"So... what I'm hearing is that I could've been sleeping with my wife this whole time," Momoyo murmured, shamelessly wrapping her arms around Iris's waist.
"M-My lady-" Iris whispered, cheeks flushed as she felt Momoyo's strong yet slender hand pull her closer.
"Hush. Call me dear," Momoyo breathed into her ear, gently placing a finger on Iris's lips.
Yumi: "…"
Raye: "…"
Roze: "Mmm~ Mochi."
"Not exactly what I meant," Yumi muttered, flipping the mochi over the grill. "But yeah. She could keep you safe."
He didn't even glance back. "Still, don't be careless. Wasting Spirit Energy will make it harder to summon your Duel Spirits when you actually need them."
Not all Duel Spirits could act independently like Yubel, some required direct summoning.
"Tch, easy for you to say," Momoyo scoffed. "I don't even know how to use Spirit Energy. And let's be real, having a cute card girl you can actually touch and cuddle is way more fun than dating fan girls."
She shrugged, holding Iris closer with a grin.
Besides, she was the type who swung both ways. And as Yumi's older sister, she knew full well about his… eclectic taste. Even now, Raye and Roze were comfortably lounging on his lap as he grilled mochi for them like some harem protagonist in a slice-of-life anime.
She didn't bring it up though. Their tastes were… complicated.
"So, let me guess, are all your female cards part of your harem now?" she teased, smirking.
Yumi: "…"
There was a pause before he finally answered.
"Maybe."
He shrugged. "I won't force them to do anything they don't want… but I'm also not going to stop them if they make a move."
As if to prove his point, he calmly fed a piece of mochi to Raye, who took it with a contented hum.
"If you act like that, people'll start thinking you're easy," Momoyo remarked, picking up a piece of mochi for herself.
"I don't care what strangers think," he replied flatly.
"Celina, then?" she shot back. "She doesn't seem like a stranger to you."
That made him pause.
"…That's for her to decide," he said after a moment. "If I assume too much, I might hurt both of us."
Momoyo clicked her tongue. "Tch. You talk like a sub."
Yumi rolled his eyes. "And whose fault is that?"
It wasn't like he couldn't overpower Momoyo or Celina, he could, easily, especially with his Duel Spirits. But that wasn't the point. He chose not to. Not because he lacked strength, but because he valued the relationships.
Using force felt… wrong.
Besides, he might actually hurt them if he ever let loose.
Now that he thought about it, he didn't really understand human emotions that well.
"Of course it's your fault," Momoyo replied cheerfully, ruffling his hair like how she would tease her younger brother.
Suddenly, the air shifted, subtle, but unmistakable.
The faint sound of footsteps echoed in the distance.
In response, the duel spirits around Yumi and Momoyo quickly faded back into spirit form, with Roze swiping one last mochi before vanishing.
Both siblings turned toward the source of the sound.
A figure emerged from the shadows, cloaked in black. A face mask concealed their identity, and they wore none of Duel Academy's signature uniforms.
"…Huh?" Yumi blinked.
Momoyo rose from her seat, stepping in front of her brother instinctively.
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, eyes narrowing as she stood protectively.
The figure didn't answer right away.
"…Yumi Uzushi," they rasped, voice coarse and distorted. Then, without warning, they raised their left arm, activating a duel disk with a harsh whir. "Hand over Raye."
Yumi: "..."
Momoyo: "..."
"Want me to beat this idiot up?" Momoyo asked, cracking her knuckles.
"Stay out of this!" the figure snarled.
A massive black bird with dark markings appeared behind them, emitting a powerful dark aura, and blue flame erupted around them, spreading directly toward the two siblings and the Slifer Red dorm.
"On second thought, you can handle this." Momoyo muttered, retreating behind Yumi with zero shame.
If things were physical, she could handle it easily. But the supernatural, then she would let her brother deal with them since she can't punch spirits.
Reacting fast, Yumi activated his duel disk.
"Show yourself! Absolute Zero!"
A cold wind surged as the icy Hero burst into reality. Clad in gleaming white armor, with a flowing cape and frost trailing his steps, Elemental HERO Absolute Zero landed in front of them.
As he raised one arm, a wave of sub-zero temperature washed over the area.
The blue flames snuffed out instantly, erased by the sheer cold. Even the black bird let out a distorted shriek before vanishing into the shadows.
Both monsters disappeared.
'That thing... feels familiar.' Yumi thought, but since his duel disk is already activated, there is nothing left to wait for.
"Duel!" x2
[Yumi, LP 4000]
[Dark Figure, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw!" the masked figure declared, swiftly drawing their opening card.
Their eyes scanned their hand before selecting one. "I summon Blizzard Falcon in Attack Position!"
A cold wind swirled around them, gathering into a sleek, dark-blue falcon with crystalized ice wings. The bird let out a sharp cry as it formed.
[Blizzard Falcon, 1500 ATK]
"Heh?" Yumi widened his eyes, seeing the ice bird.
From his memory, this monster appeared later on in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, used by Kastle Rio.
Again, him printing new cards has caused cards from the future to appear. But since Xyz summoning hasn't been invented yet, Yumi wonders if Rio's ace monster would be a Fusion monster or a Main deck monster.
"Interesting." he murmured aloud.
The figure continued without hesitation. "I activate the Field Spell, A Legendary Ocean!"
They slammed a card into their Field Spell Zone. The scenery around them warped, replaced by an undersea cityscape, filled with flickering schools of fish and glowing towers of coral.
"This card is treated as 'Umi,' and all WATER monsters on the field gain 200 ATK and DEF!"
[Blizzard Falcon, 1500 -> 1700 ATK]
"Blizzard Falcon's effect activated, once per turn, when its ATK is higher than its original ATK. I can inflict 1500 effect damage to you!" They said before waving their hand. "Go, Blizzard Falcon!"
The falcon let out a screech, its wings spreading wide before it launched a freezing gust toward Yumi.
"I'll activate Clear Kuriboh from my hand!" Yumi quickly discards a card in his hand.
The purple-blue fur ball jumps forward, tanking the snowy wind and bursting open, revealing another Clear Kuriboh inside it.
"By discarding this card, I can make any effect damage I would take become zero!"
The gust harmlessly passed through him.
"Then, I'll activate the spell card, Quick Rush. Level 4 or lower monster I control can attack the first turn!"
The figure pointed at their falcon.
"My Blizzard Falcon is Level 4, so, battle!"
The figure waved their hand, pointing at Yumi.
"Blizzard Falcon, player direct attack!"
The falcon screamed and soared forward, wings flaring with frozen wind.
"I'll activate Sky Striker Data - Ace Spirit from my hand!" Yumi simply raised a card from his hand and placed it on his Duel Disk. "When you declared a direct attack. I can special summon this card from my hand!"
[Sky Striker Data - Ace Spirit, 1000 DEF]
Blue data fragments swirled and formed into a partially rendered girl, her silhouette clearly that of Raye. Her incomplete digital body flickered, but her form stood firm between Yumi and the incoming attack.
"RAAYEEE!!" the masked figure suddenly howled, their voice trembling in a mix of shock and desperation.
Ignoring this crazy shout, Yumi continued.
"When Ace Spirit is Special Summoned by her own effect, she can't be destroyed by battle! And when she is Special Summoned, I can add a Sky Striker Spell from my deck or grave to my hand."
He drew a card from his deck and revealed it. "I'll add Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage! to my hand!"
The falcon collided with Raye's digital form, and bounced off harmlessly, its attack neutralized.
The figure scowled but continued, placing two cards facedown behind their monster. "I set two and end my turn."
"I've been meaning to test out this new deck," Yumi murmured, a grin tugging at his lips. "Maybe you'll make an excellent test dummy."
"Draw!"
He pulled his card and glanced at his hand before picking one out.
"I activate Reinforcement of the Army, this lets me add a Level 4 or lower Warrior from my deck to my hand." He searched through his deck and revealed the card. "I'll add Sky Striker Ace - Roze to my hand."
"That's not Raye!!" the masked figure shrieked.
Ignoring this crazy fan, Yumi then pointed toward the monster on his field.
"I activate Ace Spirit's effect. By returning her to my deck, I can Special Summon a Sky Striker Ace monster from my hand or deck."
Sliding Ace Spirit back into his deck, he pulled a card and placed it on his Duel Disk.
"I'll Special Summon, Sky Striker Ace - Raye!"
Blue data particles coalesced, forming into the familiar, slender figure of Raye.
[Sky Striker Ace - Raye, 1500 ATK]
"RAYEEEEE!!!" the figure screamed, their voice cracking with raw emotion.
Yumi: "..."
Raye: "..."
Momoyo: "Yeah, this is one of those crazy fan. Don't worry, at least they won't stab you, yet..."
Raye looked like she was considering going back into the deck. But with Yumi's new cards, pulling her back out was a trivial matter.
"Since I summoned a Sky Striker Ace monster, I can now Special Summon Sky Striker Ace - Roze from my hand!"
Another stream of blue data formed, manifesting into Roze. She stood beside Raye, casually chewing something before swallowing.
[Sky Striker Ace - Roze, 1500 ATK]
"I now activate Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage!"
A high-tech holographic gate opened behind Yumi as he searched his deck.
"This lets me add a Sky Striker card from my deck to my hand. I'll add Sky Striker HERO - Yumi."
Momoyo raised a brow. "Wait… a card with your name?"
Next, Yumi played another card. "I activate Take Over 5, sending the top five cards of my deck to the Graveyard."
He swiftly sent five cards to the graveyard, then raised his hand toward Raye and Roze.
"Now I Contact Fuse Raye and Roze!"
The two girls reached out, their fingers interlocking. A bright light enveloped them as their bodies merged into one.
Sliding both monsters to the graveyard, Yumi revealed a card from his Extra Deck.
"By fusing two Sky Striker Ace monsters, I summon Sky Striker Ace - Zero!"
Appearing on his field was a young woman, a bit older than Raye and Roze, with messy, long silver hair that reached all the way down to her ankle. She wore a black skin-tight body suit with silver metal armor that clung to her body, showing her slender yet stronger physique while also highlighting her bigger assets from both her front and back.
A few pieces, like her metal shoulder guards, high-tech metal side skirts, hovered just above her body; this not only won't hinder her mobility but also provides some defense.
She held the Sky Striker katana with both hands, gaze locked onto the opponent.
[Sky Striker Ace - Zero, 2000 ATK]
"Trap Card, activate, Chthonian Polymer!" the masked figure yelled. "When you Fusion Summon, I can tribute my Blizzard Falcon to take control of your Fusion Monster!"
The bird exploded into golden shards, its form consumed.
The figure cackled, voice starting to slip further into madness.
But Yumi didn't flinch.
"I chain it with Zero's effect. When she's summoned, I can add one Sky Striker Spell from my deck or graveyard to my hand."
He revealed a card: "I'll add Widow Anchor."
"Then, I will also chain this with the effect of Sky Striker HERO - Yumi!"
Without hesitation, Yumi placed the monster card into the Spell and Trap zone.
"Quick effect, I can target a Sky Striker Ace or HERO monster I control, equip it to that monster, and the equipped monster gains 1000 ATK and DEF!"
The card version of Yumi appeared standing right behind Zero, his hands moved through some holographic screens that hovered around him.
[Sky Striker Ace - Zero, 2000 -> 3000 ATK]
"Raising her ATK won't stop her from being stolen!" the figure shouted gleefully.
As the chains continued to result, Yumi added Widow Anchor to his hand. Then the effect of Chthonian Polymer went through, the blue bird disappeared in golden particles, used up as a sacrifice, but Zero doesn't seem to be switching sides, which confused the figure.
"Since I have three or more spells in my grave, Yumi's effect kicks in. The equipped monster, Zero, is unaffected by your card's effect." Yumi said calmly as multiple layers of fire wall appeared before Zero, blocking the effect of Chthonian Polymer and preventing her from being NTR.
"DAMN YOU!!" The figure cursed him out for some reason, both siblings couldn't understand, but also didn't care.
Smiling, he placed down his final card. "I'll set one card, then activate Card of Sanctity! Both of us draw until we have six cards."
Both Yumi and the figure drew until they had six fresh cards in their hand.
"Battle, go Zero, player direct attack!" Yumi orders, and the older girl doesn't hesitate, charging forward with her blade raised. "Ace Slasher!"
"AHhhh!" The impact hit cleanly, striking the figure in the chest, sending them flying backward as their mask shattered from the blow.
[Dark Figure, LP 4000 -> 1000]
"I… I won't forgive you…" the figure muttered, voice noticeably softer now.
The voice changer lay in pieces beside the cracked mask, both destroyed by the attack. Her identity was revealed.
She was a girl all along.
She hadn't even realized her cover was blown yet.
Still, the things that bothered him the most were her face, as she looked no different from Rio Kastle, a female character in ZEXAL.
But... ZEXAL should be starting in around a couple of decades into the distant future, meaning that the person in front of him right now is either hiding their real form, or this is just a coincidence that they have the same face, hair, eyes, and even voice.
Again, this is another case of a person from a different series showing up here.
"…Interesting," Yumi murmured with amusement.
"Trap card." The girl pushed herself up and activated her final face-down card. "Damage Condenser, when I take battle damage, I can discard one card, the Special Summon a monster from my deck with equal or less ATK than the damage I took!"
She sent a card to her grave, then pulled her deck out and searched for a card.
"Show yourself!" Her sclera suddenly turned black, and an ominous aura emitted from her body. On her back, markings of a massive bird suddenly appeared.
This caused Yumi, Zero, and Momoyo to widen their eyes in alarm.
"Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu!"