Starting Notes:

Welcome back! It's been a hot minute, but we're finally ready to go with the next chapter. :D


Chapter 62: Clearest Green Water

So maybe Yugo had ended up challenging and defeating every officer that had come out of Security at that exact moment, even though it might have been a better idea to just try and sneak in from somewhere else. But come on, they were all right there! Defeating them… well, defeating them was important!

And so, after about twenty-three victories, twenty-one of which were won using his Clear Wing (because duh), Yugo burst through the door to Security dramatically, preparing for battle—

The lobby was entirely empty. It was so quiet that Yugo felt like he could hear crickets chirping.

They had sent so many guards to face him outside… but no one was guarding the inside?

Why?

Then, he heard some soft tapping sounds.

Hah! It had to be an ambush!

He charged forward, towards the counter, leaning over it. "Stand up and fight me!" He shouted.

From beneath the desk, Carly Nagisa tilted her head up to look at him. Even her tinted glasses couldn't hide her complete confusion. "Aren't we on the same side?" She said.

"Carly-san?" Yugo sputtered. "Why are you sitting under the table?"

"Well, I snuck in here," Carly said. She shrugged. "Jack dropped me off as he was heading towards the stadium."

"But… what are you doing here?"

Carly gestured to her tablet, which was currently connected to the computer in the lobby by a thin wire. "I was… well, I was taking advantage of you drawing all the guards to you," she said. "I've been downloading all of Security's files that I can gain access to."

"So you've just been sitting here while I was out there dueling?"

"You were a very good distraction," Carly offered, and Yugo was somewhat speechless. "I was sure that you could handle it. And I would have come out to help you if I thought that you were in trouble. You are rather capable, Yugo-kun. I can see why Jack has his eye on you."

Yugo's eyes widened. "What—Jack does?"

"... I might have said too much there." Carly shrugged. "Be careful. For some reason, Roget's got the rest of Security that was still here to back off or head into the city. That means that…"

Yugo was already by the stairs. "Got it!" He called. "I'll beat up anyone that's in my way!"


Carly watched Yugo head up the stairs, and she sighed.

"The fact that Roget told everyone else to back off even though you were still here," she murmured. "Doesn't that already make it obvious what he has in store for you?"

She hadn't wanted to say it, because she hadn't wanted to burst the young boy's bubble, but…

It was very, very obvious.

Her tablet chimed. She lifted it. The download was finally complete. She scanned through the file names for a moment—a lot of them seemed to just be incident reports, organised by the month and year that each incident had taken place.

However, there was a single folder at the bottom. It was marked 'ZZZ—EO Files'. The 'ZZZ' was clearly to force it to the bottom of the folder list, so that it wouldn't be that obvious to someone who was searching through the folders. Even so…

When Carly clicked on it, a pop-up appeared, asking her for a password. She grimaced. There were no hints to the number of characters, or the requirements of the password.

She could try to crack it, anyway…

She would wait and see what would happen here first. Anyway, she wouldn't leave until Yugo came back down—the boy had come here without a D-Wheel, after all. If he got injured, he would need someone to help him back.

At the very least, she knew that she wasn't as strong of a duelist as Yugo was. She was decent, but that boy had defeated Kiryu Kyosuke. So she knew very well that it would be better to avoid messing with the situation.

… besides, Roget was a monster. But…

Surely there was still some compassion left in this city.

Roget might not…

And even if he did, why would that person agree to it?

Was Carly just overthinking it?


Security's main building was very much built for… well, security, and not for efficiency. The stairs alternated between opposite sides of the building—in other words, after climbing up to the second floor, Yugo would have to walk to the opposite side of the building to climb up to the third floor.

"It's to slow down anyone trying to take over the building," Arisu had explained to him once. "You can't drive a D-Wheel that easily up thin flights of stairs—it's impossible to turn. Plus, there are cameras at every stairwell—it's practically impossible to head up without being spotted on the cameras. Because you have to walk through the corridors, your position would be exposed too. Not that you should ever try to sneak into Security, mind you."

Even so, Yugo was pretty sure that Roget already knew he was here, so he sped through the corridors without any sense of stealth. Plus, knowing people that worked in Security helped—it meant that he wasn't confused by the corridors. More the strange recognition of 'oh, that's the corridor with the inconveniently placed coffee machine', 'that's the place where someone set off a fire alarm that forced the evacuation of the whole building', and so on.

That was, until he got to the seventh floor of Security. The seventh floor was where Security split directly into two 'towers', so to speak—there were two staircases leading up from there, each to a separate half of the building. The lower floors were mostly for officers who worked in the field. Meanwhile, those in the towers were the ones who usually just handled paperwork—more 'educated' people, usually part of the Tops. The kinds that handled financials, technology and management. Most of the labs were in the tower to the east, while management and accountants were in the tower to the west.

As such, the seventh floor was completely empty. There was nowhere to hide, and usually, several guards would all be standing here. It was practically impossible to infiltrate the higher floors of Security because of that.

However, now, there were no guards there.

Just a single person sitting on the ground, reading a book.

At that exact moment, Yugo understood what Carly had been trying to warn him about.

This was… just cruel.

Kaname shut the book—the sound of it was audible in the empty room, echoing slightly. She put it on the ground, standing up. She signed something that made Yugo's breath catch—something between shock and anger.

"You've been waiting a while?" Yugo said, repeating her words. He felt like his throat had swelled shut. "You're… really fighting me for Roget? After what happened? I've been so worried about you this entire time! How are you even walking right now—didn't your opponent crash right into you?"

A shrug. Some quick sign language. 'Psychic.'

So… she used one of her cards outside a duel, to help to speed up her healing?

… that could not be healthy for her.

Kaname lifted one of her gloved hands. Between her index and middle finger, there was a keycard. It was clearly her own.

Right. Accessing Roget's office, or the higher offices in Security, required keycards with higher levels of clearance. In other words, if Kaname wasn't here, Yugo would have no way into Roget's office other than just trying to break down the door. (And he didn't exactly have his D-Wheel for that.)

"If you weren't here, I would never be able to make it to Roget," Yugo realised.

Kaname inclined her head. Her hand deftly flicked towards herself, and the keycard seemed to vanish. 'You. Okay?'

Yugo frowned. "Who, me?"

'You. Look. Tired.'

"I…"

Yugo breathed out slowly.

Because it had been a long day. He had barely slept after Kaname's accident (which hadn't felt like an accident to him at all.) He had woken up, and the first thing he had seen was that horrific man, Sergey Volkov, flinging a small child off the track. And no matter what anyone said about competition, that was just… wrong. If Kaname had been there instead of Sergey, she would never have done something like that. So… it just felt awful that Roget had assumed that Sergey could fill in the role that Kaname had been playing in the tournament.

So Roget was an asshole. What else?

… ah, right. Roget was an asshole. That duel between Yuno and Miharu was one that Yugo hadn't exactly gotten the chance to see, but the sheer tiredness on Yuno Sugisaki's face—though the other boy clearly hadn't realised how obviously not okay he was—and Shun Kurosaki's tense expression had told him enough. And he couldn't imagine being controlled by someone to duel Rin like she was his enemy—that would be the worst. He wouldn't survive knowing that he'd done that.

And then, what else? Right, he'd tried to avenge Rin by dueling her kidnapper and had blacked out. He had woken up with sores in parts of his body that he literally didn't know could feel pain, in a building that had completely collapsed, surrounded by unconscious and injured friends and enemies. Then, he'd had to choose to wait before he saw Rin again, to help out someone that had helped him.

He missed Rin.

And there was one more thing.

Right. Roget was an asshole. That was the reason why the only guard that he would have to fight to get to Roget was his sister.

He'd already been thinking it for a long time, but somehow, the last few days had made him think it even more, which he had assumed was impossible.

"No," he finally said. "I… ugh. I'm not fine. And if you're my enemy, it's only going to get worse."

Her reply was swift. 'Not.' I'm not your enemy. She seemed somewhat annoyed at the very thought. She signed again. 'I. Made. Bet.'

"You… made a bet?"

'Father.' She shrugged. She stopped for a moment. 'Care. Both.' I care for both of you.

"That's…" Yugo grimaced. "Roget, he's a bastard, how can you…" He shook his head. "So this is your way of trying to protect both of us? Fighting me but offering me a chance to get to him? Doesn't that just mean that you're betraying both of us for the other anyway? It doesn't make any sense!"

"What doesn't make sense," a voice came from the speaker above them, "is not the fact that she's loyal to me. It's the fact that she still cares about you, when you offer only disadvantages to her."

Yugo flinched. That smug voice—

A sharp sound answered Roget's words. After a moment, Yugo realised that it had come from his sister—fingers tapping against the wall, a quiet, but sharp rebuke.

"If you say so," Roget said, sounding amused. "As she said, it's a bet. If you win against her, she hands the keycard to you, and you are free to come up and search for me. I assure you, Miharu Kogami is in the same tower that I am, if she's the one that you're here for. But if you lose, she gets you out of my hair. And I promised to let you come up here, so that the rest of my manpower wouldn't be wasted on you."

If that was it…

If fighting this person, who he respected and cared for so much was his only option…

(The image of that horrible scene repeated itself in his head again. A crash, blood, him helpless in his room, unable to do anything but watch.)

"We really have to talk after this, nee-san," Yugo said.

Kaname inclined her head in a nod.

"But for those who stood by me when you were gone—" Because the hurt from that still had not healed yet, it still plagued him so terribly. No matter how much he loved this person, she had still hurt him so much by cutting herself out of his life.

Miharu and Yuto had been right.

"... older siblings can be mysterious," Miharu said after a moment. "But they love us. They would never leave us behind. Your sister must have a reason, but… it doesn't make the fact that she's abandoned all of you for so long okay."

"I know. But everyone else already won't forgive her for it." Yugo glanced at his bike. "... I hear Commons cursing her name in the street and talking about corrupt things that she's done for Security, but… she's still my sister. If I don't believe in her, then no one will believe in her… she might really disappear then."

It wasn't okay. None of this was okay.

Why did he live in a city like this? A city where things could be taken away from him in the blink of an eye, where he could lose the people who mattered to him so easily?

"All you need to think is—what do you want? Not just what you think you should want, but what do you want?"

"… I want to live with Arisu and Kaname," Yugo said. He shook his head. "No—I want to create a world where I am allowed to live with them, and there is nothing special about that. Nothing that stands out. Where we won't be pointed at and judged. Where we are a normal family!"

There was a moment of silence. Yugo blinked, and then he stared at Yuto.

"… oh," he said."That's what I want!"

"Mmm." Yuto shrugged. "That's what you want. To be normal."

"To be normal," Yugo repeated. "Yes! To be normal! To be able to walk in the streets with others without people looking at me. To buy food and eat it in a restaurant. To do the stupidest things and never have to worry about being judged—that's what I want! I want all the things that I've always envied to be normal. For me, for Rin, and everyone else."

Yuto nodded, leaning back. "I don't know what it feels like to be you," he reiterated. "And therefore, I don't know if I'll ever be as passionate as you. But you deserve happiness and normalcy—no matter what anyone tells you. Whether you are a Common or not."

"For all the people who decided to be my friends when I felt so lonely," Yugo said, "I have to defeat you! And when I win against you, I want you to come home. Those are my terms!"

His sister's gaze carried a gentle acceptance to them. She nodded once. She pulled out another card from the pocket of her dress, tossing it to him. A quick word. 'Birthday'.

An early birthday present. Just like Kitedrake from last year.

… now? Right when they were going to duel? For a moment, Yugo's heart filled with a strange, conflicted warmth—

—and then she raised her duel disk towards him.

(The sight of that should not have made him flinch.)

Yugo raised his duel disk in return, slotting the card into his duel disk.

Sure. Why not.

[DUEL!]

Yugo: 4000LP

Kaname Mizuchi: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Kaname] [H:5]

Her duel disk played its automatic voicelines as Kaname placed down the first card of the duel. "The player activates the Spell Card, Moray of Greed. The player can shuffle two WATER monsters from the hand into the deck to draw three cards." She put down a card. "The player Normal Summons Beautunaful Princess." The familiar beige fish appeared on her field, but Yugo couldn't even muster up the humour to laugh.

[Beautunaful Princess (1*/0/0/WATER/Fish/Effect)]

"When Beautunaful Princess is Normal or Special Summoned, the player can banish it from the field to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Fish monster from the deck." Kaname fetched a card, flipping it over. "The player Special Summons Gluttonous Reptodolphin Greethys to the field." The familiar bright blue fish appeared, its reptilian head staring directly at Yugo, gold-orange eyes wide and glowing.

[Gluttonous Reptodolphin Greethys (3*/1000/1000/WATER/Fish/Tuner/Effect)]

"If you used that effect for Greethys," Yugo said, "then… that's your favourite combo from when we were kids, right?"

There was something amused to the slight tilt of Kaname's head as she placed down another card. "Since a WATER monster's effect was activated, the player can Special Summon Minariuka from their hand." The tiny blue dolphin appeared, looking just as excited as ever, floating in the air and swimming around Kaname, before taking its correct place next to Greethys.

[Minairuka (4*/1500/500/WATER/Fish/Effect)]

"The player will tune the Level 3 Greethys to the Level 4 Minairuka! Pale ghostly fish with the eyes of the devil. Summon forth a spiral of destructive water and slide gracefully through the wind and the waves. Synchro Summon. Level 7. White Aura Monoceros." The thin, white fish with a thick mane appeared, its long and thin horn gleaming brightly. Some drops of water splashed towards Yugo—who felt them, to his shock.

[White Aura Monoceros (7*/2500/1500/WATER/Fish/Synchro/Effect)]

"You're not…" Yugo brushed a drop of water off his hand. "You're taking it so seriously that you're making your cards real?"

Kaname looked at him—and oh, there was some disappointment there. It was practically piercing. Her fingers tapped on the screen of her duel disk. The text-to-speech function spoke for her. It was still an unfamiliar sound to him—it was a program that she had only gained after she had joined Security, after all. "Would it break your heart if I did?"

She carried on with her turn before he had the chance to say anything—as though she didn't really want to hear his answer.

"When White Aura Monoceros is Synchro Summoned, the player can target a Fish monster in their graveyard and Special Summon it. The player chooses to Special Summon Gluttonous Reptolphin Greethys from the graveyard." The blue crocodile-fish hybrid reappeared, still looking rather fierce. "The effect of Gluttonous Reptolphin Greethys activates. The Synchro Monster that used it as Synchro Material gains 200 attack and defense points for each card in the opponent's hand."

White Aura Monoceros glowed brightly, along with the five cards in Yugo's hand. As the light faded, its attack and defense points ticked upwards.

[White Aura Monoceros: 2500 + 200 x 5 = 3500ATK; 1500 + 200 x 5 = 2500DEF]

"With Gluttonous Reptophin Greethys's effect, the player can target a Fish, Aqua or Sea Serpent monster in their graveyard with a Level equal to or lower than the number of cards in the opponent's hand. Then, the player can Special Summon that monster to the field. The player Special Summons Minairuka back to the field." The small blue fish appeared again. "The player tunes the Level 3 Greethys to the Level 4 Minairuka. Ice, form a path. Crimson rage that lies within frozen souls, let your frostbite creep through and shatter any that would cross us. Synchro Summon! Level 7! Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!"

The icy dragon appeared, staring forward with its bloody red eyes, each icy part of its body sharp enough to pierce through a person. Its wings were just as razor sharp.

[Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier (7*/2500/1700/WATER/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]

"The effect of Gluttonous Reptolphin Greethys activates again. Gungnir gains 200 attack and defense points for each card in the opponent's hand."

[Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier: 2500 + 200 x 5 = 3500ATK; 1700 + 200 x 5 = 2700DEF]

Yes. This was Kaname's favourite combo when they were kids. Two monsters, one of which had a destruction effect as well—easily able to defeat most people their age.

"The player activates the Field Spell, The Most Distant, Deepest Depths." Kaname continued. "The player banishes Minairuka from the graveyard to add a "Ghoti" monster from the deck to the hand." She revealed another Spell in her hand. "The player activates the Spell Card, Fish and Swaps. By discarding a card, the player can add two banished Fish, Sea Serpent or Aqua monsters to the hand. The player ends their turn."

[Turn 2: Yugo] [H:6]

"Draw!" Yugo declared. He was still slightly rattled, but that had never stopped him from dueling. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Speedraw! Since I control no cards, I can draw two cards! Then, I can send a "Speedroid" monster from my hand to the graveyard!"

He quickly discarded a card.

"Then, I will also activate Spell Card, Speedroid Scratch! I will send a "Speedroid" card from my hand to the graveyard to add a "Speedroid" monster from my deck to my hand! And since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop from my hand!" The series of golden-spiked red tops appeared on his field, spinning around in a long trail.

[Speedroid Terrortop (3*/1200/600/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"Since Speedroid Terrortop was Normal or Special Summoned, I can add a "Speedroid" monster other than Terrortop from my deck to my hand! I will add and Special Summon Speedroid Taketomborg from my hand, since I control a WIND monster!" The blue and gold thin robot appeared next to Terrortop. This was one of his most common combos as well—one that he had learned very early on.

[Speedroid Taketomborg (3*/600/1200/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"I will tribute Speedroid Taketomborg to Special Summon a "Speedroid" Tuner from my deck, but I can't Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck this turn, other than WIND monsters. Come—Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" The golden dice appeared in front of him, spinning around, the bright red eye on it glowing slightly.

[Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice (1*/100/100/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]

"I will use the effect of Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice! I will change the Level of another "Speedroid" monster I control to a Level from 1 to 6! I will choose to make my Speedroid Terrortop Level 6!"

Kaname nodded slightly—as though it was the most expected thing in the world.

[Speedroid Terrortop: 3* 6*]

"I'll tune the Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to the Level 6 Speedroid Terrortop! Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" His ace appeared in front of him, ready for battle, as always—light gleaming from its bright wings.

[Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (7*/2500/2000/WIND/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]

"Then, I'll activate the Spell Card, Shock Surprise! I'll banish two Speedroid monsters from the graveyard to destroy two cards on the field! I'll banish Speedroid Taketomborg and Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice from the graveyard to destroy Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier and White Aura Monoceros!"

Shockwaves burst forth, destroying both of the strong Synchro Monsters in a single move. There was no point aiming for Kaname's Field Spell, since it couldn't be destroyed or banished while she controlled a Fish Synchro Monster.

Of course…

"When White Aura Monoceros is destroyed by the opponent's card, the player can banish a WATER monster from the graveyard to Special Summon White Aura Monoceros back to the field. Then, Monoceros is treated as a Tuner." Kaname raised a card from her graveyard, revealing it. Her duel disk continued speaking for her. "The player banishes Paces, Light of the Ghoti from the graveyard."

Paces… so that meant she was going to get another Tuner on the next turn too. But because Monoceros was a Tuner now, it was at an awkward Level for any Synchro Monsters that Kaname normally used. (Aka, Level 6, 8 and 10 Synchro Monsters. She liked working with even numbers.)

"Then, I'll activate the Spell Card, Speed Recovery! With this card, I can Special Summon a "Speedroid" monster from my graveyard! I'll Special Summon Speedroid Rubberband Plane!" A red and yellow toy plane appeared, with a face painted on the front of it. Razor blades cut through the air behind it, spinning around rapidly.

[Speedroid Rubberband Plane (5*/1800/0/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"When Speedroid Rubberband Plane is Normal or Special Summoned, I can target a face-up monster on the field, and it loses 600 attack points until the End Phase! I'll obviously choose your Monoceros!" Rubberband Plane let out a whirring noise, and Monoceros spun around, clearly agitated by the noise.

[White Aura Monoceros: 2500 - 600 = 1900ATK]

"I'll have Clear Wing attack Monoceros! Helldive Whirlwind Slasher!" His dragon flew forward, cutting through the elegant fish easily.

Kaname: 4000 - 600 = 3400LP

Kaname lifted Greethys from the graveyard as well.

"The player banishes Gluttonous Reptodolphin Greethys from the graveyard to Special Summon White Aura Monoceros from the graveyard." Monoceros reappeared, the streams of water swirling all around it.

That was the last Fish monster in her graveyard, but… she would just refill it next turn.

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

He, more than anyone, was wary of his sister's dueling. It had been three years, but…

He still liked to think that he knew her best—all of her childhood tricks still existed in her monsters, which would always come back—never willing to die.

And that was how he knew that he was in a lot of trouble, because Kaname hadn't brought out her worst yet.

[Turn 3: Kaname] [H:4]

"Draw." Kaname gestured forward. "During the Standby Phase after it was banished, Paces, Light of the Ghoti, Special Summons itself back to the player's field." The tiny white octopus reappeared on the field, glowing with its usual luminescence as its tendrils wrapped around itself.

[Paces, Light of the Ghoti (2*/0/0/WATER/Fish/Tuner/Effect)]

"Once per turn, by banishing Paces, Light of the Ghoti from the field, the player can Special Summon a Fish monster from their hand. Come to the field—Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth!" An enormous, blue-grey fish emerged, with a pair of bright blue orbs serving as its eyes. Golden symbols covered its head and its body, wrapping around it like an exorbitant robe.

[Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth (7*/2800/2200/WATER/Fish/Effect)]

That was… new…

"By discarding a card, the player can Special Summon as many Level 4 or lower Fish monsters from the deck as possible to the field, but their effects are negated and they cannot attack."

"As many as possible?" Yugo exclaimed. "Then… you have three empty Main Monster Zones!" He gestured forward. "I'll activate the effect of Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Since you activated the effect of a Level 5 or higher monster on the field, I can negate that monster's effects and destroy it! Dichroic Mirror!" Clear Wing roared.

Kaname audibly sighed.

Yugo's eyes widened.

"When Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth is targeted by a card effect, the player can tribute another Fish monster to negate that effect and destroy that card. The player tributes the Fish monster, White Aura Monoceros."

What?

So that was just bait—to force him to target that monster, and then to counter him immediately?

"Continuous Trap, Follow Wing!" Yugo replied, immediately flipping up his set card. "I will target Clear Wing, and my dragon cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects while I control Follow Wing!"

Even so, Clear Wing's effect was still negated, and therefore, Coelacanth was not destroyed. Furthermore, its initial effect resolved—

And now, she could Special Summon four monsters, not just three.

So… this was her plan all along? To take advantage of Clear Wing's effect and force him into this situation? At least he still had Follow Wing's other effect…

"The player will Special Summon these four monsters from the deck. Shif, Fairy of the Ghoti. Ixeep, Omen of the Ghoti. Lifeless Leaffish. Zep, Ruby of the Ghoti."

The three monsters appeared on the field. First, the dainty, fairy-like white monster appeared, a bright orange crown in the shape of a flower on her head. Second, the guppy surrounded by thin, veil-like fins, with tiny red dots that spun around within its body. Third, a white leafy seadragon appeared, with bright blue eyes that seemed to emanate light. Fourth, there was a beautiful, bright red lionfish, its spines glittering with golden light.

[Shif, Fairy of the Ghoti (2*/0/500/WATER/Fish/Tuner/Effect)]

[Ixeep, Omen of the Ghoti (4*/1500/0/WATER/Fish/Effect)]

[Lifeless Leaffish (4*/1500/0/WATER/Fish/Effect)]

[Zep, Ruby of the Ghoti (2*/0/1000/WATER/Fish/Tuner/Effect)]

Five monsters on her field now…

"The player tunes the Level 2 Shif, Fairy of the Ghoti to the Level 4 Ixeep, Omen of the Ghoti." The two monsters shot up, the fairy turning into two rings that the guppy swam through. "Slumbering, glowing moray sliding through the darkness of the distant, deepest abyss. Now, as the world falls into your grasp, bare your fangs and show off your luminous glow. Synchro Summon. Level 6. Arionpos, Serpent of the Ghoti." The blue and purple serpent appeared, water flowing around it and reflecting its glow all around it.

[Arionpos, Serpent of the Ghoti (6*/2100/0/WATER/Fish/Synchro/Effect)]

"The player will activate the effect of Arionpos. The player can banish a Level 6 or lower Fish monster from the deck." Kaname revealed the card. "The player banished Snopios, Shade of the Ghoti. By banishing a Fish monster from the graveyard, such as Shif, Fairy of the Ghoti, the player can add Snopios back to their hand. Furthermore, by banishing Ixeep, Omen of the Ghoti from the graveyard, the player will activate the effect of The Most Distant, Deepest Depths, and add another "Ghoti" monster from their deck to the hand."

She was already starting it up again…

People normally had a lot of graveyard effects. That was why banishing cards was usually said to be stronger than destroying them or letting them go to the graveyard.

But what was one supposed to do against a deck which used cards in the graveyard as fuel, while those same cards came back to life by being cast out and banished?

"Next, the player will tune the Level 2 Zep, Ruby of the Ghoti to the Level 4 Lifeless Leaffish." The other two monsters shot up in the air. "From the water, emerge with your true strength and make the world bow down before your regality. Synchro Summon. Level 6. Coral Dragon." The beautiful, colourful dragon—Kaname's ace—appeared on the field, letting out a loud roar.

[Coral Dragon (6*/2400/500/WATER/Dragon/Synchro/Tuner/Effect)]

Three monsters on the field—Coral Dragon in the Extra Monster Zone, Arionpos and Coelacanth in the Main Monster Zones.

"The player activates the effect of Coral Dragon. By discarding a card, the player can destroy a card on the field. The player chooses Follow Wing."

"Gah!" Yugo watched as his Trap blew up. "... right. You knew about its other effect…"

Kaname shook her head in that strange way that resembled a laugh. Of course.

Follow Wing destroyed any Level 5 or higher monsters that the targeted monster battled at the start of the Damage Step. Particularly deadly against Synchro Monsters, since they, by necessity, would usually have higher Levels.

And of course… she had known that too.

She was far too well prepared.

"Since a WATER monster's effect was activated, the player can Special Summon Minairuka from their hand." The blue dolphin-like monster appeared, giggling excitedly.

That… didn't make sense. Minairuka was a non-Tuner monster. There were three monsters on the field, yes, but only one of them was a Tuner monster.

… wait.

"You're not…"

"The player tunes the Level 6 Coral Dragon to the Level 4 Minairuka." The two monsters shot up. She had brought out her ace… and was using it for a Synchro Summon immediately? "Arise now, sealed demon that rules over the holy creatures of the sea with an iron will. Synchro Summon. Level 10. White Aura Bihamut."

That was… he had never heard that name…

A large, white, twin-headed dragon appeared, letting out two simultaneous, loud roars. At that exact moment, as it raised its claws, Kaname pressed a hand to her chest and breathed in sharply.

The dragon slammed its claws against the ground, but they phased through and didn't leave a mark.

[White Aura Bihamut (10*/3300/3000/WATER/Fish/Synchro/Effect)]

"Bihamut…"

"Since Coral Dragon was sent to the graveyard, the player can draw one card. During the player's turn, when White Aura Bihamut is Synchro Summoned, the player can Special Summon a Divine Dragon Token in Defense Position."

Nothing changed on the field. Alright, so… each head was one monster, then?

[Divine Dragon Token (10*/3300/3000/WATER/Fish)]

"Battle Phase." Kaname gestured forward. "White Aura Bihamut attacks Clear Wing Synchro Dragon."

… she was really baring her fangs at him this quickly? The large aquatic dragon's left head glowed, before it breathed out a bright blast.

"I'll banish Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice from my graveyard and negate the attack!" The blast narrowly missed his dragon.

"Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth attacks Clear Wing Synchro Dragon." The second attack came, and Clear Wing was destroyed. Yugo shielded himself with an arm, even as water sprayed over him.

Yugo: 4000 - 300 = 3700LP

"Arionpos, Serpent of the Ghoti attacks Speedroid Rubberband Plane." The serpent flicked its tail in the air, before breathing out a sharp blast of water that directly hit the other monster, lowering Yugo's life points by another small amount.

Yugo: 3700 - 300 = 3400LP

"The player ends their turn."

Three Synchros in a turn, a Level 10 Synchro Summon and a complete field wipe for him. Planned from start to finish, taking into account each of his cards and their effects…

There was no testing the waters here—he had already plunged right in, and almost lost.

He'd have to take things as seriously as he could now.

Bihamut, the Divine Dragon Token, Arionpos and Coelacanth stared him down.

[Turn 4: Yugo] [H:2]

Yugo drew a card. However, he then stopped to let Kaname pull off her usual move.

"During the Standby Phase after Paces, Light of the Ghoti and Shif, Fairy of the Ghoti were banished, the player can Special Summon both of them back to the field." The two Tuners reappeared on Kaname's field.

Well, there was no way that he was going to get past Coelacanth with an effect now—not with two monsters to tribute for its protection effect.

"I will banish Speed Recovery from my graveyard to add a "Speedroid" monster from my graveyard to my hand! I'll also activate another copy of Speedraw! Since I control no monsters, I can draw two cards and send a "Speedroid" card from my hand to the graveyard!"

He'd been unlucky to lose his whole field—but starting over carried new possibilities with it.

"I added Speedroid Terrortop back to my hand with the effect of my Speed Recovery—and since I control no monsters, I'll Special Summon it from my hand." The series of tops reappeared on the field. "And I'll use Terrortop's effect to add a "Speedroid" monster from my deck to my hand!"

He put down another card right after that.

"I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Horse Stilts!" The white and green metal horse appeared in front of him, shaking its head in a dopey manner.

[Speedroid Horse Stilts (4*/1100/1100/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"And with Horse Stilts's effect, I will Special Summon a Level 4 or lower "Speedrdoid" monster from my hand! Come! Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper!" The green-haired doll with pale clay forming its body appeared. There was a white feather attached to the tiny red hat on its head. A green scarf was tied around its neck, ending in a feather-like texture on both sides.

[Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper (4*/1000/1000/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]

"I will activate the effect of Fuki-Modoshi Piper! Since I control two other WIND monsters, I can excavate the top two cards of my deck, and add one card from among them to my hand!"

"The player activates the effect of Paces, Light of the Ghoti." The octopus floated up. "The player will perform a Synchro Summon of a Fish Synchro Monster using monsters they control. The player tunes the Level 2 Paces, Light of the Ghoti to the Level 6 Arionpos, Serpent of the Ghoti."

Yugo's eyes widened.

"Spinning around, descend now with high velocity and rend this field like the waves you create. Synchro Summon. Level 8. White Aura Whale." The large white whale appeared, and waves surged forward around it.

[White Aura Whale (8*/2800/2000/WATER/Fish/Synchro/Effect)]

"When White Aura Whale is Synchro Summoned, the player can destroy all monsters in Attack Position that the opponent controls."

And he had Normal Summoned Horse Stilts. Terrortop was in Defense Position, but Fuki-Modoshi Piper was in Attack Position, because he hadn't considered—

Thus, Horse Stilts and Fuki-Modoshi Piper were both destroyed in a single, painful wave.

Well, that was just…

He'd made a mistake there, yeah.

And more importantly… the reason that she had used it there was because she had not wanted to give him the chance to bring out Kitedrake. Which he had definitely been about to do, before he had lost both of his Level 4 monsters in a single stroke.

"The effect of Arionpos, Serpent of the Ghoti activates. If this card is sent to the graveyard as Synchro Material, the player can banish a Fish monster from the graveyard to add a Fish monster with an equal or lower Level from the deck to the hand. The player will banish White Aura Monoceros from the graveyard." She took yet another card from the deck.

"... well, it's not over yet! I'll banish Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke from the graveyard, which lets me Special Summon a "Speedroid" Tuner monster from my graveyard!" Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper reappeared on the field. "Open, circuit of optimistic futures and dreams! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two WIND monsters! I will set Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper and Speedroid Terrortop in the Link Markers! Missile that flies through the air and opens the path to my dreams! Crash forth! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter!" The large blue and bronze rocket appeared in front of him, an orange blaze surrounding it.

[Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter (L2/1000/WIND/Machine/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]

"I'll activate the effect of Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter! I can banish a WIND Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck to reveal two "Speedroid" monsters that have a total Level equal to that monster's Level. Then, you randomly pick one and it's added to my hand, and the other is sent to the graveyard. I'll banish a Level 4 Synchro Monster, Hi-Speedroid Puzzle, and reveal these two monsters! The Level 3 Speedroid Ohajikid and the Level 1 Speedroid Maliciousmagnet!"

Kaname gestured to the left, and Yugo picked up the card.

"I'll then use the other effect of Rubber Band Shooter! Once per turn, I can Normal Summon a WIND monster, but I can't Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except Synchro Monsters! I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Ohajikid!" The cowboy-like monster in a dark blue cloak appeared, spinning a sheriff's star-shaped badge between its fingers.

[Speedroid Ohajikid (3*/1000/200/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"Then, I will use the effect of Speedroid Ohajikid! I will target a Tuner in either of our graveyards and Special Summon it to the field, and immediately use it and Ohajikid for a Synchro Summon! I'll take your Coral Dragon!"

His sister's bright dragon reappeared on his field, and it tilted its head towards him, letting out a friendly-sounding growl.

"Hey!" Yugo grinned. "Mind helping me out, just this once?"

The dragon rolled its eyes.

"Nice! I'll tune the Level 6 Coral Dragon to the Level 3 Speedroid Ohajikid!"

Kaname nodded approvingly.

Yugo took out his newest monster from his Extra Deck.

Now, he had to come up with a cool sounding chant…

"Luminous star that shines with an invisible radiance, in a spectrum unknown to the human eye!" He decided, coming up with it as he went along. "Let the winds fuel your trek, and take the form of the beast that travels faster than light! Synchro Summon! Level 9! Stellar Wind Wolfrayet!"

A large blue wolf appeared on the field, its fur made up of sharp blue spikes. Brighter red spikes jutted out around its body, contrasting rather sharply with the cool colours that made up the rest of its body. Its red eyes were bright—almost laser-like, and piercing in their gaze. Twin wings—blue, with thin red lines running through them—jutted out, more aesthetic than functional, since they were just large, thick and heavy chunks of alien rock. Red spikes adorned its back and became smaller as they spread down to its long, reptilian tail. White-blue energy surrounded it—bright as starlight.

[Stellar Wind Wolfrayet (9*/2500/0/WIND/Beast/Synchro/Effect)]

"I love it," Yugo said, staring at the wolf. The wolf let out a huff, shaking its head. The light around it crackled like electricity. He then realised how mushy he was being. "Uh—I—"

Kaname shook her head, letting out a soft huff of amusement.

"I'll move to my Battle Phase. And I'll have Wolfrayet attack your Shif, Fairy of the Ghoti!"

The blue wolf dashed forward, catching Shif and tossing it through the air, destroying it. It was still in Defense Position, but it was the only option.

"I'll set a card and end my turn!" He just had to wait until next turn, and he'd be fine. He still had Rubber Band Shooter and Wolfrayet, after all.

[Turn 5: Kaname] [H:6]

Kaname drew a card. Currently, it was undeniable that she held the advantage—six cards in hand to Yugo's zero, along with four monsters on the field—Bihamut, her Divine Dragon Token, Coelacanth and most threatening of all, White Aura Whale.

But…

Kaname arched an eyebrow. Her Divine Dragon Token shifted into Attack Position. She did nothing else and went into her Battle Phase.

Of course. The person who had given him Wolfrayet would know its effect quite well. There was no point in doing anything else until she defeated it.

She gestured forward.

"White Aura Bihamut attacks Stellar Wind Wolfrayet."

Trust her to go for the finishing blow immediately…

"Trap Card, Speedroid Swift Escape!" Yugo declared. "I'll negate your attack and end the Battle Phase by banishing two WIND monsters from my graveyard, like my Speedroid Rubberband Plane and Speedroid Ohajikid!" A bright green barrier emerged, blocking off the blast of light that came from Bihamut's mouth. "Then, I can roll a dice, and I can Special Summon up to two "Speedroid" monsters from my graveyard or banished cards whose total Levels are equal to the number rolled! But if I can't Special Summon a card, I take 500 damage times the number that I rolled!"

A holographic dice spun around in front of him, and then, it landed on four.

"Gotcha! Come back from the graveyard! Speedroid Terrortop! And from my banished cards, Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" The two monsters appeared on his field. Terrortop, of course, was a common face, along with Red-Eyed Dice.

"I will activate the effect of Speedroid Terrortop! I will add a "Speedroid" monster from my deck to my hand! And then, I will use the effect of Red-Eyed Dice! I will target Terrortop and make its Level become 6 this turn!"

[Speedroid Terrortop: 3*6*]

"And every time another monster's effect is activated while Stellar Wind Wolfrayet's attack points are lower than 4000, Wolfrayet gains 300 attack points!" Yugo declared. The blue wolf howled, raising one of its claws and slamming it into the ground.

[Stellar Wind Wolfrayet: 2500 + 300 + 300 = 3100ATK]

Kaname stared at him evenly, seeming to be gauging the look on his face. Yugo did his best to keep a poker face.

At least that way, he wasn't going to have to deal with White Aura Whale's piercing damage and double attacks.

"Since the Battle Phase was ended, the player moves to the second Main Phase," Kaname continued, straightforward as ever. "The player will activate the effect of the Field Spell, The Most Distant, Deepest Depths, and banish a Fish monster from their graveyard to add a "Ghoti" monster from their deck to their hand. The player will banish Paces, Light of the Ghoti from the graveyard."

She revealed a card.

"The player Normal Summons Beautunaful Princess. And once again, with Beautunaful Princess's effect, the player will banish it from the field to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Fish monster from the deck."

"Since a monster effect was activated, Wolfrayet gains another 300 attack points!"

[Stellar Wind Wolfrayet: 3100 + 300 = 3400ATK]

"The player will Special Summon Fishborg Launcher from the deck." An orange mecha with a round, transparent sphere in the middle of it appeared. An aquatic creature could be seen within the sphere, piloting the mecha.

[Fishborg Launcher (1*/200/100/WATER/Fish/Tuner/Effect)]

"The player will tune the Level 1 Fishborg Launcher to the Level 7 Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth." To Yugo's surprise, Kaname actually let go of the swarmer, the two monsters shooting up. "Beautiful flying fish floating in the reaches of the extraterrestrial oceans, crush the universe beneath your beautiful, pale power. Synchro Summon. Level 8. Askaan, the Bicorned Ghoti." The ghostly fish appeared, its body swirling though the air as its fins slowly seemed to part—graceful, still and yet cold in its appearance.

[Askaan, the Bicorned Ghoti (8*/2700/0/WATER/Fish/Synchro/Effect)]

"When Askaan is Synchro Summoned, the player can banish a Fish monster they control and a card that the opponent controls. The player will banish Askaan itself and Stellar Wind Wolfrayet."

And once again, Yugo was uncomfortably reminded that Kaname knew all his cards far better than he knew hers. Wolfrayet was… particularly deadly once it reached 4000 attack points.

Of course, the person who gave it to him would know the importance of removing it before he could cause any more problems with it.

Both monsters vanished from the field in a blast of water.

"When Askaan is banished, the player can banish a Fish monster from their graveyard to Special Summon it back to the field. The player will banish Zep, Ruby of the Ghoti from the graveyard." The white fish reappeared on the field. "The player will end their turn."

Yugo grimaced.

Seriously, how does this manage to get worse every turn? It's one thing to see her duel other people with that deck, another thing to face it myself.

Now there's Askaan to deal with too. And if I can't figure out a way to counter it before she searches out her Traps, I'm done for.

All four of her monsters were still staring him down.

[Turn 6: Yugo] [H:2]

"Draw!" Yugo declared. He glanced at the card—and then he nodded to himself.

This will do. This will work…

Paces reappeared on Kaname's field.

"I will activate the effect of Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter! I will banish Hi-Speedroid Kendama from my Extra Deck! Since Kendama is a Level 6 monster, I will reveal a copy each of Speedroid Terrortop and Speedroid Taketomborg!"

Kaname gestured to the right one this time, and Yugo added it to his hand. He dropped the other card into the graveyard.

"I will Special Summon Speedroid Taketomborg from my hand!" He declared. The blue and gold robot appeared in front of him. "I'll tribute Taketomborg, and Special Summon a "Speedroid" Tuner from my deck! Come! Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper!" The green and white doll appeared on the field again. "I'll use Fuki-Modoshi Piper's effect. I will check the top three cards of my deck and add one of them to my hand!" He plucked up the card that he chose. "I'll tune the Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to the Level 3 Speedroid Terrortop! Thousand-face possessing shadow of the labyrinth. With that sharp blade, render chaotic darkness! Synchro Summon! Level 4! Hi-Speedroid Puzzle!" The black and green figure appeared right behind Rubber Band Shooter.

[Hi-Speedroid Puzzle (4*/1300/1600/WIND/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]

"And then, I'll tune the Level 4 Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper to the Level 4 Hi-Speedroid Puzzle! Metal dragon with the power of the shining, free winds, take flight with the ideals of those who wish to rise! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake!" Kitedrake descended, its metallic blue body swerving through the air as it let out a roar, baring its sharp metal teeth at Kaname.

[Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake (8*/3000/2800/WIND/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]

"When Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy all other cards on the field!" Winds stirred up all around them. "Tear it all apart, Kitedrake! Leisure Hurricane!"

"The Most Distant, Deepest Depths cannot be destroyed by card effects while the player controls a Fish Synchro Monster," Kaname said. However, the rest of her field was torn apart by the storm. Rubber Band Shooter also vanished from Yugo's field, snapping to pieces.

Yugo knew that they weren't finished though.

"When White Aura Whale is destroyed by an opponent's card, the player can banish a WATER monster from the graveyard to Special Summon it back to the field." The pale whale reappeared on the field. "Since Askaan, the Bicorned Ghoti, was banished, the player will banish another Fish monster from the graveyard to Special Summon Askaan back to the field. The player banishes the Paces that was just sent to the graveyard!" The other Level 8 Synchro Monster reappeared on the field as well. Both monsters were in Defense Position.

… well, that had been somewhat expected.

Even so, the situation now looked a lot more salvageable, considering that Bihamut and the Divine Dragon Token had both been destroyed.

"I will then activate the Spell Card, Shadow Stepper! I will target a monster you control, and Special Summon a monster from my graveyard that was originally Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, as long as that monster has a equal or lower Level than the monster you control which I targeted! However, that monster's effects are negated! I will target White Aura Whale! Return to the field, my shining partner! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

Clear Wing returned from a portal that opened in the ground, letting out a loud roar—as defiant as ever.

"Then, I'll activate the effect of Speedroid CarTurbo. I'll Special Summon it from my hand, since I control a WIND monster, but I can't activate the effects of non-WIND monsters this turn." The blue battery attached to a white and red card-like structure appeared.

[Speedroid CarTurbo (3*/800/1200/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]

"... you know," Yugo said, "there's something that I've wanted to show you for a long time." He breathed in slowly. "I'm sure you've already seen it, haven't you?" He couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, I showed it to the whole city. It would be hard to not have seen it. The thing is… I thought that you didn't care about me anymore. And then you told me that you stayed away from me for my safety… and that just sounded like an excuse."

He clenched his fist.

"But I am tired of waiting! If I just sit there and accept my situation as it is… how long will I have to wait to have the life I want? If I don't earn it with my own hands, that future that I want… is it even worth it? That's why I decided that I had to change things. That's why I decided that I had to find my own way to become stronger… beyond you, and your love for me!"

He gestured forward.

"I will banish Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper from the graveyard and lower Speedroid CarTurbo's Level by 2!"

[Speedroid CarTurbo: 3* - 2* = 1*]

"I'll tune the Level 1 Speedroid CarTurbo to the Level 7 Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

Please. Illuminate the darkness that has cloaked the future that I want.

Show me the truth behind this city. Behind all the illusions, behind all the malice—

Cut through it with your wings, sharp as light, and give me the chance to make things right in this city!

"Shine the wings that store the holy light, and strike down your enemies with its radiance! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 8, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!" Crystal Wing appeared in front of him, roaring loudly as its bright wings tore through the air.

And as always, Crystal Wing was his hope, when all else might fail.

Shining light on this empty space.

This city of shame, which had hidden the tragedies of others and used them as the foundation for its perfect skyline.

[Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon (8*/3000/2500/WIND/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]

"Kitedrake will attack White Aura Whale! Howl of the Drifting Dragon!"

The blue dragon roared, soaring forward and fiercely battling the large whale, forcing it down.

"The player activates the effect of White Aura Whale."

Yugo knew that.

"I'll shut that down right now!" He exclaimed. "Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon's effect! When another monster's effect is activated, I can negate the activation of the effect and destroy that monster!" Crystal Wing wouldn't gain attack points though, since White Aura Whale was in the graveyard and thus couldn't actually be destroyed. "Dichroic Refraction!"

Light shone through Crystal Wing's wings, sealing off her monster's revival from the graveyard—and closing the loop for now.

"I won't let you keep bringing your monsters back from the dead," Yugo said. "In the end, no matter how relentless you are, some things have to stay dead! Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon will attack Askaan!" This was the reason that Kaname had summoned her monsters in Defense Position, after all—she must have known that Crystal Wing and Kitedrake were his best ways out of this situation. "And when Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon battles a Level 5 or higher monster, it gains attack points equal to that monster's current attack points during damage calculation! Not that it matters—Askaan has zero defense points!"

[Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon: 3000 + 2700 = 5700ATK]

"Do it, Crystal Wing! Crystallos Edge of Gale!"

Crystal Wing collided with the alien fish, the two monsters struggling against each other—and then, Kaname's final monster was finally destroyed.

Yugo breathed out.

… wow.

That felt good.

Kitedrake and Crystal Wing floated in front of him, protecting him.

"I'll move to my Main Phase 2. I'll banish Speedroid Horse Stilts from the graveyard to send a WIND monster from my deck to the graveyard. Then, I'll end my turn," he said. "I'll use the effect of Hi-Speedroid Puzzle in the graveyard! Since it was sent there from the field this turn after being Synchro Summoned, I can add a "Speedroid" monster from my graveyard to my hand!"

However, no automatic text-to-speech followed his words. Yugo raised his head, looking at Kaname—

Who was staring at the wall.

There was something… tense to her, suddenly. Yugo had seen this before—the sudden moments of stillness were something that a lot of the kids in Martha's orphanage were prone to. When something that reminded them of things that might be better forgotten, a 'trigger'—

Then again, he had never seen her, in particular, have one of those moments.

What exactly had he said? It couldn't be any of his actual moves—she had clearly been proud of him every time that he had managed a decent move against her. In that case…

Was it… that?

"I won't let you keep bringing your monsters back from the dead," Yugo said. "In the end, no matter how relentless you are, some things have to stay dead!"

However, after a moment, as though nothing had happened, Kaname reached for the top card of her deck.

"Did that… upset you?" Yugo blurted out, with all the sensitivity of an elephant stomping on the ground.

Kaname glanced at him, and she shook her head.

"I mean. I know that it did. Uh. I was asking why. Was that one of those triggers like what Martha taught us about? Because… I don't want to do that to you again, even on accident, y'know."

Fingers tapped on the keyboard. The text-to-speech spoke up. "I'd rather you do that than tell you."

And that was… chilling.

And she seemed to believe that—she would rather let him inadvertently hurt her than simply confess the truth.

… how had they ended up so distant? Or rather—if this was something that had existed the entire time, had he been the one that had never noticed? Had he been that oblivious? No one else had been that surprised when Kaname had joined Security. Even Rin, despite being upset, had never seemed surprised.

What had he missed?

Or perhaps, like he'd blacked out earlier that day…

Had there been something that he'd been unable to see?

[Turn 7: Kaname] [H:7]

"Draw." Kaname scanned her hand. "During the Standby Phase, Paces, Light of the Ghoti returns to the field."

The small octopus appeared, alone on the field.

"By banishing two Fish monsters from the graveyard, the player can Special Summon Snopios, Shade of the Ghoti from the hand." The larger octopus appeared now, its glowing blue tentacles spread around as it silently drifted next to Paces.

[Snopios, Shade of the Ghoti (6*/2100/0/WATER/Fish/Effect)]

"When Snopios, Shade of the Ghoti is Special Summoned, the player can target a card on the field. That card is banished the next time it leaves the field." Kaname gestured towards…

Kitedrake?

"The player targets Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake."

Right. Kitedrake let him add a "Speedroid" monster from his deck to his hand when it was sent to the graveyard by an opponent's card. However…

Was she really banishing every gift that she had ever given him with her effects, then? It hadn't happened yet, but the next time that he lost Kitedrake, it would pretty much be for good.

He still couldn't waste Crystal Wing's effect on that though…

"The player banished Askaan, the Bicorned Ghoti and Shif, Fairy of the Ghoti from the graveyard. When Askaan, the Bicorned Ghoti is banished, the player can banish a Fish monster from the graveyard to return it to the field. The player will banish White Aura Bihamut."

Her strongest Synchro Monster? Then—did that mean that she didn't need it?

Was there something stronger than White Aura Bihamut in her arsenal? Something even more foreign to him…

… what was that monster that she had summoned during her duel with Sherry again?

Before he could think of it (because it had been a very long night, and his mind was exhausted in a manner that felt supernaturally extreme), Kaname made her next move.

"By banishing Lifeless Leaffish from the graveyard and shuffling three Fish monsters—Minairuka, Coelacanth and White Aura Whale—into the deck, the player will draw a card." That single eye carried something strangely… sorrowful to it. "The player tunes the Level 2 Paces to the Level 6 Snopios. Spinning around, descend now with high velocity and rend this field like the waves you create."

Seriously?

"Synchro Summon. Level 8. White Aura Whale." The whale appeared again, as though it hadn't already caused Yugo enough trouble in this duel.

[White Aura Whale (8*/2800/2000/WATER/Fish/Synchro/Effect)]

"When White Aura Whale is Synchro Summoned, all monsters the opponent controls that are in Attack Position are destroyed." The white-tinged wave crashed forward.

… she was trying to force his hand and make him use Crystal Wing's effect early…

"I'll banish Speedroid Swift Escape from the graveyard to negate the destruction of WIND Synchro Monsters I control!" Both Crystal Wing and Kitedrake flew up above the wave, narrowly dodging it.

But she had returned back to having both White Aura Whale and Askaan again.

That was the thing with her deck. 'White' and 'Ghoti'—both equally pale Fish archetypes, seeming ethereal, as though they didn't belong in this world.

Ghostly, as it were.

But her monsters were a perfect cycle. Monsters that banished others from the graveyard to revive themselves. Cards that revived themselves if they were banished.

Monsters that would not die.

As long as she controlled White Aura Whale, if Askaan was gone, she could bring it back. And White Aura Whale could bring itself back over and over.

But neither White Aura Whale or Askaan had enough attack points to take out either Kitedrake or Crystal Wing. And neither had a way around Crystal Wing. That was why Yugo still hadn't used Crystal Wing's effect.

"The player will activate the effect of Fishborg Launcher. Since there is at least one other monster in the graveyard, and all other monsters in the graveyard are WATER monsters, the player can Special Summon Fishborg Launcher from the graveyard, but it is banished when it leaves the field."

So, that was no problem for her—only a benefit, really.

"The player will use the effect of The Most Distant, Deepest Depths, banishing Paces, Light of the Ghoti from the graveyard to add a "Ghoti" monster from the deck to their hand." Kaname gestured forward. "The player will tune the Level 1 Fishborg Launcher to the Level 8 Askaan, the Bicorned Ghoti."

A Level 9 Synchro Summon? But… she only used a single non-Tuner, so it couldn't be the strongest of the Ice Barrier dragons. So, that meant—

"Snow. Ice. Cyan creature swimming under the arctic waters." Launcher dissolved into a single ring of blue light. "Now, emerge and form the power that I can follow. Synchro Summon! Level 9! Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys!" A gigantic, cyan creature appeared. Its body was a hybrid of the roughness of a crocodile's scales and a sea serpent's body. It widened its mouth, revealing several tiny, sharp and white teeth. It let out a loud hiss, strangely reptilian. Its underbelly was white, and there were dark blue spikes covering its body, small and blending perfectly into those cyan scales.

[Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys (9*/1000/1000/WATER/Fish/Synchro/Effect)]

… well. That was bad news. But if she activated Archethys's effect, then—

"The player will choose not to activate the effect of Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys."

… of course it wouldn't be that easy. She would have realised that activating its effect—one that allowed her to draw a card for each non-Tuner in the Synchro Summon of Archethys—would allow Crystal Wing to destroy it.

"Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys gains 500 attack and defense points in the player's hand." Kaname held up the eight cards in her hand.

Had she been… avoiding using the cards in her hand for that purpose too?

[Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys: 1000 + 500 x 8 = 5000ATK/DEF]

And since it was a Continuous Effect, Crystal Wing couldn't negate it.

Even so, if she attacked, Crystal Wing would stop it in its tracks. And if she tried to use its destruction effect, it would only cause her monster to be destroyed by Crystal Wing. So…

What exactly was she doing?

Kaname raised her hands, signing a few words.

'You'. 'Missed'. 'Weakness'. 'Okay'. You missed a weakness, but it's okay. 'Show'. I'll show it to you now.

Kaname placed down a card from her hand. Archethys's attack and defense points fell slightly.

[Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys: 5000 - 500 = 4500ATK/DEF]

"Spell Card, Fish and Kicks. Since the player controls at least three Fish, Aqua or Sea Serpent monsters, the player can target a card on the field and banish it."

… target and banish…

And a Spell Card…

Yugo understood, suddenly.

Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon could negate monster effects. But Spells and Traps… that wouldn't work.

Crystal Wing… no…

His dragon let out a roar. The bright light in its wings faded, and then, a vortex of water shot up, wrapping around it and dragging it down into the depths. Kitedrake looked alarmed.

And if his dragon was banished…

Was there any way for him to get it back?

"Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys attacks Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake."

The aquatic, reptilian dragon roared, and as the water crashed down—

Kitedrake was dragged down into the vortex of water, and it was banished as well.

Yugo: 3400 - 1500 = 1900LP

And since it was banished, Kitedrake's effect wouldn't search another card out for him.

And…

"White Aura Whale attacks the opponent directly."

The waves shot towards him, to wash him away.

Yugo breathed out.

He held up a card.

"I still don't want to lose to you, nee-san," he said. "Even if I've lost all my monsters… I need to hang on. Since the opponent declared a direct attack with their monster, I can Special Summon Speedroid Menko from the hand!" The spinning metal disk with gears within it appeared, winds sweeping around it as it spun around like a shuriken.

[Speedroid Menko (4*/100/2000/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"And I'll change your monsters to Defense Position!" The two monsters were forced back by a weak burst of wind..

Kaname glanced at him. She shrugged slightly. "The player sets a card facedown and ends their turn."

[Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys: 4500 - 500 = 4000ATK/DEF]

And that was it. Yugo had escaped by the skin of his teeth.

Archethys and White Aura Whale still stared him down—very threatening. Meanwhile, Menko was alone on his field.

[Turn 8: Yugo] [H:2]

"Draw."

He looked at the card that he drew.

I can't do anything with this.

I—

I can't do anything at all.

Crystal Wing and Kitedrake have been banished. Clear Wing, Rubber Band Shooter and Puzzle are in the graveyard. Kendama, Hagoita and Chanbara can't do anything against her.

Maybe if I still had Crystal Wing, it would all be alright. But I don't, and I…

I don't know if I have a path ahead here. I don't know if I can even mount a comeback at all.

There was not a single monster left in his deck that could overcome what was ahead of him.

And he was overcome with shame at that very thought.

Shouldn't he be stronger? Hadn't he come here to win? How was he supposed to face himself like this?

He ran through play after play in his head—trying to figure out a way to win with the cards in his hand. Anyway that he could possibly… do this.

And they all came up as blanks.

"Don't look like that, Yugo." There was something almost warm to the statement, even though it was spoken by a text-to-speech program. The significance of the words, rather than the voice speaking them.

And yet Yugo could not bring himself to raise his head.

It was the disappointment—frustration, perhaps—that came with feeling so weak.

A soft sigh, like a breeze, echoed through the room. Then, a single sentence—clear, a human voice, a strange, slightly low-pitched sound. It was a sound like the wind blowing through old, rusty pipes—distorted, echoing slightly, an edge of something worn from disuse. There was certainty to it, something that clashed with the broken nature of her voice. A certainty in the fact that she knew what she wanted to say, but physically struggling with the act of speaking.

Even so, the words pierced through his doubts immediately.

"Raise your head."

And the shock caused Yugo to whip his head up, to look at her.

Because that was her voice. That was the first time that he had heard her voice—that he could remember, at least. And she was using it to persuade him to not give up—even though his opponent was her.

He remembered when he had asked Martha about Kaname's silence. Martha's answer had been simple. From the limited knowledge that she had, and the few doctors that she was in contact with, she had found out that Kaname was functionally mute, not mute.

"But what does that mean?"

"Well, Yugo… physically, there is nothing wrong with her vocal cords… despite…" Martha muttered something to herself, before she spoke audibly again. "The reason that she doesn't speak is because she is… afraid."

"Afraid? But what is there to be scared of?"

"... you're very innocent, Yugo. Sometimes, people are scared… because of things that are specifically terrifying to them. Even if you yourself aren't affected by those things… other people can be. Someone else might be so terrified by flames that they cannot move when they see them. Things like that."

"And Kaname is… scared?"

"She is so very scared," Martha said softly. "Always remember that, Yugo. She might seem cold because she's quiet, but… in the years that I've raised her and you, I've come to understand something very important about her. She has never stopped being scared… her entire life. Scared of what might happen to her, if she is to speak of anything—most of all, what happened to her."

But she had overcome her fear and anxiety, to speak to him just then. It seemed like a feat that had drained her slightly—she was pressing her hand to her chest now, as though she was in pain from speaking those few words.

If she was so afraid, but she had become so strong…

How could Yugo give up?

"... fine," Yugo said, despite knowing that there was no way for him to win the duel right now. "I'll keep on fighting you to my last breath, Kaname."

There. An approving nod.

"Once per turn, during the Standby Phase, if my opponent controls a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can Special Summon Speedroid Skull Marbles from my hand!" A green and yellow machine appeared, with a white skull on the front of it.

[Speedroid Skull Marbles (7*/0/3000/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

Paces and Shif also reappeared on Kaname's field in Defense Position.

"I will then activate the Spell Card, Speed Recovery!" Yugo declared. "I can Special Summon a… "Speedroid" monster from the graveyard. Return to the field—Speedroid Terrortop!" Terrortop reappeared yet again. "And with the effect of Speedroid Terrortop, I will add a "Speedroid" monster from my deck to my hand!"

Work on the fly, work on the fly…

"I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke!" Another copy of Den-Den Daiko Duke appeared on the field—the brown-haired doll with a red cloak and an officer's uniform appeared.

[Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke (3*/1000/1000/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]

"I'll tune the Level 3 Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke to the Level 3 Speedroid Terrortop!"

Please let this be enough. Please.

"Powerful dragon rising from the mist of legend! Now, blow our enemies away with the power of the storm! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Orient Dragon!" The golden dragon appeared, its green wings beating in the air as winds swirled around it. A last resort for him, entirely out of desperation.

A faint hope that this would work.

[Orient Dragon (6*/2300/1000/WIND/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]

"Orient Dragon's effect!" Yugo said, and then he shook his head. There was no energy to those words at all. He clenched his fists, and he forced himself to look forward, raising his volume. "Since she was Synchro Summoned, I can target a Synchro Monster on the field and banish it! I will choose Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys!"

Kaname raised two cards from her hand. "Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys's effect will be chained to that effect," her duel disk said. "Once per turn, by discarding two cards, the player can target a card on the field and destroy it. The player chooses Speedroid Skull Marbles!"

Skull Marbles was destroyed, but Orient Dragon remained on the field. Then, Archethys was banished.

"... I'm not done! By banishing Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke from the graveyard, I will Special Summon a "Speedroid" Tuner from my hand or graveyard. Return to the field, Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper!" The doll in a green hat reappeared. "And since I control Menko and Orient Dragon, I can excavate the top two cards of my deck and add one to my hand!"

please. Give me a chance.

He flipped over the top two cards of his deck.

… he grinned.

"I'll add this one to my hand!" He called.

Yes! There was a chance after all. The smallest of chances. It was all possible now—and he could see it too.

If he'd given up… he might never have seen this other chance at victory.

Kaname swiftly signed a word. 'Found?'

"I found it!" Yugo said. "... finally, I did… you always knew, didn't you? That my monsters were helpless against banishing, Spells and Traps?"

He revealed the card.

"But… I know the weaknesses myself! And my monsters banish themselves from the graveyard enough… so. Quickplay Spell, Pot of Acquisitiveness! I will return three banished monsters to the deck and draw a card!"

A soft snort greeted that.

"I will return Stellar Wind Wolfrayet, Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake—and Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon to my Extra Deck!" He picked up his three Synchro Monsters, returning them to the Extra Deck, before swiping up another card from his deck.

"I'll keep on searching for the answer, until I have no more cards left to play!" Yugo declared. "With that single move—the wind is free to flow again!" It was oddly poetic for him, but it felt right to be oddly poetic. "I will tune the Level 4 Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper to the Level 4 Speedroid Menko!" The two monsters shot up. "Metal dragon with the power of the shining, free winds, take flight with the ideals of those who wish to rise! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake!" The mechanical dragon reappeared on the field, letting out a sharp roar.

Still rather protective of him.

"Kitedrake's effect! I will destroy all other cards on the field! Leisure Hurricane!"

"The player activates the Trap Card, Ghoti Chain. The player will banish a Fish monster they control to Special Summon a "Ghoti" monster that is banished, on the field or in the graveyard, with a different name from the monster banished for this effect. However, the monster that the player Special Summons with this effect is banished when it next leaves the field."

Paces vanished from the field. Still though, what was the point of bringing back a monster just to let it be destroyed by Kitedrake's effect?

Unless…

"The player chooses to Special Summon Zep, Ruby of the Ghoti."

The lionfish appeared. However, Kitedrake's effect then resolved, and White Aura Whale, Zep and Shif were all destroyed.

"The player will activate the effect of White Aura Whale. By banishing Zep, Ruby of the Ghoti from the graveyard—the player will Special Summon White Aura Whale from the graveyard in Defense Position." The whale, of course, revived itself yet again…

And with it, came something else.

"When Zep, Ruby of the Ghoti is banished during the opponent's turn, the player can Special Summon Zep back to the field." The lionfish reappeared. "And when Zep is Special Summoned—the player can immediately perform the Synchro Summon of a Fish Synchro Monster using monsters the player controls as Synchro Material."

A soft sigh.

Fingers trailed across the keyboard.

"It pains me." A pause, and then a few more words were spoken by the text-to-speech program. "To support you, and to strike you down." Her fingers drew back, as though she was considering the words. "You shine so brightly."

"... well, you were the one who told me to raise my head and meet you head-on. And I still feel like I'm weak, but…" He clenched a fist. "I still have cards to play, Kaname. Until then, I'm not done."

A sharp nod. Kaname retrieved the card from her Extra Deck.

"The player will tune the Level 2 Zep, Ruby of the Ghoti to the Level 8 White Aura Whale. Glistening light sleeping in the depths below. Mythical creature with galaxies and emptiness within your frame. With those eyes that see and comprehend the start and the end, rule over the deepest, most distant depths with the power of the Big Freeze of the universe, where all is silent. Synchro Summon. Level 10—Ghoti of the Deep Beyond." The serpent made of water reappeared on the field, with clouds of starlight and patterns from space glowing from within the serpent's body. Its fins and tendrils slowly drifted around her—seeming strangely alien.

[Ghoti of the Deep Beyond (10*/?/0/WATER/Fish/Synchro/Effect)]

Yes. Now Yugo remembered. Kaname had used that monster against Sherry LeBlanc, in the duel that had injured her.

In that case… that was the strongest monster in her entire deck.

Yugo braced himself.

"When Ghoti of the Deep Beyond is Synchro Summoned on the opponent's turn, all cards on the field are banished." Their fields were all washed clean in an instant.

After all that hard work…

To see everything fall apart was… hard.

But he still had one card left in his hand. The single card that he had drawn from the deck randomly, with Pot of Acquisitiveness.

"I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Ultra Hound!" The red dog appeared on the field with a quiet growl.

[Speedroid Ultra Hound (3*/800/800/WIND/Machine/Effect)]

"When Ultra Hound is Normal Summoned, I can send a "Speedroid" monster from the deck to the graveyard." Yugo desperately dropped a certain card into the graveyard. "Ultra Hound attacks directly!"

Ultra Hound dashed forward, bumping against Kaname's side.

Kaname: 3400 - 800 = 2600LP

There was something half-amused in Kaname's amber gaze as she blinked slowly.

"I'll end my turn," Yugo muttered.

[Turn 9: Kaname] [H:5]

Kaname drew.

"During the Standby Phase after Ghoti of the Deep Beyond was banished from a Monster Zone, it returns to the field." The beautiful serpent reappeared. "Ghoti of the Deep Beyond's original attack points are equal to 500 multiplied by the total number of banished monsters on the field. The player has seven—Gluttonous Reptolphin Greethys. Ixeep, Omen of the Ghoti. White Aura Monoceros. Fishborg Launcher. White Aura Bihamut. Lifeless Leaffish. Paces, Light of the Ghoti."

Yugo's eyes widened.

Just how much had he strengthened that monster… for his own card advantage, and by letting his monsters be removed from the field by Kaname's effects?

He swallowed. "I have ten banished monsters," he admitted.

The large serpent glowed brightly, strange and colourful, ethereal clouds floating around it, as though it was gathering power from all of them.

[Ghoti of the Deep Beyond: ? 500 x 17 = 8500ATK]

Yugo held his breath. He'd sent a copy of Tri-Eyed Dice to the graveyard with the effect of Speedroid Ultra Hound. If she just attacked…

Kaname held up another card.

… ah. Naturally, she would have guessed that he could negate a single attack.

"By discarding a WATER monster, the player can Special Summon White Stingray from the hand." A white, ghostly stingray appeared in front of her.

[White Stingray (4*/1400/1000/WATER/Fish/Effect)]

"The player will then tribute White Stingray to Normal Summon Eanoc, Sentry of the Ghoti." The large, dark blue manta ray appeared as White Stingray dissolved into bubbles and seafoam, thin alien tendrils forming a long tail that drifted behind it in the air.

[Eanoc, Sentry of the Ghoti (6*/2100/0/WATER/Fish/Effect)]

"When Eanoc is Normal or Special Summoned, the player can Special Summon a banished Level 4 or lower Fish monster to the field." Paces reappeared, and Ghoti of the Deep Beyond's attack points fell slightly.

[Ghoti of the Deep Beyond: 8500 - 500 = 8000ATK]

Even if somehow, Kaname managed to summon all of her banished monsters, with Yugo's own banished monsters, her monster was guaranteed 5000 attack points.

"The player will tune the Level 2 Paces, Light of the Ghoti to the Level 6 Eanoc, Sentry of the Ghoti. Most powerful creature of the deepest, most distant depths of the ocean. Bear your heart on your sleeve, your merciless weapons as your limbs, every part of you crashing into opponents that you can swat aside. Synchro Summon. Level 8. Guoglim, Spear of the Ghoti." The large aquatic creature appeared, covered in sharp spikes, the edges and ends of its body tinted bloody red. Its jaws grinded slowly against each other, and spiked tendrils floated all around it.

[Guoglim, Spear of the Ghoti (8*/2700/0/WATER/Fish/Synchro/Effect)]

2700 attack points.

Ultra Hound had 800 attack points.

Yugo had 1900 life points.

And Ghoti of the Deep Beyond was definitely powerful enough.

Even if he could negate a single attack…

However, instead of going for the dramatic finish, Kaname nodded to Guoglim instead. The man o' war charged forward, a spiked tendril bursting through the machine dog, and flying past Yugo, narrowly missing him. Even so, Yugo was knocked to the ground by his own surprise.

Yugo: 1900 - 1900 = 0LP

Winner: Kaname Mizuchi!

Yugo sat there on the ground, and he punched the ground with his fist. His legs were already shaking—he was so tired.

She had held back on her powers once the attacks had truly started flying, and even so, the consecutive duels had taken their physical toll on him.

Damn it!

He still didn't like losing. And losing here meant that he hadn't just let himself down. He'd let Yuno and Miharu, who had been so kind to him, down. And here, alone…

He had let so many people down, by failing to win here and go after Roget.

"The bet is done—I won," Roget called over the intercom, and Yugo was really not willing to deal with that man's shit right now, to be honest.

Kaname walked over to him. She softly pressed the book that she was holding onto into his hands.

"... I can't read well, y'know."

A shrug. She ruffled his hair.

'You. Lost.'

"Way to rub salt in the wound…"

'Sorry.' She looked at him—not making eye contact, but still observing him. 'Mean. Well.' I mean well for you. 'Keep. Safe.' And I want to keep you safe. 'Understand.' Do you understand?

Then, her gaze turned upwards—behind him.

Yugo turned around.

During the duel, a shadow had found its way to the staircase behind him, standing behind one of the doors to the stairwell. Now, that figure slowly walked out of the shadows—tall, imposing. Dark hair over a darker coat.

An aura of power around him.

Kaname drew Yugo closer to her protectively.

"A duel between siblings," the man said. "Truly, Roget knows no shame… and there are no lows that he can sink to, either."

Yugo inhaled sharply.

The confidence of this man would be one thing—Yugo was used to cocky people, but this guy seemed like he could back that up with strength.

And he was in no condition to fight right now…

Come to think of it…

Neither was Kaname.

Against someone like this…

"Regardless, shall we negotiate?" The man reached up, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. "That face… and that immediate protectiveness, as well as the skill that both of you have… both of you are oddly similar to those two." He tilted his head upwards slightly. "I am Ryo Marufuji."

Kaname jabbed at her throat coldly with a finger. Ryo narrowed his eyes.

"Ah, so you're mute." He glanced upwards. "Roget. I am here." The way that he said it was about as simple as someone discussing the weather. As though his presence alone was significant enough that Roget might be running for the hills.

There was no reply.

"... it seems that the coward is hiding," Ryo said. "No matter. The building is surrounded on all sides—we will know if he leaves." He turned to them. "I overheard your conversation, but I decided to wait for things to settle. Hand over your keycard to the tower—Kaname Mizuchi."

For a moment, Yugo considered convincing Kaname to just let it go—really, Roget deserved anything that was coming to him. However, Ryo's next words changed his mind.

"And it seems that one of the primary elimination targets, Yugo, and one of the primary retrieval targets, Miharu Kogami, is here as well. If you hand both of them over as well, I will turn a blind eye to you—I have no wish to spar with a sickly girl."

… sickly?

Kaname stared at Ryo. She turned slowly towards the intercom.

For a moment, Yugo saw betrayal in her gaze—betrayal that was aimed at Roget.

She turned back towards Ryo. For a moment, she seemed like she was going to sign something, but obviously, this man wouldn't know sign language.

Instead, she turned to him, signing. Clearly, she was asking him to be her translator.

"My sister says…" Yugo translated. "That she's sorry, but she does not have the authority to negotiate on behalf of any party… nor does she want to?" His voice went to a higher pitch in confusion at the next words. "Uh. Something about how that… did you really just sign 'rat bastard'? Are you referring to Roget with that?"

There was something amused to Kaname's quiet sigh.

"You totally did! You're right though, Roget is a rat bastard." Kaname jabbed him in the side. "Uh. Correction, about how 'father', not 'rat bastard', totally not 'rat bastard'—okay, don't jab me—did not inform her that I was a priority elimination target of Academia. Wait, Kaname—you know what Academia is?"

Ryo shook his head from the side. Yugo wisely chose to continue translating instead of pressing his question when there was an enemy right next to them.

"And that, if one of the negotiation conditions is that she has to hand me over to you, she will make you take that offer and—"

And then he choked, because his quiet, aloof-looking sister calmly signing 'go fuck yourself with it' towards someone was a sight that he'd never thought he'd get to see.

He ended up not having to translate, because Ryo seemed to get the implication. He sighed.

"... very well. I did not want to have to deal with someone so similar to him and her today, but it seems that it's a day that keeps dredging up bad memories." He raised his duel disk. "I will take all three of the things that I mentioned from you two. I apologise—I do not enjoy tearing apart siblings. But my duty, as always, comes above my personal beliefs. So—who out of the two of you will be my opponent?"


OC Cards:

Speedroid Swift Escape

(Trap)

When an opponent's monster declares an attack: You can banish 2 WIND monsters from your GY; negate that attack and end the Battle Phase, and if you do, roll a six-sided die, then Special Summon, from your GY or banished cards, 1 or 2 "Speedroid" monsters whose total Levels equal the result, but their ATK and DEF become 0. If you do not Special Summon, you lose LP equal to the result x 500. If a WIND Synchro Monster(s) you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect: You can banish this card from your GY instead.


Different Card Effects from TCG:

Speedraw - Anime-only card.

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon - Anime effect. Although I realised a problem with how I've been writing it this entire time. Clear Wing says "negate its effects" with regards to the negation effect, and thus, technically, any other effects, such as being immune to card destruction, do not apply. It's another effect of playing TCG Clear Wing. Luckily—there's been nothing I need to change, after reading through every Yugo duel in this story. *sighs in relief* Thank goodness I found out about it now.

Speedroid Ohajikid - Note: This card was mistakenly listed as an anime effect in Chapter 13, in place of another card. However, seeing as its effect wasn't actually used in that chapter, I have decided that it's just going to use its TCG effect from now on, so that I don't mess up by remembering the wrong effect.

Speedroid Maliciousmagnet - Anime effect.

Shadow Stepper - Anime-only card.

Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon - Note: While previously labelled as 'anime effect', it has come to my attention that I've been writing it with basically its TCG effects this entire time, which… whoops. Luckily, I've somehow avoided using Crystal Wing's negation inconsistently. So—it's TCG effect. Why did I choose this? Anime Crystal Wing's effect is a ruling disaster, so I have decided after a while to just… ignore it.


End Notes:

The title of the chapter is a reference to Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind, because I'll always like literature references. As such, it's technically both a reference to water and wind at the same time.

Whoo! Going from writing Blue-Eyes Dragonmaids to something different is the best feeling ever, considering that I've been writing that deck for the entire last month.

Did I make an entire internal map for the Security Bureau for this fic only to never use it in the end? Yep. I've been contemplating making a Tumblr account just to drop off some of the bonus plans, worldbuilding, etc which I never ended up stating directly in the fic.

Yugo isn't the type to bother to remember the fancy names of buildings, which is why the proper name isn't really used that much unless he has to say it aloud. Also, Yugo would definitely stop in the middle of a tense duel just to come up with a cool-sounding summoning chant, lmao. Fun fact—most Commons children learn how to read from cards. Thus, Rin, Yugo and the Synchro gang (Crow, Kiryu, etc) are still mostly illiterate when it comes to reading and writing specifically—they're fine with spoken language. Rin and Crow are slightly better than the others because 1) Rin learned some reading from the Arcadia Movement, though not a lot, and 2) Crow learned how to read to teach the kids, but it's limited. Kaname learned how to read from the Arcadia Movement as well, and pretty much figured out writing and reading once she got her text-to-speech program from Roget, since she has to type her words. That's also when she started actually reading books.

Also, I don't recall if I said this, but Kaname's sign language is loosely based on the grammar of American Sign Language. I would have based it on Japanese Sign Language, but I'm obviously much less familiar with that.

Kaname using 'care' while Roget simply cares about 'loyalty' is such a minor point, but I have to point it out.

If this was a video game, this duel would pretty much be this fic's equivalent of an unwinnable boss fight. Yugo was never intended to win this. Some reviews/comments did call out how Yugo is storming Security all by himself with no back-up, and yeah—that's really dumb. He's lost, things are getting bad because he was reckless, and Ryo Marufuji is about to make things much worse than they need to be. :) Yugo will get his moment—bitterness makes victory sweeter! But yeah, this is also Yugo's first actual loss in the story. He is also the person to put up the most impressive fight against Kaname so far.

Let's talk about card parallels! I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but Kyorin using Nekroz and Kaname getting the Ice Barrier Synchros is very intentional. Just like Kyorin getting a Nekroz version of Apollousa, while Hitoda has Apollousa and Nue has Titanocider (which is Apollousa). YGO has the rare chance for card parallels, which I am absolutely down for, always.

Akso, fun fact—another reason why I love Crystron and Speedroids being used by siblings is because of card parallels too. Menko/Ametrix and Taketomborg/Sulfefnir are the most obvious ones, but there's quite a few of them. Kaname and Yugo's decks also technically mirror in terms of the fact that I tend to write their duels with the mindset that any Synchros of their respective Attribute (WATER/WIND) are fair game for them, as long as they aren't part of another archetype that's being used. *cough* Orient Dragon, etc.

Bihamut is also Kaname's… 'wildest' monster, as mentioned in Chapter 42. When Kaname takes a deep breath after summoning it, it's to stop her monster from literally maiming Yugo. That's also the reason why she attacks with Guoglim instead of Deep Beyond at the end—why risk dealing more damage than necessary?

Both Yugo and Rin saying in 61 and 62 that they're tired of waiting… :D It's a strong line, when it comes to the Synchro Dimension, which has been portrayed as entirely stuck in its own ways, as the previous generation does nothing to change it. They've literally been waiting their whole lives for things to get better because they couldn't make them better themselves.

"That's why I decided that I had to find my own way to become stronger… beyond you, and your love for me!" - This line destroyed me to write, not going to lie. If it feels odd that Kitedrake and Wolfrayet were just given to Yugo, that's the point. Crystal Wing is his only true evolution of his strength so far. Yugo is starting to grow independently and follow his own beliefs instead of trusting that things will turn out okay.

Speedroids, fun fact, are amazing at swarming, but they themselves cannot interact much with the opponent. Pretty much only Kitedrake can do anything to the opponent's board, talking about just Speedroids, minus the Clear Wing line. Meanwhile, Ghoti is great at interaction with the opponent—the entire deck is built around recursion and removal—but is weaker in terms of first-turn set-up (Speedroids) and negation (Clear Wing). This duel is built around those differences. Yugo can recover well every time his field is cleared, but Kaname's field literally never manages to be cleared.

Also, Yugo having it pointed out to him that his monsters can't do anything against Spells and Traps, and that being the one tipping point that sends the duel out of his control? :) I wonder what kind of character growth that's going to lead to in a much later duel? :) It's not a spoiler if it's patently obvious, lmao.

Yugo says to me, the writer: "Hey, can I pull out an OC card to take the victory?... please? Cool ass stuff?"

Me: "Sit down, your cool anime moment isn't this chapter, it's what this chapter sets up."

I will admit that as a disabled person myself, I like writing realistic disabled characters, especially characters that are not 100% defined by their disability, and are fleshed out in their own right. For example, Shino being in a wheelchair or having narcolepsy are probably the two least interesting parts of her character, behind everything else. Kaname's disability—functional mutism—is something that also matters a lot to me, because, well… I'm functionally mute in real life, in most circumstances. :) And I always thought that it was particularly significant to have a person who basically couldn't speak for themselves in the setting of Neo Domino City—a person with literally no voice.

Special shout out to AO3 commenter TRLL, who somehow predicted "Kaiser vs Ghost fish lady" and Kisara vs Crow around Chapter 57, and I have no clue how. Their comment gave me a heart attack. Anyway, I'm not even going to bother being vague about what next chapter's duel is. :)

Review responses!

To AccurateGap1, mm, I'm a fan of exploring Serena and Shun's dynamic platonically! That's why they get so much more screentime as a pair in this story (plus Dennis). To me, it always feels like a waste for fics to not do it, since they probably have the most interesting relationship, as you said.

To naminexriku2468, I'm not answering questions about any cards due to spoilers. I think I established that a while back. So anyway—it could be yes, it could be no, but I don't want to answer that. Plus, it's a card that I literally couldn't have planned for the existence of, so even if I decided to integrate it, it would take far more planning.

To Bryz0n, I hate rewrites, but they're always necessary if I don't think the quality is there, haha. And that's all pretty good analysis! :) Kisara is, in a sense, also what I feel Jack's character arc in later seasons of 5Ds should have addressed, because you don't just… get over the death of someone that you cared for so quickly, even if they come back to life.

To PhilJS89, nah, that's not a reference to him. To be honest, I just read a lot, so I plop in references as I go—but Ruri's arc is entirely made from scratch. :) As for the tyranny thing, nope, I came up with that myself as well! It's a line that I kind of came up with as I was drafting the chapter, along with the whole Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon and Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend thing. It was me being like "how do I give her a contender for the most menacing line in Six Dimensions' history without it sticking out". I do love Jack's new structure deck—I hadn't actually played with Resonators a lot before that, but the deck coming out convinced me to give it another go. Also, reminder that Shino did not actually go into Security, because as Yugo narrates here, Roget is very ableist and there are only stairs. :) But yeah, there have certainly been some interesting developments… also, I love the description of 'misery loves company', because it's really fitting. As for inhumane measures, remember that Kisara already knows about the attempted development of the parasites, even though it was halted. And she's calling whatever is being planned more inhumane than that. Also, I will say that the order of the next few arcs is a complicated spoiler, but not for the reasons one might think. The remaining dimensions are (in no particular order) Link, Ritual, Fusion and Xyz. To me, it feels really obvious what the order is going to be, but I also realise that I'm the author, so it might just feel more obvious to my brain. Still though, I look forward to surprising people with that! :)

To Ben23ten, ah, that's a lovely quote! Yuri's current situation is honestly pretty interesting. I would say that there's a good reason why Aki and Ruri's compassion and Sora's anger are in the same chapter—so that it feels a little less black and white. It is understandable for Sora to be upset, but it's also understandable for Aki, as an older person who has seen others in pain, to want to help him. Meanwhile, Ruri balances both sides out. Regardless, the characters are allowed to have their own opinions :D And yes, Yuri helping Yuya out will be explained eventually, once we finally get Yuri POV again. :D

To phantomdragons, oh, I don't count mistakes in the duel as rewrites, that's just drafts. :D A rewrite comes after the whole duel is done—so yes, it was very much dissatisfaction. And you… picked up a lot of the things that happened! You did get some wrong, but unfortunately, I can't directly tell you what. Guess you'll have to wait and see. And I get exactly what you mean with Yugo and Serena being friends. They just feel like they would get along so well. And all three ships that you mentioned are ones I really like too.

To Combo Enthusiast, I actually haven't watched Demon Slayer, but I Googled the character in question and I can see why you might think that, haha. And while I won't go in detail on the main characters, I will say that I do love setting certain things up far earlier—before they come fully into play. Glad that you enjoyed the chapter!

To cardfan135, haha, thanks! I'm always flattered when someone says that they do feel for Kisara, because it's hard to give a character enough depth to get people to care for what happens to them, especially when they're still positioned as antagonistically as Kisara is.

To Nohayas444, the answer changes constantly, but right now, my ranking of my favourite summoning methods goes Fusion Ritual Synchro Xyz Pendulum Link, which is pretty funny, considering that it's pretty much chronological order.

To kikuruhime, mm, I still want to do Arc-V justice when rewriting its plot points. Thus, I wanted to give Jack enough moments of his own to justify Arc-V's original portrayal of him. And yup, you called the Yugo thing.

To Mr. Owl, I'm glad that people enjoyed those three duels, to be honest, because I was worried that using the same deck three times in a row would bore people. And yeah, the Rin-Yuji dynamic is going to be so fun to write. To be honest, I have a very long list of character interactions that can only happen once we're past the invasion of Synchro, and it just keeps growing. Rin-Yuji is definitely on that list, haha. Thanks for the review!

To Unlucky-Fausto, heh, discarding Action Duels was for two reasons. First, it felt slightly impractical, since Action Cards really felt like a crutch, and there were never any real limitations set on it. Second, I didn't want to write Action Duels, because they're not as fun to write—integrating Action Cards into duels always felt like I was padding them out, and it meant that I had to keep track of more things other than the board state. I used them to show the differences in Yuno and Miharu's view of duels, along with showing some fun stuff like the potential for abuse of them in Spell Counters, etc. But they don't necessarily belong in more serious war, because the random chance that they add is, realistically, not something that Reiji Akaba or Leo Akaba would care to include in their soldiers' duels. And yeah, Kisara's words are… pretty odd huh? :) Also, pretty interesting observations there! :D

To the Guest asking what fics in a certain list I would write, I'll answer them one by one. I have planned a genderbend fic once, but I'll be honest and say that I'm slightly biased against the trope because a lot of people do it for the sake of shipping, and I'm not a fan of that. I feel like there's a lot of fascinating things that can be explored about changes in personal perception, struggles and societal expectations when switching the gender of someone, so it feels like a waste when it's just there for shipping. The other ideas don't interest me as much.

To the Guest asking me if there will be more villains in the Xyz Arc… well, that's in the future, but the easy answer is probably yes, considering, well, the cast size.

QOTC: Shout out some Synchro archetypes you like that haven't been used in this story, but that are still fun! :D And while you're here, do you all want the additional content Tumblr to be made, lmao. It'll take a while to set up, but essentially it'll just have character profiles (up to date with the most recent arcs), some additional schematics/maps/etc, as well as whatever tangents that I feel like going on (aka explanations of some background stuff, themes, etc)

Alright, see you next time!