Chapter 5: Corporate Scheme

Reiji's POV

Three days have passed since Kyou has demonstrated Pendulum Summoning. In those three days, a few things had happened, namely the spike of Xyz energy we received, followed by one of our students being hospitalized from that experience. But the most important event that is about to happen is the return of my mother.

The door will open soon and before it does, I had compiled everything I need to inform my mother.

As the door open, a woman with fair skin, cold blue eyes and heart curled magenta hair enters the room. She wore a dark pink skirt and blouse with high collar lined in black and padded shoulders. She had a pair of long gold earrings and a golden necklace. Her high heeled shoes with golden snake curling straps clacked into the room.

This is my mother, Akaba Himika, the chairwoman of LDS.

I greeted her, motioning her to have a seat and talked about recent events that had happened. About Pendulum Summoning, Sakaki Yuuya, and then about how he attacked Sawatari Shingo.

"I see, this could be an advantage to us," my mother schemed, "We can use this as a way to merge the school."

I pushed my glasses up to hide my disagreement. "I disagree, rather I find that in doing so would be difficult."

"You Show Duel School is only a small school, it shouldn't pose a threat to us," My mother argued.

"Normally, that would be the case, however one of our retired teachers is now working at that school." I tap the remote to bring out Kyou Yuuki's profile. I then saw my mother gasp. At the same time, she recomposed herself before speaking.

"He looks familiar, who is he?"

There was a slight crack in her voice but I ignored that. Instead, I described him, his achievements, his skills, his records and his achievements. All of them sounding more and more bizarre yet accurate with each piece of evidence being shown. When I told her how he had provided me data of Pendulum Summoning, my mother was again at a state of disbelief.

"Hang on, wasn't Sakaki Yuuya the one who invented Pendulum Summoning?" I answered with a nod, "Then how does he know more about Pendulum?" I have no concrete answer for this question, as such, all I can bank on was his words to me.

"Neither of the four, but the big one watching you five."

"What does he mean by that?"

"I'm not sure, but my theory is, there are six dimensions and he belongs to a dimension that is aware and is watching five of us…" I stopped immediately. "However, if what he said is true, then there are not just four dimensions but five, no six counting the one he mentioned."

"Did he mention anything about the fifth dimension?"

I shook my head.

"So, there are six dimensions in total… could he be working with Akaba Leo as well?" she asked.

Akaba Leo…

"There is a possibility, however I do not believe so. I can still remember that day when Akaba Leo told me how he will rule over the four dimensions with the power of Dueling." I recalled that memory when I was 13. At that time, because my mother changed after he disappear from our life. I never thought that he would become like that and sent me back.

In any case, while I am confident that Akaba Leo is correct when he mentioned four dimensions. I would know since he is… was my father. However, Kyou Yuuki is the biggest paradox. Which is why…

"I have tasked the Fuuma Duel School to observe him, they will keep me up to date about his movements."

"I expected as much from you Reiji. However, putting him aside, let us focus on what we can handle first. The Pendulum cards." My mother spoke once more, reminding me of our main goal.

"Worry not, mother. I have already tasked the R&D department on that and they have created a few prototypes for my Deck. All that we need now is to test them." I pushed my glasses.

"And have you done so?"

"In a controlled environment, yes. However, these cards need more testing… and I have just the right person in mind." I said as I turned to the display, showing Kyou Yuuki's face. My mother followed my gaze and had a thoughtful hum.

"Do you think you could win?"

"No." I answered immediately and without hesitation. "I will have no chance against him. However, I could learn more about his secrets. If his reports on Super Polymerization is anything to go by, there should be more to Fusion Summoning. Not only that, I believe that he knows a lot more about the other summoning as well."

"Yes… we needed him for our army. Once we have him on our side, we are guaranteed to win." She said and I agreed. "Hm, if Kyou Yuuki is teaching You Show, would they also be viable candidates?"

"I have considered that and thought about testing them. Using Sawatari Shingo's recent case, we can cause a commotion at You Show. I have also prepared the people for this task." I pressed on the remote once more to bring out four portraits. These are the top Youth students from each class. Two girls and two boys. Each of them represents Ritual, Fusion, Synchro and Xyz respectively. "This way, we can not only test the students there and should they win, we can merge our schools together."

"Splendid, tell them to prepare, I have a hospital to visit first." My mother stood up and walked to the entrance, leaving me alone in the room.

I sighed at the moment of silence. I pressed on the remote once more and the screen brought up Kyou Yuuki's profile. "Kyou Yuuki… The Machine Emperor… just who are you…"

Yuuki's POV

Today's lesson is another session of Fusion Summoning, which the students took in strides. The kids were extremely curious and paid their full attention to my lecture. Not only that, I can see my boss sitting beside Tatsuya, taking notes as I conduct my class.

Another thing of note, other than Yuzu's growing anxiety, which I attribute to her confusing Yuuya with Yuuto, was Sora's undivided attention to my class. The way he pays attention is like he's trying to dissect every word I said to reveal their hidden meanings and intentions.

In the original anime, it wouldn't be me who will be teaching the class, but instead would be Shuuzou-san, teaching Advance Summoning. On top of that, Sora would be messing around with his candies instead of being serious.

In any case, when Yuzu asked me if I have taught Xyz before, to which I answered that Xyz Summoning class will be taught 2 weeks later. When Yuzu shared a confused and worried glance at Yuuya, I jokingly mocked.

"What? You found a new boyfriend you want to impress? Let me guess, he uses Xyz monsters and happened to look like Yuuya?" I pressed.

Yuzu was shocked and her face flushed at my jab. Of course, I know what I said, and I wasn't sorry.

"Huh, direct hit." I commented.

"Yuzu-neesan, really?" Ayu said as she covered her cheeks innocently.

"Wait no! He's not my boyfriend, it's just… He looks like…" she again paused.

"Whatever the case, we're still in class. But well, if you have any troubles you can speak with me after class, kay?" I assured her. In my old life, not many students would come to me for some consultation or counselling. Here, when I open the offer, 9 out of 10 would come to me for counselling. It does feels strange at first but it was also enlightening at the same time.

"HE AMBUSHED HIM YOU SAY! YUUYA WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING THAT COWARDLY!"

Ah yes, that too.

We exit the building to look at the commotion. Gongenzaka, a loyal friend of ours stood at the door and face the malcontents whom I recognize as the 3 goons that follows Sawatari.

They boldly claimed that Yuuya attacked them and even claimed how there were 5 witnesses, them, Sawatari and Yuzu.

I know this event all too well, but I decided to twist the story a bit.

"Hmmmm, interesting…" I said in a knowing tone, "From my perspective, I think Yuuya did the right thing."

"What?" Of course, everyone was surprised at the sudden shift in topic.

"You are saying that Yuuya attacking us was right?" one of them spoke.

"Of course, the way I see it, the 4 of you are about to rape her, and Yuuya came in and save her from you four." I dropped my accusation.

…

…

"Eh?" So caught off by my blatant accusation the 3 stooges needed time to process what I said.

"Wait, Kyou-sensei…" Yuzu's face was red but before she could continue, I shushed her.

"Shhh, it's ok Yuzu, its ok, I'm here. You don't need to say anything else," In a cold and deep tone I consoled Yuzu. However, my mischievous side couldn't help but continue teasing the situation. "Now I can understand why she was so out of character lately."

"So that's what it is then…" Shuuzou finally spoke, "The reason why Yuzu was so down lately was because of all of you!" I saw him pulled out a shinai from… somewhere. Huh, like father like daughter, the father pulls out a shinai while the daughter pulls out a harisen from nowhere.

Well, that escalated quickly.

"Eh, eh, eh, eh?" were the only intelligent words that the 3 could muster.

"Settle down Hiiragi-san, settle down." I walk before my boss, blocking him. The Duel Disk in my left arm blared to life, "I will teach these deviants a lesson that they will never forget." I activated my Duel Disk and ran my right fingers over the edge of my Duel Disk as if I am caressing the polished surface of a blade.

"Eh?"

"How dare you come and push your crimes onto the savior, how dare you attempt to touch my students, and how dare you abuse your power over others by claiming yourselves as a person in authority… you've sinned greatly." To be honest, I have no intention of even wanting to duel these fodders. But since I have come this far, I might as well go through with it. So I changed my tone to that of a predator and a hunter ready to hunt and cut down some vermin. "Tonight, 3 families will mourn for their loss."

"Ah, EHHHHHHH?" They panicked as they tried to rummage their pockets for their duel disk.

Of course, just as they tried to, we can hear the noise of sirens. The word 'good riddance' ran through my mind. However, at the same time, I couldn't help but to find this regrettable as I couldn't do the deed. Maybe another time.

A black limousine pulled over behind the stooges and a lady in red comes out of the car. Oh yeah, that's Reiji's mother. I got to say, she looked nothing like Reiji. In fact, she looked pretty… like a femme fatale.

"Hoh, LDS has shown up now huh," I said, "How many cards did you bribed them with?"

There was sudden freeze in the movement. Both butler and the woman recovered just as quickly and they played the ignorant card. But I must credit myself still, especially when I can see a bead of sweat falling from the side of their forehead. I took that as my victory regardless and dropped my accusation.

We settled down at the longue where we discuss about Yuuya's "crime". I stated my defense of which, Akaba Himika acknowledged of its possibilities. I was honestly surprised at how easily she dropped her accusations. However, she went on the offense once more as she states about the main issue.

The main issue here is how a student from LDS, which she claimed as the world's Number One Duel School, has lost in a Duel and would bring forth immense damage to the school's reputation.

Oh great… politics.

She then raised her voice once more, telling the biggest problem here is that the symbol of LDS has been dragged through the mud and that the only way to clear this disgrace is through a duel between Duel Schools.

I sighed after listening to everything and simply interrupted her.

"Ok woman," with little to no respect, I called out, "Let's just get straight to the point here. You just wanted to monopolize Pendulum Summoning."

Everyone now turned to me.

"Think about it, a VIP from a world renown company suddenly come to this dingy little school. What are the chances of that happening?" I asked, "0%. Not a chance. But when it would happen, it would mean that we have something unique that they want. Can you guess what it is, Yuuya?"

I turn my eyes to Yuuya.

"Pendulum Cards." Yuuya added.

"Yes, if the number one school, who just so happens to be working with a card manufacturing company, would acquire a sample of Pendulum Cards and study them, then distribute them through their curriculum… Pendulum Summoning would become an immediate hit; the school and manufacturing company would gain more traction. Killing 3 birds with one stone." I raised my fingers, "Either that, or they are more interested in the son of a popular guy, considering who Yuuya's father is."

As I stated my facts, I could see another bead of sweat falling from Himika's forehead. She is now aware of me, perhaps due to how accurate I am at 'guessing' everything. If you're from a dimension that is WAY ahead of this time, then yes, your 'guessing' game is going to be off the roof.

Good.

Yuuya then proclaimed how he would not hand over the school and the cards. As such, we have a match.

"Splendid, how shall we do this?" I asked Himika. "Since we only have 2 students here, we may need to substitute with a teacher."

"Wait, Kyou-sensei, I, Gongenzaka, can duel for You Show Duel School."

"But you're an outsider, aren't you?" Sora chimed in and with that, Gongenzaka literally whited out, I can see his spirit dangling out of his mouth. "If Duel School students are going to fight together, then Yuuya, Yuzu and I should do right? Besides, I have always wanted to fight against an LDS duelist too."

"I can understand your desire, Sora. However, I want you to sit this one out for now."

"Eh," Sora whined, "but sensei, why can't I duel with them?"

"Let's see, first of all, you are kind of new to the school." I responded, "Second of all, didn't you lose to Yuuya during your debut to the school?"

Well, that was at the time but still…" Before he could continue, I interrupted again.

"Besides, I want to know how much Yuuya and Yuzu had improved over the time. That and as a former LDS professor, as some people called me, I am actually curious to know how much LDS has changed in one year," I then turned my gaze towards Himika, "or stagnate."

"Eh?" I heard a few bewildered exclamations from my students.

What? What now? Why the reaction?

"EHHHHHHHH?!"

A collection of gasps echoed from the room, the kids, Yuuya, Yuzu, Gongenzaka and Sora were the main culprit of this.

"What?" I responded bewilderedly.

"Wait, sensei! You used to work in LDS?"

"This is so shocking that I cannot shiver!"

"What, I didn't tell you?" I asked.

"OF COURSE NOT!"

Huh, come to think of it, I have never shared my past with them now did I?

"Well, now you know." I shrugged nonchalantly, "In any case, Himika-san, or should I say, my former superior, how shall we do this?"

Himika's POV

My original plan was simple, secure the Pendulum cards and investigate Sakaki Yuuya's standing at the same time. I must confirm if he is an enemy of ours. Things should have been simple. It should have been.

I have my fair share of experience negotiating with many different people from all over the world. Some of them did prove difficult at first, but they can be easily bought through duels from some of my handpicked secretaries and bodyguards. They are after all some of the best duelists I have personally scouted during their time in LDS.

When my son told me about him, I couldn't help but gasp. When he told me that Kyou Yuuki was the person who retired all of a sudden and performed an out of the world Xyz summon, it all came back to me.

At that time, during his employment in LDS as a teacher, I unfortunately was one of his biggest fans. Even joined his fan club. Moreover, I was the one secretly funding the club. I had to admit, I was younger and at that time my husband just up and vanish from my life, times were rough. I had even planned to recruit him under my wing as a secretary. Which is also why I came up with the plan of promoting the senior teachers at the time so that he would become the next representative.

It should have been clockwork and the gears should have been set in motion. Kyou Yuuki acquiring more recognition and prestige and soon enough gain a promotion and into my personal employment.

However, it all fell apart when I heard how he suddenly decided to reject the position, he had also resigned at the same time. Until this day, no one, not even the teacher he personally trained knew the reason why he retired. The silver lining is that the one he appointed as the current teacher's representative is very qualified and had prior experience working with us. I believed she used to be one of our operators.

It seems fate works in mysterious ways as the one person whom I wanted is now standing against me. On top of that, an obstacle to my plan.

Now that he is against me, I can finally know how strong of an adversary he is. Kyou Yuuki, age 28. Worked as a teacher in LDS for 7 years and retired a year ago. Became a folk tale of LDS among the seniors as the Machine Emperor. While he has not participated in any competitions, he did possess a win rate of 100% throughout his career in LDS. Not only that, most of his wins were also accomplished with trail decks that he personally built.

There were no prior records of his dueling feats and achievements before his enrollment. At the time, we have used an older model of the Duel Disk. However, I can already predict that he, much like he is now, had never been defeated. Which begs the question, if he had always been so strong from the beginning, where did he get his cards? No, the better question is, why now? Why reveal his strength now?

As I listened to his theories, I couldn't help but to suppress a shiver. Each word he spoke is so accurate it is almost as if he had me figured out already and our plans. He was correct on the account of us seeking the Pendulum Cards, he was also right about how I plan to boost LDS and Leo Corporation with Pendulum cards. On top of that, he was also right on the account that I wanted to investigate Sakaki Yuuya.

He is… on another level compared to all the ambassadors and spokespersons that I have negotiated with.

"In any case, Himika-san," I snapped my attention back to the person sitting in front of me, "or should I say, my former superior, how shall we do this?"

Let's focus on the now first.

"Indeed, this is within my expectation." I reached out to my Duel Disk and spoke, "Nakajima, bring them in."

"Understood Chairwoman."

A moment later, 4 figures had entered the room. The onlookers parted ways and the LDS top Junior Youth students entered the room.

Starting from the LDS Junior Youth students, we have Kotsu Masumi, a dark-skinned girl with shoulder-length black hair and red eyes. She had on a small blue shirt over a cream one-piece long-sleeved shirt. This is our Junior Youth Fusion Class top student.

Next is Todo Yaiba, whom has long spiky brown hair and amber eyes. He has below average height compared to the two and gave off a canine like appearance. Over his shoulder is a shinai which he carries around all the time. He is the ace of the Synchro Class.

Thirdly, for Xyz is Shijima Hokutou. He is slim and tall with purple hair and blue eyes. He wears a zip-up blue and purple jacket over a white long-sleeved shirt with white pants.

Finally, we have Aoi Nekoro. The girl is as tall as the fusion ace. She had white long hair and a pair of red eyes. The girl wears a red dress and black jacket. This one represents the Ritual Class's top student.

"Hmmmm, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz and… Ritual? Huh, so LDS still has the Ritual Class going on." He stated as he pinpointed and accurately stated who is the ace of which course. "Let's see… if they are handpicked, that means they are prodigies." His commented. His stares lingered on the Ritual ace a bit.

As he did, he starts mumbling, I could hear some words coming out of his mouth. He then lists down a few names which I recognize like Worm, Gem-knight, Laval, Constellar, Evilswarm, X-Saber, Ally of Justice, Genex, Gusto, Gishki, and Nekroz.

As he did, I can see the ace's face changed as he has an internal monologue. But regardless, I coughed to get his attention.

"We will have a best two out of three duels between your school's students against our top students." I stated.

"Oh?" he snapped out of his inner turmoil and turned his gaze at the students and then said, "Why is there an extra?"

"The original plan is to have only 3 students. However, due to their position as one of LDS's top students, each and every one of them had an obligation to follow." I stated.

"Sigh, LDS and their pursuit for perfection. It's almost as if you are all preparing for a war."

I froze, did he know? Is that why he retired?

"Eh, what do I know. Whatever happens there is none of my business. Alright kids, let's get this game started already." Yuuki stood up, "LDS, this way to our duel field. It's not as grand as LDS but it ain't lacking hominess."

Sora's Point of View

I have a new mission to observe and obtain as much data as I can on Kyou Yuuki, my new teacher in this school. At first, I thought he would be one of those know-it-all teachers who speak as if he knows everything. But it all changed when he revealed his hands.

Super Polymerization is a legendary card that was known only by us in the Fusion Dimension. I've even snuck into the LDS database and found no record of that card's existence so I was sure of it. Then suddenly, Kyou Yuuki showed the class that card as if it was common knowledge.

I can only come up with two theories.

The first one is the most logical one of them all. He was a long-term undercover agent whom has settled into this dimension. Since he has stayed in this dimension for so long, it is sensible for him to protect his identity that he has built for himself, more recently at the You Show Duel School.

However, that theory came apart immediately when three factors are considered.

Which leads to the second theory. He has gone renegade. The first reason and the easiest factor is that he is spreading information about Fusion to the masses. The next factor may not be relevant but his sudden retirement from his mission. The fact that he suddenly retired from LDS and left his post should be something to consider. Finally, the condemning evidence is how he was able to identify me as a spy from the Fusion Dimension.

No matter the theory, I still need to obtain as much information about him so that we can detain him. I am fairly certain that the Obelisk Force would have no trouble dealing with this traitor. If not, Midori-sensei would be able to handle him single handedly. He boasts how he has never been defeated and how he has never lost Life Points before until that practice duel with Yuuya. Wait till he face the Obelisk Force.

However, it came as a surprise when he mentioned the supposed reason why he retired and it made a lot of sense. If LDS is preparing for war, the safest option is to get out of the premise as soon as possible. However, this only loops the question once more. He has already infiltrated LDS for seven years already. So why retire?

The more I thought about it, the more confused I get.

As these thoughts ran through my head, I noticed how the duel had begun. Yuuya is now dueling with that Hokuto guy and what's worst is that he is using Xyz. Not only that, I am forced to teach the kids about the mechanics of Xyz Summoning. Even though Xyz Summoning is used by trash, these duelists still need to know what they are up against. As I told them the mechanics, Kyou Yuuki then went on a brief lecture on Xyz Summoning.

Normally, I would tune out these kinds of lessons since I have already known them, but it doesn't hurt to fact check some information. On one hand, both of our information matched up. Then he mentioned how it is possible to Xyz Summon using Spell and Trap cards. A bit of an uncommon knowledge but I am aware of it. However, he even added how there were more and even say things like Rank-Up Magic, Rhongo Bongo… Sales Ban? Along with a comment for the latter, saying how he "hates that combo, worst of all. XD". Whatever those are, they seem important.

In any case, Yuuya is now facing that Shijima Hokuto guy and he turned out to be as annoying as I thought. Honestly, I really hate that trash. Not only is he noisy but he thought of himself as some kind of hotshot just because he can Xyz Summon. Then he did something that had made everyone in You Show angry. Comments on the dirty tactics were thrown, but I didn't really care about that. What interest me is Kyou Yuuki's response to this all.

"So, not only do LDS teaches their students to resort to rape and blackmail, they've learned about murder?" He commented. "What kind of a curriculum do LDS have?"

I can see the chairwoman's grin falter and turned into a frown. Despite my awareness of Kyou Yuuki, I actually approve of this.

To be fair, what I approve of that Hokuto guy is the dirty tricks one must use in order to win. However, to stoop so low as to use Xyz Summoning? I'd rather die. The duel was over and wouldn't you know it, Yuuya won. Goes to show that Xyz are the weakest.

Once Yuuya finished, I watched as the chairwoman gave a stern earful at that Xyz user. He deserves it for his arrogance.

The next one was announced and it was that… strange girl, Aoi Nekoro. If I am right, she is a Ritual user, I believe Yuzu will be dueling this one… but if possible me. Since I am technically restricted from dueling here. Sigh, I really want to duel them, especially that Xyz trash.

"Yuuya, you will duel again." Kyou Yuuki spoke with finality.

"Eh, sensei?" I heard Yuuya's confusion.

"Why?" Yuzu parroted. I am of the same sentiment.

"Let's say this is the best kind of lesson for you, especially with the kind of deck you are playing." He said casually. I turned to the LDS bunch and I could see their surprised faces.

"You can't be serious! How would you know what we play?" said the other girl, Masumi, I think?

"Lucky guess?" he said with a shrug and it annoyed the girl as I watched her clenched her fist in annoyance. "Now then Yuuya, here's a tip against your opponent, you MUST find a way to remove her Ritual Monster from the field. Do that and you will be free. That's all."

"Uh, alright then sensei." Yuuya acknowledged and the two duelists entered the field.

To be fair, I wasn't too keen on this duel, however when Kyou Yuuki said to be cautious of the Ritual Monster, I cannot help but be curious.

The action field is generated and it was like the interior of a circus.

Everyone did their usual chant and as the giant bubble pops, the duel began.

"DUEL!"

Nekoro – 4000 5

Yuuya – 4000 5

"Honestly, coming here is a bit of a chore. But then again, I get to have some treats when I win." I heard Nekoro announced for the first time.

"Huh?" Yuuya blurted.

"Ah… all you can eat ramen with sensei…" and she's lost in dreamland with a saliva trail down the corner of her mouth.

"Hey, LDS. Does she do that a lot?" I heard Kyou Yuuki called out.

"Nah, she's as silent as a ghost town, no way. But, when it comes to her sensei…" Said the short LDS one, what was his name again? I really don't like the air he's putting out.

We turn back to the duel and they began.

Yuuya's Point of View

Alright, Yuuya get it together. No matter how hard everything is, you can do this.

"I will begin first," she said, "From my hands I activate the effect of my Ritual Monster, Nekroz of Clausolas!"

Wait what?

"I can discard this card and add 1 "Nekroz" Spell or Trap card from my deck to my hand. Which I will discard to add Nekroz Cycle!" She added the Ritual Spell card.

"Ah yes, Nekroz I knew it." I heard my sensei's comment from the audience, "The Nekroz's playstyle involves discarding their Ritual Monsters for additional effects. But not only that, Nekroz if paired up with a certain monster can cause a complete lockdown for the opponent, especially if you consider the types of decks everyone plays nowadays."

"So he knew… as he has said, I will now activate the Ritual Spell Nekroz Cycle. By sending a monster from my hand or field that is more than the Ritual Monster I want to summon, I can perform a Ritual Summon. Not only that, I can Ritual Summon 1 "Nekroz" Ritual Monster from my hand or graveyard! From my hand, I send Djinn Releaser of Rituals!"

"Now with this, I will Ritual Summon Nekroz Clausolas (Level 3/WATER/Warrior/Ritual/Effect/1200/2300) in defense!" As she did that and once the ritual circle is formed, a young boy with a large green feather and talon legs appeared.

"I'm not finished! I next summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (Level 4/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect/1400/1000)! When this card is summoned, I can add 1 Ritual Monster or 1 Ritual Spell from my Deck to my hand! I add Nekroz of Unicore! Then I activate the Spell Preparation of Rites! I can add 1 Level 7 or lower Ritual Monster from my Deck, which I add Nekroz of Gungnir and then I can add a Ritual Spell card, which I will add Nekroz Kaleidoscope."

"Then, I activate the effect of Nekroz Kaleidoscope! When I would Ritual Summon a monster, I can send them from my hand, field or my Extra Deck to the graveyard whose total Level is the same as the Ritual Monster!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" using the Extra Deck as a material! Suddenly, my instincts kicked in and I quickly covered my ears.

"READ!"

What? What did I do?

Yuuki's Point of View

I expected as much when I look at the menagerie entering the duel. In fact, I am so so SOOOOO familiar with their decks considering I am the one who built them during my free time at work. Not only that, another key take away for me to narrow the decks down is the fact that most duelists who enrolls in LDS uses archetypes that are from the Duel Terminals. Ibi Richua uses Gishki after all. In fact, it was due to this, I couldn't exactly pin point which Ritual Deck is related to Duel Terminal until she says Nekroz. While the Nekroz deck is not originally from the Duel Terminal era, their members however happens to be related to it in some way, shape or form. Like a descendant.

At the mention of Nekroz, it immediately confirmed my suspicion, ESPECIALLY back in my world, Nekroz is known for its infamous Nekroz Lock deck that has seen plays for a few professional matches… until it falls off the radar completely due to its main key card being banned. Let's not forget that at the time, Kaijus, hand traps and field removers weren't a thing yet.

If Nekroz is played today, it will lose, PERIOD. A few reasons. Firstly, there are better and more consistent Ritual Decks being printed like Drytron and Megaliths. Nekroz is more difficult compared to the aforementioned archetypes. Not only that, not all of the Nekroz cards are utilized. Sure, not every archetype uses all of their cards, but compared to Drytron and Megaliths, the two decks has the most consistencies and have been dominating the pro leagues for several seasons… until Despia is released.

In any case, as I watched Nekoro set up her board, I can already tell that… Yuuya has already lost. Honestly, Action Magic mostly gives protection and stats but they don't give card removal at all. In fact, the only card I know Yuuya has that can counter this is none other than Performance Hurricane. A spell that allows the user to target and return opponent cards back to the hand up to the number of Performapal monsters the user control.

Then comes the moment when Nekoro played Nekroz Kaleidoscope and when Yuuya was confused… I couldn't help myself but to yell out "READ!".

Reason being, Yuuya, in our practiced duel used Odd-Eyes Advent and it was a recent event too. If he had read the text that came after the first, he shouldn't be surprised if his opponent can Ritual Summon using Extra Deck monsters as materials. The reason being, Odd-Eyes Advent, much like Nekroz Kaleidoscope allows the user to Ritual Summon using the Extra Deck.

"Next," Back to the duel, Nekoro was not finished, "I send from my Extra Deck, Karbonala Warrior (Level 4) to my Graveyard in order to Ritual Summon Nekroz of Unicore (Level 4/WATER/Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect/2300/1000)!"

Huh… that normal monster, then again, they don't really have much at the time. If it were now, I'd put in Herald of Arc Light or Elder Entity N'tss. I wonder if they do have those now.

Back to the duel, I watched how Nekoro set a card and ends her turn. One of two cards in her hands, we already know what it is…

Nekoro – 4000 2

Yuuya – 4000 6

"In that case, it's my turn." Yuuya declared, "I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician!" As he did and a flash of PENDULUM shine across his Duel Disk, "Now I can Pendulum Summon monsters whose Level are between 2 and 7. Now come, my monsters!" He raised his hands… however nothing happened. Instead, a buzz echoed.

"What?" I watched as Yuuya meddle with his disk. "What happened?"

Right on cue, I shouted. "READ!"

Seems like this is going to be a running gag…

Yuuya of course, decided to read now but before he can continue, his opponent spoke.

"What's wrong, Sakaki Yuuya, cannot Pendulum Summon?" She taunted.

"What did you do!" Yuuya asked.

"My Ritual Monsters… have the effect of preventing my opponent from Special Summoning, in other words, I've completely locked you out of your famous Pendulum Summoning!" She explained.

"What?" Yuuya gasped, so do the other You Show gang… except me who's reminding him to-

"REAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

Fortunately for us, Yuuya didn't give up… however, all he could do was set a monster and end his turn.

I guess he somewhat bricked. Oh, he's running around the field.

Nekoro – 4000 3

Yuuya – 4000 3 Scale 1 ~ 8

"My turn." Nekoro drew her top card, "Now, I shall show you despair. From my hands I activate another Nekroz Kaleidoscope! This time, I send from my Extra Deck, Humanoid Worm Drake (Level 7) to Ritual Summon Nekroz of Gungnir (Level 7/WATER/Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect/2500/1700)! A droplet of water, drip drip drop, grow and fill, grow and fill and then wash away my opponents in an unceasing torrent!" At that chant, a red haired woman in dragonic like armor appeared.

"I activate Nekroz of Gungnir's effect! I can discard 1 Nekroz card from my hand and destroy 1 card on the field! GO, Ice Barrier Breakthrough!" The woman forms a sleet of cold wind as she waved her staff and destroyed the face down monster on Yuuya's field, revealing Performapal Whip Snake (Level 4/EARTH/Reptile/Effect/1700/900).

Well… as I expected, this duel is over. Yet, Yuuya, in a last resort to win, decided to rummage around for Action Magic cards.

"There!" Yuuya blurted as he made a mad dash towards the card.

However, his opponent was faster.

"Mine!" said Nekoro as she waved the card in Yuuya's face. "Now… stay down."

"Kh…" Yuuya turned and tried to look for more Action card. However, Nekoro wasted no time and just have all of her monsters attack him at once.

Nekoro – 4000 1 WIN

Yuuya – 0 3 Scale 1 ~ 8 LOSE

Yuuya fell to his knees and honestly, I don't blame the guy after all, his main gimmick is completely locked. If anything, I would say he was underprepared for the sudden difficulty spike. Heck, most pro players in my old world were of the sentiments as well when they encounter this playstyle… which is also why we have field removals.

I approached Yuuya who was down and defeated. As I passed Nekoro along the way, she gave me a shy but also courteous bow before running along to join her fellow LDS aces.

"Sensei…" Yuuya noticed my approach.

"Oh, come now, every lost is a lesson kid. Now, tell me, what did you learn in this duel?" I asked.

"I don't know… where do I start?" Yuuya asked.

"Hmmm good question. But I can give you a start." I slung my arm around Yuuya's shoulders as I brought him closer, "Now then Yuuya, you can start off with this question: Why. Didn't. You. –

Sora's Point of View

The duel… is beyond my expectation. It was simple but that girl is going to be very dangerous. I am not sure how she does it, but from the way I see it and how Kyou Yuuki described it, her Ritual Monsters are the cause of this.

My impressions on Ritual Monsters have changed. They are no longer a minor threat… rather, they have become one of the most lethal forces yet. Not only that, that man has taught the entire You Show school about it… I wonder what would happen if he taught them how to perform Fusion Summoning.

I then observe the girl. Aoi Nekoro, the LDS ace student of Ritual class. It makes me want to duel her… however I don't think I have anything to handle her Ritual Monsters… so the best way to go about had to -

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

My train of thoughts were interrupted at the deafening roar. In fact, the entire You Show building seemed to have shook from that roar. The kids fell to the ground while the older ones, me, Yuzu, Gongenzaka and even the LDS group were barely standing. When we recovered, we can see the source of it giving an earful to Yuuya.

…

Reading huh…

End Chapter 5