Yu-Gi-Oh! Skies [IC]

[~Faytl~]

Balthy was slowly creeping on his hands and knees behind the benches that ran around the length of the stadium, eyes fixed on Sai, who hadn't yet seen him, it looked like. Balthy had entered the arena when Sai had been shuffling his deck, and he couldn't resist the urge to sneak up on him. It had taken him an age to crawl up the stairway silently, but now he was only a few feet away.

 

He drew ever closer, finally right behind him. He drew up quietly, shaking in anticipation of what he was about to do... And his foot slipped.

 

With a yelp, Balthy plummeted past Sai, falling down several rows of benches before he fell into the gap between two rows, letting out a groan of pain as he straightened up, pulling himself into a hunched-over standing position, gasping for breath.

 

"Not fair, Sai-san!" he complained, like his friend had done anything to influence that. "I'm supposed to be the cool one, don't use your smart guy stuff on me here! Low blow..." He snickered, clearly kidding. He looked around eagerly. "Where's Fujiwara-me?" he asked curiously. "Not here yet, eh?"

[BANZAI!!!!]

 

"BZZZZTTTTTTTT!!!"

 

Taketo's buzzing woke Yushiro with a start. "Morning to you, too." he groaned as he threw his covers off and rolled out of bed. Taketo was just doing what had been asked of it, of course, but the little robot hadn't quite yet figured out the technique for waking a person up gently. Besides, Yushiro couldn't really stay annoyed at his companion for long. After all it was the weekend, and Yushiro had asked Taketo to wake him up early specifically so he could make the most out of his free time. Taketo for its part was unaware of all of this, having instead become preoccupied with a small, travel-sized Rubik's cube that was laying on Yushiro's shelf, unsolved. It spent the next fifteen minutes or so fiddling with the toy while Yushiro stepped into the shower. Afterward he returned, now wearing a pair of shorts and a t shirt.

 

"Alright, remember Taketo, low profile today, got it? Akira's not around and I really, really don't wanna get chased around campus by people who wanna duel me today. We're just gonna go out, have a nice walk around campus, maybe see if we can't find out where I can find that Elizabeth girl."  He pulled Vishnu out from the middle of what seemed to be an ever-increasing stack of loaned cards. "I'm sure she's missing this." Taketo let out an affirmative buzz in reply. The little robot sometimes got itself into trouble, sure, but one thing it knew how to do well was listen and follow directions. "Alright then bud. Lets go." Yushiro stepped out the door of his dorm room, closing and locking it behind him after Taketo hovered through after him.

 

---

 

Iago Synthe rang the door buzzer for the third consecutive time in a row. Still no reply. Sure, Syndri Noir was a rather... eccentric man, and was usually absorbed in one activity or another (or several at once, as the case often was), but having to wait on him even longer was so.... aggravating. After all, who was it who'd been giving Syndri a hand with his little endeavor all these months? Surely he could at least be ready for him on time. Besides, Iago had other places to be today, things to do. The dark skinned man twirled one of his dreadlocks around his finger as he stood in the doorway, impatiently tapping his foot almost in rhythm with each curl of his finger. At last the door opened and the man himself appeared. Iago greeted him with a smile and spoke in his usual oily, drawn out baritone.

 

"Ahhh Syndri. Punctual as usual. Mind if I come in?"

 

----

 

 

So far so good. Yushiro had made it onto campus and, despite the decent amount of activity, had manged to keep a low profile. Taketo had taken the command quite literally, and was currently scrunched down inside Yushiro's backpack, taking a peak out of the flap every so often. It was a lovely day. Not too hot, but rather pleasantly warm, with a calm breeze and nary a cloud in Ambrosia's artificial sky.

 

Obviously something was going to go horribly wrong, and soon.

 

For the moment, however, things were calm, with Yushiro's only conundrum being what exactly he was going to do with himself in his free time today. Perhaps hit up a student lounge and see if he could get a dice game going, though chances were someone would recognize him and challenge him to the kind of game that he had no real intention of playing today. best to avoid that. Take a hike? Well the weather was nice, sure but he'd already spent the last 20 minutes or so enjoying the sunshine and really, where was there to walk to, other than into town. Oh wait, he could go into town! But what would he do there? Usually it was Akira who planed the weekend's activities, and frankly going off campus alone made Yushiro a little bit nervous. He sighed and sat on a bench, still trying to sort out his day.
 

[The Warden]

Celebrity Duelist

 

Syndri smirked at the annoyed look on Iago's face as he asked to come in. "But of course Iago, what are friends for?" he sarcastically responded as he allowed the large dreadlocked man in.

 

Syndri's domain was a large studio apartment that was most likely paid off by his old pro paychecks and whatever prize money he had earned. It was a lavish domain, and it reflected the man's own garish nature quite perfectly. Taking a seat on one of three long couches that almost made an entire scare, Syndri put his feet up on a coffee table as he addressed several packs of cards. "Got a few freebies from a recent sneak peek, but those special cards aren't in this set yet. I don't know what those makers are up to, but they're trying my patience now by withholding those damn Sigil cards" Syndri grumbled as he opened up a pack.

 

Sifting through the contents with disinterest, Syndri took on a very enraged and sour expression as he stared at an Ebon High Magician. "New Magician cards?" he spat lividly. "Where were THESE during my title match" he snarled, tossing the cards onto the table, scattering them about.

[Yui]

---

"Hey there Leona-chan. How'd you get up there?"

 

"Hey hey," Leona greeted back. Before answering Meiko's question, however, Leona got up to her feet from her perch atop the wall, and took a single step forward that had her falling from her spot, plummeting to the ground beneath her. Leona landed on a pair of bent legs and stuck the landing rather well. Her posture only shook a small bit as she got back up to a standing position. "I think they made the wall a bit taller, but I can still get up there with some clever thinking and good climbing skills." This was the person she'd be seeing a movie with today. It wasn't every day Leona got the opportunity to just go out into town with somebody, so she would try to make this one count.

 

Snapping off about half of what remained of the chocolate in her hands, Leona held out the unbitten half toward Meiko and asked "Want some?" The question of what movie they were seeing could wait until they were actually there.

"Kimiko, as much as I want to accept the offer, I'm going to have to pass. There's a guy I met on campus. He happens to have two Pro Duelist brothers...one of which being the P.E. teacher here on campus. And to be honest...I'm really curious if he's got Pro Duelist in his blood too. Besides...this will be one spectacle you probably won't want to miss. After all...it would be a chance to study your 'rival'."

 

"A handicap seems unfair," Kimiko mused, tagging along with Roy with each step. "But I'm on a roll right now! I can't let myself lose this far in, so I accept your offer!" She'd watch the boys duke it out then win against both of them! If the P.E. teacher had the makings of a pro in him, all the better! Even if he didn't, apparently his family was a big deal in the dueling world, so triumphing over even the black sheep of the lot would be something people would start talking about, right? Kimiko's plan was foolproof! And then, once she'd shown the world that Yushiro's cheap victory was just a fluke...Kimiko had other plans as well.

 

"So your friend thinks he's hot stuff because he's related to a couple of pros? Make sure to prove him wrong; it'll make me look even better when I beat you afterwards."

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"A handicap seems unfair. But I'm on a roll right now! I can't let myself lose this far in, so I accept your offer!"

 

Roy let out a sigh of relief, hearing Kimiko accept his offer. Then again, even if she didn't, he would've still gone and challenged Salem to a Duel. I think I'm beginning to know you too well, Kimiko. he thought, still having her keep up with him. Besides...this Duel is going to be the break out one for my Crystal Beasts to shine.

 

"So your friend thinks he's hot stuff because he's related to a couple of pros? Make sure to prove him wrong; it'll make me look even better when I beat you afterwards."

 

"Not sure he things himself hot stuff just because of that, Kim." Roy sighed, shaking his head some. He rolled his eyes afterwards when she mentioned that it would look better for when she beat him. One tracked mind...I swear...

 

 

A few minutes into the search for Salem, Roy finally turned a corner in the academy building, to see none other than Salem himself walking out of the computer room. Roy kicked himself for not checking there first, but he couldn't be bothered to keep kicking himself for a mistake.

 

"SALEM!!" Roy called out to the young man, before turning to Kimiko, who surprisingly kept up with him the entire time. "Later Kimiko." he said, bidding farewell to Kimiko as he quickly made his way towards Salem. "There you are! Been lookin' everywhere for you." he smiled. "Listen...I have a request. I know that your brothers, Dirk and Syndri are pretty well known in the Pro Duelist circuit. So, I thought...I'd extend a challenge to you."

 

Roy smiled as he spoke to Salem, who probably was thinking something completely different at this point. "So, what do you say? I'd love to see what the kid brother of two Pro Duelists can do!"

[The Warden]

The Champion of Strangeness

 

"SALEM!!"

 

"Jesus!" Salem yelped from the sudden ambush, his body recoiling away from his assailant.

 

"There you are! Been lookin' everywhere for you. Listen...I have a request. I know that your brothers, Dirk and Syndri are pretty well known in the Pro Duelist circuit. So, I thought...I'd extend a challenge to you. So, what do you say? I'd love to see what the kid brother of two Pro Duelists can do!" Roy gushed.

 

Salem stood there, wide-eyed at the boy who for the life of him he couldn't recognize, but was most likely in his art class if he knew about the stupid announcement he had made. And now he was challenging him to a duel, of all things. In the absurdity of the moment, Salem could only comment with, "...what?"

 

Well, what else was he supposed to say when a complete stranger arbitrarily challenged him to a duel?

[Alaina]

Waving back to her friend in response to her response, she quickly winced reflexively as the girl jumped from the gate and landed on the ground, with a clearly visible shock in the landing. Nevertheless, the girl seemed fine, and answered her question about getting up there. Which all that managed to do was make Meiko stare at the wall before her, trying to think about how exactly she could scale it and whether or not her climbing skills needed polishing. There was the idea of just using one of her raptors to get up there, but then that'd be like admitting defeat to the wall, and that wasn't something she could afford to do. In the middle of being absorbed in her thoughts, she was suddenly snapped out when her white haired friend offered her something to eat. Happily accepting the chocolate, the girl said, "sure!"

 

With the two having met up, they now needed to find the theater that would grace them with the explosive romantic comedy that they needed to see. Though, Meiko wasn't even sure if such a film was even out at the moment. Nevertheless, with chocolate in hand and a goal in mind, there would be nothing that could stop her in her goal. As the duo had started walking into town, the girl, now with chocolate stains across her mouth and hand offhandedly asked, "so do anything fun these past few days?" After having asked that though, the two had passed by a local park, and there was a rather large and familiar looking man there. "Oh!" she exclaimed upon realization of who this was, "hey there Akira-man," she called out to the large man, waving to him. Gesturing to Leona to follow her, she made her way over to him before saying, "how's it goi-" She stopped her question short and let out a small gasp as she realized how ragged the man looked. With a slight look of concern she asked, "are you alright?"

[King K. Azo]

"Oh!" Akira looked up after hearing a familiar voice. "Hey there Akira-man," Oh no... That wasn't good... He looked up to see Meiko gesturing to Leona to follow her, and they made their way over to him before Meiko said "how's it goi-" She stopped her question short and let out a small gasp. Akira looked at himself. Did he look that bad? There was no way he was this sick... With a slight look of concern she asked, "Are you alright?" Not wanting to worry her, Akira nodded before flexing a little.

 

"Of course! I, the man Akira, always run at 100 percent!" He stated before muffling a cough. He needed to change the subject. "So, what are you, the woman Meiko, and you, the woman Leona, doing today?"

 

---

 

Sai shot up in shock as he heard a yelp and the sound of a body tumbling down the bleachers. Looking up, he saw Balthy tumbling down the stairs and landing near the bottom. Concerned, the orange haired student stood up and ran down to his friend. "Are you okay?!" he asked.

 

"Not fair, Sai-san!" he complained playfully."I'm supposed to be the cool one, don't use your smart guy stuff on me here! Low blow..." He looked around eagerly. "Where's Fujiwara-me?" he asked curiously. "Not here yet, eh?" Sai sighed.

 

"Nope... Been waiting for the past ten minutes...," he sat on the bleachers and shook his head. "I think I've been stood up... I knew it was too good to be true...,"

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"...what?"

 

Roy backed up some, chuckling nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. Unfortunately, his excitement kicked in and he probably just rambled on like most people do. Nice going Spectrum... he thought to himself, clearing his throat and proceeding to try again. He took note that Salem had this 'who the hell are you' look on his face, so best start from the top.

 

"Sorry about that. I'm Roy...Roy Spectrum." he calmly spoke. "We were in the Art Class on the day of Yushiro and Kimiko's Duel. Anyway, I remember you mentioning that you were the brother of two Pro Duelists that are pretty well known." Roy chuckled in between his sentence. "I have to say, being the brothers of Syndri and Dirk is pretty awesome. So, I was hoping that maybe...you would be up for a Duel against me. I'd really like to see what the younger brother of two Pro Duelists can really do."

 

With everything being rehashed, Roy smiled at Salem once more. "So, what do you say? Can we call this challenge accepted?"

[The Warden]

The Champion of Strangeness

 

"So, what do you say? Can we call this challenge accepted?"

 

"Mmmmmno" Salem answered, and then walked off.

 

---

 

Coach Hardass

 

 

Sighing loudly, Dirk abandoned any further searches for Syndri today, as there was little else to go on. Camping by the closest window he could, he lit up and inhaled. Closing his eyes slowly as he listened to his music, he blew a steady stream of smoke out of the window, the calming music intermingling with the noise the students were making outside. Opening his eye an inch, the gym teacher smiled serenely as he witnessed all of the scrubs enjoying their weekend. "Have fun now kids" he chuckled while taking another drag. "As things will get pretty hectic with that competition coming up soon" he exhaled loudly, another blast of smoke mingling with the air.

 

Yeah, it's been a pain getting that all set-up, but, if the connections had been made, hopefully, Syndri will be coming to him.

[~Faytl~]

Balthy leaned on the bench in front of him, looking at Sai with a raised eyebrow. Sai actually looked kind of sad to him. 

 

"You were really looking forward to dueling Fujimoto-san, weren't you, Sai-san?" he asked, trying to inject some good humor into his question. He looked down at his watch, pulling back a glove to get a good look at it. "Well, I was super late just crawling up those stairs, so I guess something came up on her end. Iunno," he went on, shrugging. "She seemed shy, maybe that's it."

 

He suddenly perked up, eyes bright. "Sai-san! I have an idea!" He reached into his pocket, pulling out the orange rectangle that was his Duel Disk. "You can still have yourself a duel today, if ya like," he said, wagging the disk backa nd forth with a grin. "Fujimoto-san may be shy, but I guess that leaves making the excitement up to us, eh?"

 

He jumped up, running down the stairs towards the dueling grunds. He turned around briefly to yell up: "Sai-san! Let's go! I've been wanting to duel you for ages!"

 

- - - - - - -

 

Blythe slowly walked out from around the corner of the nearest building, sidling up to the bench, Yushiro's back to her. She leaned on the bench, arms crossed, looking down at the younger boy. "Morning, Midori," she said casually, yawning lightly. It was the first sound she had made.

 

"I see you're not busy at the moment... I would have thought your newfound little piece of fame would have kept you busy longer." She shrugged. "Of course, that doesn't matter to me... I'm just glad I managed to catch you." She held up an arm, the Duel Disk upon it very apparent. "I think you know why, of course," she went on casually.

 

She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "You've beaten Hatekayama... Why stop now? If I had beaten one of the strongest duelists in the school... and I have... I wouldn't stop there. And I certainly don't intend to." She walked away from the bench, glancing at Yushiro over her shoulder. "How about it, Midori?" she asked, levering up her arm. "Hatekayama is a load of hot air... beat me, and you'll really be getting somewhere. Of course, I'm sure you're aware of the cost if you fail..." She trailed off. A good percentage of people were well aware of her usual ultimatum by now.

[Yui]

---

"So, what do you say? I'd love to see what the kid brother of two Pro Duelists can do!"

 

This was it. The duel between Roy and Salem was about to go down, and Kimiko would be right there to mop the floors with Roy after he won! Kimiko was already reaching for her deck in anticipation.

 

"...what?"

 

...or not? This voice sounded familiar though...

 

"Sorry about that. I'm Roy...Roy Spectrum. We were in the Art Class on the day of Yushiro and Kimiko's Duel. Anyway, I remember you mentioning that you were the brother of two Pro Duelists that are pretty well known. I have to say, being the brothers of Syndri and Dirk is pretty awesome. So, I was hoping that maybe...you would be up for a Duel against me. I'd really like to see what the younger brother of two Pro Duelists can really do. So, what do you say? Can we call this challenge accepted?"

 

"Mmmmmno."

 

Excuse him!? Did this boy not know who was offering him a challenge? This was Roy Spectrum! Heir to the Spectrum Corporation! Not just some common boy off the streets! He was also quite the duelist, and - unfortunately - the only person suited to have Kimiko's hand as a future husband. Turning down a challenge from Roy wasn't all that different from turning down one from Kimiko herself, and if there was one word not in Kimiko's vocabulary, it was "humble". If there was another word not in there as well, it was "refusal". This duel had to happen.

 

It was then that it clicked. This voice was the boy who had uploaded that shameful video of her rigged loss against Yushiro just a few days ago. He was the reason she had to bust her ass to get her reputation of power back. Now things had gotten personal.

 

"Hey!" Kimiko called out to the boy walking away. "What kind of a person shares a gene pool with a pro duelist and shamelessly walks away from a challenge like that!? And for that matter, I've got a score to settle with you too, and you're not getting away from me just by saying no like you would with Roy over here! Either you duel him or I'm forcing you to face me and all the humiliation you forced me through with that stupid video! Come back here and be a man!"

---

"So do anything fun these past few days?"

 

Leona had done plenty of fun things, in fact. Her personal highlight reel involved exploring a part of town she hadn't been to in a while, visiting an arcade just yesterday, and leaving a newly-purchased pair of socks in the Student Council's office to try and get the attention of the Disciplinary Committee leader then beating some other student he sent instead in a fashion and speed that suggested there was never even a duel to begin with. Leona was ready to bring up the story about the socks, when...

 

"Oh!"

 

As the two girls passed through the park, a familiar figure had come into view. A big guy. A really big guy, in fact. Yushiro's buddy Akira, or as Leona had come to know him, Big Guy. She wasn't really sure what else to call him when his size stood out so well. The two made their approach, and Meiko had called out for him.

 

"Hey there Akira-man, how's it goi-"

 

Meiko then stopped and gasped at the sight of him upon closer inspection. Leona didn't blame her; Akira wasn't looking his best. He looked like he was sick or something. Something must have happened within the last few days since last Leona had seen the guy.

 

"Are you alright?"

 

"Of course!" Or so he said. Leona wasn't buying a word of it. One could say whatever they wanted, but Leona had a sharp eye. She had the eye of the alert house cat. Tigers were too big to be Leona. "I, the man Akira, always run at 100 percent! So, what are you, the woman Meiko, and you, the woman Leona, doing today?"

 

"We're out to catch a movie," Leona had answered, giving Akira a wave hello. "How about you, him, the man Big Guy? You're usually with Underdog; why today of all days to hang out here by yourself? Just looking for some quiet or something?"

[Alaina]

The man, Akira, had tried to have the girl perish any thought that he was less than at his best. Yet, even to Meiko he had looked fairly tired, and not just the kind that came from going to bed late at night, so late you could consider it early morning, and then wake up before noon had come around. No, this was more along the lines of "I have seven test to take today all back to back," tired. However, she had instead stopped paying attention to that and instead went to go answer the man his question. Well, she was about to, but then Leona had caught up with her and answered him herself, leaving Meiko to just nod in agreement. 

 

As the girl then asked what he was doing here, Meiko had started to think on what she could do to make the man, Akira's, mood a bit better. Even if he was saying he was at one hundred percent, there was no fooling the raptor eyes of Meiko. As such, after Akira had answered Leona's question, Meiko then had an idea of what it was they could do. And so with a chipper smile on her face she suggested, "hey Akira-man, if you're up for it, why don't you come and hit the town with Leona-chan an I on our quest for movies!" 

[The Warden]

The Champion of Strangeness

 

"Hey!" Nooooo.... "What kind of a person shares a gene pool with a pro duelist and shamelessly walks away from a challenge like that!? And for that matter, I've got a score to settle with you too, and you're not getting away from me just by saying no like you would with Roy over here! Either you duel him or I'm forcing you to face me and all the humiliation you forced me through with that stupid video! Come back here and be a man!"

 

Turning about with he fluidity of a robot, Salem's perspiration increased tenfold now that he was facing off with Kimiko, AKA, the Screeching Harpy. "Ah... heh... heh... heh... heeeeeeeyyyyyy Roooooyyyyy. I uhh, I'd love to duel you. Just, a uh, quiet affair, how bout that?" he suggested.

 

The Screeching Harpy nodded in satisfaction, his acceptance appeasing her for the moment. She even gave he thumbs up. "You see Roy, you just need to clearly state your intentions, and anyone can be a good listener. Now you two can have a fun duel, I'll be watching~" she declared before ambling off strangely gleefully.

 

"Please don't" Salem whimpered.

 

Little did he know that literally ten seconds later, a mass e-mail would be sent out, alerting practically the entire school of the duel that will be taking place soon.

[King K. Azo]

"We're out to catch a movie," Leona had answered his question, giving Him a wave hello. "How about you, him, the man Big Guy? You're usually with Underdog; why today of all days to hang out here by yourself? Just looking for some quiet or something?"

 

Akira rubbed his chin as he thought of how to best describe what was going on. "I, the man Akira, am doing my daily morning exercises. Usually, the man Yushiro doesn't join me in them, as they are something for my dojo. It seems, however, that while I, the man Akira, am absolutely, without a doubt, running at one hundred percent, I got sidetracked thinking of the challenges I had to overcome this week," he shook his head. "After winning against the harpie, many people wanted to duel the man Yushiro. As he does not always want to duel, I acted as a gatekeeper! So far, none have past! ... But they are getting harder," he admitted.

 

"Hey Akira-man, if you're up for it, why don't you come and hit the town with Leona-chan an I on our quest for movies!" Meiko offered. Akira thought to himself. There was no way anyone could take anything in a scandalous way, considering they were his friends, so there was no way to disgrace his dojo. And while he had a strict training regiment he usually stuck to... It was obvious he wouldn't get through it.

 

"I, the man Akira, will join you. I think after this week, even a man as steadfast as I deserve a break," He stated as he stood up. "What kind of movie are we questing for?"

 

---

 

"Sai-san! I have an idea!" Sai looked up at Balthy, seeing him pull out his duel disk. "You can still have yourself a duel today, if ya like," he said, wagging the disk back and forth with a grin. "Fujimoto-san may be shy, but I guess that leaves making the excitement up to us, eh?" He jumped up, running down the stairs towards the dueling grunds. He turned around briefly to yell up: "Sai-san! Let's go! I've been wanting to duel you for ages!"

 

Sai blinked. "E-eh?" Well, this was not what he expected to do today. He really didn't think he would provide that much of a challenge for Balthy, but he could try his best anyways. "Um... Alright... J-just let me... Get ready," He reached for the bag next to him, reaching in and grabbing his stage duel disk, strapping it on his arm. Then from his bag, he grabbed a top hat, plopping it on his head as he reached for a cape, tying it around his neck. The final piece to his costume was a mask that covered his eyes, something he appreciated immensely. With the hat covering his obvious hair color and the mask obscuring his face, it let him distance himself from his brother. He was no longer Saiku, the worse twin brother, he was Mystigan, Sorcerer of Dark Magic.

 

With a confident smile, Sai ran down the bleachers, cape billowing behind him as he leapt off, landing across from Balthy. "Alright, the Sorcerer of Dark Magic Mystigan accepts your challenge!" Sai's voice sounded confident and happy, not like the shy and scared boy he was not only a minute ago. With a smile, he grabbed a bunch of cards from his pocket and looked over them. Well, Balthy said he used Dinomists... Those were machines... This sound work! He activated the Action Field War Zone Warship, creating a wide ocean around them as the ground beneath them turned into a giant battleship, with turrets and a landing strip for planes. The Action Cards scattered across the boat, setting the stage.

 

"Since you are the challenger, I'll allow you the first move," the Duel Entertainer stated as he bowed to his opponent, taking his hat off and holding it as he did. He straightened back up and got in a pose. It was time to duel!

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Hey! What kind of a person shares a gene pool with a pro duelist and shamelessly walks away from a challenge like that!? And for that matter, I've got a score to settle with you too, and you're not getting away from me just by saying no like you would with Roy over here! Either you duel him or I'm forcing you to face me and all the humiliation you forced me through with that stupid video! Come back here and be a man!"

 

Roy could hear Kimiko's shrill voice cutting the obvious moment of Salem declining his challenge, and his face immediately met his hand. D-Damnit Kimiko... he thought, exhaling slightly. "Kimiko...why do you have to be like that? Stuff like this is why you have no friends." he said, rolling his eyes, before being caught off guard by Salem's quick response.

 

"Ah... heh... heh... heh... heeeeeeeyyyyyy Roooooyyyyy. I uhh, I'd love to duel you. Just, a uh, quiet affair, how bout that?"

 

His spirits now rising, Roy smiled and nodded at Salem. "Heh, awesome!"

 

"You see Roy, you just need to clearly state your intentions, and anyone can be a good listener. Now you two can have a fun duel, I'll be watching~"

 

Roy rolled his eyes again, mumbling softly under his breath. "Clearly state your intentions...iiiiinnn the form of literally intimidating the hell out of them." he shook his head, before smiling over at Salem. "Alright then. I suppose, we'll be meeting over at the Duel Arena around twelve." With that, Roy took his leave with, unaware of Kimiko's plan of bringing in a crowd to watch them Duel.

 

Alright...a Duel between myself and the brother of two Pro Duelists...this is going to be an awesome Duel! Roy thought, smirking.

[Alaina]

Listening to the struggles that the man, Akira, had been going through, she could understand why he seemed to be a bit on the ragged side. Given the boy's rather thrilling duel to watch the past few days ago, it made sense that others would be attempting to try and duel him as well. While Meiko felt no immediate need to, as she dueled Yushiro in the past, she understood that the man, Akira, had made for a great keeper for the boy. Just as she had dueled Yushiro, she too had dueled Akira in the past, and the term "impassable wall" would fit him perfectly.

 

Nevertheless, there would be no time for dueling as-, she briefly took out her phone to see that there was a new notification. A duel between Roy and Salem?! She hadn't known much about Salem, other than that he liked to dress up in a costume for some reason every now and then. Then there was Roy who she put on the same league as Kimiko in terms of skills, just being less rude about it and probably better at that. While the idea of going to see it certainly tickled her fancy, the girl knew that she still had a quest to solve. And that was finding a movie!

 

Turning to the man, Akira, with a confident smile on her face, to answer his question she said, "I have no clue!" A voice that was far more proud then it had any right to be, she then thought on it more and followed up with, "but our plan so far has been to find something with explosions. Comedy. Maybe Romance. Maybe all three. The possibilities are endless!" She puffed her chest even more proudly as she pointed her figure to the sky, emphasizing how great and grand this quest truly wasn't only to then bring her finger down and point at the other two. "Alright gang, with the newest addition to Meiko and Leona-chan's party, Akira-man, let us began our hunt for this movie!" Then pivoting one hundred eighty degrees to be facing the city and pointing her finger in a direction that just lead more into it, she yelled, "forward march!" And with that, the girl confidently started marching towards whatever direction a movie theater may or may not have been.   

[Draconus297]

Emma Pathos

 

Emma peered around the corner at the conversation going on, and double checked her notes. Kimiko was . . . quite the character, with enough force of will to power the school for days. Emma wasn't entirely sure she wanted to do a face-to-face interview with the Princess of the Posse, because she wanted to save her first actual paper for someone truly strange, someone no other psychologist, aspiring or otherwise, had had the opportunity to talk to.

 

And the little redhead had possibly found her new target. A quick search confirmed what Roy and Kimiko had said- Salem Noir was the younger brother of both famed pro Duelist Syndri Noir and Blue Yonder PE coach Dirk Noir.

 

"Interesting . . ." The short girl murmured to herself with a grin, before quickly hiding so Kimiko and Roy didn't notice her. Emma absolutely had to attend this Duel. Preferably with a recorder running.

 

* * * * * * * * *

 

Dee Skize

 

Wig? Check.

 

Color contacts? Check.

 

Boy's uniform? Check, if admittedly on loan from a gracious fan.

 

Deck? Lined up, card for card.

 

Taketonborg plushie? In hand.

 

The new student decided to test exactly how effective her duplication of Yushiro Midori had been by going for a brief walk around campus. Dee didn't just look like Yushiro. She became him, copying his shy mannerisms, his way of walking, his voice- Dee wasn't known as the Queen of Cosplay all around the Internet for nothing.

 

No one noticed. No one called out "Yushiro" for any slip-ups, no one stopped the young woman from simply walking into the boy's restroom, and a few even recognized "Yushiro" and said hi.

 

Dee was silently gleeful. She'd succeeded in copying the best Duelist at the academy, apparently flawlessly.

[BANZAI!!!!]

"But of course Iago, what are friends for?"

 

"Accomodating as always, Syndri." Iago slinked in through the door,  taking a seat on a couch opposite Syndri and placing a backpack he'd been wearing down beside himself.

 

"Got a few freebies from a recent sneak peek, but those special cards aren't in this set yet. I don't know what those makers are up to, but they're trying my patience now by withholding those damn Sigil cards." Iago huffed in a way that suggested he was suppressing a laugh, but otherwise stayed silent as he watched Syndri make quick work of the boosters arrayed before him. "New Magician cards? Where were THESE during my title match?"

 

"Its not like you needed them to win." Iago began curling another one of his dreads. "Besides, I've come bearing gifts, my friend." He opened up his backpack and fished around for a moment before producing a pair of locator cards, each containing a single card each. He tossed them on the table, Veiled Sigil of the Enigma and Enlightened Sigil of the Chaos both landing face-up. "They aren't that hard to find.... if you know where to look."

 

---

 

 

"Morning, Midori,"

 

"Oh, please no." Yushiro whirled around, with Taketo climbing out of his backpack, to see exactly whom he expected to see behind him. "Hiiiiiii, Blyythe." He had on a very nervous grin.

 

"I see you're not busy at the moment... I would have thought your newfound little piece of fame would have kept you busy longer. Of course, that doesn't matter to me... I'm just glad I managed to catch you. I think you know why, of course,"

 

Taketo tilted its head. It certainly didn't know why this person was looking for Yushiro. A new friend perhaps?

 

 

"You've beaten Hatekayama... Why stop now? If I had beaten one of the strongest duelists in the school... and I have... I wouldn't stop there. And I certainly don't intend to." The girl produced her duel disk. Right to the point, it seemed. Yushiro gulped, and Taketo now understood.

 

 

"How about it, Midori? Hatekayama is a load of hot air... beat me, and you'll really be getting somewhere. Of course, I'm sure you're aware of the cost if you fail..."

 

"Now uhhhh.... I don;t suppose you'd like to take a rain check on that, would you?" Yushiro took a couple of steps backward, his nervous grin turning into a dumb looking, eyes-closed smile. "I uhh.... don't really have time for a game today you know." A lie, but hopefully she would buy it. Yushiro liked to make bets, but he wasn't confident enough to bet his favorite card on someone else's whim.

[~Faytl~]

With a confident smile, Sai ran down the bleachers, cape billowing behind him as he leapt off, landing across from Balthy. "Alright, the Sorcerer of Dark Magic Mystigan accepts your challenge! Since you are the challenger, I'll allow you the first move," the Duel Entertainer stated as he bowed to his opponent, taking his hat off and holding it as he did. He straightened back up and got in a pose. It was time to duel!

 

Balthy blinked in surprise as Sai miraculously changed his entire countenance before him. He wasn't really sure how to react to this unexpected change. Sai was... confident. Extravagant, even.

 

"Mystigan, huh?" he asked, a little hesitant, rubbing the back of his head with one hand and shrugging. "Um... alright, Mystigan-san, I suppose we're doing this." 

 

His excitement was renewed when the Action Field began to take hold. His face split into a wide grin as the battleship came into life around them. "Wow!" he cried out, admiring the heavy artillery that surrounded them on the ship deck. "It's a battleship! Good call, Sai-sa- I mean, Mystigan-san!"

 

He held up his Duel Disk, the orange body flaring to life as a blue blade of light materialized before it. "Alright, then... Action... DUEL!"

 

Balthy vs Sai

8000/8000

 

He immediately took off running, heading towards the side rail of the ship and the ocean as he pulled a card from his hand. "I summon Dinomist Pteran, attack mode!" He leapt off the side of the ship, throwing himself towards the water and out of sight. But he wouldn't be gone long. He swiftly rose back into sight, atop the back of a giant orange and black mechanical dinosaur. Gears turned and whirred in it's body as Pteran raised its head, cawing as it soared up above the ship.

 

Dinomist Pteran

Level 4, 1800/1200

 

Balthy swept his eyes over the ship deck, looking for the telltale brown of an Action Card. But as he raised his head to swipe down on his goggles, putting them over his eyes, he saw one in the sky, with him. A huge tube rose from the ship, smoke and steam issuing forth from it in a great plume. And in the eddies of wind created in its wake, a lone Action Card, spiraling in the wind.

 

"Go!" he yelled, and Pteran flew forward, straight into the smoke cloud. Balthy held his breath until they exited, letting it out in a triumphant yell as he held the Action Card high between his fingers.

 

"Action Magic, go! Arrtillery Burst!" He thew the card into his Duel Disk, and one of the turrets sudenly sprung to life, turning to face Sai. "This card allows me to inflict 500 damage to a player! Take THIS!" The turret roared to life, peppering the ground around Sai, small explosions blasting up and blowing his cape back in a snapping flutter.

 

"Turn end!" Balthy called down, not wanting to push his luck with his turn timing out while he searched for cards. He turned his gaze back to the field, sweeping over it fom behing his goggles.

 

Balthy 8000, Sai 7500

 

- - - - - - - 

 

Blythe's eyes narrowed as Yushiro tried to stammer his way out of the situation. She shot a glare at him, and one at the strange robot that crawled out of his backpack too, for good measure. 

 

"You're sitting on a bench doing nothing, last I checked," she pointed out flatly. "Or were you waiting for your idiot friend Hoshi to come bail you out of this?" She smiled grimly. "I'm not interested in dueling that idiot, he can fight for you some other time... Unless you're too chickensh*t to face a REAL duelist."

 

She laughed, her tone rude as possible. "Your win against Hatekayama was a fluke, and you know it. Admit it, Midori... You got lucky. And you're afraid your luck will run out the second you duel someone with actual SKILL." She looked down at Yushiro's robot, considering it as it looked up at her crossly. "Still... Maybe it won't. Maybe you'll be the one to beat me. I've got three others who want to try for that today alone... Why don't we test that luck?"

 

She reached forward and grabbed the robot, clamping her hands around the prongs that stuck out of his head. The robot squirmed, trying desparately to free itself as Blythe plucked him up, turning to walk away, waving him over her shoulder like a cowbell until he stopped struggling.

 

"I'll be taking this for now," she said casually, not looking back at Yushiro. "If you want it back, you'll have to engage in a duel with me. Don't worry, you'll get him back even if you lose, good as new... I'm feeling generous. You're obviously nervous. Take a week, then meet me for our match. I'll let you know the time and place." She raised a free hand, waving as she went to leave. "Toodles, Midori."

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-Blue Yonder Duel Arena-

-12:00 PM-

 

-BGM-

 

It was the appointed time that they agreed on. That meant the Duel between Roy and Salem was about to get underway. And as the audience, who came due to the mass message that Kimiko sent filed in, Roy was currently sitting in the break room of the Duel Arena, looking at his deck that was spread across the table.

 

Alright. So, this is the third time I've gone through this deck...just to make sure everything's in order. he thought, crossing his arms, letting his gaze go through the cards once more. Nodding, he gathered them and proceeded to shuffle them quite a bit. Time to show everyone what we're all about guys. Roy smiled, standing up, putting his Crystal Beasts in the deck box.

 

Fixing his blue windbreaker and then his metallic blue hair, Roy smirked as he slowly made his way towards the main arena...

 

 

"Whoa..."

 

Roy was literally astonished as he looked out and saw the Duel Arena filled up with an audience. He could only surmise that Kimiko was behind this. He shook his head, as he made his way to his side of the field. Across the field, he noticed Salem walking in as well.

 

"Salem! Glad you made it!" Roy waved with a chuckle.

[The Warden]

The Champion of Strangeness

 

"Salem! Glad you made it!"

 

"Ah ha ha... yeah..." Salem swallowed nervously. Everyone was looking at him and suddenly he wasn’t feeling so cofident. “How the hell did word of this duel get around so quickly?” he anxiously thought as his opponent walked towards him.

 

Roy, on the other hand, had a different overall reaction to being in this auditorium with everyone looking at him. He wore a friendly smile as he approached Salem. This is it. The chance to go up against someone who’s got Pro Duelist status running through his blood. he thought, before reaching into his pocket. “Salem! Let’s have a good game!”

 

“Ah heh heh heh, yeah…” Salem grimaced as a digital coin appeared in the air. “Umm, call it?” he suggested as it was flipped skywards by a oversized white glove.

 

“Alright then. We’ll go with heads!” Roy called out, his hand emerging from his pocket, allowing the Duel Disk to strap to his wrist and activate.

 

Salem said nothing as the coin arced before coming down, landing flat on tails. “Oh… good” he frowned as he activated his duel disc. Given he had priority, he got the choice of Action Field. Flipping through his choices, the young man quickly sought out the only one that ever mattered. “Activate Action Field: Gothic City!”

 

In an instant the field was transformed into a clear knock-off of Gotham City. Skyscrapers reached as high as they could, and the field was bathed in moonlit night. Salem stood vigil as an overpass formed beneath his feet, taking him several feet into the air, so he could look down on Roy below. Great, this is exactly what he needed, to be put higher up so more people can look at him. Well, at least the holograms do a good enough job of covering him up. “Okay, I’m taking the first turn” Salem declared as he drew his starting hand.

 

Looking over his cards, he had some pretty decent draws, but he had no idea what this Roy guy even played. Best to play safe. “Okay, from my hand I will normal summon my Jutte Lord!” Appearing vigil on the overpass was an armoured warrior with a white face and red markings on it, a jutte held firmly in his hand. “When Jutte Lord is normal or special summoned,” Salem continued, “I can special summon a Jutte monster from my hand. So I’ll special summon Jutte Warrior!”

 

Appearing on the other side was a squat middle-aged balding Japanese man in a kimono, with leather fingerless gloves and a jutte clasped in his tiny hand. “Once per turn, I can have Jutte Warrior target a Jutte monster I control and change it’s level, with a choice of one through four. So I’m going to make my Jutte Lord become level one!” Salem declared.

 

Jutte Lord’s level appeared above his head, and the errant Jutte Warrior leapt to them, smashing all but one of the stars.

 

Roy was puzzled, watching Jutte Lord’s level dropping to one. He scratched his head slightly before sighing. “Okay, I’ll be the one to ask. Why drop it to level one?”

 

“Because Jutte Warrior is a tuner, durr. Now I’m tuning my level two Jutte Warrior with my level one Jutte Lord!” Salem exclaimed with very little vocal control. The two Jutte monsters nodded in agreement, and the Warrior turned into a pair of tuning rings in which the Lord jumped through. “The call of justice is nigh, so become the shield who will defend the meek! Synchro Summon! Shield of Valor! GOYO DEFENDER!” Salem roared, drawing a monster from his extra deck as a flash of green light exploded over him.

 

Diving down from the sky, the Goyo Defender landed hard on the road in front of Roy, the asphalt cracking beneath its feet as it held its shield at the ready. “Goyo!” it barked at the young man.

 

“A-Amazing!” Roy said, already applauding at this point. “Lowering your Jutte Lord enough to bring forth Goyo Defender. Color me impressed, Salem!”

 

“That’s not all. If I only control at least one earth warrior synchro monster, such as Goyo Defender, I can summon another one from my extra. So I’m bringing out another one” Salem declared, drawing another Defender from his extra.

 

Summoning a portal, the Goyo Defender drew its brother from the void, the two nodding in agreement as they linked barriers against Roy. “And that one summons the third, making three Goyo Defenders” Salem continued, drawing his last Defender.

 

The third Defender hit the field, all three at the ready as they kept the road safe of criminals. “Finally, I activate the continuous spell Solidarity, which works if I have only one type of monster in my graveyard. Because I have warriors, my Goyo Defenders all rise by eight hundred attack, putting them all on eighteen-hundred” Salem bragged as the Defender’s linked hands with the ghostly spirits of Jutte Lord and Jutte Warrior, raising their ATK to 1800.

 

“And now I end my turn” Salem concluded. He had a decent field, with his three Defenders out and Solidarity backing them up. The best part will be that Roy won’t even be able to attack into them, lest he enjoys 3800 ATK staring him in the face. It was foolproof.

 

.:Salem - 8000LP:.

Field: Goyo Defender x3, Solidarity

Graveyard: Jutte Lord, Jutte Warrior

Hand: 2 cards

[King K. Azo]

"Alright gang, with the newest addition to Meiko and Leona-chan's party, Akira-man, let us began our hunt for this movie! Forward march!" Akira shook his head, but smiled, taking the step to follow, but he then stopped and shivered.

"... I have the feeling something horrible has happened...," He mumbled to himself. Maybe he was being overly cautious...? Maybe... that could be it.

---

Sai, or rather Mystigan, as it said on the duel board, smiled as he drew his card. This would work well!

"I summon Skilled Dark Magician (ATK:1900/DEF:1700) in attack position!" A magician appeared on the field, dressed in robes with oversized shoulder pads, each one having a dent in them, and holding a staff. "And now I activate the Spell Card Spell Power Grasp! It allows me to put a Spell Counter to a card that can hold one, and Skilled Dark Magician happens to be one of those cards!"

A small sphere with a symbol in one of the dents in the shoulder pad on Skilled Dark Magician. "And on top of it, when I activate a Spell Card, Skilled Dark Magician gains yet another spell counter!" The other shoulder was decorated with a spell counter. "And now, go! Skilled Dark Magician, attack his Dinomist Pteran!"[/color]

The magician aimed his staff, energy charging at the tip of it. Balthy scanned the boat, looking for an Action Card. After a quick scan, he spotted a card fluttering in the wind. With a grin, he reached out and grabbed it before slapping it on his duel disk.

"Action Magic, go! Avoid!" The gears began to groan in Pteran as it spun ninety degrees, forcing Balthy to hold on. The magical blast fired by Skilled Dark Magician flew past the monster and master. "It allows me to negate an attack!"

"True, but Action Cards are considered spells, and because you activated a spell, Skilled Dark Magician gains its final spell counter!" Mystigan retorted as Skilled Dark Magician's staff began to glow.

"Main Phase Two!" Mystigan took a deep breath before spreading his arms out wide, his cape fluttering in the wind.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!" he called out to a crowd that may or may not have been there. "Allow me to introduce the new star of this stage!" He pointed a finger at his monster dramatically as he held on to the brim of his hat. "When Skilled Dark Magician gains three spell counters, I can tribute him off to summon a more powerful monster! Can you guess what it is?" Skilled Dark Magician was engulfed in a bright pillar of light as Mystigan began to chant.

Summoning of the Dark Magician

"Oh Ultimate Magician of attack and defense... I beg of thee please heed my cry, and bring me victory in this fight... I summon you to this game... but first I shall call thy name! Come to my side, Dark Magician!!" When the chant was finished, the pillar died down, and now standing in the place of Skilled Dark Magician was a young-looking man wearing full-body magician's armor that only revealed his hands and face. The armor was black with white-colored linings all around the around the armor. He had large, pointed shoulder pads, a cape wrapped around the waist, a pointed magician's helmet attached to the armor, and a black staff in its hand. The last details were his pale white skin, and his long hair. The magician crossed his arms over his chest as he hovered to the ground.

 

Dark Magician

Level 7, 2500/2100

 

"And with that, I set a card in the Spell and Trap Zone, and I end my turn!"

---

Sai:7500LP
Field: Dark Magician (ATK:2500/DEF:2100)
Graveyard: Spell Power Grasp, Skilled Dark Magician.
Hand: 4 cards

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Solidarity, along with three Goyo Defenders. Roy thought, looking down at the current field. He definitely has Pro Duelist status in his blood. Makes this all the more fun! He exhaled slightly and drew his sixth card, looking at it, before smiling.

 

-BGM-

 

“Well, looks like it’s time to start this off right!” Roy said, immediately turning around and running from the three Goyo Defenders. “Here we go!! I summon to the field, Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus!”

 

Suddenly, from the moonlit skies, a twinkle was seen. This twinkle in the sky came closer and closer, before it made it’s way down at the road, revealing to be a white pegasus with a horn made of pure sapphire.

 

“Let’s go buddy!” Roy laughed, hopping onto Sapphire Pegasus’ back as they took off into the sky. “Next! The skill that my Pegasus has. I add from either hand, deck, or grave, one Crystal Beast to the field...as a Continuous Spell card.”

 

“Oh god no, Crystal Beasts?!” Salem shrieked in dismay.

 

“That’s right!” Roy chuckled, before seeing a small list of cards from his deck he accessed because of Sapphire Pegasus. “And now...we’ll add Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle to the field!”

 

As Roy said this, a card shot out from his deck in the form of a small purple cat-like creature with a red ruby orb on its tail. However, it was engulfed in a bright red light, before turning into a pure ruby gem which was now orbiting around Roy and Sapphire Pegasus.

 

“Awesome. Now, I’ll equip Sapphire Pegasus with the Spell, Crystal Release!” Roy said, quickly tossing a card into the air. “With this, it’ll raise my monster’s attack by 800, bringing it to 2600!” Just as he said, Sapphire Pegasus’ attack counter was shown, its numbers raising from 1800 straight to 2600.

 

“Next I’ll set a face down.” Roy smiled, putting one face down. “I’ll call it a turn at that, Salem!”

 

.:Roy - 8000LP:.

Field: CB Sapphire Pegasus (w/ Crystal Release), CB Ruby Carbuncle (Cont Spell), 1 Set S/T

Graveyard: Nothing

Hand: 3 cards

[Draconus297]

Emma Pathos

 

Emma watched quietly from the stands, tapping on her notepad as her camera rolled. Goyo vs. Crystal Beasts was just an awkward matchup all around, because while the effect Crystal Beasts shared made the monster-taking gimmick of Goyo null and void, the higher stat numbers Goyo monsters had made them a difficult wall to breach for the Crystal Beasts. This was just going to be an uncomfortable Duel on both sides, and Emma relished in seeing people uncomfortable.

 

It made profiling quite simple.

 

Both Duelists knew what they were doing, and the confidence in the room just made everything more entertaining . . . and that drew Emma's attention. From preliminary research, Salem Noir was reserved if a bit delusional. Where was all this confidence coming from?

 

The redhead's fingers tap tap tapped away as she decided that, win or lose, the Noir boy was worth pursuing as an analysis project later.

 

============

 

Dee Skize

 

Quiet excitement. It was the way Yushiro would react to watching a Duel, and as such it was the way Dee would react as she portrayed Yushiro.

 

The success she'd had with her cosplay made Dee's heart flutter- everyone she'd met so far had been completely convinced that she was the real Yushiro Midori, the guy who'd managed to beat Kimiko Hatakeyama on the first day.

 

Suddenly, even as she watched the Duel between Mystigan and Balthazar, Dee jolted just slightly.

 

Her cosplay was incomplete.

 

The real Yushiro was always always always accompanied by his friend Akira . . .

 

Dee had to find him later.