Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V: The Six Dimensions

by BlaiseCandell

Before the invasion of the Xyz Dimension, scans done by the Fusion Dimension reveal two more dimensions. The Ritual Dimension, and the Link Dimension. Within those two dimensions, Chiaki, Yuji, Miharu and Yuno have their lives turned upside down, and are tossed into a vicious war. Also, why are there five people with the same faces as them? (M for discussions of trauma.)

94. A Step Into Brighter Pastures

Starting Notes:

Welcome back! This chapter is… a lot more light-hearted, despite how it might initially appear. :) It's a fun chapter though! :) Hope you enjoy! Oh, and spelling errors here at the start of the chapter are... shall we say, in character.

---

Chapter 94: A Step Into Brighter Pastures

Dear diary:

Papa says I'm furgetful, so I geuss I should wirte things down? Words r so hard tho… anyway, papa took me to the dolfin show td! They'r so cute! Mama says we'l come back. I wanna see them!

Big bro made me a payper crown! love him!

---

Papa gave me these—this card! Cute! I wanna pay dragons when I glow up!

---

Papa seems scary—scared. Why?

---

I think there was someone scary. Mama pulled me away.

---

I think something scary happened.

Why didn't I write it down? What happened?

Papa won't tell me. No one will tell me.

Why don't I remember?

---

… to whoever wrote this, I hate you! I hate you I hate you I hate you

[Jagged lines cover the rest of the page.]

Why didn't you write more? Why didn't I write more? You were supposed to tell me, you were supposed to tell me—what do I do now—

I want to go.

---

Dear diary:

I don't know why so many pages are torn out, but I guess I should keep writing! I'm moving to my own apartment soon, I think. Not that my guardians are throwing me out, because they're not! But because of the bullying incident, they want me to have a new environment—and it'll be nice to be independent! I'll jsut take a bus back to visit on the weekends and stuff like that.

But I'm really excited to go. I think I can make friends! If I just go there, and… maybe I try to talk to people, maybe I'll make all kinds of friends. Maybe I'll get to know people like me. Maybe they'll like me, just for being me…

Ahaha, is that foolish?

I just want to try having friends! I haven't had friends in such a long time… it's always just been me.

So I don't need anyone brave or super kind, or anything like that! It's not like I have high standards or anything. I just want people who will like me.

I hope people will lik eme.

Um, this is the last page, I guess? I'll have to buy a new one. Still, signing off is the good thing to do here, right? So um, hi, future me! I guess… I hope you make a lot of friends!

Love, Kyorin Rinsoka!

… that looks goofy. Heh.

---

Eight years ago:

Cyndia approached the garden, where she could see a certain blue-haired girl peering at the roses that her husband had just finished lovingly pruning the other morning. "Kyorin," she called out, and the girl practically leapt into the air in surprise. "Ah, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Um…" The ten-year-old clung to the fabric of her skirt, glancing away. "Sorry! Sorry, um…"

Cyndia kept a calm look on her face, though on the inside, she was a little perturbed. "You shouldn't feel the need to say sorry when you've done nothing wrong," she said.

"Sor—" Kyorin stopped. Then, with visible effort, she blurted out, "okay."

A step forward, then.

"Good." Cyndia smiled at her, sitting down in the grass. Kyorin let out a squeak, hurriedly sitting down as well. "Pegasus and I were thinking, and we came up with something for you. Here you go." She handed over a stack of cards—not quite a deck yet, just all the cards that they'd made specifically for her.

Kyorin glanced at the cards, timidly picking them up. "... oh. This is…"

"I asked your mother about your previous deck, and she said that it was about cutting off your opponent's options," Cyndia explained. "So I thought it might be nice to replicate that! And the ace of that deck is this card!"

"... um." Kyorin glanced down. "A-actually, my previous deck was about…"

Cyndia waited for her to find what she wanted to say.

"... silence," Kyorin finished. "So many Spells and Traps just to cut off my opponent, and for nothing else…" She closed her eyes. "... I don't think I can use the ace of this deck. I'm sorry. I-I mean! It's not like I'm not grateful! But using it… it's a bit too much like your ace, isn't it?"

And what would be the problem with that? Cyndia wanted to ask. She held it back, so that she wouldn't end up pressuring the poor girl—and yet, Kyorin stumbled her way into an explanation a moment after.

"You're important here too," Kyorin said. "So if people know I live with you now… I'll just be targeted again, won't I? It's… too scary to be known. It's not worth it."

So you'd rather hide?

"Someday," Cyndia said softly. "Someday, someone will prove you wrong."

It's only in being known that you can start to live as a person.

---

In the present:

Yuji yawned, rubbing at his eyes again. Kyorin glanced over.

"Um… it's not too late for you to go back and sleep in, if you want…"

"It's fine," Yuji said shortly.

"Well, I guess you are always tired, huh…?"

Nearby, Chiaki smirked to herself.

The three of them had headed off in a different direction from the other group, going back to where Kyorin had found Edo Phoenix the day before.

"Hey, Kyorin." Chiaki took the initiative to start the conversation, glancing at her. "So I didn't ask you this earlier 'cause I didn't want to stress you out in front of the whole group, but why are we going there?"

Ah, right! The 'why', a very difficult thing to answer. Um…

"Would you believe me if I said that I had no clue?" Kyorin said shyly.

Chiaki stared at her, before shaking her head. "Having no clue and being unable to explain are two entirely different things," she said, glancing over at Yuji, who shrugged. That was pretty much an agreement coming from him though. "Are you just not saying it because it sounds ridiculous to you?"

Kyorin nodded shyly.

"Well, cut that. It's just the three of us here—no judgement." Chiaki glanced away briefly. "Hell, Yuji and I just do what we want all the time too, so… it's not like we have any room to judge you, even if your reason is just 'I wanted to get out of there'."

That was comforting, but…

"It's not," Kyorin said. "Um." She shook her head. "Well, you know how that place where I found him was close to Heartland Tower…?"

"... I'm gonna assume that your next sentence is not 'I want to invade Heartland Tower'."

"No! Um, no, definitely not!" Kyorin waved her hands through the air. "It's more… ah, why is this so hard to say?" She covered her face for a moment. When she uncovered it, both Chiaki and Yuji were still looking at her—she let out a squeak. "Um…"

Chiaki and Yuji exchanged a look. Then, to Kyorin's absolute mortification, Yuji asked: "Is this the Johan thing again?"

"No," Chiaki said, completely calm. "We'd know if it was the Johan thing."

"What Johan thing?" Kyorin exclaimed, her cheeks flooding with red. "There was no Johan thing! What—how—"

"Kyorin," Chiaki said, folding her arms. "Come on. Did you think we didn't know?"

"I—there's no way Yuji figured it out!"

Yuji didn't even look offended, because they all knew she was right. "Chiaki told me," he said shortly.

"He asked me why you were always blushing so much," Chiaki filled in.

Kyorin let out a sound—one like a squirrel being startled from a tree. "There was no blushing!"

"You have a very pale complexion," Yuji said, and he was absolutely not helping right now. "Even if I did not understand… why…" He stopped for a moment, before continuing—those small pauses where he recalibrated what he was thinking, so to speak. "I knew you were blushing. So I asked why."

"Oh, pale complexion?" Chiaki rolled her eyes, lightly elbowing Yuji in the side. "Let's not pretend that you have anything to brag about there. You're both the exact same in that regard. See the sun once in a while."

"I thought we were talking about Kyorin."

"I can mess with both of you at the same time, keep up." Chiaki turned back to Kyorin. "Anyway, yeah, you had a crush on Johan, it was very obvious."

Kyorin was still covering her face. "Did he know?" She squeaked out, despite the fact that she really did not want to know the answer to that.

"No," Yuji said—quick and direct to the point as usual.

"Trust me, we had an ongoing bet on when he'd find out," Chiaki said. "Me and Asu—" She paused. For a brief moment, the atmosphere was tainted with that feeling of absence, but Chiaki barrelled past it with all the delicacy of a charging bull. "Me and Asuka. He was so oblivious, it gave me secondhand embarrassment, and I don't get that often."

Kyorin kind of wanted to fall into a hole right now and never come out, thank you.

"But yeah, this obviously isn't a Johan thing. So?"

"A-ah." Kyorin took a deep breath. "Um. It has nothing to do with liking someone in that way. In reality… I guess I came out here because I wanted to gather my thoughts…?" She stared at the ashen ground in front of them. "I guess I wanted to think a bit."

"... about what happened yesterday?"

"... yeah." Kyorin glanced at the ground. "... I thought he was really nice, you know. Edo Phoenix. I genuinely did. And… I don't think I was wrong." She clenched her fists. "... back in Standard, Dennis was… kind to me too. And I know he hurt a lot of people, but… I think he was a person in a lot of pain, in the end. I think he was hurting too. I think everyone is hurting, no matter what side they're on."

Chiaki stared at her. "... yeah?"

"I'm sorry," Kyorin said. "I know he's killed a lot of people. I know…" She glanced away. She felt ashamed just to say it. "I know that I'm not the one with a right to forgive him. I know all of that. I get if you're angry with me. I just—"

"Kyorin," Chiaki said, shaking her head. "Stop saying that I'll get angry at you—and just tell me so that I can decide for myself."

"... um." Kyorin bit her lip. "... I want to talk to him. I want to understand."

"... that's it?" Chiaki said.

Yeah. And she couldn't say it in front of the Resistance, because… admitting that she thought that a member of Academia could be redeemed would likely be salt in the wound.

"... geez, Kyorin." Chiaki folded her arms. "Trusting the wrong person is one thing. Trying to redeem the leader of the invasion is another thing."

"... I can't help it," Kyorin said. "A lot of my father's… most trusted associates are people trying to redeem themselves after a past that wasn't… the best." She pressed her hands together. "I know I'm naive, but…"

She paused. For a brief moment, she struggled with her words—it was like talking about someone else.

"I'm not a very good person either, Chiaki," she said. It was almost like a plea. "I'm trying my best, and… I'm sorry. It's cruel to the people here, but I want to understand his reasons for leading an invasion like this. I want to understand, because… I don't want to believe that someone can do this—"

She gestured around them.

"And not feel anything! I… can't believe that."

She closed her eyes.

"... I think Academia is scum," Chiaki said. "He made you cry, Kyorin. He tried to… well, I don't particularly care about most of the Lancers, but he did try to card your friend in front of you—"

"He stopped because I was kind to him," Kyorin said softly. "He tried to apologise to me for fooling me, even when I made the assumptions myself."

I think there's something there. Maybe it's buried, but… there is 'something' there, other than loyalty and dogma.

I feel like everyone around me only ends up becoming worse.

I want to try and help people be better for once…

"I think I can try to get through to him," she said. "Maybe it's self-centred, but… before Yuto and Rin showed up, he was genuinely responding to me. I want to try to get him to talk."

Chiaki stared at her, before throwing her hands up in the air with a scoff—

—but she didn't seem angry with Kyorin.

"Fine," she said. "Like I said, Yuji and I just do what we want. If it's about doing things that other people will disapprove of, we're a lot worse than someone who's just naive. If I justify us, I can't condemn you. And you're my friend. Screw it. What about you, Yuji?"

Yuji watched her. He blinked once.

"You're a bad judge of character," he said flatly—which, ouch. "But…"

He paused again. He pulled at the collar of his shirt, breathing in slowly.

"You weren't wrong with me," he finally said. "I… should have listened to you, the first time."

Kyorin's eyes widened in shock. It was the most… personal Yuji had ever made his words sound, when talking to her.

"And…" He struggled with the next words again, but got it out. "People call you naive. But I think… I can't, but you can. More should listen."

Kyorin ran the words through her usual layer of 'Yuji-speak' and thought that she might understand, if only slightly. It was a sentiment that made her feel like she was going to cry again.

I think that you can do something that I can't, because of that quality of yours that others call 'naive'.

More people should listen to what you say, I think.

"Guess that's settled then," Chiaki said. She gestured towards Kyorin. "So we'll go along with this hare-brained idea of yours, even if—I want to make this clear—I don't agree with it. And on one condition."

"... huh?"

"Don't hold onto deadweight," Chiaki said, crossing her arms. "People do tend to have a soft spot for you, but… if you cry because of him again, that's it. Give up and we'll solve things the normal way. Or in other words, let's tell him to fuck off. Got it?"

Kyorin nodded.

"Good. So, what was your plan to get him to talk to you? It's not like you can just march up to the tower and demand an audience with him, right?"

Kyorin cleared her throat awkwardly.

"... Kyorin," Chiaki said. "No."

"I wasn't going to demand it," Kyorin said awkwardly. "I just thought that…" She gestured to the nearby building. "The other day, while we were here… Academia has some things stored here. One of them is uniforms."

"You want to dress up as an Obelisk Force member and slip into Heartland Tower," Yuji said, before he repeated the words slowly, as though they'd make more sense if he spoke them again.

"... it sounded better in my head," Kyorin said shyly.

"No offence, Kyorin," Chiaki said, "but this is the kind of thing that only works in comics and video games."

"In books—"

"Comics are books."

Yuji shot Chiaki a brief look. He opened his mouth to say something, before he shut it. For a moment, he and Kyorin shared a look.

"But yeah, that's the equivalent of putting a box over your head to hide. It won't work." Chiaki sighed. "You'll get caught."

"... I was never the best planner," Kyorin said shyly. "I don't really know what to do though…"

"... geez." Chiaki smirked. "It's pretty obvious, isn't it? Maybe not so much to you, since you're a good girl type." She raised her hand. "You're thinking about hiding to talk to someone, but that's the nice way to do it—you're still giving him all the power, when you should be making him come to you on a lower footing. If you want the one in charge to come to you, you make yourself a nuisance. Come on! It's finally time for us to teach you how to be trouble."

---

Edo folded his arms, walking out of the office. "They set fire to one of the warehouses?"

Mamoru sniffed. "Yes. It's rather annoying—we will have to assess the damages."

"Pull up the camera feed," Edo ordered. He didn't think that the Resistance would have done it—or at least, it wasn't their style. Kaito Tenjo usually went after the people, rather than just general destruction. Tsubaki Nagare didn't care about property destruction, but she would go after the supplies within the warehouse first, rather than just setting it on fire. So that left one likely set of culprits…

Yup.

Edo watched the screen as Chiaki Katsuya and Yuji Fujita committed arson in a way that appeared… strangely efficient? And of course… she was there, behind them, watching them and looking both impressed and anxious.

(How did one person exude that much anxiety? It was almost impressive—but if she was so terrified, she definitely shouldn't be taking part in war. It was brave of her though—no, he was not continuing that thought.)

The camera was then smashed up a moment later by someone throwing a box at it.

So. Alright.

First off, replacing the camera was going to be a pain, considering the way that they'd cut off all wireless communication in the city. Second…

This was clearly some kind of message. What message, he did not know. A message for Academia? For the Occupation Force?

… for him?

"... never mind. I'm not here to help you deal with feelings, brother."

No. That was a ridiculous thought. And he had no reason to consider any of these ridiculous thoughts. In reality, it was probably just them trying to start chaos—but Academia couldn't let this stand either.

He had no reason to go down there himself.

"Tell Garam and Kawasaki to meet me at the entrance," he said. "I have orders for them."

---

The warehouse was about fifteen minutes away. Saki hadn't needed to be told the directions to the warehouse, because the line of smoke going up in the air made things very obvious. Hachio was whistling as the two of them were walking, and Saki was resisting the urge to smack him over the head.

As they approached, there were people salvaging the supplies—and the arsonists were a few blocks down. Red, white and blue—Saki felt that there should be a joke there, but nothing quite came to mind. The three of them were standing around, chatting with each other, as though there was not in fact a burning building nearby, and as though they had not in fact set fire to that burning building.

The three of them turned to look at Saki and Hachio as they approached.

"See, Kyorin?" Chiaki Katsuya said with a shrug, twirling a finger through her red hair. "Smoke signals are the strongest."

"... I still think that setting a fire closer would have been better," Yuji Fujita muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Crushing the camera… means they can't see us."

"Eh, it's recorded. It's fine."

Kyorin Rinsoka looked like she wanted to melt into the ground, but she managed to say: "I mean, it definitely worked better than my plan? I think?"

"It would have worked better if we got the actual big boss here," Chiaki said, folding her arms. For a priority target of Academia, she didn't seem that nervous—in fact, the girl next to her seemed way more nervous. Saki was annoyed at the audacity. No one had been hurt, but the supplies that had been destroyed were actually valuable. How awful.

Completely contrasting her mood, Hachio beamed at the trio. "I like your style!" He said cheerfully. "Arson's cool!"

"... Kawasaki," Saki hissed, resisting the urge to smack him across the head. "Not the time."

Hachio blinked, and then waved his hands. "Uh, no! Arson is bad! You can't burn down Academia's buildings like that!"

… I'm stuck with insane people constantly. The only person reacting correctly to this is that blue-haired girl, and she apparently helped to set the fire anyway.

"Chiaki Katsuya," Saki said. "You're a priority target of Academia. We'll be defeating you and taking you back to the base."

Behind Chiaki, the white-haired boy looked over at Saki, briefly narrowing his eyes. Chiaki rolled her eyes. The message was dismissive and obvious—you can try.

"We didn't want the small fry," Chiaki said with a shrug. "If you're the ones here, it's already worthless. We'll be leaving."

"You—" Saki glared at her. "Don't look down on us! We're going to defeat you and take you back, as the newly-appointed Lieutenants of the invasion!"

"New managers of this genocide," Chiaki said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Do you feel satisfied?"

"You—"

"I just don't care about people who want to say that they're doing the right thing," Chiaki said. "We'll duel if you want, but don't try to debate philosophy with me. I'm not the type."

---

Kyorin glanced at Chiaki. As usual, the admiration was there—she would never stop admiring her friend for being able to speak so frankly about what she felt.

Next to the brown-haired girl, the blue-haired boy spoke up, leaning forward and grinning dopily. "Well, dueling's always fun! Hey, hey, you! The one behind! You're the White Inferno, right? Man, you really do look a lot like Yuri! That's so weird, huh…"

Chiaki made a face. "Don't compare him to that purple bastard," she muttered darkly.

"Oh no, I'm sure he's way nicer!" Chiaki noticeably held back a snort. The boy glanced at them, and then, still smiling, waved a hand. "Hey there! I'm Lieutenant Hachio Kawasaki of the Heartland Occupation Force! And she's Lieutenant Saki Garam!"

"I don't really care," Chiaki said with a shrug. "Anyway, we're only here to help Kyorin out."

"Hah, that's super cute though! Friendship and all!" There was no sense of condescension to his voice, despite how childish his words were. He looked at Kyorin, and then, he nodded, cheerfully winking at her. "I can see why you want to help her! She's super cute. If she wasn't one of you Lancers, I'd totally ask her out."

Kyorin blinked, and then her cheeks went red—not because she felt flattered, she really felt anything but. It was kind of embarrassing.

Chiaki rolled her eyes, taking a step in front of Kyorin—as though to shield her from the boy's gaze, which was very sweet of her… but also kind of embarrassing. "Why does Kyorin seem to attract specifically men like you?" She muttered. "Buzz off, hachi."

"Technically, it should be mitsubachi," Yuji pointed out idly, but he also seemed slightly bothered by the obvious flirting.

"Bee, honeybee, same thing. His name is literally 'bee-man'. Next thing you know, he plays a deck of bees." Chiaki sighed. They exchanged another look, one of those significant ones that usually communicated their intentions, even if Yuji wasn't good at words and Chiaki wasn't good at gentleness either. Still, from the twitch of an eyebrow and a brief shrug, they both seemed to get their message across. Chiaki nodded and turned away. "Sure. As usual, you're not a morning person. Guess it's you and I then, Kyorin."

"A-ah? Okay!" It was a little disappointing that she wasn't getting to talk to the person that she had wanted to talk to, but getting to fight with her friends around…

That would probably be very fun, huh?

"So?"

"I'll duel you," Saki said with a sneer, gesturing towards Chiaki. "I have a score to settle with you anyway. Kawasaki, make yourself useful and duel the princess."

Kyorin winced—did everyone at Academia know?

Hachio brightened up. "So that means I get to duel the cute girl? Score!" He raised his duel disk too. "Okay! Let's get going! Split fields, shared life points then!"

… now Kyorin was just a bit uncomfortable.

Briefly, Yuji moved in the corner of her vision. He glanced at her—as though questioning her if she was alright, in his odd 'Yuji' way.

Kyorin nodded.

She could do this…

She would do it properly.

---

So they separated into two different duels, with enough space for both. Yuji stood at the side and watched, but Chiaki was mostly forced to pay attention to her own duel. She was sure that Kyorin would be fine, after all.

Plus, this girl seemed frustrated with her. It might be better to figure out why.

[DUEL!]

Chiaki Katsuya: 4000LP

Saki Garam: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Chiaki] [H:5]

"I'll start!" Chiaki glanced through her hand. "I'll Normal Summon Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous!" The blonde-haired girl in white-silver armour landed on the field.

[Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous (4*/1500/1500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"Ecclesia's effect. I will add a "Dogmatika" card from my deck to my hand, but I can't Special Summon monster from the Extra Deck this turn." She picked up a card. "I'll activate the Field Spell, Dogmatika Nation. And then, I'll set a card and end my turn."

[Turn 2: Saki] [H:6]

"Is that it?" Saki picked up another card from her deck. "I heard that you played Fairies."

"I did," Chiaki said. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No reason," Saki said with a shrug. "Just curious, yeah? I mean, I play Fairies too, so I just thought… ah, never mind." She revealed a card in her hand. "Continuous Spell, Cloudian Forecast! When this card is activated, I can add a "Cloudian" monster from my deck to my hand. I'll add and Normal Summon Cloudian - Turbulence!" A large green vortex appeared in front of her, winds swirling everywhere. Chiaki stared, baffled—really? This was a Fairy monster? This violent, green spiral of wind? Maybe she was still asleep…

[Cloudian - Turbulence (4*/800/0/WATER/Fairy/Effect)]

"When Cloudian - Turbulence is Normal Summoned, I can place a Fog Counter on it for each "Cloudian" monster on the field," Saki explained. "I only control Turbulence itself—so that's one. And with the effect of Cloudian Forecast, when a "Cloudian" monster is Normal or Special Summoned, I can place another Fog Counter on it!" Two small wisps of white formed, both of them being sucked into the green vortex.

[Cloudian - Turbulence: Fog Counter(s): 2]

"Cloudian - Turbulence's effect. By removing a Fog Counter from it, I can Special Summon a "Cloudian - Smoke Ball" from my deck or from either player's graveyard." Saki picked up two cards from her deck. "Come—two copies of Cloudian - Smoke Ball!" Two bright yellow balls of yellow fog appeared, wide eyes on it, with trails of golden mist beneath each of them going towards the ground.

[Cloudian - Smoke Ball (1*/200/600/WATER/Fairy)]

"Each of my Smoke Balls gains a Fog Counter, since they were summoned while I control Forecast!"

[Cloudian - Smoke Ball (x2): Fog Counter(s): 1]

"Quickplay Spell, Fog Control!" Saki continued. "I'll tribute one of my Smoke Balls to place three Fog Counters on Turbulence. Then, by removing two more Fog Counters, I will Special Summon a Smoke Ball from my graveyard and one from my deck!" Now, she controlled three of those yellow smoke balls.

[Cloudian - Turbulence: Fog Counter(s): 1]

"I'll activate the Spell Card, Cloudian Fusion!" She put down another card, clouds circling around her. "I'll fuse two copies of Cloudian - Smoke Ball!" The two yellow monsters shot up in the air. "Frozen crystals, dance in the air like mist, and become the unseen threat that lingers around our enemies! Fusion Summon! Cloudian - Ice Fog!"

A blue, misty figure emerged, incorporeal. At the same time, there was only one solid part of it—light blue ice crystals that circled the 'head' of the monster. Around it, slow white vortexes spun. It seemed to glare straight through Chiaki—its undeniably feminine appearance lent it a certain elegance, for all that it did not truly have a face or eyes to look with.

[Cloudian - Ice Fog (7*/2500/1800/WATER/Fairy/Fusion/Effect)]

"Cloudian - Ice Fog gains a Fog Counter for each "Cloudian" monster on the field!" Saki declared. "And with Cloudian Forecast's effect, I'll place another Fog Counter on Ice Fog!"

"I'll activate the effect of Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted in my hand!" Chiaki countered. It was obvious that this girl wanted to keep on amassing Fog Counters, but Chiaki didn't want to let her. "Since there's a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck on the field, I can Special Summon her from my hand—and then I can negate the effects of a monster you control! I'll negate Ice Fog's effect!" Fleurdelis appeared next to Ecclesia, ready for battle.

[Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted (8*/2500/2500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"Even if you negate Ice Fog's effect, Cloudian Forecast still puts a Fog Counter on Ice Fog," Saki said, narrowing her eyes.

[Cloudian - Ice Fog: Fog Counter(s): 1]

"Is that negation permanent?"

"Until the End Phase," Chiaki said with a shrug.

"... alright," Saki said. She looked extremely serious—was that monster her ace, then? "Turbulence still has one Fog Counter. I'll remove it to Special Summon another Smoke Ball from my graveyard."

What an insane strategy… by putting more Fog Counters on Turbulence, she could just keep getting more material, huh? Another pale yellow smoke ball floated onto her field.

[Cloudian - Turbulence: Fog Counter(s): 0]

"Then, open, circuit of the distant fog!"

"A Link Summon?" Chiaki said, narrowing her eyes.

"My brother is the main negotiator that was sent to the Link Dimension," Saki said, and there was a certain sharp pride to her voice that made Chiaki narrow her eyes at her. "Of course, he made a Link Monster for me as well."

"Oh, you have an older brother," Chiaki said clippedly.

"Older brothers are the best," Saki said, with no hesitation whatsoever. "Amon's always taken care of me, no matter what. I'll make good use of what he gave me. Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two WATER monsters! I'll set both of my Smoke Balls in the Link Markers! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Cloudian - Empty Mist!" A large grey cloud appeared in front of Turbulence, in Saki's Extra Monster Zone.

[Cloudian - Empty Mist (L2/1000/WATER/Fiend/Link/Effect/↓, ↑)]

"When Cloudian - Empty Mist is Link Summoned, I can place Fog Counters on it, up to the number of "Cloudian" monsters I control!" Saki gestured forward. Three small white wisps faded into the clouds, before a fourth one joined it with the effect of her Continuous Spell.

[Cloudian - Empty Mist: Fog Counter(s): 4]

"Empty Mist's effect. Once per turn, I can target a "Cloudian" monster it points to, destroy it, and add a "Cloudian" monster from my graveyard to my hand!" Saki gestured to Turbulence, which was immediately destroyed. "I will destroy Turbulence—and add it back to my hand!"

So that she could Normal Summon it again and pull off the same combo…

"With my Continuous Spell's effect, all "Cloudian" monsters gain 400 attack points for each Fog Counter on them!" Saki declared.

… huh. So that meant…

[Cloudian - Empty Mist: 1000 + 200 x 4 = 1800ATK]

[Cloudian - Ice Fog: 2500 + 200 = 2700ATK]

"Battle Phase! Cloudian - Ice Fog attacks Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted!" Icy tendrils of fog slowly drifted forward, wrapping around Fleurdelis—

"Your monster goes down with mine!" Chiaki retorted. "Once per turn, when my "Dogmatika" monster battles an opponent's monster, I can destroy that monster after damage calculation!"

"That won't work," Saki said, putting her hands on her hips with an annoyed look on her face. "Since I used Cloudian Fusion and a monster with a Fog Counter to Fusion Summon Ice Fog, it can't be destroyed by card effects on the turn it was Fusion Summoned!"

The icy tendrils pierced straight through Fleurdelis, destroying her—and flicked past Chiaki as well.

Chiaki: 4000 - 200 = 3800LP

"Cloudian - Empty Mist attacks your other monster!"

"Ecclesia can't be destroyed by battle with a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck!" Still, she took the damage as the grey clouds surrounded her briefly.

Chiaki: 3800 - 300 = 3500LP

"I'll set a card and end my turn," Saki said.

And as such, any effects that Ice Fog had were back in play.

No matter. She'd adapt.

[Turn 3: Chiaki] [H:3]

"Draw!" She glanced at the card, before she reached down, flipping up her set card. "Trap Card, Dogmatika Encounter! I can add Fleurdelis from my graveyard to my hand. And then with Fleurdelis's effect, I'll Special Summon her and seal off Ice Fog's effects again!"

"I'll chain Cloudian - Ice Fog's effect," Saki said. Her dark eyes glittered with determination. "I'll remove four Fog Counters from my field, and this turn, monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects until the End Phase!" Empty Mist's four Fog Counters shot up, dissolving into nothing.

[Cloudian - Empty Mist: Fog Counter(s): 0; 1800 - 200 x 4 = 1000ATK]

So her monsters couldn't be destroyed any longer, huh? Still, Ice Fog's effects were negated anyway.

Chiaki would just have to focus on damage then.

"Continuous Spell, Dogmatikamatrix!" She declared. "I'll add the Ritual Spell, Dogmatikamacabre and the Ritual Monster, White Relic of Dogmatika, from my deck to my hand! Then, I'll activate the Ritual Spell, Dogmatikamacabre! I'll tribute the Level 4 Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous on my field for this Ritual Summon! Holy corpse shrouded in the light of dogma. Let your relentless apathy cleanse this funereal plane, and bring forth the perfection that you seek! Advent! Level 4! White Relic of Dogmatika!" The blonde girl dressed in pink and white appeared, floating in front of Chiaki as well.

[White Relic of Dogmatika (4*/500/2500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect)]

"White Relic of Dogmatika's effect! I can target two monsters on the field and have the first permanently gain the second's attack points! I'll target Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted and your Cloudian - Ice Fog! Awakening Cleanse!" Fleurdelis glowed brightly, her attack points shooting up rapidly.

[Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted: 2500 + 2700 = 5200ATK]

"Battle Phase!" If she was lucky, she could end this in a single shot. "Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted attacks Cloudian - Empty Mist! And when a "Dogmatika" monster attacks, Fleurdelis gives all "Dogmatika" monsters 500 attack points!" Both her monsters glowed.

[Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted: 5200 + 500 = 5700ATK]

[White Relic of Dogmatika: 500 + 500 = 1000ATK]

"And I don't care if I can't destroy your monster—you still take the damage!"

"I know that," Saki snapped. Her set card flipped over. "Continuous Trap, Spirit Barrier! While I control a monster, I take no damage!" The attack hit Empty Mist, but thanks to Ice Fog's earlier effect, it didn't matter.

"Main Phase 2," Chiaki muttered.

"During the end of the Battle Phase, if a "Cloudian" monster battled an opponent's monster with higher attack points, all monsters on the field that battled gain a Fog Counter with Cloudian Forecast's effect!"

[Cloudian - Empty Mist: Fog Counter(s): 1]

[Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted: Fog Counter(s): 1]

One of those Fog Counters on her monster too? Why? "I'll activate Dogmatikamatrix's effect. I can send a monster from your Extra Deck to the graveyard!" She got to pull up her opponent's Extra Deck, glancing briefly through it. "I'll send another copy of your Ice Fog to the graveyard! And then, I'll set one card and end my turn!"

"Is that it?" Saki demanded. "Or have you not practised at all with the deck that you stole?"

Chiaki bit back her immediate retort. She wanted to shout that she'd stolen nothing. That this deck had been given to her, that it made her feel like shit half of the time to use it—that she hated feeling indebted to someone else. But saying it… if it got back to Academia, it would get that girl in trouble. So she just had to let the lie stand.

"That girl is the sweetest," Saki said, and Chiaki realised with some surprise that this girl was actually personally offended, just because of Chiaki supposedly being a thief. "I can't believe you did that—I'm not the only one who's after your head for that!"

Chiaki fought the urge to smack her head against a wall, because once again, she hadn't done anything. Was this technically framing? She might have just been framed for a crime, and she wasn't even allowed to be mad because the person who had made up the lie would get into trouble otherwise, for helping her…

Ugh. Why did she even care what Academia thought about her? So what if Academia thought that she had assaulted a disabled girl—

Nope. That did not sound better even in her own head.

Just… fuck. She hadn't done anything. She hadn't done it, so why was she feeling so weird about it?

Nearby, Yuji turned the ring on his finger. It was a casual action, but it caught her attention and grounded her.

… right. It was all worth it. She was back here.

[Turn 4: Saki] [H:4]

"Draw!" Saki picked up the card. "I'll Normal Summon Cloudian - Turbulence!" The green cloud appeared on the field again. "With its effect, it gains a Fog Counter for each of my "Cloudian" monsters, and it gains one more from my Continuous Spell!"

"I'll chain the Trap Card, Dogmatika Punishment!" Chiaki declared, still tense from the situation. "I'll send Fusionist from my Extra Deck to the graveyard to destroy your Turbulence!" She couldn't allow Saki to gain more Fog Counters so easily.

"I'll activate the effect of Cloudian - Empty Mist!" Saki gestured forward. "By tributing it, I'll negate Turbulence's destruction!" The grey cloud vanished from the field. The four Fog Counters appeared on Turbulence, much to Chiaki's annoyance.

[Cloudian - Turbulence: Fog Counter(s): 4]

"Since a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz or Link Monster was sent to the graveyard," Chiaki continued, "I'm going to Special Summon Dogmatika Ashiyan from my hand!" The knight with long silver claws on its knuckles appeared on the field.

[Dogmatika Ashiyan (8*/2000/1500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"Ashiyan's effect. I can add a "Dogmatika" card from my graveyard to my hand!" She picked up a card from her graveyard.

"You can have that," Saki said. "I'll remove three Fog Counters from Turbulence!" Three copies of her Cloudian - Smoke Ball appeared on the field in Defense Position. Chiaki narrowed her eyes, slightly annoyed. "I'll then activate the Spell Card, Lucky Cloud! During the End Phase of this turn, since I summoned at least two "Cloudian" monsters with the same name, I can draw two cards!" She revealed two cards in her hand. "Spell Card, Double Summon! I can Normal Summon a second time this turn! I will tribute two copies of Smoke Ball! Come! Cloudian - Eye of the Typhoon!"

An enormous cloud of purple miasma appeared, a single eye peering from the top of its body like a cyclops. It was by far the most monstrous of all the monsters that Chiaki's opponent had summoned—both Ice Fog and Empty Mist had been more… elegant, for lack of a word.

[Cloudian - Eye of the Typhoon (8*/3000/1000/WIND/Aqua/Effect)]

"With my Continuous Spell, a Fog Counter is placed on Eye of the Typhoon!"

[Cloudian - Eye of the Typhoon: Fog Counter(s): 1]

"And now, I remember your Field Spell's effect, so I'll cut it off. I'll remove four Fog Counters from the field—one from all three of my monsters except Ice Fog, and one from your Fleurdelis—for Ice Fog's effect!" Saki gestured forward. "My monsters can't be destroyed by battle or card effects until the End Phase!" She gestured forward. "And once again—while I control that Continuous Spell, all "Cloudian" monsters gain 200 attack points for each Fog Counter on them!"

[Cloudian - Ice Fog: 2500 + 200 = 2700ATK]

"Battle Phase!" Saki gestured forward. "I'll have my Cloudian - Eye of the Typhoon attack your Fleurdelis, and when Eye of the Typhoon attacks, I can change the battle position of all monsters on the field, except "Cloudian" monsters!" Fleurdelis and Ashiyan moved to Defense Position, while White Relic of Dogmatika moved to Attack Position. Chiaki's eyes widened. She hadn't expected anyone to target the lower defense points of her monsters…

"Dogmatika Ashiyan's effect! Once per turn, when my opponent's monster declares an attack, I can have my "Dogmatika" monsters gain 500 attack points!"

[Dogmatika Ashiyan: 2000 + 500 = 2500ATK]

[Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted: 5700 + 500 = 6200ATK]

[White Relic of Dogmatika: 1000 + 500 = 1500ATK]

Eye of the Typhoon smacked Fleurdelis across the side with a gust of wind—but nothing happened.

Chiaki allowed herself to smirk. "You don't get shortcuts like that," she said. "While I control White Relic of Dogmatika, Level 8 or higher "Dogmatika" monsters I control can't be destroyed by battle!" True enough, White Relic was holding up her staff, a soft glow surrounding the field and protecting Fleurdelis.

Saki narrowed her eyes. "Then I just have to get rid of your White Relic first! Attack White Relic of Dogmatika, Cloudian - Ice Fog!"

That one… couldn't be helped. White Relic was destroyed, and Chiaki's life points fell again.

Chiaki: 3500 - 1200 = 2300LP

"And then Turbulence attacks your Fleurdelis!" Once again, Saki took no damage, and in Defense Postion, Fleurdelis couldn't strike it down. (Not like she could have gotten past Ice Fog's effect anyway, but whatever.) "I'll then have Smoke Ball attack Fleurdelis too! And during the end of the Battle Phase, since all of my monsters except Ice Fog battled a monster with higher attack points this turn, they all get a Fog Counter—and your Fleurdelis gains one too!"

[Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted: Fog Counter(s): 1]

[Cloudian - Smoke Ball: Fog Counter(s): 1; 200 + 200 = 400ATK]

[Cloudian - Turbulence: Fog Counter(s): 1; 800 + 200 = 1000ATK]

[Cloudian - Eye of the Typhoon: Fog Counter(s): 1; 3000 + 200 = 3200ATK]

"I'll end my turn."

[Turn 5: Chiaki] [H:2]

"Draw!" The problem was clearly going to be Spirit Barrier, along with Ice Fog and her Continuous Spell. Chiaki still had her Field Spell, Ashiyan and Fleurdelis, but that was it. This was… salvageable.

And well, even if it fucking wasn't, Chiaki was way too stubborn to give up on anything, so her opponent would just have to deal with it.

"Then, open, circuit of holy judgement!"

In the end, Miharu had pulled through for her. It was still up to her to remember when she could use it though. (Specifically, she usually had to use it before activating any effects that locked her to the Extra Deck, like Ecclesia or Maximus's effects.)

Still…

I'm impulsive, not reckless. I'm aggressive, not unguarded. I know how to think through what I do.

"The conditions are one Special Summoned LIGHT monster, except another copy of this monster. I'll set Ashiyan in the Link Markers! Appear now, white figure burned as holy sacrifice! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1! Dogmatika Effigy!" A large, white marble statue appeared on the field, a golden stigmata carved into its chest. The statue was holding a spear up towards the sky. Around it, white flames flickered.

[Dogmatika Effigy (L1/1000/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Link/Effect/→)]

"When Dogmatika Effigy is Link Summoned, I can add a "Dogmatika" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand! Then, since you control a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can Special Summon a "Dogmatika" monster from my deck! Come! Dogmatika Maximus!" The tall leader of the Dogmatika monsters appeared on the field, giving off a strange aura.

[Dogmatika Maximus (8*/1500/3000/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]

Time to systematically rip this girl's Extra Deck to pieces.

"Maximus's effect." Chiaki said. "I'll send two monsters from my Extra Deck to the graveyard—to force you to send two monsters from your Extra Deck to the graveyard!"

There was something tense to Saki's expression as she revealed two Fusion Monsters, dropping them in the graveyard.

"I will Special Summon Ecclesia from my hand!" Chiaki continued—after all, that was what she'd added back with Ashiyan last turn. "And with Ecclesia's effect, I'll add a "Dogmatika" card from my deck to my hand. Then, I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Dogmatikamatrix. I'll add a "Dogmatika" Ritual Spell and a "Dogmatika" card from my deck to my hand! And I'll activate the Ritual Spell, Dogmatikamacabre! I will tribute the Level 8 Dogmatika Maximus on my field!"

"A Level 8 Ritual Summon…"

"Holy knight shrouded in the light of dogma. Be swallowed up by the lunacy of the sacrilegious void, and let your empty shell strike out mercilessly! Ritual Summon! Level 8! White Knight of Dogmatika!"

In front of Chiaki, a tall set of white armour appeared, surrounded by a strange, sinister aura. Saki narrowed her eyes.

[White Knight of Dogmatika (8*/500/2500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect)]

"It suits you," the other girl said curtly.

Chiaki rolled her eyes. Her words were calculated venom. "Please, then it suits her too, doesn't it? Lying corruption inside an armour that looks all shiny and sparkly. Do you even know her? Why are you so bothered by it?"

Saki gritted her teeth. "Because Shino-san's never hurt a single person," she said. "Because she helped me when I was—why do I need to explain myself? You're the thief!"

"Never hurt a single person?" And there it was, that seething anger. "You're Academia! All you do is hurt other people! Not a single one of you is innocent!"

Saki drew herself up to her full height—still not that tall, but enough to show her hostile attitude. "Now you don't sound like Katsuya Jounouchi's sister," she said mockingly.

What—

"That guy, known for being so lucky," Saki sneered. "Back when I was still serving in the Ritual Dimension, we used to have to read up on his deck—and god, his deck was such garbage! I don't know how he kept winning—he really just depended on blind luck and trusted his life to it, huh? If he just got rid of his more useless cards, then he might actually have a good deck—but we all know that Tenjoin-san is the superior Red-Eyes duelist by far, and he'll go after your brother like—"

Chiaki cut the girl off. "—if you don't shut up, I don't care that you're a girl. I'll hit you anyway."

Unlike her earlier anger, this was something spiteful and cold. It was that hateful part of herself that Chiaki rarely liked indulging.

"Katsuya-nii," Chiaki said, "is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest man that I've ever met in my life, and it's not close. You can insult me all you want, but bringing up my brother crosses the line. He's never done anything wrong in his life, he just wanted to live a life, and he's become such a good person despite all odds."

And…

"But I guess I should thank you," she said. "I've been worrying all this time that whatever happened back home might have killed him. I couldn't say it because I didn't want to look weak. But with your words, I know that's not true. He's still alive, and he'll be alive until I get home and apologise for making him worry for months and months—because that's what older siblings do. They worry and they care. But do you know what the role of younger siblings is? It's to recognise that, to return fire when their older sibling is too mature and kind for it."

In Saki's eyes, she saw… recognition? Chiaki ignored it.

"Since I control a "Dogmatika" Ritual Monster, I can use the effect of one of my Dogmatikamatrix cards to send a monster from your Extra Deck to the graveyard! I'll choose another one of your Fusion Monsters!" They all looked the same to her, after all. "I'll change Fleurdelis to Attack Position! Then, I'll activate the Spell Card, Twin Twisters! By discarding a card—" And those were the last two cards in her hand. "I'll destroy your Continuous Spell, along with Spirit Barrier!" The two cards shattered, and Saki's eyes widened.

Chiaki couldn't help but feel satisfied.

After all, it didn't matter what tricks Saki pulled to protect her monsters now. She'd been relying on the fact that her monsters couldn't be destroyed and that she wasn't taking any damage—

But now, because she'd been so confident in her own strategy…

Her Smoke Ball was in Attack Position.

"Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted attacks Cloudian - Smoke Ball!" Chiaki declared. "Effigy gives all LIGHT monsters 500 attack points, and Fleurdelis's effect gives all "Dogmatika" monsters 500 attack points!"

[White Knight of Dogmatika: 500 + 500 + 500 = 1500ATK]

[Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted: 6200 + 500 + 500 = 7200ATK]

[Dogmatika Effigy: 1000 + 500 + 500 = 2000ATK]

"Finish her off, Fleurdelis!"

Her monster raised her sword in the air, before slashing it through the space in front of her—

The shockwave shattered the field, and even though Saki's monsters weren't destroyed, it did not matter.

Saki: 4000 - 7000 = 0LP

Winner: Chiaki Katsuya!

Chiaki let out a huff. At least that performance was satisfactory. And Effigy's search and boosting effects had helped her quite a bit. If she could add more stronger cards like that to her deck…

And learning about her brother had put her in a good mood too.

She turned to look at Saki. "I'll never apologise for things I don't regret," she said, even as the familiar glow of Academia's automatic teleportation appeared. "So no. I'll never apologise to that person. That's all. If you're really a good enough person to be that offended, what are you doing on Academia's side anyway?"

Saki glared at her, before she vanished, teleporting away.

Fantastic.

… what about Kyorin, then?

---

[DUEL!]

Hachio Kawasaki: 4000LP

Kyorin Rinsoka: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Kyorin] [H:5]

Kyorin glanced at the cards she'd drawn. She blinked in surprise. She'd only just added that card back into the deck, and here it was in her starting hand…

Now wasn't really the time to use it though. She didn't have anything to use it on.

"I'll activate the Spell Card, Graceful Charity," she said. "I'll draw three cards and… discard two." She dropped both cards in the graveyard timidly. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Reinforcement of the Army!" Kyorin immediately declared, glancing through her hand. "I'll… um, add a Level 4 or lower Warrior monster from my deck to my hand! I'll add the Level 3 Nekroz of Clausolas from my deck to my hand—and I can discard Clausolas from my hand with its own effect to add a "Nekroz" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand!"

She picked up the card—she still had five cards in her hand, after that.

"I'll then discard Nekroz of Brionac from my hand to add a "Nekroz" monster from my deck to my hand." She rearranged her hand, before she picked up another card. "I'll discard Nekroz of Unicore from my hand to add Nekroz of Clausolas from my graveyard to my hand. And then, I'll activate the Ritual Spell, Nekroz Cycle! By tributing monsters with a Level exactly equal to that of the Ritual Monster I want to Ritual Summon, I can… well, perform that Ritual Summon! Um, so… I'll tribute the Level 4 Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz."

She picked up the card from the graveyard, placing it on the field.

"So now, return from the graveyard! Fabled unicorn who cuts the strings of fate. Be channelled into the mirror formed from ice, and bless the ancient sorcerer! Ritual Summon! Level 4—Nekroz of Unicore!" In front of her, the white-haired warrior appeared, swinging a blue and gold spear through the air as he stared forward intently. His purple cape rested comfortably over his shoulder, framing his pale figure.

[Nekroz of Unicore (4*/2300/1000/WATER/Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect)]

"Man, already a Ritual Summon? That's so cool!"

Kyorin gulped, but quickly steeled herself. "I'll then activate the effect of Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz, since he was tributed. I can add a "Nekroz" Spellcaster Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand!" She flipped the card over, revealing it. "I'll add the Ritual Monster, Nekroz of Valkyrus to my hand!"

Then…

"I'll activate the Spell Card, Preparation of Rites," Kyorin continued. "I'll add my Nekroz Cycle from my graveyard to my hand, and a Level 7 or lower Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand. And then, I'll activate the Ritual Spell, Nekroz Mirror. With the effect of Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz in my hand, he can serve as the full tribute. Dragon of the ice barrier, with the wrathful nature of the protector, be channelled into the mirror formed from ice, and bless the young princess! Ritual Summon! Level 7! Nekroz of Gungnir!" Kyorin's main ace appeared on the field, her flaming red hair streaming through the air. The sight, at least, calmed Kyorin a little.

[Nekroz of Gungnir (7*/2500/1700/WATER/Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect)]

"Shurit's effect. I'll add a "Nekroz" Warrior Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand." She picked up the card, before she glanced forward. "I'll set a card facedown. Over to you?" She still had Valkyrus and Nekroz Cycle in her hand, which would be good for the next turn too.

[Turn 2: Hachio] [H:6]

"Mm, mm, you're cool!" Hachio drew a card, beaming at him. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Beetrooper Landing! I can perform a Fusion Summon using monsters in my hand and on my field! I'll fuse Gokipole and Beetrooper Assault Roller in my hand! With your powerful orbit, drag the world into the cruelty of the unknown! Fusion Summon! Stomp this field, Beetrooper Cruel Saturnas!" In front of him, an enormous, furry brown beetle appeared, dressed in dark purple armour, the metal shimmering briefly. A knight stood on the back of the beetle, waving a lance through the air.

[Beetrooper Cruel Saturnas (5*/2400/2000/DARK/Insect/Fusion/Effect)]

"... is your deck actually bees?"

"Nope! Hachio raised a finger. "Beetles, not bees! Big difference!"

Ah, that was a rather big beetle, so maybe that made sense… still, that just felt like a really painful double pun. Maybe his parents hadn't known what deck he'd play though…

"Anyway, I'll activate the effect of Gokipole and Cruel Saturnas!"

Kyorin cleared her throat. Ice spread across the field at that exact moment as Unicore raised his spear, swinging it through the air. "Sorry," she said. "When I control Nekroz of Unicore, all monsters Special Summoned from the Extra Deck have their effects negated."

"Oh, man…" Hachio blinked. "Then, Gokipole's effect! I'll add a Level 4 Insect monster from my deck to my hand—and if it's a Normal Monster, I can Special Summon it and destroy a monster you control with equal or higher attack points! Come, Killer Needle!" A yellow bee appeared on the field in Defense Position. "And you've showed me the problem! I'll destroy Nekroz of Unicore!"

Kyorin watched as her monster was destroyed, wincing.

[Killer Needle (4*/1200/1000/WIND/Insect)]

"Still, I activated Cruel Saturnas's effect as Chain Link 2, so it can't be helped! It resolved first!" Hachio spread out his arms in the air with a shrug, but he still seemed cheerful. "I'll activate the effect of Beetrooper Sting Lancer in my hand! I'll target an Insect monster in my graveyard, along with a monster in my opponent's graveyard. I'll target your Nekroz of Unicore—don't want you reviving it with your Ritual Spell, after all—and my Gokipole! And then, I can Special Summon Sting Lancer from my hand and return those monsters to the deck!" The two monsters went back into the decks of their respective duelists, and then, an enormous yellow bee appeared on Hachio's field, its stinger larger than Kyorin's head. It had several bright wings highlighted with green, glowing material, and it let out a loud, irritated buzzing sound.

[Beetrooper Sting Lancer (7*/2400/1800/WIND/Insect/Effect)]

… was he sure he wasn't playing a deck of bees?

"I'll then activate the effect of Sting Lancer! Since it was Special Summoned, I can add a "Beetrooper" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand!" Hachio picked up the card, still grinning. "And now, your monster's gone, so I'm fine! Normal Summoning Beetrooper Scout Buggy!"

A warrior in silver armour appeared, sitting on the back of an enormous red ladybug, the bug's pink wings flitting through the air.

[Beetrooper Scout Buggy (3*/1000/300/WIND/Insect/Effect)]

"When Scout Buggy is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon another copy of Scout Buggy from my deck!" The ladybug duplicated itself, another one landing on the field. "It's a hard once per turn effect though… I'll then activate the Spell Card, Beetrooper Landing again!"

He added another one to his hand? Then, was he not going to put anything into defense at all?

"Let's go, Round Two!" Hachio raised a hand. "I fuse Beetrooper Scout Buggy, Beetrooper Scout Buggy, Killer Needle and Beetrooper Sting Lancer!"

Four monsters? Kyorin's eyes widened as she watched all four of the insects on the field hop into the vortex—well, with the exception of Cruel Saturnas. What kind of monster would require four monsters as material…?

"Heroic destruction, crush cities under your legs, and charge forth! Fusion Summon! The one, the only Ultra Beetrooper Absolute Hercules!"

An enormous white beetle zoomed out of the portal, crashing down on the field—it dwarfed Cruel Saturnas, and it towered over them—each of its spindly legs was taller than Kyorin herself. Its legs and large jaws were dark grey, with electricity spinning around them—large fan-like accelerators could be seen on the back of its body, ready to fire off beams at enemies. Meanwhile, orange membranes formed its wings, helping its heavy body hover in the air.

… thank goodness Kyorin didn't have a strong fear of insects, huh?

[Ultra Beetrooper Absolute Hercules (11*/4000/4000/EARTH/Insect/Fusion/Effect)]

"Four thousand attack points…" Kyorin murmured.

"And that's not all!" Hachio raised a finger. "After Ultra Beetrooper Absolute Hercules is Fusion Summoned, it becomes unaffected by all other cards' effects until my next End Phase!"

Unaffected? Then Kyorin couldn't use Valkyrus or Gungnir's effects on it…

"I'll enter my Battle Phase!" Hachio grinned. "You're cute, but I'm not going to hold back against you! Ultra Beetrooper Absolute Hercules attacks Nekroz of Gungnir!"

Kyorin made a split second decision, hurriedly dropping a card from her hand. "Nekroz of Gungnir's effect! I'll discard a "Nekroz" card and destroy a card on the field! I'll choose Beetrooper Cruel Saturnas!" She gestured forward. "Frozen Waltz Spear!"

Gungnir dashed forward—with a swift motion, she cut down the other monster, glaring darkly.

"Cute!" Hachio winked. "But your monster still goes down! Go, Absolute Hercules!"

Kyorin winced as the large beetle slammed down towards Gungnir, crushing her monster and dealing damage to her.

Kyorin: 4000 - 1500 = 2500LP

"And…" Hachio practically hopped on the spot. "I end my Battle Phase! I'll use the effect of Absolute Hercules! I can target an Insect monster in my graveyard with 3000 or less attack points and Special Summon it!"

What? Then—

"So, guess who's coming back?" Cruel Saturnas reappeared on his field in Attack Position. "I'll end my turn!"

[Turn 3: Kyorin] [H:3]

"Draw," Kyorin said. "I'll discard Nekroz of Clausolas from my hand to add a "Nekroz" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand. Then, I'll activate the effect of Nekroz Mirror in my graveyard! Since I control no monsters, I can banish it and another "Nekroz" card from my graveyard to add a "Nekroz" Spell from my deck to my hand!" She picked up the card from her deck. "Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz's effect! When banished, I will send a "Nekroz" monster from my deck to the graveyard! I'll choose Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz! And then with the effect of Nekroz Cycle in my graveyard, since I control no monsters, I will banish it and Exa from the graveyard to add another "Nekroz" Spell from my deck to my hand!"

"Two cards without losing any card advantage?" Hachio blinked. "Whoa, cool!"

"Exa's effect!" Kyorin declared. "I can Special Summon a banished "Nekroz" monster! Come to the field—Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz!"

The old, wizened sorcerer appeared on the field, a pale figure, turning back and briefly nodding at Kyorin.

[Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz (4*/1500/800/WATER/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"Then, the Spell Card, Nekroz Mirror!" Kyorin revealed the new copy of the Ritual Spell in her hand. "I will banish Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz from the graveyard—and he pays for the whole cost of the Ritual Summon himself! Fabled wisdom of the roaring demon gods. Be channelled into the mirror formed from ice, and bless the ancient sorcerer! Ritual Summon! Level 8! Nekroz of Valkyrus!" One of her most commonly summoned monsters appeared on the field, swinging his spear through the air with one arm, while adjusting his eyepatch with the other.

[Nekroz of Valkyrus (8*/2900/1700/WATER/Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect)]

"I will use the effect of Nekroz of Valkyrus," Kyorin said. "I'll tribute Great Sorcerer on the field, and Dance Princess of the Nekroz in my hand! Then, I can draw a card for each tributed monster!" She picked up two cards from her deck, glancing at them. "With Great Sorcerer's effect, I'll add another "Nekroz" Spellcaster Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand, while with Dance Princess's effect, I'll add a banished "Nekroz" monster to my hand. I'll take Shurit back!"

This brought her up to seven cards in hand. Two of them were obviously Spell or Traps, one was Shurit and one was the card that she'd just added—which she immediately played.

"I will activate the effect of Nekroz of Unicore in my hand! By sending it from my hand to the graveyard, I will take back my Nekroz of Gungnir."

"Hmm, nice! But Valkyrus still can't pass my monster in attack points, right?"

No. Kyorin's deck had never been about being particularly aggressive in terms of battle—removing monsters through card effects was far more her forte. However…

It wasn't like she had absolutely no way out…

(She was hesitant. She had discarded that card… not entirely for practical reasons, to be honest, but because it intimidated her slightly to use it.)

(That feeling of 'I can never be as good as her'. The reason she'd removed a card like that…)

(A broken promise.)

(She'd already been seen.)

"I'll activate the Spell Card, Nekroz Cycle. I'll tribute Shurit in my hand as the full cost—to Ritual Summon another monster from the graveyard!"

"Again, huh?"

Kyorin picked up the card that she had discarded on the first turn.

I still don't quite understand why my monsters seem to bear a resemblance to the cards of others. There's the Ice Barrier dragons that those two use, and then those Fabled monsters too… and this…

But still…

I've always been a fan of dragons, so I guess I don't mind.

"Dragon whose wings carry the weight of the stormclouds!" Kyorin launched into an old, but almost unfamiliar summoning chant. (She'd come up with it, even when she had been determined not to use this card.) "Be channelled into the mirror formed from ice, and bless the young warrior! Ritual Summon! Level 10!"

She placed her old ace on the field with a flourish.

"Dance, stormy skies—and freeze beneath the holy light! Nekroz of Areadbhair!"

A tall, red-haired warrior appeared—though there was a single streak of white emerging from the front. It was perhaps the oldest form of Shurit in her deck. The armour that he was wearing was stormy blue-grey, contrasting with the vibrant warmth of his hair. Long wings billowed out behind him like sails—almost too many for her to even bother trying to count. A long tail emerged behind him, whipping through the air—red flames swirled around him as well, accentuating the darkness of his armour and yet the vibrance of his features. He held onto a staff made of blue metal in his hands, which had a bright symbol built into the top of the metal.

[Nekroz of Areadbhair (10*/3300/3200/WATER/Warrior/Ritual/Effect)]

"Shurit's effect," Kyorin said. She picked up yet another Warrior Ritual Monster. She still had six cards in hand.

"Nekroz of Areadbhair…" Hachio repeated.

"I'll activate the effect of Nekroz of Brionac in my hand," Kyorin said, revealing the card she'd added with Shurit's effect. "I will discard him to add another "Nekroz" monster from my deck to my hand—I'll choose Nekroz of Decisive Armor."

She picked up the card and dropped it in the same breath.

"I'll discard Nekroz of Decisive Armor from my hand—and Nekroz of Areadbhair gains 1000 attack and defense points until the End Phase!"

[Nekroz of Areadbhair: 3300 + 1000 = 4300ATK; 3200 + 1000 = 4200DEF]

"You exceeded Absolute Hercules's attack points?"

"Battle Phase!" Kyorin gestured forward. "Warrior of the frozen mirror, dance in the blizzard and the storm! Nekroz of Areadbhair attacks Ultra Beetrooper Absolute Hercules! Frozen Slaughtering Spear!"

Areadbhair raised his spear, before stabbing it through the air, cutting straight through the beetle and destroying it in a single blow.

… it wasn't a half bad feeling.

Hachio: 4000 - 300 = 3700LP

After all, Hachio had probably been expecting the 4000 attack points to hold against battle—and the effect immunity certainly helped.

"Valkyrus attacks Cruel Saturnas!" Her other Ritual Monster cut down her opponent's Fusion Monster with a twirl of his own weapon.

Hachio: 3700 - 500 = 3200LP

"I'll end my turn!"

[Turn 4: Hachio] [H:2]

As Areadbhair's attack points returned back to normal, Hachio drew a card. "I'll activate my own copy of Graceful Charity. I'll draw three cards and discard two! And then, I'll use my Field Spell, Beetrooper Formation!" He declared cheerfully. "I can Special Summon a "Beetrooper" monster from my graveyard and lose life points equal to its attack points! Come back! Beetrooper Cruel Saturnas!"

What? He was giving up 2400 life points to bring back that Fusion Monster?

The purple and orange beetle appeared on the field, legs clacking across the ground.

Hachio: 3200 - 2400 = 800LP

"Cruel Saturnas's effect! I'll add a "Beetrooper" card from my deck to my hand!"

He did all of that for a search? Then—

"Nekroz of Areadbhair's effect!" Kyorin declared. "When my opponent activates a monster effect, I can tribute a "Nekroz" monster in my hand or field to negate the activation of that effect and banish that monster! I'll tribute Ariel, Priestess of the Nekroz in my hand! Judgement of the Ice Mirror!"

Areadbhair gestured forward, and Cruel Saturnas vanished from the field in a blast of ice.

"Ariel's effect lets me add a "Nekroz" monster to my hand, as long as it's not a Ritual Monster."

Hachio grinned. "Negating monster effects, huh? That's a cool effect!"

A cool effect, huh…

So that was all he saw?

And… wasn't that the saddest part? The reminder that Kyorin was always, always worrying over things—but that no one ever truly saw the root of that worry, just the result after she had already agonised over it for such a long time? Afraid to not be good enough, afraid that every action she took would overflow into some kind of uncontrollable chain reaction. This painful grip that never loosened on her heart—always anxious, anxious, anxious—

Always afraid to be deficient, when she had already been born that way.

"Do you see this? This is what you've painted. This is the landscape that exists in your mind. It's okay to be scared—but I won't think any less of you because you take a little longer to read or count."

But, Kyorin still felt that way.

When she was in school, and the only thing that people cared about were words and numbers… when she was dueling, and it took her so much effort to keep up with the duel when others seemed to do it so easily…

… she was always a little scared of everything.

And so, someone would ask her: 'Kyorin, why did you take out one of the strongest monsters in your deck, and why did you never put it back in after you entered this war, when you knew your life was in danger? Shouldn't you want to be strong?'

And they would be right. That was what she should want.

And the only answer she could give was that at the start, she had been scared to be herself. She hadn't dueled, but she had been scared that someday, she would be pressured into a duel, and someone would think 'hey, your ace's effect really resembles that of Cyndia Crawford's ace, doesn't it? So does your entire deck! Say, are you related to them?'

Scared to be recognised…

… she was just a coward, no matter what anyone said.

And then, what about when she'd left, gone to Standard, where she'd still struggled to hide anyway, only briefly telling Reiji Akaba about how she'd gotten there?

Hiding without a real reason, beyond all rationality…

As though she'd rather die than give herself the opportunity to stand up and fight properly, with all her strength…

And she was just scared of change too. Scared of changing, especially because of her past—scared of truly becoming someone unrecognisable, yet scared to be exactly the same—

Just stuck in stasis, a leaf pressed between the pages of a book, never rotting, but not living either.

… but then again…

There was this card.

She'd placed Areadbhair back in the deck on impulse the last night, despite how nervous it made her—she'd almost thrown up.

And yet, despite ignoring it for so many years, it'd come to her on the first turn, as though asking—how have you been? An old friend, awkward but comforting, friendly and unresentful.

I love dragons, she'd told her father once. That much she knew.

Just like how Areadbhair still felt like a well-fit glove now, despite being a thing of the past, 'Chione Limuria' was still important to Kyorin Rinsoka's existence, no matter how hard she tried to forget.

So she'd keep on agonising over it, over and over again…

And everyone else would keep on living lives where they didn't always feel like they were balancing on a knife's edge.

Kyorin breathed out.

It just sucked that a single sentence was enough to almost send her into an anxiety attack, when it was a compliment…

She didn't want to always be afraid like this.

She watched as her opponent studied the card in his hand—and then…

He smiled…?

"Kay," he said cheerfully. "I'll activate the effect of Beetrooper Landing in my graveyard! I'll banish Scout Buggy and Sting Lancer from the graveyard to add it back to my hand!"

He picked up the card, before revealing another card in his hand—the only card that was currently unknown to her.

It had a green border.

"Spell Card, Monster Reborn!" He said with a wink. "Return to my field—Ultra Beetrooper Absolute Hercules!"

… you've got to be kidding me…

The enormous beetle from before reappeared, much to Kyorin's chagrin.

"Let's try this again!" Hachio gestured forward. "Beat 'em down! Absolute Hercules attacks Nekroz of Areadbhair!"

"I'll discard Nekroz of Gungnir from my hand!" Kyorin dropped the card in the graveyard. A freezing aura surrounded Areadbhair, who held up his spear-staff to block the incoming attack. "This turn, Nekroz of Areadbhair can't be destroyed by battle or card effects!"

Absolute Hercules's attack landed, sending a shockwave through the field. Nearby, Kyorin saw Yuji blink and turn his head to look over, pushing his fringe behind his ear.

Her life points fell, but at the very last, she didn't lose Areadbhair.

She could work with that.

Kyorin: 2500 - 700 = 1800LP

"... man, you really are so cool!" Hachio leaned forward, beaming. "I can see why Commander Phoenix asked me to keep an eye out for him!"

… he said what now?

"Still, you're not gonna escape that easily! During the end of the Battle Phase, Absolute Hercules's effect triggers! Come back from the graveyard—Beetrooper Light Flapper!" A purple insectoid warrior appeared, riding on the back of a dragonfly. The purple-pink of the warrior extended to the dragonfly too—thin pink wings, golden spikes around the body. The dragonfly's body itself seemed almost translucent.

[Beetrooper Light Flapper (6*/2000/2200/WATER/Insect/Effect)]

"I'll use Light Flapper's effect and target Sting Lancer and Scout Buggy!" He picked up the two banished cards. "I'll add them back to my hand, but I cannot activate the effects of cards with their name until the End Phase! So now, I'll end my turn!"

Still no set cards… did this guy not care about defending at all?

[Turn 5: Kyorin] [H:5]

"Draw!" Kyorin picked up the card. "I'll Normal Summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands." The silver fairy appeared on the field.

[Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (4*/1400/1000/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)]

"Manju's effect. I will add Nekroz of Catastor from my deck to my hand. And by discarding Catastor from my hand, I will Special Summon a "Nekroz" monster from my graveyard."

"Whoa, so your Ritual Monsters?"

"... my Ritual Monsters must be summoned by Ritual Summons," Kyorin admitted. "Return to the field—Ariel, Priestess of the Nekroz!" The purple-haired girl reappeared on the field, adjusting her enormous witch's hat.

[Ariel, Priestess of the Nekroz (4*/1000/1800/WATER/Psychic/Effect)]

"I'll then activate Valkyrus's effect!" Ariel and Manju dissolved into light, and Kyorin picked up the next two cards of her deck. "And Ariel's effect. I'll add a "Nekroz" non-Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand again."

"Another one?"

This time, I have to make sure that he really can't do anything to me.

"I'll activate the effect of another Nekroz of Unicore in my hand. I'll discard it to add Nekroz of Gungnir back to my hand." She gestured forward. "Ritual Spell, Nekroz Mirror! I'll banish Shurit from the graveyard as the full cost. Come back to my side, Nekroz of Gungnir!" The flame-haired woman reappeared on the field. "Gungnir's effect. Your monster isn't immune to these things anymore." She cast a card into the graveyard. "Frozen Waltz Spear!"

The large Fusion Monster blew up immediately.

"Since a "Beetrooper" monster I control was destroyed, I can Special Summon a Beetrooper Token to the field!" A tiny red and green beetle appeared on the field next to Light Flapper.

[Beetrooper Token (3*/1000/1000/EARTH/Insect)]

But… only one attack needed to get through, right?

"Gungnir attacks your Token!"

"... hmm. Nah, you'd negate that anyway." Hachio raised his head, winking. "Fine! You can have this one. I'm not doing anything else."

His monster blew up.

"... then, Valkyrus attacks Light Flapper!" The other monster was torn apart too.

And then, all that was left was the empty field between her monster and her opponent.

Was this… really just it?

Had she really just won like that?

"Areadbhair," she said, still slightly confused.

Hachio grinned—

And the attack… hit?

Hachio: 800 - 3300 = 0LP

Winner: Kyorin Rinsoka!

"Good match!" He said with a wink. "Let's go again sometime, okay?"

"H-huh?" Wasn't he a bit too happy?

"Well…" Hachio stepped away. "You're not going to card me, right? And man, you're so… strange, but so contradictory too! Maybe that's why he's so interested in you. In that case… next time we meet, I'll make sure that I win properly!"

Kyorin blinked, but then the glow surrounded him. She managed to get out some words—and then he was gone too.

She stood there for a moment—

"… well done," Yuji said.

Chiaki threw an arm around Kyorin's shoulders. "Well done!" She agreed, smirking. "See? It's no problem, if it's you."

It's no problem, if it's you.

Kyorin ducked her head, smiling shyly. "... thanks," she said. "... I guess we failed though…"

"So we set another building on fire next time," Chiaki said with a shrug. "There's always another time. Trial and error, yeah?"

"... yeah!" Kyorin pumped a fist in the air determinedly—for all that she still felt a bit fragile. "I—I'll try!"

"And next time, it's your turn," Chiaki said, shooting Yuji a look.

Yuji slowly shrugged. "... sure."

Chiaki blinked. "Huh. I didn't expect…"

"I…" Yuji paused. "Stronger. Sometimes."

"... well, if we all want to get stronger," Chiaki said, "we're in a good place for that, aren't we?" She raised a fist. "Let's make a promise then, shall we? Just the three of us."

Kyorin blinked, turning to her.

"We're going home," Chiaki finally said. "No being captured or anything like that. We're just gonna go home when we can. Okay?"

Yuji slowly nodded.

"... okay," Kyorin said. "Then…" She rubbed the back of her neck. "... I'll finally introduce you to my parents, too… okay?"

---

"Do you see now?"

"... tch." Saki turned her head away, trying to avoid his gaze. "Whatever."

"... it's one thing to be proud of your skill," Edo Phoenix said. "Another thing to simply be arrogant. If that was a Resistance member, you'd have lost more than just a game there."

"… yes, sir," Saki gritted out. "I'll remember that."

"… then you're dismissed."

Saki turned and marched away, her fists clenched. She could have won. She absolutely could have won, if she had summoned that monster—at least then she wouldn't have to deal with the condescension from that thieving—

Ugh.

If she'd just gone for the win right there, instead of trying to draw it out… to what? Try to exhaust that girl?

"You always have trouble with committing to things, Saki."

She stared at the window, fuming.

And then—

"Saki-chan!"

Saki froze.

No. Not them.

She turned her head slowly. Standing there, two tall women were both grinning at her. One of them had long blonde hair, and she was dressed in dark blue and white, with some pink accents around the outfit. She was wearing white gloves and dark boots. The other one had white hair instead, wearing a white and dark purple vest, along with a long light purple skirt over white leggings. She had black gloves too.

"... hello," Saki muttered.

Gloria Tyler grinned, immediately running her fingers through Saki's hair—Saki stiffened up in annoyance. Meanwhile, Grace Tyler winked playfully, speaking up.

"So, you lost, huh? And you're alive?"

"Yeah…"

"Interesting," Gloria said. "Someone strong enough to take you down without knowing anything about your deck, Garam…"

"Well, Saki-chan has a lot to improve on!" Grace said in a sweet tone. Saki grimaced. She knew that Grace didn't mean it in that way, but… it was kind of insensitive to say that.

"She had a deck that countered the Extra Deck," Saki said annoyedly. "And I…"

Was careless.

Amon would laugh at me now.

"I won't lose next time," Saki vowed. "I have to get back at her for it—and for that other thing too."

Gloria rolled her eyes. "Impulsive," she commented. "Well, the Professor's sent us here to help, so I guess you'll be seeing more of us now, Garam. Hope you don't mind."

"... I don't," Saki muttered. Yes, it was a little embarrassing to be fussed over by Grace and Gloria all the time, but honestly speaking, it all definitely came out of a place of care and concern. The two of them had helped her out in tough spots, especially when she'd first started going by Saki, too…

And they were strong. Grace and Gloria had been deployed to Xyz long before Saki had ever been, and they'd been instrumental in tearing down the Resistance's first base too. Maybe that was why they were back—because they had proven that they could stand up to the Resistance.

"But you don't have to worry about a thing!" Grace pressed a finger to her cheek. "We'll handle this now… just you wait! The Tyler Sisters are on the scene!"

---

"Here you go, sir!" Hachio handed over the camera. "Recorded the duel, just like you asked!"

Edo nodded. "Thank you," he said.

Hachio winked. "I always follow orders!"

"When you get there, duel the girl with blue hair," Edo said. "Garam can take whichever of the opponents she likes, but I would like you to record the duel for me."

"Sure!"

Hachio hadn't even asked why—just accepted the strange order.

Good. Edo didn't feel like explaining. He waited until the cheerful blue-haired boy had left, before he walked back to the office and played the video. He watched the duel, noting things down, until he got to the end…

"Tell him that I'll meet him with fangs, not tears, if he comes out of that tower!"

"With fangs, not tears," he repeated. "It seems she's taken my words to heart…"

… well.

… he had no reason to listen to her, if at all. And now, they had some actual data on her too.

I suppose that we should manage that in our priorities too…

Take Atlantis's princess back alive.

… it's only logical. And for the best.

He glanced out towards the city again.

That group that Eri had talked to, who had splintered off from the whole… Edo did not trust them, not in the slightest. They were self-serving bastards who had swapped sides for their own goals and their own safety—beasts without any sense of decency.

Still…

… it's your plan, sister. And if you're executing it on behalf of someone else…

Something more must be happening.

Let's see what way the dominos fall.

---

OC Cards:

Cloudian Forecast

(Spell/Continuous)

Each time a "Cloudian" monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned: Place 1 Fog Counter on it. While you control this card, "Cloudian" monsters gain 200 ATK for each Fog Counter on them. You can only activate the following effects of "Cloudian Forecast" once per turn. When this card is activated: Add 1 "Cloudian" monster from your Deck to your hand. At the end of the Battle Phase, if your "Cloudian" monster battled a monster with higher ATK: Place 1 Fog Counter on all monsters that battled this turn.

Cloudian Fusion

(Spell)

Fusion Summon 1 "Cloudian" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or field as Fusion Material. If you use a monster with a Fog Counter as material, the summoned monster cannot be destroyed by card effects until the End Phase.

Cloudian - Ice Fog

(7*/2500/1800/WATER/Fairy/Fusion/Effect)

2 "Cloudian" monsters

If this card is Fusion Summoned: Place 1 Fog Counter on it for each "Cloudian" monster on the field. While you control this card, your opponent cannot change the battle position of monster(s) on the field with card effects. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can remove 4 Fog Counters from the field, and if you do, monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects until the End Phase. If this card is sent from the field to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 "Cloudian" monster from your Deck in Attack Position. You can only activate this effect of "Cloudian - Ice Fog" once per turn.

Trivia: So, what made me decide to retrain Cloudians of all things? Well, Cloudians are… well, I'll be honest. They're bad. Turbulence is the only good card they have, and their Fog Counter generation is too slow. So I just gave them a better way to generate counters. Also, the reason why Saki has them is because in the development of this fic, I didn't want to give Amon Garam Cloudians because of certain reasons, and in the end, I just decided to give Cloudians to a related character. … of course, I made this and Empty Mist a year ago. Someone explain to me why I thought that giving Cloudians their own weaker copy of Gymir Aegirine was a good idea, because I sure can't.

Cloudian - Empty Mist

(L2/1000/WATER/Fiend/Link/Effect/↓, ↑)

2 WATER monsters

This card cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card is Link Summoned: Place 1 Fog Counter on it for each "Cloudian" monster on the field. You can destroy 1 "Cloudian" monster this card points to; add 1 "Cloudian" monster from your GY to your hand. You can only activate each effect of "Cloudian - Empty Mist" once per turn. If a "Cloudian" monster you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can Tribute this card instead.

Trivia: While 'ice fog' is an actual phenomenon, 'empty mist' is not—I simply wanted to make them match.

Dogmatika Effigy

(L1/1000/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Link/Effect/→)

1 Special Summoned LIGHT monster, other than "Dogmatika Effigy"

Cannot be used as Link Material. This card cannot be targeted for attacks while you control another LIGHT monster. All LIGHT monsters gain 500 ATK. If this card is Link Summoned: You can add 1 "Dogmatika" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand, then if your opponent controls a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, you can Special Summon 1 "Dogmatika" monster from your Deck. You can only activate this effect of "Dogmatika Effigy" once per turn.

---

End Notes:

Kyorin being a person with dyslexia and dyscalculia in a world where both those things affect how she duels… honestly, I probably don't address it explicitly as much as I should. Spelling errors in the starting part are very much intentional.

Ritual banter is always so fun. I love these three as a group—and it is a crying shame that I haven't gotten to write them together that much yet. That being said, I also wanted to drive home how absolutely batshit insane their dynamic is from an outside POV—and boy, is it ever insane. That being said, I support all of their wrongs.

Who let Kyorin cook? Idk, but she came up with the worst plan in 6ARC history, and we love her for it.

So in this chapter, we get a bit more info on the two additional lieutenants that I gave Edo in this fic (because every Arc-V fic has to give Edo more manpower, come on.) They're very obvious foils to certain characters in the Lancers. However, the one thing I didn't do was have them win against the Lancers here. Honestly, it's not even for plot reasons—I could easily have had Academia win and then have a plot device save them. But in the specific context of these duels, it felt far too cheap to have Chiaki or Kyorin lose here when it's about Kyorin learning to be more forward, and Chiaki paving the way for her to learn. Growth still comes, but they're more than capable of taking on the average Academia member now—and as such, standing toe to toe with people who are just above average. (And yes, with the context that Academia has to keep replacing lieutenants, it's pretty clear that these two are barely above average, except that they get to use their own decks.) It's not going to be the last time you see them in the arc though! And this isn't exactly their final skill level, either. I didn't go to the effort of making new support for Cloudians just to use it once.

And as a tidbit, just remember… everything in this fic comes in groups of four or six, if you squint. :)

6ARC was planned before Neremanas was released. Let's just say that I cheered when I realised I could link Neremanas and Areadbhair together.

Saki vs Chiaki was written in December, whereas Kyorin vs Hachio was written now. Guess that's just how things are sometimes. :)

Review responses!

To phantomdragons, haha, it won't always be the case! This is way more productive than I usually am, to be honest. And complicated relationships are always fun to write, so I obviously wanted to explore more in a relationship that should be way more complicated than it actually is in canon.

To CruelDiamond422, no, I totally get that. Spell Counters are almost impossible to translate from duel to text properly, haha. And yeah, I had all the decks fixed a long time ago before I even started the fic, though there have been some small changes here and there occasionally, when they release new cards that could fit into the playstyle of characters in the fic.

To T.V. 2000, I'm not the one to ask about why the site breaks, haha. Glad you've liked the chapters.

To Egduardiazsluber, I have a full outline of the fic that I built for over one year before the fic started proper, yes.

To Bryz0n, sweeps of the Obelisk Force are always fun, yeah! And Titanic Galaxy is a really interesting card, so I had to give it to Kaito. As for Diamond Branch... everyone that you were going to see has already shown up, let's say that much. I didn't exactly bring back every Barian emperor :)

To TheRealD3lph0xL0v3r, I don't think I should answer that, if you haven't figured it out from context clues. :)

Don't expect the next chapter too soon! It should be a lengthy one unless I choose to split it, and I have quite a lot of irl commitments to deal with. :) Hope you enjoyed anyway!