#the fact that one arm is a duel disk is amazing

[mywaywardcupcake]

Omfg. I need this. Immediately. Look at this beautiful thing!

It includes removable cards on the duel disk arm side! 10/10. Link to the sweater is here

[antihibikase2]

The crashing waves under his feet disappear with the quick flicker of his glasses.

Numbers dance down the sky as the field spell wears off, replacing the endless sea with a view of Nimbasa City, bathed in a golden glow.

The "loss" banner disappears above his opponent's head- and all he can do is smile shyly, sliding the duel disk off of his arm, like a bird shedding its feathers.

"I lost," Slater says under his breath- but not out of disbelief. Out of amazement, rather. "Piper, you were really good! You must be some kind of genius,"

He doesn't want to toot his own horn, but-

"It's just practice," Piper replies, holding back a grin. "It's much easier once you've formed a connection with your cards, you know,"

Bullshit.

"Ah, really?" The other tilts his head. "You really are something special.."

If only that were true- but Piper prefers to pretend that he was, indeed, an exceptional duelist,

and not acknowledge the fact he himself was surprised to see a duelist as.. unique as Slater in the streets of Nimbasa City, the hotspot for rising stars.

Perhaps he just had bad luck- or he was testing a new deck.

He'd seen Umi decks before- he just hasn't seen anyone play that bad before, but..

"You just need a bit more of practice yourself, that's all," Piper reassures. "I really think with a little more push, you'll be able to show off your style even more. Maybe you can even beat me one day."

It was a stretch. A little white lie. Slater needed more than just a push, he needed to go back to the basics altogether, or start out with a new deck..

But his smile never falters, not once discouraged by the other's words- not even the slightest bit offended.

"Connecting with the cards huh? I should do that. I, um, haven't had much time to get used to my deck-"

He chuckles a little; something Piper doesn't think he can afford to do if their roles were swapped, that he was the loser.

"But you're right. If I don't allow myself to be comfortable with them, they'll be hesitant to do the same.."

Perhaps he was taking this a bit too literally.

Piper knew of duelists who spoke of the same sentimentalities- of spirit partners and forming bonds with the cards itself, but-

He bites back his tongue.

There's no need to argue or validate their existence- he supposes it would be easier to let the other interpret his advice in such a way.

"Um, Piper,"

Piper meets the gaze of the other. "Yeah?"

"Thank you for offering to duel with me! I'm a little hesitant to approach others as I am now,"

He digs out something from his pockets.

"But I'm glad there's someone who wanted to face me, even if the result was lackluster."

Slater holds out a small drawstring pouch, a see-through gray decorated with shining silver stars. From within, Piper could see individually wrapped pieces of heart-shaped chocolates.

"Here, this is for you! I thought it would be nice to give my opponents something after a duel.."

As the pouch crinkles in Piper's palm, there is a feeling of warmth blooming in his chest- to not be looked at with anger and disdain after such a flawless victory, to not have hateful stares thrown his way for his "tactics"..

"Thank you," There's a small smile on his face. "I'll try these later."

When they part ways and exchange numbers, there's a promise of reunion in the near future- and strangely, rather than plan for his next move, to recall all of the flaws in Slater's deck and to pick it apart..

Piper finds himself looking forward to their next meeting, to hearing that friendly voice again.

...

His cape flutters underneath the moonlight seeping through the windows of the castle.

The wings of the manmade angel drag across the marble floor.

As Piper makes his way to the center of the ballroom, he's accompanied by Ghetsis' imposing silhouettes and a few regular members of Team Plasma,

while The Diviner of the Herald is accompanied by Zinzolin on his side, with very few, strangely-dressed grunts trailing after them.

With their places set, Ghetsis and Zinzolin spectate from different ends of the room, to witness the fateful duel of a mindless machine and a divine doll.

Piper is smart, an in inquisitive mind- he knows this duel is not what it seems.

He knew the moment it left Ghetsis' lips that it was a lie, that this was a duel to put Zinzolin in his place; to stifle his power by challenging The Diviner to a duel.

What this really was was a test of trust- to see if Piper's loyalty laid with Ghetsis and the interests of Team Plasma,

or if his loyalty laid with Slater, the boy abducted by angels, forced to become their host.

As the duel begins, Piper takes the initiative, and hopes that this card will show Ghetsis what he really thinks.

"Slater," Piper bites down on his lip. "I'm sorry. I promised to meet up with you that day, but.."

With luck on his side, he draws the very card needed to ensure this battle goes exactly as how he planned.

"I'll save you. I promise,"

He plays his card.

"I activate the spell, Final Countdown!"

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep 30 pt 2: So Yami’s Dad Totally Killed That Village

Last we left off, everyone decided to dive directly into Yugi’s horrible mind prison.

In a nice little touch, we only see all the doors and walls when Yugi wakes up. It could also just be editing and the fact that the bg painter didn’t know they were in an Escher maze when he drew that first bg and was only going off of someone else’s loose storyboard.

But it’s a nice touch.

“Seems bigger than last time, Yuge, did you do some redecorating?” was the actual line from the show, and honestly says a lot about how many times Joey has been in this bean, and how ridiculously accepting Joey is of his best friend’s horrible Mind Parasite Problem that would scare off most people.

Back at Kaiba Corp, Seto is getting no work done.

(more under the cut)

Look how left out this boy is because Yugi didn’t invite him into his horrible Mind Prison Labyrinth.

What I love about this shot are

-Seto giving the orb an appropriate amount of space

-that it is night time, inferring that a full day has passed and that for 12 hours or so, Seto has been awkwardly hovering around his desk unsure of what to do about the tiny hell orb.

-That the shot is blocked by a door and a couch and a bench, which is a fun filmic technique that builds tension or makes the viewer feel uncomfortable. (In this case, it’s the first time we’ve ever seen furniture in front of this desk.) and here it does make Seto appear to be a little bit helpless about this teeny, tiny little orb.

-That the animators decided to render the orb at all because we’re so far away they could have just not. But no, they put that mini orb on there in a scene you barely see for more than a second.

Anyway, back in the past, everyone whisks out their over-rendered arm bangles and reveals they were in fact, weapons.

That’s right, it’s the hardest duel disk to draw yet. This is hell. Who decided to do this? Who would ever do this to a team of animators? It’s so unbelievably cruel. Just...man looking at the linework on this is giving me second hand tendonitis.

The idea of a past-duel-disk of course being that we have a Dartz type of temple full of tablets, and when they want to use a monster, it hails a bright ass beam of light from the temple to put a monster into this room. Must be impossible to sleep at night in this town. But it looks cool.

And then Bakura finally decided to just let it out:

The Death Count is pending on this one. It’s still on the table that Bakura might be making this up, and we also don’t know how many people were in the village, it might go up by a fair number.

Also, kind of amazing that Bakura has been holding it in for all this time (4 years apparently) that Yugi’s ghost’s Dad killed his family. Like I’m fairly sure that Ryou probably doesn’t know that, but the feelings from the ghost must have been there, right? Like when Bakura shows up and immediately killed Yugi in S1 that seemed like such a wild thing to do, but really it was Bakura being like “oh it’s this bastard? I’ll do the world a big favor on this one before it becomes an actual problem later.”

And we just had that season with Dartz where Dartz was saying “you were a tyrant, Yami, you were a complete asshole” and while Yami initially believed him, eventually Yami was like “Actually, I was probably not terrible! :)”

and I guess we should have paid more attention to Dartz and not gone back here to find out exactly the deets on what Yami’s family was up to. Albeit, destroying entire villages was very common in ancient Egypt. But that doesn’t make it OK, especially if you were an awkward schoolkid blissfully living in Japan and playing card games just yesterday.

I also want to point out that Bakura is wearing this outfit with his knee raised like that, and it would absolutely upskirt this entire room, which is how you know a man drew this scene because girls know you can’t just DO this position. Like the animation team put little boxers under there...which is hilarious, it is 3000 BC. Have fun finding spandex.

Wonder if Gozaburo and Yami’s Dad would’ve hung out in Hell.

I’d watch that spinoff.

On any other kid’s show I’d be like “wow, what a lie!” but this is Yugioh. C’mon. They gotta do it. It’s way too enticing. They gotta murder that little village.

Anyway, Yami gets off his ass and also upskirts everyone in the room while his legs are fully down. A difficult feat to do, but he is one strong breeze away from indecency.

Honestly, I don’t think this team is used to drawing Pharaoh without full length pants and are not entirely sure where to put his waist. Like this kid usually has thin Tim Burton legs, but I guess Odion took him to the gym at some point in the distant past because he’s like all gams now.

How renaissance painting is this shot, PS? Look at that gasp on Shadi, haha.

This was such a funny little scene because Bakura took one foot and just pushed the casket over like the floor was made of ice. This is like the world’s most slippery casket covered in butter.

Anyway, Grandpa is deep in the propaganda sauce and is having a hard time with this deep cut about the past Pharaoh.

Now in this angle, he kinda has like...a little bit of Gozaburo vibes and it would be kind of funny, if we ever get a head on shot of this guy, if Gozaburo had a past life as Yugi’s Dad. Really freakin weird, but also funny because man this show is going all ham on reusing characters in this past sequence.

Like I’m very impressed that Yami’s Dad isn’t just straight up Joey Wheeler.

This is like the only time we haven’t seen Yami cry when he’s supposed to, by the way. I have seen him cry at so many games, but over his own Dad? Nah, he has no memory of who the hell this even is.

Anyway, Pharaoh has a slight hallucination from the casket, who actually has a voice deeper than Pharaoh’s which is saying something.

TBH He also has the Katamari Damacy Dad vibes.

Like...you know?

That, or the Dad in Katamari Damacy has Gozaburo/Roland vibes.

Maybe also it’s because this one of the few characters that is drawn to be older than 15. Anime be like that.

Anyway, it’s time for Yami to prove that he is the real King by using God Cards, which thankfully he’s done like...kind of a lot of times by this point...

Because one of the only things really left of Pharaoh is his magic. Which, we went over at the end of S1, that his name Yami, is just the name of his power. He’s been slowly growing into his own being but he’s still kinda like...not full there. And, while I don’t know if the show will go in this direction, it makes you wonder if these people in the past don’t actually look so much like people of the present, or if this is just Yami’s interpretation because there’s so little of the original him left.

Something to think about later, I guess, because in the present, Seto is being confronted by the past, which is doing so in the form of this golden eyeball.

In a weird turn of events, when Bakura used the Blue Eyes power, it sent the sound to Seto in Japan through the eye?

And then even weirder, the screen panned out to Egypt, where lo and behold, his past girlfriend is staring longingly at the city. A little bit of shipping for the fans, I guess.

...but it was really tangential in this scene because we’ve never met this girl, and the scene happened so quickly my episode changed, and I didn’t cap it in time and I was too lazy to go back.

So I guess that storyline is really happening. Seto having deep thoughts of this girl...friend? Problem is, she lives in a simulation in a necklace connected to Yugi’s brain so like....

........I feel like that will make dating kind of complicated.

...And not going to lie if she exists in a simulation made by the Pharaoh that we did by turning Yugi’s mind into an awful broken mind palace...

...who the hell is he even dating at that point?

I mean no one, that’s the answer to that question, Seto is dating no one at this point, but man...it was a lot less complicated when he was pining over a paper card.

anyway, till next time, here’s the list to read these in chrono order from S1:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

And hope y’all have a good one

[youtriggeredmytrapcard]

“Kaiba,” he voices, dropping a hand down to his hip as he takes a step to the side, turning towards the latter, “there is something I want to tell you.” He appears rather calm for what he plans to say next. A smile over pristine facial features, a sense of certainty expands from within. “Make whatever out of this if you will. I have great admiration for you. And it goes way beyond dueling. Despite our rival status, you always raise me up when I’d fallen. You breathe confidence in me when I need it the most. Even in the most despairing and hopeless of times. There’s something about you that helps me find myself. My worth, my strength. I realize there are no limits to anything. Everything is possible. And that’s why I need you… I want you by my side. I know I wouldn’t be the same without you…” There’s a moment of pause and he hums, his smile never fading. “Remember it.”

In my inbox, write a confession your muse want to tell my muse. The catch, my muse will forget what your muse said unless they say in the end “Remember it.” // @ofthepuzzle

Yugi had a talent for saying things that make Kaiba want to yell and scream, just as much as he had a knack for rendering him speechless. He stared, trying to decipher the meaning behind these words, why they were being said, what wasn't being spoken-- Which wasn't the smartest thing to do when the words at face-value were more than enough to process.

The fact is, this is kind of what he'd wanted to hear.

There was a part of Kaiba that ached to mean something. A part that could never be content with fading into the background, shying away from the spotlight, giving something important to the world that everyone would look at and say, 'That's amazing, and Seto Kaiba did it.' He never saw that part of himself as weak, it only pushed him forward, striving to greater and greater heights, seeking perfection and the infinite progress that was expected of him by so many. Only recently... He wasn't sure when it started, but only recently had that desire gave way to a sickening weakness that he tried to stomp out: That he wanted to mean something, to Yugi.

What sort of rival could only win against his opponent by threatening to throw himself off a roof, after all? Not that Kaiba regretted that really, given the circumstances, but the fact stood. Kaiba was just yet another person that Yugi defeated on the regular, and while he made Yugi work for the victory, all that mattered was the outcome. It ate at him, for so many reasons. For his own pride, of course-- he needed to be the best at this game he cared so much about. He craved victory, like all humans did. And he craved to mean something. To keep giving Yugi reason to accept his challenges, and to fight at his hardest. Deep down, he knew Yugi didn't have any reason to. It's why he concocted things like Battle City, to force it.

And here Yugi was, telling him, in no uncertain terms, that it was already true. He didn't have to fight for it.

It was strange, to hear Yugi describe him, so polar opposite from what Kaiba had always assumed he looked like through Yugi's eyes.

He's just staring. Say something, you idiot.

Kaiba bowed his head, closing his eyes, trying to regain enough composure to make words come. "... You flatter me." Even saying that much made Kaiba feel his pulse in his throat. Why is it all so hard!? He's no good at speeches, when there's no anger behind it. "Do you even understand what you're saying? You're... ridiculous."

The insult was so half-hearted that it barely was one. In fact it sounded more endearing. "... There's something I never told you directly," Kaiba spoke, opening his eyes again. He didn't know how to express such sentiments as powerfully as Yugi did, so he fell back on the only way he did know, to connect with others. "Exodia. I spent countless hours trying to figure out how you did it-- how you defeated me with Exodia. For awhile there, I had myself convinced it was one of the worst things that ever happened to me." He glanced up, looking past Yugi at the wall, loosely folding his arms. "... But that's old news. The fact is, I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't know where I'd be now, if the outcome of that duel was any different. Battle City never would've happened, I'm sure of that. Probably more, there's no use dwelling on it." The Duel Disks might never've been created, actually. Not in the same way, or with the same motivations behind it.

"Don't get the wrong idea," Kaiba's eye-contact returned, tipping his chin up slightly. "I don't enjoy losing to you. And I will be the one to defeat you. What I'm trying to say is... that I don't regret meeting you." I don't want to imagine a version of my life where you don't exist.

[ayma-nidiot]

“Don’t Speak Their Names”- Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 12

This chapter on AO3 can be found here.

Chapter 12 - Parental Lecture

“We sure have been finding ourselves here a lot, haven’t we?” Rex spoke as he sipped on decaf coffee.

“Should you even be drinking that, dino brain?”

“What do you mean?” Dr. Saurus asked.

That’s none of your- Rex wouldn’t have to complete his thought, as the “Dweeb Patrol” all came in at once.

“Ugh, you just jinxed it,” Amber whined.

“Hey, the pretty lady’s back!”

Duke chuckled, that was until Joey stepped on his foot. “Don’t you ever learn?” Joey talked to Amber more amiably. “I’m sorry, Amber. Please don’t leave.”

“...” Amber looked away from this group that joined her.

“Long time, no see.”

Rex couldn’t look at Mai when she spoke to him, not after remembering what her last words to him were. “Y-Yeah.”

“I haven’t been seeing you around lately,” Joey noted. “What have you been up to?”

“Oh, uh…” Rex wasn’t ready to let his “friends” know about his… condition. “You know, just dueling!”

“Very quietly, apparently,” spoke Tristan. “There was a tournament just last month in Domino City. I was surprised that neither you nor Weevil entered. Even though Amber won it fairly easily.”

“Hah, hah, hah…”

Joey could tell that Rex was running out of excuses. “Rex, you can tell us. What is the real reason you were AWOL?”

Luckily - or rather, not so luckily - an extremely angry phone call from Ptera would answer that question. “Rex Raptor! Where are you, young man?”

“I’m just at the café with friends. What’s the big deal?”

Ptera’s voice was so loud that everyone at the table could hear her, even without speaker. “For goodness’ sake, Rex, you’re pregnant! You need to rest! Come back here right now!”

“Sigh… Yes, Mom.”

When Rex hung up his phone, an awkward silence lingered in the air. Joey was the first one to break that silence. “What on Earth was that about?”

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag now.” Rex arose from the table slowly and showed everyone his baby bump.

“It can’t be… But how?” Tristan asked.

“Hmm, how can I simplify it for you dweebs? I had sex with this guy ,” Rex pointed to Weevil, “and thanks to the fact that I magically have a uterus, I am now four months pregnant. And if you’re wondering where I was, I was puking my guts out so badly that I had to be in the hospital for the past two months.

“I’m sorry, Rex…” Mai apologized. “It’s all my fault. If I didn’t give you that sex advice, you wouldn’t be this way.”

“Oh no, don’t worry your pretty head about it.” Rex patted his baby bump. “Truth be told, I can’t wait to be a fa- er, mother. Or whatever you want to call me.”

“And I’m sure you can’t wait to face your Mom’s wrath,” Weevil spoke as he checked the notification on his phone; it was a text from Roach. “I know I can’t wait to talk to Father when I get home.”

“Then I guess this is goodbye for now,” spoke Joey as Rex and Weevil laid some money on the table. “Let me know when your baby shower is so I can get your bundle of joy a little something.”

“Y-You got it, man…” After he parted with Weevil with a kiss, Rex began his way back home. “A baby shower, huh? I’ve got a lot more to plan for than I thought.”

While Ptera read the Riot Act to her son, Weevil was about to receive his own parental lecture. He stalled for as long as he could get away with before actually walking in the direction of his house. He ignored the greetings of Adelaide and all the other maids and butlers, and 

headed straight for Roach’s office. “...Father.”

“...Son.” After noticing that Weevil wouldn’t sit down, Roach continued, “You have a lot of audacity to be heading to town so often when you couldn’t even earn the top spot at high school.”

“...” Weevil glared at his father without saying a word.

“Don’t look at me like that! You have a lot to make up for! If you want me to accept you as my son, then you need to study so you can graduate from college magna cum laude!”

“...Who said that I wanted - or needed - your approval?” Weevil began to talk back for the first time.

“Excuse me?”

“All you ever do is treat me like I’m some perfect little plaything! At least Rex treats me like a human being. Actually, he treats me as more than that. He’s the one person I adore more than anything else in the world. And now that he bears my child, I have all the more reason to be with him.”

“What… did… you… just… say?”

“That’s right! Rex Raptor, that poor kid you hate so much, is pregnant with your grandchild!”

“Is that what you’re telling yourself?”

“What?”

“So you think you’re normal, huh? That you can marry another man and have kids with him like you’re not an abomination?”

“Father!”

Roach sharply arose from his seat. “Get out of my house right now, you faggot! You are no son of mine!”

“I’ve actually been waiting for this day for a long time.” Weevil smirked. “Unfortunately for you, I’ve already packed as much money and as many of my belongings as I could into one bag. So yeah, I’ll get out of your house right now, Roach. ”

Before Roach could say, “stop this instant,” Weevil had already raced for his now-old room, and began wheeling his giant suitcase out of the house. He had made it about halfway to Rex’s house when he realized he was being followed. Knowing immediately who it was, Weevil stopped in his tracks. “Adelaide, you bloody fool. You didn’t have to run away too.”

“I couldn’t bear to work for that snake anymore.” Adelaide had only a small handbag with a few clothes, a cheap phone, her Duel Disk, and ¥10000. “But more than that, I couldn’t bear to see him torture you so, Master Weevil.”

“Adelaide…” Weevil’s voice shook. “You’ve already taught me how to duel, and have taken care of me when Roach would not… Honestly, you’re doing too much.”

“I’d say I’m not doing enough. Ever since I moved into the Underwood household, you’re the only one who’s treated me with kindness… The only one whom I could call a friend.”

“S-Stop!” Weevil had begun to cry, even as his trusted maid hugged him. “You’re making me all sappy!”

“There is only one problem… Where will we go now?”

“I know just the place.”

_______

Rex looked up at the door when he heard a knock on it, but did not get up from his comfy supine position on the living room couch. “Mom, can you get that? I’m too busy studying and being pregnant on the couch.”

“Oh, so now you acknowledge you need rest.” Ptera’s smile dropped when she saw Weevil and Adelaide at her door. “Weevil!”

“Weevil? He’s here?” Now Rex wanted to get up, and he urged his boyfriend in the house. “Baby, what are you doing here? And with a big-ass suitcase, no less?”

“I’m not on speaking terms with Roach anymore. If it wasn’t obvious already, I’ve run away from home. I want to live here with you.”

Tricera came to the living room to see what all the commotion was about. “Weevil, honey, you’re more than welcome to stay here. We’ll even get you a job at the restaurant, if you want.”

“Thank you. I’ll probably take you up on that offer.”

Adelaide was still very confused about the situation, and felt left out. “Master Weevil, I can take your suitcase to your new room, if you would like.”

“Oh? And who might you be?” Rex asked.

“This is my maid and friend, Adelaide Windsor,” Weevil answered. “Adelaide, this is my boyfriend, Rex Raptor, who is also the mother of my unborn child. These two amazing ladies are his parents, Ptera and Tricera Raptor.”

Adelaide stared at these strangers absentmindedly before speaking. “I-I’m sorry! It’s just, I’ve never met people like you before. But if you have been kind to Master Weevil all these years, then you’re friends of mine.”

“Huh.” This new resident of the Raptor household piqued Rex’s interest. “I don’t suppose you know how to duel?”

In response, Adelaide took out her Duel Disk, and for a split second her demeanour did a complete 180º. “Young man, I’ve been dueling for almost as long as you’ve been alive. In fact, it was I that taught Master Weevil how to duel.”

“Sweet! I’ll show you what my duelin’ dinos are made of!””

“The only thing you’ll be showing anyone is how smart you are.” Ptera put her son’s duelin arm down.

“Yeah, yeah.” Rex returned to the couch and opened his laptop - a fancy one he received as a birthday gift from Weevil last year.

After she had put Weevil’s suitcase in Rex’s room, and the bug duelist had sat down to watch T.V., Adelaide turned to Rex. “Master Rex, is there anything you would like me to cook for you?”

“Takoyaki with chocolate syrup!” Rex held a thumbs up without looking up.

“You got it!” Adelaide noticed the mountain of dishes in the kitchen sink. “If you like, Madame Ptera, I can wash those for you after we’re done with dinner.”

“You’re too kind!” Ptera lightly hit Adelaide on the shoulder. “Oh, and just call me ‘Ptera.’”

“But if you’re letting me stay here, the least I could do is serve you, just as I’ve served Master Weevil.”

“Would you like a job at our family restaurant too?” Tricera called all the way from the loo.

“Could I? That way, I can actually pay rent.” Adelaide interrupted Ptera before she could say anything. “I insist on it, just like I insist on how I address you.”

Weevil smiled as he took a seat next to Rex on the couch. “This… I could get used to this.” He let his hand linger on Rex’s baby bump. “Finally, I can have a real family life. And now, I can help take care of not only the man I love, but also my child.”

[b0ssb1tchhath0r]

Inspired by the amazing talents of @millenniummmbop , I'd also like to present the lovely @shinayashipper with a fluffy little fanfic to compliment the above picture.

(Kudos to @queenbastetsstuff for the beta read)

The Pocky Game

In Which Seto, Though He Wins, Still Somehow Loses

Rivalship

Rating: Teen

Kaiba froze, one hand over his keyboard as the other clutched a pumpkin-shaped onigiri midway to his lips. The only reason Kaiba ever remembered to eat lunch at work was because Yugi insisted on bringing a bento to his office for them to share, though Kaiba suddenly found he had lost any semblance of appetite this particular afternoon.

“The what game?” he sneered at Yugi, brows furrowing as he unceremoniously dropped the rice ball back in the absurd Kuriboh-shaped box on his desk between them. 

Several minutes ago, Kaiba had tuned out and focused on responding to emails as soon as Yugi had started babbling about the nerd herd and their shenanigans. But then as he had reached for the onigiri, his attention had shifted when he noticed a faint blush on Yugi’s cheeks (he definitely did not care for that cherry blossom shade against the pipsqueak’s ivory skin).

“The Pocky game,” Yugi repeated, smirking even as he felt the growing heat in his face. He had been reminiscing about a birthday party for Honda a while back where Malik had started a few rounds of the admittedly childish, yet flirtatious game. Kaiba’s eyes shut as he briefly pinched the bridge of his nose. He was almost certain he didn’t want to know but couldn’t stop himself asking anyway.

“What, exactly, is the Pocky game?” he hissed as he looked back up. Yugi’s smirk grew, tilting his head coyly as he pulled a chocolate-covered biscuit stick from the small red box in his hand.

“Two people put opposite ends of the same Pocky stick in their lips, then take turns taking a bite out of it. If someone pulls away, they lose,” the shorter man explained. Kaiba cocked an eyebrow.

“How do you win?” he asked.

“You kiss when you meet in the middle,” Yugi grinned as his gaze dropped to Kaiba’s lips.

At that, there was an odd swooping sensation in Kaiba’s stomach as his face started to feel warm (maybe he was ill?). Kaiba’s white trench coat hanging off the back of his oversized chair swayed as he leaned back; Kaiba cleared his throat which had suddenly gone dry, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

“Please tell me such nonsense is beneath you,” Kaiba frowned, blue eyes narrowing dangerously. Yugi bit his lip as he glanced shyly down at the Pocky stick still in his hand.

“Actually,” he murmured. “At that party, I played with Jou.” Kaiba’s jaw audibly creaked as he ground his teeth, knuckles whitening as both hands curled into fists. Huffing, he turned back to his computer, long fingers jabbing sharply at his keyboard as he finished the email he had been distracted from.

“Figures the mutt would drag you into something inane and immature,” Kaiba spat bitterly, still glaring at his computer. He briefly wondered if this qualified as justifiable grounds for having Katsuya murdered before he decided to settle for uploading every possible virus to the mutt’s phone at the soonest opportunity, as well as remotely disabling Katsuya’s Duel Disk (he’d restart it again eventually… maybe). Not that Kaiba cared what Yugi got up to on his own time.

“It was just a dare to distract Jou from the fact that Honda was playing the game with Shizuka,” Yugi shrugged before he finally bit off part of his Pocky stick. Eyes fixed stubbornly on his computer monitor, Kaiba grabbed his mug and sipped his coffee, still typing with one hand as he ignored Yugi’s statement. “He lost, by the way,” Yugi smirked around another bite of Pocky. Replacing his mug, Kaiba still didn’t respond though his posture relaxed slightly (of course the mutt had lost, that half-wit couldn’t win a game of Clue if he was playing by himself). “I bet I could beat you, too,” Yugi grinned before finishing his treat. Kaiba barely turned his head to glare daggers at Yugi from the corner of his eye.

It was a trap. Kaiba knew it was a trap. The safest option was not to play, but refusing to play would be a loss in and of itself (besides, when had Kaiba ever taken the safe option in anything). But if he played the game, getting Yugi to lose would be… difficult. If not impossible. Not that that had ever stopped Kaiba before. 

“Well?” Yugi’s grin turned mischievous as he slid another Pocky stick from the box, violet eyes holding Kaiba’s gaze. “Afraid you’ll lose?” Yugi taunted, arching an eyebrow. Kaiba pursed his lips as he pushed forcefully away from his desk and stood.

“Fine,” he gritted through his teeth as he came around his desk. Yugi stood as Kaiba approached, and it was immediately clear they would not be able to play this while they were both standing as Yugi just came to Kaiba’s chest (which Yugi really didn’t mind; he loved getting an eyeful of Seto’s gorgeous body, even in his usual black turtleneck, but it did occasionally present certain challenges).

First Kaiba tried sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk, but he had to lean forward awkwardly, and the Pocky stick snapped before they even started. Yugi’s blush deepened as Kaiba growled in mild frustration, tossing the broken treat carelessly on his desk. Both of them sitting in the chairs had similar results so they moved to one of the couches, but Kaiba’s long torso still towered over Yugi’s shorter frame sitting next to him. Finally, Yugi pushed Kaiba’s shoulders back into the couch as he straddled the brunet, smirking at the pale flush that creeped into Kaiba’s face as the taller man tried not to react. Kaiba focused on breathing normally as his gaze raked over the man in front of him, hands hovering awkwardly before settling on Yugi’s shoulders, which seemed like the safest option (okay, maybe he did, on rare occasion, take the safe option).

“I think this’ll work. Comfy?” Yugi’s smirk widened as he settled his weight into Kaiba’s lap. 

“Isn’t this a little unfair?” Kaiba rasped softly, throat dry again as his blue eyes pierced into Yugi’s violet ones hovering slightly above him (this was fine, this was totally fine, he definitely had no feelings about this. Or about anything at all ever). 

“How so?” Yugi arched an eyebrow, tilting his head coyly again.

“I don’t have much room to pull back, do I?” Kaiba answered as his gaze traced the curve of Yugi’s neck (he was always wearing that damn collar).

“I guess you’ll have to shove me on my ass if you really want to lose that badly,” Yugi grinned as he tipped his head towards the floor in front of the couch. Kaiba immediately dismissed that as an option.

“Who goes first?”

“I’ll go first to show you how it’s done,” Yugi answered, and Kaiba bit the inside of his mouth to keep from retorting. “Ready?” Yugi asked before he slipped the plain end of the Pocky stick still in his hand between his lips. Kaiba took the chocolate end in his own lips, silently lamenting that Yugi didn’t care for the bitter chocolate variety of Pocky. Kaiba had never been one for sweets. Then they began.

Yugi barely took the tiniest bite, easily swallowing without chewing before he smirked playfully around the snack still between his lips. Kaiba’s brow furrowed. What was Yugi doing? Wasn’t the point to intimidate the other person into backing off? Was this some kind of reverse psychology strategy? Well, Kaiba wasn’t going to fall for it; he surged forward, easily biting the snack stick in half, then finding himself having to chew and swallow awkwardly while still holding one end of the Pocky in his lips and trying not to think about how close they were now. Yugi’s lips parted ever so slightly, his pink tongue peeking out playfully under the Pocky stick as he slowly slid forward until their noses brushed; Kaiba resisted every urge rooted in self-preservation telling him to pull back. Then Yugi wrapped his lips suggestively around the Pocky before sliding back, biting off only a tiny bit again. Kaiba’s eyes narrowed. Yugi was toying with him. Well, two could play at that game. Kaiba could easily finish their game in this turn, but if Yugi wanted to draw this out, then Kaiba would draw it out. 

He started to slip forward slowly but had barely moved before Yugi surprised him, surging forward to press their lips together, Yugi’s hands sliding into Kaiba’s hair. Kaiba’s lips parted in a silent gasp of surprise, and Yugi seized the opportunity to slip his tongue past Kaiba’s lips, pulling the Pocky into his own mouth and sucking softly on Kaiba’s bottom lip, teeth grazing tender flesh before he pulled away. Yugi smirked like the cat that got the canary as he chewed and swallowed his treat. Kaiba’s brain was short-circuiting as he gazed dazedly up into devilish violet eyes. What had just happened?

“Mm, you taste like chocolate and coffee, Seto,” Yugi purred, licking his upper lip sensuously. Kaiba’s eyes followed the gesture, heat rushing into his face as he felt equal parts giddy and somehow robbed.

“You cheated,” he muttered. That move had to be against the rules! Wasn’t it?

“Don’t be a sore loser, Seto,” Yugi whispered against Kaiba’s lips before he pressed their lips together again. But Kaiba hadn’t lost! Had he? Yugi’s fingers still in Kaiba’s hair dragged against the brunet’s scalp, sending shivers down his spine, and Kaiba decided he couldn’t care either way at this moment (though he’d never admit it out loud).

Of course, he couldn’t see the red “Incoming Call” light flashing on his silenced desk phone (he always silenced it during their lunches) as he slid the tip of  his tongue against Yugi’s lips, begging entrance. Yugi’s lips parted, and their tongues wrestled for dominance as they deepened the kiss.

Kaiba’s smartphone buzzed insistently on his desk, but he ignored it as he dragged his fingers down the back of Yugi’s shirt, pleased when the smaller man arched into him and tangled his fingers tighter in Kaiba’s hair. If it was important, they’d call back later, whoever it was. As Yugi sucked playfully on Kaiba’s tongue, Kaiba’s hands grasped Yugi’s hips, pulling them firmly against his own. Yugi groaned faintly in response, Kaiba swallowing the sound greedily.

Kaiba’s office door suddenly swung open as Mokuba burst through it, exasperated.

“Seto, you’re late for the-” the younger Kaiba sputtered before he registered the scene in front of him. Yugi immediately broke away, stifling a breathless giggle in his hand as he buried his face in Kaiba’s shoulder, Kaiba glaring poison daggers up at his brother. Mokuba’s eyes slid shut as he pinched the bridge of his nose, a younger imitation of Kaiba’s own gesture of annoyance. Somehow, Mokuba was not surprised.

“The investors’ meeting,” Mokuba finished, muttering before he looked back up. Yugi turned a genuinely apologetic smile up at the teenager, Yugi’s face flushed beet red.

“Sorry, Mokuba, we lost track of the time,” Yugi shrugged his shoulders, standing even as Kaiba’s hands clung stubbornly to his hips for a second. As Yugi quickly collected his things, Kaiba’s gaze was still narrowed sharply at his brother; Mokuba only arched an eyebrow in response.

“Seto, I’ll make tonkatsu for lunch tomorrow,” Yugi said, heading for the door. “And I’ll bring more Pocky,” he grinned over his shoulder before he was gone. 

Kaiba looked forward to the rematch. He finally stood, long strides carrying him quickly to his desk to grab his ridiculous trench coat; he threw it on quickly as he noticed the growing smirk on Mokuba’s face.

“Not. A word,” Kaiba hissed as he swept past his younger brother.

“Oh, I have plenty of words, Nii-sama,” Mokuba grinned as he shut the door behind them.

Pocky Game

——————–

Happy (belated;;) Birthday gift for the lovely @shinayashipper!!

(●'◡'●) 💖💖💖

[darkzorua100]

“My favorite scene (so far)” = I feel like this is cheating a bit since I think this is technically two scenes but they happen back to back and I honestly can’t pick which one I loved more because they are both just so freaking epic so screw it, I’m counting them as one giant moment in one of my favorite episodes: Episode 42 - Stardust Road's Guidance.

So we are in the second half of Playmaker vs Revolver Match 2 Round 1 in what I have to say to be the best Speed Duel, at the current moment, in the whole show. Them dueling around the Tower of Hanoi was just epic beyond words because of all the falling debris flying anywhere and Playmaker is just getting pounded to death, losing chunks of his data every second. The fact that neither Yusaku of Ryoken died from this seriously amazes me. Anyway, Playmaker is currently getting his butt kicked so he tries to use Storm Access to pull a comeback against Revolver but ends up losing his freaking arm since the Data Storm is so strong. Just when you think Playmaker is going to lose and fall to his death, Ai, the same size as Playmaker and out of the freaking duel disk, saves his partner regardless of the fact that Playmaker was mad at him for lying to him for all that time and “sacrifices” himself to allow Yusaku to get the monster, Transcode Talker, out of the Data Storm. This in turn allowed Playmaker to take the lead in the duel.

So what does Revolver do? He ends up using his own Storm Access and ends up losing his arm as well because of the powerful storm. Unlike Playmaker, Revolver is still standing and tries again even though it is suicidal and just when he goes for it, everything stops moving and out comes freaking Dr. Kogami like he is Jesus or something, actually sacrificing himself, after admitting to his son that he was a sh*t father (no you think?), to allow Ryoken to get Topologic Gumblar Dragon out of the storm. Revolver then process to destroy their hands and then nuke the field with his new monster since he just lost his father and decided that this duel wasn’t important anymore and even though Kogami is even worse than scum and had it coming, wow I felt bad for Ryoken when Kogami’s heart monitor dropped to zero.

I just love these two moments so much because so much happened in such little time. Playmaker and Revolver both losing an appendage from how strong the Data Storm was (especially for Revolver since he can control them), Ai doing something none of us saw coming (which btw I really want to see something like this happen again in the future with Playmaker and Ai or with another Lost Child and their Ignis such as Soulburner and Flame or maybe with Spectre and his Ignis to give Spectre some major character development and show him that the Ignises can be trusted), and then Kogami just out right dying just like that when a lot of us thought he was going to be the final battle during season one. Not going to lie, I never liked Speed Duels but after this duel, I officially love them because wow that was insane. Can we get another duel like this please? Like sometime soon? I enjoy watching the characters get the crap beaten out of them from the environments they decide to duel in and most importantly, it actually shows that these Speed Duels can actually be really dangerous like they stated they were in episode two.

[higuchimon]

[fanfic]  Rewards of Losing:  Chapter 3

Mizael preferred the night shift but when he knew someone would be wandering his garden, he wasn’t averse to making the effort to wander in the daylight. The plants in the garden whispered among themselves as he wandered, quite pleased to see him. He brushed his hands carefully along some of them; it had been a while since he’d seen them. They enjoyed the attention, releasing more of their lovely fragrances at his touch.

He’d only been there a couple of hours before he caught sight of purple. He took another look and saw blue as well. There was the Healer he’d seen – who still gave the same sensation that he had the night before. The plants all whispered in glee; it had been some time since there had been two Healers there at the same time.

Mizael started towards the two of them, trying hard not to look too long as the Firestarter as he got closer. He wasn’t having a lot of luck; everything about this Firestarter drew his attention. He’d seen a few tall people in his time but this one had to be one of the tallest. His hair was a deep shade of blue and while he wasn’t close enough for Mizael to be sure, he thought the eyes matched. They both wore ordinary enough clothes, Yuuri in a different outfit from what he’d had the night before, and the Firestarter in shades of blue.

Who is he? Mizael allowed himself to think only that before he mentally jerked himself up. They were courting! He didn’t even know the Firestarter’s name! Very bad things happened to Healers and Firestarters who poached or even attempted to poach. Those things often involved being set afire or fed to a hungry plant.

And when they didn’t, they usually involved combat of some kind. Mizael believed he could get the best of just about anyone who he fought against, but it wasn’t worth the energy. He would be polite. He would not be a poacher.

He did raise one hand to greet them. Yuuri nodded towards him and nudged his companion. The Firestarter glanced over and his eyes locked on Mizael’s.

For a few seconds, Mizael wasn’t entirely certain of how one breathed. It wasn’t just the sense of flames there – far more powerful than any that he recalled seeing, ever. But the duelist’s spirit that glowed inside this new arrival made him ache for his deck and duel disk. It didn’t matter who won, as long as they strove against one another.

“Hello,” Yuuri said as they came within speaking distance. “You’re the Healer that I met last night, aren’t you?”

Mizael fought to center himself. He smiled instead. “Yes. Mizael.” He kept his attention on the Healer – Yuuri, he remembered the name was.

“This is the Firestarter I’m courting.” Yuuri nodded at the tall young man, who drew himself out of whatever his inner thoughts were to nod at Mizael.

“Marufuji Ryou. A pleasure to meet you.” His words held perhaps a fraction more warmth than when strangers normally meant and Mizael had to remind himself all over again that he wasn’t a poacher.

Mizael nodded. “Likewise.” Empty courtesies and nothing more, but they allowed him the time to feel those impressive flames, even with the distance between them. He’d not felt fire like that ever, not even around IV, the strongest Firestarter that he knew of.

Marufuji didn’t exactly make IV feel like a candle-flame but a flame-spar between the two of them would be a thing of legend.

At least there was something else that he could focus on right now. “Are you certain that you want to wait until this weekend for the duel?” He asked Yuuri. “I’m ready now.”

Yuuri heaved a somewhat overdone sigh. “I still don’t have my deck and duel disk with me.” He tapped the fingers of one hand on his opposing arm. “However, you have yours, don’t you?” He turned his attention to Marufuji, who nodded. “Why don’t the two of you have a duel? I’ll watch.” His eyes glinted with excitement. “In fact, this weekend, I’ll duel the winner. If it’s you, Mizael, I’ll duel you twice.”

Mizael thought that sounded perfect. He gestured up to a higher area. “We can duel up there. You’ve got a D-Gazer, don’t you?”

“Of course.” Marufuji slipped it out of his pocket. It matched flawlessly to his coloring, of course, as did the duel disk that joined it a breath later. As the three of them headed that way, Mizael wondered exactly what sort of dueling he would see against him. He always enjoyed finding out what strategies his opponents had, and finding ways to bring them to a swift end.

Interesting. A voice that only he could hear echoed in his ears. He could see Jinlong there, in his human form, gaze fixated on the other two duelists. Very interesting indeed.

Mizael tilted his head to the side, not enough for his walking companions to notice, but he knew that Jinlong would know what he was thinking. What was so interesting about them? What could catch the attention of an eons old dragon about two ordinary – well, very powerful – Healer and Firestarter?

They’re not like anyone I’ve seen around here. Very different indeed. Jinlong shook his head, his braid a soundless wisp of white. Let’s see what this duel shows us, shall we?

When Jinlong spoke like that, there wasn’t anything that one could do except accept it. Mizael focused on getting his cards shuffled and preparing or what would come next.

Just as the two of them activated their disks and D-Gazers, Mizael caught sight of a streak of pitch black behind Marufuji. He blinked for a second, realizing it was a Healer Cat. Seeing ones that weren’t bonded just wandering wasn’t especially unusual, but it also wasn't common. Healer Cats and Fire Cats did as they pleased, exactly as common cats did, except for being more vocal about it.

Huh. Wonder what they’re doing here. The Healer Cat stayed where it was, eyes tracking on someone. Mizael thought it might be Marufuji but he couldn’t be certain. He said nothing at all; Marufuji was being courted by a Healer already and that Healer Cat would be able to tell.

He refocused himself on getting the duel started. Yuuri hummed, gazing between the two of them, before he gestured towards Mizael.

“You can have the first turn,” he declared grandly. “I look forward to seeing what you can do.”

Mizael got to business right away. He didn’t want to summon Jinlong, the ace of his deck, right away. He wanted to see what Marufuji could do first. He enjoyed a good, swift duel, once he knew how strong his opponent was.

Marufuji seemed to play a Machine-type deck, one with a focus on dragons and other creatures of myth. As soon as his turn began, he summoned a powerful level five monster, made so much easier because Mizael had one of his monsters on the field already.

So that’s why Yuuri wanted me to go first. He knew that Marufuji would use it to his advantage. He wasn’t at all surprised. That was good thinking. In a sense he wasn’t fighting one opponent, but two, who knew each other very well.

Back and forth the two of them went, biting into one another’s life points as they did. Mizael noticed quickly something unusual – that Marufuji didn’t have any XYZ monsters at all. Before he could stop himself, he asked that.

“No. That’s not the style of summoning that I use,” Marufuji said. “I have something else.”

His gaze flicked over to Yuuri, who nodded, raw eagerness flickering all over his features. Then Marufuji did something Mizael hadn’t ever seen before. He’d heard of it, but he’d never seen it.

“I activate Fusion in my hand to merge my three Cyber Dragons into Cyber End Dragon!”

The monster was magnificent. Mizael couldn’t argue that at all. Jinlong still wasn’t on the field, but Mizael heard his impressed whisper regardless. What a wonderful creature. I do hope-

What he hoped Mizael wasn’t sure about. Cyber End Dragon took a huge chunk from his life points, and if he hadn’t had a face-down trap that negated most of the damage, it could have been so much more. Mizael shuddered at the blow, stumbling back a few steps, then steadied himself.

“That’s amazing,” he declared, staring at the three-headed metallic creature that rose over him. He grinned. “I’m going to enjoy taking it down.

“Do your best,” Marufuji said, a smile teasing at his lips for a few seconds. “Whatever you can do.”

What Mizael could do was finally find a way to summon Jinlong. Jinlong’s effects worked best against Dragon-Type monsters, but that wasn’t an insurmountable barrier. A couple of other cards combined to change Jinlong’s effect to affecting Machine-types – he could hear Jinlong complaining – and he took Cyber End Dragon away from Marufuji.

Hello there, Mizael murmured to the great creature as it came to stand in front of him. He expected one of two things – either nothing at all, the reaction he got when the monster had no spirit, or the awareness of the spirit directed towards him. But instead, Cyber End Dragon’s attention was all on Marufuji. The awareness was so strong Mizael wondered that other people couldn’t see it or feel it.

He mentally shook his head. He would work that out later. Jinlong would probably no more. He needed to wrap this duel up. Marufuji didn’t have anything left in his hand or face down, so with Cyber End Dragon and Jinlong working together, they finished off the last of his life points.

It took a few more minutes after that for both of them to recover. Mizael crossed over and handed Cyber End Dragon back to him. “That’s an amazing monster you have. I’ve never seen anyone who uses that Summons Style either.”

“It’s common where we’re from,” Yuuri said, eyes glittering. “I use it too. I really can’t wait until I can duel you.”

“Likewise.” Mizael wondered what sort of monsters that Yuuri might have in his deck. He could feel the strength of at least one spirit there, one that he could almost swear stared at him even without being summoned.

That’s because it is. I can’t see it myself. It conceals itself very well. But it’s powerful beyond measure. Jinlong rubbed his chin in thought. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a spirit like this before. How fascinating.

Mizael didn’t have a chance to ask further questions. Marufuji started to say something, then broke off, his eyes resting on something else. Mizael turned to see what he saw and saw nothing unusual at all – just someone going by with their Cat.

‘What is that?” Marufuji murmured. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Yuuri turned in that direction as well. “That is a very large cat,” was all that he said. Mizael tilted his head, catching a tiny glimpse of that black cat sliding deeper into the shadows. Whether it was still there or not he wasn’t sure.

“It’s a Fire Cat,” he said, taking a better look to be certain. “Probably with their Healer.” He shrugged. “You’ve never seen one that big before?” Cats were big. There were many reasons people gave them the same respect as they did human Healers and Firestarters, starting with the fact they also came armed with sharp teeth and claws and the will to use them if necessary.

“I’ve never see one at all,” Marufuji told him. Mizael blinked. That wasn’t the answer that he’d expected.

“Really? I thought they were everywhere.” He’d certainly never herd of anywhere where Cats hadn’t existed. They went with Healers and Firestarters. He might have been less surprised to hear that their hometown didn’t have a sun in the sky.

Yuuri shook his head. “We come from a very remote place. You’ve likely not heard of it before.”

“Shinokawa,” Marufuji offered. “I’ve checked. It’s not even on any maps.”

That sounded odd. Mizael hadn’t heard of it, true, but he thought most maps had most places. Perhaps he’d been mistaken. But to even think that such a remote place had no Fire Cats or Healer Cats…

Those should be a part of everyone’s basic education. Finding out otherwise didn’t feel right. He was torn between asking for more details and checking in with the Guild. He wasn’t overly fond of the Guild to start with, but it was their job to keep an eye on the education of all Healers and Firestarters.

Yuuri’s hand rested on Marufuji’s. “It was a lovely duel and I look forward to seeing you this weekend. But we have somewhere else to be right now.” There was a hint of distance already in his voice. He said nothing more, but turned, taking Marufuji with him.

Mizael wasn’t at all sure of what had just happened. The two of them were quickly out of sight, and he settled himself down on the nearest bench, thinking.

So strange. So very strange..

Extremely so, Jinlong agreed. Cyber End Dragon definitely had a spirit and that spirit wasn’t pleased at being turned against their master. Understood it was merely a part of the game and no real harm was done, of course, but didn’t like it regardless.

Mizael nodded. He’d had that happen to some of his monsters in the past. He hadn’t liked it then either.

A whisper of black moved closer and he looked up to see the black Healer Cat from before standing in front of him. As always, he took a moment to recover from seeing just how large these Cats were. This one’s head could well come up to Marufuji’s waist and every ounce of it’s bulk was solid muscle. Intelligent gray eyes stared at him, and while it didn’t wear a harness to indicate it was bonded, the Cat did have a collar with a bag around the neck, offering it a place to store such items as its registration card. So it wasn’t a wild Cat at all, even if it was as big as one.

“Hello,” Mizael greeted. “Is there something I can do for you?” Unbonded Cats weren’t known for walking up to unbonded Healers or Firestarters, especially if they were of like type. He might have expected a Fire Cat, if one decided that he was worth bonding to. But a Healer Cat wasn’t expected.

“Perhaps. My name is Kei.” The Cat told him. No one quite knew how Cats could twist their mouths to speak in human languages when it wasn’t possible for standard cats. Some biologists considered it a byproduct of the Wildfire Virus, the long ago plague that created Healers and Firestarters, Healer Cats and Fire Cats, in the first place.

Mizael didn’t know. What he knew was that it was best to be very polite to something that weighed roughly the same as an adult human, and had all the claws and teeth of a cat and the intelligence of a human.

He wondered at times what human history would be like if they didn’t share the planet with an equally intelligent and powerful species that chose to aid them. Probably not a world he would want to live on.

“I’m Mizael,” he said. “Are you looking for someone in particular?”

“The one I want just left. The Firestarter – Marufuji Ryou.” Kei settled don in front of Mizael, tail draping over his paws. “But I think I want to talk to you about him.”

That wasn’t anything like what Mizael expected. “What do you mean?”

“He is my Firestarter. He might be yours as well.”

Mizael jerked up, trying hard to ignore the sensation of warmth that came from the very idea. He shook his head quickly. “Those two are already courting, I’m not going to poach.” He’d told himself that quite a few times already.

“You wouldn’t be. That one isn’t the proper one for him.” Kei shook his head. “But Ryou isn’t in the mind-frame to see that right now.”

Mizael frowned. “What are you talking about?”

The tip of Kei’s tail twitched, his ears flicking back and forth. “I don’t know everything. I know he’s doing something that should make him unhappy. But I don’t know why he isn’t and why he won’t stop. I don’t think he wants to do it but he doesn’t know he shouldn't want to do it.’

Cats weren’t always known for being direct but Mizael thought this was a little off even for a Cat.

“What are you talking about?”

“I can show you where he does this. I know what it looks like but if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me right now. You need to see it for yourself.” Kei stared at him. “You know he has the spirit of a true duelist.”

Mizael nodded. He’d felt it blazing against him and if he hadn't been lucky in his draws, then he would have been the one defeated.

“But I’m not going to poach,” he reminded Kei. That went beyond wrong. It was rude. If they decided that they weren’t going to bond, then that was one thing. But from what little he’d seen -

Mizael stopped right there and considered. What had he seen? Yuuri seemed very – possessive. That wasn’t wrong, by itself. Some people liked that and most Healers and Firestarters were possessive anyway, to some degree. Forging a bond was a sacred act that wasn’t done lightly by any means. The right choice had to be made.

He didn’t think he’d seen Marufuji trying to pull away and there wasn’t any hint of Bond’s Bud that he’d detected. Growing that was illegal just about everywhere. He would have noticed some of the scent around Marufuji if that were the case.

But at the same time, the more that he considered it, the more certain he became that Kei might just be right.

To Be Continued

Notes: I would have written the entire duel out but Mizael has very little in his deck that doesn’t aim for summoning his Numbers and since Numbers don’t exist there, it wasn’t worth the effort. Jinlong has his basic effects but just isn’t a Number. And yes, Mizael can see and hear duel spirits.

[hikarichino]

Part 4: Initiation

You know the drill, long post under cut.

TLDR: You didn’t think Hikari would face Yami right away, now did you?

Hikari made her choice. She walked into the office, wearing the newly acquired stone around her neck, much to Dartz’s satisfaction and Valon’s amusement.

“Well, I’ll be dammed. Guess you do have strength in ya, girl.”

Dartz walked up to her. “So glad you came to your senses. Now then, from here forward you serve the Orichalcos, understood?”

Hikari just nodded.

He turned around and began to exit the office. “Then follow me.”

She silently followed Dartz down a corridor to another room. When she entered, she gasped in amazement. It was a room filled with Duel Monster cards. “I’ve... never seen this many cards in one place.”

“This is a collection of every card ever produced. You may use them to strengthen your deck.”

She looked around room, examining each case. The variety was astounding. She knew Duel Monsters was diverse, she wasn’t aware it was that diverse. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, a case caught her attention: a collection of Amazoness cards she never saw before or even heard of!

“Amazoness Onslaught, Call, Princess, Spy, Baby Tiger... I wasn’t even aware they made more! How did you get them?”

“I have my ways.” Dartz just smiled. “You wish to use them? Be my guest.”

Hikari immediately grabbed three copies of each of them and proceeded to edit her deck. When she was done, she approached Dartz. “There. All done.”

“Good, now for your first assignment.”

“Wait first? I thought all this was to prepare me to face Yami-”

“Patience my dear. You may have the Orichalcos behind you, but you must first prove your loyalty and earn the right to face him.”

Hikari looked down. “So... you said I would be able to punish him for what he did... and now you’re telling me I have to prove myself first?!”

“Have faith in me, my dear. This isn’t just a test of loyalty. As the Pharaoh holds a legendary dragon, you need every advantage you can get. That includes you getting used to the Orichalcos’ Power. Here is your assignment.” He hands her a photo. “I want you to capture the soul of a strong duelist. You should be more than a match for this one.”

Hikari looked at the photo. “And how am I supposed to find him?”

Dartz pointed at her pendant. “That stone you now carry will be your guide. Use its power to go to him.” He then grew a bit concerned. Something’s wrong. I can’t sense him now. He suddenly turned around and began to walk out. “You have your assignment. You are dismissed.”

Hikari just stared at the photo. “How in the hell am I supposed to use my stone to go to him?”

“Ah, I see you already got your first mission.”

She looked up to see Valon, leaning against the doorway.

“Look at you, not even here for a minute and already you get your first mission. I feel like such a proud parent.”

“What do you want now?” Hikari shot back, annoyed.

“Now now, don’t be like that. We’re comrades now. We gotta stick together. In fact, I got a present for ya. Catch!” 

Before she could realize it, she caught the object flying towards her. It didn’t take long for her to realize that he gave her a duel disk that was identical to his. As she put it on and inserted her deck, Valon approached her.

“Now all you need to do is raise that stone in the air, and it’ll take you to where you need to go. I’ve seen Rafael do it before, you’ll be fine.” He walked out. “Have fun now.”

She was all by herself now. “Well, I guess there’s only one thing to do now.” She removed her pendant and raised it above her. A green glow filled the room and she felt herself being lifted. When the glow disappeared, so was she.

It was another sellout water show at the amusement park. People would gather from all corners to watch the ocean creatures perform. Today, however, was a special day. Of all honorary trainers to perform, no one would imagine a duelist from overseas would volunteer to perform for the day, especially one coming back from a fishing trip.

No one believed him when he said he did this before, but everyone was impressed by how easily he interacted with all the sea creatures. It was like it was second nature to him.

From a hallway leading from backstage to the pool, Hikari appeared in a green light. She looked around, wondering where she was.

“What is this, an ocean show?” She said to herself as an announcement was heard.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please give it up for Nami, lead today by our honorary trainer, Mako Tsunami!”

She looked towards the pool where they were performing. There she saw him, her target.

She was amazed at all the tricks he got the whale to perform: high speed surfing, jumping through hoops, giving a wave to the audience. Even the tail slap which caused a big wave to soak the front row made her chuckle a little. She realized she was laughing and stopped. This wasn’t the time for recreation. She had a mission, and if she wants to face Yami and punish him for what he did she had to go through Mako first.

After a half hour of tricks and amusement, she saw Mako dismount his whale and hop onto a platform. The show was coming to an end. She walked down the hallway to a backstage room and prepared herself.

“Thank you everyone for coming today, and thank you for allowing me the pleasure and honor of being your trainer for the day! Until next time!”

A roar of applause and laughter filled the stage as they began to empty out. Mako grabbed a nearby towel as a stagehand approached him.

“Thanks again for filling in. The children absolutely loved the performance!”

“The pleasure is all mine. I enjoy interacting with all creatures of the sea. Should I return in the future, perhaps you’ll allow me to do this again!” He bowed and walked off the stage.

He continued to dry himself off as he walked down the hallway to a room where he kept his belongings, which was a small bag. “I should return to my boat. Today’s been fun, but the ocean calls for me again.”

“Why stop the fun now?”

He stopped when he heard a voice and turned to see Hikari, leaning against a wall. “Can I help you?”

“Mako Tsunami, I know I’ve heard of you somewhere...”

“A fan? Have you come asking for my autograph?”

“Third place in the Duel Monster Regional Championship. You’ve played in prestigious tournaments such as Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. A strong duelist such as yourself wouldn’t say no to a little challenge, would he?”

“I see.” He chuckled. “I wasn’t intending on dueling during my time here,” He opened his bag and pulled out a standard-issued duel disk. “But I never back down from a challenge.” He put on his duel disk and inserted his deck. “Very well. Prepare yourself, for I will not hold back!” He activated his duel disk.

“Neither will I.” She activated hers in response.

“Duel!!”

“I will take the first move!” Mako drew. “And I’ll start off with the Field Magic card A Legendary Ocean!”

As Mako inserted his card into the field slot, the room began to flood. Soon they were knee-deep in water.

“I hope you’re prepared. The ocean holds many surprises and secrets beneath its depths! Like this card, and this monster, both face-down. Now then. Let’s see you.”

“Very well, then.” She drew, then widened her eyes when she realized what she drew. This is... That’s right. I have to capture this man’s soul, and there’s only one card to accomplish that. Then I can focus on my real goal. “Impressive field card, now allow me to use my own. From my hand, I activate the Field Magic card, Seal of Orichalcos!”

“Seal of what, now?”

“Observe for yourself.” She inserted her card into the field slot. As soon as it closed and and read the card, her pendant began to glow violently. She felt a rush of energy jolt throughout her body. Unable to control herself, she wrapped her arms around her own body to calm her down. A green hexagram circle appeared underneath Hikari, which quickly spread to surround both her and Mako. When the light show ended, she released herself from her own embrace and glared at Mako.

“Now then, let’s get this duel underway, shall we?”

The duel went back and forth. Each duelist had the upper hand, but only for the moment as the other took control. Hikari was even able to defeat his Fortress Whale with her Queen. 

“And to end, I’ll lay one card face-down. Try to defeat my ladies now!” She waited for Mako to make a move, but all he was doing was looking down at her feet. “What are you waiting for?! Stop stalling and continue this!”

“Forgive me, but I can’t help but notice the waves and how they’re feeling.”

“What are you going at?”

“When you spend so much time with the sea, you learn to read its emotions. For example, look at the waves around me. See how small and rhythmic they are? It shows how calm, but focused I am. Now look at the waves around you.”

Hikari looked down and noticed the constant crashing of waves against her legs.

“You see how violent and chaotic the waves are? And it’s not just the waters. Your constant onslaught of your monsters reveal your intentions as well.”

“What nonsense are you spewing?!”

“It’s no nonsense. While I have been dueling with focus and a calm determination to win, you on the other hand are far from calm. You’re angry, and you’re lashing out.”

“What did you just say?!” Hikari spat out. “You know nothing about me!”

“We may have just met, yes. But as duelists having a duel right now, we share a unique bond no one else can have. And I can see and feel the ocean’s emotions as clear as day. On your side, I see that it is angry, and that it is also crying.”

“Enough!” She yelled. “This is a duel, not a damn therapy session!”

“You’re right, this is a duel, and I’ll tribute my set card for my Legendary Fisherman! And while my Ocean is on the field, my fisherman can’t be targeted by Magic Cards, or cannot be an attack target. However that means I can be attacked directly, so I activate Tornado Wall! Now as long as my Ocean is on the field I take no damage from any of your attacking monsters.”

“So go ahead and lash out! Attack me with all your anger! I’ll still be standing when it’s over!”

“You think you know me now, do you?” Her whisper then grew to a shout. “You know nothing! You know nothing of what I went through! Lashing out, I’ll show you lashing out! Amazoness Sage, Direct Attack!”

The sage leaped past the fisherman and struck Mako with her staff.

Not even flinching from the attack, Mako just looked at Hikari. “I already told you that my Tornado Wall will protect me-”

“Yes, as long as your Ocean is on the field. Apparently you’re unaware of my Sage’s ability. If she stays on the field after attacking, I can destroy one Magic or Trap card on your side of the field, and I choose your Legendary Ocean!”

“What?!” Mako shouted out as his field card shattered, drying up the water until they were standing on solid ground again.

“And since your Ocean is destroyed, your Tornado Wall loses its effect!” She smiled as his trap card shattered as well. “And now your fisherman is vulnerable. Paladin, Attack!”

The paladin thrusted her sword in the fisherman, shattering it.

“And now you’re open to a direct attack. Any final words?”

“Just this.” He looked Hikari in the eye. “I’m sorry for you. Whatever is causing all this pain and anger is eating you alive, so much so that you lash out at the first duelist you see. I just wonder that once this is all over, if you truly will get what you’re after, or just find yourself more pain-”

“SHUT UP! I’ve heard enough from you! Swordswoman, strike him down!”

The swordswoman charged at Mako, swinging her sword across his chest. Mako dropped to his knees as his lifepoints hit zero. The duel was over.

“There, you won.” He looked up at her. “Did it get you what you wanted?”

Hikari just glared back. “It will in a minute.”

“What are you-” He then noticed the green circle shrinking until only he was inside it. “What’s going on?!”

“Apologies for not bring it up sooner, but when the Seal of Orichalcos is on the field, the loser of the duel must forfeit their soul.”

“My... my soul?! No!” He cried out as the green light enveloped him, shooting towards the sky. After a few moments, the light faded, leaving Mako’s soulless body collapsing to the floor.

Hikari just looked at the body with disgust. “Serves you right. A random fisherman like you would know nothing of what I went through. But it doesn’t matter. I did what I had to do.” She touched her pendant, and she disappeared with a bright green light.

Back at the Paradius office, Hikari reappeared, then looked at the Seal, which showed a picture of Mako behind it. His words then started to flood her.

“You on the other hand are far from calm. You’re angry, and you’re lashing out.”

“I see that it is angry, and that it is also crying.”

“Go ahead and lash out! Attack me with all your anger!”

Frustrated and angry that he saw through her, she fell to her knees and pounded her fist on the floor.

“Damn you! How dare you try to understand me! You know nothing of how I feel!”

She then heard slight laughter. Turning around, she noticed Dartz chuckling and clapping his hands in satisfaction.

"You passed the test, my dear." He walked up to her. "By playing the seal and defeating a strong duelist, you've accepted the Orichalcos into your heart. By capturing his soul you did what was best for mankind and the rebirth of civilization. You fought like a true warrior."

Hikari looked up. "So now what?"

"Don't lose focus. Your true battle awaits. But you will not face him alone." He held out his hand to help her up. "I will be with you."

“At last. I can finally make him pay for what he did to me. To Yugi.”

“One more thing. Take this.” He handed her a card.

She read the card. “Amazoness... Archer?”

“You will need that card to defeat him. Now steel yourself, the battle is about to begin.” He held her hand and a soft glow of green lit up. “I will lead you to him.”

Hikari found herself near a valley. There wasn’t anything much to her surroundings, save for the long train track that seemed endless. Looking around, she also noticed that she was alone.

“You said you were with me.” She said out loud.

“I am, I will be helping you in this battle. Do not worry, you can trust me.”

Hikari just looked down at her pendant.

“Your opponent is near. Deliver us victory, Miss Chino, and bring me the Pharaoh’s soul!”

“Understood.” She whispered, not even hearing the familiar voice that called out to her.

“Hikari! We’ve been looking for you!”

[real-life-pine-tree]

Arc-V Aftermath: Dance Do-Over (2/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42​.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

Yuri switched back to Yuya while heading downstairs. He knows how Yusho is still having a hard time trusting him, especially after carding him, so he would rather let the son of a Dueltainer talk to him. Besides, Yusho and Yoko would still get filled in on what’s wrong with Yuto now that they know what happened.

Before sitting down to eat breakfast and talk to his parents, Yuya was greeted by En, Core, Kilo, Watt, and all the other pets his mother rescued. Some of them jumped on his legs, wanting to lick his hands and face, while the rest barked and meowed with excitement.

“Whoa!” Yugo exclaimed. “That’s a lot of pets!”

“Mom just can’t say no to strays,” Yuya explained as he picked up En and cuddled the corgi pup in his arms.

He looked over to see his mother in the kitchen—cooking a few more pancakes—and his father, who had just finished breakfast. “Morning, Yuya!” Yoko pleasantly said. “Were you talking to your friends?”

“Yeah,” Yuya answered, setting En down on the floor before taking his seat at the kitchen table. “And I need to talk to you and dad.”

“What about?” Yusho asked.

“I want to host a dance at the LID’s Center Duel Field,” Yuya explained, sensing that Yuto wasn’t present.

“What for?” Yusho asked.

“It’s for everyone who attended the Heartland Duel School dance,” Yuya continued.

This surprised Yoko and Yusho. They were curious as to why Yuya wanted to host a dance at LID’s Center Duel Field, so their son filled them in on what happened that very night. He really wants to give the students who attended the last dance another chance to hang out, sing, dance, and have fun, but more importantly, he wants to bring back the smiles that were taken from them by Duel Academy. He was also determined to make this an extra special night for Yuto and Lulu.

“What a kind thing to do for your friends,” Yoko said.

“And I’ll get everyone in Paradise City in on it,” Yuya continued. “It’s clear that the people of Heartland are still recovering, so they need to be happy again.”

“I don’t see why not,” Yusho said. “I’ll even contact Skip and Declan to see if they could help out.”

Throughout the day, Yuya, his parents, Yugo, Yuri, and Sora worked together to put together the upcoming dance. It was going to be a lot of work, so they need all the help they can get. Yusho called Declan and Skip to inform them about his son’s surprise dance for the students at his duel school and asked if they can help. Naturally, they both said “Yes”. Declan offered to distribute inviations to the people in Heartland City while Skip said he’ll talk to Zuzu to help prepare Lulu for the dance; they also made sure to keep it a secret. Shortly after hanging up, Zuzu and Henrietta came in to see what their respective relatives were talking about.

“What’s going on, dad?” Zuzu asked.

“Great, you’re here!” Skip said. “I need to speak to you privately.”

“Uh… Sure,” Zuzu said. “Okay other me’s. I need you to…go away for a while?”

“No, wait, Rin and Celina need to hear it as well!” Skip corrected.

“Alright,” Lulu said before she disappeared into Zuzu’s shared mind.

“Okay dad, Lulu’s gone,” Zuzu informed.

“There’s going to be a dance for the former students of Heartland Duel School,” Skip explained. “I need you to get Lulu ready for tonight.”

“A formal dance?” Zuzu asked.

“Yes!” Rin cheered. “As a fashionista of the Synchro Dimension, I would be more than happy to help Lulu switch out those old rags for better outfits.”

“I think Lulu can handle it herself,” Celina replied, aware that Rin and Lulu have different fashion sense.

“Don’t worry, dad,” Zuzu said. “I’ll see if Julia can help out.”

“So Declan, is there anything I can do?” Henrietta asked as Zuzu went over to the Krystal residence.

“As a matter of fact, there is,” Declan answered. “Because Yuya wishes to have the dance located the Center Duel Field, I was hoping you can arrange the decorations.”

“Certainly, Declan,” Henrietta replied.

As the day went to, Declan finished working on the invitations. He then scrolled through a list of XYZ residents who attended Heartland Duel School on his computer. After checking, he sent the invitations to the former students’ Duel Disks, except Yuto and Lulu. The gray-haired teen decided to message Shay to head on over to LID for measurements. It was obvious he was going to need a new suit.

Meanwhile, in the XYZ Dimension, life was slowly returning to normal for the people of Heartland. They have been working together to clean up and rebuild the city. Aster Phoenix, the Tyler Sisters, and Mamoru Noro even decided to stay and help the citizens out, continuing to distribute food, drinks, and medical supplies, as well as assist in reconstruction. Just then, a notification alarm went off from someone’s Duel Disk. Followed by a second. No, third. Fourth. Fifth. Now, multiple notifications were popping up from several Duel Disks. This was rather bizarre.

One of the Duelists who received a notification alarm was none other than Sarah. “Hey Alex, are you getting this?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Alex answered as he checked his Duel Disk. “I wonder what it’s for.”

They checked their notifications to see what it was. They received what looked like invitations. This was rather unexpected, but that quickly turned to joy when they read the invitations. They were invited to a dance at the Leo Institute of Dueling.

“A dance?” Alex asked. “We haven’t attended one since…”

Sarah sadly looked over at Alex. “I know,” she agreed. “Hopefully you can wear something than a hoodie and a poncho this time.”

“It was my cleanest poncho!” Alex insisted.

Meanwhile, Aster checked his Duel Disk. “That’s strange…” he noted. “My Duel Disk doesn’t have a notification.”

“Neither does ours,” Gloria said as she and Grace showed Aster their Duel Disks.

Back at the Pendulum Dimension, Zuzu was heading towards the local spa, where she—well, technically Lulu—was supposed to meet up with Julia. The long, dark-haired girl has never met Zuzu’s XYZ counterpart before, so spending some time preparing for the dance in there can also result in the two girls becoming friends. The Fusion Dueltainer also figured this would finally give Lulu a chance to bathe; since she constantly had to deal with Duel Academy, she pretty much earned it.

Zuzu stopped in front of the spa’s entrance and looked through the windows to see if Julia was in there. Sure enough, she was there, waiting near the front desk for Lulu. “You want me to go to a spa so I can bond with a Fusion Duelist?” the dark-haired teen asked.

“Sure,” Zuzu said without hesitation. “You need to know that not all Fusion Duelists are evil. Julia’s a nice person, so you should spend the day with her.”

“Alright,” Lulu said. “If you say so.”

Lulu switched places with Zuzu, still feeling a tad bit unsure about this Julia person. She opened the doors and entered the spa; the sound of the bell grabbed the Fusion Duelist’s attention as she saw what looked like Zuzu but wasn’t actually.

“Uh… Hello?” Lulu told Julia.

The Gem-Knight Duelist walked over to Lulu. “You smell,” she said bluntly.

“Excuse me?” Lulu asked, alarmed.

“It’s your body odor,” Julia explained. “It smells like burnt rubble and blood. If that isn’t enough, your face looks unwashed and your clothes are severely damaged.” She lifted up a lock of Lulu’s hair. “And your hair feels too greasy, even under normal conditions.”

“Your point?” Lulu asked, taking a few steps back to make sure Julia stopped touching her hair.

“Zuzu explained everything to me,” Julia continued. “You need a complete makeover. Thankfully you came to the right person. By the time we’re done, you’ll feel like a new person.”

Lulu felt a little bewildered; she didn’t expect Julia to instantly find out how she hasn’t bathed in a while. It’s like she can detect imperfect hygiene, and you know what? Given that she can detect people’s talent and hesitation, one can consider this to be no surprise that she can also tell when someone is dirty.

Julia directed Lulu on where to follow her. Without any hesitation, she went along with her. The two girls headed to a special room designed for full-body pampering, which is what the XYZ user clearly needed. In it, there was a bathtub with a bathmat in front of it and was in between a couple of tabletops. One of them had bottles of bubble bath soap, shampoo and conditioner, makeup remover, face cleanser, and a facial cleansing brush whereas the other had a couple of candles with a sweet, cherry-blossom fragrance; both tabletops had small cabinet doors that contained towels and facecloths. Not too far away was a chair that had a light yellow bathrobe on it. There was even a smaller room meant for getting changed in and out of clothes. Lulu was astonished at the room she was led to.

“This is amazing!” Lulu exclaimed. “How-”

“I’m a regular customer,” Julia explained. “I was saving a lot of reward points, so I figured they could go to good use.”

Lulu was nearly in tears of joy. “Thank you,” she said.

Elsewhere, Yuya and Yusho were at a local clothing store, planning on getting Yuto a new tuxedo to wear for tonight. Since the tomato-haired boy has the same body figure as his XYZ counterpart, he’ll be helping his father with measurements. While that is going on, Yugo and Yuri were conversing about something; they wanted to figure out how they were going to get a new pair of prescription glasses for Yuto since his first pair was probably destroyed during the Invasion.

“I know!” Yugo exclaimed after a bit of thinking. “We’ll have Yuya go to the eye doctor so he can see what Yuto’s prescription is!”

“Except Yuya, you, and myself all have perfect vision,” Yuri pointed out.

“You sure?” Yugo asked, suddenly standing too close to Yuri. “‘Cause you tend to squint a lot.”

“I can assure you my eyesight is normal!” Yuri exclaimed, shoving Yugo away from him. “I simply have smaller pupils!”

“Geez, I thought that after the whole Zarc thing, you’d stop acting like a jerk,” Yugo muttered loudly.

“The darkness within Zarc’s heart merely clouded my judgement,” Yuri corrected. “That doesn’t mean my personality completely changed when that same darkness vanished!”

“Guess that explains why you haven’t gotten along with Celina yet,” Yugo pointed out.

“Miss Celina simply has a hard time accepting I have somewhat changed,” Yuri insisted.

“She probably doesn’t like how big of a spoiled brat you are,” Yugo remarked.

“Oh, that is it!” Yuri exclaimed. “Now you just got personal!”

As Yuya was about to try on one of the first suits in the fitting room, he overheard his Fusion and Synchro counterparts arguing. He wondered what they were even fighting about; they were supposed to find a way to get Yuto a new pair of glasses, but knowing Yugo’s short-temper and rude remarks and Yuri’s high nobility, disputes like this are bound to happen. Yuya decided to quickly intervene and help them formulate their plan.

“Come on, you guys,” Yuya said. “We’re supposed to be figuring out how to get Yuto new glasses without him finding out about the dance.”

“He started it!” Yugo exclaimed.

“Excuse me?!” Yuri angrily asked. “I’m not the one with a rude attitude!”

Yuya let out a sigh; if those two keep it up, either this day will go on forever or Yuto will end up finding out. Within only a few seconds, he conjectured an idea on how they will carry out their plan. It might be crazy, but it could work.

“I think I know how we can get this to work,” Yuya said. “But I’m going to need Yugo’s help.”

Yugo directed his attention towards Yuya when the latter mentioned his name. He looked rather puzzled; why did he need his help? Heck, why can’t Yuri help as well?

Meanwhile, Shay had just arrived at the LID main entrance. A bit earlier, he received a message from Declan telling him to come meet him inside the institute for suit measurements. He pondered on why he needed to be measured for a little while. Then again, he wore this outfit ever since the Invasion, so it would make sense to try and find something nicer to wear.

Upon entering through the doors, he noticed Declan waiting for him at the main lobby near the front desk. “Thanks you for coming, Shay,” Declan said.

“Why did you want to see me?” Shay asked.

“I have recently found out the Invasion on your home dimension began on the night of a formal event,” Declan explained. “And because of that, you have been wearing the same tuxedo underneath your coat. Correct?”

“Yes,” Shay explained. “When the Invasion started, none of us had time to change outfits.”

“Which is why I asked you to come here,” Declan continued. “Think of it as a thank you gift for serving the Lancers.”

Shay accepted the gray-haired teen’s offer. He hasn’t worn anything else other than his tuxedo and a trench coat since the night of the dance, so this will finally give him a chance to try on something new. Besides, it was the least he can do after being a member of the Lancers and helping them defeat Duel Academy.

Back at the spa, Lulu finished taking her bath. Seeing that it was her first one in a while, she needed it. She even got to bond with Julia during that time. It started when she asked the dark-haired girl what Fusion Summoning was like in the Pendulum Dimension; she and Zuzu are the only two Fusion users who were great people. Julia’s response was it was mainly used for Dueltaining, especially in Zuzu’s case. She continued by explaining how much her friendly rival has improved in this particular special summoning technique ever since they first met. The rest of their conversation involved discussing beauty tips and the different dueling strategies they use.

With Lulu wearing the bathrobe and had a towel wrapped around her head, Julia informed her that she can get dressed in the smaller room; she mentioned about picking a new outfit for the now clean XYZ user. Lulu was eager to see what her new friend picked out. When she walked into the changing room, she saw a long, sleeveless, and really beautiful dress hanging up. It was sky blue with frills at the bottom, had a lighter shade of blue around the chest area, and peacock feathers were attached on the side. Next to the dress were a pair of matching sapphire heels. She was so ecstatic about the new outfit Julia got for her.

Not long after finding the right suit for Yuto, Yuya and Yoko were sitting in the waiting room, waiting for his eye examination. “Wait, why would Yuya need an eye examination?” one may ask. Ah, but there’s a catch. It was actually for Yuto; Yoko being asked and taking Yuya to the eye doctor was part of his and Yugo’s plan. Of course, Yuto still doesn’t know about what’s going on. He was still deep within the shared mind, replaying his memories of his mother like home videos. He couldn’t help but repeatedly watch these memories, from his days as a baby to his gradual appearance and personality change to the last night he saw her. After everything he’s been through, he really missed her.

Suddenly, Yugo barged in. “Hiya!” he exclaimed.

“Not now,” Yuto said, wiping away forming tears from his eyes.

“Nope!” Yugo cheerfully said. “Yuya needs you out right now.”

Yuto was suddenly shoved out of the deep part of the shared mind. What on earth is going on? he wondered. And why does Yuya need me? It can’t be that important, can it? Before he knew it, he and Yuya quickly switched places, with the former taking control. What is this place? He looked around to find himself sitting in a chair in a doctor’s office. An eye doctor’s office.

“What’s going on?!” Yuto asked.

“It’s okay, Yuto,” Yoko reassured. “Yuya wanted to get new glasses for you.”

“But I don’t need glasses!” Yuto insisted.

“Relax, it’s my treat,” Yuya said. “Just sit back and go through the eye exam.”

Yuto couldn’t believe he was going through with this, let alone Yuya and Yugo planning something like this. Yuya did say it was his treat, but he still wasn’t so sure about it. Glasses always looked weird on him, so why do they even bother trying?

A couple minutes later, the eye doctor came in. “Hello Mr. Sakaki,” he said, thinking Yuto was Yuya. “Shall we begin?”

“Fine,” Yuto muttered in response.

Back at LID, Declan was typing down a list of measurements he needed to find a tuxedo that fits Shay. At the same time, Shay was wondering how Yuto and Lulu were doing.

“Does Yuto and Lulu know about the dance?” Shay asked.

“So you figured it out from my message,” Declan remarked.

“You’re usually not this generous,” Shay pointed out. “The new suit is for the dance.”

“Correct,” Declan replied. “And to answer your question, no they did not. Yuya wanted it to be a surprise for them.”

“Can’t blame him for doing that,” Shay said. “Discovering that they and the other counterparts turned out to be the center of the universe must have been hard for them to comprehend. At least my parents understand that Lulu is permanently fused to three other people. They still miss her, though.”

“If it makes you feel better, my father recently informed me that he’s currently working on a way to separate all eight counterparts,” Declan said.

That piece of information astonished Shay.  Leo Akaba, the man responsible for the Invasion, having the Obelisk Force card innocent people and Yuri kidnap Rin and his sister, and fuse all four dimensions just to bring his daughter Ray back, is working on a way to split them back into their individual bodies? This was amazing! That means his parents can see their daughter again! Simultaneously, another question struck his mind. After everything Leo did, why is he suddenly doing this? Is it an act of redemption? Or has he accepted that Ray may never return? Or was it both?

“Why is Leo doing that?” Shay asked.

“He takes full responsibility for Zarc’s return,” Declan answered. “He learned that if he had never tampered with the dimensions, none of this would have happened. Bringing back Zuzu was part of his separation plan. Once he receives a blood sample from each of the counterparts, he can work on separating them.”

“How come he never told anyone about it?” Shay asked.

“He’s aware of any possible consequences that might occur during the separation,” Declan continued. “For all he knows, they might receive permanent amnesia, or even end up with severe mental damage. He fears that the procedure is too risky at the moment.”

What Declan said just now is reasonably understandable. Not every plan is smooth sailing from here on out, especially the fact that the separation plan is still in its early stages. Who knows how long it will take for it to take shape? From the sound of things, it was going to take a while. It was also worth noting that this may be the first time someone is attempting to separate souls back into their individual bodies via blood samples. Shay didn’t think that was possible, but this is Leo they’re talking about; he would do whatever it takes to fulfill any plan he has, no matter how long it takes. The teen wondered if Lulu will be mentally okay or if she will remember anything once the separation is complete. He then decided not to worry about that at the moment; for now, he just wanted to focus on getting ready for the tonight’s dance.

“Thanks for telling me about it,” Shay said.

“You were the closest to Lulu,” Declan replied. “I figured you would understand.”

Elsewhere, at the eye doctor’s, Yuto finally finished his eye examination; throughout the entire exam, he wasn’t very fond of it deep down. Now he just has to wait for the results, but one thing is for certain: there is no way he was going to wear glasses, regardless of what anyone says. He said they look weird on him before and that’s an opinion he was going to stick with. Yuya, Yugo, and Yuri, on the other hand, would all beg to differ.

“What’s wrong with wearing glasses, Yoot?” Yugo asked.

“I told you, I would look weird,” Yuto repeated.

Yuto’s counterpart all agreed he would actually look nice in glasses; as an added bonus, it’ll be their first time seeing him wearing them since they have never seen him with a pair on his face. Yuya couldn’t help but comment they would make him look smart.

“Smart, huh?” Yuto repeated.

“Yeah,” Yuya replied. “Like a sharp businessman.”

Yuto pictured himself as a businessman with glasses on. Not only do they go with the suit, but they also seem to help give off an intelligent impression. This thought gave him a bit of second thoughts about thinking glasses looking weird on him; Yuya was left a bit dumbfounded on whether if that compliment fed his ego.

The eye doctor came out with the results; sure enough, Yuto needed glasses. But the fun part was coming up. One of the best things about getting glasses is choosing a pair that go well with the person. The Yu-Salad Boys offered to help him out pick some, such as choosing the shape and color of the frames. Some time later, they settled on the glasses with rectangular, light gray frames that worked well with his dark gray eyes. With a suit picked out and the examination finally out of the way, they now need to worry about Yuto getting ready without ruining the surprise.

“Thanks for the glasses, Mrs. Sakaki,” Yuto said. “Now I should really let Yuya-”

“Not yet,” Yoko interrupted. “As soon as we get home, I need you to shower.”

“What?” Yuto asked. Did he really smell that bad?

“Every time you take over, your stench makes the whole house reek,” Yoko explained. “It’s for the best.”

Later that afternoon, Yuto and Yoko returned to the Sakaki house and the first thing he did was taking a shower. He immediately headed straight to the bathroom, shutting the door for privacy and taking off his tattered attire. It was clear they also needed to be cleaned; he tossed them in the hamper so that they can get washed. Closing the shower curtains, he turned on the water and adjusted the nozzle until it was set at a comfortable temperature. He stood underneath the shower hose as water sprayed out and rained down on Yuto’s entire body, soaking his hair in the process. It was a miracle how it still maintained its shape despite it being as greasy as Lulu’s; he wondered how his girlfriend is doing right now. Once his hair was all wet, he grabbed a bottle of Yuya’s shampoo so he can lather some in his hair, but there was one problem: the bottle didn’t have enough shampoo for him to use.

“Yuya, please tell me you have more shampoo,” Yuto said, holding up the bottle.

“That should be enough,” Yuya pointed out.

“For you,” Yuto corrected. “Didn’t you notice my hair is longer than yours? I need more shampoo to get it fully washed.”

Realization hit Yuto. “Oh…” he said. “Right… There should be more in the bathroom cabinet.”

“Thank you,” Yuto said, turning off the nozzle and wrapping a towel around his waist. “But I hope you actually have Spike and Curl.”

“Eh… Come again?” Yuya asked.

Yeah, there was one slight problem with that. Actually, make that two. Yuya may have a crazy hairstyle, but it’s not as spiky as Yuto’s; he also hasn’t even heard of this “Spike and Curl” brand, so…that could be an issue.

Yuto let out a groan. “Why do I even bother asking…?” he muttered out loud.

Meanwhile, with Lulu, she was all ready for tonight. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and was amazed at what she saw. The dress and heels Julia picked out looked elegant on her; the loose braid added an extra nice touch to complete her appearance. It was as if she was a completely new person.

“Don’t start crying on me,” Julia said, taking out a makeup kit from her bag. “I still need to help you with the finishing touches.”

“Sorry Julia,” Lulu said, wiping away tears. “I haven’t felt this beautiful in months.”

Julia took out some blush, mascara, and some makeup brushes from her bag. Since Lulu was already beautiful, she only needed a light coat of makeup. Julia examined the assorted shades of blush to see which one would go with Lulu’s skin tone. She took one of her brushes, brushed it in the pale pink blush, and applied it on the latter’s face. Once that was done, she grabbed the mascara and used it to add a black coat on her eyelashes. Now completed with the finishing touches, Lulu looked at the mirror again, having a much nicer appearance with the added makeup; she was as beautiful as a princess.

“Thank you,” Lulu said, beaming with pure happiness. “I…” She couldn’t say anything else due to being so happy.

“Anything for a friend of Zuzu’s,” Julia happily replied. “Now I just need to bring you to the Center Duel Field.”

The Center Duel Field? At LID? Why there? Is anything special going on over there? Before Lulu could say anything, Julia led the way to the duel school; as a student of the Fusion Summoning course, she happens to know how to get there from the spa. A curious Lulu followed her, wondering what is happening.

Back at the Sakaki residence, Yuto had finished showering and is almost done getting ready. The black suit Yuya and Yusho bought fit him well; now all he has to do is put on his tie. He looked at his reflection in the mirror to put it on and make any adjustments to it, but he started fumbling. Something nearly caused him a trigger; he could have sworn he experienced this before, almost like a déjà vu, but what was it? He soon remembered what had happened back at Heartland City. He remembered checking his reflection on the night of Heartland Duel School’s dance. He remembered spending the night with the dueling club and having fun. He remembered Duel Academy suddenly invading and wreaking havoc in the city. He remembered…seeing Lulu and Shay’s parents getting carded…and his own mother getting killed by an attacking Chaos Ancient Gear Giant…as a way to protect her only child…

Yuya quickly heard sobs coming from his XYZ counterpart. “Is something wrong?” the tomato-haired teen asked.

Yuto heard Yuya’s concerned voice, startling him a little. He wiped away the tears as fast as he could before answering, but up to no avail; his Pendulum counterpart already figured out why he was sobbing. “The last time I wore a suit…it was when…” But Yuto choked up before he could finish.

Yuya could determine what he was going to say—because of the flashback he was told about earlier that morning—and comforted him. “Don’t get all sad now,” the Pendulum Duelist said. “Look at how far you’ve come since then. I can even help you get more clothes for you to wear so you can stop wearing those old rags.”

“S-Sorry,” Yuto said, stammering a bit.

“You can apologize later,” Yugo said. “Now you better head downstairs so Mrs. Sakaki can take you to-”

“Yugo!” Yuri exclaimed.

“Oh… Right…” Yugo said, feeling embarrassed. “Never mind.”

Wiping away the excess tears, Yuto finished adjusting his tie; he was all ready to go, except one thing was missing… His new glasses! He grabbed them off of Yuya’s nightstand, but before he could them put on, he stared at the pair. He couldn’t believe he was going to wear glasses again. This would make tonight the first time he has ever worn them in quite a while. Letting out an exhale, he finally put them on his face and checked himself in the mirror once more. What Yuya said earlier today was true; with the suit and the glasses, Yuto did look like a sharp businessman. He couldn’t help but smirk at his appearance. The Yu-Salad Boys loved the glasses Yuto was wearing… Well, Yugo and Yuri were in awe; Yuya was more stunned at the fact that his earlier comment is feeding his ego again.

Yuto headed downstairs and saw Yoko near the door, waiting for him. She told him Yusho and Sora had already left to go to the Center Duel Field, so they’ll catch up with them.

“I’m ready to go, Mrs. Sakaki,” Yuto said, bracing for impact.

Yoko turned her head to see how nice Yuto looked in his tuxedo and glasses. “Well someone knows how to clean up nicely,” she said.

Yuto blushed a little at her comment; he told her it took a while to get himself ready, especially when he was in the shower. He was more used to his mom being around. He thought back to when she was so proud of how much he has grown and attending his first dance. She even hugged him tightly, so he was kind of hoping Yoko would do the same.

Yoko asked him if he was okay, with him responding that he wished his mother could see him once more, especially considering how well-dressed he is for the night.

“I understand how much you miss her,” Yoko said. “You have every right to mourn, especially since she died to protect you. But you shouldn’t wallow in sadness. Focus on the now and how much you accomplished since then.”

Yuto nodded and thanked her for not only the kind words, but for today as well. Yoko smiled back and accepted his thankful compliment. They both left the house to head on down to the Center Duel Field.

Meanwhile, back at LID, the Center Duel Field was all decorated for tonight’s dance. Streamers were hung around the walls with balloons were scattered and tied up in various places. There were a couple tables located near the Field’s entrance that were set up with a variety of foods and drinks. The center included a stage with the band finishing setting their gear up. Declan walked towards Henrietta, who was holding baby Riley in her arms, to say how impressed she did with decorating.

“I’m impressed, mother,” Declan said.

“I used leftover materials from previous company parties,” Henrietta explained. “Unfortunately I couldn’t find any working festive lights.”

“Not to worry,” Declan said. “As we speak, Skip Boyle of the You Show Duel School is managing the lighting using one of Yuya’s cards.”

“Smile World?” Henrietta asked.

“Not quite,” Declan answered.

Up in LID’s Solid Vision machine room, Skip used one of the machines to activate a card Yuya gave to him earlier; it was called Smile Universe, a retrained version of Smile World. With a click of a button, the devices underneath the Center Duel Field began to illuminate planets, galaxies, and stars across the night sky, with the planets and galaxies having smiley faces on them.

“Not bad,” Henrietta remarked.

“What else would you expect from the son of Yusho Sakaki?” Declan asked in response.

Out of all the former students that were invited, Shay was the first to arrive; then again, he practically spent the day at LID helping Declan with suit measurements. His tuxedo was similar to the one he originally wore, except it looked brand new, was dark gray and the shoes were black instead of brown. Shortly thereafter, a lot more people started showing up. He could recognize them as students who used to attend Heartland Duel School. Among the crowd, he saw Sarah, Alex, and Kite and headed towards them.

Sarah was in complete awe over the scenery. “This is incredible!” she exclaimed.

“No kidding,” Alex replied. “First Leo Corporation hands out invitations to a dance, then they offer the students free makeovers, now this!”

“Guess this was their way of apologizing to us,” Kite guessed.

As the three continued to admire the decorated Duel Field, they noticed Shay, who was just about to meet up with them. “Hey guys,” Shay said, walking up to his friends. “Glad you could make it.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Sarah asked. “We received these unexpected invitations for a dance, then Leo Corporation provided hot baths and new outfits to anyone who received an invitation. I haven’t experienced such comfort in months.”

“Although not all of us accepted the makeovers,” Kite said.

“I bought this shirt with my own money!” Alex exclaimed, gesturing to the tuxedo t-shirt he was wearing along with his usual pants and boots.

Shay, Sarah, and Kite all chuckled at Alex’s response. It’s been months since their last dance and he still doesn’t follow the dress codes. Kite wore a proper suit instead the one his father gave him whereas Sarah had a long-sleeved, aquamarine and white princess gown with a pair of diamond flats.

After a few minutes talking to each other, two girls entered through the doorway. They all looked over to see who they were. Shay recognized the dark-haired girl, who was about to surprise the other one, which he was more focused on. Who was that? She had her eyes closed, but something about her seemed familiar. He then spotted her long, loosely-braided, dark purple hair, lilac side tails, and her now open magenta eyes. It was his sister Lulu! He has never been this overjoyed before and he was extremely happy to see her again.

“Lulu!” Shay exclaimed, so glad to see his sister again.

Lulu heard someone calling her name. She looked to find out where that voice came from, leading her to see Shay running towards her. A small gasp escaped her mouth; she couldn’t believe she is seeing his older brother and was immediately filled with glee.

“Shay!” Lulu happily cried out, knowing she hasn’t seen him since the dimension crisis.

Shay ran up to her and they gave each other the biggest hugs they have ever gotten. “I never thought I would see you again!” Shay exclaimed.

“The feeling is mutual,” Lulu replied.

Kite, Sarah, and Alex saw Lulu as well and caught up with Shay so that they can also hug her. It feels like it’s been too long since they last saw their friend and they are thrilled to be reunited with her.

“You’re alright!” Sarah exclaimed once the group separated from the hug. “And you look absolutely amazing!”

“Thanks Sarah,” Lulu replied. “You look great as well.”

Kite smiled softly. “So how about that?” he asked. “The dueling club of Heartland Duel School is finally reunited. Funny how a dance hosted by Leo Corporation brought us together.”

“Leo Corporation did this?” Lulu asked.

“Sort of,” Shay explained. “It was actually Yuya’s idea. Yuto must have told him what happened when the Invasion began, so this was probably his way of saying thanks.”

For Lulu, this was quite the surprise indeed; she was amazed that this entire event was all Yuya’s idea. They now have another chance to bring back the fun and shared smiles that were taken from them by Duel Academy. However, someone was missing, but who? Lulu realized that the dueling club wouldn’t be complete without Yuto. She was right; he was an important member of the club, where (according to Shay) he underwent a big change ever since he joined.

The five members of the reunited dueling club searched all over the Center Duel Field to find Yuto, but none of them had any luck. Suddenly, Lulu saw two more people enter through the doors, but more particularly, the masculine one. She recognized that spiky, black and light purple hairstyle anywhere; it was Yuto, who was accompanied by Yoko Sakaki. The loosely braided-haired girl stared at the outfit he was wearing. Last time she saw him, his usual clothes were practically his ruined suit on the night of the dance; instead, he now wore a clean black suit with a new pair of glasses. He looked really handsome.

At the same time, Yuto was astonished at what was happening. It was no wonder why his counterparts and Yuya’s parents wanted to help him get ready; this dance is amazing. Before he knew it, his eyes stumbled upon someone staring back at him. The person standing across from him was none other than Lulu and she was dressed beautifully. He found himself blushing at the sight of seeing his girlfriend in person once again.

“Uh… Guys?” Yuya asked Yugo and Yuri as Yuto walked over to Lulu. “Do you feel a weird thing in your hearts?”

“Yeah…” Yugo answered. “Weird.”

“Sort of,” Yuri admitted. “But I do feel something off.”

This was a strange feeling indeed; it has never happened before when Yuto and Lulu were in Yuya and Zuzu’s shared minds respectively. But now that they’re controlling their Pendulum counterparts’ bodies, this feeling was emitting onto the Yu-Salad. Even Zuzu, Celina, and Rin sensed they were also feeling weird.

“Yuya…?” Zuzu asked, concerned why she was suddenly feeling certain things towards the tomato-haired teen.

“Please tell me I’m not the only one getting this weird feeling,” Rin said, almost as if she could swoon.

“Trust me, you’re not,” Celina dully replied.

What on earth is this feeling they’re experiencing? They soon discovered why they were feeling this peculiar emotion: Yuto and Lulu were the reason. Their love for each other must have indirectly transferred to them. For Yuya, Zuzu, Yugo, and Rin, this was understandable, but what about Yuri and Celina? They have been rivals ever since Zuzu returned from the ARC-V machine. For the two of them, this was more unusual than what their counterparts were perceiving.

At the same time, Yuto walked over to see Lulu. Of all the times she was beautiful, this one tops them all. Everything from her attire to her loose braid to the touch of blush and mascara empathized her elegance and beauty. Likewise, Lulu can’t stop staring at his handsome features. His gravity-defying hair, his eyes, his suit. Everything about him was perfect; this was also the first time since the last dance that she got to see him wearing glasses. Although she liked his dark purple glasses, she knew the light gray glasses suited him more.

Once the two were right next to each other, they were so overjoyed to see each other. “You look beautiful,” Yuto said. “Absolutely beautiful.”

“Thanks,” Lulu replied, smiling softly. “You don’t look so bad yourself, especially since you stopped squinting.”

Yuto blushed a little at her compliment; maybe wearing glasses isn’t so bad after all.

Kite, Shay, Sarah, Alex were wondering where Lulu has gone off to until they saw her with Yuto. They ran towards them to give him a huge hug.

Yuto let out a small chuckle. “Good to see you too,” he said.

He was very glad to see his friends. They also comment how nice he looked and thanked them, saying he had some help getting his outfit together from a certain family. He turned around to see Yoko, who was with Yusho, giving him a thumbs up; he smiled back at her and gave her a thumbs up as well.

Now the dueling club was officially reunited.

Declan checked his Duel Disk to see what time is was. 8 PM. It was time for the dance to begin. He took a microphone so that he can make a special announcement to everyone attending the dance.

“Attention everyone,” Declan said. “I would like to thank you for attending tonight’s dance. I’m sure a lot of you are wondering why Leo Corporation is doing this for all of you, but wonder no longer. As you are probably aware, I have only invited former students from Heartland Duel School.”

He explained how their last dance was interrupted by Duel Academy when they invaded Heartland City. During that time, students realized he was right about what he was saying. During the Interdimensional War, people from Leo Corporation were turned into cards because the XYZ Dimension were confused as to who attacked them. Their confusion led to a grudge against the company because various members of LID were carded all because they were in the Fusion Summoning course. They all felt guilty about their past actions, but Declan reassured them it was okay; he knew how sudden and unexpected the Invasion was for everyone, especially for the former students.

He then went on to mention that putting the dance together was all Yuya’s idea; the Pendulum Duelist felt bad about what happened that fateful night and how Leo Corporation helped him set everything as a way to revive the lost smiles. Everyone cheered, applauded, and thanked Yuya for making this event possible. Although he wasn’t there physically, he saw how happy they were about attending the dance and was flattered with their thanks.

“There’s more,” Declan continued. “As we speak, my father, Leo Akaba, is currently working on making amends, as he takes full responsibility for causing the near destruction of the four dimensions. That is why I am pleased to announce that everyone in the XYZ Dimension will receive new clothing courtesy of Leo Corporation.”

Everyone’s faces were filled amazement; it felt like forever since they got to wear different clothes, especially since the clothing stores were pretty much destroyed. They all got excited after hearing the news.

Once all the announcements were made, it was time for the dance to officially start. “So Leo takes full responsibility for Zarc’s resurrection?” Yuya asked.

“Well I did give in as soon as I felt RinRin disappearing,” Yugo admitted.

He wasn’t wrong. If Leo hadn’t abducted the Bracelet Girls and fused them back into Ray, the whole Zarc incident wouldn’t have happened. But what matters now is everyone having an enjoyable time at the dance.

The band started playing music and everyone began to spend the greatest night of their lives. Some ate and drank, others danced to the songs, and the rest chatted with their friends. The dueling club talked about how they have stuff they should catch up on; after the whole Invasion fiasco, it would be nice to find some time to hang out with each other.

“Then Rella kicked that Ancient Gear Hound with her glass slipper-covered feet and reduced the Obelisk Force soldier’s life points to 0!” Sarah concluded.

Lulu laughed in amusement. “He must have been surprised that you defeated him using your Fairy Tails,” she said.

“He was,” Sarah said. “You should have seen the look on his face when I creamed him!”

Although Sarah rarely dueled, she uses a Fairy deck, consisting of not only Fairy Cheer Girl, but also Fairy Tail cards, with the XYZ monster Fairy Tail - Queen as her ace monster.

“So what have you been up to lately, Yuto?” Alex asked.

“Yuya wanted to give me, Yugo, and Yuri a tour of Paradise City a while ago,” Yuto explained. “One of the stops was a local museum, where I noticed an Egyptian exhibit featuring an ancient puzzle…or at least I think it was supposed to be an ancient puzzle. The only thing that was on display was a golden box.”

An ancient Egyptian puzzle? How odd. Rumor has it that the puzzle once belonged to a great pharaoh who was best known for sealing away the dark magic that caused special kinds of duels called Shadow Games. And now that magic hasn’t been on Earth’s surface for 5,000 years. Yuto remembered seeing something written in hieroglyphics on the golden box. It read: “The one who solves me shall gain the powers and knowledge of darkness…” He figured who that person could have been if they solved this puzzle. Perhaps a shy, game-loving high school boy who would’ve been destined for greatness…

“Has anyone tried to solve it?” Lulu asked.

“According to Yuya, a team of archeologists who discovered the puzzle mysteriously fell ill,” Yuto answered. “Since then, no one has dared to even touch the box containing the pieces.”

That piece of history didn’t sound too good. The gang pondered on what will happen if someone did try to solve the puzzle. Lulu didn’t like the thought of it; dealing with the Fusion Dimension after the Invasion was bad enough. The last thing she needed was someone unlocking the powers of darkness and bringing back these “Shadow Games” five millennia later. Yuto reassured her and the others that as long as the puzzle remains in the museum’s Egyptian exhibit, nothing bad will happen. Besides, they should focus more on enjoying this dance, which is exactly what they did.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing no one has solved the puzzle,” Lulu said, snuggling close to Yuto.

Yuto couldn’t help but lovingly look at his girlfriend snuggling next to him; it was really adorable to see her all snuggled up. He reached out his hand to pull her in close when something rather atypical happened. Instead of having it on Lulu’s hips, it accidentally went and touched her butt. A yelp escaped her mouth and an embarrassed Yuto quickly apologized; she forgave him, but mentioned it was unlike him to do something like that. She was right; Yuto is more of a gentleman and even he knows it, but what could’ve caused this unusual action? …Or who? He had a thought on who was responsible for this, and he is within Yuya’s shared mind.

“That was Yugo, wasn’t it?” Lulu asked.

Indeed, it was Yugo. But why did he do something like that? Yuto might need a moment with him. Whatever he did might lead to some new and awkward issues.

“Oopsie…” Yugo said. “Didn’t mean to do that.”

“Don’t be sorry, you moron!” Yuri exclaimed. “Can’t you see-”

“-you’re ruining the moment?!” Yuto immediately covered his mouth.

Whether it was accident or not, Yuto was clearly mad at Yugo for doing something so perverted. He was just having a nice time with his friends and girlfriend. Of all the times for a stupid “accident” to occur, it had to be tonight. Before he could scold at him more, the Synchro Duelist blurted out that he just saw Rin instead of Lulu less than a minute ago. That was oddly surprising to hear; actually, it was more odd than surprising. Yuto asked him to explain what he meant by that. This action may be the beginning of what could spell bad news for all eight counterparts in the near future.

Outside of the Yu-Salad’s shared mind, Sarah and Alex both wondered what their dark, dual-colored haired friend was up to. They knew it involved his counterparts, but they didn’t fully understand it; they were still new to this merge after all. It was a good thing Kite, Shay, and Lulu had a grasp on it, seeing they were more tangled in the Interdimensional War than the duo. They decided to have the rest of the dueling club help them answer the questions that left the two a little confused.

“Yugo…saw me?” Rin asked, amazed.

Zuzu noticed her blush wasn’t fading away. “I still feel weird,” she admitted.

Celina huffed in annoyance. “Give me a break,” she said. “There’s no way Lulu’s feelings for Yuto are actually transferring over to-”

But they were. It was indirect, but the signs were evident on the other six counterparts’ faces. Although Yuya, Zuzu, Yugo, and Rin like it, Yuri and Celina didn’t. Having feelings for someone who aided Leo in his conquest to fuse the dimensions by carding people? Preposterous! She couldn’t bear the thought of being in a romantic relationship with him; if it did happen, disaster would be waiting around the corner. The closest thing to a relationship she’ll ever have with him is a rivalry and it’ll remain like that.

The thoughts, however, couldn’t leave their minds. The thoughts of the other counterparts wearing formal wear was impossible to not think about. Zuzu with her hair down, donning a sleeveless, purple dress with several frills below the purple belt and a pair of flats. Rin having her short, apple green hair curled and wearing a two-piece pink dress—a sleeveless top exposing her midriff and a floor length bottom that splits near the knees—with white flats. Celina without her yellow-orange ribbon tying her hair back and having on a long and simple looking gray dress with a thin white ribbon tied around the lower torso and some heeled boots. The Yu-Salad sporting suits reflecting their personalities—Yuya having on a red tuxedo that gives off an impression of entertaining the audience, Yugo with a white suit based on his Turbo Dueling style and rather impulsive behavior, and Yuri wearing a more luxurious, purple suit that highlights his nobility. They were impossible to not think about.

Yuri chuckled a bit. “You’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you Miss Celina?”

“Celina?” Shay asked, sounding a bit concerned. The indigo-haired girl who saved him after his duel with Sora and rebelled against Duel Academy by joining the Lancers? Why would Yuto mention her all of a sudden? Unbeknownst to Yuri, he unintentionally made his XYZ counterpart say his line out loud.

That was when Yuya had an idea. “Yuto, you brought your deck with you,” he recalled, remembering how Yuto placed his deck in his jacket pocket before heading over to the dance. “Can you check it?”

“What for?” Yuto asked.

“I want to try a small experiment,” Yuya answered.

Yuto took out his deck and checked it like Yuya asked. He wondered what this “small experiment” is until he noticed his cards were jumbled, baffling him. Instead of a Phantom Kinghts deck, he now has a Performapal/Phantom Knights/Speedroids/Predaplant deck. How did Yuya, Yugo, and Yuri’s cards get mixed up with Yuto’s? This night feels like it keeps getting weirder and weirder.

“Whoa!” Yugo exclaimed. “Not bad.”

“Not bad?” Yuri repeated, getting miffed. “What are my lovely, elegant Predaplants doing with such pathetic cards?!”

“This happened once before,” Yuya explained, recalling how Yuto’s love for Lulu caused him to duel with Phantom Knights. “Our conflicting feelings for the girls are causing our decks to get mixed up.”

If that’s the case, then does the girls’ feelings for each boy also result in their decks getting mixed up as well? Yuto asked Lulu if she brought her own, but she said “no.” Of course, with Yuto’s jumbled deck for reference, it’s safe to assume this may have happened to the girls as well.

Yuto put his deck back in his jacket pocket. “But we shouldn’t worry about this problem now,” he said. “We should just enjoy the dance.”

He was right; the night was still young and the former students were enjoying themselves, so the best thing to do is to have fun as well and resolve this peculiar issue another time. Besides, they can’t let this night go to waste. Leo Corporation worked really hard to put Yuya’s genius idea together. The other dueling club members agreed to discuss this issue after the dance and proceeded to spend tonight having fun.

Some time later, everyone continued to celebrate with one another. It was also the perfect opportunity for them to reconnect, share past fun memories and create new ones. At one point, the band was taking their break as the students socialized, except Shay. He couldn’t stop thinking about what happened to Yuto and his counterparts earlier. He knew his friend and his younger sister were in love with each other, but he didn’t expect their love to be that strong. Did it inadvertently result in the rest of the Yu-Salad and Bracelet Girls to be put in some kind of trance? Whatever’s the case, he has to help them out. And he has just the song to fix it…

Shay checked to see if no one was looking, albeit the band since they were probably in their breakroom. He walked casually in order to make sure people became suspicious; a few seconds later, he snuck behind the stage. He looked at the main stage to find the speakers and saw them plugged in with the band’s musical instruments. Checking once again that no one would notice, he quickly unplugged them. He then took out his Duel Disk and a connector to plug it into the speaker. He went online to look up Yuto and Lulu’s song; it was called “Close To You” by The Carpenters. Found it, he thought once the first video in the search results showed up. He clicked on the video and—for a brief moment—the song played through the speakers. This will hopefully help all eight counterparts out.

Lulu let out a small gasp. “Yuto, this is our song!” she recalled.

“Indeed it is,” Yuto agreed. He placed one hand behind his back and he bowed slightly as he held out his other hand to Lulu. “May I have this dance, Ms. Obsidian?”

Lulu smiled softly. “Of course, Mr. Osaku,” she answered, intertwining her fingers with Yuto’s.

Together, Lulu Obsidian and Yuto Osaku danced to the melody of their song. Their gracefully fluid movements and well-timed choreography captivated the attendants. In the two XYZ users’ shared minds, the song seemed to have snapped Yuya, Zuzu, Yugo, Rin, Yuri, and Celina out of whatever trance they were in, mostly due to how each dimensional duo has a song that best suits them.

“Man, this song is too slow!” Yuya complained. “I’m outta here!”

“Me too!” Yugo said. “Besides, RinRin acts too much like a mother. There’s no way I can be attracted to that!”

“I was never attracted to Miss Celina in the first place,” Yuri agreed.

“Well…this is awkward,” Zuzu said, blushing hard. “We better give these two some privacy.”

“Yeah,” Rin replied. “I don’t even know what I was thinking. Yugo’s loud, rude, and disgusting. Why would I fall for that?”

“I’d rather go on a date with that Sylvio guy than fall for that cabbage-haired jerk,” Celina said in utter disgust.

And with that, the six counterparts retreated back into the shared minds, leaving Yuto and Lulu to spend the rest of the night with each other. Shay’s plan was a success. The two danced to the rest of “Close To You,” and everyone around them clapped and cheered for them; they pulled off one heck of a dance. Shay unplugged his Duel Disk from the speaker, plugged the instruments back right where they originally were, and exited through the backstage, with only a couple minutes to spare before the band returned from their break.

Even when the song came to an end, Yuto still held Lulu in his arms. “You smell nice,” he said.

Lulu responded by placing her left hand on Yuto’s cheek, her fingers briefly touching the stray light purple bang that hung in front of his eye. “And your hair feels a lot softer,” she replied.

Their eyes stared lovingly at each other as they embraced their cleaner features. Within a few seconds, their faces moved closer and closer until they locked lips, with Yuto’s hands on Lulu’s hips and Lulu still having one hand on Yuto’s cheek while the other rested on his shoulder. They were finally sharing their first kiss.

The rest of the former dueling club watched from a distance, with Kite smirking. “Well it’s about time,” he remarked.

Yuto and Lulu’s lips slowly moved apart after spending a few seconds locked up in their kiss. They looked back into their eyes before Lulu embraced Yuto in his arms.

“It’s been a long time since we had moments like this,” Lulu remarked, embracing Yuto’s warmth. “But you know this can’t last any longer.”

“I know,” Yuto agreed. “We’re each stuck with sharing a body with three other people.”

“But even though we were once whole, why does this feel so wrong?” Lulu admitted.

Yuto realized she was right. Several years ago, they were once Zarc and Ray; ever since the ARC-V incident, the souls of all eight counterparts were permanently fused into Yuya and Zuzu. Everything hasn’t been the same for them, especially for Yuto and Lulu. Despite having a great time at the dance, it doesn’t change the fact that they may never get a true happy ending.

Shay, while walking away from the stage, noticed overheard the duo’s conversation. Feeling bad for the two, he told them that Declan told him that Leo is currently working on a way to split them back to their original bodies. He said it requires a blood sample from each counterpart, but mentioned that it is still in progress and negative consequences may occur once it’s complete, so it was too soon to actually separate them.

“What?!” Yuto asked, releasing Lulu from the embrace. “Leo might be able to actually separate us?!”

“Declan told me it’s still in the works,” Shay repeated. “There’s a high risk of permanent memory loss or severe mental damage.”

“Then why don’t we just give Leo our blood samples?” Lulu asked.

“I don’t think it’s that easy,” Shay said. “Leo is probably using Arc-V, so he has to rewrite the machine-”

“I don’t care!” Yuto exclaimed, grabbing Shay by the throat. “I can’t stand being fused to three people! Let us speak to Leo, or I will break you in half!”

This was rather sudden. Yuto would never do something like this and that shocked Shay and Lulu. Veins started appearing on his face and his eyed turned yellow. Is Zarc trying to take over again? Lulu tried to calm her boyfriend down, but Declan arrived to explain what just happened. Apparently, this fit of violence is one of the side effects of being fused with the other counterparts. This worried Lulu, but was informed that this seemed to only happen with the Yu-Salad. The rest, however, applied to all of them. Their jumbled decks was also another side effect, as well as speaking in place of whoever was in control and the unexpected swaps.

Realizing that, Yuto recovered, his eyes changing back to grey and the veins disappearing. “Sorry,” he said, letting go of Shay.

“So can he actually do it?” Lulu asked. “Can Leo really separate us?”

“If this gets any worse, I’m afraid I will have to bring you to him,” Declan said. “Hopefully we can fix this before any mind merge occurs.”

“Mind merge?” Yuto asked, sounding concerned.

“Meaning that Zarc and Ray will gradually take over, erasing you eight from existence,” Declan explained.

The last bit of information was very worrisome. All eight counterparts each had different dreams for the future: Yuya and Zuzu want to continue their paths of being Dueltainers, Yugo and Rin also have similar paths as their Pendulum counterparts, but they want to be professional Turbo Duelists, and Celina and Yuri want to help improve Duel Academy. Lulu wants to be an actress, but Yuto is still unsure of what his dream is. Regardless, if nothing is done about this, Zarc and Ray will return, erasing the two’s incarnations from existence and their futures forever.

Lulu was in tears. “I hope Leo’s happy!” she exclaimed. “This whole mess started because he was too selfish to care about the lives of other people! If it wasn’t for him, I would have stayed in Heartland and worked on my dreams of becoming an actress!”

Yuto looked back at Lulu, who was on the brink of crying. He felt terrible that this was happening to the both of them. Suddenly, he thought of an idea; he was considering about remaining fused with Yuya while he, Yugo, and Yuri separate. He lost everything back at Heartland City that night, so this will give him a fresh new start. Living with the Sakakis and Sora already felt natural to him because Yoko reminds him a lot of his mother. The best part is with Yugo and Yuri splitting back to their own bodies means the risks of Zarc returning is reduced to zero.

“What if I said no?” Yuto asked.

“I beg your pardon?” Declan asked in response.

“I never considered any plans for my future,” Yuto explained. “And I ended up becoming an orphan with no home to go back to because of the Invasion. If I was to stay with the Sakakis, stay fused to Yuya, I can start fresh with a new family.”

“Are you crazy?” Lulu asked.

“Being fused to Yuya feels natural,” Yuto continued. “But with Yugo and Yuri being separated, Zarc won’t come back since all four of us are needed for the mind merge.”

“But Yuto, won’t you miss being in Heartland?” Shay asked.

“There’s nothing left for me there,” Yuto insisted. “No family, no house, no-”

“You could live with us,” Lulu bluntly suggested, carefully wiping away her tears to avoid smudging her makeup.

Live with the Obsidians? Even though they have to rebuild everything they lost, that idea is similar to Yuto’s, in terms of starting fresh with a new family and preventing Zarc’s return, but that means living with his girlfriend and having plenty of time to decide his dream for the future. Yuto actually liked her idea better than his own, although he admits that he will miss being fused with Yuya.

“She’s right,” Shay agreed. “Mother and father heard about you and they’re considering hiring you once ObsidianCorp is rebuilt.”

ObsidianCorp is a corporation led by co-bosses Kameron and Astra Obsidian, where they specialize in maintaining the nature of the city parks. Prior to the Invasion, the family wealth came from how the corporation did a fantastic job at keeping Heartland beautiful. Yuto was honestly not surprised about the Obsidians being wealthy because it could explain Shay and Lulu having rare and powerful cards, due to how powerful the Raidraptors are and how Assembled Nightingale can result in a one-hit KO for the opponent, and wearing incredibly fancy formal attires at their previous dance. Of course, restoring the company is essential for Heartland’s restoration; once that is complete, Yuto getting a job there can help out with figuring out his future.

“Really?” Yuto asked. “You’ll actually help me out?”

“You’re a friend,” Shay said. “And mother and father approve of how great of a person you are.”

“Plus ever since I told them about you, they started to work on wedding plans,” Lulu added.

Yuto officially decided to have his soul separated from Yuya’s once the time comes so that he can start anew back in Heartland. It sounds nice to be living with his friend and girlfriend’s family, especially knowing that they highly approve of their soon-to-be marriage, and working for their corporation.

“Alright,” Yuto said. “I’ll separate from Yuya.”

“Excellent,” Declan said. “I will inform my father that you know about his plan. I do suggest that you tell your counterparts about it.”

As Declan headed back to Henrietta, Yuto and Lulu informed the rest of the Yu-Salad and the Bracelet Girls in their shared minds about what has been happening and how Leo will try to fix it. They were gleeful about how they will finally be split back into their original bodies. They were also informed about the risks of severe mental damage or amnesia, but reassured them that their friends, family, and even Leo will be there to help them out. With that, the dueling club and the rest of Heartland Duel School’s former students spent the rest of the night enjoying the dance.

Looks like they may be getting their true happy ending after all…

[ramblinganthropologist]

N7 2019

Summary: It’s time to...duel? Uh... is this the right series? Oh, whatever... dueling biotics takes on a whole new term for Alistair Shepard. Luckily, he has an ace in the hole... or an ancient spirit in a gaudy gold necklace. 

---

What a wonderful day to have to deal with Miranda's bullshit.

Alistair Shepard felt his forehead throb as he stared across the open field. On one side, he and his friends gathered at one end of the castle. On the other stood Miranda, part time classmate and part time pain in his neck. She was blocking their way to the castle's main entrance and the end of their journey. The finals of the tournament were so close...

Leave it to Miranda to be extra as hell. He really wasn't in the mood for this – thank you 2 days of little sleep and absolute bullshit along the way. When he got to the Illusive Man, he was kicking that asshole into next month... who puts a maze under their castle?

Fuck, he was gonna have nightmares about that for a while...

“Seriously, can you move aside? We have our star chips already.” Garrus, next to him, was particularly proud of his ten. “Besides, do you even have any?”

Miranda's expression never changed as she held out her wrist. On it was a glove and ten chips. “More than those two friends  of yours do.”

Alistair shifted closer to where Kaidan and Tali were standing. Neither of them had any – after all, they were stowaways to the tournament. It had been hell making sure they weren't kicked of, or worse – knowing the Illusive Man, he was playing for keeps.

“Leave them out of this, Miranda. If you have enough, just go in already. We can settle this inside during the finals.”

The genius shook her head. “We settle this now, Shepard. Get your deck ready.”

Garrus' voice sounded out over the roar of waves below them. “One problem – there's no duel arena. Guess you didn't think that one out, did you?”

“I'm amazed you're still here. Perhaps having Shepard save you from nearly every duel has its upside.” Miranda's voice was flat as she turned back to face her desired opponents. “A lack of ring won't be a problem. I've developed something just for this purpose.”

She reached down, taking the briefcase she had and opening it. Then she tossed something at him. On instinct, Alistair caught it. It... looked like a Frisbee. Well, it was a little too thick to be a proper one. From the looks of things, it went on the wrist... and it had slots for cards.

Huh. Mobile dueling?

“Is this really necessary, Miranda?” Tali's voice was calm, but firm. “Alistair helped save your sister. Surely that's enough for you.”

Oh, if only saving his... well, he supposed they were rivals, though not by his own choice in the matter, thank you very much... he was getting off track. Saving Orana from the Illusive Man's goons should have been enough to get the genius off his back.

Apparently, it only made matters worse.

His headache only continued to throb as he inspected the device. Miranda had already inserted her deck and was waiting on him to get going with his. Eventually, Alistair sighed and reached for the box attached to his hip.

“Fine... but nothing stupid.”

Let me handle this one. I don't like the look in her eyes.

There was the voice again. Alistair had long since stopped looking down at the golden pyramid that hung from his neck. He didn't need to – she was with him no matter what. If he squinted, he could see her.

She... well, they hadn't settled on a name. She couldn't remember it. So they called her Bo to make things easy. Bo was wearing his clothes, only she looked better in them. She too had a device strapped to her wrist, a deck already inserted.

When he spoke to her, it was without words as well. Be careful. She doesn't look so good.

Don't worry about me, Al. I've got this. Now are we doing this or what?

A familiar tingle took over, and Alistair watched as he was removed from main control. Well, remove was too strong of a word. It was more Bo was... borrowing his body for the moment. He got to stay wherever he went when she took control, watching. In his mind's eye, he saw her super-imposed with her pink hair, dark skin, and glowing red eyes. Nobody ever mentioned noticing a difference, but he knew there was one.

Now the spirit of the Citadel Puzzle had taken over.

“No tricks, Miranda. I'm not fucking with you today.” Bo was speaking with words now, her voice lower than his as she grabbed his – their – deck and inserted it in the disk. “Let's do this. I got a boot to put up the Illusive Man's ass.”

“Duel!”

---

“You can't-”

“I fucking will! I equip Round Hammy with Heavyweight Belt! With this, his attack goes up  by 500 with as many monsters that are in your graveyard! Read 'em and weep, princess, because I'm counting 4 there!”

The cute little hamster on their side of the field wasn't so cute anymore as it grew in size and mass with the attaching of the heavyweight belt card. Glowing numbers put its attack at 2500, just at the same level as its opponent on the other side. Miranda was smirking as she stood behind Biotic Queen, glowing at 2500.

“Our monsters have the same attack strength, Shepard. They'll cancel each other out.”

Bo smirked as she moved her borrowed arm forward. “Heavyweight belt activates my face-down, Second Wind! It released one monster defeated in the battle phase in my graveyard for one turn. I'm bringing back Hammy Heartbreaker!”

A hamster in a leather jacket and guitar appeared on the field next to the wrestler rodent. Its attack points were 1000, just over Miranda's remaining 500. It was going to be a brutal 1-2 punch, and with Miranda so close to the edge...

Bo, don't! She'll fall!

Al tried to regain control, but he couldn't. Bo had a stronger will then as she spoke the words of attack. Both hamsters charged forward, straight for Miranda's side of the field. The aftershock was enough to make his rival slip – she started to fall back.

But his own hand grabbed her and pulled her back at the last moment.

“Fucking idiot. If you wanna kill yourself, don't use me to do it.” Bo let Miranda's wrist drop as her life points hit zero. “Shit, think of your sister next time before you do something so stupid. I thought you were smart.”

The genius was looking down at the ground, looking dejected. “And I thought you had a soft side.”

Yeah, he did. Meanwhile, he got to watch as Bo picked up the cards their disk had ejected. Their weird combo deck – half hamster, half pro wrestling – was still a work in progress but it had gotten them pretty far. Still... he definitely didn't remember putting second win in.

You can thank me after we win and get Anderson's soul back.

Alistair felt like beating his head against the wall of the room he was in as Bo headed back to his friends. She could have died, Bo!

Well, she didn't. Now we can get through. I'm switching back... this pissed me off.

He was back in control once more, facing his friends. None of them looked too pleased with him at the moment – Kaidan looked furious, Tali was... hard to read. Garrus, he didn't want to look at Garrus as he slipped his deck back in the box. Leave it to Bo to mess that up.

“She could have fallen to her death, Alistair. You're lucky you caught her.” the Canadian brushed by him. Tali at least shared a concerned glance as she followed after, calling for Kaidan to wait up. This left him and Garrus alone in the whistling wind of the castle tower.

You can thank me later.

She would thank him later if he didn't chuck the Citadel Puzzle over the wall and into the sea at this rate. Fuck... how did he get himself into these problems?

“Dad...”

No, but seriously, all he wanted to do was play-

“Dad!”

---

Alistair shot up, eyes wide. He was in a dark room, the TV on in front of him and ending credits playing. It was dark outside – the clock said it was just about to hit midnight. From the looks of things, he had fallen asleep on the couch.

Shit.

His daughter was next to him, a blanket thrown around her rigid shoulders. Watching the show had been Dany's idea. Her friends at school had suggested it, and she had quickly gotten hooked. He had agreed to watch it as some father-daughter bonding, but his brain kept trying to figure out mechanics. Then he had fallen asleep.

He was still working on the good dad thing.

Dany clucked at him as she paused the beginning of the next episode. “You totally missed it, Kaiba and Yugi were dueling on the edge of the castle with these cool duel disks.”

“I think I caught that part, didn't it spit the cards out into gale force winds in an open space?” He prodded her side playfully. “And shouldn't you be asleep? I said we could watch two episodes before you headed of to bed, young lady.”

She grinned at him, eyes bright. “It's not a school night, dad, see? The clock says it's Saturday now.”

It was – Saturday, November 7 2195.

Well... she had him there. Alistair found he couldn't be too annoyed with her finessing of the bedtime rules. She was getting crafty as she got older – he would need to bring his a-game soon. That would probably give his brain a much needed workout.

“Can we please watch one more episode?” Dany's eyes were huge as she slammed her talons together to plead her case. “I promise to go to bed right after!”

She probably wouldn't. As a matter of fact, he would probably watch up to three more episodes before she was the one to fall asleep on the couch. But he found he didn't mind as he got comfortable on the couch once more.

After all... it wasn't a school night.

“One more.”

His daughter cheered and threw her arms around his neck so hard he swore she bruised his chin with the top of her head. Then the opening song started to play once more as they settled in for their supposed one last episode. With any luck, they would be in bed before 2.

Alistair was distracted, however, by a vibration on his wrist. A message was coming in – not from Garrus, he was still working. This one was beaming all the way from Rannoch, so maybe the timing was a bit off.

“Huh. It's your Aunt Bo.”

He flicked it open. It was a simple message, only a few lines of text that radiated violent pink ink in Bo's natural style. Even after so many years, she still loved that color. And he was glad she did – he couldn't picture her without it.

Happy N7. Why the fuck did you wear a silver necklace with a gold pyramid?

Alistair shook his head as he texted her back. Because it was there? You were the one who tried to push Miranda off a building with a giant hamster.

Yeah, that had been a weird dream. It was good to know he wasn't the only one who had sat through it. He had long since learned to accept the oddities that occurred between himself and Bo. They were bonded – that was the simple truth.

At least his tattoo wasn't hurting. He was sore enough from working so late.

“Tell Aunt Bo I said hi!” Dany's sing-song chirp carried over the sounds of animated dueling. “Oh man, he summoned Blue Eyes!”

She turned her attention back to the TV as Alistair chuckled and waited for his ex-partner's message to come from Rannoch. After all, he had an important hello to send back. Until then, he was content to watch the show with his daughter.

But really... who stands on the wall of a castle like that? What the fuck, Miranda...

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Episode 30 Season 4: The Dead Joey Shuffle

Lets ignore everything happening on planet Earth right now and talk about old ass anime, shall we? Yes, my sky turned a horrible end of the world yellow/orange color for an entire day because of a LOT of fire in my state. But thankfully, the winds have changed, the sky is blue...and I can write about Yugioh again.

Last we left off, Tristan, Tea, and Yami stumbled across two fresh corpses. Now, when Joey died a season or two ago (I honestly can’t remember when), we had my favorite storyboarder at the helm just sweeping emotion all over the field and the intense weeping for Joey Wheeler lasted for like 30 minutes. Yugi freaked out in the puzzle headspace for like half an episode and nearly gave up playing cards again, Yami punched a wall and then put a duel disk on Joey’s arm like a funerary send off to the afterlife, Tea started losing her mind and begged Yugi to drop out of the tourney so Yugi wouldn’t die, and Pharaoh was like “yo Tea, Yugi can’t talk right now can we do this later????” And then Tristan, out of nowhere, just started shaking Joey and screaming at him to wake up (and I think he punched him in the face and it got censored? Yo that episode is wild.) Joey got plugged to some Kaiba Corp med bay that had like 2 dozen weird sensors attached to his chest and feet to keep him alive. Serenity was like hyperventilating in the back, just a LOT of stuff was happening all at once.

But this time, with an ordinary animation team, these three kids are so distracted by the other corpse, that they only cry just a little bit before being like “woah what?”

And like this is their second time. Maybe they’ve gotten used to Joey being dead? Maybe they got it all out of their system and are now a lot more accustomed to the fact that they all must die. Several times.

Confronted with this Agatha Christie brand debacle, Tristan makes an incredible reach that is also completely correct. Like this is such an amazing incredible reach.

Hire Tristan as your detective, hot damn. There are like 7.8 billion Orichalcos-possessed people on this planet right now trying to kill Joey Wheeler and Tristan actually called the right one.

Yami never tells us who he blames, but it’s OK, because the show immediately cuts over to Dartz’ silicon valley fortress to tell us without telling us. So while this animation team isn’t as insanely extra as our previous animation teams, they still know how to edit their cuts to work alongside their dialogue just fine.

(read more under the cut)

Lets take a little while to just take this in. Someone took a while to make it, so rather than look at it for half a second before it passes--please lets count the number of floating streets in this scene.

3.

So before when I talked about the history of San Francisco, I mentioned the old Embarcadero, which was a double decker street wrapped around the peninsula. (we still see parts of this double decker set up on parts of the highway to this day.) But what if--they actually have no idea that the Embarcadero was a thing before it fell down in an earthquake?

What if they just...wanted San Francisco to be vaguely cyberpunk in this universe and that floating freeway was supposed to be futuristic and not just an 80′s throwback?

Because there’s 3 streets stacked on top of eachother right here and yo there is no where in the city built like this. This is a Gotham situation where the poors live on the lower levels and the rich just kind of hang out on the top. We have too many Earthquakes in reality to ever support this setup but Yugioh...wow. They went for it.

Also, our art deco architecture isn’t quite in this style as Dartz’ mansion. Mind you, this isn’t full deco, and the structure has more of an ancient world vibe. But...while San Fransisco does have a lot of deco, it’s just different (sorry you’re not really here for the architecture but youknow, I’m an artist so I do think a lot about why concept artists may have gone where they went)

++++++++++RANT ABOUT SF DECO VS COMIC BOOK DECO FEEL FREE TO SKIP++++++++++++++

So I’m not going to dare say this is a mistake on the Yugioh team by any means, since Deco is Deco and who knows when Dartz built that building. But like I’ve seen the SF skyline many times in this show and it’s got some funky shapes in it that are just sooo off to me. They keep drawing a more Futurist New York. Truth is, we don’t have that many skyscrapers in SF.

Most of the pictures you see of scaling buildings are of this one area around the financial district--everything else is...pretty short. So in those photos they very carefully crop out all the really squat as hell buildings on either side of it, to give the impression that our city is super tall, much like a dating app.

And, as far as Art Deco Gotham-esque skyscrapers go, we got ones like this guy:

Where at a glance it’s like...that’s barely deco (and barely that impressive. This is 1/3 the height of the Empire State building.) Compared to a lot of cities in America, our skyscrapers aren’t as...clearly deco from far away? We don’t have the huge ass humps and long ass gilded lines of the Empire State building or the Chrysler building. You only really get those details when you zoom in.

Our other skyscrapers are kinda understated or modern in comparison. And the reason why we just don’t have many deco skyscrapers is because...our ground ain’t good for building skyscrapers at all, so it took us kind of a while to build up.

Like we got this tower that we built recently (the first skyscraper they built in SF in a good while) and they decided to name it the “The Millennium Tower” which...I know...good job, team, clearly you wanted to get cursed. Well the tower started leaning about 3 or 4 years ago, like well over a foot from it’s original spot, it’s just tilting and sinking away, and people are freaking out because it’s surrounded by other tall buildings so they’re like “damn it we’re gonna dominoes.” The people in charge were like “well...we don’t know why it’s leaning...but I’m sure it’s fine” and it’s like “the ground. It was the ground...you dumbasses” not to mention that it’s clearly cursed by at least one angry Egyptian Ghost but...what do you do?

I would absolutely watch the Yugioh spinoff season about the Millennium Tower and the SF tycoons that got possessed by a ghost and have to play card games to keep their tower from squishing all of San Francisco. Yo you should hire me, Yugioh, I got IDEAS.

Man...Yugioh predicting the future, how did they call the ill fate of The Millennium Tower????

But anyway, most skyscrapers in SF are kind of boring because they have to be sturdy as hell. But, they have some neat modern shapes (like the Transamerica Pyramid--in the shape of A PYRAMID that hasn’t shown it’s face once this entire Egyptian influenced anime)

I mean, come on Yugioh, it’s right there.

Also the hell is this weird UFO on this picture I lifted off of google?

Like I think it’s 4 jets? 

I may have lifted this from an alien website, so forgive me, q-anon for lifting your image, I’m trying to talk about architecture in my Yugioh blog.

In fact the only building I (and google) can think of that is both really tall and deco-ey is this one:

And it’s a Marriot hotel built in the late 80′s. And honestly, it looks way more 1980′s Las Vegas than it does Deco. (It honestly looks like photobashing but made real, this is a weird building.)

And I could be wrong and overlooking a very important structure, but most of the city’s really cool art deco buildings are in the form of theaters, libraries, churches, schools, and houses--which are only a few stories tall. They’re gorgeous buildings with cool and different silhouettes, it’s just not very big.

Like I believe this is an old high school?

also a lot of our “art deco” has no idea if it’s victorian, deco, or art noveau so they’ll just hit all of it to see what sticks. It’s a lot more eclectic than other places where Deco is typically more...straight-lined. I kinda hate defining art styles as masculine or feminine but honestly it’s the quickest way to really hit home the difference between a Bruce Timm art deco that you’d see in a comic book, (which is very New York inspired) and what we have in San Fransisco which is really decorative and decadent.

The Yugioh SF just has no curvy nonsense and that really sticks out to me.

Ornate swirls get shoved Everywhere. Willy nilly. Just everywhere randomly. And it sits next to other structures that are modern and simplistic. It’s very San Francisco to have this old world next to new world.

And it makes sense. SF is the other side of the continent from New York, and about as far West as you can go from the movement going on in Europe. So...we made our own take and tl;dr the art deco in our city doesn’t look like Gotham at all.

And, while it’s not as grand or dark or iconic, it’s a good thing. It’s what helps make San Fransisco look really unique compared to other American cities--the fact that we're...short and eclectic. Our district with the skyscrapers is where it’s kinda boring, actually--the good stuff is when you get away from that. Where every little building has a spunky wild personality.

But in a show like this you gotta make it seem more grand and less homely so--they scaled up the buildings a lot more than we really have and homogenized all the stylings into one (and they axed every Victorian swirl because they don’t want to draw that). They really just turned SF into comic book New York--especially since I’ve only seen like...one steep hill since we got here.

It’s fine, and it makes complete sense why they did it, (I’m more confused as to why most of California is a Nevada desert so I can easily forgive a San Francisco without the right Deco) it’s just a very different energy.

and honestly...it’s an energy influenced by the tone of the show. Everything has a very dark blue-gray palate, and it’s because it’s literally the end of the world, Joey has died, everyone is sad...maybe it would be out of place to have a building that looks like it sparks joy? The harsh and cold lines do add to the gravity of the situation.

Maybe I would have done the same thing? In the end, the legibility of your story matters more than the accuracy of your story--especially when it comes to TV. Which is somewhat a controversial statement, and there’s exceptions when it comes to cultural stuff. But while the culture of San Fransisco was erased (a culture that they did draw in the beginning of the season! they did show alcatraz, a trolly, and the golden gate!), it is at a point in the show where...all of humanity is being erased anyway. Could also be symbolic? Maybe?

+++++++++++++END OF THE ART DECO RANT+++++++++++++

So anyway, stepping away from lovely buildings and into this gross ass abandoned park, Yami decides he’s gotta get himself to this gaudy ass Batman building ASAP.

He can ride a horse but he absolutely will not ride a motorcycle. Or touch Joey Wheeler’s dead body.

Which is wild because apparently there’s a Yugioh spinoff where all they do is ride motorcycles??? But from what I heard, Yami is not in it. Which is the most wild thing.

So uh...you know how much I love art details, lets take a long look at this one.

AH no.

Nope nope nope nope.

I hate this logo. It looks like an emperor penguin’s eyebrow thingies. Like a face with just four huge eyebrows.

Not sure why we randomly have a new logo. It’s nearly the end of the season, we’ve already shown the Orichalcos logo so many times. Was this episode made earlier in development than the rest? Is that why there were like - I dunno, put this random logo here... Maybe we’ll figure out the rest of the logo later?

I don’t know. This weird logo feels so out of place.

And then because I’m thinking about buildings...maybe it’s influenced by our Shell building?

Maybe? Or not? Just saying you got a round thing with radial lines hovering over a trellis...the possibility is there that they were inspired but had to edit it down for animation? Eh, I’m reaching desperately for anything that looks like San Francisco at this point.

Anyways, the front door of this building is an elevator (????) and in a somewhat confusing set of cuts, out of this elevator comes the murderer herself.

And she’s dead.

SO HAPPY I didn’t have to watch that card game but like...c’mon. There’s no way Mai would lose to Raphael.

Maybe that’s why they couldn’t show it? Because she’s the only person on this show who uses a themed deck with cards that actually sync with eachother? (outside of Pegasus’ toon deck and Grandpa’s voltron deck ((sorry it’s name isn’t voltron, I’ve forgotten the name of the robot that you build out of other cards. Exodus? Exodysseus?

It’s Exodia isn't it? Wtv. 2020′s been a real long one, all y’all.)) )

(don’t ask where the smoke came from, we don’t know. Maybe Yami felt like making it to be more aesthetic. It is a fun visual tic to the show.)

So Yami goes into this elevator instead of anticipating that this is obviously a trap. Like most would just decide to take the stairs instead, but Yami loves falling for a good obvious trap every once and a while (or, in the case of this season--each and every single time a trap is placed in front of him) and so this takes him directly to the fightclub roof of yore.

Ah. We started this season on fightclub roof, in like...2010 or whenever I started this season. Feels like forever ago. How long has the year of 2020 been? 20 years of my life? 40 years of my life? Was I in fact never born before 2020 started? I honestly don’t remember anymore who I was before this year happened. Probably because I inhaled just a hell ton of wildfire smoke and now my brain is a bunch of jelly beans rattling around in a jar.

Anyway, Raphael just hands Yami (by hands I mean throws aggressively) Joey’s dragon card.

A little unsure why he’d do this since...this is the weapon to destroy Dartz. Why are you giving it back to the Pharaoh? But apparently, Raphael did that to prove that he is the murderer of Mai, who murdered Joey and...youknow...the stuff that we know but would be pretty difficult for the people in this show to follow.

Mai’s voice actor seeing “Mumbo-Jumbo” and being like “Well if I’m doing this, I’m going to commit.“

WE ARE NEVER DUELING DARTZ.

I refuse that a duel with Dartz, in fact, ever happens in this season.

Kind of surprised whenever I see there’s still people left. SF is basically abandoned in comparison.

Thing is...that’s just SF on a holiday weekend.

And then, because Tristan’s in the middle of the street, the rest of the party has to try and run him over.

It is really funny to me that Seto went out of his way to ditch these people so MANY times, but keeps ending up around them again and again, and each time in a wildly different vehicle, each and every time it’s when these guys need a lift...he’s very quickly turning into the group’s soccer mom. Should’ve gotten a minivan.

And then this happens?

I’ll just leave this here:

I’m sure that fanfic writers everywhere rejoiced when Seto reached out a hand to catch Joey’s face from hitting the pavement. In all this was a bizarre animation and now that I’ve figured out my blender settings for the new update, I can finally cap little segments again.

Just don’t you dare flag me, tumblr. Hopefully segments less than 10 seconds long are fine.

Like there was this part where they had to just drag around Joey’s corpse over this rail, and it was Mokuba and Tristan just prying him up there like he were a potato sack and like...

...Joey’s gonna wake up with so many rail-shaped bruises! They do not treat him gently!

Then back on fightclub roof, Raphael made me do a bit of a double take when he accidentally implied the existence of another bean within that Pharaoh bean.

And no, Bakura did not show up at this point.

I would LOVE IT if Pharaoh biffed it a second time and Bakura suddenly took the reigns and was like “Oi loves! that was bloody easy!” but I...have a feeling that this team didn’t actually watch the episodes where Bakura is just vibing in that puzzle piece.

If this never comes back to bite Pharaoh in the ass...

It might never come back guys...I don’t know. How do these writers have this much self control to ignore Bakura for like a full season. How do you do it? I can’t hold a plot twist in for even like 5 seconds. How....how do you do it?

Anyways, now that Seto has Tea who has a map, they walk up to the entrance (I honestly forgot if they drove or walked because knowing this show, Seto would absolutely ignore the car. Either way, the Ferrari isn’t necessary anymore. Written right out of the script. Cars are hard to draw. Get rid of it)

You know, Mokuba’s seen an awful lot of corpses for a kid! Like 20ish corpses if you count the 2 times the Big 5 biffed it. Really should have left him with Rebecca! Youknow, the other kid the same age as him!

But it’s fine, we gotta train Mokuba to suppress that trauma deep, deep down like a proper Kaiba.

Youknow when I started this series I was like “I don’t get why everyone talks about the Kaibas so much, these two seem kinda like whatever” but now I’m on like S4 and like...I’m SO concerned about the Kaibas. With Yugi...whatever...he’s gonna be fine, but the Kaibas? Oh boy. Either one of them could go completely evil and I’d buy it.

And probably root for them.

And I know they won’t go full tilt, I’m pretty sure--but like...they COULD. I can’t say that about the rest of the cast.

Everyone’s made it!

Even joey’s weird coma/dead body for some reason!

Lol also I love this random sci-fi tech water tower next to Tea. What is that?

My drought senses are screaming, is that a huge ass water tower the size of a 4 story building next to Tea? Chances are, it’s got a jet in it or something because this is Yugioh, but...man. At least it doesn’t look like one of those rusty New York rooftop water towers. This show just completely not getting what SF looks like.

Whatever, he can resurrect the leviathan, maybe Dartz can make water?

Youknow, all you have to do to make California worship you forever is make rain. Screw this lizard nonsense. The man can power water. What’s he doing with this stupid snake?

But youknow, Yugioh just never really figures out how to harness the weather. They CAN and they do it all the time. But, do they use it for their benefit? Like freakin never.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I went on a looong rant about SF but maybe I’m just sick of my own house? Been a lot of fire and quarantine over here. It’s been messing with my head a fair amount so thanks for bearing with me and my weird ass update schedule (remember when I used to be productive? Was that just a dream I once had?)

But if you just got here, here’s a link to read these recaps in order, from the beginning way back in S1.

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono