Beta-ed by xenosaiyan

"Huh," Ruby muttered, her silver gaze glancing all around the barren duel arena. "You know, after Jaune and Nora's duels, I'd kind of forgotten what it was like to have a duel in an arena without a giant crowd."

"Poor giant crowd," Sun sarcastically mused beside her, the monkey faunus being the only person outside of Team RWBY and JNPR to know of Blake's true identity and therefore be allowed to watch her promotion duel. "Apparently there's a huge underground betting scene going on for all of Team CFVY's matches. The bookies are pissed that no one's allowed to see Yatsuhashi's duel."

"Betting, you say?" Yang mischievously smirked. "How much do they need to know about the duel to make a call? And how much lien would they be willing to fork over to find out?"

Sun pointed to Weiss. "Five percent of her monthly allowance."

Weiss snorted, oblivious to Yang and Nora suddenly salivating at the thought of the small fortune. "Please, that's hardly a commission worth the work."

"Yeah, plus they'd need the stats on Blake's deck for it. Giving odds and all," Sun sighed. "So that's a nonstarter."

Yang groaned. "Yup. We can't give everyone any hints that she's the Odd-Eyed Bandit."

"Goodbye, sweet money!" Nora wailed, crying into Ren's chest as her partner gently petted her hair.

Weiss rolled her eyes and narrowed her gaze at the waiting duelist below, a hulking Mistralian boy with short-cropped black hair and a lot of armor under his properly done-up Obelisk Blue jacket. "So, while I can't argue his skill, why do you think the headmaster chose him to be Blake's proctor?"

Ruby turned to Pyrrha. "He's from some famous Mistral dojo, right? Did you ever duel him in a tournament?"

The Invincible Girl shook her head. "I never dueled him. His family eschewed tournaments for being 'soft'. Though, I did meet him a few times. He didn't seem like a bad guy. Though his family, unfortunately, lived up to their reputations. The Superheavy Samurai archetype began its life as a Machine-type offshoot of the Warrior-Type Six Samurai archetype, with much of the same sentiments of 'tradition' backing it."

Ruby shrugged. "So he's a Weiss. No reason to hold his family against him."

Weiss glared at her partner. "I appreciate the sentiment, but please do not phrase it like that in the future."

Yang wrapped a sisterly arm around the Schnee heiress' shoulders. "Don't worry, Ice Queen. No other Weiss is ever gonna out-Weiss you."

Weiss' eyebrow twitched up into her forehead. "Blake better win this quickly. I don't know how long I can last being the only sensible member of this team."

As if on cue, Blake marched out of the locker room, her black bow and golden Ra Yellow jacket billowing behind her. The hidden cat faunus stepped onto the raised dais of the duel arena, the stadium's hardlight dust emitters flaring to life and sealing her in with Yatsuhashi.

From outside the barrier, the referee. Professor Goodwitch, raised her scroll. "Ms. Belladonna, I trust you are using your true deck for this examination?"

Blake scowled, expanding Gambol Shroud into its ready form. "You've gone to all the trouble to get me to do it."

Professor Goodwitch nodded and turned to Yatsuhashi. "Mr. Daichi, you are aware of your duty in this test?"

The Team CFVY member nodded, his enormous orange duel disk deploying for the match. "I am, professor."

Ruby quirked her head to the side. "Hey, Pyrrha, did Professor Port or Oobleck say that kind of stuff before Jaune or Nora's duels?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "Blake is a special case. Maybe the professor's just being cautious?"

Ruby shrugged. "It is Professor Goodwitch."

"Duelist Blake Belladonna!" Glynda shouted. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Blake flatly replied.

"Then let the Promotion Exam match begin!" the deputy headmistress declared. "Duel!"

Blake Belladonna: 4000 Life Points

Yatsuhashi Daichi: 4000 Life Points

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"Good luck, Blake!" Ruby called.

"Show off your finest display!" Weiss encouraged.

"Kick his butt six ways from Sunday, partner!" Yang yelled.

Blake loved her teammates, but she found herself blocking out the rest of their encouraging comments, as well as those from Sun and Team JNPR (well, Team JNPR minus Jaune. Maybe the rumor about him dying during his exam duel was accurate?). However sweet their words were, they were wasted on this insipid test.

She didn't care about what color jacket she wore, how tough her classes were, or whether Team RWBY became an 'all-blue team' or not. Now that she was back in Vale, she wanted to start researching leads on the White Fang for her team to track down or figure out some way to get her Fusion Monsters to forgive her so that she stood a chance of keeping her friends alive when they all went after her old terrorist group. Some school nonsense was just… just… nonsense! A waste of time!

Especially when her proctor was wasting time just staring at his hand!

Given all the stories about Team CFVY's immense strength began with them banding together to defend their faunus teammate from being picked on, Blake doubted Yatsuhashi Daichi took after his infamously racist family. But he was really taking his whole 'giant, stoic guy who takes forever to do anything' gimmick too far.

"Are you going to play that card or just look at it?" Blake snapped.

Yatsuhashi looked at her for a moment, and solemnly blinked. He then gazed back down at the same card in his hand and tucked it to the side of his hand. He then snatched two completely different cards and laid them on his duel disk. A bulky mechanical samurai with a warhammer (ATK 1000/DEF 2000) manifested before him, followed swiftly by a slimmer purple ninja machine (ATK 200/DEF 700). "I normal summon Superheavy Samurai Kabuto. Then, since I have no spell or trap cards in my graveyard, I can special summon Superheavy Samurai Spy to my field. With that, I end my turn."

Blake's hands clenched into fists. That was it?! All that waiting for two monsters with less than fifteen hundred attack points between them?

Even Professor Goodwitch narrowed her eyes at the proctor. "That's all, Mr. Daichi?"

Yatsuhashi turned to the deputy headmistress and nodded. "It is, professor."

Blake's teeth ground against each other as she drew for her turn. Was he looking down on her? He was the one with a handicap. He wouldn't be able to take her without his Extra Deck if he was dueling with one hand behind her back.

"Pot of Greed!" Blake announced, drawing two more cards from the top of her deck. She flinched at the Polymerization glaring up at her from her new selections, nervously tucking the Fusion card away in the back of her hand.

She… she didn't need that. Sure, the hardlight barrier would keep her friends safe if she lost control of her Fusion monsters and Ms. Goodwitch was more than capable of putting down any monsters that got out of control. But, with how she'd wrongfully disparaged her Fusion Monsters for Adam's sins… they wouldn't forgive her. They shouldn't have to forgive her or serve her. Especially for something as meaningless as this exam duel.

Besides, she became infamous as The Odd-Eyed Bandit long before she had Fusion cards. She could handle this trifling duel without them.

"I activate the continuous spell Soul Pendulum. After that, I set the Pendulum Scales with Scale 1 Performapal Ladyange and Scale 8 Performapal Gentrude! Then, using Gentrude's pendulum effect, since Ladyange is in the other Pendulum Zone and I control no monsters or only Pendulum monsters, I can add an Odd-Eyes card from my deck to my hand," Blake explained, yanking a card from her deck as her two Pendulum Monsters rose up beside her in twin pillars of light. With a flourish, she revealed her ace to her opponent. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

"Your signature monster," Yatsuhashi observed. "I cannot promise it will leave this duel without a scratch."

"It won't be the one destroyed. Rise from shadows, my monster. Carve an arc upon the world and reclaim our destiny," Blake warned, thrusting her hand to the sky and snapping her fingers. "Pendulum Summon!"

A spectral pendulum swung between Ladyange and Gentrude, a gateway of stars opening behind its path. Three comets blazed through the shining firmament and erupted onto the field, forming into a cartoonish minotaur (ATK 1200/DEF 1600), a silver-furred wolf (ATK 1800/DEF 700), and her dancing dragon with dual-colored eyes (ATK 2500/DEF 2000).

"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Along with Performapal Silver Claw and Performapal Odd-Eyes Minitaurus," Blake proclaimed, pointing towards her Soul Pendulum continuous spell as the card's manifestation glowed with an alabaster dot. "And whenever I Pendulum Summon, Soul Pendulum gains a counter. And for each counter on it, every Pendulum Monster on the field gains three hundred attack points."

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (ATK 2800), Silver Claw (ATK 2100), and Minitaurus (ATK 1500) all puffed up as a mystical glow glimmered over them.

Blake smirked as her monsters' powers grew. Between Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's double damage ability and Performapal Odd-Eyes Minitaurus' effect to decrease the attack points of any monster her Pendulum Monsters attacked, she could wipe out her opponent in one attack, end this waste of time duel, and turn her focus to more important matters–

"When you special summon monsters, the effect of my Superheavy Samurai Kabuto activates," Yatsuhashi announced, sideways cards forming underneath his Kabuto (DEF 2500) and Spy (DEF 1200) as they each took a knee and gained a subtle glow. "All Superheavy Samurai on my field switch to defense mode. And those that do gain five hundred defense points."

Blake scowled. So much for her OTK. She should have known better than to think a Team CFVY member would go down that easy. She could still take the round easily, but this duel was certain to be a slugfest. "Performapal Silver Claw attacks Superheavy Samurai Spy. And when it does, all Performapal monsters on the field gain three hundred attack points."

Performapal Silver Claw howled with glee (ATK 2400), Minitaurus gleefully bouncing and cheering on its friend from the sidelines (ATK 1800) as its lupine brethren pounced on the kneeling Superheavy Samurai Spy.

Only for a large blue apparatus to spontaneously appear between Superheavy Samurai Spy and Kabuto. The new machine whirled as energy crackled over it from the hammer-wielding warrior and into the mechanical ninja (DEF 3700), who proceeded to swat Performapal Silver Claw back to Blake's field.

Blake Belladonna: 2700 Life Points

"During damage calculation, I discard Superheavy Samurai Helper from my hand," Yatsuhashi explained, the blue apparatus fading from the field as Superheavy Samurai Spy deflated back to its normal self (DEF 1200). "For this damage calculation only, my Spy gains defense points equal to my Kabuto's defense points."

Dealing her damage equal to the difference since her monster's power was suddenly less. Silver Claw wasn't destroyed because it attacked a monster in defense mode, but Blake had still been left at a sizable disadvantage by her upperclassman's clever trap.

"Performapal Odd-Eyes Minitarus! Attack Superheavy Samurai Spy!" Blake roared, already pointing to her next monster even as her minotaur rushed the mechanical ninja. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Take out Superheavy Samurai Kabuto! Spiral Flame Strike!"

Her colorful ace shot a worried whine back at Blake, but as Minitaurus gored Superheavy Samurai Spy, the dragon still leapt into the air and incinerated Kabuto with a typhoon of flame.

"I end my turn!" Blake defiantly sneered, though she felt no victory from the exchange even though her opponent's field was barren. She had a feeling her upperclassman wasn't in Obelisk Blue for nothing.

Still, she was hardly defenseless. She had Inflater Taper in hand if worst came to worst, but Yatsuhashi would have to pull off quite the move to get that far. If he summoned a new monster to come at her, her Ladyange's pendulum effect could drop its attack points by one thousand. She could survive whatever her opponent threw at her during his turn and pivot to obliterate him on hers. Then she could get this waste of time over and done with.

"Draw. I discard Superheavy Samurai Bike from my hand, allowing me to add any Superheavy Samurai card from my deck to my hand. I choose Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei," Yatsuhashi evenly stated. The towering Obelisk Blue's eyes fell to the other side of his hand, his brow furrowing as he stared at the same card that had held his attention back at the start of the duel.

"Well?" Blake taunted. "Are you going to stare at it or play it?"

Yatsuhashi looked up at her, staring mournfully for a long moment before letting out a long sigh. He took hold of the card he'd been staring at and slipped it into his duel disk… in his Spell and Trap Card Zone?!

Blake cocked an eyebrow. She didn't remember much of the Superheavy Samurai archetype's specifics from what Adam had mentioned about the machine monsters' relation to his own deck, but she was pretty sure their gimmick was that they didn't use spells or traps. Heck, even during the present duel, Superheavy Samurai Spy had required its duelist's graveyard to be empty of such cards to be special summoned. So what the heck could he place in those zones… except…

The cat faunus' amber eyes widened. No. It couldn't be.

And yet, as a pillar of light flared to life beside the bulky Obelisk Blue, it plainly was.

"I set Superheavy Samurai Prodigy Wakaushi in the Pendulum Zone!"

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"What the heck?!" Yang exclaimed, whipping around towards Pyrrha. "I thought you said that these Superheavy Samurai guys came from the same anti-faunus whackjobs that made the Six Samurai?"

"They… They do," Pyrrha stammered, the Invincbile Girl gazing at the duel below with just as much bamboozled shock as the rest of them, watching as Yatsuhashi, playing an archetype created by anti-faunus extremists, played a Pendulum Monster.

Well, as much bamboozled shock as most of them.

"Awesome!" Ruby grinned, excitedly rubbing her hands together as she leaned over the stands' railing. "Aw man, I'm obviously rooting for Blake, but geez, this is so cool! I've never seen two Pendulum users go head-to-head up close before!"

"Really? That's your only thought on the matter?" Weiss drolled.

"Ooo, you're right, Weiss!" Ruby gasped.

Weiss blinked in surprise. "I am?"

"Pendulum Summoning is an Extra Deck summoning method!" Ruby exclaimed. "Is he allowed to use it as a proctor?"

Sun laughed and turned to his fellow team leader as Weiss smacked her face into her palm. "The instructions we got on that were a bit fuzzy. But the jist of it is that proctors are allowed to use Pendulum Zones so long as they don't summon any cards from the Extra Deck."

"Oh," Ruby nodded. "That makes sense."

"Are neither of you at all curious about why or how someone who uses a Superheavy Samurai deck is using a Pendulum Monster?" Weiss demanded.

Ruby and Sun both blinked, sharing befuddled looks before quirking their heads at the Schnee heiress.

"His team's claim to awesomeness is that they stood up for their faunus teammate," Sun reminded them. "So he's obviously not a jerk like his family."

"He did choose to come to Beacon instead of Haven," Ruby added. "So obviously he asked his teammate for help making his deck stronger to become even more different from his family."

Weiss, Yang, Pyrrha, and Nora all stared at the two team leaders, utterly stupefied.

"You got all that just from him playing a Pendulum monster?" Nora queried.

"You didn't?" Sun replied, puzzled. "I thought it was obvious. Neptune asked for my help doing the same with his deck ages ago."

"It's what I would do," Ruby sagely nodded, smiling at Weiss. "It's kind of the reverse of what you were doing to try to separate yourself from your dad. Instead of not using a summoning method your family taught you, he tried to learn about and forge a new kind of monster."

"Oh… that's…" Weiss mumbled. "... actually rather insightful."

Ruby and Sun high-fived, sharing cheeky smirks of team leader camaraderie. Maybe there was a good reason they'd ended up with the jobs.

Yang proudly grinned at her little sister. "When you put it like that, I'm surprised you haven't begged Blake to teach you how to Pendulum Summon yet."

"One thing at a time," Ruby replied. "Learning fusion has priority so I can let Starving Venom out to have fun with me and Black Rose Dragon."

"I activate Prodigy Wakaushi's pendulum effect. It places another Pendulum Monster from my deck, in this case Monk Warrior Big Benkei, in my other Pendulum Zone and summons itself onto the field," Yatsuhashi declared from down below, his Prodigy Wakaushi bursting out of its pillar of light and taking a knee in defense position (ATK 1000/DEF 1500) just as another larger machine warrior took up a pillar of light position on the other side the Mistral duelist. "I then activate Prodigy Wakaushi's monster effect. I discard one card and special summon Superheavy Samurai Scales from my deck. And his effect then summons a level four or lower Superheavy Samurai from my graveyard. In this case, Kabuto."

The towering Obelisk Blue's field quickly filled up, a green armored robot with scales strewn over its shoulders (ATK 800/DEF 1800) appearing in defense mode, before Kabuto (ATK 1000/DEF 2000) manifested in the same position.

"I then tribute Prodigy Wakaushi and Scales to summon Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei," Yatsuhashi announced, his smaller samurai's bodies morphing into energy orbs that came together to form a stocky mechanical warrior with a thick metal staff (ATK 1000/DEF 3500). "When it's summoned, it can switch its battle position. So it will take a knee in defense position."

Ruby pursed his lips in pondering. "Okay, that is weird. These guys have some great defense points, but what's their win condition? Do they deal some sort of effect damage?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "No. Not effect damage."

"I activate the pendulum effect of Monk Warrior Big Benkei, allowing me to add a Superheavy Samurai Soul card from my deck to my hand. I choose Superheavy Samurai Soulhorns," Yatsuhashi said, a card popping out from his deck before he slotted it into his enormous duel disk. "I then equip it to Big Benkei, allowing it to attack twice per turn."

"So some of them can equip like union monsters," Blake noted. "But attacking twice won't do you any good with your monsters in defense mode."

"On the contrary, Big Benkei's effect allows my Superheavy Samurai monsters to attack while in defense mode," Yatsuhashi replied. "They may also use their defense points for damage calculation."

Blake's amber eyes shot as wide as saucers, her friends other than Pyrrha and Ren painted with similar expressions of shock.

"They can attack while they're in defense mode?" Yang gasped. "With how many points they've got that's… really ridiculous."

"They get all the benefits and none of the downsides," Nora argued. "He doesn't even take damage when they get destroyed in battle because they're in defense mode!"

"I enter my battle phase," Yatsuhashi stated. "Superheavy Samurai Kabuto attacks Performapal Odd-Eyes Minitaurus."

The mechanical warrior lashed out with its warhammer, obliterating the horned bovine with a single strike.

Blake Belladonna: 2200 Life Points

"Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei attacks Performapal Silver Claw."

The largest machine warlord swung its staff with incredible skill and ripped the shimmering wolf in half.

Blake Belladonna: 800 Life Points

Yatsuhashi reached out his massive, muscular arm and pointed to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "For its second attack, Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei attacks Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon."

Once more, the massive samurai rocketed forward and thrust its staff toward the dancing dragon. Odd-Eyes roared in defiance and launched a counterattack of flames, but Big Benkei swiftly maneuvered around the fire spiral and smashed the vibrant beast to pieces.

Blake Belladonna: 100 Life Points

Ruby felt a rush of adrenaline leave her body as Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon left the field. She hadn't really noticed it come on in the first place, but now that it had left her, she realized that it had ramped up her body's energy the moment Blake's ace had first hit the field. Glancing over at Weiss and Yang, she saw her teammates' bodies slump, their intelligent eyes flickering about their bodies as they deduced the same thing the silver-eyed girl had.

Thinking back on what had happened at the docks, Blake had mentioned getting boosted by a strange rush of adrenaline right around when Weiss had summoned her Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon in her duel, while Ruby and Yang had gotten hit by the usual way of nausea when that had happened. But, that had been before Starving Venom or Clear Wing had properly crystallized. Was the adrenaline rush just the proper version of that nausea now that their cards could properly channel their magic into them?

"I end my turn," Yatsuhashi announced.

Across the field, Blake staggered up from her knees, her aura crackling as her life points hovered just barely above nothing.

Nora gulped. "Well, he certainly lives up to his team's reputation."

"He took from three monsters and full health to no monsters and a hundred life points in one turn," Sun worriedly remarked. "That's putting it lightly."

"It's more than that," Pyrrha assessed. "From a deck vs. deck standpoint, he's one of the worst matchups for Blake."

Nora tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Blake's Performapals rely on manipulating opposing monsters' attack points to circumvent them. They open the way for Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to use its double damage effect to wipe out the opponent in one or two shots," Pyrrha explained. "But Superheavy Samurai monsters fight in defense mode. So that primary strategy loses effectiveness."

"What about the Performapals that reduce defense points too?" Ruby asked. "Like Sword Fish?"

"Even then, Yatsuhashi's monsters are still in defense mode," Ren pointed out. "He won't take damage unless Blake can overpower them first. And raw power is not the Performapals' specialty."

"That doesn't mean Blake's out of this duel," Weiss argued. "Come on, Blake! You can do it!"

Yang nodded along to Weiss' calls, but her violet eyes were filled with more concern as they narrowed at her partner below.

Ruby knew her older sister well. She could tell Yang was worried. She was too. But less about whether Blake was capable of winning the duel, and more about whether she'd be willing to use the tactic that could let her win.

Because there was one for the Odd-Eyed Bandit to boost her deck's raw power.

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"Draw! I activate Gentrude's effect to add Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn to my hand!" Blake shouted, pulling her new cards from her deck and looking over her hand.

She'd underestimated her opponent, she wasn't too proud to admit it. Yatsuhashi had completely countered her initial assault and then stampeded over her field and her life points. Even without access to his Extra Deck, his Pendulum monster's combo had given him so much power. And due to his deck's unique nature, that power was also an ironclad defense.

The Odd-Eyed Bandit surveyed her cards and thought over the monsters in her deck. If she played her cards right, she could get her Odd-Eyes back on the field and give it enough of an attack boost to take out Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei. But she couldn't also get around his defense to deal damage, and she somehow doubted Yatsuhashi wouldn't be able to recoup his losses. And with only a hundred life points left, she needed to win fast.

But there was only one way she could get the power to do that.

Blake's amber eyes listed towards her Polymerization card, her stomach twisting in knots. She could use it. But she'd hurt them. She couldn't force them to fight for her after what she'd done to them, especially for such a meaningless duel–

"They're made from you!"

Blake's eyes whipped towards the stands, her team leader leaning over the railing as Weiss tried to yank her back by her hood. But Yang gently reached out and removed the heiress' grip from the cloak, letting her sister say her piece without interference.

"They're made from you!" Ruby called out again. "Your aura! Your soul!"

"Ruby…" Blake grumbled. "If this about getting me to teach you–"

"Forget that!" Ruby shouted. "Do you want to duel or not?"

"What?"

"Do you want to duel or not, partner?" Yang cut in. "He's coming at you with everything he's got. You gonna respect him with your Burning Soul in kind?"

"Yeah!" Ruby concurred. "Trust in them, Blake! And trust in yourself!"

"I agree with that sentiment, but you should feel no obligation to follow it if you do not feel you're ready!" Weiss added.

"That too!" Ruby chorused.

Blake blinked in confusion at her team's support, the mixed messages leaving her a bit confused what Ruby and Weiss actually meant. But Yang was loud, firm, and clear. Yatsuhashi had faced her with honor. She owed him the same, not holding herself back, even if the duel itself didn't have the highest stakes.

More than that, she owed her team to be at her best. They had her back jumping into the White Fang investigation, even after all the chaos at the docks. She had to be at her best. But she didn't know if her Fusion Monsters forgave her, and she wouldn't dare force them. Gatling Ghoul especially she wouldn't dare call out, not even speak to him.

The Pendulum Dragons, perhaps? They weren't exactly docile, but given how much they drew from Odd-Eyes, it was a better bet that she'd be able to keep even the more ferocious of them under control.

Hopefully.

"Rise from shadows, my monster. Carve an arc upon the world and reclaim our destiny. Pendulum Summon!" Blake proclaimed, slamming a card from her hand onto her field and one from her Extra Deck into her Extra Monster Zone. "Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer! And returning for an encore performance, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

Blake's ace returned to the field with a spring in its step, the dragon with duel-colored eyes dancing with excitement as if it could sense what its duelist had reluctantly decided to do. Next to its exuberance, the flourishes of the magician in the bright red coat and top hat (ATK 1500/DEF 800) looked almost pedestrian.

"Since I performed another Pendulum Summon, Soul Pendulum gains another counter. Which means my Pendulum Monsters gain six hundred attack points instead of three hundred," Blake informed her opponent, her dragon (ATK 3100) and spellcaster (ATK 2100) flexing with strength. "I then activate my Pendulum Sorcerer's effect. When it's special summoned, I can destroy up to two cards on my field and add the same amount of Performapals with different names from my deck to my hand. So I destroy Ladyange and Gentrude to add Performapal Whip Snake and Performapal Elephammer from my deck to my hand."

Yatsuhashi cocked an eyebrow as the creatures in Blake's pillars of light shattered and she pulled the cards she'd earned from Gambol Shroud. "You must have quite the trick if you're willing to sacrifice your Pendulum Scales."

"A few. I normal summon Whip Snake," Blake said, a peppy purple cobra in a top hat and bowtie curling around her arm (ATK 1700/DEF 900). "Then I activate Whip Snake's effect. Once per turn, during either duelist's main phase, it can switch a monster's current attack and defense points. So your Benkei's defenses are about to become a lot less imposing."

Blake threw her arm forward, Whip Snake uncurling to lunge across the field and bite down on Big Benkei's arm (ATK 3500/DEF 1000).

"Now I… I activate…" Blake stammered as she reached for her spell. Even as she gripped the card, she found herself shaking, hesitating.

Come on, why was this so hard? Ruby, Weiss, Mr. Xiao-Long, they'd all hammered into her head that Fusion had not turned Adam into a monster. She knew that, however much she'd tried to deny it for so long. So why was she still hesitating? Why did she still feel so afraid of using the summoning method?

"Go Blake!"

"You can do it!"

"You've got this, partner!"

Blake glanced over at her team, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all cheering their hearts out, Sun and the present members of Team JNPR all echoing their fervent encouragement. A smile cracked over the lips of the Odd-Eyed Bandit.

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon crooned back to her, an eager grin spread across the cheerful dragon's jaw. It was ready to put on a show. A new twist on old times from better days.

Blake plucked her spell from her hand and slid it into her duel disk. She had deserted the White Fang. She could never be forgiven by her Fusion Monsters for what she'd done to them. But that didn't mean she was without friends old and new.

"I activate Polymerization! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Performapal Elephammer! Fuse!" she shouted, her ace and the elephant with a top hat and hammer trunk from her hand surging into the swirling vortex. "Beast that survives in the scorching land! Mysterious dragon with dual-colored eyes! Above the ridicule and hate! Above the binding of our fate! Become one and create a new power! Fusion Summon! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

A harrowing bestial roar thundered out from the swirling vortex. A ferocious dragon stampeded forth onto the field, covered in razor-sharp spines of ivory. The beast's luminous eyes were shielded behind thick white bone armor, locking onto Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei with eager battle lust. The mighty creature hopped and danced around the Extra Monster Zone, almost like Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's excited prancing, if Odd-Eyes was excited to tear out someone's throat (ATK 3000/DEF 2000).

Yastuhashi's eyes widened, the stoic Obelisk Blue's face finally lighting up with shock. "Fusion Summon?"

"Nothing to be alarmed by, Mr. Daichi," Professor Goodwitch assured the proctor, her stern voice clearly audible even over Ruby's ecstatic fawning from the bleachers. "Summon method aside, it's just like any other monster. Proceed as normal. Ms. Belladonna?"

Blake nodded. Moment of truth time. She turned to her Fusion Monster and prayed it wouldn't go out of control like Gatling Ghoul had at the docks. "Beast-Eyes, are you okay with–"

"Raaarrrgghhh!" Beast-Eyes impatiently shrieked at her, stamping its clawed foot and eagerly grinning at Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei.

Blake gulped. Her dragon may not have been a big fan of hers, but it seemed to be more excited about finally getting to battle again than tearing her a new one. Though, it was anyone's guess how long it'd stay under her control if she didn't hurry up and let it attack. "Beast Eyes Pendulum Dragon attack Superheavy Samurai Kig Benkei. Hell Dive Burst!"

Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon let out a jubilant screech of joy and charged toward the enormous mechanical samurai. The dragon's jaws opened and a stream of flames erupted from its maw. The fire took the shape of Performapal Elephammer, the material monster lunging out from its fusion to incinerate the noble enemy.

And once it burned through Big Benkei, the sapient blaze kept going and smashed into Yatsuhashi. The towering Mistral boy's eyes widened in surprise as the conflagration flooded over him, raising his bulky arms as he weathered the bestial flames.

Yatsuhashi Daichi: 1400 Life Points

"When Beast-Eyes destroys a monster in battle, it also deals you damage equal to its Beast-Type fusion material's attack points. And from Elephammer, that's twenty-six hundred," Blake revealed.

"It does?!" Nora squeaked up from the stands. "But since Yatsuhashi's only got one more monster and she's got… oh, yeah! Go Blake!"

"Finish him off!" Weiss shouted.

"You've got this!" Ruby yelled.

"Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer attacks Superheavy Samurai Kabuto," Blake commanded.

Pendulum Sorcerer twirled across the field, gracefully removing its top hat and blasting sparking fireworks into Yatsuhashi's final defender. The mighty machine warrior exploded, Blake's opponent left vulnerable to her last monster.

Her last monster with enough attack points to wipe out his life points.

"Performapal Whip Snake!" Blake finally yelled, throwing her cobra toward Team CFVY's giant. "Attack him directly!"

Ruby, Sun, Weiss, and Nora cheered, even Ren smiling from the bleachers. But Blake did not celebrate just yet. After all, Yang and Pyrrha were both frowning from the stands.

And Yatsuhashi didn't even look worried.

"When you declare a direct attack, the effect of the Superheavy Samurai Helper in my graveyard activates," the towering Team CFVY member informed his opponent, removing the mentioned monster and another card from his graveyard. "I banish it, and I can summon another Superheavy Samurai from my graveyard. Big Benkei returns."

Performapal Whip Snake immediately dashed back to Blake, the purple serpent shivering as the massive mechanical samurai returned on its knees, all thirty-five hundred defense points back in action.

Blake scowled. "I end my turn."

Darn it! She thought she'd had him. She'd needed to have him! She'd gambled on Fusion to end him and the second-year had still fended her off. And if he pulled off the same kind of trick he'd pulled when she'd thought she'd had him in the first round, who knew if she'd be able to survive…

… which didn't matter. The duel was as low stakes as could be. So why was she getting so invested in it?

Ruby and Yang's question rang through her head. Not about having her teach fusion, but simply "Did she want to duel or not?"

Did she? She wanted to fight injustice, to redeem herself for the mistakes of her past. But did wanting to duel even enter into it?

"Draw. I special summon Superheavy Samurai Spy," Yatsuhashi announced, a new version of the robot ninja he'd summoned before manifesting before him. "I activate its effect, tributing it to set a spell or trap card from your graveyard."

Superheavy Samurai Spy pulled out a kunai on a line and threw it into Blake's graveyard, ripping her Pot of Greed onto his field. In an instant, the Team CFVY member had two more cards in his hands as his Spy exploded.

"I activate Performapal Whip Snake's effect!" Blake shouted. "Your Big Benkei's attack and defense points are switched."

Whip Snake lunged across the field and bit into Big Benkei (ATK 3500/DEF 1000) once again.

Yatsuhashi glanced down at his hand, his stoic expression returned as he carefully examined his cards. "I activate Monk Warrior Big Benkei's pendulum effect. I add Superheavy Samurai Soulblaster Gauntlet to my hand. Then I equip Big Benkei with Superheavy Samurai Soulbreaker Armor."

Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei buckled a bit as a giant red and black skull shield manifested in its arms (DEF 0).

Blake cocked an eyebrow. "You made your monster even weaker."

"And unable to be destroyed by battle," Yatsuhashi explained, causing the cat faunus to gasp. "You've proven yourself a clever opponent. I'm taking no chances."

"How flattering," Blake grumbled.

"It is meant to be," Yatsuhashi assured her. "Now, Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei attacks Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer."

"What?!" Blake exclaimed. "It has zero defense points! Why would you–"

"I discard Superheavy Samurai Soulblaster Gauntlet from my hand to the graveyard," Yatsuhashi proclaimed, slipping one of the two remaining cards into his graveyard slot. "Big Benkei's defense points rise to double its original defense."

"It still has zero–" Blake's eyes widened. "Did you say original defense?!"

Yatsuhashi nodded, a giant rocket gauntlet shoving his ace monster across the field (DEF 7000). The towering mechanical samurai raised his staff, Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer looking utterly puny under its shadow.

"I discard Performapal Inflater Tapir!" Blake frantically shouted, shoving the monster from her hand into the graveyard. "Neither of us takes any battle damage from this battle!"

The spectre of a giant purple anteater flashed in front of Blake just as Big Benkei's staff fell and obliterated Pendulum Sorcerer. Even still, the shockwave nearly drove the Odd-Eyed Bandit to her knees.

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"I end my turn," Yatsuhashi said, his imposing Big Benkei returning to his side.

"Don't give up, Blake!" Ruby called, the cat faunus staggering back to her feet below. "You survived the round! You can still win this! You just have to destroy Soulbreaker Armor and you have him!"

"No. She won't."

Ruby whipped towards Pyrrha, both the Invincible Girl and Yang frowning at the duel below.

"I assume it has something to do with why he didn't go after Whip Snake?" Yang spoke up.

Pyrrha nodded. "If Soulbreaker Armor is in the graveyard, it can be banished to deal damage to the opponent equal to the difference between a Superheavy Samurai's current defense points and its original defense points."

"So if Blake takes it out, it'll open her up to the final blow!" Sun gasped.

Weiss scowled. "It seems Mr. Daichi took a page out of Mercury Black's playbook."

"Yeah, well Jaune beat Mercury," Ruby reminded them all. "So Blake can win this duel!"

"I set Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn in my Pendulum Zone! Then I activate Whip Snake's effect to switch Big Benkei's attack and defense points!" Blake announced, staggering on her feet as a fluffy uniform rose up in a new pillar of light next to her and her cobra with a top hat lunged back across the field to bite Big Benkei for a third time (ATK 2500/DEF 1000). "Then I activate Duelist Alliance! Since I have a card in my Pendulum Zone, I can add a 'Pendulum' Pendulum Monster or spell or trap card from my deck to my hand. I choose Pendulum Halt, which I'll then activate! Since I have three or more face-up Pendulum Monsters in my Extra Deck, I draw two cards!"

"But she can't add cards from the deck to her hand for the remainder of the duel," Yang murmured.

"It's the same all-or-nothing card she used against me," Weiss recalled.

Blake's amber eyes glanced over her two new cards, her brow furrowed in conflicted thought. Eventually, however, the cat faunus flipped one of her cards into her far right pendulum zone. "I complete my Pendulum Scales with Performapal Trump Witch."

"Trump Witch?" Ruby muttered, the colorful spellcaster rising into a second glowing pillar. "Is that–"

"The monster that Blake tributed to search Polymerization at the docks?" Yang finished with a nod. "Yup. That's the one."

"But she didn't summon it," Sun pointed out. "Won't that be a problem? She can't tribute it if it's in the pendulum zone."

"I normal summon Performapal Helpprincess!" Blake yelled, a peppy girl wielding a staff with a gloved hand on it (ATK 1200/DEF 1200) hopping onto the field before her. "Then I activate Performapal Trump Witch's pendulum effect! I can fusion summon using monsters on my field!"

"... oh," Sun noted, Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Performapal Helpprincess surging into a swirling fusion vortex. "That explains that."

"She's fusion summoning with a monster effect!" Ruby salivated, excitedly hopping up and down. "That's so cool! Go, Blake!"

"Ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes! Princess warrior who brings aid to all! Above the ridicule and hate! Above the binding of our fate! Become one and create a courageous dragon burning with sublime eyes! Fusion Summon!" Blake roared, clasping her hands together with furious anger. "Brave-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

A blaze of colors erupted from the fusion vortex, a giant scarlet dragon marching through the flames and emerging onto the battlefield as if freshly forged from lava. Where Beast-Eyes had been savage and battle-hungry, the new creature held itself with dignified nobility, gleaming metal armor shimmering across its elegant form (ATK 3000/DEF 2000).

"Ooo, pretty!" Ruby gushed, before chuckling as her mind made some funny connections in her head. "It's like the Weiss of Blake's fusion monsters!"

"Ha!" Yang cackled. "You're right, sis. All stuffy and proper."

"I think you mean dignified and poised," Weiss replied, though with a sincere smile at the good-natured ribbing from her teammates. "Though, I suppose if I'm Brave-Eyes, then you'd be Beast-Eyes."

Yang smirked. "Badass and kickass?"

"More like thick-headed and reckless."

"Ha!" Yang laughed. "Nice one, Ice Queen!"

"Hehehe," Ruby sniggered. "I wonder which Pendulum Dragon I am–"

"Odd-Eyes," Weiss and Yang declared in sync. Nora, Ren, and Sun all solemnly nodded in agreement.

"What?" Ruby brushed off with a snort and a wave. "Come on. Odd-Eyes is literally mystically linked to Blake."

"It's peppy," Sun pointed out.

"Hyperactive," Weiss added.

"The most adorable little thing to every hop around a duel field!" Yang exclaimed, wrapping Ruby in a loving bear hug.

"Ah! Gah!" Ruby gasped, her air flow cut off. "Tell my story!"

Below in the arena, Blake gulped as she nervously gazed on Brave-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "Brave-Eyes?"

Her fusion monster scoffed at her words, but it maintained its noble composure. No outbursts or sudden rampages of destruction. So, not as good as it could be, but it could be worst.

Still, Blake flinched at her dragon's dismissal, taking a deep breath and steeling her face across at Yatushashi, forcefully pointing at her opponent's ace. "Brave-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Attack Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei! Red-Hot Mega-Flame Burst!"

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed, smashing her hands on the bleachers' railing as Ruby finally managed to escape Yang's embrace. "What are you doing, Blake?! Even if its defense points are lower, it still can't be destroyed in battle!"

"At the end of the damage step, when a monster Brave-Eyes battles isn't destroyed by that battle, it's banished!" Blake shouted, Brave-Eyes laying down its tail to stabilize itself as a blinding star of heat built in its maw.

Yatsuhashi said nothing, his face stoic as he raised his arm to shield his eyes from the twinkling glare of Brave-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's attack.

"Yeah!" Nora cheered. "Take him, Blake!"

Ruby pumped her fist. "Brave-Eyes can take out Big Benkei and then Whip Snake can attack for the win! She's got this–Pyrrha, why are you frowning?"

"Huh?" Pyrrha blinked, finding all her friends' eyes on her. "Oh, it's nothing."

"Don't be shy, P-Money," Yang encouraged. "You're still thinking about how he left Whip Snake out?"

Pyrrha winced but nodded. "Even if he had the Soulbreaker Armor, it feels like destroying Whip Snake would still have been the wiser move."

"The armor lowers Big Benkei's defense points to lower than the Pendulum Dragons' already," Weiss pointed out. "Maybe he didn't think it'd matter?"

"Maybe. But it can interfere with his own attacks on his turn too. Why take that risk–" Pyrrha's words halted, her emerald eyes widening in realization. "Unless it didn't matter."

Sun quirked his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Yang paled, her own face blanketed with understanding. "He searched a second one to hide the first."

"Huh?" Nora asked. "What are you talking about?"

Ruby whipped over the railing, panic covering her face as she put together what Pyrrha and Yang had figured out. "Blake! Stop your attack!"

"Huh?" Blake said far too late, Brave-Eyes Pendulum Dragon unleashing off a gleaming beam of fire.

Yatsuhashi flipped around the final card in his hand and slipped it into his graveyard.

"Superheavy Samurai Soulblaster Gauntlet," the giant of Team CFVY announced. "Its effect activates and raises Big Benkei's defense points to double its original."

"Oh no!" Blake shrieked.

Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei rocketed across the battlefield, smashing its equipped Soulbreaker Armor into the torrent of searing flames. The mighty mechanical warrior bulldozed through the dragon's blaze, its metal flesh glowing red-hot as it charged closer and closer to Brave-Eyes.

At last, Brave-Eyes Pendulum Dragon finally stopped breathing fire, the elegant dragon panting for breath. Just as Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei towered over it…

… and melted into a puddle of slag.

Blake, Yatsuhashi, Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, and the rest of the students all blinked in complete and utter befuddlement.

"Wha… what just happened?" Blake sputtered.

Professor Goodwitch investigated her scroll. As the referee, her device was linked to the duel arena's training scanners which analyzed the cards' effects and interactions. She looked up after a few moments, her gaze on Blake. "It seems your strategy was successful, Ms. Belladonna. It remains your battle phase."

"My strategy?" Blake queried. "But… he used his Soulblaster Gauntlet–"

"Which has zero attack points. Your Brave-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's passive ability negates all the activated abilities of monsters with zero attack points," Professor Goodwitch explained, frowning as her piercing eyes narrowed at the Odd-Eyed Bandit. "Now, again, it is still your battle phase."

"I… I… yes, ma'am," Blake stammered, throwing her arms forward and launching Performapal Whip Snake across the field. "Whip Snake! Direct attack!"

The purple cobra gleefully twisted and contorted its body into silly balloon animal shapes as it flew through the air, tipping its top hat to Yatsuhashi before baring its fangs as it dove downward. The giant of Team CFVY chuckled at the serpent's antics, smiling as he raised his bulky arm for it to bite.

The snake's teeth fell and his aura shattered.

Yatsuhashi Daichi: 0 Life Points

Winner: Blake Belladonna

"Uh… yeah!" Ruby shouted. "Great job, Blake–"

"Silence, Ms. Rose."

"Yes, ma'am," Ruby squeaked, the exuberant girl and all her friends cowed into silence by Professor Goodwitch's curt tongue.

The arena's hardlight dust barrier faded away, along with Brave-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Performapal Whip Snake as Professor Goodwitch marched onto the dueling dais. As the clacking of her high heels stalked closer and closer to Blake, Ruby thought the Odd-Eyed Bandit would have felt safer if they remained.

The cat faunus lowered her amber gaze as the deputy headmistress towered over her with her terrifying emerald gaze.

"I… I won," Blake gulped, obviously praying that fact would save her.

Professor Goodwitch nodded. "By the parameters of this test, you did. By this time tomorrow, you will be wearing a blue jacket. Though, if I was not bound to this examination's requirements, you can rest assured you'd be in red."

"What do you want from me?!" Blake shouted, her head shooting up, only for her face to fall back down the moment her teacher's gaze narrowed another centimeter.

"Mr. Daichi," Glynda spoke up.

"Ma'am," Yatsuhashi dutifully respond.

"Please read the type classifications for your Superheavy Samurai Prodigy Wakaushi," Professor Goodwitch said, sparing a flint of vexation for the proctor. "Do not hold back."

Ruby didn't know why the deputy headmistress was annoyed with Yatsuhashi. The guy may have lost, but he'd dueled great. But the Team CFVY member's flinch at the professor's words as he pulled the Pendulum Monster card from his graveyard let the red-hooded girl know that there was something under them that she didn't know about.

"Machine. Effect. Pendulum," Yatsuhashi paused for a moment, only to finally bite out… "Tuner."

Ruby's throat caught with surprise. Down below, Blake's face had gone bone-white.

"Tuner," Blake repeated. "So he can–"

"Synchro Summon, yes," Professor Goodwitch confirmed. "Mr. Daichi held back, way back, on his first turn. You failed to capitalize on it, and because of that were nearly annihilated when he used a fraction of his true strength."

"I fusion summoned eventually," Blake mumbled. "Besides, according to the exam–"

"Proctors are discouraged from using their Extra Decks, not forbidden. You won due to your opponent's mercy," Glynda lectured. "Do you think those you encounter in your team's upcoming 'extracurricular activities' will hold back as such? Or do you think you'll be saved every time by a fortunate bit of effect interaction like you were today?"

Team RWBY's eyes all widened, Blake's face shooting up. "Extracur–I don't know what you're talking about–"

"I am not blind. And it is only due to the headmaster's wishes that I am turning a blind eye to what occurred at the docks last semester and what you all are doubtlessly planning to follow it up with now," Professor Goodwitch warned. "To be a hunting duelist is to be ready to duel with all your strength at all times. Get your house in order, Ms. Belladonna. Or the next time you risk your advantage holding yourself back may not go your way. Understood?"

With her entire body trembling under the professor's gaze, Blake slowly managed a nod.

"Return to locker room A and clean yourself up," Professor Goodwitch ordered, spinning around and marching off the dais. "Ms. Rose, proceed to locker room B and prepare yourself. Your proctor will be arriving shortly."

Ruby gulped. "Yes, ma'am."

Yet, the red-hooded Slifer Red found she could not move her feet as her silver eyes remained focused on her faunus teammate below, the victor of her duel.

She didn't look it.

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"RRaaagggghhhh!" Blake roared, feral and frustrated as her fist streaked for her assigned locker door.

Only for a firm palm to keep her knuckles from striking metal. The cat faunus's furious amber gaze whipped towards the person attached to the offending hand, only to find her fury met by a calm, stoic facade.

"I do not doubt that you could defeat that locker," Yatsuhashi said. "But it would be impolite to make the school pay the repair cost."

Blake took a deep breath and retracted her fist from the taller boy's palm, cradling her knuckles as she unfurled her hand. "Sorry."

"It's no trouble. I wanted to thank you for an honorable duel," her upperclassman said. "Whatever tension there is between you and those 'Fusion Monsters' of yours."

"That's… my fault," Blake sighed.

Yatsuhashi hummed. "I do not wish to intrude, but if you have anything you need to get off your chest, you can rest assured that no one will ever hear what you say from me. Come tomorrow, I will not even remember what occurred in our duel."

Blake cocked her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"My semblance allows me to erase memories," Yatsuhashi said, the gentle giant holding up a palm to stall the frantic response from Blake. "I know, I know. It is dangerous but I have learned to control it safely over the years. Professor Ozpin asked me to be your proctor knowing that I could erase my memories of your true identity and any other sensitive information disclosed through our duel. I suspect he was thinking of your Fusion Monsters?"

"Probably," Blake admitted. "You're really fine with learning the infamous Odd-Eyed Bandit is at your school and then just forgetting about it."

"I trust the headmaster would not have let you in without good reason," Yatsuhashi said. "And you've been here for a semester already and caused no trouble. If you're really here to change, then I see no reason to deny you a second chance. This academy gave me one, after all."

Blake's brow furrowed. She hadn't actually believed that Ozpin had bought the story they'd given the police about the docks, but the headmaster was even craftier than she'd given him credit for, using Yatsuhashi's loyalty and semblance to test her abilities without risking her identity being exposed and the inevitable political and media backlash he'd suffer for sheltering her. But if her senpai was offering an ear with literally no strings attached, she couldn't say she couldn't use one.

"For a long time I blamed my Fusion Monsters for… something that wasn't their fault," Blake confessed. "I demonized them, ostracized them. My team helped me get my head on straight, but that doesn't fix the hurt I caused my monsters. How can I ask them to fight for me after that? How can they forgive me?"

"I don't know," Yatsuhashi said. "Have you tried asking them?"

Blake stumbled back as if one of his Superheavy Samurai had struck her. "What?"

"Have you tried asking them for forgiveness?" Yatsuhashi repeated.

"Asking them…" Blake stuttered. "It's not that simple!"

"Sometimes, it is not. But sometimes it is," Yatsuhashi shrugged. "I grew up disagreeing with my family on… many points regarding our dojo's view on the faunus. I came here instead of Haven to get away from their influence. But I found when I arrived that I was not nearly so enlightened as I'd thought. I made many mistakes that hurt my partner, Velvet, and I retreated into myself out of shame. It was only after I made my intentions, if not my actions, clear by standing with my team in the incident that earned us our reputation that she… what was that phrase you said about your team? 'Helped me get my head on straight'? She called me a big dummy for taking so long to just ask for her forgiveness."

"And you think my monsters are the same?" Blake queried. "That they're just waiting for me to ask for forgiveness?"

"Your Beast-Eyes and Brave-Eyes both followed your commands during the duel despite the tension between you," the giant of Team CFVY pointed out. "If you do not run from them, they may not run from you."

Blake opened her mouth to respond…

… but she didn't have a response.

"Regardless, please impart the details of my memory wipe to your friends so that there is no confusion if they encounter me later. And despite the fact that I will not remember what occurred today, please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you need anything," Yatsuhashi said. He turned to go, only to pause and smile back at her. "Oh, and welcome to the Obelisk Blue track."

With that, the towering Mistralian boy strode out of the locker room. Leaving Blake behind with quite a bit to think about it.

"Hey! Blake!" Sun called, tentatively knocking on the doorway of the locker room. "You okay? You up for watching Ruby's duel or… you know… not?"

Blake took a deep breath and reached into a deck box on her belt. "I'm… I'm alright."

"You sure?" Sun asked, gently approaching her. "Taking a Goodwitch dressing down isn't something people expect you to just walk away from. Rumor is she can browbeat a Goliath into dropping dead."

Blake let out a snort of laughter. "I imagine she could. Fortunately, I left a shadow clone behind to take that hit."

Sun flashed a mischievous grin. "Was that a joke? Did you just make a joke? Should I take a picture, because Yang is going to want this moment preserved for the posterity of history?"

"Oh, shut up," Blake playfully shoved. While also planting the deck box from her belt in his open Ra Yellow Jacket.

Sun cocked an eyebrow. The Haven student reached into his jacket and opened up the deck box, his eyes widening as he did. "Your X-Saber cards?"

"They deserve someone who can use them to their full potential," Blake declared. "I'm grateful for their help, but I can't keep holding them back. From what I saw at the docks, that won't be a problem with you."

"I mean, sure, we can kick butt together," Sun relented. "But what about you? If you use your Performapals in class, won't everyone find out who you are?"

"As long as I don't use Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, I'm just a human girl who happens to use Performapals. Even if people suspect, and you'd be surprised how many people the bow keeps from suspecting, they can't do anything without proof," Blake said, her amber eyes glancing down at her true deck, still slotted into Gambol Shroud. "Besides, I think it's best that I don't have a disguise deck. As long as I have one, I'll be tempted to run away from my real cards. And they deserve better than that. Better than me at my worst."

Sun smiled and stowed the X-Saber cards in his jacket. "I don't think you're at your worst. You were afraid of your Fusion Monsters, but you trusted them in that duel."

"A duel with no stakes," Blake grumbled. "No real stakes."

"A duel's a duel," Sun remarked with a shrug. "And a real duelist respects an opponent giving it their all by giving it their all. There'd be no fun in it otherwise."

Blake's brow pensively furrowed. "Fun, huh."

How long had it been since she'd truly dueled for fun? Semester break on Patch with her team was the first time she could remember in years. As Adam's darker self had come out, sparring matches went from friendly competitions between Fang members to just brutal training sessions for the fights ahead. Her cards came dangerously close to being her weapons rather than her friends.

But before that, she did remember such duels. Sienna teasing her as she helped her finetune her strategies, facing her mom in training matches under the stars, even her playful matches with Adam and Ilia during the nascent years of their friendship. She didn't know when she'd stopped being able to truly enjoy duels like that with all her heart.

But if she'd started enjoying herself back on Patch, with her team, maybe there was hope that, someday, she might be able to do so again.

After she stopped the White Fang.

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"Quite the duel, Mr. Daichi," Ozpin remarked, the stoic member of Team CFVY dutifully entering his office, sparing a small nod of greeting to Ironwood before striding up to the headmaster's desk and presenting himself. "Though, one that does require an explanation."

"Understandable, sir," Yatsuhashi replied, standing at attention with his hands folded behind his back. "Though for clarity's sake, perhaps you should be more specific as to what you'd like me to explain?"

Ozpin allowed a frown to seep over his lips. "Why you did not go all out against Ms. Belladonna as I instructed you to."

He had not chosen Team RWBY's proctors at random. He wanted the girls pushed to their limits, to force their magic to the surface so that he could gain a better understanding of what he was dealing with. Yatsuhashi's semblance was convenient for keeping Ms. Belladonna's identity a secret, but it was his Superheavy Samurai deck's natural advantage over the Performapals' standard tactics that made Ozpin choose him for the job.

A job where he had, uncharacteristically, failed to follow through on his teacher's instructions.

"The parameters of the examination were well-known. Despite your orders and her unusual circumstances, I felt that Blake deserved as fair a shot as anyone else at promotion and so chose not to use my Synchro monsters," Yatsuhashi explained. "I take full responsibility for my actions and will accept any punishment you deem necessary."

Ozpin took in an immensely vexed breath in through his nostrils… and then let it out.

"No punishment necessary, Mr. Daichi. After all, you will not remember today's events beyond my telling you that you would serve as proctor in an unusual match that required you to forgot the duel itself for the other student's safety," the headmaster noted. "Report to Dr. Oobleck so he can make sure you're safe after using your semblance."

Yatsuhashi nodded, giving one short bow to his headmaster, then the general, and finally exiting the office.

"Not even a slap on the wrist?" Ironwood inquired.

"He won't remember what he's being disciplined for," Ozpin shrugged. "There'd be no point."

"Fair," Ironwood sighed, shaking his head. "Still, I wish there was. Knowing how to follow orders, even those you don't know the exact reasoning behind, is crucial for a hunting duelist. Doing whatever he wants could get him, and the people he'll be protecting, killed in the field."

"You are not wrong," Ozpin conceded. "Still, as inconvenient as it is for us, I do not wish to punish a duelist for doing what he sees is right, rather than what would be easy."

"In my experience, following orders isn't often easy," the general countered, before a fond smile graced his lips. "Though, I can assure you that the proctor you asked me for is more than up to the task. She won't hold back. Though whether Ms. Rose will be able to survive long enough for us to see what she's mystically capable of is anyone's guess."

Ozpin rose to his feet, snatched up his Long Memory cane, and strode for the door. "Shall we go see?"

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"Chillin' out with your crew in the schoolyard. Findin' trouble, never lookin' too hard," Ruby merrily hummed as she skipped through the locker room and retrieved Crescent Rose and her deck from her locker. "Well back at class they never taught us this. Some things you gotta learn, hit or miss."

All thoughts of Professor Goodwitch's hairraising dressing down of Blake were forgotten when Sun had returned to the stands with the Odd-Eyed Bandit and confirmed that she hadn't been destroyed by the deputy headmistress' blunt appraisal. Now, there was just the afterglow of victory, with the last of her teammates confirmed to be rising to Obelisk Blue. And, more importantly, the excitement of an impending duel that would finally allow Ruby to undo the mistakes of that cursed written test.

But, most importantly, she was about to get to duel an opponent that was, as Professor Ozpin put it, 'equally suitable' to Pyrrha! Woo! The only thing that could make the day better was–

"Salutations, my friend Ruby!"

Ruby immediately slammed her locker door shut and whirled around to the source of the familiar peppy voice, finding, as expected, the Obelisk Blue who'd been ghosting her all break. "Penny?!"

The bushy-haired robot girl waved at the Beacon Slifer Red. "Again, salutations. I hope you have been well during the semester break."

"Uh, I was," Ruby confirmed, before approaching her friend with concern. "What about you? You didn't respond to any of my texts. General Ironwood said you were helping your dad with some research?"

Penny winced. "I was."

"And you couldn't just shoot back a quick text that you were busy?"

"I… could have," Penny confessed. "But the general asked me to remain out of contact with you until he finished his background check of you."

Ruby cocked an eyebrow. "Background check?"

"I may have mentioned that you had a Fusion Monster with Creation and Destruction Magic during my debrief about what happened at the docks," Penny nervously said. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Ruby shrugged. "I'm not trying to keep Starving Venom a secret or anything."

"Oh," Penny remarked. "What about your Signer status? Is that a secret?"

"Not really. I got the mark and I'm proud of it," Ruby smiled.

"Sensational!" Penny declared. "Be aware, I may have neglected to mention that you know… what I am."

Ruby giggled. "Gotcha. I'll make sure to keep that secert for you. But given you're here, in this locker room, at this time… are you my proctor?"

"Affirmative! Headmaster Ozpin asked for me personally," Penny confirmed, only for a guilty look to overtake her face. "But Ruby… I've been ordered to go all-out against you."

"All-out?" Ruby queried, a gleam of excitement lighting in her eyes. "As in… Extra Deck? As in, in your case, Link Monsters?"

"Yes," Penny admitted, looking away in shame. "I don't know why they're encouraging me to do so rather than discouraging me like the other proctors, but I admit that I feel… conflicted about the orders. You deserve a fair chance at promotion, so… perhaps I should simply use my main deck–"

"Don't you dare!" Ruby pleaded, rushing up to her robotic friend and grabbing her metal shoulders. "After how awesome you were at the docks? No way am I missing out on a chance to duel you all out!"

Penny's eyes narrowed, her eyes flashing with green and purple computer static as she examined Ruby more closely. "You realize you will lose if you do that, right? Did you receive any head injuries over the break? It won't be a fair chance at a promotion."

"I'm trying to jump up two tracks at once. Makes sense that what's fair to the others' tests wouldn't apply," Ruby eagerly said. "Come on! The two of us dueling with everything we got, clashing our monsters and souls! It'll be awesome!"

"Well, not everything I've got. The general ordered me to maintain the classified nature of Fusion Summoning," Penny revealed. "Sorry."

"Drat," Ruby deflated, only to suddenly perk up with an idea. "You said the general knows I have a Fusion Monster, right?"

Penny nodded. "He does."

"Well then, say that I win this duel," Ruby mischievously proposed. "Do you think maybe he wouldn't ask questions about where I learned to summon it?"

And now it seems we're back to this 10k word chapter nonsense. How lovely.

This duel was a lot of fun to write. Superheavy Samurai is a really deck to play with a bunch of unique gimmicks, but I was really surprised with how many unique interactions I ended up getting to play with by putting them up against Blake, as well as how unique a challenge it ended up being for her as she slowly works at moving forward from her issues. Plus, the background dealings of Ozpin and Glynda getting annoyed at Yatsuhashi's honesty messing up their plans was really fun to include.

But, I will freely admit, the upcoming duel of Ruby vs. Penny is the match I've been most excited for in this arc from the very beginning. And if I do it right, it's gonna be an epic one. :)

Remember to check out and add to this story's TVTROPES PAGE! I check my stories' pages often and I always enjoy it when they grow. :)

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!