yuya was worrying in vain and Yuzu knew what she was doing.
"Then, I summon Ice Knight in attack mode."
An ice knight appeared on the field, coming forth in the cold snowy environment with flakes that rained around Ice Knight, giving a false sense of peace. The knight's surroundings became hostile with the frost that sprouted from the ground of the snowy space. With a sword in its hand, the knight was trying to look threatening.
Ice Knight 1300 ATK/ 1200 DEF.
"Thanks to the effect of Ice Knight, I can make a tribute summon of a water monster. So I sacrifice Landrobe to summon Mobius The Frost Monarch."
The rock monster disappeared to make way for a huge monster. The threat appeared on the field. Like Ice Knight, the Monarch had its body decorated in turquoise blue armor, a reddish cape, and white frills on its cuffs. The Monarch was sitting in the lotus position, hands outstretched, making the frost appear in front.
Mobius The Frost Monarch 2400 ATK/ 1000.
"The Mobius effect activates. It can destroy two trap or magic cards on your field." The frost began to threaten Yuzu's pendulums. "I will destroy the pendulum cards on your field."
The monarch destroyed Melindra and Melody. Sawatari let out a laugh that made Yuzu roll her eyes at him. "Then Ice Knight's effect allows him to gain 400 attack points for each Aqua monster on the field, including itself."
Ice Knight ATK 1300+800 = 2100
"Now, let's end your ridiculous circus at once! Ice Knight attacks Pendulum Knight!"
Using its double-edged sword, the monster destroyed the face-down king.
"It can't be. She's going to…" Yuya saw the inevitable. He couldn't even finish the sentence. Yuzu was about to lose this duel. He wanted to hold on to the hope that Yuzu had a splendid ace up her sleeve. All the determination that Yuzu had shown him was fading in this duel like candle fire.
"Mobius attacks you directly!" Sawatari exclaimed between laughs as his monarch slammed into Yuzu, taking the rest of her life points with it.
Yuzu LP: 2400-2400=0
"Yuzu!" Yuya, Yuri and the children yelled, running towards her to help her off the ground.
"Therefore, I, Sawatari-san, should be the teacher and not a cheater like you. Your pendulums have been nothing more than a terrible joke."
Yuya clenched his fists and was about to counter, but Yuzu grabbed his arm, pressing down with a small force that told him to calm down.
"You're right. I can't get over your amazing duel," Yuzu said, sounding impassive, waving her hand as Sawatari turned his back on them to leave.
"Don't worry, you'll see me again, dwarfs." Was the last thing Sawatari said, shaking one of his locks smugly.
Yuri rolled his eyes at him. "I thought he would never leave."
"Me neither," Yuzu yawned, extending her hand towards the backpack that Yuya was carrying. "Can you give me back my backpack?"
Yuya frowned and refused to hand over her stuff. Yuzu grunted.
"Come on, don't fight," Tatsuya stood between the two, raising his hands, begging that this argument would not get any bigger.
Yuzu and Yuya exchanged annoyed looks, leaving the others waiting for one of them to say the first word that would end this awkward and tense moment in the most peaceful way.
Yuya finally sighed and loosened his grip on her, but the disappointment showed on his face. Yuzu snatched up her backpack. "I don't have time to fight. It's already dark. It's coming and we should all go home, right, Yuya?" Yuzu emphasized his name.
"It's true. It's not you I should be upset with." Yuya turned his back on everyone, making his frustration quite explicit. He started to walk, but it was in the opposite direction.
"Yuya! Where are you going?" Yuzu called without receiving an answer. The others were already heading back to their houses, carrying a bit of concern about how everything had ended, but Yuzu refused to let Yuya go.
Sawatari hadn't even gotten too far. He was walking with his ego full and whistling placidly until he heard an annoying voice calling him, forcing him to stop his steps, turning around to see who dared to mess with him now.
"Oh, you're just the tomato head dwarf. Do you want to get squashed too?" he scoffed.
Yuya didn't hesitate as he took out his duel disk, making it very clear that he wanted a showdown. "I'll show you what a real duel is."
And he would also defend Yuzu's teachings, show him why she was a teacher and this brainless wasn't. Words were unnecessary with someone he didn't want to hear, so a duel was the perfect way to open his eyes, or at least crush his ego. That was what Yuya wanted the most.
Sawatari laughed, answering his challenge. "Okay, I'll give you your five seconds of fame. But I insist that we not have those silly Action Duels."
Yuya smirked. "I know. I don't need to have an Action Duel to teach real fun."
Yuzu rushed after Yuya and stayed behind a post to see what Yuya was up to, though she guessed his intentions since he tried to defend her when Sawatari showed up.
"Oh no. What is this idiot doing now?" Yuzu smacked her forehead and shook her head. "He'll ruin everything."
They both stood facing each other and ready to go. "Duel!" They shouted in unison.
"I activate Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal's effect."
"By discarding a card from my hand, I can summon it onto the field."
A blaze erupted on the field. From it came a monster in armor that stigmatized them, only using its hands.
Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal 800 Atk / 1000 DEF.
"But don't worry. It won't last long, because I'll sacrifice it to summon Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch."
Flames surrounded all over its body again. It seemed to go through a transformation when it reappeared on the field as a new monster took its position. With the raw armor, it embodied a fiery essence.
Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch 2400 ATK/ 1000 DEF.
"When Thestalos is Tribute Summoned, I can select a random card in your hand and have you discard it, but also, Berlineth's effect lets me see your pathetic hand and then you can say goodbye to one of your cards."
The fire monarch released a small flame at one of Yuya's cards. He was forced to discard it. It was his Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon and the card Smile World was banished. At that moment, he received a wave of electric shocks.
Yuya LP: 4000-700= 3300.
"What…?"
"If one of the randomly discarded cards was a monster, you take 100 damage equal to its level. Ha! Your teacher didn't tell you that, did she? You could call me 'Sensei' for a change." Sawatari boasted. "Lastly, I activate the continuous card March of the Monarch and your spell card returns to your hand at the end of the turn."
It was a move that forced Yuya to get rid of one of his two best cards, as much as it hurt him to lose Odd-Eyes, his spirit was still on because he still had Smile World.
He didn't remember where he got it from, but this was one of the cards that had always been with him. He didn't care that its effect was weak. He always found a use for it.
"My turn, I draw!"
Yuya smiled. He just took the best card for this situation.
"I activate Entermate Recasting. Thanks to this card's effect, I will return some of my Entermate friends from my hand to my deck."
"Wait, is that possible?" Sawatari says. "It's a foolish move to return monsters from your hand. "What will you gain with it?
"We all learn new things, Sensei!" Yuya uttered in a mocking way and then smiled. "I have confidence that my deck will respond, as every good duelist does. Entermate Spike Eagle will be the monster I return to my hand!" Yuya drew two cards from his deck.
"I put Entermate Odd Eyes Unicorn and Entermate Gongcat on my Pendulum scale."
Scales 2-8
The two scales materialized in Yuya's field, a springboard-shaped cat and a unicorn with odd eyes appeared on his pendulum scales.
"I perform a Pendulum Summon. Entermate Priest appears, Entermate Fire Mufflion!"
From the portal that manifested itself in both scales, a fire lion and a sorcerer came out to Yuya's field.
Entermate Fire Mufflion 800 ATK/ 800 DEF.
Entermate Priest 100 ATK / 1000 DEF.
"I activate Priest's effect. When I banish it from the field, I can summon an Odd-Eyes monster from my graveyard."
The magician targeted itself and Yuya's monster came from it. It was the powerful Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon.
"Appear! Wonderful and beautiful dichromatic eyes. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF.
"When this card is activated, each monster on the field gains 100 attack points times the number of them on the field."
Many smiling faces appeared on the field. It was a whole festival of bright colors surrounding the environment. The monsters were enthusiastic.
"Everyone?" Sawatari asked laughingly. "Does that include my monsters too?"
"Don't be overconfident yet, because my act isn't over."
Thestalos ATK = 2700
Dragon ATK = 2800
Mufflerlion ATK = 1100
"Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks Thestalos!"
The dragon charged a beam of energy from its mouth.
"But before that, I activate Odd Eyes Unicorn's pendulum effect, which allows me to add my Mufferlion's original attack to my Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon."
The unicorn fired a beam of energy at the two monsters, which strengthened Odd Eyes. The dragon roared as it received the discharge of power.
Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon ATK = 3600
"Impossible."
"It's very possible!" Yuya exclaimed, happy. "Spiral strike burst!"
The dragon released the powerful flame. Thetalos responded with its own flame in order to parry the impending attack, but its strength was not enough to contain the entire attack.
"Odd Eyes' effect allows it to double the damage it deals if it battles a level 7 monster. Reaction force!"
The dragon's discharge was boosted for the time being. The monarch was unable to survive the full impact of the power from Odd-Eyes' discharge.
Sawatari LP: 4000-1800=2200
"I'm not done yet. When one of my Pendulum monsters destroys yours, it can gain 200 attack points and a second attack."
Fire Mufflio created a ring of fire, which Odd Eyes crossed and a red aura covered it at that moment.
"What?! Are you kidding me?!"
"Just a little… Nah! It's not a joke!" Yuya couldn't stop smiling from the teasing he returned to Sawatari after all the ones he did to Yuzu.
The dragon attacked Sawatari's points directly.
Sawatari LP: 2200-3800=0
"This... can't be true..." Sawatari muttered, remaining stunned on the ground, clenching his fists.
"It is, and all thanks to the fact that Yuzu is my teacher." Yuya smiled proudly.
"That's what it's all about. It's a conspiracy against the great Sawatari!" He whimpered exaggeratedly, "A snotty dwarf like you can't beat me! You must have cheated! After all, that school is just a wimpy circus, and I'm no wimp!"
"Oh no! What did you do, Yuya?" Yuzu came out of her hiding place, thinking whether or not to intervene.
Sawatari getting defeated not only ruined what Yuzu got, but it was a complete disrespect on Yuya's part towards her authority as her teacher.
"I won't be in a school where my potential is wasted! Do you hear me?!" Sawatari yelled, seeing Yuzu behind Yuya. "I'll make life miserable for both of you." He pointed at his own eyes and then pointed at both of them as he withdrew in his tantrum.
Yuzu didn't try to make amends for Yuya's mess because it was useless. She would have to figure it out after she took care of Yuya. She clenched her fists with such restrained fury that they trembled. Yuya turned to smile at Yuzu as if he had done what he had to, as if Yuzu should be glad too. He had protected both her and her ideals.
"I couldn't let that fool get away with it," Yuya said. "I know you let him win. Even a newbie would notice. I also understand that if you did, it was for a good reason, but it was too insulting and you just let him pass."
Yuya kept talking, carrying his reason and hoping that Yuzu would nod at his words. However, what Yuzu expected was for him to shut his mouth at once.
"You don't understand anything. You're just as idiotic as Sawatari!"
The smile drawn on Yuya's face was completely erased.
"You two are the same. You only care about pleasing your ego, and that's what I was doing with Sawatari, because an egotistical jerk like him, who shows up once a month, isn't worth losing the school's reputation over."
"But he insulted your school. You can't consider him your student." Yuya insisted.
Yuzu growled, almost like she was pulling her hair, trying to talk sense to a stubborn Yuya.
"Yes, I can when what I need most is someone to sponsor the school. I took advantage of the fact that Sawatari came to us because he kept failing in LDS. I let him do what he wants and make him feel happy with a few minutes of glory. We both get what we want. But you just ruined that! What could a capricious boy with clown desires understand? You who does nothing but think that life is a game in which we all have to have fun or else we will not be considered true duelists?!"
Finished with yelling that at him, Yuzu gasped, agitated as if she had been saving that comment full of frustration since their last duel.
Yuya would have apologized, but Yuzu was being too unfair. He felt betrayed because he thought they got along, that they didn't have any problems apart from the casual arguments because he didn't pay attention in class.
Also, perhaps his insecurities about not being the ideal Entertainment Duelist weren't entirely wrong and he had just confirmed it to Yuzu, although it sounded more like a criticism of how he was as a person and not just as a duelist.
"And what about you? Do you do everything right? Do you think you're always right?" His voice barely came out of his throat. Yuzu continued to hurt his feelings and he couldn't take it anymore. "Maybe I am like Sawatari! Maybe I'm just another piece you need to fill the quota of students you're looking for so much. You never liked me, but you didn't have the courage to say it either."
Yuya clenched his teeth to not shed a single tear. He was sad, disappointed and upset.
He made an effort to try to understand Yuzu and support her in her project that he admired so much, but the ideal image of Yuzu that had been assembled in his head began to change due to the arrogance that she displayed in her opinion.
"Shut up," Yuzu stepped back a bit, making a face that showed that Yuya's words shook her enough to make her angrier. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! You don't know anything about me!" Yuzu's voice came out on a shriek.
"Of course not! I can't do it when all you do is criticize! Have you ever looked in the mirror, Yuzu? You say that all I think about is my ego. What about your ego?!"
Yuya remembered what he had talked about with Shuzo, who mentioned that Yuzu also had insecurities about herself. Yuzu wasn't perfect. Yuya knew no one was, but instead of trying to dig deeper into it, he just wanted to hurt her feelings like she was hurting his. They were both blinded by their own frustrations.
Yuzu took courage, and without thinking, yelled at him: "If you don't like how I do things, then get out of here and leave me alone! Everything started to go wrong ever since you arrived!"
Yuya was silent. Yuzu's legs trembled, realizing that it wasn't the first time she had a fight like this, that again someone would walk away from her school, from her life, because she couldn't put her life in order. She wanted to laugh at herself so as not to cry. She ended up neglecting every friendship she had, or perhaps, they neglected her.
She bit his lip painfully, showing the regret on her face when she saw that Yuya couldn't hold back the tears anymore.
The last thing she said to him wasn't true. In fact, almost nothing she said about him was true, but she was so stressed and terrified by everything that was happening that Yuya ended up getting the worst of her.
With the back of his hand, Yuya wiped away his tears and turned his back to Yuzu.
"As you wish," he mumbled, his voice cracking.
He hated that he had been so weak that he couldn't resist this argument and fight for their friendship, to keep trying to open her eyes and get her out of that colorless world in which she was stuck.
Her words were increasingly sharp and hurtful, as if the memories they had created together and the ones they might create meant nothing to her, so he couldn't resist crying.
Yuzu already thought that he was a good-for-nothing. The last thing he wanted was for her to see more of how ridiculous he was by crying like a weakling, so he decided that the best plan was to close this fight by leaving as Yuzu asked.
Anyway, Yuya had run out of coherent words. He didn't want to continue hurting both her and himself. He wanted to hold on to the moments where he thought he was Yuzu's friend.
"Yuya..." Her call escaped with a sigh. Yuzu didn't want to continue arguing, but she couldn't find a way to repair what happened now.
Yuzu didn't know what the right words were for Yuya to calm down, and when she wanted to try, Yuya was already running away from her.
"Yuya! Wait!"
Undecided if she would follow him or not, she continued to be annoyed with Yuya and she remained trapped in that anger so as not to lose herself in the guilt that was accumulating in her chest.
Yuya was already out of her sight. Frustrated, Yuzu sighed heavily and rubbed her face. She was sure that Yuya would be home late today after he got over with his tantrum.
She wished that he hadn't taken it so seriously to get away from her life. Yuya did what he wanted and she hoped that this time it wouldn't be different.
Yuya ran away from Yuzu, allowing his tears to roll free and to dry in the breeze.
Yuya didn't stop until he felt his lungs burn. He didn't look where he was going. He just wanted to run away from the situation and for that painful lump in his throat to come undone, but that didn't happen.
Yuya stopped in an alley to catch his breath, holding his knees.
He hugged himself, feeling bad for everything he had said to Yuzu, wanting to go back and make things right. Yuzu was the only friend he had, and if he lost her, he would be alone again.
He thought that he had finally found someone with the same ideals as him, someone who believed in him despite the conflicts they faced, but this fight they had was going nowhere, only to a worse path.
He covered his ears, not wanting to return to all the hurtful words that Yuzu said. Many people had insulted him in many ways, but it had never hurt as much as when Yuzu did it.
Suddenly, he felt warm hands take his, a touch that seemed familiar. Those hands made him stop covering his ears. Those hands hugged him from behind. Yuya flinched, startled, and tried to turn around to see who was touching him, but this grip kept him still and relaxed. It was an all too familiar and comforting.
"Yuya, my sweet boy…"
That voice was so kind that he wanted to cry. It got through his ear deeply.
"Don't cry, smile. You always knew how to find the positive side of all the obstacles you faced."
The woman sounded proud. Yuya wanted to hold on to those arms as if he were a child desperate for a bit of comfort.
"Mom... Mom..." he whispered, surprised that this was the first word that slipped from his lips. He nearly gasped. Why was he calling his mother, the woman he had no recollection of?
"Shhh, we can talk when you feel better."
Yuya was lost in that comforting voice and in her warm embrace, so much so that he couldn't ask himself anything about what was happening.
He only thought about the pain he felt and the strange nostalgic feeling that the woman gave him. "Even in the worst moments, you can always take a step forward. Never forget that."
Hearing that, he jerked away. He fell to his knees, holding his head that was starting to hurt a lot.
All those words lost their meaning. They resonated inside him, but they were only there to hurt him more, because disappointment predominated in his heart, immediately passing into anguish and anger.
"Calm down, Yuya… "The voice whispered. "Don't let yourself be carried away by pain, but by people's smiles."
"No! Please shut up! All of that is useless!" He shouted desperately.
Without thinking about what he uttered, he lost himself in the words that embedded in his mind and walked through his broken heart. Everything he was fighting for, everything he believed in, was slipping away.
The weather was heavy. The fog began to surround him, but he didn't realize it. He only knew that he was very cold, that he didn't want to open his eyes and see his loneliness. He didn't know who was talking to him, but he didn't want to know either.
Yuya's chest heaved painfully, a groan escaping from the back of his throat as he locked his pendant in his trembling fist.
Yuya: Why is this girl spying on Yuzu?
Ruri: Eh, I wasn't doing anything wrong, I just see all of her movements and while she sleeps.
Reiji: Only we can do that.
Yuzu: Hey!, in the next chapter of Yugioh arc v Lost Pendulum: The girl who stopped smiling.
Ruri: I hope to find my brother.