Starting Notes:
Welcome back to Six Dimensions! In this chapter, we continue on from Chapter 2's ending, watching the Charisma Duelists of the Link Dimension duel. :) Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 3: The Charisma Duelists
Below, in a city square in reality, the Number 1 Charisma Duelist, Blue Angel, and the Number 4 Charisma Duelist, Soothsayer, were already ready to face off against each other. Blue Angel looked very much like a magical girl—her avatar had some of her hair forming heart-shaped loops on the top of her head, with the rest forming two long ponytails on the side of her head. She was wearing white wings with a pink heart and purple clover on them. She was also wearing a frilly blue and pink dress, with a white shirt over the dress. Obviously, all of that was an avatar—no one truly knew what Blue Angel looked like under the avatar.
Blue Angel herself didn't feel the need to share more about herself. The whole reason why she could be so confident was because she was hiding behind this avatar, after all.
Her opponent, Soothsayer, was someone in the same boat as her—she had never shared anything about her real identity. She had an avatar with a grey veil over her face, and blue gems in her hair. She was someone that Blue Angel considered a kindred spirit of kinds. Soothsayer had once been interviewed, and she had disclosed that her reason to become a Charisma Duelist was to 'find a purpose'.
Blue Angel could easily relate to that.
"Thank you for being my opponent today, Blue Angel," Soothsayer said, curtsying in a rather demure manner. "Shall we?"
Blue Angel smiled widely. "Let's go!" She agreed.
[DUEL!]
Blue Angel: 4000LP
Soothsayer: 4000LP
[Turn 1: Soothsayer] [H:5]
From above, Yuno's smile faltered for a moment. Everyone might have liked Soothsayer, but something about her had always felt perplexingly familiar. It set him on edge. It wasn't anything negative, it was just that odd familiarity when it came to the way she talked and dueled…
It was probably nothing. Right?
Back below, Soothsayer had begun her turn.
"I will start by activating the Continuous Spell Card, Awakening of the Possessed." The green-bordered card appeared in front of her, the image on the card displaying four different Spellcasters. "While I control "Awakening of the Possessed", "Charmer" and "Familiar-Possessed" monsters I control cannot be destroyed by card effects. I will then Normal Summon Familiar-Possessed - Aussa!"
Aussa was a brown-haired girl, with short, spiky, boyish hair. There was a large, furry marmot resting on the brown-haired spellcaster's arm.
[Familiar-Possessed - Aussa (4*/1850/1500/EARTH/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"And since a Spellcaster monster with 1850 attack points was Normal Summoned, I can use the other effect of Awakening to draw one card," Soothsayer said, swiping up one card from her deck. "And since I control a Spellcaster monster, I can Special Summon Nefarious Archfiend Eater of Nefariousness!" The same marmot appeared, with bright red demonic wings spreading out behind it. A red-tipped black horn could be seen on the top of its head, as it smiled mischievously.
[Nefarious Archfiend Eater of Nefariousness (4*/1500/200/EARTH/Beast/Effect)
"And now, open, multi-coloured circuit! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two monsters, including an EARTH monster! I will set Familiar-Possessed - Aussa and Nefarious Archfiend Eater of Nefariousness in the Link Markers! Appear now, ascended figure of the earth! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Aussa the Earth Charmer, Immovable!"
An older version of Aussa appeared, with particles of the earth dancing around them. She was holding onto a staff, with a different familiar on the staff—a small, mammalian creature with devilish red wings.
[Aussa the Earth Charmer, Immovable (L2/1850/EARTH/Spellcaster/Link/Effect/↙, ↘]
"I'll set one card facedown," Soothsayer declared. "Over to you."
[Turn 2: Blue Angel] [H:6]
Blue Angel drew a card, glancing at the field. "So that set card is likely your favourite card, Unpossessed," she deduced, smiling brightly.
Soothsayer smiled under the veil. "Perhaps. Oh, and before the two of us forget to amount for that—with Awakening of the Possessed, my monsters gain 300 attack points for every monster of a different Attribute that I control."
[Aussa the Earth Charmer, Immovable: 1850 + 300 = 2150ATK]
So, if that set card was Unpossessed… Blue Angel would have a lot of difficulty defeating this single monster.
Luckily, her deck strategy had never involved battling directly.
"I'll start my turn by activating the Spell Card, Terraforming!" Blue Angel declared. "I'll add and activate the Field Spell—Trickstar Light Arena!" Around them, holograms of pink and green hearts floated through the air, while spotlights shone on Blue Angel's field. "And now, I will Normal Summon Trickstar Candina from my hand!" A yellow-haired idol in a white and orange dress appeared, dancing around while holding onto a speakerphone.
[Trickstar Candina (4*/1800/400/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)]
"I'll activate Trickstar Candina's effect. I can add a "Trickstar" card from my deck to my hand!" Blue Angel revealed a card in her hand. "Since I added Trickstar Lilybell to my hand by a card effect, I can Special Summon her from my hand." A small girl with pink hair in long ponytails appeared, smiling mischievously. Two white bun-like objects could be seen on the sides of her head, like earmuffs.
[Trickstar Lilybell (2*/800/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)]
"I will activate the effect of Trickstar Light Arena! I will target your Set card, and that card cannot be activated until the End Phase, and if you can't activate it during the End Phase, it's returned to your hand!"
"You already guessed it," Soothsayer said, chaining the card. "The Continuous Trap, Unpossessed. "Charmer" monsters cannot be destroyed by battle, and "Familiar-Possessed" monsters gain 800 attack points when they attack another monster."
"Of course, it doesn't apply when they're the ones being attacked!" Blue Angel declared with a wink.
"True." Soothsayer shrugged. "It's fair game."
"And I will open the circuit of dreams and hope! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two "Trickstar" monsters! I'll set the Trickstar Candina and Trickstar Lilybell on my field in the Link Markers!" Both of the rather cute idols dissolved into light, entering the blue circuit above her. "The beautiful sky blue angel of dreams! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Trickstar Holly Angel!"
Blue Angel's ace appeared—a blonde woman in a blue dress, with black leggings and bright white-gold wings. She swung a whip through the air with a snapping sound.
[Trickstar Holly Angel (L2/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Link/Effect↙, ↘)]
"Holly Angel…" Soothsayer sighed, sounding mildly exasperated.
Blue Angel giggled—most people that had dueled her reacted to her ace the same way. "I'll activate Light Arena's effect! I can revive a "Trickstar" monster used for the Link Summon in Defense Position, and its effects are negated! Return—Lilybell!" The small pink idol reappeared. "And when a "Trickstar" monster is Special Summoned to Holly Angel's Link Marker, Holly Angel inflicts 200 damage to you! Blue Whip!"
Holly Angel swept her whip across the air, striking Soothsayer lightly.
Soothsayer: 4000 - 200 = 3800LP
"And Holly Angel's effect activates! When a "Trickstar" monster inflicts damage to you by an effect, she gains attack points equal to the damage dealt! Holly Blessing!"
[Trickstar Holly Angel: 2000 + 200 = 2200ATK]
"I'll activate the effect of Trickstar Narkissus in my hand! Since you took effect damage, I can Special Summon her!" A blonde idol in a green and black dress—rather princess-like in nature—appeared, winking mischievously. In her right hand, she was holding onto a cute golden gun, with a white flower in the barrel of the gun.
[Trickstar Narkissus (4*/1000/1800/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)]
"And since I just summoned another monster to Holly Angel's Link Marker, she'll inflict another 200 damage to you! Blue Whip!"
Soothsayer: 3800 - 200 = 3600LP
"And now, Holly Blessing!"
[Trickstar Holly Angel: 2200 + 200 = 2400ATK]
"And I'll open the circuit of dreams and hope a second time! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two "Trickstar" monsters! I'll set Trickstar Narkissus and Trickstar Lilybell in the Link Markers! Appear now, idol of mischief! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Trickstar Black Catbat!"
A black-haired idol appeared, violet-red cat ears on her head. She had the same wings as the rest of the Trickstar Link Monsters, and she was holding onto a black staff with a pink heart at the end. However, a shadow seemed to be cast over her—everything about her seemed to be darker than it should be.
[Trickstar Black Catbat (L2/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Link/Effect/←, →)]
"And of course, Holly Angel will inflict 200 more damage to you! Blue Whip!"
Soothsayer: 3600 - 200 = 3400LP
"Holly Blessing!"
[Trickstar Holly Angel: 2400 + 200 = 2600ATK]
"And now, I'll activate the Equip Spell, Trickstar Magical Laurel!" A beautiful ring of leaves appeared in front of Blue Angel. "I can revive a "Trickstar" monster! Come back—Trickstar Lilybell!" For the third time that turn, Lilybell appeared, whirling around in the air. She rested on the Main Monster Zone that Black Catbat's left Link Marker pointed to. "Lilybell can attack you directly! Go, Lilybell!"
Bypassing Soothsayer's monster, Lilybell flew forward, shaking the golden bell in her hand. Soothsayer grimaced, her life points falling.
Soothsayer: 3400 - 800 = 2600LP
"And with Lilybell's effect, I can add a "Trickstar" monster from my graveyard to my hand when she inflicts battle damage to my opponent!" Blue Angel retrieved a card from her graveyard. "And since the equipped "Trickstar" monster inflicted damage to you by battle or by a card effect, I can Special Summon a "Trickstar" monster from my hand! Return back to the field—Trickstar Narkissus!" The blonde, beaming idol reappeared next to Lilybell—at the bottom-left Link Marker of Holly Angel. "And since another "Trickstar" monster was summoned to Holly Angel's Link Marker, I can inflict 200 more damage to you! Blue Whip!"
Soothsayer: 2600 - 200 = 2400LP
Holly Angel glowed once again.
[Trickstar Holly Angel: 2600 + 200 = 2800ATK]
"And since you took damage from a "Trickstar" monster's effect," Blue Angel continued, "Black Catbat's effect activates! For every monster she points to—so just Lilybell—your monsters lose 200 attack points until the End Phase!"
[Aussa the Earth Charmer, Immovable: 2150 - 200 = 1950ATK]
"So that's your plan," Soothsayer said. "To just focus on dealing me damage."
"Your monsters are impossible to deal with." Blue Angel winked. "So why bother? Black Catbat attacks Aussa! Clawed Laughter!"
The harlequin-like monster leapt forward, swinging her staff through the air and summoning a black heart. The heart burst against Aussa, who clutched her chest. Of course, even though Aussa wasn't destroyed, Soothsayer still took the damage.
Soothsayer: 2400 - 50 = 2350LP
"And now, Holly Angel! Holly Whip!"
Lifting her whip up in the air, Holly Angel slashed it across the field. Soothsayer's life points fell by a huge amount as the whip hit Aussa's skin.
Soothsayer: 2350 - 850 = 1500LP
"I'll end my turn," Blue Angel said. "Over to you, Soothsayer. Let's see what you can do!"
[Aussa the Earth Charmer, Immovable: 1950 - 2150ATK]
[Trickstar Holly Angel: 2800 - 2000ATK]
[Turn 3: Soothsayer] [H:3]
"Draw," Soothsayer said calmly. "I will Special Summon Inari Fire from my hand, since I control a Spellcaster monster." A bright red fox appeared, red flames forming its lovely tail. It jumped to the Main Monster Zone directly behind Aussa.
[Inari Fire (4*/1500/200/FIRE/Pyro/Effect)]
"And now, I'll send both the Level 4 FIRE monster, Inari Fire, and the Spellcaster, Aussa, to the graveyard. I will Special Summon Awakening of the Possessed - Greater Inari Fire from my Deck with its own effect!"
With that name, the monster was clearly meant to be an evolution of Inari Fire. A large, monstrous-looking red fox appeared, golden flames all around it as it let out a growl. Dark red paws slammed straight into the ground. The fox whirled around, seeming ready for battle.
[Awakening of the Possessed - Greater Inari Fire (5*/2000/200/FIRE/Pyro/Effect)]
Both of those effects had simply summoned the monster. Therefore, Narcissus's effect didn't trigger.
"Greater Inari Fire's effect," Soothsayer declared. "It's not a Nomi, but since it was Special Summoned with its own effect, I can inflict damage to you, equal to the original attack points of a face-up monster you control!" The veiled Charisma Duelist pointed out with her right hand. "I will choose Trickstar Holly Angel!"
The monstrous fox darted through the air towards her, flames shooting towards Blue Angel and swallowing her up in an instant.
Blue Angel: 4000 - 2000 = 2000LP
The crowd burst into shocked whispers.
"She halved Blue Angel's life points so quickly!"
"But you're not getting past my field," Blue Angel said with a chuckle.
"Neither are you getting past mine," Soothsayer returned. "Unfortunate. Neither of us are the type to fight directly and fairly. I will Normal Summon Familiar-Possessed - Lyna!"
This time, a white-haired, angel-like with red wings appeared. The red wings were larger versions of the wings of Happy Lover—the monster that was supposedly Lyna's familiar.
[Familiar-Possessed - Lyna (4*/1850/1500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"And with the effect of my Continuous Spell, Awakening of the Possessed, I draw one card!" She swiftly picked up the card. "Open again, multi-coloured circuit! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two monsters, including a LIGHT monster! I will set Familiar-Possessed - Lyna and Greater Inari Fire in the Link Markers! Appear now, ascended figure of holy light! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Lyna the Light Charmer - Lustrous!"
The same white-haired figure appeared, a strange golden fairy next to her. She was holding onto a golden staff that looped into a circle at the top, a bright sphere of light in the middle of that circle, emitting light across the field.
[Lyna the Light Charmer - Lustrous (L2/1850/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)
Soothsayer didn't make any dramatic motions—she had never been one for flair. She simply nodded to Lyna, who nodded back, as though she was sentient—though Blue Angel had never believed in that myth about Duel Monster Spirits. There was something calm to Soothsayer's expression—serene, in a way.
The thing was, Blue Angel did enjoy dueling Soothsayer, but she had always preferred dueling other Charisma Duelists with the same philosophy as herself—that was, Charisma Duelists who understood that they were putting on a show. For example, Bow Queen. The Number 3 Charisma Duelist was always rather showy, and any duel with her was guaranteed to at least be beautiful to see. Most people nowadays cared less about the strategy and more about the image of the Charisma Duelist. However, Boundless Sea had mentioned his distaste for that idea when she had brought up the trend, denying it completely.
"I'm really just gonna be myself, you know?"
Soothsayer had expressed a similar sentiment. She and Boundless Sea had the exact same answer, despite the fact that Blue Angel had asked both of them about it independently. Neither of them wanted to duel in a different way just because strangers might prefer it that way. They only wanted to duel in a way that was genuine to their own feelings and decisions.
Boundless Sea truly was a dork, but he was a rather genuine person. Blue Angel could tell that much, because she was not as genuine as he was. Most Charisma Duelists were already trying to cultivate an image, like her and Bow Queen—there was something about their avatars, the way they spoke, the way that they played, that was all intended to be seen by an audience. It was special because they were seen by others. Whereas Boundless Sea and Soothsayer would likely play the exact same way, even if no one was watching them.
The two of them were an anomaly among Charisma Duelists. Blue Angel admired that, but that didn't change the fact that it was easier to deceive others than to be truthful to oneself.
"Since my Greater Inari Fire was sent to the graveyard, its effect triggers." Flames shot up around Soothsayer. "I will add a "Possessed" Spell or Trap, or a "Spiritual Fire Art" card from my deck to my hand."
Soothsayer picked up a card.
"Lyna's effect," Soothsayer said calmly. "I can Special Summon a LIGHT monster from your graveyard to a Main Monster Zone that her Link Marker points to. Come back—Trickstar Candina!" The only LIGHT monster that Blue Angel had left in her graveyard appeared on Soothsayer's field.
[Trickstar Candina (4*/1800/400/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)]
"And I control monsters of one Attribute. So my monsters gain 300 attack points!"
[Trickstar Candina: 1800 + 300 = 2100ATK]
[Lyna the Light Charmer, Lustrous: 1850 + 300 = 2150ATK]
"Battle Phase," Soothsayer said. "I will have Lyna attack Trickstar Holly Angel, because Holly Angel protects the monsters that she points to. And when Lyna attacks, Unpossessed grants her 800 more attack points."
[Lyna the Light Charmer, Lustrous: 2150 + 800 = 2950ATK]
Lyna twirled her staff in the air.
"Ray of Hijiri!"
Blue Angel held out a card from her hand. "I'll discard Trickstar Corobane from my hand, and Holly Angel gains attack points equal to her own attack points!" A glittering glow surrounded Holly Angel, boosting her attack points.
[Trickstar Holly Angel: 2000 + 2000 = 4000ATK]
"Four thousand attack points!" Someone in the crowd exclaimed, the entire crowd roused in excitement.
"Lyna cannot be destroyed by battle!" Soothsayer held up a hand to shield herself, even though she really didn't need to—these were just holograms, after all. Holly Angel swung her whip across the field, hitting both Lyna and Soothsayer.
Soothsayer: 1500 - 1050 = 450LP
"But you're in the red," Blue Angel commented. "What will you do?"
"I will take you down to red with me," Soothsayer responded bluntly. "Candina will destroy Trickstar Lilybell!"
The brainwashed yellow idol struck Lilybell, destroying her. At the same time, the Equip Spell that had brought Lilybell back to the field was destroyed as well. Blue Angel, however, wasn't worried about the state of her life points.
Blue Angel: 2000 - 1300 = 700LP
"When a monster that Trickstar Black Catbat points to is destroyed, I can inflict 200 damage to you! Revenge Blast!" Grinning, Black Catbat leapt up, firing off a group of swirling stars at Soothsayer.
Soothsayer: 450 - 200 = 250LP
"Two blasts from a loss, Soothsayer," Blue Angel said with a laugh. "What are you going to do about that?"
"Main Phase 2," Soothsayer said with a shrug. "I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Child's Play."
Blue Angel blinked. "That's… new."
"You'll definitely see what it can do." Soothsayer placed another card facedown. "Over to you."
[Turn 4: Blue Angel] [H:2]
"Draw," Blue Angel said, considering her options. If her life points weren't so low, she could just summon two monsters to Black Catbat's Link Markers and have them destroy themselves in battle, to use Black Catbat's effect twice. And Soothsayer's set card and spell had to do something, right?
So…
"I'll pin down your Set card with Light Arena's effect," Blue Angel declared.
"Chaining my Trap," Soothsayer said. "Possessed Partnerships. I can revive a Spellcaster monster with 1500 defense points. Return to the field—Familiar-Possessed - Aussa!" The brown-haired girl reappeared, adjusting her spectacles. "And since I summoned a Spellcaster with 1850 attack points, I can draw another card! And since I control monsters with two or more Attributes, I can destroy a card on the field!"
Lyna and Aussa raised their hands, summoning a blast of light and earth that shot down towards Holly Angel, blasting her off the field.
"And now, I control two Attributes, so all my monsters gain another 300 attack points from Awakening of the Possessed!"
[Lyna the Light Charmer, Lustrous: 2150 + 300 = 2450ATK]
[Familiar-Possessed - Aussa: 1850 + 300 + 300 = 2450ATK]
[Trickstar Candina: 2100 + 300 = 2400ATK]
"Nice," Blue Angel praised. "But I'll take you out in one shot! This is my final move now—I'll open the circuit of dreams and hope! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two or more Fairy monsters! I'll set Trickstar Black Catbat and Trickstar Narkissus in the Link Markers! Now, emerge, beautiful, playful idol! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Trickstar Foxglove Witch!"
An idol in a pale pink outfit appeared, beautiful honey blonde hair curling around her face. White wings with a blue edge spread out around her. She was wearing a pink skirt with spikes along the edges spread out around her legs as she leapt onto the field.
[Trickstar Foxglove Witch (L3/2200/LIGHT/Fairy/Link/Effect/←, ↑, →)]
"Child's Play's effect activates," Soothsayer said. "When you summon a monster, I gain three hundred life points."
Soothsayer: 450 + 300 = 750LP
"I'll activate Foxglove Witch's effect," Blue Angel declared. "If this card is Special Summoned, I can inflict 200 damage to you for each card you control! Unpossessed, Awakening of the Possessed, Lyna, Aussa, Candina, Child's Play! That's six cards, so you take 1200 damage! Joyful Voice!" Foxglove Witch slammed down her wand, summoning pink petals and music notes, which soared past the invincible field of monsters, striking at their controller directly.
Soothsayer: 750 - 200 x 6 = 0LP
Winner: Blue Angel!
Soothsayer looked at the field, and then she sighed.
"A pity that my monsters are too strong for you to defeat," she said. "Or you could've fought me directly."
Blue Angel took a bow as the crowd went wild. Soothsayer sailed over on her Duel Board, holding out a hand.
Blue Angel shook it. "You did well," she said. "I'm just not a direct fighter, I—"
"You're stronger," Soothsayer said. "As we all know. And trust me, that's a compliment from me." And she smiled gently. Blue Angel smiled back.
Yuno stood up. "Well, I should head down," he said cheerfully. "Thanks for letting me hang out here!" For a moment, he and Miharu shared a lingering glance—normally, this would be where she would wish him good luck, but Akira Zaizen was right there.
Even so, Akira stood up at that moment. "I should head back in for work," he said, walking back into the building soon after.
Had he only been interested in that duel, and no other duel?
Yuno looked back at Miharu. "He's gone," he said cheerfully. "Wish me good luck?"
"I always do." Miharu patted his head. "And you never need it."
"Hey, you never know that! I could have avoided a terrible loss just because I was slightly luckier, just because you wished me luck!" Yuno chuckled. "I always believe in the luck you grant me, Miharu. See you soon!" Stabilising himself on his Duel Board, he headed down.
Miharu continued to review the code, even as she paid attention to what was going on, down below in the crowd.
"Boundless Sea," Blue Angel greeted as her fellow Charisma Duelist appeared, zooming down from the sky. The crowd predictably burst into loud cheers—Boundless Sea was very popular, after all. Even Blue Angel herself liked his deck and playstyle quite a bit—if she didn't like Trickstars so much, and she wasn't so committed to them, she might even have thought of changing her deck to the same archetype.
"Hello, Blue Angel!" Boundless Sea said cheerfully. "And hello, Soothsayer, and h-ello, everyone!" He turned to the crowd, turning up effortless charm. "I'm sure that everyone here knows that the three Charisma Duelists taking part in today's event are Soothsayer, Blue Angel and I! So I bet you're all wondering—who is my opponent, if the two of them have already put on such a great show?"
He gestured to the crowd.
"Today, my opponent is one of you!"
"He plays the crowd so well," Soothsayer murmured. "I'll be going now, Blue Angel."
"Feel free." Blue Angel watched as Soothsayer glided off—some of the crowd took notice, and some people even chased after her, hoping to see her unmask. The Charisma Duelists were all rather used to this, however, and at this point, they were used to hiding away before they removed the AR disguises.
Boundless Sea was riling up the crowd. Today was meant to boost the reputation of Charisma Duelists as a whole—to have Soothsayer and Blue Angel put up a flashy show, and then to have the most approachable of their number do a duel with a random person from the audience.
"Hmm…" Yuno glanced around. There were people raising their hands and calling for him to pick them, and really, Yuno just felt bad that he couldn't duel all of them. He didn't want anyone to go home disappointed after this.
Then, he spotted a girl in the crowd, seated in a wheelchair. The girl seemed to be watching the ongoing situation with a bored look on her face.
Well, that wouldn't do.
"You there, the girl with the violet hair!" He called, and the people in the crowd all looked around for the person that he was talking about. "Uh, purple-pink, bright—"
The girl in the wheelchair blinked, and then she gestured to herself.
"Yes, you!"
The girl sighed, and then she gestured to the wheelchair. "Can't get to the stage," she said. Considering the crowd of people between her and the place where Blue Angel and Boundless Sea were standing, it wasn't an unwarranted statement.
"Then the stage will come to you," Yuno said with a chuckle, casually gliding over to her. "Would you all mind making some room?" The other people around them backed away, leaving them with enough space to comfortably duel. He could see the duel disk on the girl's arm, after all. Now that he was close to her, he could see the reason why the girl was in a wheelchair—her right leg was mostly missing, stopping right above the knee.
"You look surprised," the girl said dryly. "And the name of violet-purple-pink is magenta."
"I thought that was the colour of a type of printer ink," Yuno joked.
The girl smirked. "I mean, whatever floats your boat." She yawned, activating her duel disk, revealing that the duel disk blade looked like a pink sword.
"Oh, cool duel disk!" Yuno activated his duel disk—a wide rectangle appeared, blue around the edges.
"Oh, right, the duel disk." The pink-purple—magenta-haired girl looked at her duel disk blade, as though surprised by its appearance. "... I forgot about that. Oh well."
"Is it special to you?" Yuno asked.
"Nah. Just… forgot that it's not a normal model here."
"Fair. You're from outside Den City then?"
"Something like that," the girl said enigmatically. Yuno landed on the ground, deciding that floating in the air was a little too condescending when dueling a girl in an wheelchair.
"So, can I have the name of my opponent today?"
"... Shino Gitsune." Shino tilted her duel disk towards him. "Trust this to happen on the one day that Sora ditches me…"
Well, she didn't seem too happy, but that was why Yuno had chosen her in the first place. He always tried to cheer up everyone around him.
[DUEL!]
Boundless Sea: 4000LP
Shino Gitsune: 4000LP
[Turn 1: Boundless Sea] [H:5]
"Draw," Yuno declared. "I'll Normal Summon Marincess Sea Horse!" A girl with orange eyes and platinum blonde hair appeared, floating on the field in front of him. She was wearing a blue dress, with gold and purple accessories decorating her shoulders, wrists, ankles and feet.
[Marincess Sea Horse (3*/1400/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]
"And I'll immediately open the circuit of the limitless ocean! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are a Level 4 or lower "Marincess" monster! I will set Marincess Sea Horse in the Link Markers! Shine, beautiful water creature that dwells in the depths! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1! Marincess Blue Slug!"
A blue-haired girl appeared. There were two orange feelers at the front of her hair—similar to those of a sea slug. She was wearing a blue dress with a yellow polka dot pattern, and with white frills at the bottom, as well as black thigh-high boots and a single black glove.
[Marincess Blue Slug (L1/1500/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/↓)]
"And with Blue Slug's effect," Yuno continued, "I will add a "Marincess" monster from my graveyard to my hand when she is Link Summoned, but I cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck this turn, except WATER monsters!"
"Thus, Boundless Sea," Shino said, smirking to herself. "Alright. That makes sense."
Yuno blinked in shock—did she not know who he was? Then why would she be willing to duel with him in the middle of so many people?
Was she the kind of person that just dueled for fun? Because in that case, Yuno was even happier with his choice to duel her.
"I'll add Sea Horse back to my hand," Yuno said. "I'll then activate the effect of Marincess Sea Horse! Once per turn, I can Special Summon her to a Main Monster Zone that a Link Monster's Link Marker points to!" The girl reappeared right behind his Link Monster.
Shino's eyebrows creased for a moment. Hmm? Why?
In the crowd, a blue-haired boy was just returning from the nearby ice cream stand, a pair of ice cream cones in his hands. He glanced around, green eyes wide with confusion. This had been exactly where he had left Shino when he had seen the ice cream stand, so where had she gone?
Then, the duel caught his gaze.
… ah.
This was supposedly the 'Link Dimension', but neither he nor Shino knew anything about the other Summoning Methods. And Shino had somehow been pulled into a duel with an idol? When they were just here to observe?
Sora grimaced.
He was going to get in so much trouble. But to be fair, he had literally left for five minutes! How had his cousin gotten in trouble so fast?
Also, how on earth was she going to duel without Fusion Summoning?
"I will then open the circuit of the limitless ocean again! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two WATER monsters! I will set Marincess Blue Slug and Marincess Sea Horse in the Link Markers! Appear now, colourful idol of the reef! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Marincess Coral Anemone!"
A pretty orange-haired woman appeared in front of him, wearing a white outfit with orange, pink and yellow highlights all over them. She had a white headdress with bright red beads around it.
[Marincess Coral Anemone (L2/2000/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/←, ↓)]
"Coral Anemone's effect," Yuno declared. "I cannot Special Summon monsters this turn, other than WATER monsters. Then, I can revive a WATER monster with 1500 or less attack points to the Main Monster Zone that Coral Anemone points to! I will revive Marincess Blue Slug!"
Best to take it easy on the first turn. He could always wait and see what the girl that he had challenged could do.
"That's my turn!" Yuno said with a chuckle. "Over to you!"
[Turn 2: Shino] [H:6]
"Draw," Shino said, glancing at the new card. She smirked. "... alright. I'm not that familiar with 'Link Summoning'. But I think this will work. I will Normal Summon Aluber the Jester of Despia!" A man with spiky red hair appeared, with a chequered black and white cape. He was wearing a red jester's hat with several spikes, and he tipped his hat to Shino, before turning back to face Yuno.
[Aluber the Jester of Despia (4*/1800/0/DARK/Fairy/Effect)]
"Cool monster," Yuno said with a smile.
"Just saying that to be polite?" Shino asked, arching an eyebrow.
"I never say anything that I don't mean." Yuno continued smiling, still just as earnest as before. Shino raised an eyebrow. For a moment, some of the tension that Yuno had noticed in her shoulders fell away.
Just for a moment.
"You're different from what I expected," Shino said, and Yuno blinked. That was a first. Everyone had always said that he was a bit too honest for his own good. "I will activate Aluber's effect. When he is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add a "Branded" Spell or Trap Card from my deck to my hand."
Branded? That was an odd name for an archetype, and not one that Yuno had heard of either. Pretty exciting! He always enjoyed dueling against new opponents.
"I will then activate the Quickplay Spell, Branded Opening. I can discard a card. Then, I can take a "Despia" monster from my deck, and either add it to my hand or Special Summon it in Defense Position. I will Special Summon Ad Libitum of Despia!"
A man shrouded in red appeared—he even had a red mask covering his face, which looked like a large iris and pupil. Purple fabric stood up straight, flaring around the collar, with sharp spikes pointing out of it. While the man's main body and legs looked perfectly normal, his arms were not—his left arm stopped at the elbow, with a long, five fingered metallic claw. The fingers were so long that they were each as long as the man's chest and head. The other arm was a long red scarf.
[Ad Libitum of Despia (8*/1500/2000/DARK/Fairy/Effect)]
Yuno whistled. "Nice scarf."
"Oh, really? The scarf is what you're noticing?"
"If a guy in a long red scarf came up to me, I'd probably think he was the coolest man alive," Yuno said with a chuckle. Shino rolled her eyes.
"I will activate the effect of Despian Tragedy, which I sent to the graveyard by the effect of Branded Opening. Since it was sent to the graveyard by a card effect, I can add a "Despia" monster from my deck to my hand, as long as it isn't Despian Tragedy." She picked up another card from her deck. "I will then activate the effect of Ad Libitum of Despia. Once per turn, all monsters on the field gain 100 attack points times their Level, until the end of your turn."
[Aluber the Jester of Despia: 1800 + 100 x 4 = 2200ATK]
[Ad Libitum of Despia: 1500 + 100 x 8 = 2300ATK]
"Of course, Ad Libitum is still in Defense Position, but that's inevitable. Aluber will attack Marincess Coral Anemone!"
The jester moved forward, his cape sweeping outwards. He summoned up a wave of shadows that consumed Coral Anemone in an instant, and Yuno's life points fell.
Boundless Sea: 4000 - 200 = 3800LP
"I'll set one card and end my turn."
[Turn 3: Boundless Sea] [H:5]
"Draw!" Boundless Sea declared. Alright, so her deck revolves around attack point manipulation, maybe? He considered his options for a moment. "I will Normal Summon Marincess Pascalus!" A young maiden with long pink hair appeared on his field. She was wearing a pink scarf that turned from pink to sunset orange at the ends. She was wearing a pink dress, and the sleeves looked like fins—pink, fading to translucent white. There was a ribbon at the back of the dress, which resembled a mermaid's tail.
[Marincess Pascalus (4*/1200/2000/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]
"And when Pascalus is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon a "Marincess" monster from my hand in Defense Position!" Yuno plucked out another card from his hand. "I'll Special Summon Marincess Crown Tail!" A black-haired woman appeared, grinning widely and menacingly, her red eyes glowing. Red fins could be seen in the places where her ears should have been. She was wearing a black and red dress, with black leggings.
[Marincess Crown Tail (5*/600/2300/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]
"Now, I'll open the circuit of the limitless ocean! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are three monsters with different names, including a Link Monster! I will set Marincess Crown Tail, Marincess Pasculus and Marincess Blue Slug in the Link Markers!" He couldn't help but smile even more brightly. The three monsters turned into blue streaks, floating into a portal. "Cybernetic dragon that crosses into reality! Now, infuse yourself with the ocean waves that crash against the shore, and pull the world into your magnetic field! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Magnetic Current Link Dragon!"
A dragon glided out of the circuit above. Its body was mostly purple on the surface—a pleasant, light purple shade. A large blue skull-like structure covered the dragon's head, and it extended backwards and up, forming two curving fin-like appendages on the sides of the dragon's head. The dragon had bright blue eyes. Blue patterns resembling the curves of waves could be seen, the lines too thin to stand out but adding a sense of layering to the dragon's scales. The dragon had two wings spreading out behind it, with the top of its wings having two long blasters where the supporting bone for the rest of the wings should be. The wings were a mix of dark blue and black metal, with thin electric blue circuit lines running across them. The claws of the dragon were a different colour from the light purple of its scales—they were crystalline, dark blue.
[Magnetic Current Link Dragon (L3/2500/WATER/Dragon/Link/Effect/←, ↓, →)]
"Link Dragon," Shino said, raising an eyebrow. "... interesting. So it's the same as…"
"Hmm?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just feeling nostalgic."
"... right. Anyway, I'll activate Magnetic Current Link Dragon's effect. Once per turn, I can target one Level 5 or higher monster on the field. I can take control of it until the End Phase and place it in a Main Monster Zone that Magnetic Current points to, but its effects are negated, and you gain life points equal to its attack points! Magnetic Drive!" He discarded a card from his hand, and he gestured to Ad Libitum, who was dragged over to his field. Shino blinked, seeming surprised, before a glow surrounded her, and her life points shot up.
Shino: 4000 + 3000 = 7000LP
"Why does your ace heal me?" Shino said incredulously, and Yuno chuckled, feeling nostalgic as well. He thought back to the first time he and Miharu had dueled.
"Why does your ace heal your opponent?" Miharu had asked, after an entire duel of not saying anything except for her moves. Not that Yuno had minded—he had dropped some light banter, but when facing such a quiet opponent, it was nice to fill in the gaps in conversation.
"Oh, it's just the effect of the card." Yuno laughed. "Plus, if I'm going to steal a monster from someone, it's best that I don't leave them with nothing!"
"… you're too nice."
"And you're too good! Come on, Miharu—you're the only one who I've never been able to steal a monster from." After all, Miharu's monsters were either low-Level or Link Monsters.
"True. I don't have room to complain. And it's a nice-looking dragon. I was just… surprised."
"I'll change Ad Libitum of Despia to Attack Position," Yuno declared. The sinister, clawed monster pulled himself to his full height, his head jerkily moving until it was straight on his neck. "Attack Aluber, Ad Libitum!"
"Sending my monster to destroy my own?" Shino laughed. "Jerk!" She clearly didn't mean it, which was good, because Yuno didn't actually want to upset her. "Sure, sure." Aluber was crushed by the long claws of Ad Libitum, though he managed a laugh before he was turned to ash.
Shino: 7000 - 100 = 6900LP
"And my dragon will attack you directly!"
Shino actually flinched at that declaration. Yuno frowned, and he turned to Magnetic Current with a nod. It was a hologram, but even so, if it got too close to Shino, it might frighten her.
"Circuit Breaker!" Yuno declared, and Magnetic Current breathed out a burst of electrified water from further away. It splashed harmlessly on the ground in front of Shino.
Shino: 6900 - 2500 = 4400LP
"I'll end my turn with a set card," Yuno said. "Are you alright?"
"Do I look fragile enough to be hurt by a hologram?" Shino said, regaining her composure a split second too late—allowing Yuno to see that she had clearly been frightened by the dragon. Why, though?
Sora stared at the dragon.
That thing. It's just like Yuri's…
Will Shino be able to fight it without trembling?
He remembered the first time that he and Shino had met Yuri. Yuri had just defeated a few Obelisks, and Sora had been avoiding eye contact with him—at that point, Yuri had already made himself known as a very strong duelist.
Shino, however, had stopped and looked at Yuri.
Sora had urged her to carry on walking, but Shino had simply blinked twice in that enigmatic way of hers, and said 'so that's what he looks like.' She had looked at his dragon, and that was the first time that Sora had seen genuine interest in her eyes for someone in Academia. (Other than that one person.)
Yuri had walked over, and the two of them had talked, and the moment that it was done, Sora had pulled Shino along, chiding her for talking to Yuri in the first place. And she had simply shrugged, as though she knew something that he didn't. At the time, the look in her eyes was the look of someone who had found an answer.
The same look that she had now, as she looked at the dragon that Boundless Sea had 'Link Summoned'.
[Turn 4: Shino] [H:5]
"Draw. Ad Libitum returns to me." Shino's monster glowed, but then it didn't return to her. Shino blinked. "Huh? Is that permanent?"
"It's until your next End Phase," Yuno said.
"And then you can just steal it again. How broken." Shino cleared her throat. "But Ad Libitum's effect ends, so it goes back to 1500 attack points." She glanced at her hand. "... I will activate the effect of Albion the Shrouded Dragon in my hand. I'll send a "Branded" Spell or Trap from my hand or deck to the graveyard." She took a card from her deck, sliding it into the slot for the graveyard. "The effect varies depending on where I sent the card from. Since I sent it from the deck, I can place Albion on the bottom of my deck and draw a card. Then, I will activate another copy of Branded Opening. By sending another card from my hand to the graveyard, I will Special Summon Dramaturge of Despia in Defense Position!"
If Ad Libitum was horrific because of its long claws and its red theme, then the monster that appeared was almost a mirrored version of it. The monster that appeared had a white hood around its head, with a white cloak billowing out around it. There were bits of red armour on its body, and on the golden staff that it was holding. The staff was tipped with a golden symbol that resembled a sundial. Long wings billowed out behind it, white at the middle and red at the edges of the wings.
[Dramaturge of Despia (8*/3000/1500/DARK/Fairy/Effect)]
Summoning a monster that strong in Defense Position? Three thousand attack points was frankly an insane amount…
"And now, I have four "Branded" Spells and Traps in my graveyard. I'll activate my set card. The Trap Card, Branded Sword. By banishing all four of those "Branded" Spells and Traps, I can Special Summon an "Iceblade Token" for each one!"
Tokens, huh? Interesting!"
At the same time, four ice crystals burst into being in the four open Main Monster Zones. Then, they cracked, turning into icicle-like creatures, with claws and a strange red symbol on them.
[Iceblade Token (x4) (8*/2500/2000/DARK/Dragon)]
"Holy—four monsters at once? Was that your plan?"
"It was, because I can't use any of the other cards in my hand," Shino muttered. Oh. Yuno chuckled. Had she bricked that hard? Still though, for a backup strategy to summon four monsters that were all as strong as Magnetic Current Link Dragon…
Shino cleared her throat. "I'll have my first Iceblade Token attack your dragon!" She was clearly intending to sacrifice a Token to destroy his dragon, which wasn't exactly a bad move.
"I'll activate my set card," Yuno said. "The Trap Card, Interdimensional Matter Transporter! I can banish a monster I control until the End Phase!"
"Are you nuts?" Shino said bluntly, and she pointed straight towards her own monster as Yuno laughed. "Attack Ad Libitum."
"Since your monster declared an attack, I can banish Crown Tail from my graveyard," Yuno said. "And this turn, I don't take damage, if it's less than 1000 times the total Link Rating of "Marincess" Link Monsters in my graveyard! The total Link Rating is 3, so unless you can deal me 3000 damage in a single strike, it won't work."
Ad Libitum was destroyed, but Shino clearly gained no benefit from that. "I'll end my turn," she said. "No point attacking if I can't accomplish anything."
The Tokens still remained on the field. Uh, that was a bit of a problem.
Still though, Yuno would never back down from a challenge like this. (He'd always been bad at rejecting challenges, period.)
[Turn 5: Boundless Sea] [H:3]
"Draw," Yuno said cheerfully. "During the end of your turn, my dragon returns to me!" Magnetic Current Link Dragon reappeared on his field. "And guess what? You miscalculated!"
"I did?"
"Because you left a Level 5 or higher monster with higher attack points on your field," Yuno declared. "Magnetic Current Link Dragon, use your power to take control of Dramaturge of Despia! Magnetism Drive!" The same electric waves shot out, resonating as they shot towards Dramaturge of Despia, pulling it over to his field. "And I will change Dramaturge of Despia to Attack Position!"
The white-themed… actor? Was this an actor? The white-themed actor moved to Yuno's side of the field.
"And I'll now Normal Summon Marincess Blue Tang from my hand!" A girl with dark blue hair appeared, with a frilly blue skirt, a bubble pattern on the lighter blue part of the skirt. She was wearing yellow gloves and a yellow set of beads around her waist.
[Marincess Blue Tang (4*/1500/1200/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]
"And Blue Tang's effect activates. I can send another "Marincess" monster from my deck to the graveyard." He grinned. "And since I summoned a monster to a zone that a Link Monster points to, I can Special Summon Sea Archiver from my hand, but it is banished when it leaves the field." A porcelain white seahorse appeared, formed with white metal, with a golden bell in its mouth. A golden ring of metal could be seen at the back of its head. A green, spiked tail could be seen curling out from beneath it.
[Sea Archiver (3*/300/2100/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]
"Open, circuit of the limitless ocean! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two WATER monsters! I'll set Marincess Blue Tang and Sea Archiver in the Link Markers! Starfish of the sea—Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Mistar Boy!"
A large red starfish appeared, with a single eye and a large, toothy smile. Colourful tentacles could be seen seeping out from its back. A black top hat could be seen on its head. Uh, top spike? Did starfishes really have a head?
Alright. Stay focused.
[Mister Boy (L2/1400/WATER/Aqua/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]
"Since Blue Tang was used as Link Material for the Link Summon of a WATER Link Monster, I can excavate the top three cards of my deck, and add a "Marincess" card from among those cards to my hand." Yuno picked up a single card. "And while I control Mistar Boy, all WATER monsters I control gain 500 attack and defense points!"
[Mistar Boy: 1400 + 500 = 1900ATK]
[Magnetic Current Link Dragon: 2500 + 500 = 3000ATK]
"Oh," Shino muttered.
Yuno laughed. "I'll have Dramaturge destroy your first Token!" The icicle was crushed by the pale man, and Shino's life points fell.
Shino: 4400 - 500 = 3900LP
"And now, Magnetic Current will destroy your second Token! Circuit Breaker!"
More electricity struck the field, and Shino's life points fell even further.
Shino: 3900 - 500 = 3400LP
"I'll set one card facedown and end my turn," Yuno said. "Your turn."
Shino drew a card, and then she chuckled. "Nothing I can do," she said. She bowed. "I know when I've lost… You're real good… you remind me of a friend of mine."
"Oh?"
The girl passed a hand over her duel disk, surrendering. Luckily, she didn't seem too upset. "That was fun," she said. "You're interesting, uh, Mister Boundless Sea."
Winner: Boundless Sea!
"Uh, thanks?"
Shino nodded, and then she rolled away on the wheelchair. Yuno watched her for a moment, before he remembered that he was in the middle of a crowd. "Uh, hope everyone enjoyed the duels today!" He called to the crowd, smiling brightly.
He still had to make sure that everyone here left with a smile on their face, after all.
"Shino, what the hell?"
"Hey, it's not like I asked to be chosen for a duel." Shino cleared her throat. "You saw what happened back there, that guy seems to be really popular—an idol or something? If I rejected him, I'd have looked really suspicious!" Sora rolled his eyes, pushing her wheelchair along the road, searching for a place for them to sit down and send back a report. "To be fair though, he was getting me really hyped up?"
"Huh?"
"I can see how he's an idol. I nearly said 'fuck it' and Fusion Summoned right then and there."
Sora blinked in sheer confusion and dismay.
"But that dragon of his is just like Yuri's. I guess that we should send a report back."
"Yeah, yeah. You're writing the report."
"Huh?... ok." Shino shook her head. "... I feel tired. Wake me up later." Then, her head slammed against the side of her wheelchair. Sora sighed.
"You and your narcolepsy… why are you here as a spy again?"
Sora grimaced.
Right. It was because his cousin was one of the strongest Obelisks.
Even so, he didn't like her being sent out like this. Next time, he'd make sure that he would be the only one.
He never liked having her in danger.
"Well done."
"Ah, it was nothing!" Yuno laughed, collapsing in the chair next to Miharu, his VRAINS AR fading away. "What are you working on?"
"Real Solid Vision." Ryoken had gone in at this point, and it was just the two of them on the roof. Miharu tilted her tablet screen to show him what was going on, though she was entirely sure that Yuno wouldn't understand. He had never known a single thing about code. However, he still nodded, leaning in to watch her. He hummed a song under his breath, and the two of them sat there, as she worked and he relaxed right there, by her side.
It was about an hour later when Yuno stood up. "I have to go home," he said apologetically. "Miyu's cooking dinner today."
"... thanks."
Yuno smiled, not even asking what she was thanking him for. He held out a hand, and Miharu sighed, raising her own. They performed their thirteen-step secret handshake, ending with a high five.
"See you tomorrow," Yuno said, and he couldn't help but beam at the small smile that appeared on Miharu's face.
Sometimes, he regretted the fact that he and Miharu lived on opposite sides of the city. It might have been nice to be neighbours with her.
For now, this much was enough.
"Yuno! Welcome home!"
Yuno waved as he entered the house, leaving his shoes by the door. Miyu was at the stove, and she waved back, smiling as brightly as him. His dad was helping to plate the food. The television was on, showing the Charisma Duelist channel—clearly, the two of them had been watching him duel. Yuno had never bothered to hide his double identity from his family, after all.
"Though you could've picked a stronger duelist to face against, huh?" His dad chuckled. "What possessed you to pick that girl?"
"Hey, if she could Link Summon, then she'd have kicked my ass on the turn she summoned those Tokens," Yuno said. "And besides, I wanted to cheer her up! She looked bored, for some reason… and we all know the Sugisaki family motto!" All three of them chorused it at the same time. "Always make time to help others see the bright side!"
Then, they all laughed.
"Go and put your stuff in your room," his dad said. "We're almost done here."
Yuno dropped off his bag quickly, heading back down and sitting at the dinner table.
"But speaking of the family motto," Miyu commented, "I'm still amazed that the biggest optimist I know calls the largest pessimist in the world his best friend."
His dad raises an eyebrow. "Wait, that Kogami girl isn't his girlfriend yet?"
"No, because Yuno doesn't want to make the first move for some reason," Miyu said. Yuno sighed, blushing slightly and taking a bite of rice just so that he could stall for time. He chewed for a bit. His older sister, however, didn't let him go. "Come on, Yuno. She's totally into you."
Well, Yuno wasn't that oblivious. He had certainly seen the signs, the biggest sign being that Miharu literally only ever initiated a conversation with him when they were at school.
"It's not like she's going to reject you, right?"
"... I don't know," Yuno said after a moment. "It's something about her that I can't really talk about for now?"
Luckily, they stopped pushing at him when he said that, though they did continue ribbing him for a bit. Yuno laughed along, though he did let his mind wander for a moment.
He wasn't exactly that oblivious. He could tell, from the first time that he and Miharu had met in the park, that there was something terrible that was hiding in her past. And whatever it was, until he knew what impact it had on Miharu to this day… he couldn't push his own feelings onto her.
He would wait for her.
And he was pretty sure that Miharu knew that too. So there was no need to rush anything.
He was happy with the way that things were right now. And the future only looked brighter for him.
Their father had once laughed and said that he had somehow managed to raise two children who were just as sunny as each other—and as him. (They all knew about how their mother had walked out on them.) Yuno personally thought that in an environment where he had everything that he ever wanted, it would have been impossible for him to not turn out so optimistic.
And he only ever looked forward to the future.
Duel 1 Summary: Blue Angel vs Soothsayer
Format: Normal Duel
Turn 1: Soothsayer
Soothsayer activates the Continuous Spell, Awakening of the Possessed. She Normal Summons Familiar-Possessed - Aussa. (4*/1850/1500) With the effect of Awakening of the Possessed, since she summoned a Spellcaster monster with 1850 ATK, she draws 1 card. Using the effect of Nefarious Archfiend Eater of Nefariousness (4*/1500/200/EARTH/Beast/Effect), she Special Summons it from her hand since she controls a Spellcaster monster. Then, using both of them as Link Material, she Link Summons Aussa the Earth Charmer, Immovable. (L2/1850/↙, ↘) Soothsayer sets 1 card facedown and ends her turn. With Awakening of the Possessed, Soothsayer's monsters gain 300 ATK for every Attribute she controls. (ATECU: 1850 + 300 = 2150ATK) "Charmer" and "Familiar-Possessed" monsters she controls cannot be destroyed by card effects.
Turn 2: Blue Angel
Blue Angel draws. She activates the Spell Card Terraforming, and adds the Field Spell, Trickstar Light Arena from her Deck to her hand. She activates Trickstar Light Arena. Blue Angel then Normal Summons Trickstar Candina (4*/1800/400) and uses her effect to add Trickstar Lilybell (2*/800/2000) from her deck to her hand. Lilybell Special Summons herself since she was added to the hand by a card effect. She targets Soothsayer's Set card with Light Arena's effect.
Soothsayer activates her Set card, the Continuous Trap Unpossessed. This cancels out Light Arena's effect. With Unpossessed's effect, "Charmer" monsters cannot be destroyed by battle. Blue Angel uses Lilybell and Candina to Link Summon Trickstar Holly Angel. (L2/2000/↙, ↘) With Light Arena's effect, Soothsayer revives Lilybell in Defense Position to Holly Angel's Link Marker. With Holly Angel's effect, she inflicts 200 damage to Soothsayer. [S: 4000 - 200 = 3800LP] Then, with Holly Angel's other effect, she gains ATK equal to the effect damage dealt by a "Trickstar" monster, including herself. (THA: 2000 + 200 = 2200ATK) Since effect damage was inflicted to her opponent, Blue Angel Special Summons Trickstar Narkissus (4*/1000/1800) from her hand to a Main Monster Zone that Holly Angel points to. Holly Angel's two effects activate again. [S: 3800 - 200 = 3600LP] (THA: 2200 + 200 = 2400ATK) Using Narkissus and Lilybell, Blue Angel Link Summons Trickstar Black Catbat (L2/2000/←, →) to the Main Monster Zone that Holly Angel's bottom-right Link Marker points to. Holly Angel's two effects trigger again. [S: 3600 - 200 = 3400LP] (THA: 2400 + 200 = 2600ATK)
Blue Angel activates the Equip Spell, Trickstar Magical Laurel. She revives Lilybell to Black Catbat's left Link Marker. Blue Angel has Trickstar Lilybell attack directly with her own effect. [S: 3400 - 800 = 2600LP] With Lilybell's effect, Blue Angel adds Narkissus back to her hand from the graveyard, and with Magical Laurel's effect, Blue Angel Special Summons Trickstar Narkissus in Defense Position to her leftmost Main Monster Zone, which Trickstar Holly Angel's bottom-left Link Marker points to. Holly Angel's two effects trigger. [S: 2600 - 200 = 2400LP] (THA: 2600 + 200 = 2800ATK) With Black Catbat's effect, Blue Angel lowers Aussa's attack points by 200. (ATECI: 2150 - 200 = 1950ATK) Black Catbat and Holly Angel attack Aussa, but Unpossessed protects Aussa from being destroyed by battle. [S: 2400 - 50 - 850 = 1500LP] Blue Angel ends her turn. (THA: 2800 - 2000ATK) (ATECI: 1950 + 200 = 2150ATK)
Turn 3: Soothsayer
Soothsayer draws. Since she controls a Spellcaster monster, she Special Summons Inari Fire (4*/1500/200) from her hand. Then, Soothsayer sends a Spellcaster monster, Aussa, and a FIRE monster, Inari Fire, from her field to the graveyard to Special Summon Awakening of the Possessed - Greater Inari Fire (5*/2000/200) from her Deck. Then, by targeting Holly Angel, Soothsayer inflicts damage to Blue Angel equal to the original attack points of the targeted monster. [BA: 4000 - 2000 = 2000LP] Soothsayer Normal Summons Familiar-Possessed - Lyna. (4*/1850/1500) With the effect of Awakening of the Possessed, she draws 1 card. Using Greater Inari Fire and Lyna, she Link Summons Lyna the Light Charmer, Lustrous. (L2/1850/↙, ↘) With the effect of Greater Inari Fire, since it was sent to the graveyard, Soothsayer can add a "Spiritual Fire Art" or "Possessed" Spell or Trap from her Deck to her hand. Using Lyna's effect, Soothsayer will Special Summon Candina to the bottom-left Link Marker of Lyna in Attack Position. Since she controls monsters of 1 Atribute, her monsters gain 300 ATK. (TC: 1800 + 300 = 2100ATK) (LTLCL: 1850 + 300 = 2150ATK) Lyna attacks Holly Angel, and with Unpossessed's effect, it gains 800 ATK. (LTLCL: 2150 + 800 = 2950ATK)
Blue Angel discards Trickstar Corobane (5*/2000/1000) from her hand to increase Holly Angel's ATK by her original ATK. (THC: 2000 + 2000 = 4000ATK) Lyna is protected from destruction by Awakening of the Possessed. [S: 1500 - 1050 = 450LP] She has Candina attack and destroy Lilybell. [BA: 2000 - 1300 = 700LP] Since a monster Black Catbat points to was destroyed by battle, Black Catbat inflicts 200 damage to Soothsayer. [S: 450 - 200 = 250LP] Soothsayer activates the Continuous Spell, Child's Play, and sets 1 card facedown.
Turn 4: Blue Angel
Blue Angel draws. Using the effect of Trickstar Light Arena, she targets Soothsayer's set card. Soothsayer activates the card before the effect resolves, activating the Trap Card, Possessed Partnerships, allowing her to Special Summon Familiar-Possessed - Aussa from the graveyard. Then, since she controls monsters with two Attributes, she can destroy a card on the field. Soothsayer selects and destroys Trickstar Holly Angel. Blue Angel uses Black Catbat and Narkissus to Link Summon Trickstar Foxglove Witch. (L3/2200/←, ↑, →) Child's Play lets Soothsayer gain 300LP. Foxglove Witch inflicts 200 damage to Soothsayer for every card on the field. [S: 450 + 300 - 200 x 6 = 0LP] Blue Angel wins!
Duel 2 Summary: Boundless Sea (Yuno Sugisaki) vs Shino Gitsune
Format: Normal Duel
Turn 1: Boundless Sea
Yuno Normal Summons Marincess Sea Horse. (3*/1400/1000) Using Sea Horse as Link Material, he Link Summons Marincess Blue Slug. (L1/1500/↓) With Blue Slug's effect, he adds Sea Horse back to his hand. Then, with Sea Horse's effect, he Special Summons her to the Main Monster Zone that Blue Slug points to. Using Sea Horse and Blue Slug, he Link Summons Marincess Coral Anemone. (L2/2000/←, ↓) With Coral Anemone's effect, he revives Blue Slug to the Main Monster Zone she points to. He ends his turn.
Turn 2: Shino Gitsune
Shino draws. She Normal Summons Aluber the Jester of Despia. (4*/1800/0) With his effect, Shino adds a "Branded" Spell or Trap from her Deck to her hand. She activates the Quickplay Spell, Branded Opening. By sending a card from her hand to the graveyard, she Special Summons Ad Libitum of Despia (8*/1500/2000) in Defense Position. Since she sent Despian Tragedy to the graveyard to activate Branded Opening, she adds a "Despia" monster other than "Despian Tragedy" to her hand. She then activates Ad Libitum of Despia's effect, granting all monsters on the field 100 attack points times their Level. (ALOD: 1500 + 100 x 8 = 2300ATK) (ATJOD: 1800 + 100 x 4 = 2200ATK) With Aluber, she attacks and destroys Coral Anemone. [BS: 4000 - 200 = 3800LP] Shino sets 1 card and ends her turn.
Turn 3: Boundless Sea
Yuno draws. He Normal Summons Marincess Pascalus. (4*/1200/2000) With Pascalus's effect, he Special Summons Marincess Crown Tail (5*/600/2300) from his hand. Using Marincess Crown Tail, Marincess Pascalus and Marincess Blue Slug, he Link Summons Magnetic Current Link Dragon. (L3/2500/←, ↓, →) Using Magnetic Current Link Dragon's effect, he takes control of Ad Libitum of Despia until Shino's next End Phase, and gives her LP equal to its original ATK. [SG: 4000 + 3000 = 7000LP] Yuno changes Ad Libitum of Despia to Attack Position. Ad Libitum attacks Aluber and destroys it. [SG: 7000 - 100 = 6900LP] Magnetic Current Link Dragon attacks directly. [SG: 6900 - 2500 = 4400LP] Yuno sets 1 card and ends his turn.
Turn 4: Shino Gitsune
Shino draws. She activates the effect of Albion the Shrouded Dragon (8*/2500/2000) in her hand. She sends a "Branded" Spell or Trap from her Deck to the GY, and returns Albion back to the Deck, before drawing 1 card. She then activates Branded Opening. She sends another "Branded" Spell or Trap to the graveyard from her hand, and Special Summons Dramaturge of Despia (8*/3000/1500) in Defense Position. She activates her Set Trap Card, Branded Sword. She Special Summons four Iceblade Tokens (8*/2500/2000) to her field in Attack Position by banishing four "Branded" Spells or Traps from the graveyard. She has an Iceblade Token attack Magnetic Current Link Dragon.
Yuno activates the Trap Card, Interdimensional Matter Transporter. He banishes Magnetic Current from the field until the End Phase. Shino has the Iceblade Token redirect its attack to Ad Libitum of Despia. Yuno banishes Marincess Crown Tail from the graveyard to prevent himself from taking battle damage that is less than 1000 times the total Link Rating of "Marincess" Link Monsters in the graveyard. Ad Libitum is destroyed. Shino ends her turn.
Turn 5: Boundless Sea
Magnetic Current Link Dragon returns to the field. Yuno draws. With Magnetic Current's effect, Yuno takes control of Dramaturge of Despia. He changes Dramaturge to Attack Position. Then, he Normal Summons Marincess Blue Tang. (4*/1500/1200) With Blue Tang's effect, he sends a "Marincess" card to the graveyard. Since a monster was summoned to a Link Monster's Link Marker, Yuno Special Summons Sea Archiver. (3*/300/2100) He uses Blue Tang and Sea Archiver to Link Summon Mistar Boy. (L2/1400/↙, ↘) With Mistar Boy, Yuno's WATER monsters gain 500 ATK. (MB: 1400 + 500 = 1900ATK) (MCLD: 2500 + 500 = 3000ATK) Dramaturge destroys the first Token, and Magnetic Current destroys the second. [SG: 4400 - 500 - 500 = 3400LP] Shino surrenders. Yuno wins.
OC Cards:
Magnetic Current Link Dragon
(L3/2500/WATER/Dragon/Link/Effect/←, ↓, →)
3 monsters with different names, including a Link Monster
Once per turn: You can target 1 Level 5 or higher monster your opponent controls; negate its effects, then, place that opponent's monster in a Main Monster Zone this card points to and take control of it until your opponent's next End Phase, and if you do, your opponent gains LP equal to the original ATK of the targeted monster. If this card is sent to the GY: You can Set 1 Trap from your GY to your field. It can be activated this turn.
End Notes:
So, in this chapter, we get to see some Charisma Duelists, along with seeing Yuno duel for the first time! In this story, Aoi is a year older than Yuno and Miharu, as is Miyu—Miyu is Yuno's older sister, and she doesn't duel. Yuno plays a Marincess deck, in homage to that. Blue Angel will mostly be sticking with Trickstars in the story.
The previous draft of these two chapters had a random OC named Bow Queen dueling against Blue Angel, with The Weather cards, but I ended up pretty dissatisfied with how it turned out, and I decided to just give an OC that will actually play a role later on some screentime. That's Soothsayer—she plays a Charmer deck. I understand that some of you might be turned off by the idea of so many OCs, but in reality, despite all of the OCs and legacy characters in these two chapters, only three other characters in these two chapters other than the main character will play an important role in the first arc. These two chapters are mainly to establish the settings before the plot starts, and I don't want the world to feel like just the OC counterparts.
I also contemplated having Blue Angel face Yuno, but I decided against it because I felt like it was too early for that. The two of them will certainly duel eventually though—Marincess vs Trickstar is too good of a duel to pass up, due to the significance both decks have in VRAINS canon. Plus, I wanted both Aoi and Yuno to win their first duels. The even earlier draft of this chapter had the mentioned Academia spy in this chapter—Shino Gitsune—duel Blue Angel instead, but her deck couldn't possibly match up without Fusion Monsters to Blue Angel if Blue Angel was taking things seriously. Yuno takes things in a way that is far more lax, so he took it easy on her because he thought that she was just a normal civilian. I think it's pretty obvious why a Branded Despia deck would struggle while dueling without Fusion, so I won't elaborate more on that.
By the way, the Link Dragon revealed here—Magnetic Current Link Dragon—is Link 3 because while most other fanfics I read have ace monsters who are Link 4, the other Dimensional Dragons only require two monsters to summon. Even accounting for the additional conditions involved (Odd-Eyes Dragon needing to be Normal Summoned, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon needing two monsters of the same Level, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon needing a Tuner and Starving Venom Fusion Dragon requiring an additional Fusion effect), I don't think that Magnetic Current should be Link 4. Also, I'd have to make him stupidly overpowered to make him worth using four monsters to summon, when Marincess monsters have two other Link 4s. I'm rather satisfied with the summoning requirements that I gave his dragon, and of course, I gave it a Level 5 or higher effect. Not that Yuno has the Link 4s of the Marincess monsters currently! He only has the Link Monsters up to the Link 3s. Miharu doesn't have Dryatrentiay either.
I tried to adhere to the idea that every Dimensional Dragon has something 'unique' about them that the Yu-Gi-Oh! Wikia mentions, though I altered what's 'unique' to them. Starving Venom is the only one to be stupidly broken in anime form have effects that affect more than one monster at a time, Dark Rebellion has an effect that can run out (Overlay Units), Clear Wing is the only dragon that can counter effects (Starving Venom's negation effect is Spell Speed 1), Odd-Eyes is the only dragon that can also be treated as a Spell, Magnetic Circuit is the only dragon that increases the opponent's life points, and Yuji's dragon, [REDACTED], is [REDACTED].
Also, in every draft of this chapter, I had to go back and rewrite the names of the Trickstar cards. The last time I played Trickstars was before they came out in the TCG, so I was unconsciously using the OCG names every time. (And just admitting that makes me feel older somehow.)
Anyway, shoutout to DSpaceZ and T.V. 2000, who guessed Yuno's deck immediately—well done! Thank you to everyone for your reviews—I enjoyed reading them. To T.V. 2000, I considered giving Yuno's dragon 2800ATK, but that seemed to be pushing it to needlessly broken, considering its effects. (Though after reading through the effects of all Link 3 Link Monsters in the game, I now think that they're perfectly fine and balanced.) I will give you a freebie and say that Yuji's dragon has 2800ATK though, because we won't be seeing it for a while! As for whether or not Yuno's dragon fits well in his deck, I'll leave it to you to have an opinion on that. And I do intend to give the other counterparts more relevance too. I don't intend to have my characters just do everything—for example, the duels that Yuya gets in the Synchro Dimension will all still occur, etc.
Also, there seems to be a common thread of people worrying that the bracelet girls are going to be damsels in distress—so what I will say is that there's no need to worry. Even if it may seem like it at first, I definitely intend on giving all of the bracelet girls additional screen time and plot relevance, especially Rin and Ruri. (I mean, come on. I feel like those two had so much potential that was never used.)
Thank you for reading this chapter too!