A new day dawned.
Crowler, humming a little tune and dancing a hometown jig, walked into his classroom, ready to begin today's lesson.
His mood was excellent. Acting principal, outmaneuvering that annoying Napoleon, backed by a slew of reliable students, and his beloved student Zane Truesdale had even achieved an Xyz Summon in this world! His reputation among teachers and students had skyrocketed, perfectly feeding his vanity.
He slid open the door... and froze.
"G-Gone?!"
"Where is it?!"
The classroom was utterly devoid of one color.
Blue.
"BLUE! Where is my BLUE?!" Crowler shrieked, clutching his cheeks.
Surrounded by red and yellow like a tulip field without the blue accents he so cherished, Crowler collapsed in dismay.
Amid the sea of red and yellow uniforms, with the occasional purple mixed in, Crowler somehow finished his lecture.
"So... Professor Crowler wants us to investigate?" Chazz's eyes lit up. This was his kind of task!
"Not quite," Hikaru shook his head. "Principal Crowler already knows. He argued with Napoleon again, then pulled the whole 'This is MY academy, capisce?' routine."
"My what now?" Jaden blinked.
"Cough, I'll explain later. Anyway, Jaden, it's aimed at you."
"Me?" Jaden blinked in confusion.
"Ah, I see... Napoleon has always wanted to get rid of Slifer Red. Looks like this time he even brought in outside help." Chazz quickly pieced things together, nodding.
Meanwhile, Bastion wasn't paying attention. He was busy drafting an application to visit Tsudonoya City.
Seeing Kaiser perform an Xyz Summon had finally unlocked something inside him. He wanted more chances to visit the city and find his own path.
"Aha! Leave it to me!" Jaden puffed his chest. "Sounds fun! So we just duel the Obelisk guys and get them to change their clothes back, right?"
Whether he understood the real problem was debatable. But to Jaden, it didn't matter.
Duel. Fun!
"President," a clubmate from the front desk interrupted, handing Hikaru an envelope.
A challenge letter.
"What's this?" Even Bastion looked over, curious.
"A challenge letter? People still do that?"
Hikaru opened it, skimming quickly. His eyes narrowed at a few key phrases.
Sartorius's subordinate. Pro Duelist X. A formal challenge.
If Hikaru lost, he would join the Society of Light. If X lost, Sartorius would provide information on... Raviel.
Hikaru's eyes sharpened.
"Raviel? What's that?" someone asked.
"Probably some card related to Fusion," Jaden guessed.
"Hmph... Could someone prep the duel recording setup?" Hikaru asked while scanning the letter.
Tierra's silhouette materialized beside him, leaning over his shoulder to glance at the letter. "So it's finally happening."
Hikaru nodded.
In addition to his usual studies and experiments, Hikaru had spent his free time raiding multiple Fusion Army bases using the coordinates stolen from their laptops. But none had Raviel.
Sartorius...
It looked like that guy had performed some kind of divination targeting him.
What was he scheming now?
People like Sartorius, with foresight and fortune-telling powers, always dabbled in mysticism. Sartorius was the pinnacle, half prophet, half lunatic.
Canon dictated that only two people could determine Sartorius's fate, Jaden Yuki and Aster Phoenix. They were the keys to whether he'd walk the path of destruction.
But Hikaru? He was unrelated.
Probably a side effect of this being an alternate world. Sartorius was applying his usual tactics to Hikaru now.
Regardless, Hikaru didn't care much.
Fusion Club members scrambled to prep recording equipment, adjusting displays, and waiting for the challenger.
"It's him," Aster muttered when X walked in.
"You know him?" Jaden asked.
"Pro Duelist X... Ranked higher than me."
"WHAT!? Higher than Aster?!" Alexis gasped. "Hikaru, be careful."
X entered with his eternal fake smile. Hikaru recognized him instantly.
'Ah. Him.'
A pro duelist.
"Rankings are just rankings. Only real duels determine victory," Chazz dismissed.
"True, but... that guy is special even among pros," Aster frowned. "No one wins their first duel against him. Not once.
His first duel is always a guaranteed win. No pro wants to face him."
"WHAT!?" Chazz practically yelped.
"That strong... wait, Aster, have you dueled him?" Jaden asked.
Aster shook his head. "No. Our schedules never crossed. Or maybe Sartorius made sure of that."
"Duel!"
The match began. The Fusion Club cheered wildly.
[X, LP: 4000]
[Amaki Hikaru, LP: 4000]
"Then, I'll take the first turn." X bowed slightly, then drew.
"I summon Trap Sluzer in Attack Position."
A weird machine, made of spheres and rods, materialized on his field.
[Trap Sluzer] Level 4│DARK│Machine│800 ATK
"Then I set two cards. Turn end."
"T-That's it?" A student blurted.
A few years ago, this might've passed as a decent start.
But now? After all their interactions with other dimensions? Really?
Hikaru raised an eyebrow at the monster.
Another ridiculous fake card from the original lore. This Pro Duelist X specialized in decks that destroyed other decks.
But against Hikaru's deck? Not much of a problem.