[Jaden & Yumi, LP 1800]
[Gloria & Grace, LP 200]
"Looks like it's my turn now. Draw!" Yumi announced, a confident smile curving on his lips as he drew his card.
Yet when Yumi glanced at his partner, he saw that same carefree grin stretched across Jaden's face. Throughout the entire duel, Jaden hadn't shown a flicker of fear or hesitation, despite knowing full well that losing meant expulsion from Duel Academy.
Jaden still didn't understand. Dueling wasn't just fun and games; it was about responsibility, growth, and knowing when to get serious.
But maybe trying to teach him that before he was ready was pointless. Especially with Yumi here, someone who is strong and whom Jaden could rely on. As long as Yumi was standing next to him, Jaden didn't need to get serious. He could afford to enjoy the ride.
Letting out a breath, Yumi glanced at the card he drew and smoothly slid it into his Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card A Hero Lives! By paying half my Life Points, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Elemental HERO from my deck!"
The spell card lit up, and both duelists' Life Points dropped dramatically.
[Jaden & Yumi, LP 1800 -> 900]
"Show yourself, Elemental HERO Bubbleman!"
In a spray of bubbles, the blue-armored HERO landed onto the field with a sharp pose.
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, 800 ATK]
"Bubbleman's effect activates when I have no other cards on the field, I draw two cards!" Yumi declared, quickly drawing and glancing at his hand.
Without hesitation, he revealed another card. "Next, I activate Hero Mask! I target Bubbleman and send Elemental HERO Ocean from my deck to the Graveyard. Until the end of this turn, Bubbleman is treated as Ocean!"
Yumi sent Ocean to the Graveyard, then followed up with another play. "Now I activate Polymerization! I fuse the Ocean on my field with Burstinatrix in my hand!"
The two heroes appeared briefly, diving into the swirling vortex of fusion. From the blinding light, a radiant figure emerged.
"Fusion Summon! Shine bright! Elemental HERO Sunrise!"
Sunrise landed with crossed arms, his red armor gleaming under the stadium lights.
[Elemental HERO Sunrise, 2500 ATK]
"Sunrise's effect activates, allowing me to add Miracle Fusion to my hand!"
He added the card, wasted no time, and immediately played it. "Miracle Fusion! I banish Elemental HERO Ocean and Elemental HERO Woodsman from my Graveyard to Fusion Summon another HERO!"
As the vortex opened once again, a new figure descended, imposing and grounded like the very planet.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO The Earth!"
The armored behemoth slammed into the field beside Sunrise.
[Elemental HERO The Earth, 2500 ATK]
Gasps rippled through the audience. In just one turn, the strongest Slifer Red had summoned two powerhouse HEROes, and against opponents with only 200 LP left. It was almost overkill.
"Sunrise's continuous effect, my monsters gain 200 ATK for every different Attribute monster I control!" A brilliant aura pulsed outward from Sunrise. Increasing the ATK of the HEROes standing together on the field, Sunrise (LIGHT), and The Earth (EARTH).
[Elemental HERO Sunrise, 2500 -> 2900 ATK]
[Elemental HERO The Earth, 2500 -> 2900 ATK]
"Battle! Sunrise, attack Amazoness Paladin!" Yumi commanded.
The red HERO launched forward, his body glowing as he prepped a radiant strike.
"Trap Card, open!" Gloria countered. "Amazoness Substitution! When one of our girls is targeted for an attack, I can Special Summon another Amazoness from my hand and change the attack target to it!"
A second Amazoness Swords Woman appeared in a shimmer of light.
[Amazoness Swords Woman, 1500]
Sunrise's strike was redirected toward the Swords Woman. The crowd stood up in alarm, remembering the Swords Woman's unique effect that redirects damage back to the attacker. With only 900 Life Points left, this could be the end for Yumi and Jaden.
Unlike at the beginning of the duel, the audience now has a mixed reaction, with many of them worrying about the two Slifer Reds.
Jaden's carefree demeanor had brought energy to the crowd, making many root for them without even realizing it. But Yumi's commanding presence and raw skill had earned admiration.
With many students dreaming of making it big in the dueling world once they graduate, having someone strong to test their strength at that time is a desire for many.
Yugi Muto. Seto Kaiba. Legends who once ruled Duel Monsters. There could even be entire tournaments revolved around them, with either one of them standing as the final challenge for duelists to test their skill and see how far they had come.
Even in the GX, Season 4, the final duel for Jaden's graduation ceremony was with the past Yugi Muto, letting Season 4 Jaden test his skills and rekindle his love for dueling.
So now many of the students didn't want to see Jaden and Yumi expelled.
But with only 900 LP and an unavoidable reflection effect, the end seemed certain...
"Quick-Play Spell, Mask Change!" Yumi declared. "I send one HERO I control to the Graveyard and Special Summon a Masked HERO with the same Attribute!"
Sunrise's red armor cracked and burst in golden light.
"Henshin! Masked HERO Koga!"
The light condensed and reformed into a sleeker warrior in golden armor. Dual blades slid from his forearms as he landed beside the Amazoness Swords Woman.
The Mask HERO's sharp blue eyes locked onto the two Tyler sisters before quickly jumping back, landing beside the Earth.
[Masked HERO Koga, 2500 ATK]
Gloria's eyes narrowed. "So… that's it, huh?"
"With only 200 LP, even a 2400 ATK monster would be enough," Grace added, a calm smile on her face. "And that was our last trap…"
They both looked to Yumi with a mix of respect and admiration.
"Koga gains 500 ATK for each monster you control," Yumi said as Koga stared down the five Amazoness monsters, his eyes glowing.
[Masked HERO Koga, 2500 -> 5000 ATK]
Seeing the Masked HERO reaching 5000 attack points, the audience stood up from their seat, shocked by how many times a 5000 ATK monster appeared during this duel.
The two sisters didn't even seem surprised. As professional duelists, they recognized it immediately: Yumi had held back from the start. If he'd used Quick Fusion or his other Polymerization earlier, the duel could've ended in one turn.
Yet they decided not to say anything, understanding that this was simply the mindset of a powerful duelist; their confidence is so high that even while holding back, they could still accidentally OTK someone.
"Koga attack Amazoness Empress!" Yumi declared, his tone final.
The golden energy blades extended, radiating immense power.
"Shining Clash!"
With a cross-slash of pure golden energy, Koga sliced through the air. Amazoness Empress tried to block the hit, raising her blade, but the force overwhelmed her. She was sent flying backward, skidding across the field before falling to one knee, then fading into sparkles of light.
[Gloria & Grace, LP 200 -> 0]
The result was clear.
As the holograms faded and silence fell, Jaden and Yumi both struck a pose in perfect sync, two fingers to their temples, then pointing directly at the sisters.
"Gotcha!/That's game!" They grinned, voices overlapping but unshaken.
"That," they finished together, "was a fun duel."
Crowler and the rest of the Obelisks stood up, shocked that these two Slifer could beat the best tag team duelists, while their friends were cheering like crazy.
"Yeah, Jay, you did it!" Syrus shouted, tears in his eyes as he ran toward the duel arena. "You're gonna stay here with us!"
"Totally, Sy! And we couldn't have done it without my AIBO!" Jaden cheered, about to hop down from the arena, until he saw the Tyler Sisters approaching.
Well, more accurately, Grace was dragging her older sister along. "Oh, sup!"
"Heya! Sorry about all the stuff we said during the duel. Right, sis?" Grace gave her older sister a pointed look. Gloria crossed her arms and stared at the ground, silent. "She is sorry. She's just... bad at showing it."
Jaden gave a big grin. "Yeah, no worries! I wasn't mad or anything!"
"Same," Yumi added casually.
Grace let out a relieved sigh. "Cool. Oh, right, I almost forgot!" She pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and handed it to Yumi.
Everyone, including Gloria, froze.
She gave him a wink and held her hand up in a little 'call me' sign.
Everyone: "!"
"Oi, sis!" Gloria hissed.
But not to be outdone, Gloria pulled out a folded handkerchief, complete with her number written in lipstick and a kiss mark, then gently pressed it into Yumi's palm.
"Don't forget me, okay, pretty boy?" she whispered, blushing but trying to act cool.
Everyone: "!!"
Even Grace's jaw dropped this time.
Yumi Uzushi. A Slifer Red. A guy who rarely even showed up to class, just got numbers from the Tyler Sisters, two renowned pro duelists.
Is their tag-team synergy so strong that they even share taste in men?
The sisters blew him synchronized air kisses before leaving, their furious manager trailing behind, muttering about PR disasters and "first-year Slifer scandal."
Sure, Yumi had skills, but still, if it were Zane, this would make headlines. But Yumi?! A Slifer Red.
Somewhere in the back, a certain indigo-haired girl accidentally crushed her chair arm.
Chancellor Sheppard, Professor Banner, and Doctor Crowler stepped onto the stage.
Crowler grumbled, clearly regretting spending his entire paycheck this semester.
"Excellent work, you two!" Sheppard applauded. "You not only won an expulsion duel, you beat a professional tag team duelists! You absolutely deserve to stay at Duel Academy!"
"Indeed," Banner said, stepping forward. "Although..." He gave them a knowing look. "Since you technically did break into the Abandoned Dorm, I propose a small punishment: a ten-page paper, detailing what you learned from the duel and your time in suspension."
"Wonderful idea, Professor Banner!" Sheppard agreed.
Yumi's face dropped in betrayal, silently wondering if now was the time to tear off this professor's metaphorical mask and reveal he was just a homunculus all along.
Meanwhile, Jaden dropped to his knees. "NNNNNOOOOO! Please, expel me! I surrender! I don't want to write papers!"
"Jaden, you do realize they already left, right?" Sheppard asked.
Jaden ignored him and continued to cry anime-style tears.
"Well... I think it's time we left these two to begin their essays and... whatever this is." Sheppard gestured vaguely at Jaden as he turned to leave.
Banner gave a small nod and walked off. Crowler followed, still sulking, arms crossed, muttering about wasted tuition and disrespectful youth.
Chumley went towards Jaden, who was still crying anime tears, trying to comfort him into crying as he heard that today was Eggwich day, while Syrus was trying his best, while failing, to make his big brother stop crying.
"Should we help him?" Bastion asked, standing with Alexis.
"I don't see why not," she replied, walking toward Jaden with Bastion.
Celina, however, headed toward Yumi, who was staring at Professor Banner's retreating figure.
"Professor Banner!" Yumi called out suddenly.
Most ignored him, assuming he was trying to talk his way out of the punishment like Jaden.
But Banner paused, then turned.
"Did you see it?" Yumi asked. "The power of my fusion, combining weaker monsters to make something stronger. Remind you of anything, Professor?"
Banner's smile didn't waver, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
"I'm impressed, Yumi. If you want further guidance, come to my office after your next class."
With that, he turned and walked off.