Wow, honestly, I did not expect so much time to pass by the last time I uploaded this, but I'm back now!
Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own any Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!
"Mitsumi-chan! Let's switch places!"
"...Eh?"
Yuzu was standing in front of Mitsumi, clasping her hands together with hers, as she loudly declared her proclamation to her female friend with her eyes sparkling. Mitsumi could only stare at Yuzu in confusion and disbelief over what she said.
"Yuzu-chan...I'm afraid I don't understand. What do you mean by 'switching places?'"
"I mean what I said! You pretend to be me, and I pretend to be you! Look, I even got the makeup and wigs ready!" Yuzu stated, addressing to the large shopping bag she brought over.
"Wha-Hold on, hold on! Where is this coming from?" Mitsumi asked. "Yuzu-chan...could you please explain?"
Yuzu sighed and took a deep breath, calming herself before sitting down on the couch of Mitsumi's living room. "Alright, alright...So, you know how the You Show Duel school has a low reputation and isn't really that popular?"
Mitsumi nodded. "Yup. You know that you, me, and Yuya are the only students attending."
"Right, well, you also have to know that financially, the school isn't doing that great either. Well, I mean, it's only us three, after all."
In all honesty, Mitsumi was...actually pretty surprised and a little impressed that the school has held for this long. It's been close to like, three years since Yushou, Yuya's father and the other owner of the You Show Duel School besides Yuzu's father, disappeared and the reputation for the You Show Duel School went down drastically. Normally, in such circumstances, the school would have been permanently shut down in less than a year or so, but it was still operational even after so long.
Yuzu squeezed her hands at her lap, looking down. "Dad...He told me not to mention anything like this to anyone, especially to Yuya, but...well, can you keep this a secret, Mitsumi-chan?"
Whatever Yuzu had to say must be incredibly important, especially if it was to keep it a secret from Yuya, her other best friend. Plus, Mitsumi knew she had no reason to refuse. "O-Okay, what is it?"
"Well, I mentioned before that financially, the school isn't really going well. It's not just with taxes, either. Supplies, the machinery, and a whole lot of renovations is needed to keep the school going. Well, with the just the three of us, it's not so bad, but if there was a huge load of students, these sort of things would be noticed right away. But, the main issue is finances. Do you know how exactly my father's been able to keep the school running by himself while also taking care of me?"
Truth be told, that sort of thought never crossed her mind. Mitsumi's main focuses were towards her Grandma, school, dealing with Shingo, and keeping her secret life hidden from her friends for life.
"Well...I imagine it must be incredibly hard," Mitsumi admitted. "I mean, my home life is pretty hard with just me and Grandma, but I guess your Dad has to focus on both teaching and caring for you."
Yuzu nodded. "Right...And the thing is, the only way he financially supports the school is by working multiple part-time jobs everyday, morning and evening. He wakes up early and gets back home late at night. He spends the afternoon teaching us lessons and I try to help out whenever I can, but I feel like it's not enough. Even when I help out the school, do the chores, cook meals, I feel like it's never enough."
Hearing Yuzu's confession made Elize realize that in this way, Yuzu was acting exactly like her. Working and trying hard for her family, accomplishing daily goals only to continue feeling as though said goals weren't ever enough to help out the family. If Yuzu's relationship was like that with her family, then it could be the same for Mitsumi and her Grandma.
Yuzu continued, "And, I want to help and support Dad, but I'm too young to be taking on jobs anyways. Plus, even if I do get a job, if my Dad finds out, it'll be pretty bad."
"Well, what does disguising as me has anything to do with all this?" wondered Mitsumi.
"I'm thinking of going Pro when I grow older. Like, I want to be a Pro Duelist who also specializes in in Entertainment Dueling, just like with Yuya! But, with Entertainment Dueling, I'm going to have to go through tons of things a magician would use, like costumes," Yuzu explained. "That also means acting and roleplaying, and if I'm going to get good with that, then I need to practice using disguises."
Suddenly, Yuzu's actions from earlier made a lot of sense. She wanted to switch places with Mitsumi and act just like her to improve her skills in Entertainment Dueling just to be a Pro Duelist who could also support her father. It was such a touching and relatable matter...
That Mitsumi almost immediately rejected her.
Well, she had thoughts of denying Yuzu the chance for improvisation, but stopped herself. Hearing her reasons reminded Mitsumi of her own circumstances. Like Yuzu wanted to help her father, Mitsumi also wanted to help out her Grandma no matter what. Even if she helps with the chores at home, Mitsumi feels it wouldn't be enough, like how Yuzu was feeling. And getting a job was out of the question as well, so Mitsumi could definitely relate to Yuzu in regards of doing anything to supporting family.
However, at the same time, Mitsumi knew that Yuzu's grand plan to become a Pro Duelist in her terms...had a near-chance, if not a total possibility, of becoming a failure. When Mitsumi heard of Yuzu's plans, she wanted to reprimand her, calling her methods childish and naive. That Pro Duelists had to experience many hardships to get what they wanted, and that Yuzu's plan was just simple, baby-level training at worst. Simply witnessing other peoples' examples and being skilled in a specialization was far from what could be considered a true Pro Duelist.
But, if Mitsumi mentioned any of this, she would have to explain herself. Why was she saying all these things? How did she know that the path of being a Pro Duelist would be so challenging and difficult? Although Mitsumi would outright deny it, the truth was...
Mitsumi used to be a Pro Duelist herself.
Well, in late teens or around adult ages, she would officially be a Pro Duelist. But because she was so young at the time, when she 3 years old, she could be considered a Junior Pro Duelist. Children under teen ages who were prodigies and/or talented enough to be Pro Duelist-level were unofficially referred as Junior Pro Duelists, and those who continued down the path of Pro Dueling generally had a better life than regular Pro Duelists.
But, the path of being a Pro Duelist from such a young age had...much harsher hardships than the usual hardships and experiences an older Pro Duelist had to go through. Their training, mannerisms, intelligence, dueling styles, decks, and all kinds had to be sharpened and educated at an irregular but hasty pace to be the best of the best.
In simpler terms, it was hellish training for Junior Pro Duelists.
Because children that were accepted as Pro Duelists were very few, so young, and incredibly rare, they were a lot more famous than regular Pro Duelists, which earned them a lot of popularity, and yet a lot of resentment from many others. It was like two sides of one coin; both good and bad. One must have a good side and a bad side. The good side is all the popularity, praise, sponsorship, and so forth, but the bad side of it all isn't just the hellish training, but the amount of enemies and rivals one also receives.
Mitsumi herself used to be a Junior Pro Duelist, until she obtained the opportunity to walk away and quit.
But that's a tale for another time. Mitsumi knew Yuzu wouldn't say something that serious without taking into serious consideration, that she would never joke about that. It seemed that Yuzu really was serious about being a Pro Duelist. As much as Yuzu was her friend, Mitsumi really didn't want to get involved nor help Yuzu with her ambitions.
Mitsumi had no issues in Yuzu being a Pro Duelist, in fact, she wouldn't even dare get in her way. What truly frustrated Mitsumi about all of this was the fact that Yuzu was approaching this in such a naive manner. The truth of the manner is, it would take much more than determination and hard work to get so far.
And even then, Mitsumi wouldn't dare subject anyone to the Pro Duelist training she personally considered as hell and torture.
Still, Mitsumi couldn't just up and refuse without a reason, and simply saying that she didn't feel like helping seemed like a pretty weak and poor reasoning to give. No way was she ever going to explain to Yuzu the true reasons of her refusal, so the only other option was to help Yuzu out for a little bit. Hopefully, she would be able to dissuade her somehow throughout this process.
"...Okay, Yuzu-chan! I'll help out as much as I can!" said Mitsumi. "I just have to switch places and pretend to be you, right? Um...how long will this last?"
"Hmm...How about the end goal of this will be only for today?" suggested Yuzu. "I wanna see how many people we can fool! Not only would it help improve my skills, but it would be a ton of fun, wouldn't you think?"
"Well...as long as this idea of yours doesn't really hurt anyone...I guess it's alright..."
"Yay!" Yuzu fished out two wigs from the nearby shopping bag; the wigs identical to their own hairstyles and color. "I got the wigs right here! Plus-" She dropped the wigs and took out a few outfits from the shopping bag. "These cute clothes I bought! They were having a big discount and sales today, so I took the chance to get some new clothes! Pretty neat, huh?"
"...Wait a minute, you didn't have to go do all that," pointed out Mitsumi.
"Huh?"
"I mean, you and I could have easily switched clothes. We're about the same size, after all. All you needed to do was buy the wigs and-" Mitsumi paused, realizing that Yuzu probably wasn't thinking straight when she found the cute clothes she bought, enough to forget her father's own financial situation. That left Mitsumi to form an expression of disbelief at Yuzu.
Coming to the same realization as Mitsumi, Yuzu's face turned red from embarrassment. "Y-You don't have to look at me like that! Don't give me that whole 'are you an idiot, you spent money when you just explained your money problems' face!"
Mitsumi looked away. "N-No, I wasn't thinking like that!" 'I totally was,' she thought.
But Yuzu could see right through Mitsumi. "Liar! Hmph! Well, it doesn't matter now! Let's just get changed and get through this day!"
"R-Right!"
'Okay, so how the hell are we going to do this?' thought Mitsumi, now donned in Yuzu's clothes and having tied and hid her long, blue hair behind her pink pigtailed wig. 'Yuzu expects me to act like her, and, obviously, Yuzu will be acting as me. Yeah, I can already tell that this might end up badly.'
"Mitsumi-Er, I mean, Yuzu-chan! Why don't we sit down on that bench over there and talk?" suggested the real Yuzu, who was disguised as Mitsumi using Mitsumi's own clothes and easily hiding her own hair within the long, blue haired wig provided.
Both girls knew exactly what they had to discuss once they sat down. Needless to say, it was...somewhat embarrassing and awkward that they didn't discuss this earlier back in Mitsumi's home, where they had both privacy and all the time in the world.
How exactly to act like each other.
More specifically, how could Yuzu act like Mitsumi and Mitsumi act like Yuzu? A disguise was utterly pointless if one didn't factor even a little attempt bit of acting. Despite knowing each other for years, it...wasn't going to be easy for the two girls to suddenly act differently, even if in disguise.
"...You know, in hindsight, we probably should have thought this through more carefully," admitted Yuzu, facepalming herself.
Mitsumi nodded. "Yeah...I guess that just goes to show that acting isn't as easy as you think, right, Yuzu-chan?"
"Yeah, I guess..."
"And that acting takes years and years of practice and training before one could officially be a good actor."
Yuzu frowned. "Well, yeah...I get that it's not easy, but practice makes perfect, right?"
"...But will all that practice really be worth it?"
"Hmm? What are you saying?"
"...Just that you might need loads and loads of practice if you want to be good at acting during Entertainment Dueling, is all," lied Mitsumi. It looks like discouraging Yuzu while trying not to be suspicious was going to be a lot tougher than she imagined.
Yuzu nodded, being more pumped up than before. "Alright! I guess before we begin, we should have talked more on what we were going to do. The whole point of disguises and acting is to fool the audience, right? So, we should start with how we act towards others that knows us."
"You mean...our personalities?" wondered Mitsumi. "Um...it's going to be hard portraying as you in that case, Yuzu-chan. I mean, you're much more...passionate and outgoing and loud-"
"HEY!"
"I-In a good way! In a good way!" Mitsumi cried out, trying to correct her mistake. "I think out of the two of us, I might have a bit of trouble portraying you..."
In actuality, Mitsumi's true personality was very similar to Yuzu's, though in all honesty, Mitsumi's personality was much more colder in comparison. In a way, when she was a Junior Pro Duelist, Mitsumi was forced to smile and wave to the cameras and be all cute and innocent. She was trained to give off impressions by her parents that it sorta became a natural thing to her, almost like tricking others with her "acting." Her "acting" methods were a bit different. Different in that it was different from official acting lessons, and yet similar when it came to pretending to be all smiles and kind in front of the cameras.
While training to be a Junior Pro Duelist, Mitsumi was forced to stay up long nightly hours past her bedtime not just studying various topics and duel training, but also on how to properly compose herself in front of the camera. She was taught that when the camera was on her, every single movement, every single detail, anything and everything about her was going to be analyzed and studied like she was some sort of experimental lab rat. She had to be careful of how she ate her food, walk elegantly and strongly, pose for the camera, and even her break times and timely appearances had limits as well.
Truly a grueling fate for those attempting to be Pro Duelists, and even moreso for younger ones like Junior Pro Duelists.
Yuzu smiled, patting her on the head in an attempt to comfort her. "Awww...you don't have to worry about that, Mitsumi-chan. I think that if you try really, really hard enough, then you'll be able to act like me in no time! But...hmmm...I guess it wouldn't be hard for me to act like you. I just need to be quieter and more shy! Yeah! That's it! In fact, why don't we test our new personalities out on each other?"
"Like, start a conversation, but me acting as you, and you acting as me?" questioned Mitsumi.
"Yeah, that's the ticket! Okay, lemme start first!" Yuzu cleared her throat and then stared at Mitsumi. "It's...it's nice to meet you! My name is Mitsumi Nazuno! I hope to be friends with you!"
"...There were several points wrong with your speech," Mitsumi deadpanned with no hesitation.
"W-What?! What do you mean? I'm pretty sure I got yours down right!"
Mitsumi shook her head. "No way. One, you weren't even stuttering. Two, you sounded a bit too optimistic just now! I don't sound cheerful or optimistic! Three, you have to keep a quieter tone!"
"It was just one sentence! Here, lemme try again!" said Yuzu, taking a deep breath. "H-How are y-y-you? I-I-I-my name is M-M-Mitsumi N-N-N-"
"Stop. I don't stutter that much in one sentence. That gets annoying real quick," Mitsumi said. "And you have to do more than just speak in order to act like me. You have to actually act it out. Like, physically. Like, show more body details. If it was just voice acting, you wouldn't really need to pose or anything, but since you're trying to act like me, you need your body to act as well."
"Jeez...this just feels more and more complicated by the minute! I didn't realize that we were probably going to have to rehearse and memorize stuff like we were participating in a play!" complained Yuzu, scratching her head.
"There's another thing about acting that you should know," Mitsumi said. "If you forget your line, then the next best thing a talented actor would do is improvise. Say something random but close enough to keep to the plot of the tale."
"Man, now this really does feel like we're rehearsing!"
"I thought that was the whole point of this. I mean, if you want to improve your acting skills, you gotta rehearse first. Of course, you can improvise, but that can only get you so far."
Yuzu raised an eyebrow. "...You seem to have an awfully large amount of information about this. What, did you want to be an actor, too?"
"H-Huh?!" With all the information that Mitsumi exposed, she hadn't realized just how informative she was towards Yuzu. "W-Well, I...I used to be interested! Yeah! I used to want to be an actress, so I researched a lot about acting back then! But, things are different! I don't really feel like being an actor anymore! Ahahaha..."
"Hmm...Well, okay. But, the information you gave me was really helpful! It's given me a lot to consider!" Yuzu then clasped Mitsumi's hands with her, giving her an excited, brightened look. "So, why don't we practice with each other for a bit and then we can test out our acting skills on others? And with your guidance, I'm sure we'll be able to get some good results today!"
"Y-Yeah...sure..." 'Goddamnit, what kinda mess did I get myself into?' Mitsumi thought, sweat dropping.
Later...
"Nazuno-san! I-I think you're really pretty and sweet and kind and-please go out with-"
"No. Go away. And don't ask me again."
"WAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Yuzu, disguised as Mitsumi, had rejected yet another boy that had a major crush on Mitsumi herself, whereas Mitsumi, who was dressed as Yuzu, was sitting at an outdoor cafe table, sipping her tea and watching in amusement. They had spent the past few hours interacting with other people and pretending to be people they weren't
On one hand, it was a bit entertaining watching Yuzu, disguised as herself, being forced to deal with one of Mitsumi's own daily occurrences without having to lift a finger. Bu, on the other hand, Mitsumi did feel a little bad about the guys that were rejected.
Well, just a little.
Yuzu sighed, tiredly walked over to Mitsumi and sitting back down in defeat. "You...HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THIS EVERYDAY?!"
"Y-You get used to it!" assured Mitsumi. 'No, you don't,' Mitsumi thought in a deadpan tone. "B-Besides, we're only acting this out for today! I'm sure everything will be okay by tomorrow! You wanted this, remember?"
Yuzu slumped over her seat almost in a defeated manner. "I know...I know, but I didn't really expect it to be this hard!"
"W-Well, if it's any consolation, I think you're doing an amazing job as me," encouraged Mitsumi, patting Yuzu on the back as far as her arm could stretch. "I mean, a couple of boys tried to ask you out because they thought you were me! That's a good sign that your practicing is really paying off!" 'Plus, I don't have to deal with those annoyances for today, so that's a bit of a bonus for me, too.'
Yuzu looked up with hope in her eyes. "R-Really...?"
"Yup. Comparing to the both of us, I think you're way better than me!"
Yuzu scratched the back of her head. "I dunno...the way you acted like me was a bit...over the top, but I think you did an excellent job."
And when Yuzu meant "over the top," she truly meant that. Earlier, the two girls were confronted by some older teens who took an interest in them, only to be chased off when Mitsumi (who took advantage of her current role's position) chased them off with a few good hits of Yuzu's fan that she borrowed. The very same fan that Yuzu tended on using on Yuya whenever he did something to annoy her.
The second incident involved one of Mitsumi's bullies spotting them and coming over, only to run off when Mitsumi whacked her hard in the face with the fan. She lost fan privileges after that, as Yuzu informed that she wouldn't necessarily resort to physical violence unless absolutely necessary. The first time, Yuzu understood because the teens were a bit creepy, but this time was a bit much even by Yuzu's standards.
Losing fan privileges really wasn't a loss in Mitsumi's book. If anything, using the fan to beat up a few people was such a stress reliever for her. Especially when she smacked that one bully in the face, just like she always dreamed of! Now she understood a little bit on why Yuzu tended to use the fan whenever something annoyed her!
Mitsumi wasn't the only one pulling her own weight in terms of acting. Yuzu did her very best to act like Mitsumi after she gave her some pointers and tips on how to act naturally. Being polite and quiet wasn't a problem for Yuzu, but staying still during the past two incidents did greatly bother her.
The first incident, Yuzu didn't feel comfortable being flirted with by some guys a little bit older than them, especially since most focused their attention on her. Yuzu had a suspicious feeling it was because she was disguised as Mitsumi, which meant that the guys were truly more interested in Mitsumi than her. All Yuzu wanted to do was yell back at them and march away, but that would be an unlikely move for the real Mitsumi to make, so she stayed still and quiet, trying to ignore the boys. Fortunately, when Mitsumi intervened by smacking and chasing away the boys with Yuzu's own fan, (the one paper fan she held with her that she decided to allow Mitsumi to borrow) Yuzu decided to let that action slide. Thinking it through, if she was a bit more aggressive, then she would have admitted that she would have taken the same actions Mitsumi did.
What was more tricky was the second incident, when one of Mitsumi's bullies had seen them and came over. Almost immediately, the bully was insulting Yuzu, who was still disguised as Mitsumi. The bully infuriated Yuzu and angered her enough to want to yell back at her, but she kept still. Yuzu knew that Mitsumi was too kind and soft to actually yell back, so she refrained from yelling. She certainly hadn't expected Mitsumi to actually smack the bully with her fan, though or yell...profanities at the bully.
A part of Yuzu assumed that Mitsumi was just trying to dedicate to her role as Yuzu Hiiragi and trying to take actions Yuzu Hiiragi would consider. But, there was a tiny, little bit of a part of Yuzu that wondered if Mitsumi actually wasn't acting like Yuzu Hiiragi and wanted to hurt and yell at one of her bullies. As violent as that was, Yuzu did think for a moment that just once, even just once, maybe Mitsumi deserved to deliver some justice after all that bullying she suffered. (She still hasn't forgiven Mitsumi for not informing her and her friends about her bullying problem before.)
"So," spoke up Yuzu. "Do you have any ideas on where we should head next?"
"Well.." Mitsumi pondered, then said, "I don't think we should act in front of Yuya or Gongenzaka or anyone else we know just yet. Maybe we should practice some more acting out our roles on some other people. But...who would be the perfect fit-?"
"Ah!~ Could it be? My dear, sweet, and beautiful Mitsumi?" called out a rather obnoxious but familiar voice that made Mitsumi instantly regret her choice of words. "Ah! There you are! I see you right by that table! I'm coming over!"
Gripping her hair and burying her face on the table, Mitsumi groaned from hearing the familiar voice belonging to none other than Shingo Sawatari. "Ohmygod, why...?"
"I must say, even from far away, you look just as lovely as you do every other day! No, in fact, you look even more lovelier and beautiful! So, why not take this chance to date the one and only Shingo Sawatari?"
"...Yuzu-chan, I am BEGGING you...Please, please, PLEASE-! Lemme use the fan!" pleaded Mitsumi, gripping Yuzu's shoulders desperately. At this point, she wasn't even TRYING to act anymore. "At least one. Last. Time. PLEASE!"'
Yuzu did feel bad for Mitsumi; she really did, but she already revoked the fan privileges. Besides, she had a feeling that if Mitsumi had the chance, she wouldn't just stop at one smack of the fan. No, Mitsumi would either deliver one final blow so strong, it would knock Shingo unconscious, or she would smack away at Shingo's face multiple times until she drew blood. Either way would NOT end well for Shingo.
"MITSUMI-CHAN!~ Here I am! Your beloved Prince Charming!~" announced Shingo proudly, prompting Mitsumi to groan even more loudly. To the girls' surprise, though, he approached Yuzu, who was still disguised and supposed to act as Mitsumi. He grasped Yuzu's hands with shining, bright eyes. "It's been a while since I've last seen you, but you're as beautiful as ever!"
As dumbfounded as they were, the two girls glanced at each other, sharing the same thought. 'Either our disguises are just too good, or he's really this stupid.'
Clearly her throat, Yuzu tried her best to shift her role into Mitsumi. "R-Right! Um...S-Sawatari-san...! Thank you so much for the compliment! Y-You look really handsome today!"
'WHAT THE HELL, YUZU?! That's only going to make things worst!' thought Mitsumi, shocked at Yuzu's response.
Placing a hand over his heart, Shingo gasped. "Oh! Thank you for noticing, Mitsumi-chan! I am rather handsome, aren't I? Perhaps even attractive enough for a...date? Between you and me?" As he said this, he gently stroked Yuzu's chin, lifting it up so they could face each other.
By eyeing the tick mark on Yuzu's forehead, Mitsumi assumed that Yuzu was close to nearly punching the daylights out of Shingo. The only reason why she hasn't was due to her role of playing as Mitsumi, the sweet girl who would never intentionally harm someone.
'Joke's on Yuzu. If I could, I would have already tossed Shingo down to the ground and curb stomp him,' thought Mitsumi, sipping her tea.
Fortunately for Yuzu, Shingo pulled away from her and took out two tickets from his pocket. "Mitsumi-chan! Look! I got tickets to go to Paradise Land! Just the two of us! So, do you wanna come with?"
"Paradise Land?! The most famous amusement park where they sell 100 tickets a month at a cheap discount because of how crazy popular it is?!" exclaimed Yuzu excitedly, forgetting about her role as Mitsumi. "Where did you get those?!"
"Fufufufu, I have my ways!"
'Definitely dear old Daddy's connections, no doubt,' Mitsumi thought, guessing that Shingo must have used his father's, the mayor, connection to easily obtain the tickets.
Yuzu's eyes were sparkling with excitement at the thought of going to the famous amusement park. Other amusement parks paled in comparison to Paradise Land, where its quality could be compared to the other world-famous amusement park, Kaibaland. It's always been one of her top ten goals to one day enter the amusement park and explore to her heart's content.
Of course, that fantasy had to be interrupted by Mitsumi coughing to get her attention. "*coughing* Roleplaying *coughing*."
Yuzu stopped and considered the situation at hand. Yes, if she accepted, she could easily get in even if it technically meant having to date Shingo and spending time with him. Normally, that wouldn't be an issue for Yuzu, but at the same time, she had to consider Mitsumi's feelings on the matter as well. Going on a date with Shingo would kinda mean becoming his girlfriend, and if Yuzu, who was still disguised as Mitsumi, were to do that, she'd be forcing the real Mitsumi to be Shingo's girlfriend. As much as she wanted to go, this was not something worth hurting Mitsumi for.
Therefore, she had to reject the offer for Mitsumi's sake.
"Ah! Yuzu! Mitsumi!"
As if it was a coincidence or fate, Yuya spotted the two girls at their cafe table, waving at them as he headed over. He paused when he took a good look at the two girls, glancing back and forth between the two before saying something that absolutely caused the two girls to internally panic.
"Why are you two disguised as each other?"
'What?! He can tell?!' both girls thought, eyes widened before glancing at each other. 'No...there's no way!'
"Hah? Sakaki, what are you talking about?" asked Shingo, confused.
Pointing at the two girls individually, Yuya explained, "Well, it's what I said. That's Yuzu-" He pointed to Yuzu, still disguised as Mitsumi. "-And that's Mitsumi." He then pointed at Mitsumi, who still appeared as Yuzu and tried to look away. "Hey, why are you guys dressed like each oth-"
"SHINGO-KUN!" cried out Yuzu, slamming her hands on the table to garner everyone's attention. "I-I can't go to the amusement park with you!"
"What?! Why?! Do you know how much it took to get these tickets?!" shouted Shingo, practically waving the tickets at her face.
'Knowing him, in rich terms, not that much,' Mitsumi thought, annoyed.
"Besides, what reason would you NOT want to go with moi?!"
"T-That is...I...Um..." Yuzu knew that she couldn't simply say that she didn't want to go, because even Mitsumi has repeatedly said that before in the past, and that didn't work. Then, she glanced over at Yuya before an idea popped into her head. "I-I can't because-! BECAUSE I'M DATING YUYA!"
"What?"
"What?!"
"WHAT?!" The loudest outcry came from Mitsumi, who then grabbed Yuzu by the arm and dragged her away. "Come with me! We need to talk!"
As soon as they got to a private spot not too far from the cafe, where Shingo was practically strangling an exasperated Yuya, this gave a very unhappy Mitsumi the chance to talk to Yuzu. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I panicked!" cried out Yuzu.
"How could you not think about this?! Now, because of your dumb antics, that idiot Shing-" Mitsumi stopped herself when she realized that she was letting out her real personality. Instead, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself and resume her shy personality. "I-I'm sorry, Yuzu-chan...I didn't mean to startle you...I know you tried your best, and I really appreciate that...But, what are we going to do?"
"Hmm...Well, I may have an idea! Here, lend me your ear for a second..." said Yuzu, pulling her friend closer so she could whisper the plan to her.
"Sawatari! For the last time! We're not really dating! Honest!" cried out Yuya, being shaken back and forth by the collar.
"Liar! It all makes sense now! Why she constantly refuses my attempts to date her! Why she always tries to avoid me! Why she has no interest!"
"If that's the case, then don't you think she would have told you that we were dating?!"
"AHA! So, you two ARE dating! And you tried to lie your way out of it?! For shame, Sakaki!"
"Damnit-No! Bad example! What I'm really trying to say is-!"
"S-Sawatari-san!" called out Yuzu as she and Mitsumi approached the two boys. "I-I'm sorry! I lied! I-I'm not really dating Yuya!"
"See? I told you! I told-Ow!" Yuya started to say before Shingo dropped him nonchalantly.
"But...why would you lie about that, Mitsumi-chan?" Shingo asked, clasping Yuzu's hands in his own. Mitsumi caught a quick glance at Yuzu's face that looked ready to toss Shingo down to the ground for touching her.
Still, Yuzu held in her temper and gritted her teeth as she said, "W-Well...because I'm so shy! I've never been on a date before! I'm...so sorry!"
"Oh? Is that all there was to it? Why, you're forgiven, my sweet, cute, Mitsumi-chan!" said Shingo, booping her nose. If it weren't for Yuzu acting out as Mitsumi, she would have attempted to bite his finger off. "Now, why don't we head towards Paradise Land right now?"
"U-Um...Actually! I was hoping that maybe, we can duel for the tickets! I-I don't feel ready to go to Paradise Land, but at the same time, I want the tickets to myself, so please...? Can we duel each other for the tickets?" requested Yuzu.
"Hmm...I dunno...this is an interesting proposition you're offering me, Mitsumi-chan. You want to duel me for the tickets even though it's obvious that I'll win?"
'Wow, this guy is REALLY full of himself!' Yuzu thought, wanting to punch the living daylights out of Shingo now.
"Hmm...Okay! How about this?" Suddenly wrapping an arm around Yuzu, Shingo then pointed to both Mitsumi and Yuya. "A Tag Team Duel! You and me vs these two! Whoever wins gets the tickets! How about that?"
"What?! B-But, there's no point in dueling us!" said Mitsumi. "Besides, wasn't it just going to be a duel between you and Yuzu-I mean, Mitsumi-chan?"
"Yeah, but then I'd win easily! And, this way, if we do a Tag Team Duel, then my partner would be Mitsumi-chan, and we would work together like a love power couple! I believe that'd best strengthen our relationship!" spoke Shingo confidently.
'Wow, Yuzu REALLY looks like she wants to kill him now,' Mitsumi thought. "Well...what do you think, Yuya?"
"Yeah, I have no idea what's going on, but if it's a duel, I'm okay! Let's team up together, Mitsumi!" Yuya said, activating his duel disk.
"Gah! Shhhhh!" Mitsumi cried out, frailing her arms in a panic. "I-I'm Yuzu now! Not Mitsumi!"
"Huh? But, you're-"
"Look, we'll explain everything later, just play along!" hissed Mitsumi, activating her duel disk.
"Come! Let's teach these fools not to mess with the power of love!" announced Shingo, activating his own duel disk.
"...Yeah, whatever." Yuzu seemed to have given up in convincing the love-blinded fool, preparing herself for their duel.
"DUEL!"
- DUEL -
Mitsumi (Yuzu) and Yuya - 8000 LP
VS
Yuzu (Mitsumi) and Shingo - 8000 LP
Yuya turned to his partner, Mitsumi. "I still don't know what's going on-"
"Look, I promise, I'll explain everything later. For now, just pretend I'm Yuzu, okay?" promised Mitsumi.
"O-Okay, then..."
Mitsumi wasn't completely certain if Yuya was willing to cooperate, but at the very least, he did understand that what she requested of him was important. She could at least trust that he was willing to try and play along with her and Yuzu. Glancing down at her duel disk, Mitsumi hoped that she would be able to use Yuzu's deck effectively. After all, when Mitsumi spoke to Yuzu privately and discussed a plan of settling things with a duel, she also had Yuzu swap her deck with her for the duel and also to keep up their acts as each other.
'...Yeah, I am so screwed. I barely know how to use Mitsumi-chan's deck,' thought Yuzu, glancing down at her duel disk. 'But, on the plus side, at least I know how to Ritual Summon, or at least, the basics of it! Plus, as bad as it sounds, Mitsumi isn't really that good of a duelist, so even if I screw up, that's fine, because I'm technically acting as Mitsumi! Still, I could make an effort to win, though...'
"As the more powerful Tag Team, I say we go first!" declared Shingo.
"Eh?! Wait, wait, wait!" cried out Yuzu, trying to come up with an excuse that Mitsumi would use. "Um...W-Why don't we let my friends go first?"
"Uh...why would we do that?"
"B-Because they're my friends! A-And also...I wanna be nice to them, so um...Please, Sawatari-san? Let's let them go first!" pleaded Yuzu, wrapping her arms around his arm and leaning in close while trying so hard not to make a cringey face. "Y-You're so handsome and strong, so even if we let them go first, w-we should be able to win against them!" 'Oh god, I wanna throw up in my mouth.'
'Yikes, I can't see myself begging like that to Shingo, even if I was pretty desperate,' thought Mitsumi, sweat dropping. 'Still, if Shingo was stupid enough to not see through our disguises, I'd bet that he'd still be stupid enough to fall for her acting.'
Unsurprisingly, it went exactly as Shingo predicted. "Of course! Why not?" Shingo turned to Mitsumi and Yuya confidently. "Heh, you hear that? You two should be grateful! The only reason that I, Shingo Sawatari, am allowing you two to go first is because of my dear Mitsumi-chan! Just know that we're going to win, no matter what!"
"...Right, can we start right now?" asked Yuya, scratching his head.
"Fine, fine! You guys can go first!"
"Then, I'll start things off," Mitsumi said. "Hmm...I guess I'll set a Monster, set one card facedown, and end my turn!"
"My turn!" Yuzu shouted, drawing her card. Taking a good look of Mitsumi's Ritual-based cards, Yuzu didn't know what move to make. "Um...I guess I'll summon Gishki Chain in Attack Mode!"
Gishki Chain - (WATER/Sea Serpent) - LV4 - (1800/1000)
"And now, I...uh...I activate Gishki Chain's effect! Yeah! I'm going to reveal the top 3 cards on top of my deck! And then, I get to choose which one to add to my hand as long as it's either a Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell card! Er..."
The three top cards that Yuzu revealed to everyone were...Aquamirror Cycle, Gishki Photomirror, and Ritual Weapon.
Yuzu picked Gishki Photomirror and placed the rest back on top of her deck. "Alright! I...uh...well, I guess I'll end my turn! Yeah!"
'Yuzu, I don't act that enthusiastic! Try harder!' thought Mitsumi.
"Okay, I still don't know what's happening, but I guess I'll have to ask Mitsumi and Yuzu later,' Yuya thought, drawing his card. "My turn! Alright, let's do this! Ladies and Gentlemen! Let's begin our Entertainment Dueling show by first summoning the cool Performapal Friendonkey!"
Performapal Friendonkey - (EARTH/Beast) - LV3 - (1600/600)
"Now, time to activate his special ability! When he's Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Performapal Monster from either my hand or Graveyard! So hello to Performapal Hip Hippo, in Attack Mode!"
Performapal Hip Hippo - (EARTH/Beast) - LV3 - (800/800)
"Time to set a card and end my turn! Onto the next part of the show!"
"Heh, watch me, Mitsumi-chan! Allow me to impress you with my skills!" announced Shingo as he smoothly flicked a strand of hair away from his eyes.
'...I hate to say it, but I really hope that we lose,' thought Yuzu, annoyed. 'I mean, I'll do everything I can to win, but I actually don't mind losing this time, either.'
"My turn!" Shingo drew his card and continued. "Hmm...what to do...Oh! Mitsumi-chan, check this move out! I summon Shreddder to the field in Attack Mode!"
Shreddder - (EARTH/Machine) - LV4 - (1600/1000)
"Next, I activate Shredder's effect! Once per turn, by sending 1 Machine-Type Monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can target 1 of my opponent's Monsters that has a Level equal or less than the Level of the Monster I just discarded! The targeted Monster is destroyed! What I just sent to the Graveyard was my Level 7 Ultimate Dart Striker, and I just targeted your weird donkey Monster, Sakaki! So, it goes bye-bye!"
The ghostly figure of Ultimate Dart Strike appeared and shot a single dart at Friendonkey, causing him to let out a painful neighing cry before blasting away in an explosion.
'Gh-! It's alright! You've still got one more Monster!" reminded Mitsumi. "Hang in there!"
"Of course! This isn't nearly enough to take me down!" agreed Yuya enthusiastically.
"Hmph! You guys must be pretty sure of yourselves if you think you're going to win! I'm not even done with my turn yet!" said Shingo. "I now activate the Spell, Monster Reborn, allowing me to Special Summon a Monster from the Graveyard! I choose Ultimate Dart Striker!"
Ultimate Dart Striker - (EARTH/Machine) - LV7 - (2400/300)
"You guys are lucky that I can't attack on my first turn! No, in fact, you guys should be pretty grateful that I'm being this generous! I set two cards facedown and end my turn!"
"Then, it's my turn!" said Mitsumi, drawing her card. "Alright, first, I'm Flip Summoning Canon the Melodious Diva!"
The Monster she Set the previous turn revealed itself to be Yuzu, or rather in this case, her Canon the Melodious Diva.
Canon the Melodious Diva - (LIGHT/Fairy) - LV4 - (1400/2000)
"Next, because I have a Melodious Diva Monster on my field, I can Special Summon Sonata the Melodious Diva from my hand to the field!"
Sonata the Melodious Diva - (LIGHT/Fairy) - LV3 - (1200/1000)
'Nice one, Mitsumi-chan!' thought Yuzu, internally cheering on her friend. 'I bet next, she's going to go for my ace Monster, Mozarta! She did such a good job! I mean, I never really summoned Mozarta using Sonata and Canon! Normally, it would be Sonata and Aria, but this works fine, too!'
"I sacrifice both of these two Monsters to Tribute Summon Mozarta the Melodious Diva!" declared Mitsumi.
Upon replacing Aria, Canon joined hands with Sonata as both female Monsters sang a duet together while clasping hands, ascending up to the heavens until they turned into sparkling dust that sprinkled onto the newly formed Mozarta who descended downwards from the heavens.
Mozarta the Melodious Diva - (LIGHT/Fairy) - LV8 - (2600/2000)
"Awesome, Mitsumi! You summoned Yuzu's ace Monster!" blurted out Yuya.
'Goddamnit, Yuya! You stupid idiot!' Mitsumi thought, annoyed and shocked that he would just blurt that out after specifically requesting that he not say anything.
Shingo looked confused. "Wait, what are you talking about? My partner-"
"Mozarta's effect activates!" interrupted Mitsumi quickly. "Once per turn, she can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Melodious Monster! I choose Opera the Melodious Diva!"
Opera the Melodious Diva - (LIGHT/Fairy) - LV4 - (2300/1000)
"I may not be able to attack with Opera on the turn that she's summoned, but I can still attack with Mozarta! Mozarta, destroy Shingo's Ultimate Dart Striker!"
Mozarta, with her arms spread out as she ascended in the air, let out a resounding voiceless song in the form of a sound wave that drove Ultimate Dart Striker against the ground like gravity was attacking him before he was destroyed.
Mitsumi (Yuzu) and Yuya - 8000 LP
Yuzu (Mitsumi) and Shingo - 7800 LP
"Gh-! Not to fear! Luckily, I have a backup plan!" said Shingo. "I activate my Trap card, Time Machine! Because my Monster was sent to the Graveyard due to battle, he gets to return to the field in the same Battle Position! If you thought that you've seen the last of him, I'm afraid you're quite mistaken!"
Ultimate Dart Striker - (EARTH/Machine) - LV7 - (2400/300)
'Crap. Well, his Striker might be strong enough to take out Opera, but unless he powers up his Monster, he won't be taking down Mozarta anytime soon,' thought Mitsumi. "I end my turn!"
'Ugh, she just took his strongest Monster down, and in less than a second, he brought it back up! I should do something to help out! It'll be good for the both of us, too, since Mitsumi has a pretty bad losing record anyways,' thought Yuzu, drawing her card. "My turn! Yes! Alright! We're going to lose! Hooray!"
"Wait, what?" Mitsumi, Yuya, and Shingo spoke in confused unison, staring at Yuzu.
"O-Oh, nothing! Anyways, I activate the Ritual Spell card, Gishki Photomirror! I sacrifice Gishki Vanity and Noellia from my hand, along with the Chain on my field to Ritual Summon the Level 10 Ritual Monster, Gishki Zielgigas! And also, because of Gishki Photomirror's effect, I have to pay Life Points equal to Zielgigas' Level x 500! Zielgigas is Level 10, so we totally lose 5000 Life Points! Yes!"
"WHAT?!" Everyone but Yuzu exclaimed, stunned by the insane move that she pulled. Ritual Summoning a powerful Monster was one thing, but doing so at so high of a cost of Life Points was another! If it was just the normal 4000 Life Point gauge, Yuzu would have forced her own team to lose!
Mitsumi (Yuzu) and Yuya - 8000 LP
Yuzu (Mitsumi) and Shingo - 2800 LP
Despite the high cost of Ritual Summoning, the one good thing that paid off was Yuzu's newly summoned Ritual Monster, Zielgigas, who also happened to be Mitsumi's most powerful Monster in her original deck.
Gishki Zielgigas - (WATER/Aqua/Ritual) - LV10 - (3200/0)
'...Honestly, I don't think even weak me would pull off something like that. Either Yuzu's trying to act this out as me for as long as she can, or she genuinely wants to lose!' thought Mitsumi.
Even though they now had a powerful Monster on their field, even Shingo was panicking due to the situation Yuzu placed them in, looking at her with a questionable and panicking look. "U-Um...Mitsumi-chan..? May I ask what you were doing with that move just now...?"
Yuzu cleared her throat, straightened her back, and then looked at Shingo with the most pitiful, puppy dog eyed-faced expression she could muster. "I-I only wanted to help win the duel, Sawatari-san! I really wanted to bring out a strong Monster because I thought you were in trouble! Your strongest Monster was destroyed last turn, after all! I-I'm sorry that I made things worst!" She started weeping (fake, obviously to everyone but Shingo), and hide her face behind her hands.
Yuya and Mitsumi clearly weren't buying into Yuzu's acting. "...What is she doing...?" murmured Yuya.
"...Yeah, this whole acting thing was a stupid idea to begin with, anyways," said Mitsumi. 'Then again, Yuzu did get Shingo off my back for a bit, so it wasn't entirely stupid.'
And just like hook, line, and seeker, Shingo completely fell for Yuzu's acting and clasped his hands onto hers. "Oh!~ Mitsumi-chan! Forgive me for doubting you! I should have known that you only wanted to support me! And, your efforts paid off! I mean, look! You summoned a really strong Monster, and he's even stronger than the other team's Monsters! You can do this!"
'Oh, crap! He's right!' Mitsumi thought, freezing in place. 'Mozarta only has 2600 Attack Points and Opera has 2300 Attack Points! That's not enough to take down my-I mean, Yuzu's Monster! I completely forgot about the ancient fighting rules!'
'...I am such an IDIOT!' Yuzu thought. 'It's not enough to simply Ritual Summon this Monster with that big cost of Life Points! Oh, I should have put him in Defense Mode! Then again, that would have been super suspicious. Ugh, and if I don't attack this turn, I'll be even more suspicious. Sorry, Mitsumi-chan! ...But wait a minute! Doesn't Zielgigas' effect...?'
A wide, nearly evil grin spread across Yuzu's face, causing Yuya to freak out and for Mitsumi to sweat drop. "Yuzu...?" muttered Yuya, taking a step back.
Trying to 'correct' Yuya, Mitsumi shook her head. "Uh...No, Yuya! You're calling out to me, remember?"
"Y-yeah...?"
"Alright, time to do this! I activate Zielgigas' effect!" Yuzu said almost too happily. "I sacrifice 1000 Life Points to draw 1 card!"
Shingo whirled his head towards Yuzu. "What are you doing, Mitsumi-chan?! Then we'll almost be out of Life Points!"
"Of course! That's the idea!"
"What?!"
Mitsumi coughed loudly, enough to get Yuzu's attention. That cough was a signalized reminder for Yuzu to get her head back in the game and remind her that she's pretending to be "Mitsumi Nazuno," which means that she actually has to pretend to try to win in a kind way.
Placing a hand on her deck, Yuzu explained, "If the card I draw is a Gishki Monster, then I can reveal it, and then I can shuffle 1 card from the field to the deck!"
A look of realization came across Shingo's face. "Oh, I see! So, it's sorta like a gamble! If you win, then you can choose to shuffle one of our opponent's Monsters back to their deck, and they'll be too helpless to stop it! Nice job, Mitsumi-chan!"
"She hasn't even done anything yet!" reminded Yuya.
"Oh, hush, Sakaki! Let her finish her turn!" Shingo said before turning back to Yuzu. "Go on, Mitsumi-chan! I'll support you along the way!"
'...I still can't believe he's dumb enough to continue thinking I'm Mitsumi. Whatever,' thought Yuzu, grunting as Zielgigas' effect drained their Life Points as payment for his effect. "Draw!"
Mitsumi (Yuzu) and Yuya - 8000 LP
Yuzu (Mitsumi) and Shingo - 1800 LP
Whatever the card Yuzu drew...was not a Gishki Monster.
"...Okay, so I didn't draw a Gishki Monster," confessed Yuzu.
"Nooooo!" complained Shingo, falling to his knees.
"But-! I can still attack! Zielgigas!" called out Yuzu. "Attack Mozarta!"
Zielgigas conjured up water in the form of a fist and thrusted it towards Mozarta, who couldn't handle the power and impact of the attack before disappearing into sparkles of gold dust, indicating her defeat.
Mitsumi (Yuzu) and Yuya - 7400 LP
Yuzu (Mitsumi) and Shingo - 1800 LP
"I end my turn!"
"Alright! We just got rid of their strongest Monster! As expected from my beloved Mitsumi-chan!" cheered Shingo. "Even though we're low on Life Points, no thanks to you, we can still do this! After all, we do have a date together once we win!"
'...I really hope that they have some sort of plan to stop us. I mean, I'm already doing everything I can to lose!' thought Yuzu. 'Well, besides surrendering, of course.'
"My turn, draw!" Yuya shouted. "I activate Hip Hippo's effect! If I Tribute him for a Tribute Summon, he can count as 2 Tributes! Therefore, I sacrifice him for the main star of our show! Watch and learn, everyone! I sacrifice Hip Hippo and then Tribute Summon Odd-Eyes Dragon!"
With Hip Hippo vanishing into sparkles that shined like the stars, suddenly, a large figure flew from the skies and crashed onto the field, scattering away the sparkles. It was Yuya's tall, sharp-looking ace dragon who sparkled upon reaching on the stage.
Odd-Eyes Dragon - (DARK/Dragon) - LV7 - (2500/2000)
"Hmph! Even if you summoned your ace Monster, he's still no match for my Mitsumi's strongest Monster! He's still too weak!" pointed out Shingo.
Yuya nodded. "True, but I can't say the same for your Monster, either!"
"Tch-!"
"But, before we get into that, I think we should spice out the show with me activating the Spell, Card Rotator! Now, by discarding 1 card from my hand, I can forcibly change all battle positions of all Monsters my opponent controls!"
Due to the Tag Team Duel rules, that also included not just Mitsumi's field, but Shingo's field, so their Monsters were switched from Attack Mode to Defense Mode.
"Let's battle! Odd-Eyes Dragon! Destroy Gishki Zielgigas!"
Odd-Eyes Dragon let out a large roar before firing a dragon breath mixed with dark and red colors directly at Zielgigas. The Ritual Monster himself attempted to summon a wall of water to shield himself, but it was useless as the dragon breath was powerful enough to blast through the wall of water and straight through Zielgigas.
"Odd-Eyes Dragon's effect activates!" called out Yuya just as Zielgigas was on the verge of being destroyed. "When he battles and destroys a Level 5 or higher Monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, he can inflict damage equal to half of the original Attack Points of the destroyed Monster! Zielgigas had 3200 Attack Points, so..."
"So, that means 1600 Points of Damage will be dealt to us!" said Yuzu. "Even if that's not enough to take us down, it's still-!"
"I activate my Trap, Breakthrough Skill!" announced Shingo just as Zielgigas exploded. "I target 1 face-up Effect Monster you control, and then negate your Monster's effects until the end of this turn! I target Odd-Eyes and negate his effect!"
A blue aura surrounded Odd-Eyes Dragon's body, preventing him from unleashing more of his power to deal more damage to his master's opponents.
"Sawatari..." Yuzu looked at Shingo with awe. She couldn't believe that Shingo had helped her out like that, even if she was intentionally trying to make them lose. Perhaps, just perhaps, he wasn't so bad of a guy...
Shingo smirked and winked at Yuzu. "Heh, how was that, Mitsumi-chan? Have you fallen for me, now that I saved our hides?"
"...You ruined it. You totally ruined my image of you," muttered Yuzu, annoyed.
"What?"
"Nothing!"
"I end my turn!" said Yuya.
"Finally! My turn to shine and impress Mitsumi-chan! Draw!" called out Shingo. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two new free cards! Then, I summon Lightning Hoverboard to the field!"
Lightning Hoverboard - (LIGHT/Thunder) - LV4 - (1400/1200)
"Next, I activate his effect! By Tributing him, I can add 1 Level 6 or higher Monster from my deck to my hand! I'm adding Rocket Darts Striker to my hand! And now, I equip the Equip Spell, 7 Completed onto Ultimate Darts Striker, so I can choose whether to increase either his Attack or Defense Points by 700! Clearly, the right choice is his Attack Points!"
Ultimate Dart Striker - (EARTH/Machine) - LV7 - (3100/300)
"Hahaha! He's strong enough to take out your Odd-Eyes! Battle! Destroy Odd-Eyes Dragon!"
Loading his weapon, Ultimate Dart Striker aimed and took out Odd-Eyes Dragon by firing and striking him at a vital spot.
Mitsumi (Yuzu) and Yuya - 6800 LP
Yuzu (Mitsumi) and Shingo - 1800 LP
"With that, I end my turn!" said Shingo.
"My turn!" said Mitsumi. 'Fortunately, Opera wasn't destroyed during this mayhem of turns and she can attack now, but right now, Ultimate Dart Striker is too strong. Hmm...But wait! I got it! Yes, this might work!'
"I equip Opera with the Equip Spell, Piping Pipes! As long as this card is equipped onto Opera, none of you can target any of our Monsters except for Opera herself! And now, I summon Aria the Melodious Diva!"
Aria the Melodious Diva - (Light/Fairy) - LV4 - (1600/1200)
"Next, I activate my Trap, Musical Mayhem! For every Melodious Monster I control, you get hit with 800 Points of Damage! I have 2, so you take 1600 Points of Damage! ...Or at least, you normally would, but with Piping Pipes equipped, any Effect Damage is turned to 0!"
"Heh, so what was the point of that?" asked Shingo.
Mitsumi said, "It's simple! There won't be any Effect Damage because then, all of that Effect Damage is turned into Attack Points that Opera would gain! So, she gains 1600 extra Attack Points!"
Opera the Melodious Diva - (LIGHT/Fairy) - LV4 - (3900/1000)
"Nice one, Mitsumi! I mean, Yuzu!" complimented Yuya.
Even Yuzu herself, the original owner of the Melodious deck, was impressed. 'Wow! I never imagined that you could use a combo of Piping Pipes and Musical Mayhem like that! I'm totally stealing that idea for future duels!'
"Crap, crap, crap!" cursed Shingo, panicking.
"Opera, attack Ultimate Dart Striker!" ordered Mitsumi.
Opera released a resounding, loud sound wave that could rival an actual opera singer's high voice level, causing Ultimate Dart Striker's visor to crack before the rest of his body cracked and crumbled under the sound vibrations.
Mitsumi (Yuzu) and Yuya - 6800 LP
Yuzu (Mitsumi) and Shingo - 1000 LP
"And this will end the duel! Aria, attack them directly!"
Similarly to Opera's previous attack, Aria opened her mouth, closed her eyes, and sang a beautiful-sounding aria in the form of various sound waves, forcing Yuzu and Shingo to cover their ears as their Life Points depleted.
Mitsumi (Yuzu) and Yuya - 6800 LP
Yuzu (Mitsumi) and Shingo - 0 LP
Winner: Mitsumi (Yuzu) and Yuya
"Damnit! We lost!" cursed Shingo, throwing his head back and ruffling the sides of his hair.
'You know, honestly, I would be pretty upset about losing too, but since my partner is Shingo, and this isn't really a big high-stakes duel, I'm fine with this,' Yuzu thought before covering her face with her hands and falling to her knees. "I-I'm so sorry, Sawatari-san! I'm so sorry that we lost because of me!"
'Wow, it took her less than a day to get used to acting as me,' thought Mitsumi, watching as Shingo bent down and was trying to comfort Yuzu.
"Mitsumi-chan...it's alright! You tried your best! You even managed to get a few good hits in! I mean, I personally wasn't expecting much from you, but still-!" Shingo attempted to comfort, only to irk both girls.
'Wow, really, jerk?! Not expecting much, huh? I'm so glad I'm not your girlfriend!' both Yuzu and Mitsumi thought, ticked off.
"U-Um...Well, I'd say that you guys did a good job," said Yuya, attempting to ease the situation.
"We don't need your pity, Sakaki! Today was just...a bad day! That's all!" said Shingo. "Now, why don't we go and get something to eat, Mitsumi-chan? My treat!"
Before Yuzu could say anything, Mitsumi stepped forward. "Hey, uh...what about the tickets we were promised? You said if we won, we'd get them."
"Hey, buzz off! Can't you see you've already upset my poor, sweet Mitsumi-chan?" Shingo snapped.
Yuzu then 'wiped away' the tears from her face and stood up. "No, no, it's alright! Let's give them the tickets, Sawatari-san! They did deserve it, after all."
Clutching at his heart, Shingo's expression softened. "Mitsumi-chan...You're so sweet and kind! To be so considerate of others even after losing...!" He took out the two tickets and flung them at the real Mitsumi and Yuya, making them land at their feet. "Here, take them."
"...Wow, seriously, man?" deadpanned Mitsumi at Shingo's rudeness before bending down to pick them up. "Well, at least we got them. Alright, let's leave, everyone."
"Alright...? You guys still owe me an explanation, because I'm still so confused," Yuya reminded, scratching the back of his head as he turned around and walked away with Mitsumi.
"Coming!" Yuzu stood back up and was about to follow them when Shingo suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Wait, wait, wait! Instead of joining those guys, why not join me in some fancy restaurant?" Shingo asked, winking at her.
While gently sliding her hand off of Shingo, Yuzu tried to think of some excuse to get away from Shingo while still acting as Mitsumi at the same time. "I-I appreciate the thought, but...I...well, I can't because...You know what? Screw this." She stomped down on his foot hard enough for him to yelp in pain, bouncing on one leg. That was Yuzu's cue to run off to catch to her friends. "Guys! Wait uppppp!"
"You can't run away forever, Mitsumi-channnn!" called out Shingo, still hissing in pain and hopping on one foot. "We have class tomorrow!"
'How Mitsumi-chan even puts up with that guy, I have no idea,' Yuzu thought, sweatdropping, running away faster.
Later...
"...I see. Yeah, that makes a lot more sense," said Yuya, having sat down on a bench after the trio went to the park for some privacy. "But, if you guys were going to act out like each other, you should really work on your disguises a bit more."
"Wait, so how did you know which one was which?" asked Mitsumi.
"Well, for starters, your facial details were a little different. I thought something was weird. And secondly, your wigs weren't put on correctly. I mean, I could see tidbits of your hairs sticking out a bit."
Yuzu and Mitsumi glanced at one another and realized what Yuya meant. Yuzu had let down her pink hair earlier, but several of the strands had mixed in with the blue wig she purchased, while Mitsumi's long blue hair had some of its long strands sticking out from the pig pigtailed wig. Finding no point in keeping their disguises any longer, both girls pulled down their wigs and fixed their hair.
"...How did Sawatari not notice this?" wondered Yuzu, annoyed. "But, then again, he's not exactly the smartest bulb in the world. Well, at least we got the tickets!"
"Me and Yuya got the tickets," corrected Mitsumi, holding up the two tickets won from Shingo earlier. "But, there's only two, and there's three of us. I'm not sure how-"
"Ah, actually, you guys can have the tickets," said Yuya, standing up. "Those tickets expire at the end of this weekend, right? Well, I promised Mom to have some sort of Mother-son bonding time this weekend, and we were planning to spend time and do stuff like a picnic with En, Core, Watt, and Kilo. So, you two girls have fun!"
"Oh, sweet! Thanks, Yuya!" chirped Yuzu happily. "...Hey, wait, it's starting to get late. Didn't you text me earlier saying that you had some errands to do for your Mom?"
"Oh, crap! That's right! She told me to get some groceries! Gotta go! See you guys at school tomorrow! Bye!" Yuya rushed off in a hurry, leaving the two girls alone by themselves in the park.
"...Well, that was something," sighed Yuzu. "Today was quite the experience! I can't wait for more on this later on!"
"...Hey, Yuzu?"
"Hmm? What's up?"
"About this whole...plan of yours, training to be a Entertainment Duelist...I do have something to say about it," said Mitsumi, facing her with a serious look. "I don't...I don't know exactly how to say this to you without being too harsh or anything, so I'm just going to say it straight. This plan of yours is naive."
"Huh?" Yuzu wasn't expecting such things coming from Mitsumi's mouth, but she decided to let her continue. "What do you mean?"
"Look, I'm not trying to say that being an Entertainment Duelist is bad or anything. You can be whatever duelist you want to be. What I'm trying to say is that this plan of yours isn't effective enough. It's not strong enough to help become the sort of duelist you want. And that's because there's way more obstacles than just simple acting practice."
"I'm...confused?" said Yuzu, tilting her head.
"Er...How can I explain it?" muttered Mitsumi. "You wanna be a Pro because you want to help your Dad, right? That's admirable of you, and it sounds great right now, but then you'll start to realize just how...challenging and difficult it'll be. It's not just acting you'll have to train in, it's also facing other, tough duelists, and other obstacles. You have to appear the best, you have to train to be the best, and, if possible, you cannot, and I do mean this sincerely, but you CANNOT lose even a single duel. Losing even just one will badly affect your reputation."
"Well, I get that you have to win a lot of duels to become famous, but losing even one duel can't be that bad," Yuzu said. "I mean, I've seen tournament matches where some famous duelists do lose, but they still are famous."
"You really don't have any idea how badly losing one duel can be significant in your dueling career, hence why you're naive about that," Mitsumi scolded. "Look, those matches you watched were either just overconfident duelists, or people who were paid to throw the match."
"Wha-Paid off? But, why would they risk their careers to purposely lose the match?"
"Honestly, there could be lots of reasons. Blackmail, more money, or an opportunity to get more famous. Like, one guy lost to this rival of his, but he triumphs once more and gets his revenge against the rival the next time they duel. That sorta stuff. But yeah, blackmail and money are usually the most common reasons."
"Blackmail for what, exactly?" wondered Yuzu.
"...You know, even Pro Duelists have loved ones," Mitsumi explained. "Maybe they were forced to throw the match because their loved ones got kidnapped and if they didn't throw the match, their loved ones would suffer for it. Or, maybe they're blackmailed because they got an affair or they were cheating or something, and they didn't want their own reputations to suffer or something. And yes, Yuzu, these things actually do exist. It's not just in the movies, but in real life, too."
"...Really?" Yuzu looked down at the ground. "Then, the same thing could happen to Dad if I become a Pro-"
"Not necessarily. This doesn't happen all the time. If it did, then Pro Dueling would have been shut down and less popular a long time ago," Mitsumi said. "After all, who would want to continue being a Pro Duelist if blackmail and cheating was common all the time? That's why this happens in secret and in very few instances. Look, we're getting off-topic. This is about you and your methods, but..l suppose this sort of talk was important, too."
Yuzu was still a bit startled. "Y-yeah...?"
"...Look, Yuzu-chan, I'm not trying to discourage you from becoming a Pro Duelist. I'm just trying to tell you to things will be very serious and challenging the second you do become a Pro Duelist. It's like...it's like taking a mega, ultra hard exam every day without stop. And you'll continue to do so until you no longer become a Pro Duelist, whether it's through retirement or something else. And believe me, very few duelists get the chance to retire peacefully."
"...I never realized how challenging the world of dueling can be," said Yuzu, clutching her hands together. "But, even so, this won't stop me from becoming a Pro Duelist! Even if there are harsh obstacles like you mentioned!"
"...I mean, you say that NOW, but-"
"Even so, I can't just give up like that! If I did, I wouldn't even be a good duelist!" Yuzu said. "And...to be honest, the whole being an Entertainment Duelist was...kinda just all talk. I mean, I thought being an Entertainment Duelist would be much more interesting and more popular, which would get me more money to help support Dad, but...I dunno. I'm still considering my options on what sort of duelist I want to be. Being an Entertainment Duelist seems more of Yuya's part than mine. I still want to be a Pro Duelist, but I wanted to try honing my skills to see if I have what it took to be the sort of duelist Yuya would be. Plus, I thought Dad would be more happy of me being an Entertainment Duelist, considering we do run a school that specializes in that."
"...You shouldn't let your Dad dictate what sort of duelist you want to be," said Mitsumi. "I mean, I dunno. What I can tell you that it's always a bad idea if you let your own parents dictate what you should be if you really don't want to. I mean, that's what my own parents did..."
Yuzu blinked in surprise. "You...really? I mean, you never really seem to talk about your parents much, so I'm kinda surprised to hear this."
"I just...Look, I just don't like talking about my parents that much, okay? End of story. So, what are you going to do that?"
"Well, I tried out the acting thing, which is part of what being an Entertainment Duelist should do," Yuzu said with a pondering look. "...Yeah, maybe acting isn't really suiting for my style. I guess I'll have to try out some other gimmicks and see what sorts I like to suit my dueling. Sorry if today seemed like a waste, Mitsumi-chan."
Mitsumi shook her head. "No, no! It's fine. I had fun today, too. It's not everyday that you get to dress up and act like your own best friend." 'Plus, I got to whack some people and beat the crap out of Shingo, so there was that.'
"Yeah, but thanks to me, you're probably going to have to deal with Sawatari tomorrow," Yuzu said, rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry..."
"It's alright, really! Oh, by the way, here." Mitsumi handed the two tickets over to Yuzu. "You can keep them. Remember, they expire at the end of this weekend."
"Huh? Wait, what about you? Aren't you coming with me?"
"I was actually thinking, maybe you and your Dad should be the ones to go," Mitsumi suggested. "From what I hear, it seems like your Dad has been working hard all the time. Maybe this weekend, you could get him to relax by spending some time at Paradise Land-"
Yuzu suddenly threw her arms around Mitsumi, hugging her tightly. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! This might be what I need to help Dad relax! He especially LOVES amusement parks! I'm gonna go home right now! See ya!"
Just as Yuzu was about to run off, Mitsumi called out, "Oh, and there's one more thing, Yuzu-chan!"
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Don't stress yourself too much! You're still young! You should enjoy yourself as much as you can, alright?"
"Will do! Thanks, Mitsumi-chan!"
After watching Yuzu leave until she was nothing more than a blur in the distance, Mitsumi sighed and sat down at the bench, relaxing. "...Yeah, I did my part in telling her, so the rest is up to her. If only I could take my own advice..."
Mitsumi decided to just stay at the park for a little while longer, exhausted from today's events as she stared at the sun going own and lighting up the sky in pure darkness sparkling with stars.
Hey, guys! Finished with this chapter! Guess you didn't expect a sudden deck switcharoo, huh? I might be working on my Yu-Gi-Oh stories for a while, so my Kingdom Hearts fanfic is on Hiatus for the time being!
Read and review!