Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V: The Six Dimensions

by BlaiseCandell

Before the invasion of the Xyz Dimension, scans done by the Fusion Dimension reveal two more dimensions. The Ritual Dimension, and the Link Dimension. Within those two dimensions, Chiaki, Yuji, Miharu and Yuno have their lives turned upside down, and are tossed into a vicious war. Also, why are there five people with the same faces as them? (M for discussions of trauma.)

93. Blinding Clover Leaves

Starting Notes:

Welcome back! This chapter is… pretty fun. I don't want to spoil it, so we'll just get to it, shall we? :D

---

Chapter 93: Blinding Clover Leaves

In the end, the Lancers had been given access to shower water, though it was rationed very sparingly—no daily showers for them now. They were all taking turns, and a hasty unofficial 'ladies first' rule had been established not by any of the actual girls, but by an insistent Gongenzaka and his mother-henning.

Yuya had finally gotten his turn, and after saying good night to Yuzu and Sora, both of whom were obviously tired out by the day's events, he approached a certain figure who was currently sitting by the exit to the room.

"Mion-san?" Yuya called out cautiously. The brown-haired girl glanced at him, pulling a towel through her hair with one hand. "Can we talk?"

"Sure, why not." Mion patted the space next to her, and Yuya sat down, feeling slightly awkward—for some reason that single action had made him feel like he was a child again. "What do you need? I wasn't aware that we had anything left to discuss, between the two of us…" As she spoke, she placed down the towel. She picked up her prosthetic from the ground, balancing it on her leg and beginning to fiddle with it. Yuya watched, slightly fascinated, before he remembered that he should probably be talking.

"Uh… I was wondering why you asked to come with me."

Mion shrugged. "Unlike most of the others, I'm not particularly emotionally spent—I had an easy time getting here. I figured that I should pull my weight."

"Oh." That made some sense, actually… or at least, it made sense specifically for Mion Myojin, who had a sense of responsibility that most other people couldn't measure up to.

Mion began to attach the arm back. Yuya couldn't help but stare again.

"Curious?" Mion asked.

Yuya grimaced. "It's rude to stare, right? Sorry, I just…"

His next words were stuck in his throat, because they were even more insensitive, and he didn't mean to be—

"I know it's hard to get used to it," Mion said after a brief pause. "I had to take it off because moisture messes with the inner circuits."

"Does it spaz out when it rains?" Yuya asked, and Mion finally let out a hesitant but genuine sounding laugh.

"No. To be honest, this model is generally water-resistant—even if I get drenched, it probably will work fine? But it does get into the circuits over time and get wear and tear… and well, they are pretty sensitive. Just so that I don't have to run all the way home to get it replaced in the middle of war, it makes more sense to just avoid situations like that." She carefully attached it back. The shining metal was still untarnished, despite everything that they had gone through so far—whatever material the prosthetic was made of, it was extremely durable. Still, Yuya hadn't actually seen the way that the metal connected to the flesh of the arm before this. It was… honestly kind of surprising how seamless it was? He could barely see any kind of separation at all.

Mion raised an eyebrow at him. "Anything else?" She asked.

Yuya spoke the first thing that came to mind. "Why me?" He said. "You're closer to Rinsoka-san—uh, Kyorin, right? Even if you were restless, wouldn't you go with her instead of me?"

"I am closer to Kyorin than you," Mion admitted. She stood up, brushing aside her hair. Her gloves hung out of the pocket of the jacket that she picked up and tossed over her shoulders—she didn't seem inclined to put them on right now. "I'm restless," she admitted simply. "Do you remember the last time that we dueled, Yuya Sakaki?"

… well, that felt like a lifetime ago already… "It was during the Maiami Championship, right?"

"Yes." Mion shrugged. "At that point in time, neither of us dueled the way that we do now."

Yeah. Yuya had relied far more on Action Cards and he hadn't yet learned a lot of the things that his dueling now relied on. And at the same time, he hadn't completed that duel on his own either. Dennis had interfered, a memory that was now both confusing and slightly bitter.

Still, why was she bringing up a past duel now—

… oh.

"You want a rematch?" Yuya asked cautiously.

"Eventually," Mion said with a shrug. "I'd like to. After all, a duel between the two people we are now… it would be very different from the past."

"... maybe after we're done here?"

"Sure," Mion said. "I'll hold you to it."

She strode off—presumably to talk to someone else. Yuya blinked.

… come to think of it…

She hadn't fully answered his question, had she? Even if she was feeling restless, it would have been far more expected—maybe even far more normal for her to go with Kyorin, who she was clearly closer to. So, she'd answered why she wanted to go, but not why she'd specifically wanted to go with him…

Maybe he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

---

Gongenzaka glanced up as Hitoda plopped herself down on the ground next to him. She glanced at him, and then she sighed. "Sorry, big guy," she said.

… had she actually just apologised to him? That wasn't like her. It was so unlike her, and…

Gongenzaka had stopped being angry a while ago. Now, he was just curious—he genuinely wanted to understand.

He turned to her. "Why did you lie?"

Hitoda took a moment to respond. "I just don't… like being cared for," she admitted. "Fussed over, and things like that… it's just not my cup of tea. Nothing to do with you—I would just rather not put myself in that position again. It doesn't work out well."

"... that is appalling. You deserve to have people care about you—all people deserve that."

Hitoda shrugged. "I don't mind if people care about me. I just don't want them to care for me. There's a difference there." She shot him a smirk. "Still, it seems I'm not escaping it this time. I appreciate it, you know—just don't expect me to end up getting dependent on you or anything."

"I would never assume that," Gongenzaka said—it felt like there were two different conversations going on at the same time. Still… it felt like she was on some level, acknowledging him? Thanking him?

Why was this girl so difficult to get a read on…?

Still, he had to give her a quick warning too. "Do not sneak out, Hitoda-dono."

"Of course not. Who do you take me for?"

---

So anyway, Hitoda snuck out that night.

Not to actually do anything important. She didn't even leave the Resistance's base. But having passed out for several hours, she wasn't nearly ready to sleep so soon. So she moved through the corridors.

Really, turning a historical site into a base… archaeologists all over the world would be screaming if they saw the pipes that were now running through the ancient rock walls. Not that Hitoda herself personally cared about that—she had lived in Den City for long enough that she couldn't care less about history and things like that.

Still, it was fascinating to wander around and see the different stories. So all of these stories had cards based on them, huh?

The ruins seemed to have a certain order to them—the symbols were technically a different language from any that she knew, but she could recognise the patterns well enough to understand what numbers they meant. So the numbers increased and increased, until she was so far down in the earth that her ears felt like they were ringing. It was strangely, unnaturally quiet—the Resistance had turned the top layer of ruins into a base, but they'd left these deeper parts mostly untouched, save for using it as storage—piles of boxes in the corridors.

Hitoda glanced at the wall. One hundred ruins, right…? And this was number one hundred.

The images…

"Some historians suggest that this is perhaps the most overt reference to the religion of the civilisation that died out here."

Hitoda turned her head. Tsubaki Nagare was standing there, a flashlight held in her left hand, though she seemed to have turned it off. "Really?" She said lightly. "I wouldn't know anything about stuff like that. Different world and all. Is this the creation myth or something…?"

Tsubaki, to her slight surprise, nodded. "They call this the Numeron Dragon," she said. "I wouldn't know as much about it as a native would—apparently, that name only came into prominence because of these." She rapped her fist against the numbers on the wall. "What are you doing down here so late? I saw the motion sensor lights on."

"Couldn't sleep. So anyway… the Numeron Dragon, huh…?"

"... you're a bit like Mariko, aren't you? I don't think we've met properly yet."

"No," Hitoda said. "It's pretty obvious who you are though—Nue-san only had good things to say about you."

For a brief moment, Tsubaki's expression seemed to warm slightly, before she turned away. "... charmer."

"I do try," Hitoda said with a wink. "So, uh… this story… I don't know if I'm getting the story right, but it seems a little… sad?"

"It's the overarching narrative of the ruins," Tsubaki said. "It'd be easier to describe it in card terms instead of going from mural to mural. Essentially, what historians tend to agree on is that every single myth here is its own 'short story', but they're all connected by another narrative—that of an adventurer, and a god."

"An adventurer and a god," Hitoda repeated.

"The tale goes that once upon a time, there was an adventurer that was cursed by the gods," Tsubaki said. "They were cursed to live forever. And so, they travelled through the entire world—they searched every world, every star, learned about monsters and machines that no other human had seen. And then, one day, they were just… done. They had witnessed everything in the world, even events that had not yet happened—that part's complicated, and linked to a few other cards. And so, when they were done, they longed to die—and so, they searched over and over again for a way to break their curse. And in doing so, they travelled to the edge of the universe and met a creature that was akin to a god."

Hitoda stared at the dragon carved into the wall—holding down a claw towards a single figure, standing alone in the stars.

"That dragon," Tsubaki said with a nod. "And then, the god looked at him and asked him to tell all his stories—all the stories that no one else in the world had ever heard, because the man had long since stopped having a confidant to speak to. And so, as the adventurer spoke with the god, the two of them became friends. Ultimately, the god learned from the adventurer all the wisdom and sorrows of the world—and through that, they learned to govern more fairly."

"... fairly," Hitoda repeated. "And what happened to the adventurer?"

Tsubaki shrugged. "No one can quite agree. The last mural…" She walked forward, gesturing to the wall. "Shows the dragon god attempting to make the world fairer, in their image. No mention is ever made of the adventurer again. My father's personal interpretation was that the adventurer was finally freed of his shackles by his friend, and allowed to move on."

"... well, that's a good bedtime story," Hitoda said. "You're surprisingly talkative today."

"... like I said, you're rather like Mariko. It's… easy to forget." Tsubaki turned away, putting her hands in her pockets. "You should—"

She came to a stop. Then, she swiftly moved forward, looking around the corner.

"Something wrong?" Hitoda asked.

"... I thought I heard someone," Tsubaki said. "There's no one here though… this specific passage goes up to another entrance, and I don't think anyone should know how to get in through there. So… we'll leave it be." She turned her head. "Let's go back up—I doubt you know how to get back to the top, do you?"

Hitoda put her hands together. "Nope! In your care, Tsubaki-san."

---

"You're fidgeting."

Yuno glanced over at her, smiling—they'd tossed their sleeping bags right next to each other on the ground, obviously, in a corner away from the rest. "Am I?"

"Mm. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking… your brother is as work-focused as you, right?"

Her brother? Miharu turned to look at him. "Ryoken spends more time in the office than I do," she said. "Sometimes, he even stays overnight there… why does that matter now though?"

"No reason. I was just thinking…" He leaned back. "There's a lot we still don't know, huh. About how things are going on back there… maybe how things that went on even before we left."

"... I don't think it matters," Miharu finally said. "The past is the past."

I just have to believe that, for now—to ignore it.

"Yeah." Yuno reached over, squeezing her hand. "... I believe that too. By the way, you're staying behind here, right…? Tomorrow, I mean."

"... I want to gather some more information," Miharu said vaguely. "I don't mind if you want to follow after Yuya."

"Nah. He can handle himself." Yuno smiled. "Might as well let the rest get a bit more action in, right? Plus, finding his father has been Yuya's goal for a long time, and Kyorin clearly has something to settle too. Those are their fights. I don't want to step on their toes."

"And… Yuto?"

"What about him?"

"... nothing."

---

"Here."

Shun glanced up as Yuto held out a cup of water towards him. He nodded, taking it and carefully drinking from it—at some point, he must have fallen asleep. Unacceptable. If she'd woken up at that point…

"I can take over for the night," Yuto said. "You need to rest properly too. She wouldn't want you to exhaust yourself with worry."

"... it's fine. She'd want you to be less tired too."

"Ruri's worried."

"... it's fine."

Yuto watched him.

Shun wasn't surprised that Yuto didn't quite get what he was feeling. After all, Yuto's feelings weren't any less strong than his—possibly stronger, considering that they were siblings. But Yuto hadn't seen her fall in front of him. Yuto hadn't seen it—only the aftermath.

Shun felt like his eyes had been scarred.

"I think…" Yuto muttered, "I think I'm not done."

With that, he turned his head and left—seemingly respecting Shun's wishes.

Shun lowered his head and stayed.

(Fragmented.)

---

The next day, bright and early in the morning, Yuya, Yuzu and Mion left the ruins. Mariko had dropped by and told them to remember the way back to that specific entrance, since that was the only one that she'd given them the passcode to. Kyorin, Yuji and Chiaki had also left at that point in time—two trios going in different directions.

Still, they managed to make their way to Clover Branch eventually, thanks to the directions that they were given. Everything about the building made Yuya… more sad.

His father had been here. According to Allen's rage-filled words, his father had been here for years, and only disappeared on the day of the invasion…

His father had been here!

"Well," Mion said after a moment, "it's all pretty much rubble. If you want to find anything though, we should probably search the rooms that are still mostly intact. Maybe there's an office or something that they stored papers in."

Yuya and Yuzu turned to look at her, both of them blinking.

"You weren't going to just search every inch of this place, were you?" Mion folded her arms. "That'd be too inefficient. Not that I mind taking the time to search, but if we do it, we need to start with the areas that your father most likely went to when he was a teacher at this school. So that would be any standing classrooms or offices. If we don't find anything there, we can search the rest of this place. I'll check out any offices on this floor and keep an eye out—you two can check the second and third floor. We'll move up and spread out from there."

She walked off, and Yuya and Yuzu exchanged a look.

Well. That was easy enough of an instruction to follow, and it was more logical than what Yuya had initially been planning on doing.

So they went up together and began to search. There were still some classrooms that were mostly intact, though they might be missing a wall or two. Yuya and Yuzu split up into two different classrooms to do a quick look around, and yet…

Yuya stepped into the classroom. What struck him first wasn't the light of the rising sun, coming through the large cracks splitting open the exterior wall.

It was the spilled papers on the ground. Some of them were still whole—lying over each other on the ground, scattered by the wind. A cabinet at the back had been destroyed by a laser, and there were some bits of paper clinging to the edges of the cabinet.

Yuya picked up one of them. Scribbled down on it was a reflection—the question printed at the top of the sheet of paper was 'How do you plan to further your career as a pro duelist in the future'?

In a way, I have probably been one of the most privileged people in Heartland. While it would be far easier for me to pursue my career in the future by going into the domestic pro circuit, I want to go overseas for a year or so, just to meet opponents that I have never met before. The Dueling Expatriate Initiative that was set up by Dr. Arclight proved to us that there are many strong duelists in the world that we may never get the chance to face if we only duel here. I want to become far stronger, and to be an inspiration to those that may also want to pursue dueling as a career in the future…

The reflection continued, and then, signed at the end…

'天城 カイト'

Tenjo. Kaito.

Kaito Tenjo.

Yuya put down the piece of paper, slowly sighing.

That was…

That was just painfully heartbreaking.

A man with so many hopes…

Yuya walked over to the back. There was a row of lockers, and though it felt like an invasion of privacy, he began to look and look…

Huh.

There was a locker here that was… mostly full? As though someone had piled up things and hurriedly hidden them in the locker. He was about to close the locker, before he saw one of the photos.

… oh. Oh, that was…

That was his father. That was his father, standing next to Allen Kozuki—and then there was a girl behind Allen that had an odd resemblance to him, grinning and elbowing him in the side. And then, on the other side was a blond young man that, by the descriptions of others, could only be Kaito Tenjo.

Yuya carefully freed the photo from the tape, holding onto it. He apologised to the owner of the locker—but to him, this was more important. It was a concrete piece of evidence that his father had been here.

And now that neither Yuzu or Mion was here, now that he was alone…

"You were fine," he said aloud. "You were fine, and nothing was wrong with you. You were fine, and healthy, and yes, you didn't have a way to get home, and you could have found one, and—"

He slowly swallowed. He slipped the photo in his pocket.

He turned to leave—

The beady red eyes of an Obelisk Force mask met his, and he stared at the three people there.

Huh.

Alright, back to the usual then.

---

Yuzu had ended up finding something too.

Namely, a single, torn half of a familiar card. She picked it up, but just as she was about to head over to the classroom that Yuya was in, she was interrupted by a group of three too.

… well, fine.

She'd gotten a few new tools, after all, and she didn't need to hold back her Fusion Summons against actual enemies.

[DUEL!]

Yuzu Hiiragi: 4000LP

Obelisk Force Red: 4000LP

Obelisk Force Green: 4000LP

Obelisk Force Yellow: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Yuzu] [H:5]

Yuzu glanced through her hand, before she immediately picked up a card from them—the best play for her to make right now. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Polymerization! I'll Fusion Summon using materials from my hand and field as material!"

"You're Fusion Summoning?"

"Fusion Summoning doesn't belong to you!" Yuzu retorted. "This—"

My Fusion Summoning is a sign of me and my friends, and how hard we tried to grow.

"—is my own Fusion Summon. It's got nothing to do with Academia or any of you! I'll fuse Tamtam the Melodious Diva and Solo the Melodious Songstress from my hand! Noble resonance! Cheerful heartbeat! By the guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! Now debut on stage! Sing the song of victory! Bloom Diva the Melodious Floral Saint!" Her favourite Fusion Monster appeared on the field, yellow particles and pink petals floating around her.

[Bloom Diva the Melodious Floral Saint (6*/1000/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Fusion/Effect)]

"Tamtam's effect! I'll decrease Bloom Diva's attack points by 500 and inflict 500 damage to you!" She gestured towards the first opponent, a small ball of golden light shooting towards them.

[Bloom Diva the Melodious Floral Saint: 1000 - 500 = 500ATK]

Obelisk Force Red: 4000 - 500 = 3500LP

"I'll then set a pair of cards facedown and end my turn!" She emptied out her entire hand, though she wasn't too worried about that.

[Turn 2: Obelisk Force Red] [H:5]

"Hah! Spells and Traps don't work against our monsters when they battle, you know? I'll activate the Spell Card, Polymerization! I'll fuse Antique Gear Soldier, Antique Gear Box and Antique Gear Reactor Dragon in my hand! Appear now, automaton of destructive agony! Fusion Summon! Antique Gear Megaton Golem!" The large mechanical golem appeared on the field, much to Yuzu's surprise.

[Antique Gear Megaton Golem (9*/3300/3300/EARTH/Machine/Fusion/Effect)]

… she'd honestly expected them to Fusion Summon Triple Bite Hound Dog again.

"I'll then have Megaton Golem attack your monster!"

There.

"Bloom Diva the Melodious Floral Saint's effect!" Yuzu countered. "When she battles a Special Summoned monster, I can destroy that monster, negate her destruction and inflict damage to you, equal to the damage I would have taken! Reflect Shout!"

"What?"

Yuzu gestured forward, and Megaton Golem shattered—bits of metal flew everywhere around them, like shrapnel, and her opponent's life points fell.

Obelisk Force Red: 3500 - 2800 = 700LP

"W-well, Megaton Golem's effect activates! I'll Special Summon Antique Gear Ultimate Golem from my deck!" And an evolved form of the golem appeared on the field, on multiple legs like a beast—rustier than Megaton Golem, and yet surrounded by wicked black bolts of lightning that hit the ground all around it.

[Antique Gear Ultimate Golem (10*/4400/3400/EARTH/Machine/Fusion/Effect)]

"And Ultimate Golem attacks Bloom Diva!"

… um.

"Bloom Diva's effect isn't once per turn?" Yuzu said slowly, though it came out like an actual question. Her opponent's eyes widened. "Reflect Shout, I guess?"

Bloom Diva fired off the same sonic blast again, destroying Ultimate Golem and removing the rest of her opponent's life points, which… um, okay. Sure, why not.

Obelisk Force Red: 700 - 3800 = 0LP

"So…" Yuzu's voice was pitched slightly higher as she tried, she really tried, not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. "It's your turn, I guess?"

[Turn 3: Obelisk Force Green] [H:5]

"I'll Normal Summon Antique Gear Hound Dog!" The next opponent declared. "I'll inflict 600 damage to you! Hound Flare!" The dog appeared on the field, breathing out a fireball—and yeah, that was about what Yuzu had expected.

[Antique Gear Hound Dog (3*/1000/1000/EARTH/Machine/Effect)]

Yuzu: 4000 - 600 = 3400LP

"I'll then have Antique Gear Hound Dog attack your Bloom Diva—and since it's a Normal Summoned monster, your monster is destroyed!"

Yeah, Yuzu had already figured out that much. Her monster was destroyed, and her life points fell slightly.

It was fine though. She had already known that this was going to happen.

Yuzu: 3400 - 500 = 2900LP

"I'll then move to my Main Phase 2! With the effect of Antique Gear Hound Dog, I will fuse it with the Antique Gear Soldier in my hand! Mechanical soldiers inheriting ancient souls. Now, form an allegiance and join, and be reborn together as a new power! Fusion Summon! Appear! Level 8! Mechanical demon god! Antique Gear Devil!" The strange dragon-like creature with wings appeared on the field, wings flaring out.

[Antique Gear Devil (8*/1000/1800/EARTH/Machine/Fusion/Effect)]

"Antique Gear Devil's effect! I'll inflict 1000 damage to you!" Yuzu's life points fell as she was hit with another blast of fire.

Yuzu: 2900 - 1000 = 1900LP

"And then, I'll end my turn!"

Without giving Yuzu any time to react, the third member of the group took their turn too.

[Turn 4: Obelisk Force Yellow] [H:5]

"I'll Normal Summon Antique Gear Hound Dog!" The third one declared, to the shock of no one there. The rusty green dog appeared on the field. "Hound Flare!"

Yuzu: 1900 - 600 = 1300LP

"I'll then activate Antique Gear Hound Dog's effect! I'll fuse it with two more copies of Antique Gear Hound Dog in my hand! Come! Antique Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog!" The Fusion Monster appeared on the field, its heads waving wildly through the air.

[Antique Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog (7*/1800/1000/EARTH/Machine/Effect)]

"I'll then have Triple Bite Hound Dog attack—"

"At the end of your Main Phase, I'll activate the Trap Card, Back to the Front!" Yuzu declared. "I can Special Summon a monster from my graveyard in Defense Position! I'll choose Solo the Melodious Songstress!" The cheerful blonde singer in a red dress appeared, smiling brightly.

[Solo the Melodious Songstress (4*/1600/1000/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)]

"Well, Triple Bite Hound Dog attacks your Solo the Melodious Songstress!"

The fairy was struck down—but that was what Yuzu wanted anyway. "When Solo the Melodious Songstress is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can Special Summon a "Melodious" monster from my deck! I'll choose Laureate Francois the Melodious Maestra—in Attack Position!" The woman with light green hair appeared, fingers tapping translucent piano keys in front of her, her bright purple dress standing out against her lighter skin.

[Laureate Francois the Melodious Maestra (7*/2300/1700/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)]

"Two thousand three hundred attack points?" Her opponent furrowed their eyebrows. "... I end my turn."

[Turn 5: Yuzu] [H:1]

"Draw!" Yuzu declared, glancing at the field—two Fusion Monsters to deal with, two opponents left.

… she had a plan.

"I'll activate Laureate Francois's effect," Yuzu called out. "I can add Solo the Melodious Songstress from my graveyard to my hand, but I can't activate the effects of non-LIGHT monsters this turn!"

She picked up the card, before revealing the other card in her hand—the one that she'd drawn this turn.

"I'll activate the Spell Card, Fusion Recovery. I'll add Polymerization and Tamtam the Melodious Diva from my graveyard to my hand. And I'll activate Polymerization again! I'll fuse Tamtam the Melodious Diva and Solo the Melodious Songstress again! Noble resonance! Cheerful heartbeat! By the guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! This is the greatest show, the noblest display! Dance, extravagant beauty—Spectacular Bach the Melodious Maestra!"

The woman that appeared had long blonde hair, curled up in a long, spiralling ponytail. A red and black hat covered one side of her head. Red eyes stared through a pale yellow half-mask, only a shade darker than the woman's hair. Over her pale body, she was wearing a dark dress with orange accents—golden music patterns curled around the dress at the shoulders and the waist. The inside of the dress was vivid red, despite the fact that it was black on the outside. Light grey-purple skirts swirled around the dark fabric, acting as both additional layers of fabric for the skirt and as a train. Behind her, an enormous organ floated in the air.

[Spectacular Bach the Melodious Maestra (7*/2500/1800/LIGHT/Fairy/Fusion/Effect)]

"Bach's effect. When Special Summoned, I can Special Summon a "Melodious" monster from my deck! Come! Soprano the Melodious Songstress!" The colourful, dark-haired songstress appeared to the left of Bach.

[Soprano the Melodious Songstress (4*/1400/1400/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)]

"Soprano's effect. I'll add a "Melodious" monster from my graveyard to my hand—that's going to be Solo again. And then—open, circuit of the rising harmonies! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two Fairy monsters! I'll set Soprano the Melodious Songstress and Spectacular Bach the Melodious Maestra in the Link Markers! Beautiful genius with the perfect voice! With your hands that channel the power of music, bring every melody together in wondrous harmony! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Bloom Harmonist the Melodious Floral Virtuoso!" The first Link Monster she'd ever had appeared on the field, blowing on her hand and sending several flower petals flying through the air.

[Bloom Harmonist the Melodious Floral Virtuoso (L2/1000/LIGHT/Fairy/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]

"You used your Fusion Monster as material to Link Summon a monster that's weaker?"

"Bach's effect!" Yuzu declared. "And then, Bloom Harmonist's effect!" Both cards glowed. "First, Bach lets me Special Summon a "Melodious" monster from my graveyard when she's sent to the graveyard. Come back—Bloom Diva!" The previous Fusion Monster appeared on the field. "And with Bloom Harmonist's effect, I can discard a card to Special Summon two "Melodious" monsters from my deck in Defense Position, but I can only summon "Melodious" monsters this turn!"

She dropped Solo into the graveyard.

"I'll Special Summon Mimosa the Melodious Illusion Maiden and Fairall the Melodious Illusion Maiden from my deck!" Her two Pendulum Monsters appeared on the field, making for five monsters on the field now.

[Mimosa the Melodious Illusion Maiden (4*/S1/1200/1000/LIGHT/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect)]

[Fairall the Melodious Illusion Maiden (4*/S9/1500/800/LIGHT/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect)]

"Mimosa's effect," Yuzu declared. "I'll add a "Melodious" monster from my deck to my hand—I'll choose Natural Energy Spirit - Reflowering Angel!" She picked up her new ace. "And with Fairall's effect, on the turn she was Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon a "Melodious" monster from my hand!"

And there was only one answer for that, so Reflowering Angel reappeared on the field, as resplendent as ever.

[Natural Energy Spirit - Reflowering Angel (7*/S4/2500/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect)]

"Mimosa's effect," Yuzu continued. "I'll tribute her, and all "Melodious" monsters I control gain 500 attack points!" All of her monsters glowed at that exact moment.

[Natural Energy Spirit - Reflowering Angel: 2500 + 500 = 3000ATK]

[Fairall the Melodious Illusion Maiden: 1500 + 500 = 2000ATK]

[Bloom Diva the Melodious Floral Saint: 1000 + 500 = 1500ATK]

[Laureate Francois the Melodious Maestra: 2300 + 500 = 2800ATK]

[Bloom Harmonist the Melodious Floral Virtuoso: 1000 + 500 = 1500ATK]

"Battle Phase! Bloom Diva the Melodious Floral Saint attacks Antique Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog! And with her effect—I'll destroy your monster and inflict 300 damage to you! Reflect Shout!" Bloom Diva held out her hands, destroying Triple Bite Hound Dog.

Obelisk Force Yellow: 4000 - 300 = 3700LP

"I'll then have Laureate Francois attack your Antique Gear Howitzer!" The beast was destroyed, and her opponent grinned.

"But Howitzer's effect! I'll Special Summon—"

"Howitzer is only unaffected by card effects while it's on the field!" Yuzu pointed out. "When my opponent activates a monster effect, I can send Fairall to the graveyard and negate that effect!" Her other Pendulum Monster vanished from the field, but Howitzer was stopped from floating into a new monster. "I'll have Bloom Harmonist and Reflowering Angel take you out!" The two monsters joined hands, before shooting forth a sonic blast surrounded by flower petals towards her second opponent.

Obelisk Force Green: 4000 - 1500 - 3000 = 0LP

Alright. One opponent left—an opponent that had already used all three copies of Antique Gear Hound Dog. "I'll end my turn."

[Turn 6: Obelisk Force Yellow] [H:3]

"Draw. I'll activate the Field Spell, Geartown! Then, I'll activate the Spell Card, Antique Gear Catapult! I'll destroy—"

"Quickplay Spell, Mottotheme!" Yuzu flipped up her other set card. "I'll target a card on the field and negate its effects! I'll choose Antique Gear Catapult!"

A silent moment passed, during which absolutely nothing happened. Then, her opponent raised a hand and ended their turn.

Well. Okay then.

[Turn 7: Yuzu] [H:1]

"Draw," Yuzu said, and Reflowering Angel and Bloom Diva did the rest.

Obelisk Force Yellow: 3700 - 3000 - 1500 = 0LP

Winner: Yuzu Hiiragi!

Okay.

Once they were gone, Yuzu breathed out in relief. She reached into her pocket and took out the torn half of the card again.

… Yusho Sakaki would never have torn Smile World in half himself, would he…?

So…

Who had he given it to, and why had it been left here, a mark of such horrible frustration?

---

"Quintet Magician attacks directly, and that's it."

Mion sighed as the duel finally concluded. That was the problem with a deck like hers that focused so much on recycling and comboing off itself—just setting up a proper field took way more time than most other duels took to end. She'd been challenged first, with a few others going up the stairs, but it was just six people. Three each for Yuya and Yuzu should probably be fine—she'd already held up six by herself, anyway…

Still, should she go up and check on them?

And then, as she turned to go up the stairs, she came face to face with—

"Oh," she said after a moment. "You're…"

Kaito Tenjo looked back at her.

"... I don't suppose you're letting me pass," she said after a brief pause.

"... this is my territory," he said. "Get out."

So an acknowledgement that she wasn't a member of Academia, but still not wanting her there…

"I refuse," Mion said after a moment. "We all have the right to walk where we please. I don't have any interest in hurting you, but I won't bow to your anger either."

Because this was an angry boy who was hurting, but Mion had seen enough self-destructive spirals (even her own, at some points) to know that capitulating to a person's every whim when their hope would only help them destroy themselves.

Kaito narrowed his eyes. "... you're part of the group that came back with Nue," he said abruptly. Mion noticed how neither Shun nor Yuto's names came into the conversation, and well, Reira had mentioned coming into contact with this man and the fact that he had gone off on Shun, so she could connect a few dots there. "I don't want you here. And I don't care about you."

… god. Did he know yet? About…

Something in her face must have changed. Kaito's eyes widened—and then he took a step forward.

"What is it?" He demanded. "Your face changed when I talked about Nue. What happened?"

Mion slowly swallowed. "She—" How was she supposed to explain this? When the only witness to the events before the fall was Nue Kamisoka herself, when none of them knew how or why it had happened, when the only thing that they had witnessed was the aftermath. "She fell, I think. Kurosaki said that she was pushed off a building."

For a brief moment, Kaito's eyes widened—and then, when he spoke again, the single word that left his lips was like a dagger. "Izumi."

"Yeah," Mion said, slightly surprised. "Uh—"

"I'll have his head on a pike." He spat out the words like nails. "And—what about now? How is she now?"

Mion fell silent.

"... how hurt is she?"

Mion didn't know. Maybe that tore at her more than anything.

And in a brief moment, the worry in his face turned to rage.

(She understood that a bit too well.)

"How did you bastards let that happen?" Kaito demanded. "How did you end up in the situation where she was alone with that bastard?"

And if Mion was younger, or more easily intimidated, she might cower. She might apologise.

She did not.

She simply met his gaze and said evenly: "It was something out of our control. It's no one's fault except the man who pushed her off."

Did she feel guilty? Yes. Did she acknowledge that she couldn't have known, and shouldn't be blamed for it? Yes.

And maybe it was her confidence that enraged him more. Maybe if she had cowered, he might have backed off.

But that was not the kind of person she was.

"You don't know anything," Kaito said coldly. "You don't know how he hurt her, the wounds that this is going to open up again—you don't know how it feels to be hurt by someone who thinks they love you—"

Mion's head snapped back up.

---

"Don't—"

Kaito flinched. There was something about that intonation, that defiance…

"—assume that you know everything about me," the young woman with the brown hair said, and it wasn't all the same—in a different voice, it would have been a shout, there would have been a sneer, and this girl had neither of those, but…

There was a sharp resonance at that moment, something far too familiar.

Some of the anger was gone now—struggling against that brief feeling of recognition, of familiarity. Still, he took a step forward. "Are you leaving or not?"

She looked at him. Without a name to put to her, it was far easier to think of her as someone similar to Nue—and that was a problem.

"What do you know about Yusho Sakaki?" She asked.

About…

What do I know about Yusho-sensei? Why does she want to know?

"I'm not interested in talking to you anymore," Kaito snapped. "Get out."

The girl stared at him—her blue-green eyes seemed to be studying him. She raised a hand to her ear, messing with one of her piercings, before she raised her duel disk, tapping the side of it.

"You want something, I want something," she said. "In business, they call it exchange—in other places, we call it betting." She gestured forward. "Let the winner decide."

---

Was it a bad idea? Absolutely.

Did Mion have a single idea why she'd challenged him? No.

(That was a lie. She knew very well why she had challenged him. A part of her was offended on her own behalf—a part of her wanted to help Yuya out.)

(A part of her felt guilty enough about Nue Kamisoka that she wanted to help the other girl. Because she could see this man in pain.)

"Fine," Kaito said, after a brief pause. "Let's go."

… huh.

Okay.

She'd heard a lot about this man. He was the son of one of the smartest scientists in Heartland, and a skilled duelist… in a way, he and Chris Arclight might be the equivalent of Reiji in this world.

But…

No one I've met so far has been stronger than Reiji Akaba. That's a fact. And whatever complicated thing is going on right now…

Whatever.

I may as well test the waters while I have him in front of me.

[DUEL!]

Kaito Tenjo: 4000LP

Mion Myojin: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Mion] [H:5]

… what a terrible game to brick in.

No, seriously. What on earth was going on with this hand? She should probably remove most of these cards… but they did help sometimes…

No, it was fine. Never mind.

The main problem, naturally, was the fact that not a single card in her hand had a green border. That was really it.

"Set a monster, set two, pass," she muttered.

"... what," Kaito said.

"I didn't stutter," Mion said, fighting the urge to facepalm. "I'm done. Take your turn."

Maybe now that I've focused so much on Pendulums, I should start removing more of my non-Pendulum monsters, huh… but there's always cards like Kyorin's that counter monsters Special Summoned from the Extra Deck. What I really need is some kind of insurance for that too.

"... then it's the set cards," Kaito muttered to himself.

Mion stared at him.

… yeah, she could tell that this man had dueled Nue Kamisoka all his life.

[Turn 2: Kaito] [H:6]

"Draw!" Kaito picked up the card, glancing at it. "I don't know what tricks you're pulling… but there's no way you're as difficult to deal with as her. I'll activate the Spell Card, Trade-In. I will send a Level 8 monster from my hand to the graveyard and draw two cards."

"Chaining the Continuous Trap, Mythical Bestiamorph," Mion said. "Every time you activate a monster effect, this card gains a Spell Counter."

"Spell Counter?" Kaito repeated. "... well, we'll see. Since I control no monsters, I will activate the Spell Card, Accellight. I cannot Normal Summon or Set monsters this turn, but I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower "Photon" or "Galaxy" monster from my deck. Come—Galaxy Summoner!" A mechanical robot dressed in white mage's robes appeared, golden trim along the edges of the robes. A red gem glowed on its chest, while in the middle of its head, a glowing green eye stared outwards. It held up a golden staff topped with a large green, glowing orb.

[Galaxy Summoner (4*/1600/1400/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"Galaxy Summoner's effect. I'll target a "Photon" or "Galaxy" monster in the graveyard and Special Summon it in Defense Position!" A warrior in golden armour appeared on the field next to Summoner, holding up a shield that looked like it was carved from blue rock—golden metal formed a border around it. Behind it, a dark cape swept through the air.

[Photon Emperor (8*/2800/1000/LIGHT/Warrior/Effect)]

"Galaxy Summoner's effect. I will target Photon Emperor, and it becomes Level 4 until the End Phase." The warrior glowed as the wizard raised her staff, gesturing to it.

[Photon Emperor: 8* → 4*]

"I'll overlay the Level 4 Photon Emperor and the Level 4 Galaxy Summoner! Dance in the darkness of space and unleash your stark glow! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Galaxy Photon Dragon!" True to the summoning chant, a bright white dragon appeared, blue energy emerging in sparks from under its metallic scales. The same bright blue light formed bright wings on the back of the dragon as it glided through the air.

[Galaxy Photon Dragon (R4/2000/0/LIGHT/Dragon/Xyz/Effect)]

"Galaxy Photon Dragon's effect. By detaching an Overlay Unit, I can add a "Galaxy" or "Photon" card from my deck to my hand—or send it to the graveyard." He picked up the card, before gesturing forward. "Photon Emperor's effect. When sent to the graveyard, except when sent there from the field, it Special Summons itself in Defense Position." The warrior from earlier reappeared next to Galaxy Photon Dragon. Right, Xyz Materials that were detached and sent to the graveyard weren't treated as having been sent there from the field… a disadvantage sometimes, but in this case, it'd clearly helped him.

Then, Kaito held out another card from his hand. "Since I control a "Galaxy" or "Photon" monster, I can Special Summon Photon Vanisher from my hand." A knight in silver armour appeared, holding onto a glowing blue rifle.

[Photon Vanisher (4*/2000/0/LIGHT/Warrior/Effect)]

"Vanisher's effect. I will add Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon from my deck to my hand—and then, Galaxy Photon Dragon's effect. I'll change the Level of Vanisher to 8!"

[Photon Vanisher: 4* → 8*]

"I'll overlay the Level 8 Photon Vanisher and the Level 8 Photon Emperor! With the power of genesis and the wisdom of eternity, call forth the other stars that slumber in the shadows! Xyz Summon! Rank 8! Number 97: Dragon Shadow God - Dragravion!" A large, dark dragon appeared, the feathers and fur around its silver scales casting dark shadows over it.

[Number 97: Dragon Shadow God - Dragravion (R8/3000/3000/DARK/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Battle Phase," Kaito said, gesturing forward. "Galaxy Photon Dragon attacks your set monster!"

Mion's monster was flipped up, briefly revealing a blond male spellcaster dressed in purple clothes. "Apprentice Magician," she said. "I can Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Spellcaster monster from my deck in facedown Defense Position."

[Apprentice Magician (2*/400/800/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"I'll Special Summon… Crystal Seer!" It was one of her oldest cards, and despite how outclassed it was, she…

Well. There were some things that she couldn't let go of, sometimes. The red-haired mage appeared, before flipping facedown.

[Crystal Seer (1*/100/100/WATER/Spellcaster/Flip/Effect)]

"Dragravion, then." The dragon dove forward, its claw slashing across the card.

"When Crystal Seer is flipped face-up, I can excavate the top two cards of my deck and add one to my hand," Mion said. She glanced at both of the next cards—

She breathed out, smiling.

There it was.

"Main Phase 2," Kaito said. "I'll activate the effect of Dragravion. I'll detach an Overlay Unit and take two Dragon "Number" monsters from my Extra Deck. I'll Special Summon one and attach the other to it as material. I'll take Number 17: Leviathan Dragon and Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy! Twin hopes sleep in my memory! Pierce the rivers of darkness separating those hopes and make them one! Come! Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy!" A large dragon appeared on the field next to Dragravion.

[Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy (R8/3000/2500/LIGHT/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) (OU:1)]

"However, the monster summoned with Dragravion's effect is the only one I can Special Summon for the rest of the turn, and I cannot attack with any other monsters for the rest of the turn."

So that was why he waited until after the Battle Phase to use it… but if he'd chosen that over simply attacking with it… this card most likely had some kind of negation effect. Most importantly, he had been wary of her facedowns, and of summoning too many monsters too early, because that was exactly what Nue Kamisoka's playstyle would have taught him to do.

She'd have to keep that in mind.

(Were there traces like that in her dueling too, for those who knew her?)

"I'll end my turn."

"... you activated seven monster effects," Mion said. "Mythical Bestiamorph gained seven Spell Counters."

[Mythical Bestiamorph: Spell Counter(s): 7]

Still, this obviously wasn't the most he could do. He was likely testing out the waters—trying to test out her two set cards.

Time to test something, then.

"Mythical Bestiamorph's effect," Mion continued. "Since it has six or more Spell Counters, I can send it to the graveyard to add a Spell to my hand—I'm doing that during your End Phase." She glanced directly at Kaito.

It's a hefty cost. Will you be tempted by it?

Kaito's expression didn't even shift. He didn't try to negate it either.

Alright.

"I'll add the Spell Card, Spell Power Mastery from my deck to my hand," she said.

[Turn 3: Mion] [H:5]

"Draw." She revealed another card in her hand. "Normal Summoning Royal Magical Library!" The black obelisks appeared, floating in front of her.

[Royal Magical Library (4*/0/2000/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]

She'd already had Royal Magical Library in her hand from the start, but without any Spells, the wiser option had been to stall her way through the turn and hope for the best—in other words, to draw more Spells with the effects of her cards.

Here it was.

"I'll activate the Spell Card, Terraforming," she said. "I'll add the Field Spell, Magical Citadel of Endymion from my deck to my hand."

"I'll activate the effect of Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy. I'll negate the effect of that Spell and attach it to my Titanic Galaxy as material."

Yes. Mion had assumed that was the case.

"Scale Storm of Annihilation!" Her Spell was absorbed up as an Overlay Unit.

[Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy: OU:1 + 1 = OU:2]

"I need to check something," Mion said. "Does your card negate just my Spell's effect… or its activation?"

"Effect," Kaito said sharply. "Why?"

"... good. Then my Spell was still activated. And it still resolved, even if it resolved with no effect." Mion gestured forward. "Royal Magical Library gains a Spell Counter!"

[Royal Magical Library: Spell Counter(s): 1]

"Your strategy revolves around counters," Kaito said. "... but what can a single counter do for you?"

"... this is a rough hand," Mion admitted. "But we all have to start somewhere. For me this time, it just happens to be a single counter." She raised a card. "I was hoping to not have to use this to search for my Field Spell, but… needs must. Spell Card, Spell Power Mastery. You already saw me add it to my hand earlier. I will add an "Endymion" card from my deck to my hand—my Magical Citadel of Endymion." She picked up her Field Spell, revealing it to him. "Then, I can place a Spell Counter on a card on the field for each "Spell Power Mastery" or "Spell Power Grasp" on my field or in the graveyard. I'll place another Spell Counter on Royal Magical Library."

She glanced up, meeting Kaito's eyes.

"There are three Spell Counters on Royal Magical Library. I'll remove all three of them to draw a card."

"... investing all of that into a single draw," Kaito said, sounding unimpressed. "It's not a search either. What's your plan here?"

"It's funny that you say that," Mion said with a shrug. "... I only need to keep drawing. And this deck of mine… it was bad luck to draw into a hand without the lifeblood of this deck, but…" She glanced at the card that she had drawn at the start of this turn.

Crystal Seer, giving her Terraforming.

Magical Bestiamorph, giving her Spell Power Mastery.

And of course, this other card…

"With a single card, this deck can build itself up from nothing," Mion said. "If you negate a single Spell… that's not enough." She picked up the next card of her deck, glancing at it. Then, she sighed. "... well. That won't do it. But maybe I'll just take a roundabout route."

She revealed a card in her hand.

"Let's get this one settled first. Field Spell, Magical Citadel of Endymion. It also gains a Spell Counter each time a Spell is activated." She revealed another card in her hand. "I will set the Scale 4 Mythical Beast Jackal in the Pendulum Scale."

"Pendulum Scale…?" Kaito repeated.

… no one had told this man any news of what had happened in other worlds, right? So, if that was the case… he'd have no clue about this…

"One of my comrades invented a new summoning method," Mion explained, deciding that… well, fair was fair. "An entirely new monster type… too many rulings to explain. You'll have to learn on the spot. I promise to show off all their properties in this duel." She gestured forward. "Since I have no cards in my other Pendulum Scale, I can destroy Jackal with its own effect to place a Spell Counter on a card on the field. I will choose Royal Magical Library!"

Three sigils glowed above Royal Magical Library again, as her monster shattered.

"I'll remove three Spell Counters from Royal Magical Library to draw another card," Mion said. She swiped up yet another card from her deck.

It could have been anything. A Mythical Beast, an Endymion card, a Spell.

Whatever it was, she'd make the most of it—that was how she played.

"Spell Card, Mythical Bestiary," Mion said, placing down the card immediately. "I send the top two cards of my deck to the graveyard—and I'll place two Spell Counters on a card on my field. I'll choose Royal Magical Library—who gains another Spell Counter off its own effect."

She stared directly at Kaito.

"You know what that means. Two and one is three. I'll remove all three Spell Counters from it to draw a card."

She glanced at the card.

"I'll set the Scale 4 Mythical Beast Bashilisk in my Pendulum Scale," she continued.

"A series of lucky draws," Kaito scoffed.

"Maybe," Mion said with a shrug. "Sometimes, I plan out my turns from the start—but I'm not perfect. This web of chains and effects isn't something that I navigate perfectly. I could have drawn Bashilisk off that… I could have drawn Jackal King. I could have drawn one of my Endymion cards, and all of those things lead to completely different outcomes and plans." She shrugged. "This deck has so many possibilities, and it's impossible to prepare for and remember a plan for every single card. So if what I get isn't enough, I just have to keep drawing."

She gestured forward.

"Bashilisk's effect. I have no card in my other Pendulum Scale—so I will destroy it, shuffle Jackal into my deck, and draw a card." She picked up the card swiftly, glancing at it—before nodding. "There it is. I will activate the Spell Card, Graceful Charity." She pitched two monsters from her hand into the graveyard, drawing three cards.

Three cards in hand now—

And now, she could see clearly what to do next.

"I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Mythical Institution," she said. "Each time that a "Mythical Beast" Pendulum Monster Card is destroyed, it gains two Spell Counters." She revealed a card in her hand. "Like right now. I'll set my Scale 4 Mythical Beast Master Cerberus in the Pendulum Scale—and with Master Cerberus's effect, I will destroy him to add a Level 7 or lower "Mythical Beast" Effect Monster from my deck to my hand!"

She added it and flipped it over.

"That's my Jackal King. With Royal Magical Library's effect, I'll draw another card. Then, I'll set the Scale 4 Mythical Beast Jackal King in the Pendulum Scale. And by destroying it, I can Special Summon a "Mythical Beast" monster from my Extra Deck!"

"Extra Deck?"

"Pendulum Monsters go to the Extra Deck when they would be sent to the graveyard from the field," Mion explained. "I'll Special Summon Mythical Beast Master Cerberus!" And so, her strongest monster appeared on the field, holding up his staff. Around his other hand, blue particles and magic flowed, glowing brightly.

[Mythical Beast Master Cerberus (8*/S4/2800/2800/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect)]

"... and that's seven. I've overdone it." Mion picked up a card from the graveyard—one of the cards that she'd discarded with Graceful Charity. "I'll remove six Spell Counters from my Field Spell. Return from the graveyard—Endymion the Master Magician!" Her old ace monster appeared—the magician dressed in imperial black and gold.

[Endymion the Master Magician (7*/2700/1700/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect)]

[Magical Citadel of Endymion: Spell Counter(s): 1]

"When my monster is summoned this way, I can pick a Spell from my graveyard and add it to my hand." Without any hesitation, Mion picked up Graceful Charity and revealed it, though she didn't activate it yet. "I'll set the Scale 2 Servant of Endymion in the Pendulum Scale. It gains a Spell Counter each time that either of us activates a Spell. I'll then activate Graceful Charity again. I'll draw three cards and discard two!"

There.

"I'll activate the effect of Royal Magical Library! I'll draw one more card!" Back to three cards in hand. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Spell Power Grasp. I will place a Spell Counter on Servant of Endymion, and add another copy of Spell Power Grasp from my deck to my hand."

She gestured towards her Pendulum Zone.

"Servant of Endymion gained two Spell Counters off its own effect and one off that of Spell Power Grasp. By removing three Spell Counters from her, I will Special Summon her to the field, along with a monster from my deck with 1000 or more attack points, which a Spell Counter can be placed on. I'll Special Summon her from my Pendulum Scale—and Reflection of Endymion from my deck!" The two female Spellcasters appeared on her field as well—filling up all her Main Monster Zones.

[Servant of Endymion (3*/S2/900/1500/WIND/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect)]

[Reflection of Endymion (7*/S2/1850/2700/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect)]

"Then, I place a Spell Counter on both of them."

[Servant of Endymion: Spell Counter(s): 1]

[Reflection of Endymion: Spell Counter(s): 1]

"... you made it to five monsters off that unimpressive start," Kaito said. It sounded like a comment—well, it certainly wasn't a compliment.

"I'm going down to four—and you're going down to two," Mion said. "I'll activate Reflection of Endymion's effect. I'll target Servant of Endymion and your Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy and return both of them to the hand! Mystical Mirror!"

Kaito's eyes briefly widened—before both monsters vanished from the field in a spiral of runes.

"Reflection of Endymion gains the single Spell Counter that Servant of Endymion had."

[Reflection of Endymion: Spell Counter(s): 2]

"I'll then discard Spell Power Grasp from my hand to activate Endymion the Master Magician's effect. I will target and destroy a card on the field! I'll choose Dragravion!" The second Xyz Monster was torn off Kaito's field.

"Photon Emperor was just sent to the graveyard," Kaito said. The monster reappeared on the field in Defense Position again.

Just Galaxy Photon Dragon and Photon Emperor left…

"I've activated three Spells since I summoned Master Cerberus," Mion said. "That means that Master Cerberus currently has six Spell Counters. By removing four of those, I will remove Galaxy Photon Dragon from play—and until the end of your turn, Master Cerberus gains attack points equal to its attack points!" From what she'd seen, Galaxy Photon Dragon could still help him make more Xyz Summons even without material, whereas Dragravion, even if he revived it, had no materials to help him whatsoever.

Master Cerberus raised his hand.

"Erasure Experiment!"

Mist consumed the dragon, removing it from the field.

[Mythical Beast Master Cerberus: Spell Counter(s): 2; 2800 + 2000 = 4800ATK]

"Battle Phase," Mion declared. "Mythical Beast Master Cerberus attacks Photon Emperor!"

"... Photon Jumper's effect. I will skip my next Battle Phase and Special Summon it." Kaito placed down the card on the field—a blue-skinned figure appeared on the field, red and white fabric wrapped around his shoulder and waist—he drew a piece of fabric through the air like a matador.

[Photon Jumper (4*/0/0/LIGHT/Warrior/Effect)]

"And then—" Kaito gestured towards her sharply. "Your Battle Phase ends."

… hmm.

"Fair enough," Mion said. She glanced at her field. Was there any obvious weak point that she should be worried about—yes. Obviously there was.

Alright then.

"I will set the Scale 2 Servant of Endymion in my Pendulum Scale again. Open, the circuit of the glittering citadel! Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are at least two monsters, including a Spellcaster monster! I will set Royal Magical Library, Endymion the Master Magician and Reflection of Endymion in the Link Markers! Moonlight shines down on the citadel lit to the brim with magic. Beautiful empress, crush those that would ruin your peaceful empire! Circuit Combine! Link 3! Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians!" Her favourite Link Monster appeared on the field, glowing brightly.

[Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians (L3/1850/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Link/Effect/↙, ↓, ↘)]

"Selene gains a Spell Counter for each Spell on the field and in the graveyards," Mion explained. "Both mine and yours. My Pendulum Monsters in the Pendulum Scales count as Continuous Spells. So that is my Magical Citadel, my Mythical Institution and my Servant of Endymion—along with the eight Spells in my graveyard, including the Terraforming that returned there once your Number left the field. And you have Accellight in your graveyard too. So that's twelve!"

[Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians: Spell Counter(s): 12]

"Link Summoning," Kaito muttered. "You… are…"

… right. They didn't like Link Summoning.

"I'll remove three of Selene's Spell Counters to Special Summon a Spellcaster monster from my graveyard in Defense Position to a zone she points to," Mion explained. "Come back—Night's End Sorcerer!" The white-haired sorcerer holding onto a scythe appeared, sitting down in front of her.

[Night's End Sorcerer (2*/1300/400/DARK/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect)]

[Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians: Spell Counter(s): 9]

"Night's End Sorcerer's effect," Mion continued. "When Special Summoned, I can target up to two cards in your graveyard and banish them." She gestured forward. "I will banish Galaxy Summoner and Photon Vanisher from your graveyard."

So no free revival with Summoner for him.

"I'll end my turn," Mion finally said.

Kaito looked at her.

What he said next was so ridiculous that for a moment, Mion thought that she had misheard. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"... what's your name?" He asked.

Mion blinked. "... Mion Myojin," she said. Why had he asked though?

---

Kaito stared at her for a moment longer.

For as casually as this girl spoke…

She was a bit of a monster herself. If she wanted, she could definitely have extended further. Not to mention, any Spells that he activated would help her too.

What a monster. I don't even want to imagine how many cards she just cycled through in a single turn. For as casually as she seems to treat her moves…

Mion Myojin.

I won't lose to you. But I'll remember you.

---

[Turn 4: Kaito] [H:5]

"Draw," Kaito said. "Since there is a "Photon" monster on the field, I can Special Summon Photon Advancer from my hand!" A cyborg made of white metal appeared on the field, blue light shining within its body.

[Photon Advancer (4*/1000/1000/LIGHT/Warrior/Effect)]

"I'll overlay the Level 4 Photon Advancer and the Level 4 Photon Jumper! Stars collide and form a regal blaze! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Roar with pride—Starliege Photon Blast Dragon!" A white dragon with darker patterns on it appeared, light blue panels forming thick wings that swept out behind it.

[Starliege Photon Blast Dragon (R4/1800/2500/LIGHT/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"When Starliege Photon Blast Dragon is Xyz Summoned, I can Special Summon a "Photon" monster from my hand," Kaito continued. "Come—Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" In front of him, an enormous blue dragon appeared, glowing brightly.

[Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon (8*/3000/2500/LIGHT/Dragon/Effect)]

"I'll then overlay the Level 8 Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and the Level 8 Photon Emperor!" The two monsters turned into bright streaks of light that spun around. "Galaxy shining in the darkness, dwell in the demonic god of revenge and become my very servant! Xyz Summon! Descend, Rank 8! Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

Alright. Mion watched as the dragon appeared.

… so that was Kaito Tenjo's ace.

[Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon (R8/3000/2500/LIGHT/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

Had anything changed about it?

"I'll detach an Overlay Unit from Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon to target a monster you control and take control of it, but its effects are negated and its name and attack points become the same as Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon itself," Kaito said. He clenched a fist. "I'll choose your Mythical Beast Master Cerberus. Cipher Projection!"

Mion watched as Master Cerberus was dragged over to Kaito's side of the field.

[Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

"Photon Emperor Special Summons itself back to the field," Kaito said, the warrior reappearing in Defense Position. "You said that your Pendulum Monsters only go to the Extra Deck if they are sent there from the field… correct?"

"Correct," Mion said.

"Then you'll never get your monster back," Kaito said. "I'll overlay the Level 8 Mythical Beast Master Cerberus, treated as Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, and the Level 8 Photon Emperor!"

Using her monster as material…

Smart. It was unfortunate that her monster had the same Level as his—but that was just how things were.

"Return to my side! Xyz Summon! Rank 8! Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy!" The dragon from earlier reappeared on the field—Mion winced briefly. He had pinned down that negating Spells did slow her down, then…

"While I control Starliege Photon Blast Dragon, my opponent cannot target or destroy monsters I control with 2000 or more attack points," Kaito said, his voice rather chilly. "I will set a card and end—"

"Are you trying to end your Main Phase?" Mion asked—and briefly realised how much she sounded like Kaname. Geez.

"... yes. I assume that's what ending my turn means." After all, they both knew that Photon Jumper had sacrificed his Battle Phase earlier—though he didn't seem too bothered by it.

"Selene's effect doesn't trigger only on my turn," Mion said. "I will remove three Spell Counters from her—return to my field. Mythical Beast Medusa." A dark creature with tentacles of mist coming out of it appeared, floating behind Selene in Defense Position.

[Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians: Spell Counter(s): 6]

[Mythical Beast Medusa (4*/S4/1500/1500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect)]

"... fine. We'll continue a little longer. Spell Card, Galactic Charity." He revealed a card in his hand. "All damage that you take for the rest of this turn is halved. I can discard a "Galaxy" card to draw two cards."

That was… Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, huh? Another copy of it?

Kaito then placed down another card. "I will Normal Summon Galaxy Knight without a tribute with its own effect." A knight in silver armour appeared to the left of Starliege Photon Blast Dragon.

[Galaxy Knight (8*/2800/2600/LIGHT/Warrior/Effect)]

"Then, by decreasing its attack points by 1000, I can Special Summon Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon from the graveyard in Defense Position." The dragon from earlier reappeared on the field. "I'll activate the effect of Galaxy-Eyes Afterglow Dragon in my hand—since I control a "Galaxy-Eyes" monster, I can Special Summon it from my hand in Defense Position." A glowing blue dragon appeared, claws raised.

[Galaxy-Eyes Afterglow Dragon (8*/3000/2500/LIGHT/Dragon/Effect)]

… three Level 8 monsters, huh?

"I'll overlay the Level 8 Galaxy Knight, Galaxy-Eyes Afterglow Dragon and Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon! Radiant galaxy, here and now become the striking light, and show yourself! Descend, my very soul! Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"

And—

If there had been something holy to the appearance of the rest of Kaito's dragons, with that ethereal blue… this new dragon was something else entirely. It glowed a bright red that crossed the line from beauty to disturbing. Most of its scales were matte black, and as it raised its head and roared, its wings briefly flashed a vivid, dark red.

[Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon (R8/4500/3000/LIGHT/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) (OU:3)]

It was easy to forget, Mion thought, that this man had been through hell. Maybe this was a reflection of that.

"When Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon is Xyz Summoned, all other face-up cards on the field have their effects negated!"

Mion's eyes widened. "But that doesn't make any sense!" She exclaimed. "You're negating the effects of your own monsters—both the one that could protect that monster and the one that could negate my cards too…"

… oh.

So he'd never intended to bring this monster out this turn. That was the obvious answer—this went against everything else that he'd done that turn.

The answer to that then… was that Kaito Tenjo had lost his patience with her.

… Mion probably couldn't blame him for that.

"I somewhat know how counters work," Kaito said. "No matter how many of them they build up, they have one key weakness—the moment that you negate the effects of the card that holds them…" He raised a hand, clenching a fist. "They slip away, like water into the ground. And with their effects negated, they will never regain what they had again."

[Magical Citadel of Endymion: Spell Counter(s): 0]

[Servant of Endymion: Spell Counter(s): 0]

[Mythical Institution: Spell Counter(s): 0]

[Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians: Spell Counter(s): 0]

[Mythical Beast Medusa: Spell Counter(s): 0]

"I'll set a card. It's your move."

[Turn 5: Mion] [H:4]

"Draw," Mion said. She stared at her field.

Without being able to gain Spell Counters… it slowed down a lot of her plays. Especially if she had lost Selene's effects.

… still. It meant that she just had to start from scratch. And he couldn't negate her Spells… well, maybe his set card could, but nothing else.

"Continuous Spell, Endymion's Lab," Mion said. "This card is treated as "Magical Citadel of Endymion" while it is face-up on the field, and it gains a Spell Counter when a Spell is activated." She revealed another card in her hand. "Spell Card, Spell Power Mastery. I'll add an "Endymion" card from my deck to my hand. And—I have two copies of Spell Power Grasp and a copy of Spell Power Mastery in my graveyard, along with the one that I just played. That means that I can place four Spell Counters on a card on the field. I choose Endymion's Lab, which also gains one with its own effect."

[Endymion's Lab: Spell Counter(s): 5]

"Spell Card, Duelist Alliance," Mion continued. "I'll add a "Pendulum" Pendulum Monster or a "Pendulum" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand."

"... Pendulum Monster?"

""Pendulum" Pendulum." Mion paused. "... Pendulum Monster with "Pendulum" in the name." She picked up the card. "I'll add Pendulum Paradox to my hand. And now, Endymion's Lab has six Spell Counters. I will remove all of them—and my Endymion, the Master Magician comes back." The dark spellcaster reappeared on the field. "With his effect, I'll add a Spell Card from my graveyard to my hand. I'll add Spell Power Grasp to my hand." She revealed the Spell. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Spell Power Grasp. I will place a Spell Counter on Endymion's Lab—and I will add another copy of Spell Power Grasp to my hand."

She revealed the card in her hand, gesturing forward.

"I'll discard Spell Power Grasp from my hand to activate the effect of Endymion, the Master Magician. I will destroy… Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon."

The dragon shattered—but then Kaito flipped up his set card.

"Trap Card, Tachyon Chaos Hole," he said icily. "Since you destroyed my "Galaxy" Xyz Monster, I can destroy all face-up cards you control and banish them. You won't be able to keep looping that monster anymore."

Mion's eyes widened—and then her entire field was wiped out a moment later, leaving her field a blank slate again.

Banished, huh…

She glanced at the three cards in her hand.

Alright. There was a way out of this.

"Spell Card, Pendulum Paradox," she declared. "I can add two face-up Pendulum Monsters in my Extra Deck to my hand, as long as they have the same Pendulum Scale and different names!" She picked up the two cards, revealing them. "I will add Mythical Beast Bashilisk and Mythical Beast Jackal King back to my hand." She glanced through her hand, before revealing a card. "I'll Normal Summon Magical Something." A mage with long dark hair appeared, dressed in blue and black robes, holding up a long scythe and slashing through the air with it.

[Magical Something (4*/1800/1300/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"I'll set the Scale 4 Mythical Beast Bashilisk in the Pendulum Scale. I'll destroy it, shuffle Reflection of Endymion into the deck and draw a card." She picked up the card. "Magical Something gains a Spell Counter for each Spell Card that's activated. I'll set the Scale 4 Mythical Beast Jackal King in the Pendulum Scale as well. I'll destroy it and Special Summon Mythical Beast Bashilisk from my Extra Deck." In front of her, the misty blue and green beast reappeared.

[Mythical Beast Bashilisk (4*/S4/1800/500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect)]

"I'll then set the Scale 3 Magical Abductor in the Pendulum Scale. And by removing three Spell Counters from Magical Something, I can set a Quickplay Spell from my graveyard to my field. I will set Mythical Bestiary to my field. And now, I'll set my Scale 9 The Watcher - Mythical Vestige Priestess in my Pendulum Scale!"

The beautiful, pink-haired spellcaster rose up in the Pendulum Scale, her body illuminated and distorted by the blue light, especially her wings, which seemed to be glitching out—

For a brief moment, Mion's skin felt like it was itching—there was a spike of pain in her left hand, which was weird, considering that it was a prosthetic. Phantom pains…?

"What is that?" Kaito muttered, shielding his eyes briefly. "It's just a blur... I can't even see it properly..."

"Open again, my circuit! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two Spellcaster monsters! I will set Mythical Beast Bashilisk and Magical Something in the Link Markers! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2—Crowley, the First Propheseer!" In front of her, a large cylindrical capsule with a man floating within it appeared. Around it, a bright green glow surrounded the whole capsule, casting a rather strange light on the ground around it.

[Crowley, the First Propheseer (L2/1000/DARK/Spellcaster/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]

"Crowley's effect," she said. "I can reveal three "Spellbook" cards with different names from my deck, and you randomly choose one for me to add to my hand. I'll reveal Spellbook Magician of Prophecy, Spellbook of Secrets and Spellbook of Knowledge."

The cards spun around. Kaito gestured towards the right dismissively, and Mion added the card to her hand, before placing the rest back in her deck.

A two out of three chance that he'd pick a card that gives me the rest of the engine. Still a gamble, though.

She picked up the card, before she revealed it in her hand.

"Spell Card, Spellbook of Secrets. I'll add the Spell Card, Spellbook of Knowledge from my deck to my hand. And then, with the effect of Mythical Vestige Priestess, I will discard a Spell to draw a card."

She picked up the card, before blinking.

That draw… was too perfect, to be honest…?

"Spell Card, Monster Reborn," she said. "I want Royal Magical Library."

The dark obelisks, floating in Defense Position, appeared on the field.

"I've used three Spells since I set Magical Abductor in the Pendulum Scale. So she has three Spell Counters. I'll use Magical Abductor's effect to remove three Spell Counters from her and add a Pendulum Monster from my deck to my hand." She picked up the card. "With my current Pendulum Scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from Level 4 to 8. Return from my Extra Deck—Mythical Beast Bashilisk, Mythical Beast Jackal King. And from my hand, Mythical Beast Garuda!" Bashilisk reappeared, and Jackal King was next to it, naturally, wisps of mist around it. A blue bird landed next to them—that was Garuda.

[Mythical Beast Jackal King (6*/S4/2400/1400/DARK/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect)]

[Mythical Beast Garuda (4*/S4/1200/1600/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect)]

"I'll overlay the Level 4 Mythical Beast Garuda, the Level 4 Mythical Beast Bashilisk and the Level 4 Royal Magical Library!" The three monsters turned into orbs that swirled around each other. "Cocky, wise alchemist sitting in the underground laboratory. With your enthusiastic passion, share your wisdom and strength! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Alchemic Magician!" A green-haired alchemist appeared—most of her clothing was varying shades of green as well. She adjusted her goggles with a smirk.

[Alchemic Magician (R4/1500/1500/DARK/Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect) (OU:3)]

"Alchemic Magician gains 200 attack points for each Spell in my graveyard." The green-haired woman stretched her arms upwards, looking rather smug.

[Alchemic Magician: 1500 + 200 x 13 = 4100ATK]

"Battle Phase!" Mion declared. "Alchemic Magician attacks Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy!" The Xyz Monster was destroyed in a single blow, crushing it.

Kaito: 4000 - 1100 = 2900LP

"Jackal King attacks Starliege Photon Blast Dragon!"

Kaito: 2900 - 600 = 2300LP

"I end my turn," Mion said.

Kaito stared at her. "During the Draw Phase, instead of drawing," he said, "I can banish Tachyon Chaos Hole from my graveyard to Special Summon a "Galaxy" Xyz Monster from the graveyard. Come back, Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" The glowing red and black dragon appeared on his field. "And, I—"

"Mion-san!"

Mion turned her head. Yuya and Yuzu had come down the stairs—had they finally dealt with the people that had headed up after them? Fair. Mion turned back to Kaito—

Whose expression had warped at the sight of Yuya and Yuzu. Now, there was something rather like… fury in his expression.

"Is…" Yuya looked directly at Kaito. "You're… Kaito Tenjo, right?"

"... you look like Yuto. And you look like Ruri."

(There was a tempest brewing in his voice.)

Mion took a step forward, as though to shield them from his sight—but then, Yuya moved forward. "I found this," he said. He lifted up a photo, holding it out towards Kaito. "That's you, right? And that man in the same photo as you, that's my father."

Kaito took a step backward.

"So you know what happened to my father, right?" Yuya said, clearly not noticing. "Then—please tell me! Tell me what happened to him! Tell me where he went!"

"... I refuse."

"What?" Yuya's eyes widened. "But—you knew my father! You're smiling in this photo!"

Yuzu was holding onto something too, but Mion couldn't make it out.

"Please, I want to know what happened to—"

"I said that I refuse!" Kaito swept a hand through the air. "... god, all of you. Resistance, Lancers, you're all the same. You ask so many questions and think so much and you never fucking act! I don't want to answer all your questions, I don't want to have to justify things for you people, I just want to be left alone to deal with Academia as I fucking please—why do all of you keep coming to find me?"

Yuya stood there, frozen.

"Hate who you hate, admire who you admire, but leave me out of it," Kaito spat out. He turned away—

"You're still dueling me," Mion said. "Are you leaving in the middle of the duel?"

Kaito slowly turned back towards her. "I've won," he pointed out. "You have no set cards. Your deck is Spell-dependent, meaning that most of your removal is on your own turn. Your deck aims to set up a field and defeat me by gaining more and more card advantage—but I've already seen it. You do nothing on my turn."

"... bet," Mion said, stuffing her hands in her pockets—the skin of her left arm really felt itchy now, and she still wasn't sure why. "Want to test it?"

There was still a specific card in her graveyard to help her, after all…

Kaito looked at her, before scoffing. "And waste my time? You're nothing much."

With that, he disconnected the duel—as the holograms faded, the strange static in the air seemed to fade. He turned and moved away. Yuya started forward, but Mion grabbed his arm, pulling him back. (She briefly felt a jolt of pain in her chest—her ribs again. Fantastic.)

"Leave him be," she said.

"But, he knows about my father—"

"And that's a good clue. But someone like that won't be convinced just by you pleading." Mion sighed. "... I think there was a slim chance I might have survived that turn, but otherwise… he's good. I can see why Nue always talked him up so much."

Yuya stood there. The photo hung from his fingers.

"I found this," Yuzu said, holding out the thing that she'd picked up. The card was recognisable enough for Mion—

It would be recognisable to anyone that had ever seen Yusho Sakaki duel.

"Smile World," she and Yuya said at the same time. Yuya continued: "Someone tore my father's Smile World. But this entire time, he was just giving them out willy-nilly. To whoever this was. To Dennis. To just anyone and everyone—and he was here, teaching other people this entire time—"

"Yuya…" Yuzu reached out, trying to pat his shoulder. Yuya, however, unconsciously bristled at the touch.

"I just—he was fine! He was completely fine! And yet, he just taught people here. He just did enough here that people learned from him and respected him, apparently—and that entire time, he spent it making other people smile, instead of trying to come home!" Yuya clenched his fists. "Reiji Akaba said that my father left to try and stop Leo Akaba. But he was here for more than two years! He never tried to go to the Fusion Dimension, he never tried to come home, he didn't even stop this invasion—what did my father even do? What was he trying to accomplish? Was he just… what, going with the flow? Doing what he was told?"

"Yuya!"

"Your dad is good, Yuzu!" Yuya shouted. "You might think he's cringeworthy and too protective—but at least he was there for you! Every single day, he watched your matches, cheered you on, wanted to know about your day—my dad has spent every single day of my life thinking that everything except me is important!"

Yuzu looked shocked—and then, a look of sorrow creased her features.

"Everyone was trying to tell me," Yuya said. "All along, everyone said that my dad was irresponsible. They said he was a coward. I just ignored everything and assumed that I knew best, but…"

He stared towards where Kaito had left.

"Everyone knew better," he finally said. "Everyone already knew. Yuno told me that I deserved an apology from everyone… including my father. And he was right. The one who wronged me first was my father! My father was wrong!" He pressed his hands to the side of his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "And I'm only understanding that now—I've been lying to myself for years of my life."

Yuzu didn't seem to know what to say—her hands were over her mouth, and there were tears in the corner of her eyes.

Mion didn't touch Yuya, but she did take a step forward, stepping between him and where Kaito had gone—just in case he tried to run for it.

"You're right," she said, her voice even. "You're right, Yuya. You're right to be hurt. And I know that finding all of these different things is just salt in the wound."

"It hurts," Yuya said, covering his face. "I'm trying so hard to find him. I'm trying so hard. I might never find him because everyone in the world's given up except me. He's abandoned everyone and everything, but I'm the only one that's still trying to find him. I'm trying so hard, I am, I am…"

Mion looked at him. Briefly, there was a brief twinge in her heart.

She wrapped her arms around him in a hug. (It was one of the most purely comforting things she'd done in a long time.)

"I know," she muttered. "It hurts to be abandoned."

"But I don't want to give up," Yuya said, voice muffled. "Is that wrong?"

"... I don't think so," Mion finally said. I won't ever look for the approval of a person who won't look at me again. "You're not obligated to. Giving up doesn't make you a worse person."

"... okay," Yuya said. "Then… I'm not going to give up. I've gone so long, I can't stop now…"

"Okay," Mion said, keeping her voice even. "That's fine."

"... I just need to not smile for a bit."

Mion closed her eyes briefly, shoving down the thoughts that were coming to mind. "Yes. That's fine. All people need that, sometimes." She turned to Yuzu, nodding—the pink-haired girl moved in, wrapping her arms around Yuya from the back too.

The red-haired boy cried—

And somehow, Mion felt that it was for the best. That it was for the best that he got to let this out now.

… they hadn't found Yusho Sakaki in the end. Only the traces of his past there.

Maybe that was why it had hurt Yuya so much.

… I'm not going to get attached. He's similar to me, but…

This is just me comforting my past self. It has nothing to do with him.

… I need to remind myself of that.

---

If I remembered correctly, it should be in this direction.

"Yuto!"

Yuto turned his head, somewhat surprised—Sawatari hurried over, along with Serena. Behind them, Ruri shot him an apologetic smile. "How did you guys know…"

"With how mad you looked, of course you would be sneaking out!" Sawatari huffed.

"What he said." Serena folded her arms. "We're not supposed to go out alone. But we're not going to be able to stop you—if I had a sister and she got in trouble, I'm sure I would be mad too. So we'll just go with you."

Ruri nodded, stepping forward. She took his hand, shooting him a meaningful look. "I said I'd be with you," she said. "Let's go."

Yuto looked at them.

He'd been steaming in anger the entire time, but…

They'd come to find him, even as he'd charged off alone.

"Where are we going?" Sawatari said.

"... I need to talk to a certain bastard," Yuto said, stressing the word to make it clear that he intended on doing nothing of the sort. "So that's where we're going."

"... well, lead the way," Serena said, gesturing forward. "We might as well go."

---

OC Cards:

Mimosa the Melodious Illusion Maiden

(4*/S1/1200/1000/LIGHT/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect)

Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, if you control a LIGHT monster: You can destroy 1 Spell/Trap on the field.

If this card is Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Melodious" monster from your Deck to your hand. You can Tribute this card; all "Melodious" monsters you control gain 500 ATK. You can only activate each effect of "Mimosa the Melodious Illusion Maiden" once per turn.

Fairall the Melodious Illusion Maiden

(4*/S9/1500/800/LIGHT/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect)

Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, if you control a Fairy monster: You can negate the effects of 1 face-up card on the field.

Once per turn, if this card was Normal or Special Summoned this turn: You can Special Summon 1 "Melodious" monster from your hand. If your opponent activates a monster effect: You can send this card from the hand or field to the GY; negate that effect. You can only activate this effect of "Fairall the Melodious Illusion Maiden" once per turn.

Natural Energy Spirit - Reflowering Angel

(7*/S4/2500/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect)

Pendulum Effect: Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can Tribute 1 Pendulum Monster you control; negate the effect of all Pendulum Monsters your opponent controls until the End Phase.

(This card is always treated as a "Melodious" monster.) If you have 2 cards in your Pendulum Zones, you can Special Summon this card from your hand, and if you do, it cannot be targeted by card effects until the End Phase. (This is treated as a Pendulum Summon.) You cannot Pendulum Summon other monsters on the turn that you activate this effect. This card cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. Once per turn, if this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: You can inflict damage to your opponent equal to the number of Special Summoned monsters they control x 500, and if you do, draw 1 card. You can only control 1 "Natural Energy Spirit - Reflowering Angel".

Mottotheme

(Spell/Quickplay)

If you control a "Melodious" monster(s): Target 1 face-up card on the field; negate its effects until the End Phase. You can banish this card from the GY; Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Melodious" monster from your hand or GY with a different name from cards on your field, but its ATK/DEF becomes 0. You can only activate 1 "Mottotheme" per turn.

The Watcher - Mythical Vestige Priestess

(8*/S9/3000/2000/WIND/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect)

Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can discard 1 Spell; draw 1 card. You can only use this effect of "The Watcher - Mythical Vestige Priestess" once per turn.

If a Special Summoned monster your opponent controls declares an attack: You can discard 1 Spell; Special Summon this card from your Deck or face-up in your Extra Deck, and if you do, take 1000 damage, and if possible, you can place 2 Spell Counters on a card on the field that a Spell Counter can be placed on. During the Standby Phase: You can banish 1 Pendulum Monster from your GY; excavate the top 3 cards of your Deck, and add up to 1 Pendulum Monster or Spell from among them to your hand, and then shuffle the other cards back into the Deck. If this card leaves the field: You can target 1 Pendulum Monster face-up in either player's Extra Deck, except "The Watcher - Mythical Vestige Priestess"; Special Summon it. You can only activate each effect of "The Watcher - Mythical Vestige Priestess" once per turn.

---

Different Card Effects from TCG:

Dogs - Hound Dog is modified so you don't need your opponent to control a monster.

Bloom Diva the Melodious Floral Saint - Anime effect. There's an issue where Bloom Diva is treated as inflicting effect damage at some times, and battle damage at some times with its effect. This fic treats it as effect damage, since the TCG version inflicts effect damage.

Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon - Anime effect.

---

End Notes:

Yuzu gets to sweep on screen because she hasn't actually done it yet, but I think you roughly know how Yuya and Mion would do it, so we're skipping over it. Then, we have Mion Myojin vs Kaito Tenjo, a duel so painful to write that I was dreading this chapter for ages.

Let's all laugh at me for making OC Pendulums for Yuzu, only for Melodious Pendulums to be released literal moments after. Okay? Got that out of your system? :) And now let's acknowledge that for power curve reasons, I'm not giving them all to Yuzu now. It's too soon to give her another upgrade. She gets Spectacular Bach/Bacha immediately, but that's it. We good? We good :)

The image of Yuzu's opponent throwing themselves against Bloom Diva over and over and just taking themselves out was too funny to exclude. On the other hand, Yuzu was originally supposed to summon Bloom Diva with Ostinato, but I forgot that I was using anime Bloom Diva for this one, so… hmm. Used up more hand advantage in Turn 1 than I personally wanted her to use.

If you thought this was ending in any way other than a DNF or a loss this early in the arc, you're kidding yourself :) That being said, I needed a way to have Kaito learn about Pendulums. Being Kaito Tenjo, he's not sitting down and reading a report. And for… reasons, it couldn't be Yuya. :)

I don't think that anyone was expecting Mion to get Crowley, but well… I did always plan for her to use that monster, since Yu Sakuragi is a non-existent person right now. I did give her the Spellbook engine pretty early on, and well, there's a lot of reasons that went into it, but let's just say that the Prophecy Link Monster is too good to waste, even if I'm not using the full archetype here. What would the result have been if Kaito hadn't left? You can probably guess.

This fic will attempt to treat Yusho with fairness… but in doing so, it also has to treat Yuya fairly for what he endured. So yeah. Yuya will get a duel eventually in the arc too—for now, we just need a bit more from him on the non-fighting front.

Next chapter won't actually continue with the Yuto group. It'll be going back to… well, you'll see :) And I get to stop writing Kaito Tenjo's duels for a while! :) No one's more glad about that than me.

Review responses!

To cardfan135, I don't think I can comment on shipping, but that's cute :) And yes, Chiaki and Kyorin was very fun for me to write too.

To Egduardiazsluber, I don't talk about future cards, but yes, there are some Numbers given to specific characters throughout the arc.

To TheRealD3lph0xL0v3r, glad you enjoyed.

To the anonymous Guest, I don't steal cards from other fanfics without the author's consent. Plus, I don't force in elements from other fanfics that don't fit in my narrative.

To Bryz0n, I'm definitely not an artist, so it's a bit hard for me to draw my characters like that, haha. As for Kaito and Yuya talking… Kaito is not in the position to talk to anyone right now, so it'll take a while, but the boys will get there :)

To CruelDiamond422, it was a pretty funny coincidence, yeah. For Dragluon's effect, I restricted it to Battle Phase purely because it would be too cruel to make it a Quick Effect, since he could steal monsters from his opponent before they used them as material. Battle Phase at least gives his opponents a chance to defend themselves by setting up some kind of negation mechanism. I didn't consciously stop doing the QOTC, it just took me more effort to come up with the questions and I got burned out on making them :)

To phantomdragons, we all love Kaito and Rio! :)

That's it! See you next time!