A/N: Thanks for sticking with this fic over the years—it means a lot. It's been a while since I've started a chapter with a quick note, but I wanted to remind everyone of something for those who might not know or have forgotten.
In this story, certain cards come with anime-style effects when they're used in a duel. To make it easy to spot, I'll mark those cards with an asterisk (*) next to their name.
Naruto stood on the ledge above the action, his hands gripped tightly on the railing. He arrived a couple minutes later than Yuma. And just quietly followed them in. His gaze shot downward, catching sight of Yuma and his friends, who'd managed to get themselves in trouble already, against three Duel Security Bots who had them cornered.
It was clear that these robots wanted to get rid of the intruders.
Beside him, Luna had a thoughtful expression. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she studied the Duel Bots below.
"Crackdown," she said softly, pointing with a slender finger. "They're using that trap to seize control of their opponent's monsters. It's a nasty trap card for sure." Then, after a short pause, she nodded toward the trio of Wind-Up Zenmaines that occupied the battlefield. "That one's no joke, either. It can negate its destruction by using one Xyz Material, and by the end of the turn, it'll destroy a card on the field."
Aside from the Wind-Up Zenmaines (ATK: 1800) on the field, the field also had Tin Archduke (ATK: 2200) , Antidote Nurse (ATK: 1800) and Twin-Tail Cat Lady (ATK:1000). All of them obviously snatched off of Yuma's friends through the effect of Crackdown.
Luna sighed, leaning a bit closer to Naruto. "Let's not waste our energy here. We've got bigger things to worry about," she said. "Why risk ourselves for people who aren't even part of our real objective?"
Naruto didn't respond. Instead, he tensed. Before Luna could say another word, he swung one leg over the railing, then the other, and stepped into empty air. Luna's voice rose in a startled whisper: "Naruto?"
But he was already gone, falling through the darkness of the building like an arrow loosed from a bow. Naruto's jacket snapped in the wind, his blonde hair whipping wildly.
As he descended, the Duel Bots and everyone below looked up in shock. Naruto's voice cut through the din of metal clanging and muffled cries: "My turn—I draw!" He slipped a card free of his deck with a swift swipe. All the while, his D-Pad beeped with a robotic voice: Intrusion Penalty, Minus 2000 points! It was a common price to pay for intruding on a duel that he wasn't originally a part of.
Naruto's LP: 4000-2000
"I summon Raidraptor—Vanishing Lanius*!" he called.
Without missing a beat, he revealed more cards clenched between his fingers. "Since I control Vanishing Lanius*, I can Special Summon two Raidraptor—Fuzzy Lanius* from my hand!"
Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius* LV 4 ATK: 1300
Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius* x 2 LV 4 DEF: 1500
"With these three Level 4 monsters," he shouted, "I will build the Overlay Network! Slumbering falcon, sharpened claws honed in adversity, raise them high and turn the wings of rebellion! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Raidraptor - Rise Falcon*!"
Raidraptor - Rise Falcon* R4 ATK: 100 Xyz Materials: 3
Luna watched it all, mouth slightly open, caught between admiration and bafflement. She hadn't expected this. None of them had. But as Naruto landed firmly on the ground below, Rise Falcon behind him, there was no doubt who held the momentum now.
The Duel Bots craned their featureless heads toward Rise Falcon. Their metal joints clicked and whirred, releasing a hollow chorus of sound. One of them emitted a broken, static-laced voice: "Analysis… incomplete. Attack value: one hundred. System error. Cannot compute."
As if in conference, they relayed their confusion to one another, spinning digits and blinking lights conveying the same grim conclusion: they were facing nothing more than a paper tiger. Surely, this flimsy creature couldn't threaten them.
Tetsuo's eyes widened from his spot behind Yuma. "Are we supposed to cheer now?" he asked, baffled. "I mean, I guess I'm grateful that Naruto stepped in, but what's a hundred attack points going to do?"
Yuma, breathing a little quicker, kept his gaze on Naruto. "Don't count him out. It's Naruto. He's got something up his sleeve—I know it."
Naruto's fingers curled around the edge of his card, the one that would turn all those assumptions upside down.
With a calm, steady voice, he announced, "I activate Rise Falcon's effect. By detaching one Xyz Material, my monster can absorb the Attack Points of every Special Summoned monster on my opponent's side of the field!" He swept his arm with a dramatic arc. Suddenly, from each of the Duel Bots' monsters there erupted twisting streams of energy. These lights, woven in silver and scarlet, shot through the air and coalesced around Rise Falcon. Heat shimmered through the passageway, painting the Falcon in a fiery mantle. Its wings now seemed to carry the weight of a blazing star.
The number that displayed Rise Falcon's Attack Points soared: 100, then 1600, then 3100, onward and upward until the Falcon's strength stood at a towering 9600 attack points.
A handful of moments ago, it had been a faint ember. Now it was a raging wildfire.
Naruto allowed himself a slight grin. "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon can attack every Special Summoned monster you control, once each." The Duel Bots emitted metallic squeals and jittered in place, their logic loops short-circuiting from this unexpected turn of events
"Error… cannot reconcile…!" one managed before static swallowed its protest.
The next heartbeat brought the end. "Flame Claw Revolution!" Naruto's words cut the night air as the Falcon dove, trailing a comet's tail of golden flame. The resulting explosion washed over the Duel Bots in a storm of embers and brilliant sparks. When the fires cooled, the Duel Bots all laid defeated.
Duel Bot #1 LP: 4000– 0
Duel Bot #2 LP: 4000– 0
Duel Bot #3 LP: 4000– 0
In the silence that followed, Yuma, Tetsuo, Cat, Kotori, Takashi, and Tokunosuke could only stare, awe painting their faces in open wonder. None dared speak for a moment. They seemed as small figures at the base of a grand canyon, dwarfed by what they had just witnessed.
Then more shapes emerged from the far ends of the building. Reinforcements. Rows of new Duel Bots clanked forward to finish the job started by the ones that came before.
Naruto took a step forward, raising a hand in a quiet gesture. "You all keep going," he said. "I'll hold these rust buckets off."
Yuma hesitated, but he knew he was running out of time to save Astral. Reluctantly, he gathered his friends and began to move. Yet as the Duel Bots advanced, surrounding Naruto in a tightening circle, he had to think perhaps he might have underestimated the sheer number of these dumb robots.
Luna's voice came from above. "It looks like you're in need of an extra set of hands." Without waiting for an invitation, she leapt from the same high ledge Naruto had used.
"This isn't going to be pretty," she said, joining him at his side. "But I suppose I'll lend you my help."
Naruto threw her a sidelong glance, some silent gratitude flickering behind his eyes. He offered a half-smile as he faced the oncoming horde.
"You can be surprisingly considerate sometimes, " he teased.
He clenched his fists, readying himself. "Let's hurry it up so we can greet Anna when she wakes up."
The life point counter on Astral's D-Pad flickered at five hundred - a death sentence in digital form. The cold space around him seemed to shrink, closing in like the walls of a tomb. Across the field, Kaito watched him, lips stretched into something that belonged to a predator in the wild.
The cards in Astral's hand might as well have been blank. Nothing left. No moves. No hope. Just the certainty of what came next.
Death. Real death. Not the kind you wake up from.
A voice cracked through the air behind him.
"ASTRAL!"
The sound hit him like a fist to the spine. He spun around, reality bending at the edges of his vision. Yuma stood there, doubled over, chest heaving. Sweat dripped from his chin onto the ground that wasn't really ground at all.
Yuma lifted his head. His eyes caught the life point display and he managed a weak laugh between gasps. "Five hundred? Jeez, you really know how to throw a game, don't you?"
"Impossible," Astral whispered. "This dimension-"
"Touching." Kaito's voice cut through their reunion like ice water. "The dead man gets a final visitor. Too bad he's just another worthless duelist who can't save you!"
Yuma straightened up. His breathing steadied. "You got it backwards, Kaito! With me and Astral together, there is something that can beat us!"
Something stirred in Astral's chest - not hope, not yet, but its angry cousin. He moved to stand beside Yuma, cards raised.
"He's right," Astral said. His voice found its edge again. "Yuma isn't just another duelist. And together, we're about to prove exactly why."
The room was mostly silent – saved for the sound of broken machinery from the damaged Duel Bots. Naruto and Luna sat back to back in the center of it all, their shoulders lightly touching as they caught their breath.
Luna tilted her head back slightly, brushing against Naruto's as she let out a long sigh. "These robots are insane," she said. "Wave after wave, and they just kept getting stronger!"
Naruto leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. His breath came slower now, more even. "They're probably running some advanced programming," he said. "Something that lets them learn as they duel. Every move we made... it just gave them more to work with."
Luna let out a short, bitter laugh, shaking her head. "Figures."
Naruto smiled faintly at her words, though his gaze stayed fixed on the floor, his thoughts miles away.
Then Luna shifted, leaning forward just enough to glance back at him over her shoulder. There was something teasing in her tone as she asked, "So... you think your little friend Yuma managed to pull it off?"
Naruto let out a low chuckle. "Yuma?" he said, glancing at her. "He's not the type to give up easily."
His smile faded slightly, replaced by something almost wistful. "He's optimistic," Naruto added, his voice softer now. "Always smiling, always thinking he can find a way. It's... annoying sometimes." He paused, his gaze distant. "But it reminds me of someone I used to be."
Luna turned her head fully toward him this time, a curious glimmer in her eyes. "Oh?" she asked, her voice teasing. "Who's that?"
Naruto didn't answer immediately. When he did, it was with a soft smirk. "Nobody that's too important."
Luna shifted again, her hand brushing lightly against Naruto's as she adjusted her posture. The touch was brief, almost incidental, but the warmth of it lingered. Naruto didn't think much of it, his thoughts still tangled in memories and the faint ache of old regrets. But Luna froze for a moment, her breath catching in her throat. She pulled her hand away quickly, her movements just a bit too quick, as if she hoped he hadn't noticed.
Her cheeks flushed faintly, and she turned her face away, letting her hair fall slightly to hide her expression. "I hope you're right," she said quickly. "About Yuma, I mean. I guess we're counting on him."
Naruto glanced over his shoulder at her. "He'll come through. I can feel it."
Then the floor beneath them shuddered. The vibration was small at first, a faint tremor that could have been a truck passing nearby. But then it grew—violent, bone-deep. The ground felt like it was rolling beneath their feet, and the metallic groans of the warehouse's skeleton grew louder, more insistent.
Luna's eyes darted upward, following a thin line of cracks spreading across the ceiling beams. "Naruto," she said, her voice tight. "This place isn't going to hold."
Naruto didn't need to be told twice. "Let's move," he barked, already grabbing her wrist and pulling her toward the nearest exit. "Now."
The two of them bolted, weaving through the debris as the building seemed to lurch around them. Chunks of steel and plaster fell like rain, crashing into the floor with deafening clangs. The air thickened with dust, catching in their throats and stinging their eyes as they sprinted for the exit. The heavy door loomed ahead, just barely visible through the swirling haze.
They burst out into the night, stumbling onto the cracked asphalt as the rumbling behind them hit a fever pitch. The rest of Yuma's friends stood nearby, their faces pale and stricken. Kotori was the first to rush forward, her voice frantic. "Are you two okay?"
Naruto was about to answer when the sound behind him changed—a deep, guttural roar that made every instinct in his body scream run. He spun just in time to see the warehouse erupt.
Flames tore through the structure, a blinding inferno that swallowed it whole. The explosion sent a shockwave that traveled outward, throwing them all back with the force of it. Naruto hit the ground hard, his ears ringing, his vision swimming as he scrambled to sit up. The building folded into itself with a groan of metal, collapsing in a heap of fire and ash.
"No..." Kotori's voice was small, shaking. Naruto turned to see her drop to her knees, her hands trembling as they clenched into fists. "No, no, no... Yuma's still in there." Her voice cracked as she screamed. "Yuma!"
Cat knelt beside her, her face buried in her hands, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Takashi and Tetsuo turned away. Even Naruto felt the ache in his chest, the sharp sting of something too close to grief. He clenched his fists, forcing the feeling down.
It wasn't over. Not yet. It couldn't be.
And then, through the smoke and the glow of the flames, a figure emerged. Small, stumbling, but unmistakably alive.
"I'm fine!" Yuma called, his voice raspy but filled with a grin too wide for someone who'd just survived an explosion. He waved his arms wildly. . "I'm fine! Told you I'd be okay!"
Kotori shot to her feet, her grief twisting into fury in the blink of an eye. She stormed toward him, her hands on her hips. "Tsukumo Yuma! Do you have any idea what you just put us through? We thought you were dead, you idiot!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Yuma said, holding his hands up in mock surrender as he stepped down from the rubble. His grin softened slightly as Astral appeared at his side.
Naruto, however, wasn't watching Yuma or Kotori. His eyes were locked on the sky, where a sleek glider cut through the night. Kaito was aboard, Orbital 7 folded into his glider shape, carrying him swiftly into the distance. Naruto's fists tightened by his side.
"One day," he muttered under his breath. "He's going to pay for everything he's done tonight."
The sharp chime of his D-Pad snapped him out of his thoughts. He glanced down, his brow furrowing as the hospital's name flashed across the screen. He pressed the call button. "Naruto here."
"Naruto," came the calm, professional voice of the nurse. "We wanted to let you know—Anna has woken up. She's out of her coma."
Naruto froze for a moment, the words settling over him like a blanket after a long, cold night. His grip on the D-Pad loosened slightly, his shoulders relaxing. "Thanks for letting me know," he said, his voice flat, though a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Luna watched him from the side with a knowing gaze. She didn't say anything, but the faint, pretty smile that curved her lips told him she understood exactly what he was feeling. Sometimes, words weren't needed.
Not in moments like this.