Starting Notes:
Welcome back! *claps hands together* Here, we get some of my favourite character interactions in the Standard Arc. And a certain duel. We may or may not have a really interesting duel in this chapter *whistles* This is 100% the last chapter before Christmas, so… Merry Christmas!
Chapter 11: Different Dimension Duelists
"Yuno? What are you doing all the way out here, silly?"
"... big brother," Yuno said, surprised. He held out his hand, taking the hotdog from his brother's hands. The two of them sat at the beach, watching the waves hit the shore. "It's just… peaceful."
"Well, you've always liked the water. That's why you have that dragon of yours, right?"
… he'd always had his dragon. "I guess so." He turned over to look at his brother. His brother had always been a rather tall figure, but Yuno had never been intimidated by him.
His older brother sighed. "You have to be more true to yourself, Yuno. Don't just mirror my opinions."
Yuno stared at the waves, not answering that. His brother chuckled, patting his shoulder.
"You may like the water, but you can't always be like the water, you know. If you keep on going with the flow, someday you'll look back and realise that you've gone down a path that you don't want to be on. And what will you do then?"
"But I don't know how," Yuno said. Sand trickled through his fingers as he pressed his hand onto the sand.
"Well, you have to stay grounded."
"Stay… grounded?"
His brother gestured to the water trickling down the sand next to them. "Make your own choices, if you decide to keep going with the flow. Shape yourself, with your own choices." He looked back at Yuno, smiling. "Maybe then, you'll find out what kind of person you truly are."
"But what if I don't like who I am?"
His brother laughed. "Who does?" He shrugged. "It's a struggle. We change day after day, as people. If you don't like who you are, work to change it. But only ever change for yourself." He opened up his bag, and then he took out a card, passing it to Yuno. Yuno, after wiping off his hands with a towel, took the card.
"G Golem Crystal Heart?" He read off the name of the card.
"It's one of my Link Monsters," his brother said with a chuckle. "But if you love the water so much, I'll give it to you, alright? We'll call this…" He tapped the card with a finger. "Your first step to understanding yourself. As long as you have this card, you'll always have something that you can fall back on—something that reminds you of this one thing that you love so much. So you can always come back to the water." He patted Yuno's head. "And of course, to me! We'll call that our bond—the bond of brothers."
Yuno held onto the card tightly, and he couldn't help but smile. His brother let out a surprised sound, before he ruffled Yuno's hair. Together, they continued to sit by the beach.
"… I see." Reiji Akaba leaned back in his chair. "We, of course, are very opposed to that man's plans. If you and your comrades agree to ally with us, we can work together to defeat that man and rescue your sister."
Shun leaned back in his chair, his hands clenched in fists on the fabric of his pants. "That is a fair offer," he said grudgingly. He didn't bother to argue against the idea that he had comrades—there was no point in hiding it, seeing as Reiji had already pointed out the differences in how he and Yuto were operating.
However, there was one thing that he did want to ask about.
"That girl," he said after a moment. "The one that brought me here. And the pink-haired girl from the other Duel School. Do you know why they look so alike?"
"I have no clue," Reiji said bluntly. "However, regardless of why, it is an undeniable fact that Academia is after the ones that share the same face. Kogami-san has shared that she and her friend, Sugisaki, were the targets of the Fusion Dimension back in her world. Another subordinate of mine claims that her friends in the Ritual Dimension were also kidnapped. If your sister shares the same face as them, that may be the reason that Academia took her."
Shun clenched his fists even more tightly. This entire time, he had been focused on getting Ruri back, but the question of why she of all people had been kidnapped in the first place had been resting over his head like a noose. Now, he had finally found the answer, but he was left with even more questions.
Why Ruri? Why them?
"We have the same goal, Shun Kurosaki."
"… perhaps we do." Shun rapped his knuckles against the table. "I still don't fully trust you. But considering that you're the most knowledgeable about the war, if you promise that we will find and save Ruri… you have an alliance."
Reiji held out his hand.
Shun shook it.
"Ruri?"
Miharu raised her head. It was nighttime, and she was just sitting in the park, breathing in fresh air, so it was a little more difficult to see, but she immediately identified the person that had spoken as a boy with purple and black hair. The boy was wearing goggles that were very similar to that of the other person who had called her Ruri.
"Are you Kurosaki's comrade?" She said, averting her gaze. "I'm sorry. I'm not Ruri."
"… oh." The boy sighed. "I'm sorry. Your face is… uncannily similar. I guess I should have known, after Yuzu…"
"It's alright." Just the way that he had been talking had already tipped Miharu off slightly about who this boy had to be. "I have a feeling that if I saw you before I heard you call me Ruri, I would have thought that you were Yuno."
"So it's true then," the boy said. He took off his goggles, revealing a face that mirrored Yuno's face perfectly. "There's someone who shares my face, and someone that shares Ruri's face in every world."
"Yes." Miharu cleared her throat. "And somehow, we're all equally close to each other."
"Are you and… uh, Yuno, dating then?" The boy walked closer. Miharu shook her head. "I guess it's not fully equal then…"
"… we're not," Miharu said. "But he remains precious to me."
"I understand." The boy sat down on the bench next to her. "… I'm Yuto Kamisoka."
"Yuto, huh?" All of these boys with 'Yu' in their name. "Miharu Kogami."
They both quietly sat there, contemplating everything.
"Let's work together from now on, then," Yuto said after a few minutes. "To protect those we must protect."
Miharu nodded.
"Oh! It's you." Yuto turned his head, though Miharu simply nodded. Yuno was walking over, his hands in his pockets, beaming at Yuto. "Uh, you, Yu…" He gestured with a hand, clearly trying to ask what Yuto's name was.
"... Yuto?"
"Yuto!" Yuno smiled. "Nice to meet you! You're the one that attacked Sawatari and put You Show through that, right?"
"It was never my intention," Yuto said. "What happened to them?"
"Eh. It was a draw, overall. Two wins, two losses, one draw. Reiji Akaba stepped in to duel Yuya, and then he got called out by Miharu." Yuno turned to Miharu, who nodded—she was the one who had sent the information about Shun to Reiji Akaba in the middle of the duel, after all. He turned back to Yuto. "This must be odd for you, huh?"
"Weird, but nostalgic," Yuto said, glancing at the two of them. "You're very different from me. And she's very different from Ruri. Protect her."
Yuno chuckled. "Hmm? Miharu can handle herself—"
"Ruri could handle herself too." Yuto glanced away. "Ruri was as strong as I am, and she was kidnapped by someone who looked like us."
Yuno thought about how he would feel if Miharu was kidnapped, and then he reached out, putting a hand on Yuto's shoulder. "We will get your girlfriend back," he said confidently. "Promise. I don't know what I would do if I lost Miharu… so I absolutely will not let this slide."
"I'll be counting on you then," Yuto said, smiling at him.
Miharu sighed, leaning her head on the bench. Boys and their overprotectiveness.
And then, the calm atmosphere was broken again, when two more figures stepped towards the park. One of them was Shun Kurosaki, and the other one was a girl with black hair, who was staring at her and Yuno with an… odd look.
"You two haven't met her yet." Yuto gestured to the dark-haired girl. "This is Nue Kamisoka, my sister."
Nue was still staring at them, and for a moment, Miharu thought that she saw hostility in the girl's eyes, before she nodded, not smiling in the slightest. Ah. Yuto seemed to be an anomaly among his group—as it turned out, both Shun and Nue fell solidly in the hostile and suspicious department.
"You. Kogami." Miharu turned to look at Shun. "... duel me. I need to confirm something."
"... I'd prefer not to."
"Then to show your strength," Nue said. "After all, Reiji Akaba said that you two and your friend are going to be our allies." She narrowed her eyes. "I sympathise with you, for being forced to escape your homeland. But you haven't gone through the same things that we have. You haven't suffered like we have. Our dueling has been forged and sharpened by war. How about yours?" She gestured to Yuno with her hand. "Or yours? Shun says that he saw you dueling today, and that you're skilled—but I don't believe that a born performer like you can duel in the way that you'll need to duel to survive, or a shrinking violet like her!"
Yuno bit his lip. His fingers pressed against the wooden bench, barely avoiding curling into a fist. "My dueling is not for the sake of war," he said. "It's for my own happiness, and that of others. I will fight if necessary, but don't judge us just because you assume that neither of us have suffered! We shouldn't have to share our past just for your satisfaction!"
"And in what way is your suffering equal to ours?" Nue said.
"I don't know," Miharu said, turning away. "We don't know anything about you at all. We only knew about the war when we escaped and came here."
"I think we should all calm down."
Everyone fell silent.
Yuto sighed, taking a deep breath. "No one here truly understands anyone else," he said. "And I don't want us to start a needless conflict. This is not either of our homelands. We are safe, and no one here is anyone's enemy, so Nue, Shun, cut it out."
"… I apologise," Nue said stiffly.
"I apologise too." Yuno took a deep breath afterwards. "… I'm still a bit angry, but… I understand that you were hurt badly. And I don't want to argue."
"Fair enough."
Miharu closed her eyes. "What happened to you all?" She asked.
Shun, Yuto and Nue exchanged complicated expressions. In the end, Shun was the one to explain it—the invasion of their home, the Xyz Dimension, by an unknown outside force. The city being destroyed and turned into a hellscape, people being sealed into cards—
"They can seal people into cards?" Yuno interrupted, horror in his eyes.
Shun nodded, looking somewhat pained. "I don't know why they kidnapped Ruri instead of carding her," he said. "But it means that I have a chance to get her back."
"I just want to figure out if Academia has a way to uncard people," Nue admitted. "My parents and my teacher, and most of my classmates… they were all mine to protect, and I failed. If it turns out that carding is permanent after all… I don't know what I'll do." She waved out a hand. "And all the people in this city… to them, dueling is just fun. They lack ruthlessness. They lack mercilessness. How will they survive, if Academia attacks them?"
"... if someone hurt my father or my brother," Miharu said, her voice barely a ghost of a sound, "I would never forgive them."
Nue's eyes widened. "And what would you do?" She asked. "Lock them away so that they become someone else's problem? Have mercy? Try to redeem them?" There was something mocking to her voice.
Miharu didn't care about that. She understood—this was a person who was striking out at anyone and everyone that she could, because her true enemy was too far away to reach. "I would make sure that they would never be a problem again," she said, meeting Nue's gaze unflinchingly. "I am not naive. And I trust nothing but my own justice."
"... your turn," Nue said, raising her head. "What made you this way?"
"Hey—" Yuno tried to intercede, but Miharu reached out, taking his hand and gesturing that it was alright. Yuno sighed, relaxing and patting her shoulder with his other hand.
"My entire life, I was searching for a purpose," Miharu began. "I started off lost. I didn't know what was 'good', or what was 'evil'. I didn't know that the situation I was in was 'cruel', or 'immoral'. I never lost myself, because I never had a sense of self in the first place." She touched her duel disk. "I had to learn how to be a human, step by step. Even now, I'm still not sure of what 'right and wrong' is. The thing I call my own justice was born of a desire to do something with my life. I cannot feel in the way that some other people feel… but it doesn't stop me from wanting to save others. Even now, I just want to do what I can. I don't think we can quantify suffering, but I still don't know if I truly suffered. I can only acknowledge that situation as 'evil' because Ryoken told me that it was so. Nevertheless, must I truly have suffered to become your comrade? Shouldn't we work to ensure that no one has to suffer?"
That was the most that Yuno had ever heard her say. It was also the closest to an explanation of her past that Miharu Kogami had ever given him—and clearly, she had wanted him to listen too.
"We are not enemies," Nue said after a moment. "But I still don't acknowledge either of you as comrades. My comrades are those who have experienced what I have." She spun around, walking off. Casting one more look back at Miharu, Shun followed her. Yuto sighed.
"What's your opinion?" Yuno asked him.
"I just want to defeat Academia," Yuto said, smiling at them, seeming slightly tired but still honest. "And Ruri would have wanted me to trust you all, I think. So I will."
After that, they continued to all do their own thing. Just because they had some things in common didn't mean that they were going to spend all their time together.
Yuno, naturally, spent most of his time at You Show. All of the You Show members were spending time doing their own things—learning new summoning methods, or attempting to qualify for the Maiami Championship. Even so, since Yuno had a free pass into the Maiami Championship, he decided to just hang out with Yuya and talk to him, or with the rest of the You Show students, though he mostly spent time with Yuya. It was really easy for Yuno to just talk to him. The two of them had a very similar dueling philosophy, and Yuya seemed to have taken his philosophy from his father, as he had explained.
Yuno had admitted that he had no clue who Yusho Sakaki was, but that if he believed in making people smile with dueling, then he couldn't be too bad. Yuya's eyes had lit up.
On that day, the two of them were the only ones in You Show. It was the weekend, after all, so the kids were with their families. Yuzu and Sora were off training somewhere else.
"Do you know why your dragon is so similar to mine?" Yuya asked, as he reviewed some notes that he was holding onto. Yuno thought about his own dragon, and the 'Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon' that Yuto had in his Extra Deck. Externally, though, he just shrugged.
"Maybe it signifies a connection between us," he said, acutely aware of the fact that his face mask was the only thing stopping Yuya from seeing yet another thing that was similar about them.
Yuya chuckled. "Yeah. Maybe. You really are a born performer though, Yuno—my dad would've liked you, if he'd met you." He looked a little melancholy. "... and you're a lot stronger than me too."
Yuno whirled his head around, shocked.
"I mean, I apparently created a Fusion Monster out of nowhere. It just appeared in my Extra Deck." Yuya revealed the purple-bordered card in his Extra Deck. "And that's because of Yuzu… but I feel like I'm still not doing enough. I don't know if I'm strong enough."
"But that's the thing, Yuya. You have the room to grow." Yuno patted his shoulder. "Your Pendulum has the potential to become all kinds of things. As do you. And personally, I can't wait to see how you grow. Fusion is just the start. I believe in you. You just need to have more confidence in yourself, and in your beliefs."
"Thank you." Yuya smiled to himself, pressing his hands together. "Could you teach me how to Link Summon, Yuno? I mean, Link Monsters look super complicated, so I understand if you don't want to—"
"I'd be more worried that you don't currently have a Link Monster," Yuno said, folding his arms. But if Yuya became a member of Reiji Akaba's Lancers, Reiji might be willing to make him one of those cards. "But it's no bother, Yuya." He smiled honestly. "Anything for a friend. Well, let me see what I can do! So? Where should we start?"
"I can see you at the door, Yuno Sugisaki."
Yuno laughed awkwardly, walking into Reiji Akaba's office. "Hey," he said. "I heard that the Pendulum and Link research is going well?"
"Yes." Reiji raised his head, looking at him. "What is the reason you're here?"
"... eh, I don't think I can fool you." Yuno rubbed the back of his neck. "I'd like to ask for a favour…" He mentioned what he wanted, and Reiji nodded after a moment.
"We can certainly arrange that," he said. "We're already able to consistently get Link Monsters with effects, at least… walk with me for a moment." He stood up, and Yuno followed him, admiring the long, red scarf. They walked along the corridor, and then, they walked into a duel field inside of the LDS building itself. Miharu and Reira were both there, chatting quietly, and both of them looked up as the two of them walked in. Yuto was also there, and Yuno would admit that seeing someone who looked so much like him talking to Miharu did make him feel slightly annoyed.
Reiji turned to him.
"This is the Leo Corporation's personal card testing field," he said. He tossed two cards to Yuno. "And those are your first Pendulum cards. We just completed them."
Huh? His own Pendulum cards? Yuno glanced at them. Marincess Knifejaw and Marincess Angelfish, huh?
"Does Miharu have Pendulum cards too?" He asked. Miharu nodded, flashing two cards between her fingers.
"Just like you, she asked for one additional card to be made," Reiji said. "Except that while you asked for it to be made for someone else, she asked for a special card for herself. Neither of those cards are made yet, but…" He walked over to the other side of the field. "I would like to test a hypothesis of mine, Yuno Sugisaki and Miharu Kogami. Duel me."
"Both of us at once?" Yuno exclaimed.
"Correct."
Miharu stood up, patting Reira's shoulder, before waving to Yuto and walking to Yuno's side. "Shall we?" She asked. She turned to Reiji. "Are you aware of how effects work with Link Monsters when there are multiple duelists in a duel?"
"No." Reiji frowned. "That feels like an oversight on our part, but to be fair, Link Monsters have never been viable in duels in our dimension."
"I see." Miharu closed her eyes, pinching her nose. "Link Monsters must go in the Extra Monster Zone. That much remains true. Thus…"
"I've done these duels quite a lot!" Yuno gestured to the field in front of them. "Everyone is forced to use their left Extra Monster Zone. When a monster has Link Arrows that point towards the opponent's field, that arrow is treated as simultaneously pointing towards that zone on all opposing fields."
"I see," Reiji said. "So if you had a monster with an upwards-pointing Link Arrow in your left Extra Monster Zone, it would point towards the fourth Main Monster Zone of both Miharu Kogami and I."
"Correct!" Yuno grinned. "And if an effect says that a monster inflicts damage based on a monster that it points to, for example, I can choose either monster in that Main Monster Zone. But if it says 'destroy all monsters this monster points to', both monsters are affected. And all effects in that vein work in the same way, whether increasing attack points, healing, etc."
"Noted." Reiji gestured around him. "I assume that Action Duels are not your preferred format? Shall we just duel normally then?"
"I like the concept of Action Fields, but Miharu dislikes them," Yuno said. "Either way, if it's just skills—we don't need to put you at that much of a disadvantage."
"... you are confident." Reiji raised his duel disk. "Then, show me what you can do!"
Both Miharu and Yuno raised their duel disks in return.
[DUEL!]
Reiji Akaba: 4000LP
Yuno Sugisaki: 4000LP
Miharu Kogami: 4000LP
[Turn 1: Miharu] [H:5]
They all drew the top card of their decks, with Miharu being randomly assigned the first turn. She immediately placed down a card. "Spell Card, One for One. I will send a monster from my hand to my graveyard and Special Summon a Level 1 monster from my deck. Come—Sunseed Genius Loci!" The seed appeared, floating in front of her.
[Sunseed Genius Loci (1*/0/600/EARTH/Plant/Effect)]
"Manifest, the future circuit. Sow the seeds for my path. Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are one Level 4 or lower Plant monster. I will set Sunseed Genius Loci in the Link Markers. Appear now, young tree beginning to bear fruit. Circuit Combine. Link Summon. Link 1—Sunavalon Dryas."
Dryas appeared on the field, green fruits dropping down around it.
[Sunavalon Dryas (L1/0/EARTH/Plant/Link/Effect/↓)]
"Since Dryas was Link Summoned using "Sunseed Genius Loci" as Link Material, I can add a "Sunvine" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand." She plucked a card from her deck. "I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Sunvine Shrine. I can send a card from my hand to the graveyard to activate it. I'll revive Sunseed Genius Loci. And since I sent Aromage Laurel to the graveyard, I can gain 500 life points." A green glow surrounded her.
Miharu: 4000 + 500 = 4500LP
"Manifest again, circuit!" Miharu glanced at Yuno, nodding to him. Yuno nodded back. "Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are two Plant monsters, including a "Sunavalon" Link Monster. I will set Sunseed Genius Loci and the Link 1 Sunavalon Dryas in the Link Markers. Grow ever taller, set your roots down. Circuit Combine. Link Summon. Link 2. Sunavalon Dryades." The larger tree appeared behind her.
[Sunavalon Dryades (L2/0/EARTH/Plant/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]
"I'll set one card and end my turn," Miharu said. The next turn belonged to Yuno, who smiled, immediately taking a card from his hand.
[Turn 2: Yuno] [H:5]
"We won't attack you on this turn, Reiji Akaba," he said lightly. "Because we do play fair. I'll Normal Summon Marincess Springirl!" The mermaid with blue hair and a dark blue dress appeared, floating in front of him.
[Marincess Springirl (4*/1200/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]
"Open now, circuit!" Yuno declared. "Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are a Level 4 or lower "Marincess" monster! I will set Marincess Springirl in the Link Markers! Shine, beautiful water creature that dwells in the depths! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1! Marincess Blue Slug!" Another blue-haired girl appeared, adjusting her black glove as she did so, staring confidently forward.
[Marincess Blue Slug (L1/1500/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/↓)]
"Since Springirl was used as Link Material for a WATER monster, and I control a "Marincess" monster, I can send the top card of my deck to the graveyard." Yuno flipped over the top card of his deck. "It's a "Marincess" monster. So I inflict 200 damage to you, Reiji Akaba!" A bubble of water shot out towards Reiji, though it only decreased his life points by a small amount.
Reiji: 4000 - 200 = 3800LP
"And now, I will activate the effect of Marincess Blue Slug," Yuno said, as the blue-haired girl smiled widely. "I can add a "Marincess" monster from my graveyard to my hand!" He swiped up the monster. "And once per turn, I can Special Summon Marincess Sea Horse from my hand to a zone that my Link Monster points to!" The blonde girl appeared, smiling shyly as she hung out behind Blue Slug. Holding up a dainty hand adorned with a golden wristband, she conjured up a few bubbles in front of her.
[Marincess Sea Horse (3*/1400/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]
"Now, Marincess Blue Slug will attack Miharu directly!"
"Huh?" Yuto sounded surprised, and Reira had a surprised look on their face too. Reiji simply raised an eyebrow.
"Sunavalon Dryades cannot be targeted for attacks," Miharu said.
"But it does not stop monsters from attacking directly," Yuno finished. Blue Slug charged through, slamming straight into Miharu.
Miharu: 4500 - 1500 = 3000LP
"When I take damage, twice per turn, Sunavalon Dryades heals me by the same amount as the damage I just took," Miharu explained, a glow surrounding her.
Miharu: 3000 + 1500 = 4500LP
"Then, Miharu gets to Special Summon a "Sunvine" monster from her Extra Deck," Yuno said with a chuckle. "Why don't you do the honours?"
"I'll Special Summon Sunvine Gardna," Miharu called, as a warrior made entirely out of pale, polygonal wood pieces appeared behind the tree, holding up its shield-like arms.
[Sunvine Gardna (L1/600/EARTH/Plant/Link/Effect/↑)]
"I'll move to my Main Phase 2," Yuno said. "I'll open the circuit of the limitless ocean! 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!"
The orange-haired woman appeared, ever one of Yuno's most reliable monsters.
[Marincess Coral Anemone (L2/2000/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/←, ↓)]
"Coral Anemone's effect," Yuno called. "I will revive Blue Slug to her Link Marker. And now, for the third time, open, my circuit! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two or more "Marincess" monsters! I will set the Link 2 Marincess Coral Anemone and the Link 1 Marincess Blue Slug in the Link Markers! Beautiful aqua blue beneath the sea! With the cooling aura of the coral reef, submerge this world beneath the waves! Circuit Combine! Link 3! Marincess Coral Triangle!"
A green-haired woman appeared, with bits of purple coral as hairpins in her hair, keeping up a graceful updo. She was wearing a green top, along with a long blue skirt, which ran along a spectrum from green to blue. Blue bits of coral could be seen peeking out of her back, along with graceful blue fins that looked like wings.
[Marincess Coral Triangle (L3/1500/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/↙, ↑, ↘)]
Miharu nodded in acknowledgement—both of them understood each other's plans immediately.
"I will activate Coral Anemone's effect," Yuno continued. "I will add a "Marincess" card from my graveyard to my hand. Then, by discarding Marincess Sea Horse, I will activate Marincess Coral Triangle's effect. I will add a "Marincess" Trap from my deck to my hand. I'll set a card facedown and end my turn!"
"... interesting," Reiji said, pushing up his glasses. "I do have a small confession—"
"If your confession is that the system was rigged to give Miharu and I turns before you, you can save it," Yuno said. Reiji blinked in surprise. "It's pretty obvious. Miharu favours the first turn, I favour the second, and you wouldn't be doing a duel like this just to test the cards you gave us. You specifically wanted to test how we would work together, correct?"
"That's the first reason," Miharu said from next to him. "The second was to test our cards, as you mentioned. And the third was to test our morality." Yuno frowned in confusion when she said that. "Am I wrong, Reiji Akaba?"
"No," Reiji said. "You two are correct on all three fronts." He smirked. "Looks like this will be interesting, then."
[Turn 3: Reiji] [H:5]
"I do not want the two of you to lose before you show me your capabilities," Reiji said, pushing his glasses upwards. "Therefore, I suppose I will have to avoid defeating both of you this turn. I will activate the Continuous Spell, Dark Contract with the Swamp King," Reiji said. "I will Fusion Summon a Fiend Fusion Monster with cards in my hand, graveyard or field. However, I will take 1000 damage during my next End Phase. I will fuse D/D Lamia and D/D Berfomet in my hand!" He cast the two cards from his hand into the graveyard. "Grotesque God, drink the blood washed away by time, and now become one and give birth to a new king! Fusion Summon! Be born! D/D/D Flame King Genghis!"
A humanoid creature with desaturated red skin appeared, with a long, bright red blade in one hand and a red and gold shield in its other hand.
[D/D/D Flame King Genghis (6*/2000/1500/FIRE/Fiend/Fusion/Effect)]
"Inflicting effect damage to himself…" Yuno muttered. Did his deck heal him just like Miharu's deck then? Otherwise, that didn't seem like a very good way to manage life points.
"I will activate the effect of D/D Lamia in my graveyard," Reiji continued. "By sending a face-up "Dark Contract" card I control to the graveyard, I can revive her, but she is banished when she leaves the field." A snake woman with dark blue and white scales, as well as poppy red hair and arms that resembled flowers appeared on his field.
[D/D Lamia (1*/100/1900/DARK/Fiend/Tuner/Effect)]
"So he got rid of it so that he wouldn't have to pay the cost," Miharu muttered. "Economical."
"I will activate the effect of D/D/D Flame King Genghis," Reiji declared. "Since a "D/D" monster was Special Summoned to my field, I can target another "D/D" monster in my graveyard and Special Summon it. Return—D/D Berfomet!" A tall, yellow-skinned fiend appeared, with two sets of wings—one made of grey feathers, and the other black and leathery, just like a demon's.
[D/D Berfomet (4*/1400/1800/DARK/Fiend/Effect)]
"I will activate the effect of Berfomet." Reiji pointed to Lamia. "I can make another "D/D" monster I control any Level from 1 to 8 this turn. However, I cannot Special Summon monsters this turn, other than "D/D" monsters. I will make Lamia Level 4!"
[D/D Lamia: 1* - 4*]
"Two Level 4 monsters," Miharu narrowed her eyes. "This is…"
"I will overlay the Level 4 Berfomet and Lamia! In order to subjugate all that resides in this world, now, descend onto the peak of the world! Xyz Summon! Be born! Rank 4! D/D/D Wave King Caesar!" A man entirely in purple armour appeared, not a single part of him truly visible outside the armour. He was holding onto a large sword in his hands, as large as his entire body. He moved next to Genghis, the two kings standing side by side.
[D/D/D Wave King Caesar (R4/2400/1200/WATER/Fiend/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"A Fusion and Xyz Summon in the same turn." Yuno grinned. "Not bad!"
Reiji chuckled. "This much should be enough for now. Let us begin. I am well aware of the defensive capabilities of Miharu Kogami's deck. Therefore—attack Marincess Coral Triangle!" The water king charged forward, lifting the sword in the air, slashing it straight down towards Coral Triangle.
"Trap Card, Staunch Defender." Miharu called. "This turn, your monsters can only target the monster I select for attacks, and no other monsters. I will choose Sunavalon Dryades."
Caesar's sword stopped an inch above Coral Triangle's head.
"And since Sunavalon Dryades cannot be targeted for an attack," Miharu continued, "you cannot target any monsters on the field for attacks, this turn."
"Well done," Reiji praised in a calm tone. "I will set a card facedown. Over to you. It seems that you do have some skill in defending your comrades."
[Turn 4: Miharu] [H:2]
"Draw," Miharu said. "I will use the effect of Sunvine Shrine. Revive—Sunseed Genius Loci." The small seed reappeared on her field. "Manifest again, circuit that leads to the future! Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are two or more Plant monsters. I will set Sunavalon Dryades and Sunseed Genius Loci in the Link Markers. Let the shadow beneath the tranquil tree begin to take its own form. Circuit Combine. Link 3. Sunavalon Dryanome!" The large tree appeared, a protective defence in front of her, purple tendrils seeping out from its roots.
[Sunavalon Dryanome (L3/0/EARTH/Plant/Link/Effect/↙, ↓, ↘)]
"I will then activate the effect of Sunseed Shadow in my graveyard," she said. "By banishing it, I can Special Summon a Link 2 or lower "Sunvine" or "Sunavalon" monster from my Extra Deck with its effects negated, as long as it has the same name as a linked monster I control." Another copy of Sunvine Gardna appeared next to the first. "Manifest, my future circuit. Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are two Plant monsters, including a "Sunvine" Link Monster. I will set both Sunvine Gardnas in the Link Markers. Beautiful purple flower that longs for the sun. Circuit Combine. Link Summon. Link 2, Sunavalon Clytia!"
A woman made entirely out of purple petals appeared. Her hair was a darker indigo than the violet petals that made up her body, and her 'face' was simply two yellow dots that symbolised her eyes. Near her legs and feet, long green vines began to emerge from beneath the petals, rooting her to the ground.
[Sunavalon Clytia (L2/0/EARTH/Plant/Link/Effect/↑, →)]
"Once per turn, Sunavalon Clytia lets me shuffle a Plant monster from my graveyard into my deck or Extra Deck, and draw one card." She revealed Sunvine Gardna, before she placed it back in her Extra Deck and drew a card. "I will set another card and end my turn. Over to you, Yuno."
"Not attacking me," Reiji noted. "Interesting. From what I've observed, your only offensive monster is Sunvine Thrasher, which you already had the opportunity to bring out earlier. Why did you instead bring out another Sunavalon monster?"
[Turn 5: Yuno] [H:5]
"Draw," Yuno called, smiling widely as he saw the card. "Alright. Let's get going."
"Did you draw them?" Reiji asked. "That's fast…"
"We'll chalk it up to luck," Yuno quipped. "Alright, I've seen Yuya do it quite a lot of times by now, so… let's hope I don't embarrass myself. With the Scale 0 Marincess Angelfish and the Scale 6 Marincess Knifejaw, I will set the Pendulum Scale!" He placed the two cards on both sides of his duel disk. Signalling his success, two bright pillars of light formed behind him. In one, a girl with platinum blonde braids, dressed in a white dress appeared, black streaks across the white dress in vertical stripes. The dress went all the way down to her lower legs, turning translucent and covered with black spots at the ends. She had a triangular silver tiara on her head.
In the second pillar, there was a girl with an impish grin. Her hair was short, spiky and dark grey. She was wearing a black dress with white stripes instead. At the ends of her dress, instead of turning translucent like Angelfish's, her skirt turned to sharp, ripple-like waves. Around her wrists, she had holsters filled with knives, and she had a rather daring look in her eyes as she rose up in the pillar.
"With this Pendulum Scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from Level 1 to Level 5! Now, swing, pendulum, like the waves on the shore! Cast your light across the lost aether!" Two streaks shot from a portal that appeared between both pillars, as Yuno Pendulum Summoned two of the three cards in his hand. "Pendulum Summon! First, Marincess Mandarin! And second, Marincess Crown Tail!" In front of him, the two idols of the water appeared.
[Marincess Mandarin (1*/100/100/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]
[Marincess Crown Tail (5*/600/2300/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)]
As the two monsters appeared, Reiji Akaba nodded approvingly, as did Miharu.
"I will open the circuit of the limitless ocean," Yuno declared. "The conditions are one Level 4 or lower "Marincess" monster! I will set Marincess Mandarin in the Link Markers! Beautiful angel floating through the ocean, ascend now! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1! Marincess Sea Angel!"
His other most commonly summoned Link Monster appeared, floating in the bottom-right Main Monster Zone.
[Marincess Sea Angel (L1/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/←)]
"When Marincess Sea Angel is Link Summoned, I can add the Field Spell, Marincess Battle Ocean, to my hand! And I'll activate it!" Holographic waves burst forth around their feet. "And since I control two or more "Marincess" monsters, I can revive Marincess Mandarin to a zone that a WATER Link Monster points to! I will Special Summon her to Sea Angel's left Link Marker!" The orange-themed girl reappeared. "And now, all the conditions are complete! Let's invite my ace to the stage! Open, circuit! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are three monsters, including a Link Monster! I will set Marincess Mandarin, Marincess Sea Angel and Marincess Crown Tail in the Link Markers!" The three monsters shot up, turning into streaks of water that swirled around above him. "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!"
The aquatic yet mechanical dragon appeared on his field in the middle Main Monster Zone, pointed to by Coral Triangle's bottom-right Link Marker,, and Yuno laughed, reaching out a hand and patting the dragon's head as it leaned down.
"Hey," he said affectionately.
[Magnetic Current Link Dragon (L3/2500/WATER/Dragon/Link/Effect/←, ↓, →)]
"So this is your ace," Reiji commented.
"I will activate the effect of Marincess Knifejaw in my Pendulum Zone!" Yuno called. "Once per turn, when I Link Summon a WATER monster, I can inflict 400 damage to you, times its Link Rating!" From the Pendulum Zone, Knifejaw drew out three knives, tossing them all towards Reiji. The knives scattered around him, glinting with light.
Reiji: 3800 - 400 x 3 = 2600LP
"Then, while that monster is face-up on the field, it is treated as a "Marincess" monster!" Yuno grinned as Knifejaw floated to Magnetic Current's side, draping a necklace of seashells around his ace's neck. "And thus, now that it's treated as a "Marincess" monster, it gains 200 attack points through Marincess Battle Ocean's effect!"
[Magnetic Current Link Dragon: 2500 + 200 = 2700ATK]
[Marincess Coral Triangle: 1500 + 200 = 1700ATK]
"Next, since a WATER monster was sent from my field to my graveyard, except by battle—so, as material for my Link Summon—I can activate the Pendulum Effect of Marincess Angelfish! I will send a WATER monster from my hand to the graveyard to draw a card!" He sent the only card left in his hand to the graveyard, drawing another card.
"So the Pendulum Monsters that they made for you are meant to cycle cards and to support your dragon," Miharu noted. "But since Battle Ocean's effect also triggers when the monster is summoned, Magnetic Current still cannot equip monsters from the graveyard… even so, well done, Yuno."
Yuno smiled widely. "I'm not done though," he said. "I will activate Magnetic Current's effect! Once per turn, I can take control of a Level 5 or higher monster my opponent controls, but its effects are negated. I must place it in a zone that Magnetic Current points to, and then, you gain life points equal to that monster's original attack points! And there is only one target! I will take control of D/D/D Flame King Genghis! Magnetism Drive!"
Reiji chuckled. "An effect that is both cruel and kind, huh? What a pity, Yuno Sugisaki—I prefer to not show any kindness at all. I will activate my set card—the Trap Card, D/D/D Headhunt! Since I control a "D/D/D" monster, I can take control of a monster you control until my next End Phase, and it is treated as a "D/D/D" monster, but its effects are negated and it cannot declare an attack!"
Yuno's eyes widened in shock. Miharu also seemed rather surprised. Magnetic Current was ripped from the ground, pulled over to Reiji's field by dark hands, and purple energy pulsed around it.
"And as such, your monster's effect cannot resolve, because you have no applicable Main Monster Zone to place my monster in," Reiji said.
"That's a very similar effect to Magnetic Current's effect," Yuno said, trying to force down the feeling of discomfort that he felt, just from the idea of someone else using his dragon. He messed with his chain link bracelets, taking a moment to take a deep breath.
"Believe me, I am not unaware of the irony of taking control of a monster, whose effect allows it to take control of another," Reiji replied. "Even so, I believe it is still your turn."
Yuno nodded. "Coral Triangle doesn't currently have enough attack points," he said. "I will end my turn."
[Turn 6: Reiji] [H:2]
"Draw," Reiji declared. "I will activate the Continuous Spell, Dark Contract with the Gate. During my Standby Phases, I will take 1000 damage. Once per turn, I can add a Level 4 or lower "D/D" monster from my deck to my hand." He picked up a card. "Then, I will Normal Summon D/D Savant Kepler." A creature made of twisting dark blue and sky blue metal appeared in front of him, with multicoloured spheres spinning around it, just like planets in orbit.
[D/D Savant Kepler (1*/S10/0/0/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)]
"When Normal or Special Summoned, Kepler allows me to use one of his two effects," Reiji said. "I will choose the effect that allows me to add another "Dark Contract" card from my deck to my hand. I will add and activate another copy of Dark Contract with the Gate." Another Continuous Spell appeared on his field. "And with the effect of Gate, I will once again add another Level 4 or lower "D/D" monster to my hand."
Reiji revealed a card in his hand.
"I will then activate the Continuous Spell, Dark Contract with the Swamp King! Once again, I will use monsters in my hand and on my field to Fusion Summon. I will fuse D/D Savant Kepler on my field with D/D Necro Slime in my hand!" The two monsters turned into streaks, swirling behind Reiji. "Proud genius, be absorbed into the arcane swirl that takes in all forms! Be reborn into a new king! Fusion Summon! Come forth, ruler who carries the glory of God! D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc!"
A white-haired, vampiric-looking king appeared, wearing a black face mask, with two blue and red bat wings emerging from the sides of his head. He was wearing white and gold armour. There was a larger pair of bat wings emerging from his back. With a sound of distaste, he lifted a thin sword, gently running his fingers across its blade.
[D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc (7*/2800/2000/DARK/Fiend/Fusion/Effect)]
"Genghis will revive D/D Necro Slime in Defense Position. Now, D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc will attack Marincess Coral Triangle! Oracle Charge!"
"I will banish Marincess Crown Tail from my graveyard!" Yuno called. "This turn, I don't take damage that is less than the total Link Rating of "Marincess" Link Monsters in my graveyard times 1000! Currently, I have Marincess Blue Slug, Marincess Sea Angel and Marincess Coral Anemone in my graveyard! Their total Link Rating is 4! Therefore, I take no damage from this attack!"
The Oracle King glided forward, elegantly piercing Coral Triangle through the chest. Then, with movements faster than the blink of an eye, it sliced Coral Triangle to pieces. However, Yuno took no damage from the attack.
"And now, Coral Triangle is in my graveyard," Yuno continued. "So unless you deal me more than 7000 damage in a single strike, I don't take battle damage this turn!"
"And thus, you have saved yourself," Reiji said. "Very impressive. Now, Miharu Kogami. Am I right to assume that your Sunavalon monsters all cannot be attacked, including the new one that you just brought out?"
"You are correct," Miharu said after a moment.
"Very well." Reiji pointed towards her. "While Sunavalon Dryanome may heal you, I will at least see what your other monster does. Attack directly, D/D/D Flame King Genghis! Fire Stroke!" The sword slashed through the air, lit with fire, straight towards Miharu, who grimaced as she took the direct attack.
Miharu: 4500 - 2000 = 2500LP
"Thrice per turn, when I take damage," Miharu declared, "I can gain life points equal to the damage I took, and Special Summon a "Sunvine" monster from my Extra Deck. Restoration Fruit!" Dryanome glowed, and her life points shot back up.
Miharu: 2500 + 2000 = 4500LP
"Come, Sunvine Thrasher!" The green warrior appeared on her field.
[Sunvine Thrasher (L1/800/EARTH/Plant/Link/Effect/↓)]
"Sunvine Thrasher's effect activates," Miharu said, "but it resolves after the effect of Sunavalon Clytia. When I take battle or effect damage, I can target a monster on the field. Its controller gains life points equal to its attack points. I will choose my own Thrasher, considering that any other monster would heal you instead. Nature's Bounty." A bright glow surrounded her.
Miharu: 4500 + 800 = 5300LP
"Then, Sunvine Thrasher's effect activates. I will target Sunavalon Dryanome, and he will gain 800 attack points times her Link Rating." Thrasher glowed.
Reiji looked at her thoughtfully.
[Sunvine Thrasher: 800 + 800 x 3 = 3200ATK]
"And you were likely planning to use that effect to heal Yuno Sugisaki," he said. "Seeing as his monsters, as far as you knew, would have higher attack points than yours."
Miharu shrugged.
"I think I understand both of you a little better now," Reiji said. "You, Yuno Sugisaki, duel in a selfish manner. Yes, your intentions are ultimately good—you wish to make everyone around you happy with your dueling—but at the same time, it is ultimately selfish. You do all of that for yourself, to give yourself a fulfilling duel, because of how strong your sense of self is." Yuno chuckled, slightly nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck. "And you, Miharu Kogami. Your dueling style is selfless—it is intended to place all the burdens on yourself, and to protect you and anyone who is dueling alongside you. You duel not for the sake of yourself, because you have very little sense of self. You duel for others."
Both Miharu and Yuno were silent as Reiji continued to speak.
"You make an interesting pair, as a result. You do not fight, Miharu Kogami, until someone else chooses to fight you—and when they do, you win through defending yourself and taking their attacks head-on, moving according to their rhythm. And you, Yuno Sugisaki—you seek the fight, you seek a direct confrontation, no matter the obstacles in your way, but the way that you defend yourself… you refuse to let anyone truly impede the way that you do things."
Yuno shrugged. "Maybe that's true!" He said. "But are you criticising either of us for it?"
"No." Reiji tapped his duel disk. "I am simply curious. When you dueled in our dimension for the first time, Miharu Kogami, the name registered under your duel disk was 'Dazzling Spring'. I did not see what name Sugisaki's duel disk was registered under, but I suspect that it, too, was an alias. So, my question is this. You two have clearly dueled many times before, but never by each other's side. What shaped your dueling in this way? Why did you two duel under an alias?"
"... in our world, people used digital avatars to duel," Yuno said. "It was to maintain some level of anonymity. I went by Boundless Sea back there. I was a Charisma Duelist—which I suppose would be the equivalent to an Entertainment Duelist here? So I performed for the crowd, to make everyone happy." He laughed to himself. "But you're right. I only do it because it makes me happy, too. If one day, seeing other people smile didn't make me happy, I'd quit immediately."
"... Dazzling Spring was my alias, because I fought criminals," Miharu said. "As the second in command of the Knights of Hanoi, I fought those who abused the digital world, and the technology that we had in the physical world." She didn't explain herself, but the answer that she had given was clear enough.
Of course she and Yuno were different. The reasons that they dueled, the situations that they had dueled in, all of it was so different that there was no way that they would duel in a similar manner. Even so, why should that matter?
"I see," Reiji said. He smiled. "I appreciate your honest answers. Now, let's continue with the duel. d'Arc and Caesar have not attacked yet, but the summoning of that monster of yours—Thrasher—does make it difficult for me to continue with my Battle Phase. Very well. I will enter my Main Phase 2. Now, open, circuit of the dimensional demons! Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are two "D/D" monsters! I will set D/D Necro Slime and your Magnetic Current Link Dragon, treated as a "D/D/D" monster, in the Link Markers!"
"I guess it was too much to hope that I'd get Magnetic Current back," Yuno said with a sigh, as his monster faded from the field. More importantly, Reiji Akaba had figured out Link Summoning?
"Subjugating those unworthy, rise forth now, king of the nothingness! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh!" A tall king with dark blue skin appeared. Around him were many weapons—a lance, a sword, an axe—so many weapons that Yuno couldn't even count them all. Behind him was a black cape, which was practically dripping with weapons—blades hidden within, and many, many knives at the bottom of the cape.
[D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh (L2/1800/DARK/Fiend/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]
"Should we congratulate you, or…" Yuno shrugged. "Nice. You might be the only one that has mastered every Extra Deck summoning method, if that's the case."
"You flatter me." Reiji cleared his throat. "Gilgamesh's effect. I will place two "D/D" monsters from my deck in the Pendulum Zones!" He swiped out two cards from his deck. "I will set the Scale 1 D/D Savant Copernicus and the Scale 10 D/D Savant Newton in the Pendulum Scales!" The same two pillars of light appeared behind him, glowing brightly. Copernicus was a circular monster, with a bright light glowing from the middle of it. Newton, meanwhile, was a red and gold monster, resembling a Newton's cradle. "And then, I would usually take 1000 damage. However, while d'Arc is face-up on the field, I can choose to negate any effect damage that a player would take, and gain life points equal to that amount instead! Life Elation!"
A bright glow surrounded Reiji.
Reiji: 2600 + 1000 = 3600LP
"Any effect damage?" Yuno frowned. "Then that means…"
"My self-burning cards won't work either," Miharu said. "What a troublesome card to deal with."
"I will end my turn," Reiji said. "Now, enough of this stalling that you two are doing. Face me directly with your own strength, instead of trying to support each other constantly!"
[Turn 7: Miharu] [H:3]
"Draw," Miharu said. "I'll activate the effect of Sunavalon Clytia. By shuffling Sunavalon Dryas back into my Extra Deck, I will draw one card." She glanced at the card. "Then, with the Scale 0 Sunvine Sprout and the Scale 4 Sunvine Pithos, I will set the Pendulum Scales!"
The two pillars of light shot up behind her as well. In the left Pendulum Scale was a pretty sapling, with bright green leaves. However, at the place where a flower would usually be, there was instead a bright orb of light, glowing gold, shining over the sapling's leaves. Meanwhile, in the right Pendulum Scale, there was a large golden jar. The lid was slightly ajar, revealing a shining light that seemed to be trapped inside the jar. There was a flower growing from the bottom of the jar, slowly curling around it like a vine around a trellis, finally blooming at the top of the jar into a small, tender purple flower.
"Sunvine Pithos's Pendulum Effect activates! On the turn that I activate it, if my life points are higher than yours, I can destroy two Spells or Traps on the field! I will choose both copies of Dark Contract with the Gate!" The two Continuous Spells were both wiped off the field by two bright, glowing rays of light.
"Oh? Not going to try and defeat d'Arc and defeat me through effect damage?" Reiji asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," Miharu said. "That's too obvious. You'd be prepared for that, Reiji Akaba. After the cards are destroyed, I must take 1000 damage."
"Interesting," Reiji said after a moment. "I will use d'Arc's effect to reduce the damage you take to 0, and gain life points instead. Life Elation!"
Reiji: 3600 + 1000 = 4600LP
"Pithos's Pendulum Scale increases by 1 for every Plant monster I control. Therefore, with this Pendulum Scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from Level 1 to Level 5. Swing, pendulum! Manifest the shining road to the future! Pendulum Summon! First, Sunseed Twin!" The pink and blue monster appeared on her field, a vine dangling off the entangled fairies. "Second, Aromage Jasmine!" A girl with light purple hair and bright blue eyes appeared, carrying a basket of herbs at her side, as well as a staff in her hands.
[Sunseed Twin (2*/0/800/EARTH/Plant/Effect)]
[Aromage Jasmine (2*/100/1900/LIGHT/Plant/Effect)]
"Sunseed Twin's effect activates," Miharu said. "I can revive a Level 4 or lower Plant Normal Monster. I will revive Sunseed Genius Loci. Then, Sunvine Sprout's Pendulum Effect activates. Once per turn, if a Plant monster is Special Summoned, I can gain 1000 life points." The sapling seemed to curve downwards, facing towards Miharu and shining a bright light down on her.
Miharu: 5300 + 1000 = 6300LP
"When I gain life points," Miharu continued, "Aromage Jasmine lets me draw a card." She swiped up the top card of her deck.
"You've filled out all your monster zones now," Reiji said. "So?"
"You have no set cards," Miharu said. "So I'll take down as many of your life points as possible." She glanced at her field. Sunavalon Dryanome in the left Extra Monster Zone, its bottom-left Link Arrow pointing to Sunavalon Clytia, and Clytia's right Link Arrow pointing to Sunvine Thrasher. So there was one more available monster zone that she could Link Summon to, and that was the Main Monster Zone at the bottom-right Link Arrow of Dryanome. "Manifest, circuit! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two or more Plant monsters, including a Link Monster! I'll set Sunavalon Dryades and the weaker Sunvine Thrasher in the Link Markers! Appear now, beautiful woman of the ash tree! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Sunavalon Melias!"
Another one of the tree women appeared, the verdant green leaves around her neck standing out against natural-looking brown bark.
[Sunavalon Melias (L3/0/EARTH/Plant/Link/Effect/←, ↑, →)
"When Sunavalon Melias is Link Summoned, I can revive Sunseed Genius Loci!" The single seed appeared to Melias's right. "And I'll manifest my circuit once more. "Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are one Level 4 or lower Plant monster. I will set Sunseed Genius Loci in the Link Markers. Appear now, young tree beginning to bear fruit. Circuit Combine. Link Summon. Link 1—Sunavalon Dryas." She Link Summoned Dryas to Melias's right Link Marker again, though she couldn't use its effect since it wasn't in the Extra Monster Zone.
"However, the only monster that can attack is your Sunvine Thrasher," Reiji said.
"... that is true," Miharu said. "But even so… every monster plays a part. I'll activate the effect of Sunavalon Melias. Once per turn, a monster she points to can attack once for every "Sunavalon" monster I control. I control three. Power of the Forest!" All four monsters on her field glowed, with the other three seeming to transmit their power to Sunvine Thrasher. "Thrasher will attack D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh!" The green blade sliced down, cutting apart Reiji Akaba's Link Monster.
Reiji: 4600 - 1400 = 3200LP
"When D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh is sent to the graveyard from the Monster Zone, I can Special Summon a "D/D" monster from my Extra Deck or graveyard to the field in Defense Position," Reiji said calmly. "Gain the swiftness of a gale and become the cries of a newborn king! Be born! Level 7! D/D/D Gust King Alexander!"
A white-armoured figure appeared, with a green cape sweeping out behind them. They were holding onto a long white blade, and around them, green gales began to stir up.
[D/D/D Gust King Alexander (7*/2500/2000/WIND/Fiend/Synchro/Effect)]
"Another shield for yourself," Miharu muttered. "The second attack. Sunvine Thrasher will destroy D/D/D Wave King Caesar!" A second monster was cut down in a cascade of verdant leaves.
Reiji: 3200 - 800 = 2400LP
"Caesar's effect," Reiji said calmly. "I can add a "Dark Contract" card from my deck to my hand."
"The third attack," Miharu said. "Sunvine Thrasher attacks D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc!" The pale king was cut down by her monster—marking the end of her own Battle Phase.
Reiji: 2400 - 400 = 2000LP
"Three of my monsters, defeated in a single turn," Reiji commented. "And more importantly… it's rather subdued, but is this your own voice, Miharu Kogami?"
"... no comment." Miharu brushed a hand through her fringe, averting her gaze. "I end my turn. Yuno."
"Yes," Yuno said. He smiled. "I'll answer your wishes!"
[Turn 8: Yuno] [H:2]
"Draw!" He glanced at the card, and then he smiled.
"You have an interesting look in your eyes," Reiji said. "Well?"
"If only my opponent controls a monster," Yuno called, "I can banish Marincess Coral Triangle from my graveyard to activate her effect! I can revive "Marincess" Link Monsters with a total Link Rating of 3! Revive, Marincess Coral Anemone and Marincess Blue Slug!" The two monsters reappeared on his field. "And now, I will open the circuit of the limitless ocean! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two or more WATER monsters. I'll set Marincess Coral Anemone and Marincess Blue Slug in the Link Markers. Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Lovely sea idol arriving for the finale of the performance! Marincess Marbled Rock!"
The dark-haired woman reappeared. Water floated around her in swirls as she stared at Reiji's field with some disapproval.
[Marincess Marbled Rock (L3/2500/WATER/Cyberse/Link/←, ↓, →)]
"With the effect of Marincess Battle Ocean, I equip Marincess Coral Anemone, Marincess Blue Slug and Marincess Sea Angel to Marbled Rock!" Yuno called. "And she gains 600 attack points for each one, plus an additional 200 attack points since she is a "Marincess" monster!" The same three orbs shot up, swirling around Marbled Rock, before bathing her in a pale glow.
[Marincess Marbled Rock: 2500 + 600 x 3 + 200 = 4500ATK]
"4500 attack points…"
"I could use Knifejaw's effect," Yuno said, "but that'd be overkill. Attack D/D/D Flame King Genghis, Marbled Rock! Elegant Wave!" The dark-haired woman summoned forth a stream of water, which shot forward and struck down Genghis. And finally, Reiji's life points fell to zero.
Reiji: 2000 - 2500 = 0LP
Winner: Miharu Kogami & Yuno Sugisaki!
Yuno took a deep breath, grinning to himself.
"... you most certainly went easy on us," Miharu said. Yuno chuckled—who couldn't tell? If Reiji Akaba wanted to, he likely could have summoned a full field on the first turn, with the cards that he had in his hand.
"Perhaps. I wanted to see the two of you and see if those cards would work," Reiji said. He walked forward. "Those four cards that I gave you were unstable prototypes. And yet, they worked the moment that both of you put them in your decks."
Yuno tilted his head, slightly surprised.
"Perhaps it is something about the presence of a Link Dimension resident which stabilised these cards," Reiji said. "That would be odd though, considering that Link and Pendulum have nothing to do with each other. We will have to test that with your friend as well." He nodded to them. "Your card orders should be ready before the Maiami Championship. Take care."
Yuno stared at the grey-haired young man's back as Reiji walked away.
I want to win against him for real.
I guess I have to get stronger then. If I do that, Reiji Akaba might show his true strength.
Maybe then, it'll truly be fun.
Time flew by. Miharu and Yuno kept themselves on the downlow—after the duel where Yuno had exposed his deck to the other LDS members, Reiji had warned him against doing that again. Of course, the two of them still dueled each other without duel disks occasionally, just to keep their skills polished. At the same time, Yuno spent his time mostly with Yuya and Yuzu, while Miharu spent her time with Yuto and Reira. Nue and Shun kept to themselves. It was somewhat like how things had been back in the Link Dimension—he and Miharu doing their own thing, only seeing each other once or twice a day.
They were mostly rather relaxed.
After all, Reiji Akaba had informed them of when their 'debut' would be.
The Maiami Championship. They would both be entering under LDS's banner, in the Junior Youth category. This was intended to show off their strength to the citizens of Standard, to get Standard to accept them as part of the defence group that Reiji was going to form.
The day before the championship, Yuno was sitting in Miharu's room, his cards spread out on the floor. Miharu was also going through her cards on her bed. There was a sense of restlessness in the air.
"... what's that card?"
Yuno tilted his head back to see Miharu looking at the place where his Link Monsters were. He chuckled. "Huh? Don't you know my whole Extra Deck? It's—" Then, he realised exactly which card she was looking at. "... oh."
"... it must be important to you, if you have that expression."
"... I'll tell you about it someday," Yuno said, raising the card. 'Marincess Crystal Heart'. "Promise. Just… not now."
"Mm." Miharu glanced at him. "... you really did hold back so much as a Charisma Duelist."
"Mmm." Yuno chuckled. "I don't have to worry now though, huh?" He stared at the card for a moment. He reached into his bag, and he took out another card, putting the two right next to each other. Two cards that were the same card, just of different archetypes.
"So you can always come back to the water." He patted Yuno's head. "And of course, to me! We'll call that our bond—the bond of brothers."
It wasn't that he didn't trust Miharu. That would never be the case.
But this was a part of his past that not even Miyu and his father knew.
Before them, only one person had ever loved him. Between all of the lies and the facades, there had only been one person that had genuinely cared for him. And Yuno had never talked about him to anyone.
For now, he just wanted to keep this secret tight to his chest.
And speaking about his heart… Yuno would admit that the amount of time that Miharu had been spending with Yuto recently worried him a little.
"Hey, Miharu—"
"Yuno."
They both spoke up at the same time, and Yuno, like a coward, immediately abandoned any thoughts of what he had been about to say. "Mm?" He turned around. "What is it?" Then, he got a handful of fabric. Holding it out, he realised that it was a long, dark blue scarf. Nowhere near as long as Reiji Akaba's, but still rather long. "... oh."
The fabric felt rather warm.
"I was going to wait until Christmas," Miharu said. "But it seems like it will be wartime, at that point… so I decided on just giving it to you. Now, you can wear a scarf too."
"... you know exactly what I like," Yuno said, bunching up the scarf in his hands. If his gaze lingered on her for a little while longer, neither of them commented on it.
"Yuya! There's a package for you from the Leo Corporation!"
Yuya walked down, seeing the small package that his mother was holding out. He opened it, before he blinked as he saw a blue-bordered card inside. "Performapal Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie," he read, and he couldn't help but smile.
"Well, let me see what I can do!"
"Thanks, Yuno," he muttered to himself.
In another world:
Sitting in a room by himself, a white-haired boy stared at the ceiling, a tired and empty look in his eyes. There was a knock on his door seconds later. He ignored it.
The door burst open, and a girl in a wheelchair wheeled herself in. Yuji sat up, glaring at her. She closed the door behind her, before turning to him, smirking.
"You sure have caused a bit of a fuss, Yuji Fujita!" The girl said, tilting her head, her smile rather sharp.
"... get out," Yuji said bluntly.
"Oh?" The girl leaned on the armrest of her wheelchair. "But Yuji-kun, I come here in peace!" She lifted a phone. "After all, guess who managed to retrieve the camera data of the Doktor's lab after the incident?"
Yuji acted swiftly, snatching the phone from the girl's hand. However, the girl didn't seem fazed.
"I backed up that video file in seven different devices," she said. "Break it if you want! It's not going to affect anything!"
Yuji quietly groaned. He tossed the phone onto his bed. "Who are you?" He said roughly.
"You can call me Shino," the girl said, folding her arms on her lap. "Really, acting out so much when your friend's safety is on the line? Destroying all of the data of the prototypes and ruining all of the Doktor's incubation chambers? You've set that man's research back by about… I'll say half a year, at minimum. It's a lot of damage. Academia won't forgive you if they find out."
Yuji stayed silent, fingers gripping the fabric of his bedsheets.
"Or was it precisely because her safety was on the line?" Shino leaned back. "Because the very idea of someone putting one of those little bugs in her head was so awful that you couldn't stand it?"
Yuji's hands clenched into fists.
"Guess so."
"Did you just come here to taunt me?"
Shino stared at him. She smiled and held out a hand. "Show me Empty Abyss," she said. Yuji reeled in shock.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped.
"Oh?" Shino grinned. "I'm not an Academia fanatic in the slightest. I won't expose that tape of the Doktor's Lab. In return, show me Empty Abyss Ritual Dragon."
She had somehow known the full name of his ace. Yuji didn't understand how. However, he reached into his duel disk, revealing the card, though he obscured the image and the effect with his fingers, just to be contrary. Shino nodded as she saw it.
"So they all exist then," she said, leaning back.
"How do you know any of this?" Yuji demanded.
"How do I know?" Shino hummed. "I saw it in a dream, once." At Yuji's sceptical expression, she chuckled. "I get a lot of dreams, you know. Best not to question it!" She drummed her fingers on the armrest. "But honestly, Yuji-kun, I'm not your enemy."
"You're doing an awful job at convincing me of that." Yuji narrowed his eyes. "I don't trust anyone here."
"Well, good call. I'm entirely self-serving in what I'm choosing." Shino tilted her head. "But you amuse me! So I do have an offer."
"An offer?"
"I will do what I can to look out for your friend," Shino said. Her face took on a more serious look. "And in return, you never duel Yuri."
Never duel… Yuri? Specifically Yuri?
"It's not like I care about dueling," Yuji said, tacitly agreeing to her deal.
Shino chuckled. She turned her wheelchair around, though she said one final thing before she left.
"That dragon suits you, doesn't it?" She said rhetorically. The door clicked close behind her.
Yuji sighed. He was already rather tired by that one interaction. He did not want to think more about it.
He glanced at the card in his hand—the card that he had only ever summoned once.
Empty Abyss Ritual Dragon…
She's not wrong. You suit me, because I am empty. I have always been empty.
He heard a roar in his mind. He closed his eyes.
"... Chiaki," he murmured. "Hate me if you want… but please stay safe."
Duel 1 Summary: Miharu Kogami & Yuno Sugisaki vs Reiji Akaba
Duel Format: Battle Royale
Turn 1: Miharu Kogami
Miharu activates the Spell Card, One for One. She sends Sunseed Shadow (1*/0/400) from her hand to the GY to Special Summons Sunseed Genius Loci (1*/0/600) from her Deck to her field. She uses Sunseed Genius Loci to Link Summon Sunavalon Dryas. (L1/0/↓) She adds and activates Sunvine Shrine, sending Aromage Laurel (1*/800/0) from her hand to the graveyard. With Laurel's effect, she gains 500LP. [MK: 4000 + 500 = 4500LP] Using Sunvine Shrine, she revives Sunseed Genius Loci. Using Loci and Sunavalon Dryas, she Link Summons Sunavalon Dryades. (L2/0/↑, →) She sets a card and ends her turn.
Turn 2: Yuno Sugisaki
Yuno Normal Summons Marincess Springirl. (4*/1200/1000) He uses it to Link Summon Marincess Blue Slug. (L1/1500/↓) With Springirl's effect, he sends the top card of his deck to the graveyard. Since it's a "Marincess" monster, he inflicts 200 damage to Reiji. [RA: 4000 - 200 = 3800LP] He then uses Blue Slug's effect and adds Springirl back to his hand. He then Special Summons Marincess Sea Horse (3*/1400/1000) from his hand to Blue Slug's Link Marker. Blue Slug attacks Miharu directly. [MK: 4500 - 1500 = 3000LP] Dryades heals her and Special Summons a "Sunvine" monster from the Extra Deck. She Special Summons Sunvine Gardna to the bottom-left Link Marker. (L1/600/↑) [MK: 3000 + 1500 = 4500LP] Yuno moves to his Main Phase 2 and uses Blue Slug and Springirl to Link Summon Marincess Coral Anemone. (L2/2000/←, ↓) With Coral Anemone's effect, Yuno revives Blue Slug. Using Blue Slug and Coral Anemone, he Link Summons Marincess Coral Triangle. (L3/1500/↙, ↑, ↘) He sets 1 card facedown and ends his turn.
Turn 3: Reiji Akaba
Reiji activates the Continuous Spell, Dark Contract with the Swamp King. He fuses D/D Lamia (1*/100/1900) and D/D Berfomet (4*/1400/1800) in his hand to Fusion Summon D/D/D Flame King Genghis (6*/2000/1500) in Attack Position. He uses Lamia's effect, sending Dark Contract with the Swamp King to the graveyard to revive her. With Genghis's effect, since Lamia was summoned, Reiji revives Berfomet as well. He uses Berfomet's effect to make Lamia Level 4. (DDL: 1* - 4*) He overlays the two of them to Xyz Summon D/D/D Wave King Caesar (R4/2400/1200/OU:2) in Attack Position. Caesar attacks Marincess Coral Triangle. Miharu activates Staunch Defender, forcing him to target Dryades for attacks. However, since Dryades cannot be targeted for an attack, he cannot declare an attack. Reiji sets 1 card facedown and ends his turn.
Turn 4: Miharu Kogami
Miharu draws. She uses the effect of Sunvine Shrine to revive Sunseed Genius Loci. She then uses Sunavalon Dryades and Sunseed Genius Loci to Link Summon Sunavalon Dryanome. (L3/0/↙, ↓, ↘) By banishing Sunseed Shadow from her GY, she Special Summons another copy of Sunvine Gardna from her Extra Deck. Then, using both copies of Sunvine Gardna, she Link Summons Sunavalon Clytia (L2/0/↑, →) to Dryanome's bottom-left Link Marker. She uses Clytia's effect, returning Sunvine Gardna from her GY to the Extra Deck to draw a card. She then sets a card and ends her turn.
Turn 5: Yuno Sugisaki
Yuno draws. Using the Scale 0 Marincess Angelfish (4*/S0/1700/1300) and the Scale 6 Marincess Knifejaw (3*/S6/1400/800), he sets the Pendulum Scales. He Pendulum Summons Marincess Mandarin (1*/100/100) and Marincess Crown Tail (5*/600/2300) to the field. Using Marincess Mandarin, he Link Summons Marincess Sea Angel (L1/1000/←) to Coral Triangle's bottom-right Link Marker. Using Sea Angel's effect, he adds the Field Spell, Marincess Battle Ocean, to his hand and activates it. Using Mandarin's effect, he revives her to the Main Monster Zone that Sea Angel's left Link Marker points to. Using Mandarin, Sea Angel and Crown Tail, he Link Summons Magnetic Current Link Dragon (L3/2500/←, ↓, →) Using Knifejaw's Pendulum Effect, he inflicts 1200 damage to Reiji. [RA: 3800 - 1200 = 2600LP] Using Angelfish's Pendulum Effect, he sends a WATER monster from his hand to the GY to draw a card. He activates Magnetic Current's effect. Reiji activates his set Trap Card, D/D/D Headhunt, taking control of Magnetic Current Link Dragon until the next turn's End Phase, but negating its effects and stopping it from attacking. As such, Magnetic Current's effect cannot proceed. Yuno ends his turn.
Turn 6: Reiji Akaba
Reiji draws. He activates the Continuous Spell, Dark Contract with the Gate. With its effect, he adds D/D Savant Kepler (1*/S10/0/0) to his hand and Normal Summons him. With Kepler's effect, he adds another "Dark Contract" card from his Deck to his hand. He activates a second copy of Dark Contract with the Gate. He adds another Level 4 or lower "D/D" monster to his hand. Then, he activates Dark Contract with the Swamp King again. With its effect, he fuses D/D Necro Slime (1*/300/300) in his hand and D/D Savant Kepler on his field to Fusion Summon D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc (7*/2800/2000) in Attack Position. Genghis revives Necro Slime in Defense Position. D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc attacks Marincess Coral Triangle. Yuno banishes Marincess Crown Tail from his graveyard, to negate any battle damage lower than 1000 x the total Link Rating of "Marincess" Link Monsters in his GY. (Less than 4000) Coral Triangle is destroyed. Genghis attacks Miharu directly. She takes the damage, but Dryanome heals her and Special Summons Sunvine Thrasher (L1/800/↓) from her Extra Deck. Thrasher gains 2400ATK. (ST: 800 + 2400 = 3200ATK) Clytia grants her 800LP. [MK: 4500 + 800 = 5300LP] Reiji enters his Main Phase 2, using Magnetic Current Link Dragon, treated as a "D/D/D" monster, and D/D Necro Slime to Link Summon D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh. (L2/1800/↙, ↘)
Note: Going by the ruling of "Mask Change", a card treated as an "Elemental HERO" monster can be treated as a "HERO" monster. Thus, a monster treated as a "D/D/D" monster can be treated as a "D/D" monster.
With its effect, Reiji places D/D/D Savant Copernicus (4*/S1/0/0) and D/D/D Savant Newton (7*/S10/0/0) in his Pendulum Scales. He takes 1000 damage, and with d'Arc's effect, gains LP instead. [RA: 2600 + 1000 = 3600LP]
Turn 7: Miharu Kogami
Miharu draws. Miharu uses Clytia's effect to return Dryas to the Extra Deck to draw one card. She sets the Scale 0 Sunvine Sprout (1*/S0/0/200) and the Scale 4 Sunvine Pithos (1*/S4/0/0) in the Pendulum Scales. She uses the Pendulum Effect of Sunvine Pithos to destroy both copies of Dark Contract with the Gate that Reiji controls. She should take 1000 damage, but Reiji uses d'Arc's effect to gain 1000LP instead. [RA: 3600 + 1000 = 4600LP] Then, she Pendulum Summons Sunseed Twin (2*/0/800) and Aromage Jasmine. (2*/100/1900) With the Pendulum Effect of Sunvine Sprout, she gains 1000LP. [MK: 5300 + 1000 = 6300LP] With Jasmine's effect, she draws a card. With Twin's effect, she revives Sunseed Genius Loci. She then uses Loci, Jasmine and Twin to Link Summon Sunavalon Melias (L3/0/←, ↑, →) to the bottom-right Link Marker of Sunavalon Dryanome. With Sunavalon Melias's effect, she revives Sunseed Genius Loci. With Sunseed Genius Loci, she Link Summons Sunavalon Dryas. She uses Melias's effect to grant Thrasher an attack for every "Sunavalon" monster on the field. There are three "Sunavalon" monsters on the field. Thrasher attacks and destroys Gilgamesh, Caesar and d'Arc. [RA: 4600 - 2000LP] Since Gilgamesh was destroyed, Reiji Special Summons D/D/D Gust King Alexander (7*/2500/2000) from his Extra Deck. Miharu ends her turn.
Turn 8: Yuno Sugisaki
Yuno draws. He banishes Coral Triangle from the GY to revive Coral Anemone and Blue Slug. He uses them to Link Summon Marincess Marbled Rock (L3/2500/←, ↓, →) to his Extra Monster Zone. He then uses Battle Ocean's effect to equip Coral Anemone, Blue Slug and Sea Angel to Marbled Rock, increasing its ATK. (MMR: 2500 + 2000 = 4500ATK) Marbled Rock attacks Genghis. [RA: 2000 - 2500 = 0LP] Miharu and Yuno win.
OC Cards:
Sunavalon Clytia
(L2/0/EARTH/Plant/Link/Effect/↑, →)
2 Plant monsters, including a "Sunvine" Link Monster
This card cannot be targeted for attacks, but does not prevent your opponent from attacking you directly. If you take battle or effect damage: You can target 1 monster on the field; its controller gains LP equal to its ATK. You can return 1 Plant monster from your GY to the Deck or Extra Deck; draw 1 card. You can only activate this effect of "Sunavalon Clytia" once per turn.
Marincess Angelfish
(4*/S0/1700/1300/WATER/Cyberse/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect)
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, if a WATER monster you control is sent to the GY, except by battle: You can send 1 WATER monster from your hand to the GY; draw 1 card.
If this card is Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Marincess Token" (Cyberse/WATER/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) to your field in Defense Position, and if you do, this turn, if you Link Summon a "Marincess" Link Monster, you can gain LP equal to its ATK. You can only activate this effect of "Marincess Angelfish" once per turn.
Marincess Knifejaw
(3*/S6/1400/800/WATER/Cyberse/Pendulum/Effect)
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, if you Link Summon a WATER Link Monster: You can inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's Link Rating x 400, and if you do, while it is face-up on the field, treat it as a "Marincess" monster.
Once per turn: You can target 1 WATER monster you control; it gains 400 ATK for each WATER monster you control. You can only activate this effect of "Marincess Knifejaw" once per turn.
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.
Sunvine Sprout
(1*/S0/0/200/EARTH/Plant/Pendulum/Effect)
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, if a Plant monster(s) is Special Summoned: Gain 1000LP. If this card is destroyed: You can Special Summon 1 Level 6 or lower Plant monster from your Deck.
If this card is Special Summoned while your LP is higher than your opponent's LP: You can Tribute this card; excavate the top 3 cards of your Deck, and if you do, add 1 Spell/Trap card from among them to your hand.
Sunvine Pithos
(1*/S4/0/0/EARTH/Plant/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect)
Pendulum Effect: This card's Pendulum Scale increases by 1 for every Plant monster you control. On the turn that you activate this card, if your LP is higher than your opponent's: You can destroy 2 Spell/Trap cards on the field, and if you do, take 1000 damage.
This card cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card battles a monster with 1000 or higher DEF while you have higher LP than your opponent: At the end of the Damage Step, destroy that monster.
Different Card Effects from TCG:
Staunch Defender - This is a special case, because I am using the TCG effect, but not some of the Upper Deck TCG rulings, which say that certain monsters that cannot be targeted for attacks cannot be selected for the effect. This is because… well, I didn't see those rulings until five turns into the duel. So for convenience's sake, that ruling doesn't apply.
D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc - Uses its anime effect.
End Notes:
Yeah, we're skipping the whole 'Shun hunts people randomly because they use Fusion' arc. Plus, the fact that Yuya sees Shun attacking people and somehow never talks about it with Shun (if I remember correctly) just makes me uneasy. So we are going to resolve this peacefully. Nothing big happens in the lead-up to the Maiami Championship, so I have decided that similar to canon, we're going to focus on character interactions, minus the mildly cringy duels.
Since Yuno's previous foster brother will never show up in person, I will confirm that he's based on Earth. Like I said, the Ignis don't exist, but I did think that it was a cool way to give Crystal Heart a similar meaning to what it has in the VRAINS anime proper.
Also, addressing the Maiami Championship—I have shoved out the five extras (Knights of Duels, Kachidoki's classmates), since they only existed to (1) be killed by Obelisk Force to show how strong Academia was, and (2) get wrecked by Yugo. As such, there'll be some more actually equal fights during the Battle Royale, so that should be fun. I hope no one's too attached to the extras. :)
I have also decided that officially, there is no limit to the number of cards in the Main Deck or Extra Deck. I know that most fics ignore the deck limit anyway, but I'm just pointing it out because Reira's Extra Deck has to account for several different Attributes and Level ranges for every summoning method. In this world, it's just common knowledge that having too many cards in a deck makes it difficult to draw what you want, so people still run 40-60 card decks usually, and mill decks can still work. Now that it's relevant, Pendulum cards in this story are still in separate zones from the Spell/Trap Zones, and they are treated as only being in the same column as the opposite Pendulum Zone.
I had such a strong internal debate about whether to use Japanese or English names for the D/D monsters. In the end, I went with TCG names. Both versions are cool, though! Also, Reiji Akaba just jumped into the plot, demanding a duel. Like, this was not planned. I cannot stress how 'not planned' this duel was. This chapter wasn't even supposed to have a duel in it back when I outlined it, and then when I was writing it, Reiji was like 'nope' and I was like 'ugh, fine', because it's perfectly in character for him to duel random people that appear in his dimension. Also, writing this duel made me realise how many of Reiji's cards specifically work against Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Monsters. Anyway, Reiji may have lost here, but to be fair, he was 100% holding back so that they could bring out their Pendulum Monsters, and once they did, they had no reason to continue, so he allowed the duel to end. I assure you, the characters themselves know how far they are from matching Reiji Akaba. I struggled a lot with whether Yuno and Miharu should win here, but considering that it's just a test duel, I allowed them to win, so that I could set up Yuno wanting to beat Reiji for real next time.
Also, time to explain something else, since I don't think that I'll get to explain it in the story for a very long time, and it's actually pretty important. Yuzu's bracelet, in this story, doesn't just indiscriminately teleport the Yu boys away from each other. It specifically teleports them away from her if she is feeling afraid, and more than one of them happens to be there at the time. So, if she, Yuno and Yuya are just hanging out, it won't trigger, but if Yuya shows up while she's afraid and confused over Yuto's presence, Yuto gets teleported away. Her fear triggers the bracelet's powers to separate the Yu boys, because what Ray doesn't want the most is for them to fight each other—she synchronises with Ray, in a sense. This is more for out-of-universe reasons, to be frank—I really wanted to write Yuya and Yuno interactions, and I kind of just twisted that one part of canon to make it work. Fun fact—I already had this explanation here before I saw LHOCIN's review.
For Empourer's review, I'm not sure what you mean. Is there a particular reason that I should have given Yuji Libromancers? Burning Abyss cards fit Yuji's personality, and more importantly, are a large and efficient enough archetype to allow for multiple duels without feeling stale and chock full of OC cards. Libromancers do not work in either case.
Next chapter's the Maiami Championship!