Gozu - 600 LP

Zato - 100 LP

Chizu - 2100 LP

Yuu - 4000 LP

Silence filled Daimonji Manor. Yuu could feel the sweat wicking from his forehead into the vacuum that surrounded Ruin Varudras, the carcass of armageddon. Gozu stood across from them, her overwhelming presence distorted into concavity, looming over them in the shape of the room.

Zato, his hand empty, was plowing his fingers across his scalp. On the sidelines, Fey had leaned back in his chair to get a full view of Gozu's monster, gentle intrigue sprouting on his face. Chizu Daimonji, who was up next, had seemed to detach from the game entirely, focusing only on her niece, who now tilted her Xyz Monster up to pull away one of its materials.

"Sunsaga and Finis Terrae become 2 Xyz Materials," Gozu declared. "Now, Ruin Varudras can detach one of them to destroy one card on the field! I'll destroy Arcastral Flipper R!"

Zato flinched as the spaceship next to his head imploded, filled in an instant with brittle hollowness and crushed. Gozu slotted Finis Terrae out from beneath Ruin Varudras and into her graveyard.

Just as she did, an eye appeared in the graveyard slot of her duel disk, shooting out a beam of blue, immobilizing light. "Finis Terrae's effect activates when it's sent to the graveyard! Negate the effects of Arcastral Comet Highscore!"

Comet Highscore's burgeoning surface began to slow and liquefy as Finis Terrae's curse spread across it. Wisps of flaming dust tore from its surface and fizzled into ash; Yuu was reminded of how Lava Golem had looked as he faced it down in his endless struggle for survival. He'd stopped breathing without realizing it, his diaphragm seized into a fetal shape.

"Finis Terrae's effect works from being Xyz Material because the effect only relies on being sent to the graveyard, as opposed to being sent there from the field," Fey mused from the sidelines. "And now, Comet Highscore is defenseless."

Gozu's glove stretched as she closed her fist. "Now, detach the second material and destroy it! Ruin Varudras!"

The color drained from Highscore's star surface, each localized storm and solar flare becoming mucous and gray, churning to a halt. When the fusion reaction stopped existing, so did the phenomenon. Highscore's removal from existence was complete and silent.

Chizu watched Gozu for another moment. She sighed, then reached for a card in her hand.

"I activate the effect of Amorina's Guardian Angel! When a monster is removed from the field by a card effect, I can special summon it from my hand! It can't be targeted by card effects or destroyed this turn!"

Amorina's Guardian Angel / Level 2 / LIGHT / Fairy / ATK 800 / DEF 700

An angel alighted on Zato's field, though in truth it looked surprisingly human, as though it could be played by a suspiciously handsome cameo actor. Yuu could barely address the dissonant tone because of the mournful look on Chizu's face.

Gozu was undeterred. "I have a way around that, too. I'll move to my End Phase!"

Ruin Varudras howled, the sound echoing in a universe scraped empty. Gozu echoed that universe. "During each End Phase, Ruin Varudras transforms 1 card on the field or any graveyard into its Xyz Material. I'm choosing Amorina's Guardian Angel!"

The handsome angel was pulled into Varudras's gravity, its form spaghettified as though in a black hole, strewn across an infinite void. An Xyz Material began traveling in Ruin Varudras's perforated body like a will-o-the-wisp.

Chizu's hand draped over her deck, pausing for a moment.

"Gozu. Do you know why I brought Zato and Fey here today?"

"I'm not interested." Gozu's eyes narrowed. "Now, Ruin Varudras! Destroy Amorina's Amnesia!"

Chizu had barely drawn her card when her face-up spell crumbled to dust. She simply stared through the cloud at Gozu.

"It's what dear old Dad used to say about reaching our potential. 'We're not ourselves until we have defeated every other self we could be.'"

Gozu tensed.

"Nonsense about pulling yourself in every direction. He started giving you that speech when he realized it wouldn't work on me."

"What's your point?" Gozu demanded.

"Just that I believe that this deal will help the Monji become themselves. Getting into the card trade with a backer could give us a way to change the world. We don't have to limit ourselves to the underground anymore. And you don't have to limit yourself to him."

Yuu thought Chizu would glare at him again, but he realized she was talking about her father, Mezu Daimonji. When she did turn to him, she had a peculiar smile on her face, her eyes screwed shut.

"Look at me, airing our dirty laundry! Please forget you heard all of that. I'd rather word not spread." Suddenly her bubbly vigor was back. "I set three cards facedown and end my turn!"

Gozu scoffed. "I'm everything my grandfather was, and more. That is the true role he handed me: not the one who leads the Monji, but the one who surpasses it. The one who surpasses everything! Ruin Varudras! Attach to yourself Chizu's middle facedown card!"

Chizu's field split down the middle as one of her cards disappeared. Gozu tapped her Duel Disk to examine the card information on the LCD display.

"It looks like I got 'Amorina's Heartbreak.' That's a Normal Spell. A cheap bluff."

Chizu winked. "Can't blame a lady for trying."

"I don't need to blame anything on the loser." Gozu drew her card. "Now, Ruin Varudras! Destroy the left facedown card!"

"Every turn, she attaches a card to create Xyz Material, then uses that material to destroy another card," Yuu observed. He couldn't help but be reminded of his swinging pickaxe, desperately carving a path to freedom. He couldn't allow himself to be motivated by that desperation anymore, and he couldn't let it consume anyone else.

Gozu scrolled her Duel Disk screen to check the contents of Chizu's graveyard. "Amorina's Wrongful Imprisonment Due to Being Framed For Murder. Glad I won't have to deal with that."

Fey pouted. "I would have liked to see that twist, though."

"Now we've just got one facedown card left on the field," Zato assessed grimly. "That card had better save you, Chizu."

"Or what?" Chizu asked playfully. "You'll have to step in?"

Zato responded with a dissertation of angry muttering, highlighted by his head turning hot pink.

Yuu watched as Gozu pushed her finger skyward, her exhaustion creating a subconscious echo of her performance as a villain in their previous duel. There, she had been solidifying her right to play the role of the Monji's pinnacle of evil. But now, she and the role had been melded by the vacuum that surrounded them, the unending loneliness of space.

"First, I'll activate the equip spell, Cannibal Eyes. This will prevent Ruin Varudras from being targeted by monster effects, and when it destroys a monster in battle, I'll gain its attack points as life points!

Cannibal Eyes / Equip Spell

"Now, Ruin Varudras! Attack Chizu directly!"

Ruin Varudras reared its head, and this time Yuu could see the wave of unlife advancing like a single impact's shatter pattern. Chizu remained calm. She pressed a button on her Duel Disk, and her graveyard began glowing, underlighting her resolute expression. "I activate the second effect of my Guardian Angel! By banishing it from my graveyard, I can cut the battle damage in half!"

Ruin Varudras, the Remnant of End Times - 3000 ATK

Chizu - 2100 LP ~ 600 LP

Chizu paled as the damage swept through her, as though it had worked its way into her bone marrow. "Now, I activate my Trap Card, Amorina's Undying Vow! Whenever I take battle damage, I can special summon two Level 4 "Amorina" monsters with different names from my deck! I summon Amorina the Purehearted and Amorina's Prince Amoroso!"

Amorina the Purehearted / Level 4 / FIRE / Fairy / ATK 0 / DEF 0

Amorina's Prince Amoroso / Level 4 / FIRE / Spellcaster / ATK 1800 / DEF 400

Amorina reappeared in a whirlwind of white camellias, standing on seashells like a hamfisted reference to the Birth of Venus. Standing beside her now was a man whose shirt was held together by a single button. Amoroso clutched five roses between his teeth, his hands beckoning Amorina to dance. As they cavorted, their lips drew closer, until Amoroso's roses exploded, covering them in a whirlwind of petals.

"Amoroso's effect! Amorina the Purehearted cannot be removed from the field by card effects!"

"But I'm not removing her from the field," Gozu said cruelly. "She's going to become my Xyz Material."

Chizu's legs almost gave out, and she leaned on Yuu for support. "No…"

Amorina grasped in vain at Amoroso's hand as she disintegrated into the darkness. Amoroso's shirt button over his heart burst open in agony, and he wept, his breast bare against the sudden rainstorm that slicked his hair back. Yuu really couldn't follow the action of Chizu's deck, much less the woman herself. Still, here she was, leaning on him and breathing heavily after surviving Gozu's attack.

"Miss Daimonji, is everything okay?" he asked.

She glanced down ruefully. "What do you think, you scoundrel?"

Yuu thought for a moment. Chizu's attitude had completely shifted from the start of the duel, becoming more weary the more and more entrenched in her power Gozu became. It was as though the power of Monji itself were being drained from her body. But she'd seemed genuinely concerned for Gozu, even before the duel. She had threatened him once she'd learned about his cheating, showing that she'd loyally defend Gozu's capacity at Duel Monsters, and right to the Monji throne. At least, this is what he assumed it meant.

"I think you care a lot about Gozu," he said. "But I don't think she's going to let you help her in the way you want to."

Chizu's hatred for him grew so strong he wondered if her leaning on him wasn't a setup for an instant kill move. But then a tear stained the carpet.

"I remember what it was like to want this. And I remember a big sister who actually had it." Chizu's voice was quiet, water glimmering in the vastness of space. "I remember what it was like to love a leader of the Monji. What the role did to them."

She looked at him blearily. Yuu was caught off-guard by her sudden beauty. "You know, you're the first thing she's wanted for herself. That's why I can't forgive you for cheating."

"I know." Yuu said. "When I cheated with Zato, I wasn't thinking straight. I knew I couldn't live up to Gozu's expectations, and I just got scared-"

Chizu lifted him off the ground. She held him like a spear that she could snap over her knee. "You cheated on my Gozi with who?"

"Cheated on-" As though a key had been inserted, all the tumblers in Yuu's head popped in at once. "Wait- I meant cheating in a duel, not- we're not-I didn't-"

"Say no more." Chizu dropped him to the ground. Her face had taken on a stonelike quality. "My dear, I've been disliking you for the wrong reasons." She shunted a hand against her forehead, tossing her hair back to reset her appearance. "Now, then. The reason you're still on my bad side is because, despite wanting to help Gozu, you're still trying to lose."

Yuu's confusion centered on agitation. "Like I told Zato, I'm trying to show her that she can trust people again."

"I understand that much, dear. But why are you treating yourself like you're just another one of those people?"

Yuu was entirely lost.

"She told you never to see her again if you lose. When someone gives you an ultimatum like that, it's your last chance to show that you care!"

"But she doesn't want to lose this duel," Yuu protested. "Why would she set things up like this, then?"

"It's part of the Monji principles," Zato chimed in at a whisper. "You're not yourself until you defeat everything else you could be. Right now, Gozu's trying to defeat herself through you. More specifically, she's trying to defeat her own feelings for you. So get out there and duel to win her back. Also, stop playing dumb. We know you know already."

"Know what?" Yuu sensed his excuse wasn't working, and decided to change directions. Something hot and unseemly was worming its way under his collar, prickling his back. "Anyway, you're still just projecting these things onto her! I'm going to take my turn."

"Finally," Gozu called as he drew his card. "Although, there isn't much you can do. If you put up any defenses at all, Ruin Varudras will break them down, and Cannibal Eyes will heal my life points beyond any hope of you defeating me."

Why's she saying all this? Does she want me to overcome it, or does she really think it's impossible? He tried in vain to understand the double-thinking Monji.

He thought back to his duel with Ori, that match in the mines that had nearly killed them both. Back then, I was trying to understand Ori through dueling, but I had forgotten to understand the meaning of our duel through Ori. But why am I thinking about that now?

"Let's go," Yuu declared. "First, I'm summoning Trident Warrior in attack position! And when he's Normal Summoned, I can bring out a Level 3 monster straight from my hand! Springing into action, it's Iron Chain Coil!"

Trident Warrior / Level 4 / LIGHT / Warrior / ATK 1800 / DEF 1200

Iron Chain Coil / Level 3 / EARTH / Machine / Tuner / ATK 1100 / DEF 1600

With a slash of Trident Warrior's weapon, three tears appeared in the air in front of it. Iron Chain Coil's wobbly arms burst through the gap, and the toylike creature crawled onto the field.

"Yuu!" Zato called. "Amoroso and Trident Warrior are both level 4 monsters! You can use Gigavolt Eagle!"

Yuu looked at Gozu. Betrayal and disgust had taken her over, now that she finally understood the true context of this finishing move. The high-grade "Gigavolt Eagle" had been the card cheated into Yuu's possession by Zato, as though pulled from a storm of information, shining into existence. But when its luster had dimmed after the battle, all that remained was his actions. His own lack of faith in himself, his deficiencies in skill. And here they were, in the same situation, where his defeat hinged on that same card.

Gigavolt Eagle / Rank 4 / WIND / Thunder / ATK 1700 / DEF 600

Zato pointed forwards. "Let's count your banished cards, Daimonji. First is 'Mezuki,' which you banished for its effect on your first turn. Then you had 'Crow Tengu,' banished by Amorina's Wicked Stepmother. Third, you banished 'Goblin Zombie' to use your 'Haunted Zombies' Trap card. Finally, you banished 'Shiranui Solitaire' to save your Sunsaga. That's four cards, and Gigavolt Eagle can hit you with 200 points of damage for each. 800 points total."

Gozu - 600 LP

"In other words, you won't survive this turn!" Zato gloated.

"That's what you think!" Gozu retorted. "Ruin Varudras! Detach your Xyz Material to destroy Trident Warrior!"

Trident Warrior screamed as its throat turned to ash. It collapsed within itself before it hit the ground. "Your Xyz Summon will never come to be!" Gozu clutched the air fiercely with her hand. To Yuu, it looked as though she were barely holding on.

He caught Zato's eye, which seemed to have the elaborate movements of a flag signal, directing him to finish his play. He saw my hand. That's why he goaded Gozu into interrupting me early; he knew I could still use this and win. Yuu let the card slip from his hand onto the field. "I activate Level Changer."

Level Changer / Quick-play Spell Card

Iron Chain Coil - Level 3 ~ Level 4

Gozu clawed at her own face. "This can't be it," she sputtered.

Yuu looked across the field. Could this be it? If he overlaid for Gigavolt Eagle, he could eliminate Gozu and free her of her burdens. She was tough enough to survive anything, so surely she could survive losing. If Chizu was right, then over time she'd come to see that the Monji, as they were, were eroding her from within. All he had to do was win.

But that was just it, wasn't it? Once more, he would ask someone to understand his intentions, rather than putting his own faith in them and listening. Yuu needed to change himself to change dueling. But here was the moment to prove that he had changed, by changing the duel.

Once more, he felt the weight of a card in his extra deck. But this weight felt more like leverage, which he was raring to use.

"Now, I'll use level 4 Iron Chain Coil and Level 4 Amorina's Prince Amoroso to bring out the monster that will end this duel!" Yuu pulled the card from his extra deck and held it high as it threw beige light across the room.

Gozu said nothing, simply staring him down with grim hatred.

"But it's not an Xyz Summon. I Synchro Summon by tuning with Iron Chain Coil!" Yuu shouted.

Iron Chain Coil whirled and burst into glyphic rings. At the same time, four motes of light floated out of Prince Amoroso as he pushed his hair back with both hands. They combined in midair, becoming a slurry of semisolid clay. Then, a hand reached up from the mire, the monster birthing itself from its own mass of liquid Synchro material.

4 + 4 = 8

"I Synchro Summon," Yuu declared, "Colossal Fighter!"

The golem rose up, its face vitrifying into a green glass visor. Ruin Varudras's void ripped at its form, gobs of clay swirling into the abyss. Still, Colossal Fighter stood tall.

Colossal Fighter / Level 8 / EARTH / Warrior / ATK 2800 / DEF 1000

"Yuu!" Zato shouted. "I thought we talked about this! That monster can't beat Ruin Varudras!"

"Maybe not," Yuu said. "But just trust me here. Colossal Fighter gains 100 ATK for each Warrior-type monster in our graveyards! But there's just one: Trident Warrior!"

Colossal Fighter - ATK 2800 ~ ATK 2900

"Now, Colossal Fighter, attack Ruin Varudras!"

Zato screamed, "But if you do that, Cannibal Eyes will give Gozu life points equal to Colossal Fighter's attack points!"

Colossal Fighter - ATK 2900

Ruin Varudras, the Remnant of End Times - ATK 3000

Yuu - 4000 LP ~ 3900 LP

Colossal Fighter turned to grey dust, collapsing into a heap. But then, the earth rejuvenated, molding itself back into Colossal Fighter's shape. Gozu exhaled softly as her veins in her face bulged with stolen life force.

Gozu - 600 LP ~ 3500 LP

"You said you had a plan!" Zato yelled. "Now she's almost back to full health!"

"That is my plan," Yuu replied.

The bald man's eyes narrowed, his veneer of panic falling to reveal sober loathing.. "You little rat."

"Every time Colossal Fighter is destroyed, Gozu will gain 2900 life points," Yuu explained. "Then, my monster will resurrect and fight again, and be destroyed again."

Gozu scoffed. "And how many times are you going to go through that pointless cycle?" she asked.

"As many times as it takes." Yuu was sincere in his convictions now. This was a new kind of dueling, albeit one that existed mostly within this unbroken loop of effects. Still, they had managed to produce a new outcome; as proof, something had gotten into Gozu's eyes.

"Hey, ref!" Zato shouted. "Aren't infinite loops illegal to create?"

"Well, the loop is hardly infinite," Fey pointed out. "The limit is Tokari's own life points."

"If that's the case, then…" Zato scrubbed the top of his head with his fingertips. "Then I'm kicking him off of our team! How about that!"

Fey glanced over. "Miss Chizu?"

Realization dawned on Chizu's face, and she smiled at Yuu. "I was hoping to get rid of our third wheel too."

Fey nodded and clapped his hands in an official manner. "That about settles it. Yuu Tokari is no longer the teammate of Chizu Daimonji and Zato Sanada. It's unusual for this to occur mid-duel, however…right now, suppose Yuu Tokari is a free agent. If the goal is to break his ability to give Gozu more life points, then that can only be accomplished by putting them on the same team, making him unable to attack her."

Yuu stared across the field at Gozu. He hadn't known how this gamble would pay off, but it seemed like Zato and Chizu could finally cast him off. Now Gozu could see that his purposes were his own. More importantly, he'd shattered the cabal at the back of her mind, the phantom threat that froze and drove open the cracks in her psyche. There was no conspiracy, at least not one that Yuu was any part of.

"Tokari." Gozu was still the cold-calculating boss of the Monji. She pointed beside her imperiously. "Get over here and join me."

Yuu's mouth felt dry. "I'm not just going to serve you, Gozu."

Gozu's eyes finally softened. "Then help me, Yuu."

Yuu went to her. The indicator light on his duel disk flashed from blue to red, signifying his defection to Gozu's side.

"The transfer automatically ended my turn," he noted. "There isn't even an end phase."

"Then it's my turn now," Zato said. "I draw! And as much as it hurts me to fight a former teammate, I can promise it'll hurt you more. I'm activating the spell card Amorina's Ring! This card lets me Fusion summon by shuffling cards from the graveyard into the deck! I fuse Amorina the Purehearted and Amorina's Prince Amoroso!"

Amorina and Amoroso's eternal souls entwined as they rose from Chizu's graveyard, losing themselves in one kiss that seemed to burn as a candle in the night, throwing off the illumination that was the rest of their lives. Music swelled in the background as the two ascended to a world of clouds that bound their story in its perfect ending.

Raving furiously, Zato pressed his palms together and twisted them until his fingers were parallel and pointing away from each other. "Go, Fusion Summon! Amorina Ever After!"

Fey raised an eyebrow.

Amorina Ever After / Level 8 / FIRE / Fairy / ATK 0 / DEF 0

"Isn't that the card I gave you?" Chizu asked. "I never knew you held onto it."

"Yeah, well," Zato stammered, putting his hands away, "I had extra deck space. Had to play some duds to get a full list."

"I see," Chizu said to herself before launching back into her boisterous jubilee. "Amorina Ever After is unaffected by your card effects! Once per turn, it deals damage to you equal to your monster's attack points! Then it gains ATK and DEF equal to the damage dealt!"

"Cannibal Eyes prevents Ruin Varudras from being targeted by that effect, though!"

"Then we'll settle for Colossal Fighter," Zato sneered. "Since it was Yuu's turn last, the damage will be dealt to him!"

As Colossal Fighter charged Amorina Ever After, its body began to take on a heavily painted quality, as though memorialized in real time. A shimmering duplicate of Colossal Fighter appeared in the clouds that surrounded Amorina Ever After, and from its smile came a blinding rainbow of light that tore through Yuu like a sonic wave.

Yuu - 3900 LP ~ 1000 LP

Amorina Ever After - ATK 0 / DEF 0 ~ ATK 2900 / DEF 2900

"That's all I can do for now," Zato noted. "I'll end my turn here."

A monster that can power itself up to avoid destruction, and take us out using our own cards! Yuu bit his tongue. Even though the duel is simpler for me now, it's still as hard as it was at the start!

He rifled through his hand. Kuriboh can negate battle damage, but Amorina Ever After is dealing effect damage, so it won't work! We have to directly cut off their ability to target us!

"Miss Daimonji," he began. "During this end phase, you need to attach Colossal Fighter to Varudras. Otherwise, we'll keep taking damage from Ever After's effect."

Gozu didn't look at him. "Tokari, you conversed with my aunt while you were allied, correct? Specifically, about me."

Yuu tried to laugh it off. "Well, we were trying not to lose to you. It was mostly strategy."

She side-eyed him. "Chizu's voice is very loud. I know it wasn't."

Yuu's back prickled as though Gigavolt Eagle were trapped in his shirt.

Gozu glanced back at their opponents. "You're your own person, Tokari. I respect your autonomy however you involve yourself with the Monji. But know this: You are not my weakness."

Before Yuu could ask what she meant, she was already moving to start her turn. "I'll use the effect of Ruin Varudras to attach Arcastral Bonus Zone as an Xyz Material!" she declared. "Now, It's my turn," Gozu said. Her voice had hiked up an octave as she drew, but now her ruffled suit quickly settled itself.

Zato barreled on. "Now, to activate the Quick Effect! Amorina Ever After! Use Colossal Fighter to attack Gozu!"

A torrent of color collided with Gozu's unflinching face, leaving her drenched in love and all its trials. As he caught her eye, Yuu thought he noticed a slight blush, but it was most certainly residue from Amorina Ever After's dramatic attack method.

Gozu - 3500 LP ~ 600 LP

Amorina Ever After - ATK 2900 / DEF 2900 ~ ATK 5800 / DEF 5800

"It seems you might lose after all, Miss Daimonji," Fey said sincerely, though he left the address vague. "Whatever happens, know that your skills have my deepest professional respect."

Gozu thrust her hand forth, playing her final card. "I need no such thing. I activate a spell card, Avenge Vengeance! Whenever a monster is destroyed by battle this turn, all of its allies gain the attack points it had on the field!"

Avenge Vengeance / Normal Spell Card

"We'll now battle," Gozu declared. "Colossal Fighter attacks Amorina Ever After!"

"I see. You can use Colossal Fighter to pump up Ruin Varudras!" Chizu said. "But you won't survive the clash with Amorina Ever After!"

Zato paled, seeming to remember the sneak peek he took of Yuu's hand. "Oh, no."

"Well, Tokari," Gozu said, turning to him. "I place this game in your hands."

Looks like I'm an open book to you, Yuu thought fondly. "I activate the effect of the monster in my hand!" he shouted. "Go, Kuriboh!"

Kuriboh / Level 1 / DARK / Fiend / ATK 300 / DEF 200

The ball of fuzz puffed in between Colossal Fighter's fist and the rainbow bulwark of Amorina Ever After, cushioning the blow.

"Kuriboh negates the damage from the battle!" Zato exclaimed. "But that means…"

Ruin Varudras - ATK 3000 ATK 5900

Ruin Varudras roared silently as Colossal Fighter collapsed. Avenge Vengeance's green aura began to fill in the gaps of its body, sinewing the beast together with rage. Phantasmal vocal cords wrung an ululating cry, as the being that had destroyed everything discovered once more the pain of loss. As Ruin Varudras nearly doubled in strength, Colossal Fighter reformed from the muck, reviving for the third time.

Yuu stood in amazement at Gozu Daimonji. This was the kind of strength that he had admired and tried to reconcile with himself. Her fears inverted to strength, she appeared invincible, as though she had never needed his help. And yet, she had called for him. She had told him that he was not her weakness; if was true, then what was he to her?

"Now go, Ruin Varudras!" Gozu yelled. "Destroy Amorina Ever After!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Zato yelled as the last of his life points blew away.

ATK 5900 ~ ATK 5800

Zato - 100 LP ~ 0 LP

"And now, Colossal Fighter!" Gozu commanded the mass of clay reforming on her field. "Attack Chizu directly!"

Chizu welcomed the attack with a smile, not even flinching as Colossal Fighter's two-ton fist hit her like a truck.

Chizu - 600 LP ~ 0 LP

Chizu - Zato - LOSE

Gozu - Yuu - WIN

The holograms receded heavily, like floodwater. They had seemed to leave marks in the carpet, the wooden walls, the leather chair that Fey now leapt out of with a round of applause.

"Bravo, all of you!" he said. "This has been one of the most unique duels I've ever had the pleasure to referee. The battle royale of it all! Why, with a few rule clarifications, I'm sure this format could make its way to the prize circuit-"

"Give it a rest," Zato said, annoyed. "Since we lost, we didn't land the deal."

"Such a shame, gentlemen." Chizu had flipped back into blithe and accommodating. "I'm sorry to make you come all this way. Why don't I show you out?"

The three of them moved to the door. Fey's eyes lingered on Yuu for a moment longer before departing.

"That was a remarkable showing, Zato," the duel promoter praised. "You nearly had it at the end with that Amorina card."

"Speaking of that, Zato," Chizu said slyly, "That is my card, right? Right?"

"I must have forgotten to rip it up and eat the pieces," Zato retorted. All three of their voices disappeared down the hallway, leaving Yuu and Gozu alone once again in her study.

Gozu hadn't moved an inch from her victorious posture. Yuu was unsure that she was even breathing.

"It's getting pretty late," he said, apologetically. "I should probably get back to the hospital."

Gozu relaxed. "That's too bad. This duel…well, I wanted to defeat you, but you somehow managed to cheat me again."

There was no malice in her eyes anymore. Trust alloyed her confidence, making her glow with might.

Yuu caught himself staring. "We'll just have to duel some other time, then."

"We will."

"What about today's victory?" Yuu's face burned once he realized what he was about to say.

Gozu looked confused. "What about it?"

"I mean, I technically won, right?"

"You did."

"And if I lost the game, I was supposed to never see you again."

"Ah." Gozu turned a light shade of carnation. "Put it out of your mind. You won, after all."

"Well, that's just it. I won, so I'll do the opposite of never seeing you again…that means I…"

At this point, they each had the misfortune of meeting each other's eye at the same time. Yuu's entire mind caught fire.

"That means you have to duel in the Atrium Royale tomorrow!" He commanded her with wild gesticulation, as though blowing off heaps of steam.

Gozu, for her part, seemed to recover quickly. "I'll do that, then."

"We should go check on the others!" Still letting his body do the talking, Yuu flung his arms at the door. He didn't turn back to see if Gozu was following him, but he knew that she was.

Matsu was waiting at the bottom of the foyer staircase. He seemed to be preoccupied with Chizu and her guests, who were in turn talking to a group of people who had just walked in. Four in number, each appeared to be explaining their identities and reasons for being on the premises. Yuu couldn't hear their exposition well, but he didn't need to; he knew each of them already.

"We're acting as security for Inspector Fey," Otaro Yamatano said brusquely. "Or were you going to send him home through that filthy ghetto?"

Behind him, there was Ori - Yuu felt a weight at the back of his skull drop away. She was standing on her own two feet, looking as strong as she had the day of their duel. Still, in the presence of Otaro and Fey, her stature was muted.

"And I'm here to pick up my buddy from his date!" Valz said. "But if you're all here too, how about a group interview? Especially you, Miss Dust Lord, I'd be interested to chat."

Otaro's expression turned downright murderous. For a second, an image flashed in Yuu's mind - something - but then a hand rested on Otaro's shoulder, capping the pressure.

"Come on, son. He didn't mean it like that." Clavis Barnes stepped between the two, his frail body a bastion of calm. He swept his gaze across the attendants. "Mr. Fey, we thought we'd come and meet you on account of Ori's better health-"

Their eyes met. Yuu realized that he had never once seen Clavis in his full capacity as Fey's duelist. The old man had been fitted with new clothes: a bright red motorcycle jacket with cracked leather in a dragonscale design; a bandana tied at the waist of his blue jeans; dark boots which repulsed the dust of the street. It was the style of a much younger man, but Clavis's presence filled out the clothes as though they were his old possessions. But Yuu knew that he had been working in the Atrium since he was a young man; these clothes had never been his before. It dawned on him that he was seeing Clavis not as he used to be, but as he should have been.

But before he could find the words to communicate any of that or reconcile it with himself and others, he broke into a sprint and half leapt down the steps, barrelling Zato out of the way. He had planned to hug Clavis once he had gotten out of the hospital, and his arms were beginning to spread when suddenly he stopped, repelled by something intangible. For a moment, he imagined a thin layer of grime across his body, insulating him from the plastic aura of Clavis, the pro dueling aspirant. He didn't want to get his friend dirty, so he hesitated, and his arms retracted, and when Clavis put out his hand out for a lukewarm handshake, Yuu accepted it and felt something bite in his chest.

"Thank you," he said, before anything else, "for saving me." He wasn't sure which day he meant: seven days ago or the day they'd met.

Clavis smiled warmly. "That's just mining protocol, kid. Never leave a man down, no matter how annoying."

This kind of thing was usually a joke between them, but with this new distance it just seemed to fall down into the chasm. Clavis didn't offer a reason for why he hadn't visited Yuu in the hospital, nor did Yuu ask for one.

Yuu felt an elbow leaning on his shoulder; Valz had moved to his side, facing Clavis and the Yamatanos. "So, you're working with Fey now, huh?" the reporter asked. "Want to do a profile with me? I have to know what deck you're running."

Clavis took a breath, and Yuu could see the discomfort transmute to a shaky confidence. "You'll have to wait for tomorrow," he said. "Explaining all the tricks now would take too long."

"That's right," Fey said, leaning in. "Besides, Clavis's current techniques are strictly proprietary. I promise, it's nothing like you've seen before." His wording emphasized improvement; Yuu noticed Clavis bristle momentarily, remembering his losing streak against the Dust Lord.

At this point, Chizu recovered, stepping back into her role as host. "I'd hate to send away such esteemed guests. Would you stay for dinner?"

"I'm afraid we must retire," Fey said, shaking his head. "I believe everyone here has a big day ahead of them tomorrow."

Once more, he glanced at Yuu.

"Some of us still have work," Zato added ruefully. "The chief called out, and we're almost ready to bring everyone back onsite after that earthquake."

"Is that right? We'll miss you greatly," Fey said affectionately.

Zato was nonplussed. "Don't try to rope me into picking up bottles. I did my part. Yuu'll do me proud, though." Despite it all, he gave Yuu a conspiratorial wink.

Gozu walked down the stairs, standing at Yuu's side with Valz at the other. "We'll all be competing, then?"

Otaro flanked Clavis, glaring at Valz. Ori moved to the other side, putting the old man between them. "It looks like we are," she said.

The six of them stared each other down. In Yuu's eyes, Clavis seemed to be appraising him, but for what he had no idea. In a few weeks' time, his friend had surpassed him along the path to becoming a professional duelist. Yuu had sworn to change dueling, but could he change his friend if this dueling was who he became?

Fey was the first to depart. Ori fluttered after him, and Otaro stalked away after a moment as well. Clavis blinked, and it was as though they had never been looking at each other to begin with. He vanished in his silent, dependable way. Valz followed after and lingered at the threshold. Yuu spent a moment looking back at Gozu and wound up getting to the door at the same time as Zato, each one getting in each other's way a bit.

Zato gestured for Yuu to step through first, smiling. As he did, he caught the tail end of a whispered message. "...and you're not alone, not yet," the bald man was murmuring.

Too tired to consider it, Yuu moved on without stopping, leaving Zato behind. The lights of Daimonji Manor cast a shadow ahead of him, as he walked out into the darkened streets. Valz caught up, and the two of them walked out into Atrium Badtown, where winter had started to turn the nights cold.