Hi! Just a bit of an author's note before the story starts, this fanfic is going to include a good majority of the Love Live girls, and for the sake of the story it takes place after the School Idol Festival All Stars (SIFAS) first season but before the second season. So Yu has already been studying abroad andLanzhuhas already built the School Idol Association and recruited Ai, Karin, Shioriko, and Mia. μ's and Aqours Have also not disbanded in this timeline but everything for μ's, Aqours, and Liella stays canon to the anime except for a few things but that will be discussed later.
Secondly for most of the Yugioh anime characters in this fanfic it takes place post-canon to their respective stories, except for maybe ZEXAL but I will work that out soon. There will also not really be any shipping in this fanfic, except for maybe Yugo x Rin since I have a soft spot for it.
I will try to post chapters weekly but due to how busy I am stuff might get pushed off a bit. Also I am sorry that the duels for this chapter aren'treally well written it is something I do plan on working on. Thank you for reading and enjoy!
Chapter 1 — First Step!
Location — Odaiba, Japan
Perspective — Ayumu Uehara
Ayumu's eyes fluttered open, as she groaned and reached her hand towards the ceiling. She then turned over to grab her phone… no new messages. At this point, what did she expect? Yu had already abandoned her. And the worst part was, Ayumu couldn't even blame Yu for it. Even though the two have been friends since early childhood, Ayumu blamed herself for holding Yu back. Ayumu couldn't even save the School Idol Club. Ayumu just stared at her ceiling before putting on her school uniform and turning on the TV to see a bit of the news for the day.
She had always looked forward to the daily reports on School Idols, and what groups were becoming popular. But today..the news only made her more depressed as he listened to the reporter speak.
"And on today's report on School Idols we've got an exclusive interview with Lanzhu Zhong and the Nijigasaki School Idol Association!" The reporter then walked over to Lanzhu and the rest of the association, which included Ayumu's friends, Shioriko, Ai, and Karin. Friends? She wasn't sure what relationship she had with the girls anymore…
"Now Lanzhu, you've been ranked really high in popularity polls, some say you might end up being more famous than the legendary school Idol groups, μ's and Aqours, what are your thoughts on this?" Lanzhu then just laughed and gave a smug smile, "of course I'm going to become a bigger group than μ's and Aqours, and to any other School Idol's watching this… take it as my declaration of war!" The reporter clapped her hands and looked shocked, "what confidence!"
The reporter then walked over to Ai, she seemed a bit surprised she was being interviewed, since the other members of the association were always in Lanzhu's shadow. "Ai, since your a former member of the Nijigasaki School Idol Club, can you tell us anything about the club members now?" Ai just stood there staring into the mic until Lanzhu grabbed it out of her hands and spoke, "What's going on with the School Idol Club doesn't matter, they had every chance to rise up against us and make a good fight, but they're just cowards. People like that can't survive in this industry."
In that instant Ayumu shut off the TV. How much longer did Lanzhu have to torment her and the rest of the School Idol Club?! She felt so infuriated and yet so powerless. If only she could change this.. if only there was a way to change. She was so unfocused she ended up tripping back onto her bed, while she was falling she noticed her clock. Ah.. she had to get to school! She quickly did her hair in a side bun wrapped around a braid and grabbed her school bag. But the minute she opened the door everything turned bright white. She could feel herself falling, slowly losing consciousness. Succumbing to the strange sensation that washed over her.
…
…
Location — Stadium, ?
The cheers of people woke her up. Where was she..? Wasn't she supposed to go to school, why was she laying on a hard cement ground then? Her vision was blocked by an object in front of her, she seemed to be behind some sort of booth. She stood up and looked around, the place was crowded and loud, there were many booths of merch and food. And TVs were hung up all over the place, that's when a girl on one of the TVs caught Ayumu's attention it was Lanzhu! Before Ayumu got up to find Lanzhu she realized that her pink purse was laying on the ground next to her. Why was that there? Nevermind that she had to get going!
At that moment Ayumu began running towards the stairs. What the hell was going on?! Why was Lanzhu here? Ayumu continued advancing upwards, till she finally reached the seats of the stadium. She leaned towards the ledge and saw Lanzhu and Setsuna facing each other. It wasn't just them… there were also these odd looking warriors on the field as well. In front of Lanzhu was a blonde girl holding a sword with a sort of military type uniform. And in front of Setsuna was a sort of mecha looking warrior with a sun in the middle of its suit. There was also another humanoid warrior in front of Setsuna with a black outfit that looked like armor with what seemed to be long blue hair. And what's even weirder was that both Setsuna and Lanzhu were holding playing cards, and these odd disks were attached to their arms.
"It's my turn. Draw!" Lanzhu declared as she drew a card from her deck. "I activate Sky Striker Ace - Raye's effect to special summon one Sky Striker Ace from my extra deck! System locked on! Armament loaded! Let your suit of armor protect you as you rise up to battle! Strike your enemies down! LINK-1! Sky Striker Ace - Hayate!" (ATK/1500, LINK-1) Lanzhu called out as a girl with blonde hair appeared from a square shaped portal in a green mecha suit.
"Since there are no monsters in my main zone, I activate the spell card, Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage! This card allows me to add one Sky Striker card from deck to hand, and I add Sky Striker Ace - Raye, I then normal summon Raye from hand, (ATK/1500, DEF/1500, LV.4) since Raye was normal summoned I can also Special Summon Sky Striker Ace - Roze" (ATK 1500, DEF/1500, LV.4) suddenly the same blonde haired girl appeared in front of Lanzhu and another girl with grayish hair appeared as well.
"That still isn't enough to beat Elemental Hero Sunrise!" Setsuna declared until Lanzhu started laughing. "Are you sure about that?" Lanzhu mocked, "Of course I am! In fact I activate my face down spe-" Setsuna started to say until she was immediately cut off, "I activate Cosmic Cyclone and pay 1000 LP to banish your face down card"
Lanzhu LP = 6000 — 5000
"Next I use Raye and Roze as link materials! Roze, transform into the ultimate weapon! Cut the strings of fate with your sorrow and slash through our opponents! LINK-2! Sky Striker Ace - Zeke!" (ATK/1500, LINK-2) a black and gold Mecha appears on Lanzhu's field holding a sword, "I then activate Zeke's effect and banish one of your monsters till your next turn, and I choose Elemental Hero Sunrise!" The Mecha looking warrior on Setsuna's side then quickly disappeared, "shit.." she mumbled. "I then activate Hayate's effect to attack you directly!" Hayate's sword then slashed through Setsuna. Ayumu let out a bit of a gasp but it didn't seem like Setsuna got harmed.
Setsuna LP = 2000 — 500
"Now for the final blow! Zeke attacks Elemental Hero Shadow Mist! Sorrow Sky Strike!"
Setsuna LP = 500 — 0
When Shadow Mist got attacked Setsuna flew backwards and landed on her back, it seems like she had lost. The crowd immediately erupted into cheers shouting Lanzhu's name as the girl bowed. Ayumu just stood at the ledge not sure what to make of the situation, what just happened? Her brain couldn't process it. In her shock she took a step back, bumping into someone and then quickly turning around.
"I'm so sorry-" she quickly stammered while bowing her head and then looking up to see a guy with spiky brown hair wearing a red jacket. Next to him was a girl with long blonde hair in casual clothing. Due to the collusion the purse Ayumu was holding fell to the ground, it opened up and a bunch of playing cards with her friend's faces on them fell. She stared at them in confusion, and tears formed in her eyes from being overwhelmed as she took a step backward.
"Ah! Sorry about that I didn't see you there… duel monster cards?" The brown haired guy said as he began picking up the cards on the floor. "Are you alright? You seemed a bit overwhelmed" the blonde haired girl asked in a concerned tone. Ayumu gave a slight nod and a small smile. The brown haired guy stood up and showed the blonde haired girl one of the cards "Hey, Asuka, look at these, it's an archetype I haven't seen before" Asuka looked at the card, "School Idol - Ayumu… I don't think I've heard it either, oh right, you should probably take your cards back" Asuka handed Ayumu her playing cards while Ayumu just stood there for a second in confusion, "Ayu..mu? Yes that me.. uhm- no, no the cards aren't mine" Ayumu quickly stammered before glancing at the top card on the deck.
'School Idol - Ayumu', was what the card read, it was a piece of art of Ayumu in her main pink dress holding a long microphone. Normally she would have thought this was some sort of School Idol Trading Card, but it felt… different. And oddly familiar. Suddenly a bright light flashed through her mind and she saw Yu. Yu was in her school uniform, and her black hair with dyed green tips was in two twintails. She gave a small smile,
"Let's be school idols forever, Ayumu..!"
Suddenly the scene quickly left and Ayumu blinked her eyes looking at Asuka and the brown haired guy. She placed her hand over the card deck, "actually this is mine, I think I'll take it" she said as she felt the previous anxiety leave her body. She quickly looked through the cards, each artwork showed her friends who were also idols. μ's, Aqours, Nijigaski, and Liella girls were all present in the cards. Ayumu had heard of μ's and Aqours; she even got to meet up with the two legendary groups. She never got to meet Liella with the rest of the Nijigaski girls however, but they were decently known considering the fact that they won the last Love Live competition.
Ayumu grabbed her purse off the ground, to which she found there was a card case and a disk similar to the ones Lanzhu and Setsuna were wearing earlier. "Oh, you have a duel disk? So you are a duelist!" Ayumu blinked a few times, as she looked at the brown haired guy who was pointing at the disk in her backpack. "Duel… I'm sorry I don't know what you mean"
Asuka tilted her head in confusion, "you don't know what dueling is? But you have a duel disk and a deck don't you? Well either way, dueling refers to a game of duel monsters, which is the cards you're holding right now." Ayumu nodded her head, "then I'd like to duel either of you!" She said with full force. "I'd be game! I just realized we haven't introduced ourselves yet, I'm Judai Yuki, and this is Asuka Tenjoin"
After the three introduced themselves they headed out of the stadium for a duel. Outside of the stadium was very open since everybody had already left. "Yup! This is perfect!" Judai exclaimed as he activated his duel disk. Despite how confused Ayumu was she got out her duel disk as well, and (with Asuka's help) she activated it.
"Ready! Duel!"
"Since you're a beginner I'll take the first turn to show you ropes" Judai said as he looked at the cards he drew. It was best that he didn't go all out in the beginning considering the fact that his opponent didn't know what she was doing.
"I'll activate my spell card Polymerization to fuse Elemental HERO Avian and Elemental HERO Burstinantrix, masterful Hero of wind, heroine who blazes all! Combine to defeat all injustice! Appear! Elemental HERO flame wingman! (ATK/2100, DEF/1200, LV.6)" suddenly a green and red heroic looking monster appeared on Judai's field. "I then set one card and end my turn"
Ayumu looked at the deck in her duel disk and nodded hesitantly, "I'll draw!" She declared as she looked at the cards in her hand. She wasn't sure how to describe the sensation that washed over her but… it felt like she understood what she was doing. The cards didn't feel unfamiliar to her. She went to activate one of the cards with her dual disk and that's when it happened.
There was a ringing in her ear. And in a flash a bright light consumed the room. Ayumu blinked and the minute she opened her eyes, she saw Yu standing there in front of her. But.. wait.. no! That can't be right! She must be hallucinating!
"Yu..?" Ayumu mummered, too surprised to say anything else.
Yu turned around to look at her pink haired childhood friend. The other weird part was that Yu wasn't standing, she was floating. "Sorry for surprising you like that," Yu said with a bit of a laugh. "But I should probably cut to the chase.. I'm not presently here, I'm just a hologram here to help you in real time, I can see and hear you" Ayumu was trying her best to process what Yu was saying. She just had so many questions! "Yu! What happened to you? Why haven't you been talking to me instead of now! I thought you abandoned me!" Ayumu exclaimed. As much as she did care for Yu, she just couldn't ignore some of her feelings. Without Yu around she felt so lonely and she's somehow turning up now claiming to only be able to appear as a hologram?!
"That's because I was here! I wanted to talk to you Ayumu I really did, but I'm afraid communications here don't reach the real world." Yu stated, "I would never abandon you I swear…" Yu gave Ayumu a sincere and apologetic smile, and Ayumu returned it. It felt comforting to know that she wasn't abandoned. Even though it didn't entirely sit right with her currently, she could let her feelings digest later. She looked over to Judai, she still had a duel going on. "Hey Ayumu it's your turn," he said. Ayumu nodded, "Yu let's talk later, I have to focus on this.."
Yu pointed to two cards in Ayumu's hand, "you could set the pendulum scales with these, Ah- sorry, you just looked confused I thought I would help" Ayumu smiled at Yu as she began to activate the two cards, "I'll set the pendulum scale with scale 2 School Idol - Kasumi and Scale 9 School Idol - Karin, with this I can simultaneously summon levels 3 through 8!" On Ayumu's side of the field a blonde haired girl in a yellow dress raised up on one of the scales along with a dark blue haired girl in a blue outfit. "I then activate School Idol - Kasumi's pendulum effect! I can add one School Idol tuner monster to hand!" School Idol - Kasumi who was holding a wand of sorts pointed down to Ayumu's hand as Ayumu added School Idol - Shizuku (ATK/1400, DEF/0, LV.3, Tuner) to her hand.
"I'll then also activate School Idol - Karin's pendulum effect to add a School Idol spell or trap to hand!" Ayumu added a trap card called School Idol Rival Performance to her hand. This would help ensure her a bit of safety if one of her monsters got destroyed. "Ayumu you've dueled before?" Yu asked. Ayumu shook her head, she wasn't sure how she knew all of this. But it was like the words just left her mouth.
"Using scale 2 School Idol - Kasumi and Scale 9 School Idol - Karin, I'll pendulum summon! Come out my monsters! School Idol - Shizuku, School Idol - Keke (ATK/2000, DEF/1000, LV.5)" a brown haired girl wearing a black and white dress holding a long sword appeared on Ayumu's field. And next to her was a gray haired girl wearing a navy blue dress with silver accents and stars on it. The gray haired girl was also holding onto a long purple ribbon on her pinky. Judai clapped his hand when Ayumu finished her pendulum summon. "Wow! That's amazing! This really is a fun duel Ayumu!" Ayumu sheepishly grinned.
"School Idol - Shizuku then tunes School Idol - Keke, guided by the rainbow of hope, glorious idol of love, rise up to battle with your pure promise and heartfelt song! Appear! Level 8! School Idol - Ayumu! (ATK/2800, DEF/2000)" A girl almost identical to Ayumu appeared. She was wearing a pink dress with bows and roses on it. The different part about the monster from Ayumu was that the monster had a pink heart on her cheek and she was holding a long fancy microphone. During the chant Ayumu and Yu raised both of their arms, Yu looked at Ayumu and she nodded. She knew what she had to do next. "I activate Shizuku's effect from the graveyard, she can special summon one level 4 or lower School Idol monster from the deck with its effects negated, come on out School Idol - Nico!(ATK/500, DEF/800, LV.2)" A girl with black hair in two twintails appeared in a pink dress much darker in color than Ayumu's.
"Ayumu's effect then activates, I can tribute one School Idol monster to allow Ayumu to make a second attack, and I tribute Nico!" Nico disappeared as Ayumu raised her microphone. "Go Ayumu! Attack Flame Wingman" Ayumu charged forward ready to attack, as she delivered a blow to Flame Wingman using her microphone.
Judai LP = 8000 — 7300
"In that instant I'll activate my trap card! Hero Signal! To special summon Elemental HERO Shadow Mist (ATK/1000, ATK/1500, LV.4) from my deck!" On Judai's field a girl in black armor with long blue hair that shot out of her black helmet appeared. "Since Shadow Mist was special summoned I can add a 'Change' quick play spell to hand!" With the activation of Judai's trap card, Ayumu was rethinking her options.
"I don't think we can do anymore damage since Shadow Mist was summoned in defense position" Yu pointed out, "but I think it would still be better to at least clear his field" Ayumu glanced over at Yu, "thank you for the help!" She exclaimed, she was a bit confused herself. She had a vague understanding of her cards and the basics but.. it wasn't like she was totally a strong duelist. After this she will definitely practice to get better! It seems that this new world is constructed off dueling, so it is better for Ayumu to learn quickly. "Ayumu still has one more attack! Go Ayumu! Attack Shadow Mist!" Ayumu declared while pointing at Judai's monster. As School Idol - Ayumu once again dealt a blow with her microphone, destroying Judai's monster.
"I was hoping you'd do that! When Shadow Mist is sent to the Graveyard I can add one HERO from deck to hand!" Judai declared. 'He's adding more cards to hand?' Ayumu thought, a bit worried for Judai's next turn.
"My turn! Draw!" Judai looked at the card he drew and smiled, "I'll summon Elemental HERO Stratos (ATK/1800, DEF/300, LV.4) and activate its effects to add a HERO monster to hand" Judai summoned a warrior looking monster with metallic wings on its back. "I'll activate Vision HERO Faris's (ATK/1600, DEF/1800, LV.5) effect to discard Elemental HERO Shadow Mist to special summon itself!" ayumu watched in awe as Judai started his combo, as a warrior in pink armor appeared this time. "Faris can then place Vision HERO Increase (ATK/900, DEF/1100, LV.3) from deck as a continuous trap card, I then tribute Faris to special summon the Increase in my spell and trap zone" as Faris turned into bits of dust a warrior in purple armor appeared wearing a helmet with its eyes covered. "Because Increase was special summoned I can special summon Vision HERO Vyon (ATK/1000, DEF/1200, LV.4) from the deck, to activate its effect to banish Faris from my graveyard to add Polymerization to hand!"
Ayumu started to clap her hands despite not having the greatest idea of what was going on, dueling was… really fun! She grinned as Yu did the same over her shoulder, "hey don't clap yet! My turn isnt finished! I'll then activate Polymerization to fuse Stratos, Increase, and Liquid Soldier in my hand! Three Galant Heros use your strength to combine into a new warrior! One who sees all, using your new strength to fight against our opponent! Fusion summon! Appear! Vision HERO Trinity (ATK/2500, DEF/2000, LV.8)" a warrior in a red mecha suit appeared on Judai's field, but one thing Ayumu noticed was that it had lower attack than School Idol — Ayumu, she tilted her head in confusion, "but it has a lower ATK…" she muttered. Judai gave a small laugh, "on the term Trinity is fusion summoned it can double its attack!" Ayumu gasped in a bit of realization. But this was really bad for her! Ayumu could be destroyed!
Vision HERO Trinity ATK 2500 — 5000
"I'll also activate the spell card, H - Heated Heart! And target Trinity, to gain 500 ATK"
Vision HERO Trinity ATK — 5500
"Go Trinity! Attack Ayumu!" Trinity delivered a punch to Ayumu's idol-like monster, destroying it.
Ayumu LP 8000 — 5300
"Ayumu, remember that trap card you set?" Yu exclaimed. "I'll then activate my trap card! School Idol Rival Performance! To reveal the top 3 cards from my deck" Ayumu revealed the pendulum monster School Idol — Kozue (ATK/2200, DEF/2200, LV.6, PS.8), continuous spell card Wish Song, and equip spell School Idol Penlights. "Since I revealed a pendulum monster I can immediately activate a spell card from my deck, I choose School Idol Passion which lets me special summon a level 4 or lower School Idol monster, and I choose School Idol — Kanon! (ATK/1500, DEF/1500, LV.4)" Ayumu summoned a girl with bright orange hair wearing a yellow, orange, and white dress with a purple belt and a white top hat in defense position. She was always holding onto a purple ribbon with her pinky.
"Trinity can attack up to three times! And with Heated Heart's effect I can inflict piercing damage to defense position monsters" Ayumu clicked her tongue as she realized that she was cornered, "I'm sorry! This happened because of me, Yu!" Yu shook her head, "we both made mistakes, it's a fun duel! You should enjoy yourself more!" Ayumu smiled, "yeah!" She cheered, she then turned her attention back to Judai. "Go Trinity! Attack Kanon!" Trinity once again dealt a punch to Ayumu's idol-like monster, destroying it.
Ayumu LP 5300 — 1300
"And that's not all, I can activate my quick play spell, Mask Change! To tribute Vyon to special summon a Masked Hero of the same attribute from my extra deck! Change your identity, be reborn, and rise up again to battle, DARK warrior, Mask Change! Appear! Masked HERO Dark Law!" (ATK/2400, DEF/1800, LV.6) "Go Dark Law! Attack Ayumu directly!" Judai's monster charged towards Ayumu as she covered her head with her hands, only to realize that the monster couldn't actually hurt her.
Ayumu LP 1300 — 0
The duel ended and Judai's and Ayumu's duel disks turned off. Ayumu sighed, dueling was kind of exhausting. Judai and Asuka walked over to Ayumu. Since the duel was over.. Ayumu was looking forward to being able to talk to Yu but she couldn't ditch Asuka and Judai either, and she still wanted to talk to them. "Ayumu! That was a really fun duel!" Judai called out. "Yeah! I'm sorry I'm not very good at this but.. I swear I'll work my hardest!" Yu who was behind Ayumu, watched with a smile at her best friend's determination. It reminded her of their time back at the School Idol Club, a sense of sadness watched over her.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about that Ayumu" Asuka said, "you did great dueling today, really, but if you want to improve I think it would be beneficial to learn from a synchro duelists since your deck revolves around that summoning style" synchro summoning… ayumu thought about it for a second, it definitely seemed like a good idea. "Right then, I think this marks a new chapter for my life! I'll try to set off for my journey sometime tomorrow" Asuka and Judai both smiled, "hey, if you don't mind, can Asuka and I accompany you on your journey then? I'm really interested in seeing what you do!" Both Asuka and Ayumu were taken aback and surprised at Judai's suggestion. "I'd love that!" Ayumu exclaimed. She used to be so lonely back at school and now.. she had two friends willing to help her. And she had Yu by her side too! Even though being in this new world was scary, Ayumu was willing to take a step forward. Her life was finally changing.
"That reminds me I wanted to ask you both something, where exactly are we? Sorry I woke up in that stadium with no recollection of how I got there.. I know that's weird but.." Ayumu's voice trailed off. "It's not weird actually Judai and I were the same, in fact, I believe everyone here was somehow transported.. I can't even remember how long I've been here. But to answer your question, we are in Central Mirai City. It seems duelists from many different places, worlds even, somehow ended up getting transported here. The civilizations were already built when people arrived but no signs of the original civilians so we sort of had to build this new society from the ground up. And this world has been known as World-Zero." Ayumu nodded along with Asuka's explanation, but there was still one thing that confused her, "but I'm not a duelist.." ayumu said. In fact, Lanzhu and Setsuna weren't duelists either so.. why were the three of them here? Were the other Nijigasaki School Idols here too?
"I think I should get some rest," Ayumu said with a forced smile. Though Judai and Asuka were concerned for the girl they led her to a nearby hotel for her to spend the night. Since Ayumu didn't have any money on her, Judai and Asuka paid for her, Ayumu would have to remember to pay them back later.
Ayumu sat down on her bed and looked at Yu who was still with her, it seemed like Yu could only go where Ayumu went. "Yu… I have so many questions, how long have you been here?" The twin tailed girl sighed as she sat next to Ayumu, "truthfully.. I don't know. Time here is strange compared to our world, and I don't know why you or the other school idols are here, that's what I'm trying to figure out" Ayumu looked at Yu and frowned, "how do you know this? Where are you? I really want to be with you!" Ayumu declared while attempting to hold onto Yu's hand which wasn't physically there. Yu bit her lip, "I can't tell you that… but I swear I'll help you throughout your journey, and we will reunite again, I promise, Ayumu you have to understand no matter what happens you can't give into despair" there was a certain hint of seriousness in Yu's voice that scared ayumu a bit but she just smiled it off, ignorantly happy to be with her best friend, "I won't! You can trust me Yu! I'll keep going for your sack!"
Ayumu then stretched her arms and yawned. "I should probably go to sleep, shouldn't I.." she mumbled, "y'know it's been a while since we had a sleepover, I'm really glad I can be by your side again Yu! I truly did miss you…" Yu grinned back, "same here! We'll always be together ayumu!" After chatting a bit, the two girls were ready for whatever awaited them in Mirai City.
Location — Osaka Company Theater, Outskirts of Mirai City, World-Zero
Perspective — Shizuku Osaka
Shizuku peeked slightly out of the curtain. Shizuku and the rest of her theater troupe just ended one of their shows and she loved being able to hear the audience's discussions and being able to see their smiling faces. Her eyes wandered as she soon spotted a green haired girl looking at the bulletin board by the side of the outdoor theater. The girl was also holding her arm up to the bulletin board, it appeared that she had some sort of bracelet on, which seemed a bit strange to Shizuku.
"Shizukuuuu… I wanna go already!" Shizuku turned her head after hearing Kasumi's whiny voice. "Just give me a minute.. there's someone I want to talk to" Shizuku quickly said before walking onstage and jumping down to the seating area. She could hear Kasumi calling out to Rina who was backstage.
Shizuku made her way to the bulletin board and the green haired girl, "sorry we don't have the schedule for our next shows posted up but-" Shizuku cut herself off as she looked at the only poster on the wall. The dueling tournament The Association was putting on. Looking at it made her sick to her stomach, she didn't put it up there, it shouldn't be up there… Shizuku has nothing to do with The Association or with Lanzhu. "Ah sorry if you don't mind I need to take this off it's not mine.." Shizuku quickly said while attempting to grab the poster before the green haired girl stopped her. "Can I take it then? I was still looking at it, it's important to me… I think so at least" Shizuku backed her hand away and nodded. Just another member of The Association… what was Shizuku expecting anyways..
"Shizukooo" Kasumi called out to the brown haired girl before clinging onto her, "who's your friend? Huh…? What's an Association poster doing here?" Kasumi grumbled in annoyance. "I don't know.. don't pay any mind to it, The Association isn't our problem anymore" Shizuku muttered weakly. Her whole mind felt numb, it wasn't like her to get like this, but with everything that has happened with The Association she just couldn't stand it anymore. The green haired girl tilted her head, "Association..?" She mumbled before sighing, "I'm looking for a friend and I figured I might be able to spot him at a dueling tournament, but… it might be possible he's with this Association though I don't know anything about it..so.."
"If he's with the Association then he's not worth your time. He's an idiot if he pairs up with the likes of them… they're horrible.." Kasumi remarked through gritted teeth. "That's wrong." The green haired girl stated firmly, holding her ground. "What, so you're defending The Association?" Shizuku shot Kasumi a dirty look, this wasn't the time to be starting fights, she was going to speak until she heard the Green haired girls voice again, "That's not what I said, I don't know anything about this Association but if they really are as bad as you say they are then I doubt my friend got caught up in their mess… he's an idiot but he's mostly got a good heart.. what did the association do to you two anyways?" The green haired girl asked.
Shizuku took a deep breath and spoke up, "they took everything from us, well their leader Lanzhu did at least, and now she's starting her whole horrible system again, preying on the weak, involving themselves in crime and dirty methods.. even turning others to cards.. and anyone who opposes them gets crushed.. and they're still being treated as some sort of heros"
The green haired girl stared at the floor before she gave a weak smile to Shizuku and extended her hand to her, "I was caught up in a situation like that before so I understand.. I'm Rin, can I help you in fighting against The Association? And in return can you help me find my friend? It would be beneficial for both of us… and I feel like I can trust you" Shizuku stared down at Rin's hand, Rin had a bracelet on her hand that was blinking dimly that confused Shizuku but, shook her hand and smiled, "of course! Glad to have you helping us!" Kasumi still gave Rin a suspicious look despite Shizuku's welcoming behavior. Shizuku then turned to Kasumi, "Kasumi, where's Rina? Is she still backstage?" Kasumi shook her head, "No she's working on her D-wheel in the warehouse, she keeps talking about how it'll be important for us to participate in riding duel tournaments soon"
"D-wheel? Can you lead me to Rina? I have a bit of experience with mechanics" Shizuku nodded and showed Rin a bit of the theater. It was small but Shizuku was proud of how she transformed the lot into a dream she shared with Kasumi and Rina. Shizuku, Kasumi, and Rin moved slightly away from the theater to a warehouse-like building, Shizuku opened a passcode to open up its garage door. The warehouse was pretty vast, there were a lot of boxes for props and shelves for costumes. Additionally there was some furniture like a couch and tv, as well as bunk beds for sleeping. There was also a few doors that led into various rooms.
"And this is where Kasumi, Rina, and I live! It's also where we store a lot of props, costumes, and sets. Rina's been working on our D-wheel for a while now.. I'm not sure how she does it but she manages to balance building a d-wheel, dueling in Link VRains and doing all the tech stuff for the theater" In the back of the warehouse was what looked like the incomplete base of a motorcycle and in front of it was a girl with pink hair in a mechanics outfit. She turned her head at the sound of footsteps, she looked Rin up and down with no expression on her face. "Who's the new girl?" She asked, similar to her facial expressions, her voice didn't really have a hint of expression either.
Shizuku made a small gesture towards Rin and smiled, "this is Rin, she's going to help us fight against The Association in exchange that we help find her friend, she's also agreed to help with your D-wheel since she knows a bit of mechanics" Rin nodded, "mhm, my friend and I made a D-wheel from scratch together, it's his… no it's our pride and joy, we even vowed to win the Friendship Cup together with it and…" Rin's voice trailed off as she frowned, "Nevermind that, it's not really important.. Do you mind if I take a closer look at the D-wheel?" Rina nodded as she handed Rin a wrench.
An hour passed, Rin and Rina chatted together about engineering and D-Wheels while Shizuku and Kasumi worked on props, scriptwriting, and costumes for their next show. Suddenly Kasumi buzzed and a message popped up on the screen. "Shizuku! Hanamaru and Ruby are able to play the leads for our next show! Let's see… a Mikanko deck versus a Rikka deck, that will make great entertainment!" Kasumi said with a smug smile while imagining the large audience. Shizuku just sighed and gave a small smile to the girl. However the focus of the room shifted as Rin's bracelet began lighting up and blinking at the word, 'entertainment'. Rin looked at her bracelet, seeming distressed about something.
Rin looked up at the three girls looking at her, "sorry, my bracelet just does this occasionally… don't worry about it, how about we take a break for the day?" She said while getting up and stretching a bit. Shizuku got up from her seat, "yeah, I think that would be a good idea, we did good work today, and Rin… thank you for joining us!" Shizuku held her hand out and Rin shook it, "likewise! I.. really am glad I got to join you three" Rin said with a small genuine smile.
….
….
Perspective — Rin
After everyone went to bed, Rin stayed up and stared at her bracelet. "I don't get it… how are these three supposed to lead me to Yugo?" She whispered. "There's also the association… Are the two connected? Just where are you, you idiot?" She gave a small laugh, despite how sad and lonely she felt. A lot of her memories were hazy since she arrived in Mirai City, but despite everything that has happened, she knew Yugo had to be out there somewhere.
It was hard for her to sleep, memories of the past kept getting brought up in her mind, despite how difficult it was for her to remember. It just wasn't fair. And she never really did get to see Yugo after the aftermath of it all. And yet, she ended up here in Mirai City. It was almost like a second chance, she was sure of it. And that's why she was too stubborn to give up. Even now, she made friends with Shizuku, Kasumi, Rina.. and back in City it wasn't like she was well acquainted with the others at the orphanage. So, being able to find others now felt like a second chance. She just knew she had to work to set her new life right.
Without Rin knowing a pink haired girl holding a laptop started walking towards her. "What are you doing?" She asked as Rin spun around to see Rina. "Ah.. sorry I just can't sleep that's all" Rin said with a shrug. "Do you mind helping me with the D-Wheel then? There's something I'm worried about.."Rina asked. That certainly caught Rin's attention as she nodded her head.
For a few hours the two girls worked away, enjoying friendly conversations with each other. Even though Rina wasn't the most expressive person the two still enjoyed chatting away about engineering. And in the end they made fast progress, and once they were finished they took a step back to look at their almost finished project and smiled.
…
…
It seemed like things really were changing for Ayumu, Shizuku, and Rin.
