GT: Welcome to the second arc: the Standard Arc! And Day 22 of Mega May!
Yuya flinched at the bright light that turned on.
"Name, Age, Occupation," Chaud instructed.
"Yuya Sakaki, 16 years old. I'm a high-school student, a Dueltainer, and creator of Pendulum Summoning," Yuya replied after a moment to adjust to the bright light.
"I'm sure the others have been telling you about what's been going on, right?"
"Well, yeah. About you getting everyone possible together to do interviews with for the Dimension War," Yuya replied.
"Yes. Now then…Yuya, you created Pendulum Summoning, correct?"
"Yeah. When I did, I was remembering words my father used to tell me about how life is like a Pendulum and I…I just wanted it to swing. To swing further and farther, to become even greater," Yuya replied as he pulled out Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Timegazer Magician, and Stargazer Magician, "And then my cards transformed into what you see now. I gotta thank Mr. Famous later for helping with errata for them all. Especially for my magicians and making it continuous and not just…"
"Focus on the war, Yuya," Chaud interrupted him from rambling, "Reports say you forgot how you did it just after winning against the current Champion at the time."
"Well…it's because I really did forget. The last thing I remembered was drawing Timegazer and then the Action Duel was over," Yuya replied, "It was honestly scary when I had time to think about it later…still is when I think about it now given what we know about it."
Chaud nodded, "So let's move on then to what happened the next day, shall we?"
"Sure," Yuya nodded.
-TWO YEARS AGO-
"Mr. President, we've identified the boy," a man spoke to a young man with silver hair in glasses, a blue long-sleeved turtleneck, gray slacks, and a long red scarf.
"Proceed," the younger man ordered as he sat down at a desk before a screen turned on, displaying pictures of Yuya.
"His name is Yuya Sakaki, son of Yoko Sakaki and Yusho Sakaki," the older man informed, "He is 14 years old and an eighth grade student in the Miami City school system. He's been classified as a Junior Youth in Dueling, attending the You Show School founded by his father and family friend Syuzo Hiiragi." the man tapped his tablet and the screen changed to show the boy's Dueling stats, "These are his records at this time."
"Hmm…An even fifty-fifty split," the younger man noted, bringing his hands together, "So…the son of the missing Yusho Sakaki, who vanished three years ago, performed a completely unknown kind of Summoning Method." he stood up, "Investigate everything about him immediately. Report to me anything about the Pendulum Summon method, no matter how trivial."
"Understood, sir," the man replied as he left.
Lan let out a yawn as he stretched in the large bed, wearing blue pajamas. He glanced over at the clock and nearly did a double-take on the late time of 1:45 in the afternoon. Lan blinked a few times before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, realizing that it really had been a long time since he had a soft, comfortable bed. He pulled the covers off him…and blinked a few times. Sound asleep with her arms around his waist was Maylu, wearing a rose pink negligee that left his cheeks heating up with a blush. The sound of a camera clicking made him swiftly turn to see a smirking Yuto at the door, his Duel Disk displaying a camera feature.
"So…not in a relationship, are we?"
"G-Go blow it out your butthole," Lan stuttered.
"Just wake her up and get dressed," Yuto scoffed, "We're supposed to be going to that You Show place, remember?"
"O-Oh yeah…right…" Lan mumbled.
"I'll leave it to ya to get dressed. Don't make me come back here and find a sock on the door," Yuto warned in amusement, quickly getting out of there before Lan's Duel Disk bounced off the closed door.
"Jerk," Lan huffed before soft mumbling made him look down to see Maylu waking up.
"Mmm…Lan, it's too early for this…" Maylu mumbled, slowly sitting up and rubbing an eye.
"It's almost two in the afternoon, Maylu," Lan pointed out, making her do a double-take.
"We slept in that late?" Maylu asked.
"Well these are comfy beds," Lan pointed out, "...Another nightmare?"
"..." Maylu nodded, looking down in sadness.
Lan held her hand before she got into his lap and wrapped her arms around him. It had been a recurring issue ever since the invasion. Random nightmares that she'd always awake from…always about the invasion and then what Yuri did to their last bastion of hope in their home dimension after they started living in the Xyz Dimension. Lan let her get it out of her system, listening to another tale of destruction, Carding, and hearing voices of her friends and family asking why she failed to save them.
"Okay…why the scarves and sunglasses?" Lan questioned, wearing an orange shirt with jean shorts and his red cloth wrapped around his upper right arm, as he looked at Yuto and Ruri in sunglasses and scarves.
"We'd rather not have them shocked the first time we properly meet," Ruri replied.
"Yeah. I mean, Yuya and Yuzu have our faces," Yuto huffed.
"...Your point? Lots of folks back home had similar faces at times," Lan shrugged.
"...No wonder you two weren't weirded out by matching faces," Yuto muttered.
"It kinda is…" Maylu sheepishly scratched her cheek, wearing a pink sundress with an open jean jacket over it.
"Okay, if this map app is right, the You Show Duel School is right around…" Lan said as they turned a corner…and stopped, seeing a large crowd gathered before a small school of sorts, "Oh."
"Tch. Seems everyone wants to join," Yuto frowned.
"And for all the wrong reasons, too," Lan added, earning confused looks, "They all wanna learn Pendulum Summoning, but given what we saw, I don't think they have anything even remotely ready for teaching it, let alone distribute it."
"This feels like when you and Megaman obtained Double Soul," Maylu sighed.
"Yeah…That was nuts," Lan grimaced, "So many folks getting worked up over something Megaman and me had while we had next to no clue how it worked at the time and then finding out only Megaman could do it because of his Ultimate Program. Really glad that Chaud's company was able to make the Cross System to let others try to make a Double Soul for everyone."
"A what?" Yuto raised a brow.
"An ability Megaman has. By using a certain kind of Element, Megaman gains the powers of another NetNavi to use in battle," Lan explained, "Think of it like…a monster effect where you can equip another monster to them and that monster gains everything about the equipped monster."
"Interesting," Ruri noted, relieved by the comparison to better understand, "Still…" she looked back at the school, "What do we do now?"
"Oh wow~!"
"So many people want to come join the You Show Duel School!"
The four turned around to see a pair of kids around eight years of age. One was a rather plump boy in overalls and a lime hoodie with olive-colored hair swept to the left side of his body. The other was an adorable girl with red hair, a plaid bandana, a pale pink shirt, a red plaid skirt, and gold eyes. Lan chuckled, adjusting his own bandana.
"You two are students here?" Lan asked.
"O-Oh! Yes, we are!" the girl replied, "I'm Ayu, Ayu Ayukawa!"
"My name's Futoshi Harada," the boy added, "Are you wanting to join, too?"
"Yep!" Lan replied, "We just came into the city yesterday and Yuya's Duel was the first time we ever saw an Action Duel before!"
"Really?!" Ayu gasped.
"We're from far out where nobody's heard of Action Duels before," Ruri explained, crouching down a little to let the kids better focus on her, "Is there any chance we can speak to Yuya Sakaki?" she pulled out the strange card and showed it to them, "His father was my teacher for a little while."
"!? You know Mr. Sakaki?!" Ayu gasped.
"I do. He gave me a copy of Smile World, after all," Ruri replied.
"Smile World?"
"All monsters on the field gain a hundred Attack points for all the monsters out on the field," Yuto explained, "With Ruri's Deck, it's a real dangerous weapon."
"Mmm…" Ayu looked at the large line out front, "In that case…" she grabbed Ruri's hand and the older girl was 'pulled' by her, "We'll go in through the back door!"
"Yeah, yeah! Come on!" Futoshi beamed, "Yuya will be so excited to meet a student of his dad's!"
"For those who wish to apply to our Duel School, please fill out these application forms with your names!" Yuzu beamed, standing in an office before a sign-in window and showing an application form to the large crowd.
"Yes!"
"I wanna enroll!"
"Me too! Me too!"
"Here, here, here!"
"So noisy…" Yuto muttered from the elevator as it slid open.
"You said it," Lan agreed, "...Hey, we're not in violation of a fire code or something with this crowd, are we?"
"I don't know," Ayu replied before smiling, "Big Sis Yuzu!"
"Oh! Ayu, Futoshi!" Yuzu smiled as she turned around before blinking a few times, "Uh…"
"Sorry if we came the wrong way. Ayu and Futoshi were the ones leading us," Lan apologized.
"Oh! You're the boy from the duel!" Yuzu recognized.
"Yep! I'm Lan. These are my best friend Maylu and our pals Ruri and Yuto," Lan introduced.
"Big Sis Yuzu, Big Sis Yuzu!" Ayu cheered, "Big Sis Ruri's a student of Mr. Sakaki!"
"Huh?" Yuzu blinked a few times before Ruri held up the card once more, "?! S-Smile World?! How did you…?"
"He gave it to me last year," Ruri replied.
"L-Last year…?" Yuzu gasped.
"Any sign of Big Bro Yuya?" Ayu asked.
"He's getting ready for a demonstration of Pendulum Summoning today," Yuzu replied, "I'd like to take you to see him and my dad, but…"
"Yeah, we see the crowd," Yuto snorted.
"Mmm…Maybe we can help and then go see them?" Maylu offered.
"You'd really do that?" Yuzu asked in surprise.
"Sure thing!" Lan beamed.
"Just tell us what we'll have to do to help you with this," Ruri added.
"R-Right! In that case…" Yuzu quickly handed them all stacks of application forms, "Make sure everyone gets one, alright?"
"Where's the principal?" Ayu asked, looking around.
"It's weird since he wanted everyone here, but he isn't around at all," Futoshi added, looking around as well.
"Rubbing his cheek against the Solid Vision System in the back," Yuzu sighed in exasperation, "Thanks to Yuya, we've obtained the latest model of it. He's been clinging to it, crying in complete and utter joy."
Ayu giggled, "As expected, Big Bro Yuya saved the You Show!"
"Yeah, everyone's really admiring him now!" Futoshi added, pumping his fists, "That Pendulum Summoning he used was so exciting! I was giddy in my seat and everything!"
"I've never seen a Summoning Method like it before," Yuto noted, the closest of the four to listen in as they handed papers out, "He was able to summon so many monsters at once with that technique."
"Just imagine combining Pendulum Summoning with your Link Summoning, Lan," Maylu whispered once she was close enough to the brunette.
"It'd be pretty fun," Lan agreed before scowling, "Hey, hey, hey! No shoving! No shoving! Everyone's gonna get one, so don't be in a rush, dang it!"
"Hey! You're gonna be demonstrating Pendulum Summoning today, right?" one of the people asked.
"We plan to show you, of course," Yuzu assured, "I'll be Yuya's opponent today, so don't be surprised by the sights you'll experience!" she then smiled as she held up a form, "But only those who sign up for our school may witness it!"
"She's good…" Yuto muttered, a drop of sweat going down the back of his head.
"Oh dear…Um, Yuzu? I'm out of papers!" Maylu called.
"There's more in the back," Yuzu replied, "Down the hallway and fifth door on your left."
"R-Right," Maylu nodded as she ran off.
Maylu found it hard to believe that just a few minutes ago, they had come to just talk to them all…only to end up helping one of the counterparts of Ruri with a situation. She couldn't help but let out a sigh of exasperation. Why was something always happening whenever they first visited a new place? She made her way to the fifth door on her left and opened it. A yelp and crash followed, making her hurry inside to see Yuya flat on his face and a toppled chair at his side while several cards fell from the air and all around him, Odd Eye Pendulum Dragon landing right on his left goggle.
"A-Are you alright?" Maylu asked.
"Ugh…" Yuya groaned, slowly getting up and saw her, "..." he sheepishly chuckled, "Guess ya can call me 'Humpty Dumpty,' eh?"
Maylu giggled as she helped him pick up his cards and quickly handed them to him, "Sorry about surprising you. Yuzu asked me to help her out."
"Ah, it's fine," Yuya assured before looking at the three Pendulum cards he had used in his Duel the previous day, "..."
"...Is everything okay?" Maylu asked.
"Yeah. Just…still shocked at what I did in the Duel," Yuya replied.
"...Is it okay if I looked at them?" Maylu asked.
"Huh?" Yuya blinked as he looked at her in surprise.
"You can hold them, but just…may I see them?" Maylu rephrased her request.
"Uh…sure," Yuya replied as he held up his three cards.
"...I think these diamonds tell you what the levels are for summoning," Maylu noted.
"Hm?"
"In the Duel you had with the Sledgehammer, you set the 'Scale 1' Stargazer Magician with the 'Scale 8' Timegazer Magician," Maylu pointed out, pointing at the '1' and '8' on the respective cards, "I think when those are set, you could only Pendulum Summon Monsters between Levels 2 through 7."
"Huh? Really?" Yuto pondered as he looked at the cards.
"And they have a second box of text. That's probably their ability when they're set as Pendulum Scales," Maylu went on.
"Oh, right. Those," Yuya remembered before looking at them, "...Huh…So I could use Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to keep me safe for one attack."
"And the other two?"
"Mmm…Timegazer and Stargazer could have better Pendulum Effects, like being a straight negate when a Pendulum Monster attacks and not just once per battle," Yuya noted and sighed, "I don't even know why these even transformed."
"Well…what were you feeling when you were Dueling the Sledgehammer?" Maylu asked.
"Hm? What was I feeling?" Yuya pondered.
"Where Lan and I come from, emotions often were a key factor into strange things," Maylu explained, "For Lan? His strong emotions and belief often lead him to making miracles happen."
"Really?" Yuya gasped before thinking for a moment, "...I wanted the pendulum to swing. Swing more and more. Swing from defeat straight to victory." his pendant and his Deck shined, "Ah!" he pulled out and and fanned the cards out, "What's going on?!"
"Again?" Maylu gasped as they saw several cards transform onto Pendulum Cards.
"Whoa~" Yuya gasped as he started looking at them, "N-No way~! Just look at them all! …How did I even do this?"
"I…I don't know," Maylu replied before the door opened.
"Maylu, hurry! We need those fo-Yuya?" Yuzu blinked a few times.
"Oh! Yuzu, look!" Yuya exclaimed as he showed his cards to her.
"More of them changed?! When?"
"Just now!" Yuya replied, "We were talking about what I was feeling before the cards changed and then more transformed!" a moment passed, "Oh…" he looked over at Maylu, "Who are you, anyway?"
Both girls fell over at that before Yuzu shot up with a heated glare, "You just noticed?!"
"We got distracted by the cards," Maylu sheepishly explained, "I'm Maylu, Maylu Sakurai."
"She wants to enroll in You Show with her friends," Yuzu explained as she grabbed the forms they needed from a nearby shelf, "They're helping with all the applicants that came here."
"Oh!" Yuya blinked a few times, "That's great to hear!"
"Um…There's kinda more to it as well," Maylu spoke up, earning their attention, "Ruri, one of our friends helping Yuzu…she's a student of Mr. Sakaki."
"?! She knows my dad?!" Yuya asked, quickly moving closer to Maylu and laying his hands on her shoulders, "Does she know where he is?"
"N-Not at the moment," Maylu replied, 'I can't let him know we think he was turned into a Card by Academia yet…' "Y-You'll have to talk with her and Yuto first to hear their story about him. I-I'm sorry…"
"It…" Yuya shook his head as he let go of her, "It's alright." he quickly grabbed the forms, "Let's hurry and get these out to people, alright? The sooner we finish, the sooner I can hear about where my dad's been!"
"Ah! Yuya!" Yuzu yelped as the green/red-haired boy dashed out, "Mmm…" she sighed before looking at Maylu with a small smile, "We've all been missing Mr. Sakaki ever since he went missing three years ago."
"It…It's alright," Maylu assured.
"His whole Deck changed?" Lan whispered, the group of four staying near the back of the crowd.
Maylu nodded, "I was curious and asked to see them while he held them up. They were really different from other cards because they had this extra text box and these little red and blue diamonds on the sides. When we talked about it and then the Duel he had, I asked him how he was feeling when it happened and he started to explain when his Deck changed and more of his cards turned into Pendulum Cards."
"Really?" Ruri pondered before looking over at Yuto, "For a moment, Yuto froze up in the middle of handing out the forms."
"You did?" Maylu asked in surprise.
"It…It was weird. I…" Yuto placed a few fingers to his head, "It felt like something was in my noggin for a moment and I thought I was hearing Dark Rebellion roaring inside of it."
"Huh?" Lan tilted his head.
"It…It happened before," Yuto replied with a frown behind his scarf, "When Yuya drew that card and made his big Pendulum Summon play, I swore I was hearing Dark Rebellion roaring out to Odd-Eyes…almost as if he were cheering the other dragon on."
"...Is it because you two are counterparts of each other?" Maylu asked.
"Not sure," Yuto replied as Lan looked behind them at the glass that separated them from a dark room on the other side.
"...I see something in there," Lan warned.
"Huh?" Yuto looked over at Lan.
"Ladies~ and~ Gentlemen~!" everyone turned away from the rambling Syuzo Hiiragi on a bench with a pair of speakers on the sides to the window in time to see a spotlight come on, revealing a smiling Yuya to the crowd, "Welcome to our One Man Show today!"
*THWAP!*
"Gh…" Yuya groaned, crouched down as smoke wafted off the top of his head.
"What the heck, Yuya?! What do you mean 'One Man Show?!' You can't Duel yourself outside of a Duel Terminal with your Deck data inside of it!" Yuzu scolded.
Lan couldn't help the laugh that escaped his mouth.
"Why are you laughing?" one of the girls in the crowd demanded.
"How mean of her to do that to Yuya!" another fumed.
"Sorry, sorry. But it feels like they're giving us a small comedy bit before the Duel," Lan explained, "Help loosen things up and get us more excited."
"You're quite the interesting kiddo," Syuzo noted with a small smile, "My daughter and Yuya tend to be like this."
"Yuya! Don't go and get a big head just 'cause you're a bit famous now!" Yuzu declared, pointing at the now nervous Yuya before pumping his fist, "I'm gonna beat the tar outta you!"
"Eh?" Yuya tilted his head.
"Hey, Yuya, trade some barbs with me," Yuzu whispered.
"Eh? Uhhh…" Yuya blinked a few times before yelping and moving back, "D-Don't tell me! You're the dangerous Muse of the Melodious?!"
Yuzu let out an aristocratic laugh, the back of her hand to her mouth area, "Oh~? Indeed I am! My Deck shall play your funeral march for your insolence, Yuya Sakaki!"
"Oh they are really getting into it, aren't they?" Ruri pondered.
"Yep!" Futoshi beamed, "They really work great together when it comes to getting a crowd built up for a Duel!"
"Gongenzaka, hurry, hurry! Let's turn on the Vision System!" Ayu cheered, sitting beside the pompadour-sporting male in a control booth nearby.
"It is inexcusable for you to ask me, Gongenzaka, to do a lackey's work…" Gongenzaka muttered as he pressed a button and a card appeared in Yuzu's hand, held between her pointed and index fingers.
"I activated the Action Field Plain Plain!" Yuzu declared.
"Here it comes," Lan grinned as they watched the area glow and transform, becoming a plain field with a circular stone stage in the center of it all, separated from the plains by a stream that circled the ring.
"Oh how refreshing~! This is the realism provided by the latest Solid Vision system: the ARC System!" Syuzo awed, pumping a fist, "You can practically imagine the cool breeze blowing through that open plain!"
"It looks so beautiful!" Ruri awed, clasping her hands together.
"I'd really love to have a picnic in there," Maylu added, copying Ruri.
"Um, Mr. Hiiragi?" Lan spoke up.
"What is it?" Syuzo asked, smiling at the brunette.
"Action Fields…can they also be Field Spell cards? Like the Legendary Ocean or Geartown?" Lan asked, recalling the latter card being in the Ancient Gear decks from Academia.
"Sometimes," Syuzo replied, "When that happens, both players can use its effects. And if you play a Field Spell, the entire Action Field will become that Field Spell! Heck, you can even make combined Field Spells by both Duelists using one!"
"Huh? But I thought you could only play just one Field Spell and if another's played, the first gets destroyed," a male noted.
"It's a recent rule revision," Syuzo explained, "Now focus, kids! The Action Duel is about to start!"
"The Duelists have gathered in this combat hall…" Yuya began.
"...where Monsters can kick up the dirt and fly through the air…" Yuzu added.
"...riding around the field!"
"Behold, the latest and greatest evolution in Dueling!"
"ACTION~!" Yuya held a hand skyward and snapped his fingers, causing the Action Cards to disperse through the field.
"DUEL!" both declared.
Yuya: 4000
Yuzu: 4000
"Allow me to start off our show with Performapal Hip-Hippo!" Yuya declared, his pink hippo appearing with a tip of his top hat to the crowd.
Performapal Hip-Hippo: ATK800
"Oh~! It's the adorable hippo," Ruri noted.
"The crowd's getting excited now!" Yuya laughed, doing a backflip to land upon the running hippo, "Then I'll be ending my turn!"
"Like heck I'll let you go out and gather a comeback! It's my turn! Draw!" Yuzu declared as she drew before summoning a magenta-skinned monster in burgundy and cream fabrics with orange pieces on her face, "I'll begin with Aria the Melodious Diva!"
Aria the Melodious Diva: ATK1600
"Oh~" Maylu awed, "She's beautiful. Look! She even has a harp for a wing!"
Lan couldn't help the smile as he saw how excited Maylu was. Music had always been a key part of her life and, in a way, his own due to their friendship. He made a mental note to do a lot of Dueling later to get a keyboard for her to play in the apartment before going back to watching the Duel.
"Now, Aria, attack Hip-Hippo! Sharpness Voice!"
Aria did a twirl in the air before bringing her hands together over her chest. She closed her eyes and let out a strong note, releasing a wave of air ripples that took on the shape of a spike that shot down towards Yuya and Hip-Hippo. Yuya's eyes widened before several excited noises from his ride made him look to find an Action Card in a bush. Yuya quickly snagged it and beamed.
"Action Card - Evasion!" Yuya declared as he quickly triggered it, "Rolling Hippo~!"
Hip-Hippo cheered before doing a jump and spun to the right, letting the spear of sound stab into the ground. The pink hippo landed on all fours and continued its sprint away from the surprisingly calm Aria and the smirking Yuzu.
"Oh, you think you're safe?" Yuzu questioned, "Aria the Melodious Diva has a fun effect…for me! If she doesn't inflict Battle Damage from a battle, then she can play a devastating tune of 800 Burn Damage to you! Resonate Wave!"
Aria let out another note, sending soundwaves down onto the spear. The spear glowed before releasing a shockwave of pure noise all around it. Hip-Hippo looked over his shoulder and let out a frightened scream before the shockwave slammed into the duo, sending them into the air and crashing into the stream.
Yuya: 3200
Yuya popped out of the water first, a tiny fish in his mouth. Moments later, Hip-Hippo surfaced with a large rock in his big mouth. Yuzu let out an aristocratic cackle as she pointed at Yuya imperiously.
"The first blood drawn today belongs to me!" Yuzu declared, "Rise up, good Dueltainer! Arise and meet the melody of your demise!" she swung her arm out, "I end my turn!"
Yuya grunted as he spat the fish out while Hip-Hippo swallowed the rock. The sound of good china shattering made all four pause and look at the hippo's stomach. Hip-Hippo sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as Yuya couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter along with several of the potential students.
"Well…hope there was a lot of iron in that," Yuya joked as the two got out of the stream before Yuya pointed at Yuzu with a smirk, "Alrighty, Melodious Mistress, like a pendulum, it's time for me to swing this Duel back to me! I draw!"
"Thought for sure he was going to have a moment," Gongenzaka muttered to himself.
"He must have a strategy," Ayu noted, "Go for it, Big Bro Yuya!"
Yuya smirked as he looked at his hand, "Alright! It's time for a surprise! Timegazer and Stargazer aren't the only ones who can do this!" he grabbed two of his cards between his index and pointer fingers, "With the Scale 8 Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn and the Scale 2 Bit Byte Turtle, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
At his sides, a pair of pillars of blue ethereal light shined. Within the one to his left, a yellow turtle with a purple shell wrapped in a pink and red polka dot ribbon and a blue top hat appeared. To his right, a cyan unicorn with a pink mane and tail, a blue vest, and dichromatic eyes rose up. A 2 appeared under the turtle as an 8 formed under the unicorn.
"He's gonna do it!" a boy cheered.
"Oh this is so exciting!" a girl squealed.
"Here it comes…" Lan whispered, an eager grin on his face.
"Go for it," Yuto quietly encouraged, narrowing his eyes.
"With this, I can now summon Monsters whose Levels are between 3 and 7! Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Appear now! My monsters!" Yuya chanted as the pendulum formed above and began to swing, moving faster and faster to form a ring of light, letting out two beams of light, "Shine brightly, Performapal Fireflux! Whip to it, Performapal Whip Snake!"
At Hip-Hippo's left, a cartoonish firefly with a lightbulb for a tail and wearing white gloves and an orange vest appeared. Whip Snake hissed as it popped into existence and wrapped around Yuya's wrist.
Performapal Fireflux: ATK1200
Performapal Whip Snake: ATK1700
"And now I release Hip Hippo and use his effect to act as two tributes! Advance Summon! Now, please put your hands together! Today's main attraction, the rare dragon with differently colored eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya declared as Hip Hippo vanished into particles as he jumped into the air before landing upon his powerful dragon.
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: ATK2500
"Whoo! He did it!" Lan cheered alongside the potential students.
"But why did he not summon Odd-Eyes with a Pendulum Summon?" Maylu questioned.
"He probably didn't hear Yuzu end her turn without setting a facedown," Ruri suggested, "It's a smart idea to not summon everything at once on the chance a trap was laying in wait."
"I hope you're ready, because it's time to go for it!" Yuya declared, "Whip Snake's effect activates! Flip Aria's Attack and Defense!"
Whip Snake hissed as he jumped off Yuya's arm and pulled out his disc on a string. The serpent began to swing it like a pendulum, letting out yellow ripples of light that reached Aria, causing her eyes to lose their light.
Aria the Melodious Diva: ATK1200
"Let's go! Whip Snake, you get the first hit in with Whipping Strike!" Yuya cheered as Whip Snake began to play with its disc like a yo-yo.
Yuzu looked around before spotting an Action Card in another bush and grabbed it, "Action Card - Miracle!"
"Sorry to put you under the spotlight like this, Melodious Mistress Yuzu, but Fireflux has a special effect! When a Performapal or Odd-Eyes attacks, you can't activate Spells or Traps!" Yuya countered as Fireflux took to the air and shined its light down on Yuzu, causing the Action Card to shine and become ensnared in chains, "Flux Flash!"
Whip Snake hissed and quickly struck out, striking Aria. She let out a scream as she fell to the ground, shattering upon contact.
Yuzu: 3500
"Your turn, Fireflux! Flux Flitter!" Yuya declared as Fireflux swooped down and began to strike at Yuzu…only for it to not really do anything due to how light the blows were.
Yuzu: 2300
"...Uh…" Yuzu blinked a few times…before a shadow came over her, making her look up at the growling visage of the Pendulum Drgon, "Erk!"
"Odd-Eyes, Spiraling Strike Burst!" Yuya declared.
Odd-Eyes roared as it proceeded to unleash its breath attack upon Yuzu, knocking her away with a scream. She nearly fell to the ground if not for Whip Snake wrapping around her and pulling her into Yuya's arms.
"The End!" Yuya declared with a wink to the audience.
Yuzu: 0
"What a show!" Syuzo cheered, pumping a fist as the crowd applauded.
"Oh they look so cute like that," Ruri giggled.
"Hm?" Yuto pondered as he followed her line of sight to Yuya and Yuzu, the latter blushing as she realized she was in Yuya's arms, "Ah."
"I knew it'd be this way…" Lan sighed, seeing all but a young blue-haired boy named Tatsuya had left.
"I'm fine with my Xyz cards," Yuto shrugged.
"It makes sense for a new summoning method to need new cards for it," Ruri noted, frowning at the leaving crowd, "They're so rude to think that way."
"It makes you wonder if people acted this way when Xyz and Synchro were introduced," Maylu spoke.
"Who knows? All I know is that they're all jerks who can't be patient for something like this," Lan huffed before turning to Syuzo, "So do you have any more applications that weren't ruined by those guys?"
"Huh? Y-You four still want to join?" Syuzo asked in disbelief.
"Of course!" Ruri replied, clasping her hands together, "Mr. Sakaki said this was a school he made with one of his best friends!"
"?! Mr. Sakaki? As in…Yusho Sakaki?" Syuzo asked in concern.
"Of course!" Ruri replied as she presented Smile World, "I'm a student of his!"
"?! Th-That's right!" Yuya gasped as he ran over, "You're a student of his! Please! Where is my father?!"
"...He…" Ruri looked down.
"He told us that he was trying to find a friend of his, one that was planning to hurt everyone important to them all," Yuto supplied the lie Ruri had made up the other day.
"He…He's trying to protect everyone?" Yuya pondered.
Ruri nodded, "I'm glad to finally meet you, Yuya. Your father loved to talk about you and your odd fascination with hippos in drag."
"Wh-Wh-What?!" Yuya squeaked, a mortified look on his face developing.
"Wh-What?!" Lan snorted back a laugh.
"It's true," Gongenzaka huffed, "Always playing that darn magic card that summons those three tokens! And why is the yellow one always doing the hula?!"
"Hey, I don't control what dance they love to do a-and this isn't the point!" Yuya argued.
"There's also something that was weird," Yuto spoke up.
"Weird?" Yuzu repeated…before gasping with the others after Ruri and Yuto removed their sunglasses and scarves, "Y-You two…"
"You look like us!" Yuya gawked.
"Huh?! Two of Big Sis Yuzu and Big Bro Yuya?!" Ayu gawked.
"Nope," Lan replied, "Haven't you heard about how there's always someone who shares a similar face with someone else?"
"We were the ones who were left surprised by how much you two looked like Ruri and Yuto," Maylu added.
"Your old man nearly called me by your name before he saw that my hair and eyes ain't yours," Yuto huffed.
"Mr. Sakaki didn't even notice how I looked like you to him until a good few months in," Ruri noted, "Though, I think it's because he was enjoying how everyone was learning to Dueltain from him and how much fun we were all having."
"Whoa~" Ayu awed.
"That's kinda neat when you think about it," Futoshi noted with a smile, "There's someone out there that's got your face! Like a secret twin!"
"Oh please. If we were twins, I'd be the cooler one," Yuto smirked.
"More like the edgy one…" Yuya muttered.
"Ya say something, Drag Queen Hippo?"
"Hey, hey, hey! He's Performapal Hip Hippo, thank you very much! And those three are all girls!" Yuya argued.
*THWAP!*
"I hope we can get past this odd coincidence and become good students and friends with one another, Yuzu," Ruri bowed, standing by a sweating Yuto who was doing all he could to not look at the scolding look in her eyes.
"Of course, Ruri," Yuzu replied, Yuya downed by the paper fan in her hands.
"It's Big Sis Yuzu in stereo…" Futoshi whispered with wide eyes.
Ayu giggled, "Principal Hiiragi, we have so many new students now!"
"HM?! Y-You're right…WHOO!" Syuzo cheered in glee, "So many new students! Oh~! My blood's boilin' now!"
A dart soared through the air and struck a dart board on the other side of the room, "So…I just gotta steal them, correct? The cards called 'Timegazer Magician' and 'Stargazer Magician'?"
"Correct…and no questions will be asked about how you obtain them," a voice spoke over a Duel Disk set up on a pool table, "As long as you obtain them for us, I'll trade you those rare cards you've been searching for."
"Hmm…Gotcha," the figure spoke as they picked up three darts and flicked them with ease…all three striking dead center of the dart board where a picture of Yuya was put on it, going right through where his heart would be in real life.
GT: *head smoking while lying on the floor* Had to rush…didn't want to be late…Please review and will try to have more later…