Starting Notes:
Welcome back! Shorter chapter, though I'm sorry for the wait—I ended up having to split this chapter for pacing issues. Still, it should be fun! :D To those who celebrate, a slightly early Lunar New Year to you all! Enjoy!
Chapter 113: Tensions Past
Of all the things that Gongenzaka had expected Hitoda to say after he'd found her coughing her lungs out on the ground, 'keep fighting, I'll stay here for a bit' was not one of them, and he was absolutely revolted by the suggestion.
"I can't just leave you here!" Gongenzaka protested.
Hitoda leaned against the wall, her usual slightly smug smile on her face. It would have been a comforting sight for Gongenzaka, if not for the fact that there was a sickly pallor to her face right now, and her entire body was tense with pain, and oh , Gongenzaka didn't know, maybe it was uncomfortable because he had just watched her finish a duel, cough her lungs out and collapse against the side of a building!
… he really shouldn't have trusted her when she said that she was fine. How many times had she lied to him about her health already, even just in this dimension alone?
Whatever this was…
Whatever this was, it was not normal. It was not harmless.
So why was she pretending, even now, that it was nothing?
Why had the first words that had come out of her mouth after recovering been to tell him to keep fighting in the city and just leave her there to 'catch her breath'?
"Don't think you have much of a choice, big guy," Hitoda said ruefully—but that regretful tone, Gongenzaka suspected, was yet another lie. "I'm not going to be very useful in a duel like this, am I?" She wiped at the side of her lip with her hand, before nesting it in the fabric of her skirt.
"That's exactly why I can't leave you here! Do you know what you're asking of me? If I leave you alone and you're—"
Hitoda coughed, frowning—clearly, she'd been holding it in to make sure that Gongenzaka wouldn't get even more worried, which did not do wonders for Gongenzaka's confidence in her.
"—attacked, you won't be able to fight back! You'll be carded!"
Hitoda tilted her head. "... I won't be. It's fine. I actually do just need to catch my breath."
Gongenzaka watched her.
"You can wait here with me if you want," she finally offered—it sounded like she was trying to compromise with him. "Seriously though, you're getting too worried for no reason—"
"Your illness is a perfectly valid reason," Gongenzaka snapped—now was not the time to treat this delicately. Not when she had been so careless as to head into a battlefield while in a state like this. Hitoda blinked for a moment, and Gongenzaka didn't hesitate to continue. (If he stopped and let her have a chance to speak, then he knew that she'd start running circles around him again. She had a certain gift with words that he'd never really had.) "That's what it is, isn't it? You are not under the weather, you do not have a cold, your body isn't just recovering from the stress of running around in Synchro. You are ill , you are unwell , Hitoda Makishima, and you've been unwell this entire time."
Hitoda remained silent, watching him. Her expression had shifted slightly—though, it was still unreadable. Gongenzaka had no clue what she was thinking right now.
"Do Sugisaki and Kogami-san know?" Gongenzaka said. "Did they let you come along with them knowing that you're sick, or—"
"They don't know," Hitoda said—her words were razor sharp. "I'd appreciate it if you don't tell them."
"Why not? If they knew—"
"They'd be worried." Hitoda shook her head. "... that's exactly why they can't know." She looked away from him. "... just trust me, Gongenzaka. This is what's best for me. And…" She coughed again. "... if you can't accept that… you don't get to make that decision for me either." When she smiled, it didn't reach her eyes. "Got it?"
Gongenzaka watched her, eyes narrowed—
And then, Hitoda raised her head and looked away from him. Gongenzaka felt a strange… pulse in the air. "Well, now I definitely have to go," she said to no one in particular.
"Huh?"
Hitoda winked. "You can yell at me later, big man." Her fingers slipped into the Extra Deck slot, pressing her fingers against the top card. "Gotta…" She coughed again. "Fix something first. Be right back."
"I'm not letting you just go—"
"I'll be fine." Hitoda sighed. "... look, big guy. I'm being completely, perfectly honest with you for once. This is way, way more dangerous for you to get involved in than it is for me." She turned her head. "... for my sake, just stay out of trouble until I come back to you. But don't come with me. I don't want you there."
She walked away—clearly in a rush, yet also clearly still in pain, her entire body tensed up. Gongenzaka watched her—the words felt too serious to ignore.
… oh.
She wants me to stay safe. She thinks it's more dangerous there for me.
So when she tells me not to come with her…
He hesitated, and gritted his teeth—he hated the answer he'd come to. It went against everything he believed in.
If I trust that she has the best intentions for everyone involved, I should listen to her.
Fine. But she'd better give me an explanation after this…!
When deciding where to go, Mion had ended up choosing to stick to the edges of the battlefield. After all, her deck was far more suited to long engagements. (Also, Reiji and Reira had decided to head to the middle, and having all of them in the same place was probably overkill.) Chris had said that he was perfectly fine with it too—and in fact, Mion thought, the usage of Dyson Sphere was intimidating enough that it was stopping their enemies from fleeing the battlefield to begin with.
… it was also attracting even more of them, but that was beside the point.
Still, because they'd stayed so far from the main battle, Mion was one of the few people to notice a certain monster rising up—even though she only saw its head, it sent a chill down her spine.
As Chris's Dyson Sphere struck down another enemy, the pale man turned to her. "You've gotten distracted," he said—not accusatory, simply curious.
"... I may have to head off," Mion said. The monster had vanished by the time that they were done with the duel, but she still remembered what direction it had been in. "... one of my comrades is in trouble."
She had no clue how she knew that, or why she was so certain about it. But… that monster… Kaname, right?
"Then go."
Mion blinked.
Chris shot her a reassuring look. "... we can both handle ourselves," he said. "I knew from the moment you asked me to work with me that you prefer to work alone, do you not?"
… was it that obvious?
"And I can very much handle something like this. If you think they're in trouble, go to them."
"... I'll be right back."
Mion strode off, her heart thudding oddly.
… something's very wrong.
I have to check on her right now…
Because Reiji knew how eye-catching he was (and because he had no personal vendetta, not like the rest of his Lancers, who all had their own goals), he and Reira had made their way to the middle of the battlefield, just to draw attention.
Reiji had sat through seven board meetings in a row once. He could deal with repetitive, mindless dueling like this.
And it was far more bearable to have Reira there. After all… she was a competent duelist in her own right. Reiji could certainly deal with them on his own, but Reira's involvement at least changed the circumstances of the duel enough each time to make it more interesting.
(… and of course, a part of him was proud.)
It didn't mean that he was going to be lenient on feedback though. After all, she was as much a member of the Lancers as she was his sister.
[DUEL!]
Reira Akaba: 4000LP
Reiji Akaba: 4000LP
Obelisk Force Red 1: 4000LP
Obelisk Force Green 1: 4000LP
Obelisk Force Yellow 1: 4000LP
Obelisk Force Red 2: 4000LP
Obelisk Force Green 2: 4000LP
Obelisk Force Yellow 2: 4000LP
[Turn 1: Obelisk Force Red 1] [H:5]
"Normal Summoning Antique Gear Hound Dog!" The green dog appeared on the field, to the surprise of no one.
[Antique Gear Hound Dog (3*/1000/1000/EARTH/Machine/Effect)]
"I'll activate Antique Gear Hound Dog's effect! I'll inflict 600 damage to you!" The boy gestured to Reiji, clearly identifying him as a greater threat. "Hound Flame!"
The flames hit Reiji, who shrugged them off easily, raising a card in his hand.
Reiji: 4000 - 600 = 3400LP
"You inflicted damage to me," he said simply. "With that, I can Special Summon D/D Orthoros from my hand." He placed the card down, and in front of him, a silver, two-headed dog with a fierce expression appeared, pawing at the ground. It let out a howl—and Antique Gear Hound Dog scrambled back, an alarmed look on its face.
[D/D Orthros (4*/S3/600/1800/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)]
1800 defense points were particularly effective against the Obelisk Force. After all, it tended to wall off most of their dog monsters—stopping the cheap tricks of the early turns. That was one of the reasons that he'd kept it, even though it wasn't a strong card in any other instance.
"Hound Dog's effect! I'll fuse it with another Hound Dog and an Antique Gear Soldier in my hand! Appear now, automaton of destructive agony! Fusion Summon! Antique Gear Megaton Golem!" The tall, silver golem appeared on the field with a bellow.
[Antique Gear Megaton Golem (9*/3300/3300/EARTH/Machine/Fusion/Effect)]
"I'll set a card facedown and end my turn."
… well, until that duelist's next turn, Megaton Golem was just a big monster.
And considering that Reira's turn was next… well. It would be a tall ask for that person to get to their next turn in the first place, once Reira and Reiji were done with them.
[Turn 2: Reira] [H:5]
Reira looked at her cards, silently pondering, before she made her first move. "I'll Normal Summon Rilliona, the Magistus of Verre!" The blue-haired mage appeared on the field, adjusting her bright white hat with a coy smile. Around her, bright crystals shimmered and floated. She summoned up a bright scepter, waving it through the air.
[Rilliona, the Magistus of Verre (4*/800/1800/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Rilliona's effect. I can add a "Magistus" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand." Reira carefully searched her deck, before picking up a card. "Then, I will open the circuit of forbidden knowledge. Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are one Level 4 or lower Spellcaster monster. Setting the Level 4 Rilliona in the Link Markers! Come, young queen of the magical citadel! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1! Artemis, the Magistus Moon Maiden!"
In front of her, the blonde girl sitting on a golden, shimmering metal crescent moon appeared, smiling. For a moment, looking at it, Reiji allowed himself to feel… fond . After all, the resemblance of the monster to a certain someone else's monster was unmistakable—even if she perhaps looked more carefree than the mysterious, masked figure of Reflection of Endymion.
[Artemis, the Magistus Moon Maiden (L1/800/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Link/Effect/↑)]
"Then, I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Trismagistus. By sending it from the field to the graveyard, I can Special Summon as many "Magistus" monsters from my hand with different names as I want." The card vanished from the field immediately, but mystical energy formed on the field, runes floating within them. Reira raised two cards, no trace of nervousness in her expression. "Special Summoning Zoroa, the Magistus of Flame and Endymion, the Magistus of Mastery!"
In front of her, two monsters emerged. Zoroa was a dark-haired man with long, blazing red hair. Dark red tattoos could be seen all over his skin, and he had a fierce look on his face. Around him, bright streaks of orange flames floated around him. Next to him, Endymion watched the field cautiously—he was a tall man with dark blue hair, wearing robes a shade lighter than his hair, though there were some parts that were more purple than blue, and the lining of the robes were golden. He looked radically different from the armoured monster that it had been based on.
[Zoroa, the Magistus of Flame (4*/1500/1500/FIRE/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect)]
[Endymion, the Magistus of Mastery (4*/1300/1700/WATER/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Activating Artemis's effect. When a "Magistus" monster is Normal or Special Summoned, I can equip her to that monster! I'll equip her to…" There was a brief moment of hesitation from her. "Endymion."
Reiji adjusted his glasses as Artemis floated over to Endymion's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. He held back the urge to sigh. Zoroa would likely have been the better choice there, but there was clearly something sentimental to the choice. After all, it was obvious that Artemis and Endymion were lovers, just from the associations of their cards.
… he would do his best not to judge her for that sentimentality.
"I will activate Artemis's effect. Once per turn, while she's equipped to a "Magistus" monster, I can add a "Magistus" monster from my deck to my hand!" She lifted the card. "I'll activate Zoroa's effect. I can equip him with a "Magistus" monster from my Extra Deck, like Ninaruru, the Magistus Glass Goddess!" A figure of glass appeared behind Zoroa, pressing her hands to the back of his neck—the flames lit up her translucent body. "... when Zoroa gets equipped with a "Magistus" Monster Card, I can… Special Summon a Level 4 Spellcaster monster from the hand or graveyard. Return… Rilliona." The pale witch from before reappeared on the field, shooting Endymion a wink—the man narrowed his eyes.
… I see.
"Ninaruru's effect. I'll destroy her and your set card." The two cards shattered. "... then, I'll overlay the Level 4 Zoroa, the Magistus of Flame and the Level 4 Rilliona, the Magistus of Verre." The two monsters turned into two streaks, slipping down into the ground. "Beautiful witch that wields magic with creativity, dance in the shimmering light! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Rilliona, the Wondrous Magistus Witch Wardrobe!" Rilliona's evolution appeared on the field, her puffy dress
A taller version of Rilliona appeared on the field—she was wearing a far puffier, far larger dress than before. It was still white, but now there were blue accents to it. A pink ribbon ran around the waist of the dress. Some of the dress's skirts pooled on the ground beneath her—it was just that long.
[Rilliona, the Wondrous Magistus Witch Wardrobe (R4/1000/2800/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"I'll use Rilliona's effect… I'll detach one of her Overlay Units and Special Summon a "Magistus" monster from my deck." Reira lifted up a card, pressing it down. "... come, Crowley, the Magistus of Grimoires!" A fourth Magistus monster took to the field—the green-haired boy with a cheerful expression, holding up a book with one hand as yellow squares floated around him.
[Rilliona, the Wondrous Magistus Witch Wardrobe: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]
[Crowley, the Magistus of Grimoires (4*/1800/1000/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Then, I'll use Endymion's effect. He'll equip himself with a "Magistus" monster from my Extra Deck." She revealed another card. "The Synchro Monster, Vahram, the Magistus Divinity Dragon. Then, I'll activate the Spell Card, Magistus Invocation. I can Fusion Summon a monster—and if I'm summoning a "Magistus" monster, I can use Equip Cards as material too."
"What? Fusion, Xyz and Link?"
And everything else too , Reiji thought. After all, if there was one thing that no one should ever doubt about the Akabas, it was their dueling ability.
"I'll fuse Artemis and Vahram!" The two monsters shot up in the air. "Saintly spirit with the knowledge of this world, the laws that govern it and those beyond! Be invoked in our presence in this instant! Fusion Summon! Aiwass, the Magistus Spell Spirit!" The blue and silver spirit appeared on the field, slithering through the air, carrying that same ethereal feeling that Reiji had envisioned when designing the card.
[Aiwass, the Magistus Spell Spirit (8*/2000/2800/WIND/Fiend/Fusion/Effect)]
"Aiwass's effect," Reira continued—their opponents's eyes widening as they realised that no, she wasn't done yet. "I'll equip it to your Antique Gear Megaton Golem."
"My monster…?"
"When Aiwass is equipped to a monster, it gains 1000 attack points," Reira said with a stone-faced expression. "Then, I can take control of it, but it cannot activate its effects."
"... huh?" The boy let out a yelp, but then it was too late—Megaton Golem lumbered over to Reira's side of the field, as Aiwass wrapped its odd body around it—and then flowed into its body, causing its eyes to glow bright blue instead.
[Antique Gear Megaton Golem: 3300 + 1000 = 4300ATK/DEF]
Reira had robbed their opponent of the wall that they'd put up—and now, that very same monster was in the position to take out another player entirely by itself.
"I'll overlay the Level 4 Crowley and the Level 4 Endymion." The two monsters vanished from the field, turning into streaks of light that flowed into the ground. "Goddess, true and great lady of heaven, rise up and guide us lost souls on the mortal plane. Xyz Summon—Rank 4. Ninaruru, the Magistus Glass Goddess!" The woman who had previously been equipped to Zoroa appeared on the field—she was stunning, her entire body formed from delicate, transparent blue-tinted glass. She had a small, almost unnoticeable smile—as she landed on the field, she nodded towards Rilliona, the two women reaching their hands out towards each other and touching their palms together for a moment, before they turned back towards the battlefield.
[Ninaruru, the Magistus Glass Goddess (R4/1800/2400/EARTH/Rock/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"Ninaruru's effect. I'll detach an Overlay Unit from her and add a Level 4 or higher Spellcaster monster from my graveyard to my hand." She picked up a card, revealing it. "... I'll take back Crowley."
[Ninaruru, the Magistus Glass Goddess: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]
"Crowley's effect. I'll send another Spellcaster from my hand to the graveyard and Special Summon him." The green-haired man reappeared on the field. "Then, Rilliona, the Magistus of Verre's effect in the graveyard. I'll banish her and equip Vahram from my graveyard to Rilliona, the Wondrous Magistus Witch Wardrobe." The bright, fiery dragon's spirit appeared behind the young woman. "Battle Phase. Antique Gear Megaton Golem attacks you directly."
The possessed golem raised his fist—and then smashed it straight down, eliminating an opponent in an instant.
Obelisk Force Green 1: 4000 - 4300 = 0LP
"Crowley, Ninaruru and Rilliona attack you." Reira turned her attention briefly to the next opponent.
Obelisk Force Yellow 1: 4000 - 1800 - 1800 - 1000 = 0LP
"... I'll set a card facedown." Reira turned to him. "... your move, big brother."
Reiji reached down, gently patting the top of Reira's head. "... not bad," he said. He'd been assigned the fifth turn, but with two opponents eliminated, the turn order defaulted to him—likely what Reira had intended. She probably could have extended more for one more opponent, but… overall, she'd accomplished exactly what she'd had to do.
Room for improvement. But still well done.
[Turn 3: Reiji] [H:4]
"My turn," Reiji said calmly—he played a card with no hesitation, having come up with his entire first turn from the moment that he'd seen his starting hand. "I will activate the Continuous Spell, Dark Contract with the Gate. With its effect, I will add a "D/D" monster—D/D Swirl Slime—from my deck to my hand. Then, I will activate the effect of D/D Swirl Slime in my hand. I will immediately perform a Fusion Summon using it and other cards in my hand. I will fuse it with D/D Gryphon in my hand."
He dropped the two cards, as a portal formed behind him.
"Grotesque God, drink the blood washed away by time, and now become one and give birth to a new king! Fusion Summon! Be born! D/D/D Flame King Genghis!" In front of him, one of his most commonly used Fusion Monsters appeared, holding up its blade as flames flew around it, lighting up the ground. Some of them fell near Reira's monsters, and the Vahram that was equipped to Rilliona let out an approving growl.
[D/D/D Flame King Genghis (6*/2000/1500/FIRE/Fiend/Fusion/Effect)]
"Then, I will Normal Summon D/D Nighthowl." His main Tuner, the red demon with a large jaw forming most of its face, appeared on the field.
[D/D Nighthowl (3*/300/600/DARK/Fiend/Tuner/Effect)]
"Nighthowl's effect. I will Special Summon a "D/D" monster from my graveyard, but I can only Special Summon Fiend monsters this turn. Also, the summoned monster's attack and defense points become 0, and if it is destroyed, I take 1000 damage—"
Not that I'm going to ever have to face that situation.
A bipedal bird with brown wings appeared, waving around its pair of bestial claws. A lion-like tail whipped around behind it.
[D/D Gryphon (4*/S1/1200/1200/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)]
[D/D Gryphon: 1200 → 0ATK]
"D/D Gryphon's effect. When summoned from the graveyard, I can add a "D/D" card from my deck to my hand." Reiji delicately picked up the card. "I will then open the circuit of the dimensional demons! Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are two "D/D" monsters! I will set D/D Gryphon and D/D Nighthowl in the Link Markers! Subjugating those unworthy, rise forth now, king of the nothingness! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh!" In front of him, the blue-themed king appeared, his many weapons floating around him as he calmly surveyed the field. In one hand, a bright white and gold spear—in the other, a large sword wreathed in blue and green flames.
[D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh (L2/1800/DARK/Fiend/Link/Effect, ↙, ↘)]
"Abyss King Gilgamesh's effect," Reiji continued. "I will place two "D/D" monsters from my deck in my Pendulum Zones. However, I cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck this turn, except "D/D" monsters, and I take 1000 damage." He was hit with the dark blast of damage, but he was completely unbothered.
Reiji: 3400 - 1000 = 2400LP
Some might call him foolish for lowering his life points. Reiji thought differently.
… it would only be foolish, if he didn't expect to win anyway.
"I will set the Scale 3 D/D/D Rebel King Leonidas and the Scale 6 D/D Savant Thomas in the Pendulum Scales!" The two pillars of light shot up around him. In the first one, a warrior king in golden armour appeared, holding up a sword and shield. There were some blue highlights beneath the golden armour, and there was a thudding sound as he slammed his weapon against the ground. In the other pillar of light, a golden machine that resembled a sarcophagus appeared, giving off ominous blue and yellow light that seemed to… ooze out around it.
His opponents certainly seemed intimidated—though Reiji had only just begun.
"I will also use the effect of D/D/D Flame King Genghis. Since a "D/D" monster was Special Summoned to my field, I can Special Summon a "D/D" monster from my graveyard. Return to the field, D/D Nighthowl." The Tuner monster reappeared on the field again. "And I will tune the Level 3 D/D Nighthowl to the Level 4 D/D Orthros." The grey dog let out a bark, before turning into light and flowing through the three rings that Nighthowl turned into. "Gain the swiftness of a gale and become the cries of a newborn king! Be born! Synchro Summon! Level 7! D/D/D Gust King Alexander!" The figure in a green cloak and white armour appeared, holding onto a shining sword in his hands.
[D/D/D Gust King Alexander (7*/2500/2000/WIND/Fiend/Synchro/Effect)]
"With my current Pendulum Scales, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from Level 4 to 5. Swing, pendulum! Cast your light across the aether! Pendulum Summon! Come, my monsters! D/D Orthros! D/D Gryphon!" The two monsters appeared on the field again, as though Reiji had never used them as material in the first place. "D/D Gryphon's effect activates. Since it was Pendulum Summoned, I will discard a "D/D" card from my hand and draw a card."
He swapped out a card from his hand—the same card that Gryphon had added to his hand earlier.
"I will activate the effect of D/D/D Gust King Alexander. Since I Normal or Special Summoned a "D/D" monster—I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower "D/D" monster from my graveyard. Return again—Nighthowl!" The Tuner monster reappeared on the field. "Now I'll tune the Level 3 D/D Nighthowl to the Level 7 D/D/D Gust King Alexander! King of the swiftest gales, ascend now into a new form, and tear through the night with your power! Synchro Summon! Level 10! D/D/D Gust High King Alexander!" The evolved form of Alexander appeared, cape sweeping through the air majestically.
[D/D/D Gust High King Alexander (10*/3000/2500/WIND/Fiend/Synchro/Effect)]
"Then, I will overlay the Level 4 D/D Gryphon and the Level 4 D/D Orthros!" The two beasts turned into streaks of light, zooming into the ground. "In order to subjugate all that resides in this world, now, descend onto the peak of the world! Xyz Summon! Be born! Rank 4! D/D/D Wave King Caesar!" The king of water appeared on the field, his purple armour dark and yet standing out amongst the other kings, who were far more bright in colour.
[D/D/D Wave King Caesar (R4/2400/1200/WATER/Fiend/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"Since another "D/D" monster was Normal or Special Summoned, I can activate the effect of D/D/D Gust High King Alexander! I will Special Summon a "D/D" monster from the graveyard—return, D/D/D Gust King Alexander!" The first wind king appeared on the field, making for a field of five kings—both forms of Alexander, Caesar, Genghis and Gilgamesh. "... I will send my Dark Contract with the Gate from my field to the graveyard. Return to the field, D/D Lamia."
Seeming almost underwhelming next to all the kings, the small serpent girl with bright red scales appeared on the field.
[D/D Lamia (1*/100/1900/DARK/Fiend/Tuner/Effect)]
"I will tune the Level 1 D/D Lamia to the Level 7 D/D/D Gust King Alexander! Climb over the corpses of heroes, carrying your bloodstained blade! Synchro Summon! Be born! Level 8! D/D/D Cursed King Siegfried!" In front of him, the dark king with white hair appeared, red scarf flowing through the air behind him.
[D/D/D Cursed King Siegfried (8*/2800/2200/DARK/Fiend/Synchro/Effect)]
"Lamia is banished, since she left the field after being summoned by her own effect. Then, I will banish D/D Swirl Slime from the graveyard and Special Summon a "D/D" monster from my hand—D/D Savant Kepler." In front of him, the mechanical blue figure emerged, floating with an oppressing aura.
[D/D Savant Kepler (1*/S10/0/0/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)]
"Kepler's effect. I will add the Continuous Spell, Dark Contract with the Swamp King to my hand."
One of the remaining opponents swallowed slowly. "... what? You still have… more?"
… Reiji raised an eyebrow. He did not dignify them with a response to the question—instead, he just carried on playing his cards. "I will activate my Dark Contract immediately. With its effect—I will immediately perform a Fusion Summon with monsters in my hand or on my field." He discarded the final card from his hand, as Kepler vanished from the field too. "I will fuse D/D Savant Kepler on the field with D/D Savant Nikola in my hand! King of the grotesque flames, incinerate your soul and ascend into a new form! Fusion Summon! Be born! D/D/D Flame High King Genghis!" Taking the spot of the final king on the field, Genghis's evolved form emerged—his four arms holding up various spiked sharp red and fiery weapons.
[D/D/D Flame High King Genghis (8*/2800/2400/FIRE/Fiend/Fusion/Effect)]
"... D/D/D Gust High King Alexander's effect," Reiji continued calmly. "... he gains 3000 attack points when I control at least three "D/D/D" monsters." Considering that he had filled every monster zone with them, there was no need to question if he had enough.
[D/D/D Gust High King Alexander: 3000 + 3000 = 6000ATK]
"... execute them." Reiji snapped his fingers. "D/D/D Gust High King Alexander attacks you directly." The strongest of his monsters stormed across the field—with a burst of wind, he eliminated an opponent immediately.
Obelisk Force Red 2: 4000 - 6000 = 0LP
"D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh and D/D/D Wave King Caesar attack you directly." Another blow—two kings struck down the opponent together.
Obelisk Force Green 2: 4000 - 1800 - 2400 = 0LP
"D/D/D Cursed King Siegfried and D/D/D Flame King Genghis." With flames and shadows, yet another opponent fell.
Obelisk Force Yellow 2: 4000 - 2800 - 2000 = 0LP
"Finally, D/D/D Flame High King Genghis." Flames surrounded their final opponent—who didn't lose, but was very close to it.
Obelisk Force Red 1: 4000 - 2800 = 1200LP
"I end my turn." Reiji did not bother to issue a challenge. This duel was over. The opponent tried to activate a Fusion card, that Double Imitate card to take back monsters, and finally just Normal Summoned the dog to use its effect, but it didn't do much to them—and on the next turn, Reira gestured for Megaton Golem to finish them off.
Obelisk Force Red 1: 1200 - 3300 = 0LP
Winner: Reiji Akaba & Reira Akaba!
… all in all, disappointingly easy.
Then…
Clap. Clap. Clap.
"You're strong! But I guess that much is what I should expect from you."
Reiji turned his head. He arched an eyebrow. "... you must be Rui Shingetsu."
The orange-haired teenager smirked at him. "I sure am," he said. "And you're Reiji Akaba of the Lancers, aren't you? Been lookin' for you for a bit. Shall we chat? I've got something for you."
Reiji arched an eyebrow. This man was a schemer—or so he'd been told. Still… for him to search for Reiji like this, just to say something…
"I'll hear you out," he said. "Don't make me regret it."
"... heh. Let's get down to business then, sir ." Rui drawled out the last word. "For the good of both of us, shall we say?"
"Hey, no need to panic! I'm not gonna be chasing you down or anything like that."
"... um, forgive me if I'm not convinced about that!" Kyorin squeaked out. "Anyway, I really don't have the time to be fighting, so…" She still hadn't found Kaname yet, and there was a weird sinking feeling in her chest. In front of her, Hachio Kawasaki grinned—despite being one of the Lieutenants of this whole invasion, he seemed weirdly relaxed. He folded his arms, looking at her. "You… don't want to fight?"
"Course not! I haven't even done anything yet here." Hachio grinned. "Now that Garam isn't around and I don't have to watch my words anymore… yo! I was told to tell you that Tenjoin's missed you."
… of all the things that Kyorin had expected him to say, that was not one of them. She froze in place.
Hachio winked. "I play a pretty good double agent, don't I? If I do say so myself…"
… hold up. Hold up, hold up, hold up. Three steps back, please…
"Maybe that's why he's so interested in you." Kyorin had thought that he'd been referring to Edo. But…
"Johan?" She murmured. uttered. "... was that the person that asked you to check in on me?"
The boy pointed to his dark blue hair. "Heh, we have pretty similar hair, now that I'm thinking about it… but nope! We're not related! Just friends and obviously, comrades." He folded his arms. "... you know, when they described you three to me, I thought that the 'cute one with blue hair' was too vague—I mean, so many people have blue hair, right? But yeah. Pretty obvious once I met you."
Kyorin glanced down. "Then… did you throw the match last time, when we dueled…?" A part of her felt bitter just at the thought, even though it was kind of a stupid feeling. She'd tried so hard, but—
"Huh? Of course not!"
… what?
"It's so rude for you to say something like that," Hachio remarked, raising an eyebrow. "I really wanted to win against you, y'know… I thought you were pretty and I wanted to impress you!... or, something like that, anyway. Sure, if I won, you would still be fine, but—"
Surprisingly, Kyorin found herself cutting him off. "Don't say that," she said. "I don't want to…"
I hate the fact that I try so hard, and I'm so afraid, and yet for some reason people keep telling me that there's no consequences if I lose… because that makes it sound like there was never a reason for me to be fighting in the first place.
As though there's no reason for me to have tried so hard, in the first place.
"Then, Kawasaki-san," she said, "why did you come to find me? If you want to stay out of the way…"
Hachio winked. "Well…" He folded his arms behind his back. "Just saw you running around alone and wanted to make sure that you weren't in trouble or something. Probably can't go back to the others and tell them that I let their friend run into danger. So? Whatcha up to?"
Kyorin watched him.
… she might as well try. Even if none of this really felt right.
"Have you seen a girl with white hair around?" She asked. "She's my comrade…"
"Huh." Hachio put his hands in his pockets. "Mm, yeah! I saw her over that way." He gestured forward. "Should I take you over to her? Call it a favour."
"... sure," Kyorin said. She offered him a shy smile. "If you're trying to help, Kawasaki-san, then… I'll accept it."
"... thanks," he said. "Come on! Let's go then. Otherwise, if I'm just gonna be hanging around, there's no point for me to come here as a lieutenant, right?"
Kyorin followed behind him, though she still felt uneasy.
After she found Kaname, there was still somewhere else that she had to go…
"I was wondering about your partner, that guy—"
Saki mimed throwing up. She turned to Dennis, folding her arms. "Never call that playboy my partner again. Ew."
Dennis chuckled awkwardly. "Well, you two were assigned to come here together, weren't you?"
"We didn't even know each other before we came here," Saki said with a shrug. "To be honest, I wanted to know who he was—because if he fucked up, that would reflect on my performance, right? But when I tried looking him up in Academia's records, it was a bit weird. Like he just showed up out of nowhere someday?"
Dennis took his cards off his duel disk, having just finished a duel. There was still some distractedness in his eyes when he looked at her. "Huh. He has a cousin, right?"
"... my big brother did some research into his classmates, including that person," Saki said with a shrug. "Apparently there's just not a lot about the last name Kawasaki—they might be orphans or something like that. Anyway, why's that an issue?"
Dennis chuckled awkwardly. "Not much, really… I was just wondering. For some reason, I couldn't help but feel like he was a bit familiar to me when I first saw him. Probably not important though…"
"... tsk. Well, I don't really care about that guy." She turned her head to gaze into the distance. "It's not like he's my concern anyway… I have more important things to do."
"... mm. You want to…"
"... prove myself to my brother," Saki admitted. "And if we're talking about any benefit that he gets from winning… only one person qualifies." She kept on walking. "So I just have to find that person."
If asked, Michael Arclight would probably admit that he had a lot of regrets. No matter how good he still believed his intentions had been, the fact still remained that to get to this point, he had hurt almost everyone that had ever extended a hand to him in his life.
All for his father, and…
"Machu Mach's effect!" He declared, the cannon blasting another opponent off the field. He tried to ignore the thoughts, but they crept up on him anyway.
Only a few of us really know what happened that day at Diamond Branch. The day that most of us lost far too much.
He remembered the way that Nue had jumped into action immediately when the explosions had gone off, ordering for the younger students all to be evacuated with such speed that no one would have thought that she was one of them—she'd acted like a teacher instead. When it'd become clear that the intruders were using dueling as a weapon, she'd ordered them to group up, and she herself had taken on the burden of holding the enemy back while they'd escorted the other students to safety.
It was smart. It should have worked.
… but it had failed so spectacularly in the end, for reasons that none of them could understand. For reasons that had certainly not been Nue's fault, but even so…
The results had been devastating.
There was a reason that out of the entire school of Diamond Branch, only so few of them had survived. As they'd evacuated, all of a sudden, Academia had just swarmed their location—as though they were determined to kill them, no matter what.
… it was no use. Now all Michael could do was think about it. About the way that Nue's expression had hardened as she ordered them to leave, even as Sachi protested that they should all go together—
About how they'd run and run, and they'd just kept on falling.
About all the people they'd lost.
About…
One year ago:
The air was thick with smoke. People were running away all around them.
Michael pursed his lips. None of them still had any clue about what to do in this situation, but once they'd realised that dueling was the key, all they could do was fight.
Above him, Machu Mach fired, taking out another opponent. But there were too many of them. They were all falling, one by one—
"Michael! Be careful!"
There was the familiar buzzing sound coming from his duel disk, as well as the ones belonging to the strange invaders—the sign of someone having intruded into the duel. Michael turned his head as his helper ran up to them, a determined look on her face that didn't quite suit her—usually, when he saw her, she was just sweet and playful.
He wasn't sure that focus as uncanny as this would ever look right on her face. If there was one word he would ever use to describe Yone Shikawa, it was fluffy —the girl had soft pink hair like cotton candy, though she'd cut it once she'd decided that she didn't exactly like the feeling of long hair. Her eyes were the same green as her brother's. She was wearing a light brown blouse and a beige skirt—though they were both ruffled from how much running around she'd been doing.
Michael wouldn't necessarily call himself friends with Yone. She was a year older than them, but due to her 'learning difficulties' (or, as she'd never bothered to hide the true reason—her ADHD) she'd been held back a year in elementary school, which meant that she'd ended up in the same schooling year as them. Still…
He'd always nursed a bit of a crush on her, even if he'd never been bold enough to admit it.
Even so… seeing her charge in to help him like this…
We're in a warzone , he chided himself. He couldn't lose focus now.
[INTRUSION PENALTY: 2000LP]
Michael Arclight: 3400LP
Yone Shikawa: 4000 - 2000 = 2000LP
Obelisk Force Red 1: 0LP
Obelisk Force Green 1: 0LP
Obelisk Force Yellow 1: 0LP
Obelisk Force Red 2: 4000LP
Obelisk Force Green 2: 4000LP
Obelisk Force Yellow 2: 4000LP
[Turn 7: Yone] [H:5]
"You've already taken three of them out?" Yone said approvingly.
"I did, but I don't exactly have a lot of cards left to use," Michael admitted. The field was empty now, except for Machu Mach, Fork Hyuk and two Ultimate Hound Dogs on two of the remaining three duelists' field—he'd already eliminated the only other people that had taken their turns, but he'd used his entire hand to do so.
He didn't have to ask for help—the situation was too dire for them to wait for anyone.
"Alright then. Let me see what I can do!" Yone drew her starting hand swiftly. "... alright. Since I have no monsters in my graveyard, I can Special Summon Madolche Petingcessoeur from my hand!" A blonde girl appeared, beaming as cakes floated all around her.
[Madolche Petingcessoeur (4*/1400/1400/EARTH/Fairy/Effect)]
"Since Madolche Petingcessoeur was Special Summoned, I can also Special Summon another "Madolche" monster from the deck. Come—Madolche Hootcake!" A large brown owl appeared, a thin hotcake on its head and acting as a hat.
[Madolche Hootcake (3*/1500/1100/EARTH/Beast/Effect)]
"However, Hootcake's Level decreases by 1, and I can't Special Summon any monsters, other than "Madolche" monsters," Yone added. Her monsters were as cute as ever—which only dismayed Michael more. They didn't fit on this battlefield at all.
[Madolche Hootcake: 3* - 1* = 2]
"Then, I'll Normal Summon Madolche Magileine!" A pink-haired witch with two differently coloured eyes appeared on the field, adjusting her purple hat.
[Madolche Magileine (4*/1400/1200/EARTH/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Magileine's effect. I'll add a "Madolche" monster from my deck to my hand." Yone was talking very fast now—they all had to, because they'd learned that if they took too long, more enemies would intrude in the duel. They had to settle these things as fast as possible before they got swarmed.
… though 'as fast as possible' didn't exactly work for them in this case. After all, most of the top duelists in Diamond Branch preferred to accumulate resources over time instead of rushing in—so dueling like this was something that stressed them all out.
"I'll then overlay the Level 4 Madolche Magileine and the Level 4 Madolche Petingcessoeur! Dance in the kingdom of desserts, and prepare all our warriors for battle! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Madolche Teacher Glassouffle!" A green-haired woman appeared on the field, wearing a gown with different shades of green for each layer of fabric—she was also wearing thin-framed glasses, which made her face seem a little more childish.
[Madolche Teacher Glassouffle (R4/1800/2500/EARTH/Fairy/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"Then, I'll immediately use Glassouffle as material and Rank Up my monster by one Rank!" Unlike most of the Diamond Branch students, Yone was actually somewhat familiar with using Rank Ups in her dueling. "Brave instructor staying in the background, step forth now and bring the wrath of sweetness onto our foes! Rank-Up-Xyz-Change! Rank 5! Madolche Teacher Glassouffleur!" The green-haired woman reappeared on the field, but now she was dressed in a far less dainty manner—her hair was tied up in a bun, while in her hands, she held onto a rolling pin that seemed to function as a spear, as well as a tray of baked goods. For all that it sounded cute, this was probably the most battle-like of her monsters.
[Madolche Teacher Glassouffleur (R5/2200/2900/EARTH/Fairy/Xyz/Effect) (OU:3)]
"I'll use Glassouffleur's effect! Since she was Xyz Summoned using a Level 5 or higher "Madolche" monster or a "Madolche" Xyz Monster as material, I can send three cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard!" The cards fell into the other slot on her duel disk. "Then, since a "Madolche" monster was sent to the graveyard by this effect, I can add a "Madolche" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand!"
She picked up the card, revealing it.
"I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Madolche Ticket! Then, I'll use Hootcake's effect. By banishing a "Madolche" monster from my graveyard, I can Special Summon a "Madolche" monster from my deck. Come—Madolche Messengelato!" A blue-haired boy in an oversized hat and dark postman's uniform appeared on the field with a cheeky wink.
[Madolche Messengelato (4*/1600/1400/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
"Messengelato's effect. Since I control a Beast monster, like Hootcake, I'll add the Field Spell, Madolche Chateau to my hand! Then, I'll activate the Continuous Spells, Madolche Salon and Madolche Chateau!" The two cards appeared on the field. "... Chateau's effect. I'll shuffle any "Madolche" monsters from my graveyard into the deck—I'll shuffle my Anjelly back in there! And since a "Madolche" card was returned to my deck, I can use both Ticket and Salon's effects! I will set a "Madolche" Spell or Trap from my deck, and Special Summon a "Madolche" monster from my deck in Attack Position! Come—Madolche Anjelly!" The set card silently appeared on the field, as did the pretty brown-haired girl in a white dress.
[Madolche Anjelly (4*/1000/1000/EARTH/Fairy/Effect)]
"Anjelly's effect! I will tribute her and Special Summon another "Madolche" monster from my deck. Come—Madolche Messengelato~!" Again, the blue-haired boy appeared on the field, and Yone added another Madolche card to her hand. "I will overlay the two Level 4 Messengelatos! Queen of the land of icing, emerge now and protect your subjects with your sweet smile! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Madolche Queen Tiaramisu!" A silver-haired woman appeared on the field, dressed in gold and brown as she held up a scepter with a regal look in her eyes.
[Madolche Queen Tiaramisu (R4/2200/2100/EARTH/Fairy/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"Tiaramisu's effect. I'll detach an Overlay Unit from her and return Anjelly and Messengelato from my graveyard to the deck to shuffle both of your dogs into the deck!" The two monsters vanished from the field. "And with Chateau's effect, any monsters that would be returned to the deck by my Madolches come back to my hand instead!"
[Madolche Queen Tiaramisu: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]
"And then, once again! I'll overlay the Rank 4 Madolche Queen Tiaramisu on herself! In this world, let sweetness and gentleness overwhelm all that stand before me! Rank-Up-Xyz-Change! Rank 5! Madolche Queen Tiarafraise!" Tiramisu reappeared in a new form, surrounded by pink instead of yellow.
[Madolche Queen Tiarafraise (R5/2600/2500/EARTH/Fairy/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"Madolche Salon lets me Normal Summon an additional "Madolche" monster each turn! Come to the field again! Madolche Messengelato!" The blue-haired boy reappeared on the field. "Then, with Madolche Chateau's effect, all "Madolche" monsters I control gain 500 attack and defense points!"
[Madolche Queen Tiarafraise: 2600 + 500 = 3100ATK; 2500 + 500 = 3000DEF]
[Madolche Messengelato: 1600 + 500 = 2100ATK; 1400 + 500 = 1900DEF]
[Madolche Teacher Glassouffleur: 2200 + 500 = 2700ATK; 2900 + 500 = 3400DEF]
[Madolche Hootcake: 1500 + 500 = 2000ATK; 1100 + 500 = 1600DEF]
If only she had one more monster…
Yone lifted one of the five cards in her hand. "Since I only control "Madolche" monsters, once per turn, I can Special Summon Madolche Neignaimo from my hand!" A small horse with fur the colour of chocolate appeared on the field, letting out a soft neigh as it stomped its soft, cake-like feet on the ground.
[Madolche Neignaimo (3*/1000/1000/EARTH/Beast/Effect)]
[Madolche Neignaimo: 1000 + 500 = 1500ATK]
"Neignaimo's effect! All other "Madolche" monsters gain 500 attack points!"
[Madolche Queen Tiarafraise: 3100 + 500 = 3600ATK]
[Madolche Teacher Glassouffleur: 2700 + 500 = 3200ATK]
[Madolche Messengelato: 2100 + 500 = 2600ATK]
[Madolche Hootcake: 2000 + 500 = 2500ATK]
"Battle Phase! You're all open! Messengelato, Hootcake, Neignaimo, Glassoufleur, Tiarafraise!" One by one, each of the monsters moved forward, striking down their opponents.
Obelisk Force Red 2: 4000 - 2500 - 2600 = 0LP
Obelisk Force Green 2: 4000 - 3200 - 1500 = 0LP
Obelisk Force Yellow 2: 4000 - 3600 = 400LP
"And you're done for!" Yone moved to her Main Phase 2. "Madolche Teacher Glassouffleur's other effect! I'll detach an Overlay Unit from her and inflict 500 damage to you for each face-up "Madolche" Spell or Trap I control! I control Chateau, Ticket and Salon—so you take 1500 damage!"
… even one would have been enough, either way.
[Madolche Teacher Glassouffleur: OU:3 - 1 = OU:2]
Obelisk Force Yellow 2: 400 - 500 x 3 = 0LP
Winner: Michael Arclight & Yone Shikawa!
"Are you okay?" Yone said, turning to him with concerned eyes. "You looked overwhelmed…"
"I was handling it," Michael said, and he was telling the truth—he might not have been able to protect all his monsters from the opponent, but considering that their dogs didn't have very high attack points anyway… these people were only good at preying on the weak. They could never take on monsters in a fair fight.
"Yeah?" Yone smiled at him—her eyes seemed to soften. But then…
"You bastard!"
Michael turned his head—in time to see the enormous body of Jormungandr rising up in the air. Behind it was Tatsuya Izumi, an uncharacteristic fury to his eyes as he flung his arm forward. Across the field, nine cards flew up in the air, one from each of his opponents, turning into orbs that flew around the monster. Jormungandr roared, growing and growing—and then, Tatsuya slid a card into his duel disk, and the serpent's head snapped forward, wrapping around one of the golems and squeezing—
Michael couldn't help but look away as the creature snapped to pieces. Yone, however, ran towards Tatsuya, and after a moment, Michael followed her.
Standing next to a broken wall, the usually calm and amused Tatsuya Izumi had slammed a boy into the wall, the thin rings around his fingers pressing into the skin of the boy's neck. Around him were dissipating sparkles of light—people who had teleported away. There was a dangerous expression on his face, and when he was speaking, he did so with a snarl.
"That was mine! That was mine! That fucker belonged to me, so what gave you the right—" He elbowed the boy in the chest, even as the boy gasped for mercy. "To do that? I'm supposed to be the one to make him suffer! Not you, not—"
Michael stood there, surprised at the older boy's rage. He and Yone exchanged looks, and then—
Scrap fell down around them. Michael looked up, seeing the remains of a golem in the air, consumed by a gigantic black hole. Then, vines wrapped around the soldier who had been staring up at his monster with dismay, reducing his life points to zero. Nue Kamisoka didn't even bother lowering her duel disk—her gaze fell on them, and there was something imperious to it.
"Start evacuating," she ordered.
"Huh?" Michael said, eyes widening. "But… everyone here! We can't just run—"
"... what I mean by that is that I want all of you to run, and we're going to get as many of us out of here as possible." Nue gazed outwards. "... we're surrounded. If we're just stuck here, then they'll wear us down. We need to escape and regroup with everyone else."
She closed her eyes.
"... I'll draw their attention. Go tell the rest to get going already."
"But their decks are made for swarming people! If you're all alone—"
"I'm fine." There was a certain grimness to her expression that betrayed her true feelings—Michael felt his heart sink. "My deck was made to grind opponents to dust anyway."
"But we should all go together!" Yone protested. "You… you shouldn't sacrifice your life for—"
"I don't plan on it. But it's the easiest way to keep other people safe. You guys are strong—so just keep fighting."
"Nue," Michael said. The two of them made eye contact. It wasn't so much a protest as careful confirmation. "Yuto will worry." It was the only way he could think to persuade her. And… Michael didn't know what had happened to his own father, but he at least knew that Yuto and Nue's parents had been here, and they might be…
No one in their right mind would ever want to tell Yuto about all of this. About the fact that his parents were gone, that maybe his sister…
"I won't break his heart like that," Nue said, just as firm as before. "Someone like me doesn't know the meaning of dying. I'll be fine—just get them out of here!"
Michael felt rooted to the spot. However, in the end, he nodded.
"Good. Yone, will you…"
"Yeah, I'll go with him!" Yone patted Nue on the shoulder. "We'll go tell the rest too. You just… be careful, okay?"
"I intend to be." Nue turned to Tatsuya, who had since composed himself—it was almost scary how the rage that Michael had seen in his eyes earlier had seemingly faded away completely. There was a certain shift in Nue's eyes— wariness , as she looked at Tatsuya and the red-eyed young man looked back.
"... where do you want me?" Tatsuya said with a shrug—deferring to her, much to the surprise of the rest of them.
Nue narrowed her eyes. She took a deep breath, and then shook her head. "... you're listening to me now?"
"Well, I want to live. So, Ace?" Tatsuya smirked—it wasn't much different from the usual smirks that he had on his face, but for some reason, Michael felt uneasy about it. (Much later, he would realise that he'd felt uneasy precisely because there was nothing different about it, even in a situation as dire as this. Even later, he would realise that this was exactly the kind of feeling that Tatsuya had wanted to invoke—to place all of the responsibility on a woman that he had no right to carry on hurting, precisely so that the sting of failure would pierce her even more.) "Direct me."
"… then," Nue said evenly, "I suppose I'll be counting on you to keep on being reasonable for now, Tatsuya. Don't make me regret it."
"… would you look at that. You're still capable of being reasonable too." Tatsuya brushed down his shirt—it was at that moment that Michael noticed that he was gripping onto a card tightly, to the point where his knuckles were going white. "Looks like for the first time, you're different from me. Your parents are already—"
"We don't know that for sure." Nue closed her eyes. "… I'm not going to stop looking. Come on, Tatsuya. Your Jormungand will draw a lot of attention."
"… why am I not surprised that you want to make me bait for them?" Tatsuya shrugged. "… well. It's not like I'm satisfied yet, anyway… it's a deal, then."
Nue nodded tersely. She turned to Michael again.
… Michael swallowed slowly. The things this girl would put herself through…
He turned his head, and he and Yone went off—
(And that would be where Michael Arclight—the Michael Arclight of the present—would finally be able to tear himself away from those memories. He wouldn't dwell too hard on how, about fifteen minutes later, he'd see Yone Shikawa fall along with the group of students she had been trying to protect, about how he'd wailed at the sight while he was still stuck in a duel of his own, unable to help her.)
(And most importantly, he'd do his best to forget what he did next. How he would abandon the people he'd been trying to protect, running all the way home, because he'd known that his father had stayed home instead of coming to the parent-teacher meeting that day. Desperately hoping and praying that his father was alive, that he'd be able to keep something that he loved—)
(And in the end, all that meant was that he'd left everything behind for nothing.)
(And months later, when he made the decision to go along with Tatsuya's plan again, he would prove that he had never learned from his mistake.)
In the present:
"I wonder where Melia and Chris are," Thomas said, glancing around. "I half-expected one of them to have hunted us down by now."
"… do you really think either of them have it in them to card us?" Michael shook his head. "… they wouldn't hunt us down. You know what they're like. The best outcome is if all of us live, so… why risk fighting each other?"
"… so naive, Michael." When Thomas looked at him, there was real disgust in his eyes. "You don't think our brother cares more about responsibility than us? You don't think our sister—"
"Back then, Melia didn't kill me," Michael said sharply, cutting him off. "When I tricked her."
"... jeez. Believe in that if you want. But I just think you hope too much that things can go back to normal." Thomas glanced away. "... they never will."
Michael shook his head. "... at the very least, I won't ever go against Chris or Melia," he said, standing up to his older brother for once. "We're trying to get our family back. If we hurt them… then isn't it just making things worse?"
He whirled his head around and stormed off.
Behind him, Thomas scoffed, though it went unheard by his younger brother.
"How do you think I feel?" He muttered. "It's not like I—" He growled, and then kicked the ground with a wild expression on his face. "... fuck. Should've known you'd only ever expect the worst of me, little brother." He took a step away, as though to go their separate ways—
And then hesitated.
He turned to look at his brother's retreating figure.
Fuck, fuck, fuck—
This one. I can't lose him.
In this world, if anyone understands how I feel, it's him.
In the end, he gave in. He chased after Michael anyway.
Behind them, a curious Sachi Izumi watched. She cocked her head, considering things—and then, she slipped away.
"Final Glorious Bright!"
Ultimate Falcon flew up in the air, firing down bright blasts of light that collapsed the entire field—ending the duel in an instant.
"How are you holding up?" Shun asked, turning his head.
Nue breathed out, pinching her nose. "Fine," she said. "Let's keep going."
"Alright." Shun didn't question her—if she said she could do more, then she most certainly could. "Tell me if you need water."
… it wouldn't be easy though. Not only was her mobility severely affected by her blindness (and Shun hoped that someday, he'd stop flinching at the thought) but she was also pushing herself to do things quickly—and while she hadn't slipped up with playing the wrong card yet, that also spoke to the massive amounts of pressure that she was under.
For Nue Kamisoka, just searching out the wrong card would absolutely cut her strategy off on the spot. There was no recovering from messing up those sharp, efficient lines that she played her cards in.
It also spoke to how much she had practiced and memorised those stickers, just to avoid that situation.
But more than that—more than her physical state—she was also taking on more stress, because of the fundamental incompatibilities of their decks.
After all, Shun's monsters benefitted from there being more monsters on their opponents' fields. Nue's strategy was to deprive their opponent of monsters. But out of the two of them, the only one who really had to change her strategy and adapt was Nue. After all, Shun would always strike all of them down. Nue would be the one having to decide—should she get rid of a monster now? Or should she save her resources and wait until the next turn?
Still… she was managing it all very well.
"Where are we right now?" Nue asked. The program that Miharu had put in the cane she was holding might be able to detect the proximity of objects and other people, but considering that Miharu didn't know anything about the geography of Heartland, when it came to landmarks, she still had to infer things herself. "Sixth Street?"
"Seventh Street," Shun said, and Nue briefly froze up. "... hmm? Something wrong?"
"Which direction's the sign?" At Shun's response, she walked towards the row of destroyed buildings. For a moment, there was a solemn expression on her face.
She brushed her fingers against the wall.
Shun watched her. Cautiously, he took a step towards her too—a brief lull in their desperate fighting. "What are you thinking about?" He asked.
"... everything," Nue said, "that I've lost." It was a certain kind of… honesty, a certain kind of vulnerability that she was showing him, one that would have been unthinkable only a couple of months earlier. "And everything that I still have to lose."
Shun couldn't deny that. They were on a battlefield, after all. But…
"They won't take any more from you," he said. "I promise that—"
"That's not a promise that anyone in the world can keep. I'm in the process of losing people right now."
… ah.
"... then I'll just promise to do my best for you," Shun said. "... Nue. About Izumi. If he comes up to us, is it okay if I'm the one to handle him?"
Nue turned her head. "You want to?"
"I want to make him pay for everything he's done," Shun said. He could still remember Tatsuya's smugness when they'd confronted each other after Nue's fall. He could still remember the desperation and distrust of the Resistance. Tatsuya Izumi had done what even Academia could not. He'd shattered the bonds of trust that had held an entire city together.
And yet, he'd also hurt one of the people that Shun loved the most. He'd hurt her so much that she'd broken down before him. How could he ever forgive that? And how could he let her be the one to duel that monster when he would use the chance to break her more?
The answer was simple. Shun couldn't.
Even if she might be frustrated with him for asking… what else could he do but ask?
Nue didn't say anything for a moment. When she did speak up, it was with a sigh. "... I'm making no promises," she said. "Kaito asked me for the same thing. It… really depends." She shook her head. "... for now, let's just keep going. Hopefully the rest are fine too…"
And Shun nodded, following her.
(He hoped he would always be allowed to follow her.)
OC Cards:
Madolche Teacher Glassouffleur
(R5/2200/2900/EARTH/Fairy/Xyz/Effect)
2 Level 5 monsters
Once per turn, you can also Xyz Summon "Madolche Teacher Glassouffleur" by using "Madolche Teacher Glassouffle" you control. (Transfer its materials to this card.) If this card is Xyz Summoned using a Level 5 "Madolche" monster(s) and/or a "Madolche" Xyz Monster as Xyz Material: You can send 3 cards from the top of your Deck to the GY, then if a "Madolche" monster was sent to the GY by this effect, you can add 1 "Madolche" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand. You can detach 1 Xyz Material from a "Madolche" Xyz Monster you control; inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each face-up "Madolche" Spell/Trap you control. You can only activate each effect of "Madolche Teacher Glassouffleur" once per turn.
Trivia: Souffle is derived from the term 'souffler', and 'fleur' means flower. :3 I improvised, so she's a flower cake now. I made this card before the new Link Monster support :3
Madolche Neignaimo
(3*/1000/1000/EARTH/Beast/Effect)
If this card in your possession is destroyed by your opponent's card (by battle or card effect) and sent to your Graveyard: Shuffle this card into your Deck. If you control only "Madolche" monsters (min. 1): You can Special Summon this card from your hand, and if you do, you can target 1 "Madolche" monster you control; this monster's Level becomes the targeted monster's Level until the End Phase. You can only use this effect of "Madolche Neignaimo" once per turn. Other "Madolche" monsters you control gain 500 ATK.
Trivia: Named after the nainaimo bar and 'neigh'. Also made it before the new support! These three are like my 'new support wave' for Madolche, haha.
Different Card Effects from TCG:
Dogs - You know the drill, anime effects except Hound Dog, who is slightly modified to burn even when the opponent has no monsters.
End Notes:
I'm just as tired of describing Antique Gear monsters as the characters are…
Of course Reiji and Reira were going to get a duel together, even if just against fodder for now :D We all know I have a soft spot for sibling pairs. Even though I know that some people probably skip the fodder duels, I always love to showcase synergy or cool interactions different allies have with each other—and this time is no different :3
As usual, Magistus for Reira just makes me… heh. Incredibly happy. It has both elements of her relationship with Mion (in the monsters themselves) and Reiji (the many different summoning methods in one turn, which Mion doesn't really do yet, and the backrow Spells), and at the same time, I like linking the different motifs to Reira's support system in this fic.
Yone Shikawa is very much a one-chapter kind of OC. She and her younger brother, Kani, who was mentioned before, were originally part of the arc in a bigger capacity in my first draft, but due to a few decisions on my part to make this arc easier for me to write, they were both cut, though references to them still remain through other characters. Hope you enjoyed the duel involving her anyway—I did want to reference Madolches at least once ;3 (The two of them are some of my oldest OCs, and fittingly, their names are pretty much some of my favourites. And hey, I think I'm allowed a cameo or two ;3)
Madolches can swarm pretty well—but since I couldn't give her the Link Monsters, I needed an alternative way to get Hootcake online.
Review responses!
To Oresama, thank you very much! As someone who's deeply interested in psychology and how people think, I do like to try and get into the nitty gritty of emotions when I can :)
To phantomdragons, yeah, Kaname always makes me cry a bit when I write her.
To Infernal Enby, won't comment too much on the theory, but yeah, Kaname never catches a break, does she? I'm glad that the chapter did manage to make you feel that way-I slaved really hard over it to try and invoke that specific feeling!
To Bryz0n, psyops duel made me laugh. It's honestly a pretty accurate description!
To maryyassa523, can't comment too much on that, sorry! :) hope you enjoyed the chapter though.
To TheRealD3lph0xL0v3r, glad you liked the chapter! :D
This was probably the best way to split the chapter… still, it does mean that there's a lot of stuff I wanted to show that isn't here yet. Whoops :3 See you guys next time, and hopefully you'll enjoy it too!