Chapter 7: In the Predator's Fangs.(1)

Even a few days out, the exhibition duel was still leaving its mark. Yuzu was exhausted both physically and mentally, trudging through the days before crashing almost as soon as she got home. The unsatisfying conclusion stuck in her mind like a splinter that just wouldn't come out, wearing her down more and more.

A burgeoning pro couldn't be letting all of this get to her, though. She had to get back out there soon to keep promoting the school. Working through the pain would be something she had to get used to. Like some kind of athlete, or something.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" And then there was him. Unlike Yuzu, Yuya didn't seem the least bit affected by the outcome of their duel. Even at home, he seemed to have entirely put the real animosity their conflict brought up behind him, treating her just the same as always and prancing around like a clown like usual.

It got her to thinking that maybe she was just doing things wrong. As the only two people in the world who could use Pendulum Summon right now, he was her only point of reference for how to conduct herself. If he was the measure, though, she was definitely falling behind. Despite the cheers at the duel's conclusion making things go down a bit smoother, she still couldn't shake these kinds of thoughts.

Back in reality, however, there were more important things to deal with than her own angst. She and Yuya were both dressed in their entertainer outfits once again, hoping to draw more attendees to the school like before.

"Welcome one and all to You Show Duel School!" Yuya shouted, having taken to the advertising job as naturally as anything else. For a so-called phantom thief, he sure was good at drawing a crowd. "That's right, everyone! This is the one and only home to the true Entertainment Duel Style, plus the brand new Pendulum Summon!"

Yuzu couldn't help but sigh as she saw him jump around with his monsters just as before. It seemed like others were also starting to grow tired of his shallow entertainment, as well, his performance commanding the attention of the younger children in the audience and few others. In contrast, she was currently demonstrating the means of Pendulum Summoning itself to an interested crowd (with a bit of flair from her monsters and Solid Vision rose petals for effect).

Still, she couldn't really complain about Yuya in good conscience at this point. The fact remained that neither of them had managed to net any new students so far. Their duels could fill auditoriums and stadiums like no one else, but that wasn't translating into applications.

The problem, as usual, came back to LDS. Their monopoly was simply too great. Plenty of people would come to watch them show off Pendulum, then go right back to their fancy classes at the competitor's school. Their only real option was to try and convert people from LDS to You Show, but when all they had on offer was the chance to look at Pendulum Summon but not actually perform it, there wasn't much reason for people to do that so far.

Her demonstration ended shortly after, the crowd clapping before going on their way. Some stayed to watch Yuya's routine while others simply went home. None actually went to sign up for classes. Predictable.

With the herd thinning and her body needing a break, Yuzu deactivated her duel disk and went inside. Yuya could handle the people outside for a few minutes on his own. Now he wasn't competing for attention with anyone.

Walking through the empty central hall and ignoring the many old posters and trophies in cases lining both walls, she found her way into the back room (it was ostensibly a teacher's lounge but virtually everyone at the school used it at this point) and grabbed a tiny box of apple juice from a refrigerator.

As she stabbed at the tiny foil hole with the attached plastic straw, she could hear someone speaking a short ways down the hall. It sounded like her father, so it was probably coming from his office. This wasn't too unusual, especially on days like this. There were always people coming in and out to discuss sponsorships that always fell through or loans that needed repayment on threat of broken legs.

Still, as she got closer to snoop on what was going down, this conversation was beginning to sound different from the usual. For one thing, it was a woman's voice. Her father hadn't dated anyone since her mother went away. The fact her brain jumped right to the prospect of dating probably said a lot more about her than intended, though.

"This is a great opportunity for your school," she crooned, that mysterious voice mesmerizing even from this indirect encounter. "Just imagine the publicity that comes with joining something like this. And if you win - which I think you very well could - you'll get even more attention. Just imagine."

"That's...very tempting, Miss Kirishima," her father stuttered, unusually (but understandably) flustered by her. "But I'm not sure-"

He stopped, the woman turning around to follow his gaze as they both noticed Yuzu very unsubtly peeking in through the crack in the door. Looks like she was caught. Slurping out the last of her juice as noisily as possible in the hopes it would make it seem less like she was intentionally spying on them, she finally asked, "Hey, dad. Who's this?"

Opening the door fully, she finally got a good look at the woman. "Strikingly beautiful" would probably be the most apt description here. Between her delicate features, pale skin, shimmering black curled hair, red eyes and lips to match, she seemed more like a porcelain doll than a real person. The kind of beauty that just didn't seem real, and all of it fitted (very fitted) into a neat white pantsuit.

"This must be your daughter," she said with a sly smile from the worn leather chair in front of her father's desk. Hopefully she hadn't noticed just how much Yuzu had been looking her up and down moments ago.

The woman stood, walking to greet her personally. "My name is Yua Inoue. And you must be the famous Yuzu Hiiragi." She extended her hand to shake. Must be used to doing business with foreign companies, whatever that business may be.

Not that it was a problem. "Nice to meet you," Yuzu replied, taking her hand in hers. Despite how delicate it looked, her grip was firm, almost threatening to make her knees buckle when combined with that knowing look she kept giving her. Even after she released her, that strong, commanding pressure still remained.

What was she doing getting all hot and bothered by a woman that had to be close to double her age? Knock that off. "Uh, what brings you to our school today?" she finally asked, trying to get back on track.

"I was just talking to your father here about the possibility of allowing You Show Duel School to partake in a little tournament I'm setting up," Inoue said with an alluring smile. "You see, I'm a manager for my company. We've always wanted to officially enter into the world of Duel Monsters. We've tried representing other schools in the past, but we're looking for something a little different this time around."

"She's representing Illusion & Magic," Shuzo interjected. She'd heard of them before. Not quite as big as LDS, but they had the R&D technology to make up for it. They were supposed to be on the cutting edge of advances in dueling technology, though they currently lacked the actual dueling ability to show it off properly.

"I see," Yuzu acknowledged. She wanted to believe that this woman and her company were genuine in what they were saying, but she had her doubts. Sponsorships like this rarely worked out, and even if that wasn't the case now, it was hard for her to think of these people as an ally. More likely, this meeting and the entire tournament they were setting up was some kind of ploy to learn more about Pendulum Summon.

Almost as if sensing Yuzu's objections, Inoue spoke up. "If you're worried about us using your Pendulum Summon as some kind of marketing gimmick, you don't need to worry. Sign-up is confidential, so we wouldn't be able to use you for attention even if we wanted to. Rest assured that we have the best interests of all our competitors in mind"

That was something, at least. "As for the tournament itself, you'll be happy to know the winning school will receive a cash prize." Her father was definitely interested in that. "That would be in addition to any sponsorships, naturally. Assuming we can come to an agreement."

"There's one thing I don't understand," Yuzu said. "If you aren't planning to use Pendulum Summon like that, why would you want to sponsor us?" Her father tried to subtly (in his mind) quiet her, but she persisted. "It's not a secret that we don't have much of a reputation after the founder left, so why us?"

Inoue smiled, nodding to the girl. "We just see the potential of a school that could birth talent like yourself," she replied. "And, to be perfectly honest, we wouldn't mind a chance to take our competitor down a peg. Quite a few schools have been swallowed up by them over the last few years. We'd hate to see another one go after making such a big splash."

So it was all LDS in the end. While knowing they would essentially be a pawn in a game between huge companies wasn't the best feeling, it's not like Yuzu could really put up a fight about this. The fact was that they needed the money, and none of their efforts to get it through enrollment fees were working so far.

She seemed to be making her final offer now. "In the end, once LDS sets its sights on something, they tend to get it. I would imagine that now includes your school and, by extension, your Pendulum Summon. Like I said, I'd hate to see that happen. But if you're willing to work with us, we'll be able to keep them at bay for you."

It wasn't a bad deal by any stretch, but Yuzu couldn't shake the feeling something was off here. It was almost too good in a way. So far, it sounded like they just wanted to throw money at them and let them join tournaments all for the sake of making LDS a bit upset. While she could get behind that level of pettiness, it just seemed a bit off for a major company to brush off so many other things they could get out of a deal like this.

Meanwhile, Yuya was kept at his rather underwhelming attempt to draw the attention of the crow to diminishing results. It had gotten to the point where even Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya, normally his most ardent supporters, were growing tired of this. Things started fine, but there was only so much acrobatics you could watch before it started to get old. The outsiders seemed to agree, too, as there was hardly anyone left to watch besides those three.

And it was about that point that Yuya finally threw in the towel, collapsing in defeat alongside the children. "I didn't think finding new students would be so difficult," Yuya sighed, Futoshi handing him a bottle of water. "Thanks," he told him, downing all of it in seconds.

"This was just a waste of time," Tatsuya said, head hanging low along with his classmates'. "Not a single person signed up after the performance before, so what chance did we have with all of this? And sooner or later, LDS will get their hands on Pendulum, too, and then…"

They all looked up at the sound of splashing water, Yuya's fist clenched around the drained bottle with his face dripping wet. "Oops," he said in deadpan, shaking himself off like a dog a moment later. At least for the moment, this brought smiles back to the children's faces.

"You guys don't have to worry about all of that," he assured them. "Let us grownups handle all of the boring stuff. Besides, even if things seem rough now, I'm sure they'll turn around sooner or later. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the people from today came back and registered for classes. Maybe even before the end of today."

"Excuse me," someone said from behind him.

"See? What'd I tell you!" Yuya had a feeling someone had been walking up to him as he was talking earlier. Looks like he was about to be proven right even faster than expected. Turning on his heels, Yuya took a bow, raising up to say, "How can I help-"

Yuya jumped back with a shrill yelp, realizing only now that the one he'd just replied to was Masumi from LDS. "Is the owner of your school here?" she asked, unfazed by his antics yet still exuding an aura of not wishing to deal with all of it. It was obvious why given their history together, though he couldn't be sure if she recognized him right now given he wasn't part of an active crime scene.

"Are you looking to sign up?" he asked, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

"No," she replied bluntly. "I need to speak to the owner."

Inside the school, Yuzu walked the halls as she mulled over what Inoue had said to her. Her father had agreed to defer to her on whether or not they accepted the deal given that she would be the one representing their school during all of that, so she had a lot to consider now. All her feelings from before were still there both positive and negative, the prospect of choosing so quickly only complicating the matter even more.

Before she knew it, she'd run into something. Falling flat on her back, she heard a groan from what she realized was a person. "Sorry," she said quickly, shaking her head to clear her thoughts and sitting up. The boy laying facedown on the ground across from her rubbed his head, dazed from the sudden blow. Looks like he hadn't been paying much attention, either.

"Ah, you dropped them," Yuzu said, noticing several thick volumes of manga scattered across the floor. "Let me-" No sooner had she reached down to pick one up did she notice the two nearly-naked girls on the front accompanied by all the R18 signs on the covers and spines. Worst of all, she actually recognized one of them.

"This isn't appropriate to have in a school," she said, shifting from apologetic to admonishing. "What are you doing like this?"

"Sorry," the boy said, finally beginning to collect himself off the ground. "Does this school have something against yuri? I didn't see anything in the informational material."

"What? No. It's the…"

He sighed in relief. "Then it looks like I should be fine here," he said with a chuckle. "This Yuri will be signing up after all. That's my name, just so you know."

Ah, he was making some kind of joke. Not a very funny one. "The issue is the stuff on the covers," she tried again.

"Ah, you're right," he agreed, collecting his stack of magazines by himself. "Book covers would keep them much cleaner. Thank you for reminding me."

"No, the contents!" she argued, patience growing thin.

"The contents?" he questioned, frowning. "Nobody knows how to appreciate love between girls," he sighed.

"I'm gay!" Yuzu shouted, drawing her fan and cracking it across the stranger's head. "You just can't bring porn to school!"

Knocked flat all over again, the boy collected himself and knocked away the stars circling his head. He squinted then, face lighting up as he said, "Hey, now, you're her, aren't you?"

"I'm who?" Yuzu asked, fan still at the ready.

"The brave heroin of You Show Duel School, Juno!" Seems he was a fan as well as a pervert.

"Yeah, that's me," she said, slowly returning her fan to wherever it went when she wasn't holding it.

"This sure is a coincidence!" he said cheerfully. "I had a feeling you might be here when I saw all the fliers, but who would have thought we'd meet like this?"

"Definitely not me," she said, sarcasm dripping from her lips. As she said this, she finally got a good look at this strange person. "Yuri" sure did seem familiar. His clothes and hair might be different, but that face. It was unmistakable…

"Is this a joke?" she asked him. "Shouldn't you be outside doing your entertainment? Not in here reading all of that stuff."

The boy blinked a few times. "I'm sorry? I don't really know what you're talking about."

"If you're rehearsing some kind of bit, it's really not that funny," she said.

"A bit?" If he really was acting, he was doing a good job of it. He seemed genuinely lost right now. "I think you might be mistaking me for someone else. I'm just your humble fan."

Now she was starting to doubt herself. "This isn't funny," she repeated. "Quit it."

"I'm not doing anything!" he repeated.

Reaching for her fan, she insisted once again," I'm losing my patience! Drop the act already, Yu-"

"Yuzu!" From down the hall came five people, the person she was just thinking of leading the charge.

"Yuya?" Yuzu's eyes darted between the two boys. "Wait, but...you're…"

"Oh, this must be the person you dueled the other day," Yuri said, turning to theatrically bow to the group. "It's a pleasure to meet another such talented duelist."

"Hey there!" Yuya said cheerfully, stopping in his tracks. Squinting, both he and Yuri seemed to make the same realization at the same time. "Hey, you look like me!"

"Yes, you're right!" he agreed. "That's something. Now I understand what Miss Juno's confusion was about just now."

"Wow, you really look alike!" Futoshi echoed, the other children agreeing.

"Sorry my face caused such confusion," Yuri laughed, apologizing to a still confused Yuzu.

"Excuse me," Masumi said sternly, silencing everyone in the room. "This is of no concern to me."

Yuzu stepped forward, not noticing her until now. "What do you want with our school?" she asked, shooting a piercing glare straight at her.

"I'm here to see your father," Masumi replied, meeting her former classmate's gaze with as much intensity, the others instinctively hugging the walls of the corridor out of self-preservation.

"We're not selling our school," Yuzu said. "You already know that."

"My business is of no concern to you," she shot back. "I only need to speak to your father, the current owner of the school."

The tension was thick enough to cut with a trading card, the only one among the observers not currently holding their breath in sheer mortal terror being Yuri. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying the show, creeping forward with a bemused expression.

Several seconds of tense silence were finally broken by Yuya, whispering the question that was on everyone's mind. "What are you doing?" he asked Yuri.

"Enjoying the show," he said, practically salivating as he watched the girls. Everyone both took notice of and disliked this.

"I don't think you should be messing around like that," Yuya said with increasing urgency, sensing the apocalyptic danger his lookalike was sprinting towards.

"I can assure you that I always take these things completely seriously," he said, still eyeing the women with a lascivious smile as if waiting for something of an entirely different nature to their argument to happen right in front of him. "Completely seriously."

"Like I was saying," Masumi continued, Yuri suddenly in a chokehold between her arms, flailing around as he tried fruitlessly to free himself, "just show me to your father and that will be all."

Yuzu glared even harder, an act thought to be impossible by a normal human. However, instead of exchanging more barbs or simply telling her to get out, she decided to address Yuri prior to his imminent asphyxiation. "Before I forget, what did you actually come here to do?"

Though annoyed at having her demands ignored flat out, Masumi reluctantly released the pest and shoved him to the ground in front of her. If listening to whatever he had to say would get this job done faster, then so be it.

Coughing and gasping for air, Yuri recovered remarkably fast, raising up slightly so as to get on one knee. "Ah, my time has finally come," he said, only making everyone even more uneasy. Taking the hand of a visibly upset Yuzu, he gazed up at her, eyes sparkling. "My dear Yuzu, would you do me the honor...of a duel?"

For a moment, everything was quiet. A moment later, Yuri was once again on the floor, welp forming on the crown of his head from where Yuzu's fan had smacked him. "This was just to duel me?" she asked, finally out of patience.

As a testament to his physical resilience and general persistence, Yuri was back up again in seconds. "But of course," he answered. "I'd give anything to duel against the woman who created Pendulum Summon. Even just once, I want to experience it for myself."

"I...guess I'm flattered," she said, though it would probably be more accurate to say she was confused or put off. "But I can't make time to duel everyone I come across. I've got a lot of things to do right now."

"No you don't," Yuya chimed in. "All we were doing today was recruiting, and that's over with."

"He's right!" Tatsuya suddenly shouted. "There aren't any classes today, either!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Ayu agreed. "You can duel him right now! There's nothing stopping you!"

"You have to do it, Yuzu!" Futoshi echoed, shivering with excitement. "We want to see your Pendulum, too!"

She sighed, rubbing the sides of her head. This was becoming more and more of an issue the longer this troublesome man stayed here. And beyond all of that, Masumi was still waiting to do whatever nefarious thing she was planning on behalf of her boss.

"How about this," Yuri said. "You're recruiting, yes? Well, if you win the duel, I'll join your school."

Yuya scurried over beside Yuzu, nodding enthusiastically. "Finally! Someone who's willing to join up!"

"Uh, hold on," Yuzu interrupted, pulling Yuya aside. Glancing over her shoulder towards the expectant Yuri, excited kids, and increasingly impatient Masumi, she whispered, "Do we really want someone like this to join the school?"

"Why not?" Yuya questioned, oblivious to any of his clear faults. "You keep saying how we need to get more people to attend classes."

"But this guy? He's a total creep."

Yuya tapped his chin. "I don't know. Seems okay to me. He's got a face you can trust."

"You only say that because you look exactly alike."

"I don't know about exactly, but…" Yuzu shoved him. "Seriously, though. I bet he'll pay tuition and everything. I don't even pay tuition."

"It's true, I will pay tuition," Yuri added, startling both of them as he inserted himself over their shoulders.

"Don't sneak up on people!" Yuzu screamed, Yuya holding her back to prevent her from hitting him yet again.

"What would you get if you win?" said, of all people, Masumi. Turning her nose up at the surprised look on everyone's faces given her lack of involvement prior to this, she justified herself simply enough with, "I'm curious."

"That's a good point," Yuri agreed. "Let's see…" He pretended to think for a moment, tapping his foot dramatically before snapping his fingers. "I've got it! If I win, you'll have to agree to go on a date with me."

Even Yuya couldn't hold her back now, Yuzu smacking him silly for that. "Now I'm definitely not doing it."

"A lack of confidence," Masumi muttered under her breath, flipping her hair with a sneering at the dirty look Yuzu sent her way after that.

"Right, you don't think you'll lose, do you?" Yuri asked, enjoying this unlikely partnership he'd formed on the fly.

"It's the principle," Yuzu argued. "You can't force someone into a date like that. That's sexist and gross."

"I suppose you're right," Yuri sighed, a smile forming on his lips a moment later. "In that case, you'll just have to go on a date with her, instead!" he said, pointing dramatically towards Masumi. It was obvious now that that was his goal from the start.

"Choke him harder this time," Yuzu growled, Masumi already throttling him as before.

Unfortunately for all who wished to see Yuri unconscious, these events were interrupted by the timely arrival of exactly who Masumi was there to see. "Looks like we've got something exciting going on out here!" Shuzo said. "What are you kids up to?" He blinked, just then noticing Masumi. "Ah, Masumi! It's been a while."

"Hello again, sir," she greeted politely, tossing Yuri to the side like old trash. "I've actually got some business with you."

"Business?" he said with a chuckle. "Busy day for me today."

"Such a shame," Yuri sighed, reclined on the ground now like he'd just been relaxing there all along. "You'll both miss out on our destined duel now."

"Destined?" Yuzu recoiled.

"A duel?" her father said. "Who's dueling?"

Cracking another grin, Yuri dove into the opening that just presented itself. "Why, none other than myself and the lovely Yuzu. Or Juno, I suppose."

"I see, I see," he nodded. "Well, that's interesting. But still…" He crossed his arms. "Sorry, I guess I'll have to miss it. I can't refuse Masumi. That's just rude."

"Actually," Masumi herself began, "it wouldn't be so bad to wait. I'd be interested to see how this plays out." She sent another smug smile towards Yuzu, having weighed the various factors at play here and determining that forcing her to be uncomfortable was well worth the wasted time.

"I still haven't agreed to anything!" Yuzu shouted, though this didn't seem to matter. Now everyone began to demand she duel at once, cornering her as they urged her to compete against the stranger. Unwilling to put up with more of this badgering, she was forced to relent. "Fine, fine! Let's just get this over with!"

It was decided. The group moved to the training field inside the school, Masumi watching through the observation window a few steps apart from Futoshi, Ayu, and Tatsuya. Yuzu and Yuri prepared themselves on the field, the latter holding his arms out in front of him and performing some comically exaggerated squats to "warm up" as he described. Meanwhile, Shuzo and Yuya went to the overseer box to control the Solid Vision.

"And that should do it," the older of the two said, tweaking a few more things on the screen in front of him. "I can hardly wait to start this hot blooded duel! Right, Yuya?"

"Yeah, definitely," he said, doing his best to seem enthusiastic.

Shuzo was quick to pick up on this uncharacteristic melancholy, nudging Yuya in the arm. "Something wrong?"

"Huh?" He'd been lost in thought up until just now, needing a few seconds to actually process what had just been said to him. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine." He smiled far too widely to seem believably happy, overcompensating with a laugh as he tried to push away any fears that he might not be all there right now.

"You can tell me if there's something bothering you," Shuzo said, pressing him a bit to hopefully convince him to open up some. Despite living at his house, Yuya still felt like barely a few steps removed from a stranger to him, that seeming to be a calculated effort by the young man to avoid revealing any vulnerability.

"I'll be fine," he told him. "I'm just thinking about the exhibition from the other day."

"I see. That was one hot blooded duel if you ask me." Leaning up against the console, he added, "But it seems like you disagree."

Yuya flinched, realizing he'd been doing a poor job of masking today if he was this obviously upset about it. "It's nothing," he tried to insist, though he quickly followed it with, "I just think I might have made Yuzu mad."

"Well, you were playing a villain," Shuzo laughed. "A good villain should get a reaction out of the hero."

"I mean actually mad," he said. "She hasn't said anything, but I don't think she's very happy with me. It got a little too real by the end of it."

Shuzo nodded. "Everyone gets heated sometimes. I'm sure Yuzu didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know," Yuya said, sighing.

"You could try talking to her after this duel. Get things out in the open."

"Yeah," he agreed halfheartedly. "It's not really hurting my feelings, or anything. It just made me think...what if she was right, you know?"

"Right about what?" he asked.

"That I'm not any good at this. My entertainment is shallow. That I won't be able to make people smile."

Shuzo laughed, Yuya taken aback at this. "Yuya, you're both young. I don't think either of you has it all figured out yet. Maybe she is right about some things, but then maybe you're right about other things."

Yuya seemed to be thinking over what he'd said, Shuzo continuing. "It's alright to still be unsure. You've both just taken your first steps into adulthood, so you don't have to have everything figured out. Make mistakes and learn from each other. You'll both become better entertainers that way. That's how it worked with me back in the day."

"That's right," Yuya said, his smile much more genuine this time. "I forgot that you used to be a pro yourself a long time ago."

"It wasn't that long ago," he grumbled. "What I'm trying to say, though, is that it's okay if you're having doubts. She might not say it, but Yuzu has plenty of her own. Even I do, and so did the man who created this school with me."

"Yusho Sakaki," Yuya said, eyes lighting up at just the reference to him. "It's hard to imagine he's ever had doubts."

"Trust me about that," Shuzo laughed. "Starting a duel school was hard even in the best of times. It wasn't easy for us to get things off the ground."

Yuya grasped at the pendulum over his heart, nodding. "I guess that's nice to know. Thanks."

"Anytime," he said, slapping Yuya on the back. "You're a good man, Yuya. You remind me a lot of Yusho when he was younger, so I know you'll find the answers you're looking for eventually."

"You don't have to go that far," he said, steadying himself after the surprisingly forceful show of affection.

"We wouldn't be very good teachers if we weren't hoping you'd surpass us one day," Shuzo told him. "But that's something for another time. Right now, we've got this white-hot duel to manage!"

"Right!" Yuya pressed a button to activate the intercom. "We're all set up here! What about you two?"

"Ready!" Yuzu called back, Yuri making a show of saluting to the two through the window.

"Then let's get things started!" Shuzo shouted, hitting a button on the screen to activate the Action Field. The card selected by the machine was Frontier Fang Castle, the sandstone fortress and bright blue skies materializing in an admittedly scaled down fashion within the arena.

Alongside the field, Yuzu's outfit changed with the aid of Solid Vision, her and Yuri's duel disks springing to life moments later. "Duelists locked in battle!" she said, raising her disk in front of her.

"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Yuri continued, jumping up and doing a twirl in the air as he passed by Yuzu.

"They storm through this field!" both said, clashing the blades of their duel disks together before rebounding off one another to glide to opposite ends of the field. "Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! ACTION DUEL!"

As their chant finished, Action Cards showered the room from above. As both duelists drew their opening hands, Yuzu made the first move. She wasted no time, holding out two cards. "I use my Scale 1 Majestic Knight EN-Angel Amaryllis and Scale 5 Majestic Knight Floral Princess to set my Pendulum Scales!"

Raising a hand, a portal opened up between the two monsters as they appeared behind her in their columns of light. "Pendulum Summon! Come out, Majestic Knight Flower Magician. And Majestic Knight Loyal Steed!"

Majestic Knight Flower Magician 1200 ATK / 0 DEF

Majestic Knight Loyal Steed 1300 ATK / 1300 DEF

From out of the portal came two beams of pink light, touching down in front of her before materializing into the floral-themed Spellcaster and the steadfast horse. She mounted Loyal Steed a moment later, hopping into its saddle and heading off to search for Action Cards. Yuri simply stood there gawking, amused by her actions in the way someone watching from the stands would be.

As she searched, Yuzu took another card from her hand. "I'll activate this next. Magic Card, Poison of the Old Man! By using its first effect, I increase my Life Points by 1200. Since I have Amaryllis on my field, though, all Life Points I gain from my card effects gets doubled!"

Yuzu's LP: 8000+2400=10400

Flower Magician spun its staff above its head as it followed her, glowing pink. "I gained Life Points, so that activates Flower Magician's effect. We both get to draw a card."

"Why, thank you," Yuri said, taking a sixth card for his hand as Yuzu performed the same action.

"You might want to hold off on thanking me," she said, jumping up on top of a rock formation. "This card just got me one step closer to beating you. But first, I set one card, then end my turn."

"How gracious," Yuri smiled. "I'm sure you could have beaten me right there, but you're letting me take a turn! You're truly generous." With a slight chuckle at his own jokes, he placed a hand on his deck. "Then I'll start my turn, draw!"

Rather than search for any cards, Yuri simply jogged lazily towards Yuzu. His only purpose seemed to be getting closer so as to more easily call out his moves. "I activate Predator Plast," he said, sliding the card into his duel disk. "I reveal my Predator Graft and Predator Plants Sundew Kingii in my hand, which lets me place a Predator Counter on each of your monsters."

Two green, monstrous creatures materialized from out of his cards. The plant-like things resembled floating heads with beady red eyes and mouths filled with dagger-sharp teeth. As he'd said, these Predator Counters flew out, biting into Yuzu's monsters. "Your monsters with Predator Counters have their Levels reduce to 1," he explained, the two affected seeming to slow and weaken,

Flower Magician and Loyal Steed: LVL 4=1

"Since I've already revealed it, I might as well summon it," he added. "Come out, Predator Plants Sundew Kingii!" From out of his card came a frilled-neck lizard made entirely of plant matter, feet slapping across the ground as it kept pace with its owner.

Predaplant Chlamydosundew 600 ATK /200 DEF

"Sundew Kingii's effect allows me to Fusion Summon with its effect," Yuri said with a grin.

"Fusion?" Yuzu gasped. She couldn't help the second's look towards the stands, having always associated this means of summoning with Masumi.

Masumi's own reaction wasn't too different, just as shocked to see this seemingly random nobody claim he was about to use his Extra Deck.

"Fusion Summon?" Futoshi pondered. "Which one is that again?"

"It's where you can combine two or more of your monsters together using a Fusion Magic Card," Tatsuya explained. "But even then, he says he's going to do it with a monster effect."

"That's legal?" Ayu asked, conflicted given her loyalty to Yuzu but amazement at this development. Tatsuya nodded to her, she and Futoshi taking a moment to marvel at just how much they had to learn about this game.

Back on the field, Yuri raised his hand to point towards Yuzu's monster. "I'm going to Fusion Summon using my Sundew Kingii and your Majestic Knight Loyal Steed!"

"My monster?" Yuzu asked. "That's not possible!"

"Oh, but it is!" he told her. "Sundew Kingii's effect is quite useful, don't you think? And even better, monsters with Predator Counters that I fuse with get to count as DARK monsters."

Yuzu hopped off Loyal Steed seconds before it was violently pulled forward into a swirling portal along with the Predator Plants monster. She was unable to do anything as her opponent made good on his word, stealing her card and using it to make a new monster.

"My beautiful flower, become one with the creature lured in by your enticing aroma! From the hell beneath your petals, let a new terror take root!" He placed both his palms together, bringing them down in front of him as he called, "Fusion Summon! Appear now, devious hunter that devours all! Level 7! Predator Plants Chimerafflesia!"

Predatorplant Chimerafflesia : 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF

Sprouting from the ground behind him came a twisting green vine, two long tendrils snaking off of it on either side that terminated in mouths filled with fangs. At its top was a pink and white flowering, blooming and emitting a sick scent not unlike rotting bodies.

Pointing forward, he called out, "Chimerafflesia, effect activate! Once per turn, I'm allowed to banish a monster with an equal or lower Level to my monster, meaning Flower Magician will not be a problem for me any longer." One of the vines snapped its jaws hungrily, launching out and clamping down around Flower Magician until it shattered.

"Flower Magician's effect activates," Yuzu said, perturbed at the loss of her monster but not yet ready to simply call it quits after a minor setback. "When she leaves the field, I draw a card and reveal it. If it's not a Fairy monster, though, I have to discard it."

"Quit the gamble," Yuri mused, placing a hand to his chin. "Then let's see what you get."

"Draw!" she exclaimed, pausing for a moment before revealing the card. "I've drawn…" she began, slowly raising it up to where she could look. Then she smirked, finishing with, "Majestic Knight Hana the Celestial Melody." Turning the card around, it was confirmed as a Fairy.

"Well done," Yuri said with a small round of sarcastic clapping. "Still, that won't stop me for the time being." He pointed forward again, declaring, "Battle! Predator Plants Chimerafflesia, attack the hero Juno directly!" His monster responded by leaning forward, a purple liquid inside the creature bubbling up before blasting out towards Yuzu.

Though she dodges most of it, the caustic chemicals struck against the rocks where she stood, splashing a glob onto her arm. The realness of the Action Duel started to show one of its drawbacks, Yuzu giving a sharp inhale and shaking her arm to knock away the fluids as they burned through a portion of her coat and into the top layer of her skin. The ground in front of her wasn't faring much better, either, the acid causing it to crumble away as columns of white smoke rose up into the air.

Yuzu LP: 10400-2500=7900

On the gameplay front, that was 2500 damage, bringing her down to 7900 and entirely erasing her earlier gains. However, that was about to work out just fine. As the Battle Phase came to a close, Yuzu tapped the screen on her duel disk. "Trap activate, Angel's Penance!" It flipped up, the image shining.

"After I've been attacked directly," she began, "I can summon up to two Majestic Knight monsters from my deck in Defense Position with combined DEF up to the amount of damage I took from direct attacks this turn."

"I see, I see," Yuri said, nodding. "And what will you be choosing?"

"I play Majestic Knight EN-Angel Anemone, and Majestic Knight Elena, Master of the Mirror Armor!" Both her cards appeared in front of her, rebuilding her defense even stronger than the start of the turn.

Majestic Knight Anemone 1900 ATK /300 DEF

Majestic Knight Elena, Master of Mirror Armor 800 ATK /500 DEF

"Well done," Yuri congratulated. "You managed to make the most out of my own attack. You're really living up to your reputation." With a smirk, he took one card from his hand and set it. "Then I guess I'll end my turn here."

Yuzu placed a hand on her deck, declaring, "Draw!" Though she was on the backfoot for now, she had everything she needed to start a comeback. "I'll open the doors to another dimension with this!" she called. "Pendulum Summon! Come out Majestic Knight Hana, the Celestial Melody!"

Flying out of the summoning portal was Yuzu's newest monster. Hana took the form of an angel in shimmering armor, gliding down in front of its master.

Majestic Knight: Hana, the Celestial Melody 1200 ATK / 0 DEF

Its presence on the field would be short lived, Yuzu taking the card in hand as she explained, "Hana has an effect that allows me to treat it as two cards if I Advance Summon a LIGHT Pendulum Monster." In an instant, she exchanged it for another card from her hand, a pillar of light exploding out behind her. "That lets me summon my ace monster! Heavenly guardian, protector of the helpless and the protector of humanity. Come forth! Level 7! Majestic Knight Pendulum King of Justice!"

A pair of mechanical wings spread wide from out of the light, the beam splitting apart and dispersing to reveal the towering monster behind Yuzu. After posing briefly, the monster lowered a hand towards its controller, the latter quickly jumping into it. "The real duel starts here!" she proclaimed to a cheerful Yuri on the ground.

Majestic Knight Pendulum King of Justice 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF

In the stands, the younger members of You Show Duel School pressed themselves up against the glass, celebrating at the arrival of Yuzu's monster. Despite having seen it a few times now, it was still just as impressive as when she first used it during the exhibition match.

Masumi, however, did not seem pleased. It was clear to her that she was underestimating her opponent with all the simple plays she was making now, focused more on a flashy entrance for that monster than staying cautious of other cards. One interruption and she'd lose it for good on the next turn. More than anything, she suspected she was trying to show off to her, specifically, all but confirmed when Yuzu gave a quick glance towards the stands. Sloppy.

She was right, of course, and Yuzu was aware of all of this. That said, she wasn't about to charge in completely unprepared. Wordlessly, she had her monster hurl her into the air, rising even higher and snagging an Action Card off a stone battlement and revealing it.

"Action Magic, Extreme Sword!" she declared, the card shimmering as a blue aura surrounded the Pendulum King. "My monster gains 1000 ATK, making for 3500 in total!"

Pendulum King of Justice: 2500 + 1000 = 3500 ATK

"That sure is big," Yuri laughed, a grin forming on his face. "Though I've seen much bigger. I might even show you something like that soon."

His heavy-handed sexual harassment did not go unnoticed, though she hoped it at least flew over the kids' heads. She'd have to really demoralize him for that. Taking a dive off the edge of the castle, she raised a hand, calling out, "Majestic Knight EN-Angel Anemone, effect activate! I summon back Loyal Steed from my Graveyard!"

Pendulum King raised its hand, Yuzu catching the edge of one of its large fingers and breaking her momentum slightly. She used the rest to swing herself forward, somersaulting through the air directly onto the glowing space where Loyal Steed was rising up.

Majestic Knight Loyal Steed, 1300 ATK /1300 DEF

Sticking the landing onto its saddle, she switched both Anemone and Elena to Attack Position. "I enter my Battle Phase," she declared, Loyal Steed whinnying and rising onto its back feet. "At this moment, Loyal Steed gives all Majestic Knight monsters 300 extra ATK and DEF during each Battle Phase."

Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 3500+300=3800

Anemone ATK: 1900+300 2200

Elena Mirror Master ATK: 800+300=1100

Loyal Steed ATK: 1300+300=1600

Pendulum King grew even more powerful, drawing back a fist and lunging forward. "Now attack, Pendulum King of Justice! Majestic Slash!" Letting loose its stored power, that should have been the end of Yuri's monster. Monsters before making contact with the writhing plant, however, vines shot from out of the rocky ground and bound up Yuzu's monster's arm. Quickly, they spread to the rest of it, trapping its four limbs and neck and forcing it to stand crucified before him.

"Sorry, it must have slipped my mind," he said coyly. "Chimerafflesia has another effect. You see, when an attack happens with it, Chimerafflesia siphons off 1000 of its ATK for itself." As he explained, Pendulum King began to groan and strain against its binding, the vines surrounding it pulsating as they caused Chimerafflesia to swell up to an even greater size. "Such a shame. You went to all the trouble to get that Action Card, but all it did was benefit me. Though I guess you did let me show you something much bigger than your monster in the end."

Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 3800-1000=2800

Predaplant Chimerarafflesia ATK: 2500+1000=3500

Pointing forward, Chimerafflesia let out a guttural below. "Counterattack! Devour the enemy!" Pendulum King was lifted up and pulled forward, swallowed down into Chimerafflesia's flower opening and melted by the acidic substances contained within.

Yuzu's LP: 7900 - 7200

This had certainly put a stop to her turn. Even with the increase from Loyal Steed, none of her cards had the ability to overcome something with 3500 ATK. No Action Cards were in sight, either, so running around aimlessly wouldn't be of much help in the current turn. "Turn end," she declared, disheartened and running off in the opposite direction to begin her Action Card search again.

Even worse than the humiliation of getting cut off like that was the knowledge that Masumi absolutely predicted something like this would happen. Her expression hadn't changed, a fact clearly visible even through the dim and translucent hologram blocking the glass on her side. Just as she thought, this was the outcome she expected.

No wound to her pride could quite match this sense of meeting low expectations. What did she have to do to impress her at this point? What did she have to do for them to finally be on the same level again? The anger she felt – towards Masumi, towards Yuri, and to herself – was urging her on now. She had to find the answer by the end of this duel, and she had to win.

"I have to say, this is a little disappointing," Yuri sighed, reminding Yuzu she had plenty of reason to feel angry at him, as well. "I'd heard about the creator of Pendulum Summoning as a beautiful and charismatic entertainer with dueling skills to match, but you're just falling into my traps one after the other." He raised his arms to shrug, soaking in the angry expressions from both his opponent and members of the tiny audience. "Seems like not everyone can live up to the legends."

Placing a hand on his deck, he added, "Well, I'll get over it. Draw!" His eyes narrowed as he smiled down at his new card, adding it to the others before taking a monster. "I summon Predator Plants Spino Dionaea!" Breaking through the ground was yet another plant creature, this one taking the form of a green dinosaur whose back fins were replaced by a flytrap, per the name.

Predaplant Spinodionaea 1800 ATK / 0 DEF

"Then I'll activate Spino Dionaea's effect," he continued. "I'll place a Predator Counter on your Anemone, lowering its Level to 1." The new creature let out a shrill roar, its body shaking as another of the creepy counters was ejected from its back to latch onto Yuzu's monster.

Counter: 0 - 1

Anemone: LV 4=1

"I'm not done yet," he said, smiling widely. "The fun has only just begun!" He tapped the screen of his duel disk, his set card flipping up. "Continuous Trap, Predator Planet! Now, whenever a monster with a Predator Counter leaves the field, I'll be allowed to add a new Predator card from my deck to my hand."

Yuzu grit her teeth, already seeing his next play before he had the chance to declare it. "You remember Chimerafflesia's first effect, correct? If not, I'll remind you!" He pointed towards Anemone. "Chimerafflesia, effect activate! Once per turn, I can banish a monster with a Level equal or lower than itself, and Anemone more than fits that criteria." In an instant, Anemone was snapped up by the plant creature's jaws, banished from the field never to return.

Right after that, his Trap began to glow. "And just like that, Predator Planet allows me to add a new card to my hand. I'll choose the Equip Magic, Predator Graft, then activate it immediately!" A quartet of sparking, metal pillars shot out of the ground, open a purple summoning circle to the afterlife between them. "Now I can revive Sundew Kingii from my Graveyard by equipping it with this card." Rising up from between the structure, the monster gave a small squawk before laying down in the dirt between the machinery that had brought it back to life.

Predaplant Chlamydosundew, 600 ATK / 600 DEF

Taking another card from his hand, Yuri proclaimed, "Now, bear witness to the original - the one and only - Fusion!" Holding up the green-bordered card, its image began to glow. "With this card, I can Fusion Summon using monsters on my field or in my hand."

"So he isn't all gimmicks," Masumi muttered to herself. Unlike most people in this city, Yuri was using the original Fusion card to make his plays now. Even putting aside the question of skill, few had access to it around these parts thanks to embargos and rarity restrictions. Clown or not, she couldn't help but feel a sense of rivalry as a fellow Fusion user.

"I'm fusing my Predator Plants Chimerafflesia on my field with the Predator Plants Cordyceps in my hand," Yuri continued, sending both cards to the Graveyard. "Dazzling flowers blooming in darkness, cross-pollinate to create an even greater monster! Let your blood-stained petals bloom surrounded by your thorns!" Lowering his hands again, he declared, "Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8! Predator Plants Dragostapelia!"

Predaplant Dragostapelia 2700 ATK /1900 DEF

Thorny vines shot from the ground, ammassing into a clump that eventually gave way to the plant-like dragon creature that was Yuri's new monster. It hovered above him, flapping its purple wings as it let out a shrill roar, shaking the arena around them.

Yuzu scoffed, putting up a brave front. "You'll need more than that to beat me," she said defiantly. "Especially since you just gave up a card as strong as Chimerafflesia to use it. Did you misplay?"

Yuri chuckled, replying, "Oh, you'll understand soon. Dragostapelia, effect activate! Once on either turn, I can place a Predator Counter on a monster, lowering its Level to 1. Additionally, Dragostapelia's other effect negates the activated effects of any monsters with Predator Counters."

This revelation managed to break through Yuzu's confidence, something Yuri seemed delighted to accomplish. "Allow me to demonstrate," he said. "I'll place a Predator Counter on Loyal Steed!" As before, her monster was attacked by the toothy plant, its Level lowering as it cried out in pain.

Loyal Steed Level: 4= 1

"I'm not done," he said, taking another card from his hand. "I activate Predator Practice! This lets me summon another Predator Plants monster from my hand, then add a new Predator card from my deck to my hand." Raising a hand, the image of his card began to glow as another leafy creature took form. "Bloom, Predator Plants Drosophyllum Hydra!" The tentacle-laden monster gave a screech from both its mouths as it appeared, vines writhing and beating against the ground. "I'll also add Predator Plants Sarraceniant to my hand."

Drosophyllum Hydra 800 ATK / 2300 DEF

This choice was a bit strange on Yuri's part. Not only was Drosophyllum Hydra incredibly weak, it appeared to have an effect that could be used to summon itself at the expense of Yuzu's own monster. He'd even made the careless decision to play it in Attack Position. Either he'd just misplayed heavily or (more likely) there was more to this combo to come.

Sensing the confusion, Yuri's grin grew wider. "Now I'll show you the full extent of my deck's power. Sundew Kingii's effect activates!" The lounging lizard raised itself up inside its pen, gurgling a bit as its body began to glow. "You already know what this means. With this effect, I can Fusion Summon using this card and any other monsters I own, plus any of yours with Predator Counters. I think you might call it an encore."

Just like before, Loyal Steed was pulled into a swirling vortex along with Sundew Kingii, the two quickly joined by Drosophullum Hydra. "Flowers of evil, draw in and devour all those that oppose you! Poison the world with your presence so that nothing but you can grow! Fusion Summon! Bloom, Level 9! Predator Plants Triphyovertum!"

This new beast dwarfed everything Yuri had summoned up to this point. Matching Pendulum King's sized from when it was on the field, the triple-headed dragon let out a chorus of screeching roars as it waited for the order to strike.

Predaplant Triphyoverutum 3000 ATK / 3000 DEF

Yuzu grit her teeth, once again on the backfoot with little to protect her. Even with monsters this time, there wasn't much she could do to stand up to something like this. At least she had one small benefit going for her. "Loyal Steed left the field, meaning that my EN-Angel Anemone's effect activates again. I gain Life Points equal to the Level of the monster summoned by the effect times 200. However, with Amaryllis in my Pendulum Zone, that's doubled for a total of 1600!"

A white aura shimmered around her body, Life counter ticking back up and over the 8000 threshold. It wasn't much, but she could assuredly survive the turn now. Gaining Life Points was never a bad thing, either, especially if she could find a card to use with that next turn.

Yuzu's LP: 7200+1600= 8800

Yuri gave a small chuckle at this, shaking his head. "That won't do much for you in the long run, but I appreciate it when my opponent continues to struggle even after it's clear they've lost. It's much more entertaining that way." This new smugness was definitely his worst quality yet. "Now, battle! Predator Plants Spino Dionaea, attack Elena, Master of Mirror Armor!"

In a perfect world, Elena's effect would have made this a significantly more costly venture for Yuri. However, this was no perfect world but the harsh reality of the place they now lived, Elena's effect unable to apply itself given the lack of any Life Point gains during Yuzu's last turn. As such, it was entirely defenseless against the snapping jaws of the plant creature.

Or so it seemed. Before the attack could connect, Yuzu dove into a tall bush, rolling out the other side with leaves stuck to her body as she slapped a card into her duel disk. "Action Magic, Evasion!" The card appeared behind Elena, the monster doing a dive of its own to slide beneath the enemy's attack. "This lets my monster dodge past your attack, negating it!"

"I see," was all Yuri had to say, slightly annoyed that he couldn't finish things on this turn with the extra summon he'd get from his monster's successful effect. "In that case, I'll have to try this. Dragostepalia, attack Elena next!"

Yuzu couldn't hope to be lucky enough to find another Action Card that quickly, her monster having no chance to weather this storm as the plant creature's barbed tail pierced straight through its chest. In an instant, Elena's form shattered, Yuzu bracing against a cloud of explosive damage as it blasted past her.

Yuzu's LP: 8800-1900= 6900

Eyes widening in disconcerting glee, Yuri pointed forward once more. "Triphyovertum, direct attack Juno!" Sparking green energy collected within each of the beast's three heads, each firing a blast of energy one after the other. These beams converged into a single stream, striking the ground in front of Yuzu and sweeping up to blast her off her feet. The intensity of the attack was great enough to send her slamming into the physical wall of the arena, hologram sky doing little when faced with hard reality at her back.

Yuzu's LP: 6900 -3000= 3900

"Yuzu…" Ayu muttered, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"This duel isn't very fun anymore," Tatsuya said, echoing her concern. Futoshi nodded along, shivering from a different source than his normal excitement.

Off to the side, Masumi clicked her tongue. Arms crossed, she tapped a finger against her sleeve, growing more and more annoyed at Yuzu's pitiful performance up to this point. How could she let herself be pushed back this far? She hated being in the position to question her employer's decisions, but setting this girl up as he did and making her the creator of Pendulum Summoning seemed to have been a major mistake if she couldn't even handle this much pressure.

"She's really being pushed back," Yuya said from the monitoring room.

"I wouldn't count her out yet," Shuzo told him. "Yuzu isn't one to stop fighting this early in the duel."

"I know," he said, pensive. "Still, she's really in a bad spot. And more than that, her entertainment isn't getting through. This guy's controlling the whole duel."

Shuzo nodded. "That's a good observation," he praised, giving a sagely nod to the young man. "But you should know that heroes always get their second wind when things seem the most hopeless. That's her style, after all." This managed to bring Yuya's smile back, both unsure as to how she'd do it but fully expect Yuzu to find a way to win in the coming turns.

This optimism was not currently present on the field, however. "Sorry, was that too much?" Yuri asked in a mockingly sweet tone. "You could simply surrender now. There's no reason to draw this out any longer than it needs to be."

Yuzu glared at him, collecting herself off the ground and catching her breath. The Solid Vision used to create her outfit had absorbed much of the attack's force, sparing her from too much pain herself. As a result, her red suit was in tatters, her real clothes visible underneath in large patches.

"Don't act so confident," she told him, straightening herself to stand tall in the face of this unfortunate situation. "I'm not done fighting yet."

Yuri's smile widened yet again. "I see, I see. Then we'll continue. Truth be told, I was hoping for that. Like I said before, I like to watch you struggle." He gave a small bow before declaring, "With that, I'll end my turn. Let's see your comeback, dear Juno. Or will evil triumph over good this day? I guess we'll have to see."

She was very over how much Yuri liked to hear himself talk. "My turn, draw!" Thankfully, the card she'd just drawn would help shut him up.

"During the Standby Phase," Yuri interjected, "the effect of Predator Plants Chimerafflesia activates."

"In the Graveyard?" Yuzu questioned.

"Indeed," he replied. "After being sent to the Graveyard, Chimerafflesia allows me to add a Fusion card from my deck to my hand during the next Standby Phase." Another copy of the Fusion Magic Card ejected itself from his deck, Yuri holding it up before placing it in his hand. "You may continue."

Though the appearance of even more dangerous Fusion cards loomed on the horizon, Yuzu had enough to worry about this turn. It was at this point she lamented not having access to a usable Extra Deck of her own. A lack of experience with those cards plus their scarcity made it impossible for her to find anything applicable for some time, especially for her new deck.

Thinking back, this gap in her skills stung all the more when she thought of her mother. The memories grew hazier by the day, but she still had the clear image in her mind from all those years back, that woman raising a hand up as monsters of the same Level overlaid with one another. It was a magical experience just to behold, one she hoped to learn herself once she got a bit older.

But the past was the past, and once her mother left her and her father behind, she took her Xyz Monsters with her along with Yuzu's hopes of learning how to do it for herself. Truly unfortunate, but this was no time to get caught up remembering all of this. After all, it may not be usable in the traditional sense, but she did have an Extra Deck with her.

"I activate this!" Yuzu declared, holding up a card. "Pot of Extravagance! By banishing six random cards from my Extra Deck face-down, I'll be able to draw two next cards."

Yuri blinked, composure faltering for a moment as he stood there trying to figure out what was happening. "But you don't…" He trailed off, holding up his duel disk and tapping at the screen. To his shock, Yuzu's Extra Deck was more than just her Pendulum Monsters laying face-up, but a set of fifteen other cards she'd so far not touched.

"Surprised?" she asked him with a smile. "If you're wondering, no, none of these cards are useful for my deck. I can't summon a single one of them. But I've found a use for them. And now, they'll all help me take you down!"

She caught a glimpse of the cards as they ejected themselves one by one from her Extra Deck area. There was that old, banged up Fusionist she'd gotten from when she was little but surprisingly never actually used even in a casual setting. The Rare Fish she'd fished out of a trash can a while back came next. Then there was the Bracchio-raidus she'd gotten in a trade on the playground, whatever she gave up for this amazingly powerful and unbeatable card having long since slipped her mind, though the fact she'd certainly gotten ripped off had not.

Then, one after the other, came Meisterin Schubert, Bloom Diva, and Bloom Prima. Unlike the rest, these cards had actually seen some use. Quite a bit, in fact, given they were the stars of her former deck. Even after switching over, she'd chosen to keep them here, letting them to continue to fight alongside her in another way.

It was a funny chance to be sure, seeing all of them removed by this effect at the same time. She took a moment to thank them silently for all they'd done to help her in the past, smiling as she put them and the other three cards away. "That was six," she reiterated. "Now I draw two more cards!"

This could work. "I activate Pendulum Turn!" Yuzu said, revealing one of the cards she'd just drawn. "With this, I can change one of my Pendulum Scales to a number from 1 and 10 for the rest of the turn." As she explained, Floral Princess' Scale ticked up to 10.

Though the conditions were set, she wasn't yet ready to Pendulum Summon again. Instead, she placed another card onto the field. "Continuous Magic, Cauldron of the Old Man!" As the card's image materialized beside her, the elderly, cloaked figure popped out of the image, stirring a bubbling liquid inside a black cauldron. "When I activate this card, I place a counter on it immediately. Then, once each turn, I can activate another effect that will either inflict 300 damage to you or let me gain 500 Life Points.

"I have a feeling I know what you're aiming for," Yuri said, not appearing particularly concerned.

Yuzu ignored him, continuing her turn. "Next, I activate the Pendulum Effect of Majestic Knight EN-Angel Amaryllis! This lets me excavate the top five cards of my deck and summon out a single monster with a Level between my Pendulum Scales.

"A Pendulum Summon from the deck," Yuri concluded. "Or something close to it. Either way, it's quite the effect." He sneered, adding, "But will that be able to help you in your current situation? I wonder."

"Let's find out!" Yuzu said, viewing her cards and selection one of the options as the rest were shuffled back. "Come out, Majestic Knight Mozarta of Melodies!" Descending to the field, Yuzu took her monster's hand and allowed it to carry her back upwards for a better vantage point and an impressive visual of the two of them flying together backed by a shimmering trail of stars.

"But I'm not done!" she said, landing on top of the castle and snagging an Action Card stuck between two bricks. "Cauldron will activate now and increase my Life Points by 500! But with Amaryllis' effect, that becomes 1000!"

Yuzu's LP: 3900 +1000= 4900

Yuri was quick to respond. "Clever, but not clever enough! Predator Plants Dragostapelia, effect activate! Place a Predator Counter on Mozarta of Melodies to prevent its effect activation!" Another of the gruesome counters launched from his monster, clamping down on the glowing fairy's midsection.

"This lets Predator Plants Triphyovertum increase its power," he added. "My monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of any monster with a Predator Counter, making a total of 5600!"

Triphyoverutum's ATK: 3000+2600 = 5600

Mozarta's LV: 8 - 1

Rather than be discouraged, Yuzu simply smiled at the roaring dragon. "That's not going to stop me," she said confidently. "Now, it's time to Pendulum Summon!" Taking full advantage of Pendulum Turn's Scale manipulation, her two monsters opened a portal to her Extra Deck once more, calling out a swirling mass of energy. "Reappear! Majestic Knight Pendulum King of Justice!"

Yuzu took a leap off the top of the castle, landing a few feet below on the palm of her monster. "That's a rather dangerous position!" Yuri called up at her. "Especially when I activate Triphyovertum's effect! Once per turn, if you try to Special Summon from the Extra Deck, I'll negate and destroy your monster!"

The two auxiliary heads of the monster began to move, firing a pair of energy beams at the robot to try and wipe it away. This would not come to pass, however, the Pendulum King simply batting the attacks away with its free hand. "What?" Yuri called out, his composure faltering.

"Action Magic, Illumination!" Yuzu responded, sliding the card into her duel disk. "If an effect would negate my monster's summon, that effect is negated!"

Forcing a clearly irritated smile, Yuri gave a condescending clap. "Quite the lucky card you've found," he said. "But I don't think it will help you much in the end, my dear. Neither of your cards is strong enough to get past my monsters."

"We'll see about that," Yuzu replied. "Battle! Mozarta of Melodies, attack Predator Plants Dragostapelia!" This caught everyone off guard, her monster waving its wand to conjured up ethereal music notes to send at the enemy.

"Far be it from me to stop you from rushing to your death!" Yuri said. "Dragostapelia, destroy that monster!" Completely unfazed by the fairy's attack, Dragostapelia spun around to slam its tail into the other monster and bash it apart.

Yuzu's LP: 4900 -100=4800

"Sorry about that," Yuzu said to her card as she sent it to the Extra Deck. "But your sacrifice wasn't for nothing." Turning her attention back to Yuri, she asked, "Did you notice?"

He raised an eyebrow. "That you've given up? I had thought that might be the case, but if you're ready to declare a formal surrender…"

"Your monster," she said, rolling her eyes at his attempt at wit. "There aren't any cards with Predator Counters left on the field. What's that going to do to it?"

Triphyovertum ATK: 5600-2600 =3000

Yuri watched as his dragon slumped over, its power decreasing now that there was no longer anything to leech off for it. Clicking his tongue, he raised his hand up to call his Trap Card's image back. "I see. Well, it won't do you much good. In the meantime, I activate the effect of Predator Planet to add Predator Plants Banksia Ogre to my hand."

Yuzu motioned for her monster to take a few steps to the side, the towering creature bending down to let her off on a small rock formation. On it, she picked up another Action Card, nodding at its image. "Perfect. Now, Pendulum King of Justice will attack Dragostapelia!"

"You're that eager to sacrifice your monsters to me?" Yuri questioned, growing tired of these irrational moves.

"Not likely!" Yuzu shot back. "Action Magic, Encore! This card can copy the effect of another Action Card I've used before, meaning it now has the same effect as Extreme Sword. Pendulum King's ATK will raise by 1000!"

Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 2500 - 3500

Moments before the robot sent a massive fist crashing into the now quite fragile-looking dragon, Yuri called out, "Effect activate! From my Graveyard, Drosophyllum Hydra can banish another Predator Plants monster to make your card lose 500 ATK!"

At the expense of Chimerafflesia, Pendulum King's ATK fell to an even 3000. "That's not enough to stop me!" Yuzu told him. "Keep going! Smash through!

Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 3500 - 500= 3000

Yuri guarded himself against the incoming damage, the first of the entire duel. As Pendulum King's fist made impact, a massive gust of wind blew past Dragostapelia and into Yuri himself. This was one of the effects Yuzu's monster gained from being Pendulum Summoned, inflicting his monster's ATK as direct damage before the battle. That 2700 damage combined with the explosion that came a moment later, hitting him for 3000 in total and sending him skidding back on his heels.

Yuri's LP: 8000- 3000 =5000

"And that's going to end my turn," Yuzu declared, beaming with pride at her turnaround. Floral Princess' Pendulum Scale reverted to its original 5 now, Pendulum King's ATK lowering by 1000 with Extreme Sword's boost wearing off.

Floral Princess' Scale: 10 - 5

Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 3000 - 1000=2000