Chapter 1: Awaken of the King of Justice.

Night was always beautiful in Maiami City. As a city built on the back of entertainment, it was only natural. The quiet stillness was contrasted perfectly by the many colored lights shining across the architecture and making the whole thing sparkle even more brightly than the starry sky overhead.

The young man overlooking this scene from the tower at its heart couldn't care less about any of that, however. Pushing up the red glasses sitting at the bridge of his nose, Reiji Akaba watched several translucent screens placed over the glass of the building's windows. Tonight would be an important night in his quest to protect the city. If all went well, he'd finally be rid of one major source of annoyance in his life.

"Sir, I've confirmed the target's location," a woman's voice spoke from her earpiece. "I'm closing in now."

"Proceed as planned," Reiji confirmed. "I shouldn't need to remind you of how important this mission is. Don't let me down, Masumi."

"Of course." The woman replied. From her own position standing along some steel girders at a construction sight, she was able to make out the sight of some commotion happening a few rooftops away. Zooming in using a pair of technologically-enhanced glasses, bright lights and explosions gave way to a pair of people, both of them wanted by LDS.

Taking a moment to straighten the black tie around her neck, she pulled on the ruby-colored tie clip in the shape of a rose and grasped it in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, a length of shimmering green extended from one end to form a rope-like whip. Cracking it into the air, it wrapped itself around another girder hanging from a crane nearby, allowing her to safely swing down and pursue the two persons of interest.

As she expertly crossed rooftops in a dead sprint, she couldn't help but think about how all this had come to be. She was Masumi Kotsu, enforcer and personal bodyguard to President Reiji Akaba. It seemed like just yesterday she was an aspiring Entertainment Duelist working at her father's jewelry shop part time. Now she was tracking down a pair of criminals in the dead of night in order to protect this city from threats it didn't even realize existed. How quickly things changed.

Another explosion pulled her out of her thoughts, priorities realigning to what was most important. As the smoke and glittery confetti cleared, she spotted a young man in a white hooded cape hanging onto a chubby bird creature as it flew through the air. Following close behind on the ground was what looked like a woman dressed entirely in black.

"Phantom, give me that box," the woman hissed. "Stop struggling. No one can escape destiny." Flaring her fingers, a series of red threads extended from all ten which she whipped through the air to strike at the one known as Phantom.

Despite his disadvantaged position, Phantom used some adept acrobatics to avoid the attack. The same couldn't be said for his bird, one of the threads cleaving the thing in half before it burst into a puff of multicolored smoke.

He did a twirl as he fell, deftly landing on the ledge at the side of the rooftop. "Sorry, little buddy." He said, looking over his shoulder to where the bird had been in the sky. Solid Vision or not, he seemed to believe that the hologram deserved a better end than that.

Somersaulting off the ledge to avoid a lashing by the woman's threads, Phantom's escape would have to be put on hold as he ran headfirst into yet another enemy. It appeared to be one of his attacker's monsters standing before him, some sort of white and teal robot creature with a lyre attached to its back. It held a sword in one of its chunky hands, lifting it overhead to slash at him.

"Attack, Gem-Knight Rubyz!" On the command of its owner, another monster appeared from off to the side, catching his enemy's blade with its own sickle before knocking it back and cutting it through the abdomen. This one was likely another construct of Solid Vision given the slim chances that his savior would actually be a towering knight in red armor and a blue cape.

He sighed, relieved to have someone on his side. Having said that, it looked like his judgment might have been a bit hasty now that the knight turned its weapon on him, pressing the blade against his neck. "Wait, why do you want to attack me now?"

Masumi stepped out of the shadows to reply, sunflower yellow suit almost glowing in the darkness. "Now that I've finally gotten a good look at you, it seems like I was wrong about you being just some common criminal. The look in your eyes is different. You're not some professional thief, but...something different. You have imagination and a goal which is probably why you've been so successful at escaping us up until now."

Phantom started to laugh. He was a bit unnerved at how much this person managed to read from him in just one interaction, but he was never one to let things get him down. "Oh, come on. If you know all that, you know I'm not here to fight you. Why don't we just put the holograms away and talk about all this?"

As he said this, he subtly tried to push the box he'd been carrying behind his back and out of view, though Masumi proved to be too quick for him. With a crack of her whip, she snatched it up from the ground and pulled it back into her hand.

"Hey, stop!" Phantom shouted. "That's important! I can't let anyone get a hold of that box."

"I'm not concerned with what you have to do," Masumi told him coldly. "My job is to retrieve this and take you in."

"Didn't you just say I wasn't some kind of criminal?" he argued. "That means you should let me go."

"My assessment of you doesn't change my mission," she said as he monster pressed its weapon into him further. "You'll be coming with me now."

Once again, help came from the most unexpected of places. The woman from before seemed to decide now would be the ideal time to attack, her threads thrown into the air and startling both her enemies. However, she drew back the moment a spotlight hit all of them, retreating to the shadows as a trio of LDS helicopters appeared in the sky.

Though Phantom himself was still in a fairly tight spot, that distraction was what he needed to make his exit. Using Masumi's brief lapse in concentration, he rolled backwards into a standing position and snapped his fingers. "Well, this whole thing has gotten a little too much attention for my liking. I prefer my shows to be a bit more of an intimate affair, you know?" He laughed at himself, drawing three cards from his deck and placing them onto his duel disk. "So I guess this is it. Until we meet again! Goodnight!"

Phantom and the surrounding area were engulfed in a cloud of smoke, the fumes slowly branching off to form into the shapes of different circus animals. Masumi fanned in front of her face, her monster slashing wildly to clear the air and try to stop the target from escaping. Predictably, this didn't work as planned.

With a sigh, Masumi radioed in for a status update. "Sir, I-"

"Did you capture the target?" Reiji asked, unconcerned with whatever else she might say."

"No, I failed," she stated, clenching her fist hard enough to turn her knuckles white. "I did retrieve whatever he was after. I can also confirm that the Clan was here as you predicted."

"I see," he replied, his voice betraying no hint of emotion for Masumi to latch onto. "Then I'm ordering an extraction. You need to return here at once to deliver what you've obtained."

"Of course, sir." She said, the line cutting off after that. A few seconds later, one of the helicopters above began to descend, letting her aboard as they returned to the LDS headquarters for debriefing.

Phantom examined a burned photograph in his hand, turning it over to read a few words written into the back. "It's the job of an entertainer to make people happy." Those words came back to him as he read the letters etched into the back of the paper. "The more a pendulum swings, the stronger it returns. It's the same in dueling."

He replaced the photo inside one of his pants' pockets and lifted his goggles to the top of his head. "Always remember that, even at the worst of times, you can always take a step forward with courage." He always thought of those kind of things when he was feeling down. Most of the time, they were the only thing that kept him going.

Standing up from the white park bench he'd previously occupied, he scratched at his head to clear his thoughts. There was no use being sad about what had happened the night before, especially when he could always find a way to fix it later. He'd be lying if he didn't say the wonderful view of the city from this elevated position didn't help lift his mood, everything big and gleaming and exciting from this far off.

Not far off, a level lower into the park, someone's voice caught his attention. "Watch and be amazed at the power of Solid Vision!" The speaker said, drawing Phantom closer towards a small crowd of less than half a dozen people. They all seemed to be gathered around a pink-haired girl in a red sweater with a duel disk on her arm, presumably the one who'd spoken before.

He didn't have time for a distraction like this. Right now, the only thing he should be focused on was retrieving that box. Despite knowing all of that, he stayed where he was, something inside him telling him to watch this show. Maybe he was just tired after so much fighting, but a live show seemed like it would do him some good right about now.

"Just like the joy of music, the ability to make others smile will never disappear," the girl announced, her duel disk springing to life as she twirled in a circle to make the white skirt on her lower half spin. "Old or new, there will always be ways to do it. That's the magic of Solid Vision at work!" Drawing five cards from her deck, she placed them all onto the field before being engulfed in a burst of pastel colors.

Though the crowd might be small, they became quite a bit more enthusiastic after the smoke cleared. From up in the sky, a delicate melody began to play, the sound of string instruments harmonizing with a collection of feminine voices. Floating down from the clouds were several human-shaped monsters, singing as an enormous red rose descended behind them. It had yet to bloom, concealing whatever was inside.

The monsters danced through the air, tossing flower petals into the small audience as they circled the rose. "These are the guardians of flowers, protectors of the melodious fairy kingdom." These words seemed to echo from somewhere around the area, the voice seeming to belong to the girl from before. It continued as the flower finally began to bloom overhead. "And I am their ally in the fight against the demon king's tyranny!"

It was the girl once again, a layer of Solid Vision covering her clothes to create a new outfit for her. She now wore an entirely red ensemble resembling an old-style French military officer's uniform complete with black boots reaching her knees and a white cape hanging off her shoulder. Across the left side of her vest was a golden rose insignia.

Another monster appeared behind her, this one being a fair bit larger and more elegant-looking than the others. "Mozarta, show everyone your Graceful Wave!" Responding to the command, her monster twirled a conductor's baton in circles, the petals the other creatures had tossed before whipping into a glorious whirlwind. The wind itself appeared as golden silk, picking up the warm-colored petals and tossing them into the sky where they disintegrated into sparkling dust like the trails of tiny comets.

Everyone in attendance, Phantom included, applauded at this. "Amazing." He said to himself with a smile, clapping his hands as loudly as he could in appreciation for this trick. Even with his considerable skill in illusion, that was quite the impressive use of holograms.

Wanting to get a better view for her next trick, Phantom hopped up onto the railing. Unfortunately, he hadn't accounted for the condensation that had collected there, his hand slipping and causing him to fall off the side with a confused yelp.

It was foolish amateur stuff. He should have known better than this. No time to activate his duel disk to save himself. This might really be the end of him this time, and how ridiculous would that be? Risking life and limb every night without a scratch but dying because he fell down in the park like an old man.

The small crowd noticed him shortly after he began falling, their applause stopping abruptly as some of them began to point at him in the sky. The last to notice was the girl herself, looking up confusedly to try and understand what had stolen her spotlight. She barely caught a glimpse of him before they smacked into each other, bumping heads and falling to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Phantom was the first to awaken several minutes later, rubbing his head and trying to remember what had happened. Looking to his side, the girl was still passed out on the ground. The crowd seemed to have dispersed at some point since he was last conscious, none of them seeming too concerned with calling an ambulance or even checking on whether or not they were okay. How rude.

He took it upon himself to make sure she was still breathing, sitting there next to her until she was ready to wake up. He didn't want to risk jostling her around or trying to shake her awake considering all the things he'd heard about how that only resulted in bad things with a head injury. He couldn't exactly call a hospital himself given who he was, so there wasn't much he could do for the time being.

To occupy himself, he looked around the area to admire the greenery. Growing bored with that, he decided to do what he did best and invade someone's privacy; specifically, the girl's. He pulled a large comedy fan from a pocket on her skirt. It wasn't clear whether it was a real object or Solid Vision though his hunch was that it was real given the rest of her holograms had disappeared at some point after they fell. Impressively constructed either way.

"Give that back!" He heard, a hand darting out to grab the fan from him. "Where did you get that? What are you doing here? Who are you?" Between each question, Phantom experienced the full power of the fan for himself.

"Wait, stop!" He tried desperately to quell her anger, explaining poorly, "I just fell on you and it knocked you out! I didn't mean any harm!"

This did seem to give her pause but only for a moment, the folded paper smacking the side of his face one more time. "You better not have done anything to me while I was unconscious!" She said, standing up and backing away.

"I would never!" He shouted. "I was out too! If anyone did anything to you, it would have been before that." He raised his hands to defend himself from another well-earned smack for that.

With Phantom laying on the ground covered in bruises the girl stowed her fan and began to pace. "This is terrible," she muttered. "All those people saw me fail. I didn't even get to advertise yet."

"Hey, at least you were entertaining." Phantom spoke, trying to recover from the brutal assault.

"What good is that if I can't get anyone to sign up?" She shot back, sighing immediately after. "Why am I even talking to you? You're the reason this all fell apart."

Phantom scratched the back of his head. "Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to."

"Forget it," she told him. "What's done is done. I just need to figure out how to fix this."

"What did you mean about signing up and advertising?" He asked. "I like signing up for things."

This caught her attention. Looking him up and down, she cautiously explained, "My family's dueling school. It's called You Show. We don't have a lot of students so I've been trying to get more people to join us."

"You Show." He repeated, the name sticking in his mind.

"Right," she confirmed. "If you've heard of it, it's because it was founded by Yusho Sakaki, the man who created Action Duels."

"Can I go see him now?" He asked abruptly.

She blinked a few times before replying. "Well, no. He's disappeared, didn't you know? He doesn't actually work there anymore. It's just my dad and I."

"Oh," he replied, voice dropping. "I see."

"Like I was saying," she added to try and move the conversation forward, "it looks like you might be a duelist, so..."

"So you want me to join?" He asked cheerfully. "If so, then sure!"

"Really? Just like that?"

"Why not?" He shrugged. "It sounds like it might be fun. And if that Yusho guy ever comes back, I'll be the first to meet him." He couldn't quite place why, but he knew he had to find this man. Even just the name felt as if it was drawing him closer.

Reaching into her pocket, the girl pulled out a handmade pamphlet describing the school and all its features, handing it to him. "Then I guess I'll be seeing you in class. Oh, and my name is Yuzu. Yuzu Hiiragi."

"It's nice to meet you, Yuzu," he replied while taking the paper. "You can just call me Yuya."

"I have to go now." She told him. "There's something I have to take care of. Come by the school tomorrow at noon and I can help you sign up."

"See you at school!" He called as she ran off, the two waving to each other.

(LDS School)

Masumi's work was never easy. Only eighteen years old and already she was running across rooftops fighting terrorists to protect the city she called home. Despite this and the many warnings from friends and parents, she did what she had to do in these dangerous times.

While the uninitiated might mock someone so young being the right hand of LDS' CEO, she had no time to listen to their ignorance. If anything, it only pushed her to improve even further, the satisfaction of proving them all wrong being a nice bonus on top of everything else. Like her father always said, "Those who only see the sparkling of a diamond don't understand how easy it is to break."

She approached the main door to the president's room within the LDS tower. A pair of guards in dark suits flanked either side, ready and willing to stop anyone who tried to come inside without permission. Of course, she was one of the lucky few who could come and go mostly as she pleased and was allowed to pass without issue. The only security protocol she was forced to follow was an eye scan on the side of the door frame that unlocked it for her.

"Confirmed: Masumi Kotsu." The door opened itself then, the two panels sliding apart to allow her entry. Walking down a pitch-dark corridor, she finally came upon Reiji Akaba's office, light streaming in from the floor-length windows that allowed him to watch over the city.

The office itself was well-furnished, intricate bookshelves lined with all sorts of textbooks and non-fiction covering two walls worth of space. Though she'd never actually seen him read any of them, Masumi always got the impression they weren't simply a status symbol. Near the back of the room was the president's desk lined with computer screens and papers, a notable lack of anything familial or sentimental there or anywhere else in the room.

And behind all that was a blue swivel chair in which her boss surely occupied (turned around for dramatic effect, naturally). "If they're prepared for war, then it's our job to be ready to meet them," he said. Not to Masumi as he didn't seem to have acknowledge her presence yet but to someone in a call most likely. "The box seems to be the key. Continue as planned for now and-"

He stopped himself abruptly, swinging around in the chair to face his subordinate. "You're on time," he said curtly. "And I see you delivered the box as ordered."

"Of course," she replied, bowing to him. "All that's left now is the decoy. If this goes well, we'll have captured the first member of the Clan and Phantom in one action."

"I'm aware," Reiji said, Masumi flinching at the realization she'd just been stating the obvious to him. It was his plan, after all.

Clearing her throat, she added, "I'd also like to improve security. Just in case something goes wrong. We can't be too careful at this point."

"You don't believe LDS' security is sufficient?" He asked, face remaining stoic.

"I only believe that it's important to plan for even the most unlikely of outcomes." She said.

"Understood." Without so much as a gesture, images of both Phantom and the woman he was with prior flashed in front of Masumi in the air. "I'd like you to give me your assessment of these two now that you've seen them in person."

Placing a hand to her chin, Masumi considered the question while thinking back to their brief encounter. "The woman – the Clan member – I can't say much on. I only saw her from afar and she escaped before I could pursue. From what I can tell, she seems to have a flair for the dramatic. Like I've said before, it's not a good idea to trust someone you can't read, so I would consider her a major threat."

Despite the confidence with which she said all of this, Reiji noted a slight hint of insecurity in her tone. It was something she would do whenever she couldn't successfully read a person's personality, a habit he had yet to break her out of. "Would you be able to beat her?" He asked abruptly.

Masumi smiled, flipping her hair over her shoulder with her hand. "I'm always prepared to deal with an opponent."

"Correct," Reiji told her. "And the other?"

"Phantom is another story," she began. "He was easy to read. He's a fool. That's how he wants us to perceive him, at least. In truth, there's more depth to him than meets the eye. I believe he knows something of importance. Because of that, I'd consider him more dangerous than any member of the Clan we've encountered so far."

The president adjusted his glasses at the bridge of his nose – something Masumi had noted as an indication that his interest had been piqued. "If you're correct, he may make a good candidate for our experiment." Another image appeared before Masumi to replace the two from before, Reiji's composure seeming to break just slightly. "That being said, our priority is to ensure that she gets the box. This is the best plan we have at the moment. You'll be in charge of protecting her at all costs."

Masumi took in every detail of the picture she could. It almost seemed like a cruel joke on the part of the president given her history with the person in question, but she knew he wasn't one for jokes. This was strictly business. "Sir." she repeated, repressing the things she felt to prepare for what was to come.

(Miami City Stadium)

Yuzu's journey to the stadium was a grueling one. Maiami City never looked bigger than when you were on the inside of a slow bus making the roughly two hour trip through what she assumed was the least direct route possible to get where she needed to go. Fortunately, that was all behind her now.

Catching her breathe after the run over from the bus stop, she looked up at the towering building. The faint sound of the crowd was audible even from here. "I made it," she said, feeling the excitement of the spectators begin to take hold.

In truth, this was one of the only things about this whole ordeal she was actually enjoying. She took no pleasure in being at this place given that it was owned by LDS. That place had been stealing their potential students for years and threatening to run them out of business at every turn. If not for new and improved Solid Vision system they were offering You Show in exchange for her participation in this demonstration, she'd never even set foot inside the place.

Still, the idea that she might be able to advertise for the school on the enemy's home turf was a bit amusing. They were obviously underestimating her and probably expected her opponent to make short work of her, but she'd show them. Everyone's hopes were riding on her. She couldn't afford to let them down now.

Inside, things were several magnitudes more electric than Yuzu could have imagined. The stands overflowed with people ready to see the debut of the newest Solid Vision technology. It was even seeming like a challenge just to get them to wait the last bit longer before things started no matter how many fireworks and bright lights they used as a distraction.

A group of reporters buzzed around Reiji Akaba as he headed in through the back of the stadium, Masumi in tow as his bodyguard. As usual, the media did their best to try and find anything they could latch onto to make a story.

"Mr. Akaba, anything you can tell us about the presentation before it goes live?" one shouted.

"What about the rumors you're having an affair with your assistant?" a tabloid writer asked.

"Is LDS connected to the Phantom who's been lurking around the city?" another said.

Naturally, he didn't respond to any of this. There was no point in denying any of this as it would only be a waste of time. Rumors and gossip would persist long after they were debunked. He had more important things to do at the moment, exiting through a door with Masumi as a pair of security guards blocked the media staff from following any further.

Yuzu was watching this all go down from a sign-in desk several feet away, filling out various forms to ensure she could take part in the presentation. Liability waivers, permissions, and all that kind of boring stuff. She rolled her eyes at the sight of so many people following the LDS president around like that, their desperation at begging for scraps like dogs irritating her.

In truth, her ire was mostly directed at LDS itself. Envy and general dislike melded together, cursing that they were allowed such high status in comparison to everyone else. They were able to monopolize dueling in the city thanks to their seemingly endless supplies of money and resources forcing everyone out of the scene. The few holdouts were always hurting but did anyone care? Of course not.

Finishing her sign in, she felt someone grab her hand. Whirling around, Yuzu was face to face with some lady she'd never met before. Immediately twisting free of her grip, she recoiled and demanded, "Who are you?"

She was a timid-looking blonde dressed in a formal, conservative gray pantsuit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you," she spoke, her shy tone being a complete mismatch with her bold means of greeting Yuzu previously. "My name is Gotene Mizuno and I'm a reporter with the Maiami Recorder newspaper. I'm interviewing duelists about their thoughts on the upcoming tournament with all of this new technology just on the horizon, so I was wondering if I could get a statement from you."

Relaxing a bit, Yuzu smiled cheerily at the reporter. So she wasn't just some creepy stranger after all. "Sure," she replied, happy that the media was paying attention to her and giving her the chance to shill to her heart's content. "I'm Yuzu Hiragi of You Show Duel School. The name is in English, so remember to write it down properly."

The two began an interview after that, completely unaware they were being watched from overhead. Peeking through a gap in the ducts overhead, Phantom made a note of the fact the girl he'd met before also happened to be here with him. Small world, he thought to himself.

He couldn't really be worried about her right now, though. His mission was to get the box back and uncover its secrets at any cost. His carelessness cost him before so he couldn't afford another mistake or oversight this time around.

That said, he did have the forethought to place a small transmitter on the box before losing hold of it. From the looks of things on his duel disk's screen, even the all-powerful Reiji Akaba hadn't noticed that detail. Given that the Clan was certainly here and ready to occupy his attention at the most inopportune time they could find, it would be a cinch for him to swoop in and retrieve it while those two fought among themselves.

Of course, this was all within the parameters of Reiji's plan. He was already more than aware that Phantom was tracking the box from the moment it fell into his hands. He even knew where he was at this moment thanks to the comprehensive security and monitoring system at the stadium, every square inch of the facility monitored at all times by a room full of professionals. Even a fly couldn't get in or out without someone making a note of it.

He looked over the various screens from a platform standing near the back of a darkened room, Masumi to his side as always. Overseeing his security staff, he took mental note of everything currently happening as showtime neared. The margin for error was slim, but he hadn't planned on there being any errors to begin with.

Turning his head to glance at Masumi, he gave her her orders. "Phantom is already here. He's tracking the box which means he'll be coming right to me. I can expect the Clan is going to do the same. For that reason, I'll need you to transport its contents like this."

Without even the slightest shift in his stoic expression, he held out a colorful bouquet of flowers to her. Where he'd had them stashed was anyone's guess, but Masumi wasn't about to question that or why she now had to deliver flowers. Likewise, she had to trust that leading their enemies directly to him while she wasn't there to act as his guard would go as planned no matter how unsure she felt.

Completely unaware of any of the behind the scenes scheming, Yuzu had concluded her brief interview and currently occupied a plush red chair in a moderately-sized waiting room. Despite the refreshments on offer and the conversations being had among the people inside, she was mostly concerned with the reporter and what she might end up writing. Had she been too focused on promoting the school? Mizuno seeming fairly desperate to get out of there near the end.

Worrying about that before things kicked off wouldn't do her any good. Whatever happened would happen whether she stressed on it or not. She decided to distract herself however she could, nerves beginning to catch up to her as the reality that she'd be the first out there finally setting in.

Scanning the room to try and occupy her mind with whatever she could, she recognized many of the other people there; all of them were duelists from other schools. Obviously, she could see the PR move here for what it was. LDS had invited all of their competitors here out of the goodness of their heart, they'd say, wishing to share their new developments with as many people as possible. In reality, it was more of a statement on their complete control of the market and mostly just a way to lord over the rest of them by giving them a taste of the latest and greatest before yanking it away.

Being bitter didn't really help the time pass, the clock giving her at least another twenty minutes before it was time for her to take the stage. Not feeling sociable enough to make small talk and too nervous to play some kind of phone game, she did her best to sit there patiently and go over her routine in her head. Though she'd practiced it every day for the month leading up to all of this to ensure she already knew every facet of it forwards and backwards, it was all she could think to do to use her time wisely.

Things suddenly got much worse after that. Through the door to the waiting room walked, of all people, Masumi. She was flanked by a pair of bodyguards as if she was important enough to warrant that much caution. Well, maybe she was at this point. She had no real way of knowing after they cut ties. Regardless, she didn't much care to be in the same room as her and couldn't help but hope she'd leave quickly.

Crossing her arms, Yuzu tried to keep her composure and looked off at a nearby wall. She'd just ignore her, simple as that. It's not like she was there for her or anything. With the tangled web of betrayal that was their relationship to each other, she couldn't imagine Masumi was any more eager to strike up a conversation than she was. Whatever official nonsense she had to take care of would be over soon and then she'd be out of here.

"Yuzu Hiragi," she heard the girl say. She couldn't help but flinch at the sound of it to her great displeasure. Masumi's tone was nothing but professional, even cold. Completely unlike how she used to be.

Remembering all of that wouldn't do her any good now. "What?" she replied, looking over to her and trying her best to look as irritated as possible.

"As the first duelist to test the new Solid Vision System, I'll be escorting you to the preparation area." Without warning and with clear discomfort bleeding through her forced stoicism, Masumi handed Yuzu the flowers. "Follow me."

She took the flowers, holding them like she'd just been given a piece of roadkill. If there was any upside to this bizarre and completely inappropriate gesture, her anger was at least helping to cancel out her anxiety. "Fine," she replied tersely, standing from the chair. Some private preparation time would probably be a benefit even if the process of getting there was proving to be...annoying.

Masumi led Yuzu from the room, both of the bodyguards following behind the two. The entire walk was uncomfortably silent, a fact one of the men picked up on as he lowered his dark sunglasses enough to glance to his partner, obviously trying to communicate some question as to what kind of history their superior had with this random tester.

Traveling through the empty metal back hallways of the stadium, it didn't take long for them to make it to their destination with no fear of being mobbed by outsiders. The room they came to was a spacious little dressing area, bits of costumes and various props free to use by anyone who occupied it. Directly across from the door they entered through was another, this one leading up and out to the field. Once you went through, there was no going back.

"Use whatever you like," Masumi told her. "You have fifteen minutes to get yourself ready."

Turning to leave, Yuzu stopped her by waving the bouquet around. "Wait, what do you expect me to do with this?" Was it some kind of ugly joke? She'd just been handed these flowers by her without any explanation.

"Mr. Akaba wanted you to have them, not me," she clarified, being careful to emphasize that it wasn't her idea. "Use them however you like." Refusing to speak any more, she and the men exited back into the hallway.

Now alone, Yuzu tossed the flowers onto a small table in front of a mirror. Sitting down in a black makeup chair nearby, she looked over her reflection to make sure she didn't have anything hanging out of her nose. After a fair bit of checking for that and any other imperfections in her appearance, she concluded things were fine as they were.

Though the prospect of using the things in the room was tempting, she didn't want to deviate from her routine as planned. Adding new things would just introduce new things to account for. Doing that this late in the game could only spell disaster.

"Mr. Akaba wanted you to have them, not me," she clarified, being careful to emphasize that it wasn't her idea. "Use them however you like." She was poised to leave but hung back for a moment more. "I expect you to win," she said suddenly. "As my rival, I'd hate for you to disappoint me."

Yuzu narrowed her eyes, clicking her tongue at the presumption. "And as my ex, I really couldn't care less if I disappoint you or not." Conversation clearly over, Masumi and the two men finally left, Yuzu muttering a quiet, "Traitor," under her breath. She hated the kind of volatile emotions this encounter was pulling out of her.

Her opponent was set to be Strong Ishijima. As the name implied, he wasn't any kind of pushover. She had no plans to lose, however. She was confident in her skills and wouldn't allow anyone to stand in the way of her dreams. Not Ishijima, not LDS, and not Masumi.

Eyes glancing back to the flowers, she picked them up once again to give them a more thorough examination. Her dismissal earlier kept her from really appreciating the fact that they were genuinely very pretty. Lots of reds and pinks with interesting shapes to them all, though she didn't exactly know the names of any of the species that well.

She did believe she could identify the one in the center at the very least. It looked to be some kind of lily. Still, that was barely a conjecture given it didn't appear like any lily she'd seen before. It almost didn't look real, being a shimmering, almost gem-like pink with curled petals.

Pulling out from the bunch, she decided to tuck it into a breast pocket on the left side of her sweater. It couldn't hurt to add that much to her outfit. A little extra flair was always nice. Give that roaring crowd out there something to latch onto in all the chaos of an Action Duel. That was enough of a justification to allow herself to simply enjoy having a nice accessory.

On the other side of the stadium in a room not unlike the one Yuzu currently occupied, the towering Strong Ishijima fell to his knees. Buzzing electricity coursed through him with enough voltage to knock even him unconscious. It was safe to say he wouldn't be able to participate in his scheduled duel.

Behind him was a woman holding the taser that had done the deed. Of all people, it was the reporter Mizuno. Her timid attitude from before seeming to have completely evaporated, she smiled at her own work before slipping the weapon up into her sleeve. Taking a phone from her pocket, she called someone and spoke, "It's done. We can start the plan now."

All hell broke loose moments after that. Reiji's control room was the most evidence of this, all the monitors shutting off at once as all exits sealed themselves automatically. It took several moments for any of the LDS technicians to even register what had happened given their shock, one finally speaking, "Sir, we've lost all contact with outside!"

This wasn't entirely unexpected. "Stay calm," Reiji ordered his employees, using his own composure to inspire confidence in them. "We're still in control here."

As if to contradict his statement, the screens sprung to life once again. They were no longer showing any camera feeds of diagnostic updates but the image of a person in a white hooded robe, face and voice distorted to fully obscure any signs of an identity. "Do not be alarmed," the figure spoke. "The only ones seeing this are those in the control room, Mr. Akaba. The public has no idea of your incompetence yet."

The terrorist continued, pointing an accusing finger at Reiji. "You've stolen the power to change the world and you must now pay the price. You'll reap what you've sown just like all sinners." Various screens changed once more to show different remote parts of the stadium, a few robed individuals placing bombs at these points.

Reiji adjusted his glasses at this, lenses flashing as they reflected the light. "Don't try to threaten me with something this mundane. We're all aware that mass destruction isn't your goal. You've managed to infiltrate my system, meaning you also know where it is right now." Narrowing his eyes, he added, "Which means your only option now is to beat her and take it, a task you'll find yourself unable to accomplish."

The figured laughed at this. "It seems you don't understand. To be expected from some child who inherited his company. No single human can stand in our way. Whether it be you or your agent, none can fight against our power."

"Regardless of whatever power you believe you posses," he countered, "I won't allow all I've worked for to be destroyed by someone as lowly as you." The figure laughed in response, the screens going dark a moment later.

"Begin reestablishing our connection to the cameras," he ordered his staff, already turning to advance up a set of stairs leading to a private room within the area. "Masumi," he said into an earpiece disconnected from the central LDS network for times just like this. "They're on the move. I want each of them out of my stadium at once."

He didn't need to wait for her response, knowing she'd follow his orders to the letter as always. Entering an enclosed office at the end of the stairway, he locked the door behind him. Until he was allowed a way out of here, he couldn't directly affect anything going on in the rest of the stadium.

That didn't mean he'd simply sit there passively and wait for others to do the work for him, however. "The Clan believes they can defeat me with trivial nonsense and misdirection," he said despite being the only one in the room. "That's obviously not true. Even so, if any part of your mind still remains, I'd appreciate any further insight you could provide. Insurance."

There was no indication as to who he might be talking to. It wasn't Masumi as he'd cut that line before locking the door. None of his other staff was within earshot now. What's more, he seemed to be awaiting a response. Stress hadn't simply driven him mad, either.

Seemingly not hearing what he wanted, Reiji's jaw clenched just a hair. His tone softening, he finally said, "I need your assistance, Adam."