It was later into the day. After the Duel between Manjoume and Kuromu, Instructor Chronos escorted the former to the D.E.C.. There, the former Obelisk was being questioned by them while Chronos called for the emergency meeting Kuromu had requested. Principal Samejima was present in the conference room, alongside Instructor Chronos, Daitokuji, Kabeyama, Ayakawa and several other staff members of Duel Academia.
"Thank you for coming to this meeting on short notice." Chronos began. "I will cut to the chase. This meeting is being held at the behest of Signor Kururugi. Signor Manjoume attempted to prevent Signor Kururugi from promoting to Obelisk Blue by sabotaging his Duel Disk."
"Oh dear-nya…" Daitokuji said worried, his cat meowing. The other staff members murmured amongst one another at the unsettling news.
"Why would Manjoume do such a thing?" Kabeyama asked. "And to one of my students no less?"
"That there lies the problem. Signor Manjoume has colluded with the Kururugi family's enemy, Oogumo. It was Oogumo who provided the means of sabotaging Signor Kururugi's Duel Disk to Signor Manjoume. And assuming that he's still on the island, we can't take any chances. We need to double our security for the students' safety." The instructor said firmly, "Who knows who that man might target next."
"But… if this Oogumo is Kururugi-san's enemy, wouldn't he only target Kururugi?" Ayakawa asked.
"Not likely, as there's a chance his friends and family could be targeted as well." Kabeyama recalled, "Do remember Oogumo kidnapped his mother before he enrolled here."
"Hmmmmmm…" Samejima hummed in thought.
"Principal?" Chronos said. "What are your thoughts on the matter?"
Silence lingered in the conference room for a while longer, before making a decision. "We will have to adhere to Kururugi-san's suggestion. I will order the D.E.C. to focus on any and all holes that our security systems may have. Daitokuji-san, Kabeyama-san, Instructor Chronos, and Ayakawa-san, I want each of you to review security around each of your dorms and fill out a report on any areas that may need improvement and suggestions on how that may be done."
"That will be a long report-nya." Daitokuji sighed.
It was no secret that his dorm was by far the shabbiest and the least secure, due in part to how Kaiba arranged the dorms when Duel Academia was built.
"How will we tell the students?" Kabeyama asked. "We cannot cause panic and unrest."
"Yet what should we do? Act like nothing is wrong?" Chronos stated.
"Of course not, but…"
"We will tell them when it is necessary." Samejima said. "For now, the D.E.C. will be conducting all-night patrols from here on out. Oogumo, won't be foolish enough to attack during the day."
The instructors all nodded in agreement. For too long, this strange man has been harassing Duel Academia and using the students for his own plans, whatever they may be. It was time that they fought back.
Kuromu slowly opened his eyes, the first rays of sunlight peeking from the windows. His eyes were briefly blinded from how bright it was, before slowly adjusting themselves. He had awakened as a new dawn came up. He looked around seeing that he was still in his room in Ra Yellow, but there were several boxes already packed up for his eventual move to the Obelisk Blue dorm.
He slowly sat up and stretched out to loosen up. For the first time, he actually had a good sleep despite yesterday. Probably due to Rika cooking all of his favorite foods in the Ra Yellow cafeteria, practically making a feast for everyone to enjoy, even if he and Asuka had to help Rex fend off a hungry Judai.
"Had a good night's rest?" Kuuga asked, as he and Agito appeared in spirit.
"I certainly wouldn't blame him, since Rika-chan's cooking was top notch. I could tell." Agito chuckled.
"Yeah, I was stuffed!" Kuromu agreed, before sighing as he looked out the window. "Still… to think Oogumo would use Manjoume as a proxy to beat me. What even is his plan?"
"Who knows?" Kuuga said, as he changed into his civilian form with his armor disappearing. Agito's armor disappeared in a flash of light, revealing his civilian form as well.
Kuuga, or rather Godai Yusuke, was a simple man with wavy black hair and wore a white t-shirt that had Kuuga's symbol on it, an open red flannel shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. Agito, or rather Tsugami Shouichi, was a man with slightly long brown hair and wore an orange jacket over a blue shirt, light gray pants, and blue sneakers.
Kuromu stared at them for a bit, before saying with a hint of dryness, "You two know something don't you,"
"I wish we could tell you." Yusuke sighed.
"Now you're being suspicious…"
"Even if we did know something, there's probably a reason for it." Shouichi said. "And that reason… is something you have to figure out for yourself."
"Let me guess, it's one of those 'you can't know what's going on at your current level' kind of deals. I see how this is gonna go." Kuromu grumbled.
"You'll know eventually." Yusuke smiled with a thumbs-up.
"Don't just smile and give a thumbs-up so casually, Yusuke-san!" Kuromu snapped comically before shaking his head, and getting off the bed. "Anyways, I should start getting these boxes up to my new room."
"A word of advice. While you are an Obelisk now, you can't let it get to your head." Shouichi said. "Remember that this path is one of many you can walk. Even I didn't think becoming an Agito was possible for me, let alone becoming the Agito ingrained into our legacy."
"Huh? You're not the only Agito?" Kuromu asked, confused, "I thought you were the only one."
"There were others who had the potential." Shouichi began. "To make a long story short, the Overlord of Darkness wanted to kill humanity for their arrogance, but the Overlord of Light had compassion for them. The two fought and the Overlord of Darkness won, but the Overlord of Light, with his dying breath, planted the Seeds of Agito in certain humans who have the potential to evolve beyond the Overlord of Darkness's control. As Agito."
"And… you were one of those people."
Shouichi nodded, "While there are many Agitos out there, I suppose you could say I'm the only living Kamen Rider Agito."
"There was another?" The sad look Shouichi gave was enough for Kuromu to drop the subject out of respect and consideration for him. "S-Sorry…"
"It's not your fault." Shouichi shook his head. "But you get what I'm saying, right?"
"Yeah. This path I'm on now to becoming a great Duelist is just one of many possibilities." Kuromu said. "And if this path gets cut off, I can always find another way." He noted, understanding what Shouichi told him.
"Good."
"And don't forget your reason for Dueling." Yusuke said. "You need to protect the smiles of those you care about and the happiness you share with others, just like me."
"How's that?" Kuromu blinked.
Yusuke sighed as he smiled sadly and looked out the window. "The thing is… when I became Kuuga, my sole reason is due to one event that changed my whole life. The Gurongi, that is the enemies I fought, killed a professor, who a friend of mine knew. Their daughter… I'll never forget the tears she shed that day…" The man felt his fists clench before he took a breath to calm himself down. "I knew right then and there that I had to become Kuuga. So that no one else would cry ever again."
"Yusuke-san…" Kuromu muttered. "I… I can't imagine what it's like… having to do that all alone…"
"Yeah, but I wasn't really alone. I had Ichijo and the others to help me out when the time came." Yusuke reassured him.
"I see."
"And you have friends to help you as well." Yusuke added. "Don't be afraid to rely on them if and when things get tough. Because no human can ever do things alone. Yes, what the others and I do may be lonesome, but we can still rely on those that help us along the way. We only need to ask for their support."
"With great power, comes great responsibility." Kuromu joked, in spite of knowing how true that phrase is. "Thanks, Yusuke-san, Shouichi-san, I'll take both of your words to heart."
"No problem." Yusuke and Shouichi said, the former giving another thumbs-up before the two disappeared.
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*
Kuromu blinked in surprise. Who would knock at his door this early in the morning? He walked towards the door and opened it to see… "Tou-chan?"
"Congrats on winning your Promotion Duel." Kyoshiro said before the father and son shared a hug.
"Thanks, but… what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to help move your stuff to your new dorm room!" Kyoshiro grinned, but then deflated a bit with a sheepish grin, "Or rather… the staff will help move your stuff. I just wanna walk with ya."
"Uh… right."
Staff members from Obelisk Blue soon arrived at his Ra Yellow Dorm room and carried all of his belongings to be transported to Obelisk Blue. Meanwhile, the Kururugi patriarch and son, who is fully dressed, except not wearing the Ra Yellow jacket, decided to take the scenic route, so they could catch up on things.
"Oh right, I wanted to give you these." Kyoshiro said, having him… a stack of cards. Kuromu took them to look at.
"Whoa, what?! Equip Spell upgrades for the Riders?!" Kuromu gasped.
"Yup! Pegasus had them made just recently and I was able to get them just before arriving here on the island."
"I mean, not that I mind, but… I can't put all of these into my Deck." Kuromu pointed out.
"Of course not. You'll just have to switch them out every now and then. Plus, it gives you the chance to experiment with them and test your Deck Synergy too." He posited.
"I guess so, especially after last time." Kuromu recalled yesterday's duel. "Speaking of… what happened with Manjoume?"
"From what I heard, he's getting your old room." Kyoshiro recalled.
"Figures…" Kuromu sighed. "And my room?"
"Uh see, here's the thing. Because of our little… family problem, Instructor Chronos went out of his way to give you one of the really… better rooms in the dorm." Kyoshiro said sheepishly.
"What, like some kind of presidential suite?" Kuromu joked, but his father's silence says it all. "Wait, huh?"
"Given how you nearly got zapped by Manjoume before the Duel, he wanted to make it up to you." He explained.
"Haaah?! I mean, the promotion duel I get, but… a presidential suite-like room?!" Kuromu gawked.
"Trust me, I asked the same thing." Kyoshiro admitted, "I took it with grace and pride for how much you've grown."
"Riiiiiiiiiiight…" Kuromu deadpanned dryly, before shaking his head.
"Oh, we're here." Kyoshiro said, as they found themselves in front of the Obelisk Blue Boys' Dorm. Just by looking at it, one would think that it was a huge palace, but all it is, is just another dorm. When the two of them went in, Kuromu was amazed at what he saw.
The lobby was huge! The walls were white marble and black marble covered the vast floor. Along the walls were couches set up in square units so students could sit together in groups. At the back of the room was an elegant staircase that split into two other stairwells that circled the room halfway along its perimeter as they led up to the second floor. Hanging from the ceiling was a crystal chandelier. But what impressed Kuromu the most was the lobby's centerpiece at the end of the hallway. At the very end of the lobby where the fireplace was, was a large stone wall carving of the Giant Divine Soldier of Obelisk.
"Wow…" Kuromu said in awe, "This looks amazing."
"Ah Signor Kururugi," Chronos said with a smile, approaching the duo and greeting them. "It's good to see that you both have arrived."
"Thank you for having me, Instructor Chronos." Kuromu bowed.
"Non, non, the honor is mine! It brings me pride and joy that someone like you will be joining our ranks!" Chronos said, before looking at the Kururugi patriarch. "I will take it from here, Signor Kyoshiro. Thank you for escorting your son."
"You're welcome." He chuckled, before looking at his son. "I'll see you later." He waved with a two-finger salute before leaving.
"Later." Kuromu waved back.
"Ah before I show you to your new dorm room, I have this to give you." Chronos said, before presenting to and giving the Rider Duelist, his Obelisk Blue jacket.
"Whoa… this is… mine…?" Kuromu got out.
"You've earned it, Signor Kururgi," Chronos said with pride.
Grinning widely, Kuromu placed it on himself and buttoned it up.
"My, my, Sì! You definitely look like an elite Duelist!" Chronos chuckled. "Now then, follow me to your personal dorm room. I shall also tell you the rules here at Obelisk Blue in the meantime."
"Lead the way," Kuromu said, and Chronos did just that.
As they went across the lobby, the other Obelisk students stared at Kuromu and whispered amongst themselves in varying levels of surprise, intrigue, and confusion.
"That's him?"
"He's the guy that beat Manjoume."
"He did it even without his Summoning Method."
Of course there are others that didn't approve of his arrival.
"What's this guy doing here?"
"Why is he promoted, of all people?"
"He's been giving us Obelisks a bad name."
But regardless, none could deny his skills as a Duelist after yesterday.
And so Chronos led Kuromu through the hallways of the first floor and up the stairs to the second floor and finally to the third. As they walked, Kuromu listened to the instructor about the rules in Obelisk Blue, Kuromu noticed that besides, the extravagant designs of the entire dormitory looking like an extravagant hotel, the first floor of rooms had room numbers in the 100's, 200's, and 300's the second floor, 400's, 500's and 600's, and the last floor, being 700's, 800's and 900's. Soon they arrived at his room.
"Here is your room Signor Kururugi." Crowler said. Kuromu looked at the door and noticed the number was Room 913.
"Ugh… why did it have to be Kusaka's number?" Faiz muttered dryly.
'Kusaka?' Kuromu asked in his thoughts, confused.
"Don't ask. For your own sanity, please don't ask." Faiz groaned.
Just then the door behind them opened up. Chronos and Kuromu turned to see Ryo standing there, much to the latter's surprise.
"Marufuji-senpai." Kuromu said wide-eyed.
"Ah Signor Marufuji, you are an acquaintance of Signor Kururugi am I right?"
"Yes," Ryo answered. He then turned towards the Kamen Rider Duelist. "I take it we are going to be neighbors then."
"Ehehe… yeah, I guess we are." Kuromu said sheepishly, before shaking his hand.
"Bellissimo, this is perfect! Since you're here Signor Marufuji, please show him around the building. It would help me since I still have other obligations to do,"
"Yes sir." Ryo replied as Chronos handed Kuromu the keycard.
"Ah, when you're finished settling in, Principal Samejima wants to see you." Chronos said, to which Kuromu nodded, "I shall take my leave. And once again, welcome to Obelisk Blue."
With that, and turned on his heels to walk away.
"Go ahead. Check out your room." Ryo smirked.
The Rider Duelist nodded then took his keycard to swipe on the lock's card reader. As soon as he got the green light, he turned the handle and stepped inside, met by the sight of the rather lavished room.
It was fully furnished with a large table that had a pot of flowers in the middle of it. His bed was king sized that was about a quarter bigger than the one in his Ra Room. There was even a terrace balcony that looked out, overlooking the large lake and had a decent view of the Girls Dorm. Next to the window was a desk with a complete desktop computer, and against the adjacent wall was a large mahogany dresser. Beside it was a full length mirror, along with a couple of couches in various places in the room. Attached to the wall right in front of the bed was a forty-two inch flat screen TV.
"A-Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, a-ah, a-a-ah…!" Kuromu gawked at the site of the room with a dropped jaw.
"Well, what do you think?" Ryo asked, with an amused smirk.
"Way above my paygrade!" Kuromu cried out, "I knew that Kaiba spares no expense for this dorm, but I didn't think he'd do something like this!"
"Don't worry. You're not the only one that gets shocked like this whenever someone transfers to Obelisk." Ryo chuckled.
"It's about the size of my living room back home, if not bigger."
"Not used to it huh?" Ryo asked.
"Not really…"
"You will eventually. Anyways, get your belongings in order and yourself settled and meet me downstairs for breakfast afterwards."
"Uh… right." Kuromu said, before going into his room. He looked to one corner of the room and saw that his belongings had already arrived. He then went out to the terrace balcony to take in the morning fresh air. "At least the view on the terrace balcony is great."
"Too bad we can't really see the Girls Dorm from here," Urataros said, appearing.
Kuromu groaned at this in dismay. "Give it a rest, Urataros, we're not here to spy on the girls. I'm not a pervert like you."
"You wound me Kuromu," Urataros put an arm over his chest. "I'm not a pervert. I just like female company."
"That's total BS and you know it, Ero-kame!" Momotaros snapped, appearing and whacking the turtle Imagin upside the head, "I've seen you try to peep with that birdbrain on multiple occasions!"
Kuromu facepalmed, "Seriously…?" He then threw his hands up and started to unpack while the Imagin argue amongst themselves.
After a few minutes, he was finished with the redecorations to his specifications. He looked to see the two Imagin still arguing. Kuromu shook his head and decided to go to the dining hall without the Imagin.
Ryo was waiting for Kuromu to be done with settling in as he was in the lobby, though it was taking him longer than usual. He probably still had jitters and needed to process everything.
"Sorry I'm late." Kuromu apologized as he arrived, "It took me a while for me to find my way here." the Rider duelist admitted.
"It's fine. Follow me. I'll show you to the dining hall." Ryo said.
When they arrived, Kuromu could've sworn that he was in a Three-star Michelin restaurant! There were tables littering the hall, all covered with white cloth. Each one had at least two chairs with plush blue padding and a small vase holding a single flower. The windows spanned the entire height of the room and were adorned with elegant blue drapes.
"Oh my… oh my… GOODNESS!" Kuromu gasped in shock and awe.
"You're really not used to this kind of lifestyle are you." Ryo chuckled.
"Nope. Not at all." Kuromu got out. "You guys really eat like this?"
"Yes. In fact some of our recent meals had been made by one of your friends." he added.
"Heh, figures it would be Rika." Kuromu chuckled. "So… besides her food, what else do they serve?"
"Read a menu." Ryo said, handing him one of the menus that were piled neatly on a stand. The cover was bound in blue leather and embossed with gold letters DA in cursive. Abbreviated for Duel Academia.
Kuromu opened it and skimmed the items, eyes widening at the selections they had. "You guys… really eat this stuff everyday?"
"The menus change every week, but yes."
"That's crazy. And even one page is entirely dedicated to drinks!"
"Just wait until you read the lunch and dinner menu." Ryo smirked.
"Spared no expense too…" Kuromu muttered to himself.
Kabuto appeared next to him whispering in his ear, "Obaachan ga itte ita: Fancy flavors cannot hide poor cooking."
"Huh, well I guess that makes sense." Kuromu noted.
"What makes sense?" Ryo asked.
Kuromu flinched, remembering that Ryo can't see the Riders. "Sorry, just thinking out loud." He reassured the Kaiser. "A-Anyways, I'm starving! Let's eat!" The Rider Duelist then sat down and began picking from the menu. Ryo chuckled, before also sitting down and picking up a menu of his own to choose his own breakfast set.
As they were ordering, they didn't notice Asuka coming into the dining hall. Her smile grew when she saw that Kuromu was sitting with his upperclassman. She immediately set a course and approached the pair.
"How's our new resident?" she asked.
"Huh?" Kuromu blinked, looking up and saw a familiar female face. "Oh, hey Asuka." he smiled. "You guys really have it all here, don't you."
"Well, as far as food and lodgings go," Asuka giggled. "So Ryo, where are you two heading next?"
"Some of the private sporting areas. The pool and tennis courts for starters," Ryo replied.
"Doesn't the school have those already?" asked the Rider Duelist.
"Yes, but these are for private use," the Kaiser replied. "They have a private cleaning crew and groundskeepers to keep them clean looking their best for anyone who wants to use them."
"Oh ho. A private pool you say?" asked Urataros as he appeared. "What do you say about exploring it for a while? Maybe convince Alexis to join you for a daytime, or even better a nighttime swim."
'Absolutely not, Urataros!' Kuromu cried out in his thoughts.
"Always the loyal man, commendable of course." The turtle Imagin said.
"You guys know how to live it up don't you?" Kuromu laughed sheepishly.
"Welcome to Obelisk Blue," Ryo smirked. "The tour will be continuing, after we have breakfast."
"I'll join you," Asuka said.
"That'd be great, thanks." Kuromu smiled, but then realized something. "Wait… I thought those of the opposite gender can't visit the opposite dorm."
"Don't worry. Instructor Chronos gave me special permission for today." Asuka assured her childhood friend.
Kuromu breathed a huge sigh of relief, 'Whew, no accidental peeps for me. That's good to hear.' He thought.
"So mind if I join you two for breakfast?"
"Of course. Please, have a seat." Ryo gestured to the empty seat to which Asuka gladly took.
Unfortunately, the other boys in Obelisk had looks of jealousy on their faces, at least the ones that don't like Kuromu. To them, this new upstart had to gall to hang out with the Kaiser and Obelisk Queen!
"Who the hell does he think he is?"
"Stupid kid lucked his way into this place."
"He should get sent to that rumored Shadow Realm for all I care."
"Kid, looks like you made some enemies." Momotaros warned Kuromu, "And I don't like the faces they're giving us."
'Like I give a crap about them.' Kuromu said nonchalantly in his thoughts, much to Momotaros's surprise and slight intrigue at his boldness.
"Heh, not bad kiddo." Momotaros chuckled.
After the trio had their breakfast, the three of them made their way out of the dining room and proceeded to tour the rest of Obelisk Blue. First there was the first sporting area that Ryo mentioned. As stated there was a private tennis court, but some other ones included activities such as rock climbing, indoor golf, soccer, and basketball to name a few. There was even a weight room for exercise and weight lifting. And to top it all off, a boxing ring if they wanted to blow off some steam.
To make things even crazier, the Obelisk Blue dorm had its own dedicated recreation room. In this particular room it had its own video game station, a section of tabletop games, a billiards table, darts, and of course a private theater for watching movies, popcorn stand included.
"This is… a bit much to take in," Kuromu commented as the trio were still walking through the facilities
"Most of the facilities were already here when Kaiba had the academy built," Ryo explained. "They're supposed to help inspire the students to study and duel hard so they would be allowed to use these facilities all the time. Unfortunately, it's mostly been taken over by people who managed to buy the right cards or schmooze up to the right people."
"Ugh… those people I'll never understand." Kuromu groaned. "Well, I guess it's up to us true Obelisks that we think otherwise."
"The old Obelisk Blue coup attempt eh?" Asuka grinned. "Well, we'll just have to see how that goes then."
"Good luck with that." Ryo said. "I still have to show you the private onsen exclusive to Obelisks, or rather to yours truly."
"Your private onsen? Exclusive for you, the Kaiser only?!" Kuromu gawked at Ryo.
"And Obelisk Queen." Asuka added.
"No way!" Kuromu said in shock. "But wait… if it's exclusively for you two, then why am I-" Kuromu tried to find the words, but instead he accidentally did his best impression of a fish gasping for air, "I-I shouldn't even know it exists!"
"Normally, yes. But… given your performance the other day, we both decided to make an exception." Ryo smirked. "Besides, I rarely use the onsen nowadays, so you're free to use it whenever."
"A-Are you sure?" Kuromu gulped, looking at Ryo like he was giving him a blank check.
"Yes." Ryo nodded, "Come, I'll show you the way."
"S-Sure! Lead on!" Kuromu eagerly said.
And so Ryo led Kuromu and Asuka towards this private onsen. It was actually hidden away in the patch of land that blocks the view of the Obelisk Blue Girls' Dorm. Not to mention that it was something of a middle ground in terms of walking distance between the two Boys and Girls dorms. Once they walked through the trees, they found themselves at a clearing. Kuromu marveled at the sight of the onsen.
There was a small building that Kuromu assumed would be where the lockers were, and that the onsen itself was surrounded by a wooden perimeter. Upon going in, one could tell that it almost looked like a natural hot spring one would find in nature, with a large pool of steaming water surrounded by rocks. There were also two separate showers, one for the Kaiser and one for the Obelisk Queen.
"This, this is amazing…" he muttered in awe. But then he noticed something strange about it, "Uh… why is there no wooden barrier in the pool?"
Asuka blushed slightly while Ryo let out a tired sigh, making Kuromu quickly realize why they would react this way.
"No… No way…" Kuromu got out, though for some reason, he felt his heart sinking.
"No no! Only one of us uses it!" Asuka panicked.
"Really?" Kuromu asked, not fully convinced.
"Yes. As I said, I rarely use the onsen nowadays, so it's been Asuka that uses it the most if she wanted to. I'm just annoyed that there's no separation barrier." Ryo said, which made Kuromu realize he briefly came off like a jealous suitor.
"O-Oh, I… see. Sorry…" Kuromu breathed out a sigh, as if he was holding his breath. "Ahhh… I messed up…"
"Love truly is blind…" Ryo shook his head, much to both Kuromu and Asuka's shock.
"W-What's that supposed to mean?" They cried out in unison.
Ryo merely waved it off. "Never mind that. Anyways, now you know where this place is. I'll show you the Obelisk Blue faculty office." He said, before turning on his heel and walking away, leaving the flustered queen and the Rider Duelist alone.
"H-Hey, wait for me!" Kuromu yelped.
Asuka sighed at this, as she followed suit, "We're not like that… yet…" She mumbled to herself.
Ryo and Asuka led Kuromu to the Obelisk Blue faculty office, which was at the school. And upon arriving, there they saw several staff members up and about, along with Instructor Chronos… speaking to Principal Samejima and Tsukasa?
"Ah, Signor Kururugi. I was just about to call you over to my office." He greeted them. "Come in. Come in." The three Obelisks came inside the office. "I trust Signor Marufuji was helpful in your tour of your new dorm?"
"Yes, he is." Kuromu said. "And Asuka was helpful too."
"I see."
"How do you like Obelisk Blue so far?" Samejima asked.
"I'm impressed and… probably a bit overwhelmed. I think it's still gonna be a few days before I can actually get used to it though." Kuromu chuckled embarrassedly.
"I'm sure you'll fit in just fine." The dimensional Rider reassured him.
"That being said. There's something I wanted to discuss with you. After reviewing your scores, the staff and I believe you're qualified enough for an upcoming event." Samejima said.
"And that would be…?" Kuromu was curious.
"An Inter-school Duel." Samejima answered.
"Inter-school Duel?" Kuromu parroted.
"Yes. Duel Academia isn't the only school that teaches Dueling. There are four other Academias that teach the same curriculum. North, South, East, and West. Our school is considered Central Academia." Samejima explained. "Our school has developed a rivalry with North Academia over the years and every year, our two schools pit our best Duelists against each other for bragging rights."
"W-Wait, so by that logic…" Kuromu gaped, realizing the implications.
"Hold on now, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Tsukasa raised a hand. "After talking with the Principal of North Academia, we decided to have Singles and Tag Team representation. And after your previous Duel against Manjoume, you're qualified as a Tag Team Representative." He said as he pointed towards Kuromu.
"You're asking… that I become one of the two Duelists to be in said Tag Team." The Rider Duelist said.
"Yes. Do you accept?" The principal confirmed.
Kuromu was silent as he looked at Asuka and Ryo who both nodded with approval. He then looked at the Principal with a smile. "I will. I'll make Duel Academia proud!"
"Excellent! And who's going to be your partner?"
Kuromu didn't take much time to think on that, "How about Marufuji-sen-"
"I'm actually not going to participate." Ryo spoke up.
"Eh?!" Kuromu gawked at the Kaiser. "Really?"
He nodded, "I've already represented the academy twice before."
"Oh, crap…" Kuromu noted before trying to think of another choice. "What about Rika?"
"She told me that her family will arrive on the island to help with the catering." Asuka answered.
"Aw man…" Kuromu groaned, before looking at Asuka. He gulped with a slight blush, "Well… do you wanna team up with me?" He asked nervously, "I mean, if it's okay with you. I don't wanna impose or-"
"It's fine." Asuka interrupted. "I don't mind."
"R-Really?!" He gasped before calming down, "I-I mean, cool! That's great!"
"Then it's decided! Kuromu and Asuka will be representing Duel Academia as part of the Tag Team Division!" Samejima smiled. "I expect great things from you two!"
"Yes, Principal." Kuromu and Asuka nodded.
"Let's see how long they can hold it together without getting all mushy-mushy." Tsukasa smirked, "You're not Shinnosuke and Kiriko after all."
"K-Kadoya-sensei!" Kuromu stammered.
"Who's that?" Asuka asked.
"Colleagues of mine. They're married." Tsukasa answered, getting the Obelisk Queen to stammer upon realizing why he brought them up.
"Thanks for the tour, Marufuji-senpai." Kuromu said as the three of them were walking down the hallways of Duel Academia, he and Asuka had now calmed down after the meeting. "I appreciate you taking the time to show me around Obelisk Blue. But man, this place is seriously top of the line."
"You'll get used to it eventually." Ryo smirked. "And I know you'll do Duel Academia proud at the Inter-school Duel." He encouraged the Rider Duelist.
"Least I'll do better than lightning rod, that's for sure." Kuromu said.
Asuka rolled her eyes, "Seems Taylor's nickname for Manjoume stuck with you?" She observed.
"Meh, maybe." Kuromu shrugged, but smirked, making Asuka slap his shoulder playfully.
"You're terrible." She laughed.
It was here that they stopped at a four-way intersection. "My class is this way, so I'll see you later. Play nice you two." Ryo smirked as he went to the right and turned his heel around and left, leaving the two of them stuttering. Well, moreso with Kuromu than Asuka.
"O-Oi!" He growled.
"This is getting out of hand…" Asuka sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose to hold back a headache.
"No kidding…" Kuromu grumbled, before the two made their way towards their class.
When they arrived, everyone turned towards them. The Obelisks who hate Kuromu's guts were obviously not happy that he's walking with the unofficial school idol.
"Not surprised that I already made enemies…"
"Just ignore them." Asuka waved off, before the two of them took their seats with their friends.
"Ooooooh, I'm liking them new threads, Daddy-O." Koji grinned, placing an arm around the Rider Duelist's shoulders. "Lookin' spiffy!"
"You look good in blue, bro." Rex chimed in.
"Yeah, definitely!" Rika smiled.
"Heh, thanks." Kuromu chuckled.
"You totally deserve it though!" Judai grinned widely. "You looked good in yellow, but blue makes you look way better! So what's it like over there?"
"Unbelievable. Enough said." Kuromu chuckled as he looked over himself, "Speaking of… how's Manjoume handling the downgrade?"
Misawa and Koji could only look at each other, looking uncomfortable.
"What? What's up?"
That's when the doors suddenly slid open to reveal Sho running down the stairs. "Aniki! Aniki! Aniki!" He cried out.
"What's up, Sho?" Judai asked.
"Bad news! Manjoume has gone missing!"
"What?!" Judai gasped in surprise.
"Don't tell me he's flown the coop." Rex groaned.
"I heard he packed his things first thing in the morning and left." Torimaki said.
"You know why? Because he lost to that Ra Yellow duelist Kururugi, who's now one of us Obelisks." Raizou added.
"Yeah, even going so far as to sabotage his Duel Disk just to stay ahead." Another Obelisk added.
"If you ask me, I say good riddance." Kuromu scoffed, as the Obelisks looked surprised that he even overheard that conversation from the other side of the classroom.
"Kuro, c'mon man." Judai protested. "I know what he did was wrong but-"
"But nothing, Judai. He brought it on himself." Kuromu said. "Need I remind you, he colluded with Oogumo in an attempt to sabotage me. Besides, if he even had half the resolve of a Duelist, he probably wouldn't be in this mess or at least work to get back to where he was. But he decided to run away from his problems. And if he can't man up to his mistakes, then he shouldn't even pick up a Deck to begin with."
"Kuromu-san…" Sho murmured.
"Agreed," Misawa nodded. "None of us entered this school to coast through on laurels. We came here to become better Duelists and prove ourselves. You have to be prepared to work hard or else you're going to flounder." He left it unsaid that Manjoume was exactly the type to rest on his laurels having graduated from Duel Prep School with grades like his on top of his reputation in the tournament circuit.
"It's a cruel world out there, one that thrives on survival of the fittest with everyone racing to get an advantage." Rex agreed rather coldly, "Because there will be a day when you're not the apex predator of the scene, and instead just end up as yet another victim of natural selection."
"Those who don't fight, won't survive…" Ryuki said, appearing in spirit with a grimaced tone.
'Shinji-san…?' Kuromu got out, as his armor shattered into mirror shards, revealing his civilian form. Shinji Kido is a young man with wavy brown hair that fell to his chin, and wore a baby blue jacket over a red shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers.
'Guessing you got some war stories yourself?' The mutt asked in his thoughts, upon noticing Shinji dis-engaged his transformation.
"Yeah… the Rider War…" Shinji muttered, feeling uncomfortable. "A battle royale to the death between thirteen Riders, the winner being given a wish at the end of it all. I've been through too many loops in time being stuck in that hellscape." He shuddered. "I just… wanted to end all of the fighting. But… in the end…"
'Damn…' both Kuromu and Rex thought as they didn't need Shinji to confirm what they could already guess.
"Aniki, I know Manjoume has done bad, but… we should at least find out if he's okay or not." Sho pointed out. "He could be in danger."
"That much could be true. After all, who's to say that Oogumo wouldn't take him away for failing his side of the deal?" Misawa agreed.
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmm…" Kuromu had his eyes closed with arms crossed, feeling conflicted. After grumbling more, he came to a decision. "Fine, we'll go out and find him. But when we do, I'm beating some sense into him."
When lunch break arrived, the group went to find Manjoume. Judai, Sho, Rex, Kuromu, Koji, Asuka, Rika, and surprisingly Junko and Momoe decided to tag along. They were going through one part of the woods, thinking that he might have hidden somewhere in the wilderness. But even after ten minutes of walking, there was no sign of Manjoume anywhere.
"Not that we mind, but why are you two deciding to tag along?" Kuromu asked Junko and Momoe.
"Where Asuka-sama goes, we go." Junko explained.
"Manjoume, get your scrawny ass out of whatever hole you're hiding in!" Rex shouted. It was so loud that the birds within range of his voice all flew away.
"Oh yeah, sure, threatening him… that'll get him to run towards us…" Rika deadpanned.
"What? He always seems to yell back." The mutt said with a shrug, drawing on past experiences with the former Obelisk.
"Well, it's only natural. He's weak after all." Junko pointed out.
"But Manjoume-san is such a cool guy!" Momoe gushed.
"Seriously…?" Sho muttered.
"First it's Misawa, then it's Manjoume?" Junko said. "You'd go for anyone good looking. Even Kuromu-san there for that matter."
"HAH?!" Kuromu gawked in shock.
"I mean, you're not dating Asuka-san. So that means you're free, right?" Junko leaned towards Kuromu, hands behind her back with a grin.
"Junko, what are you-" Asuka got out.
"What's wrong, Asuka-sama? Afraid of a little competition?" Momoe smirked knowingly.
"I'm more surprised that she isn't fighting tooth and nail to keep him all to herself." Junko added.
"Uh-oh, cat fight's brewing." Rex noted, not liking the killing intent Asuka was emitting.
"Alright Foxy Mama, take a chill pill." Koji placated the Obelisk Queen, "Ladies, it's obvious that my buddy is already spoken for."
"Ah, the promise type of cliché. Typical." The mutt grumbled.
"You read way too many manga." Kuromu grumbled.
"What's wrong with manga?" Judai asked, not realizing why the Rider Duelist said that.
"So instead of looking at Kuro like prime meat. Why don't you try your luck with this Daddy-O?" Koji pointed both fingers at himself with a grin. "I'll show you both a good time."
"Dude, ever heard of what happens to two-timers?" Rex warned, "I know a guy from up-state who got mauled due to his cheating ass."
"Rex, my wild friend, that's why there's a thing called consent. I show much respect to ladies like any man should. And when it comes to getting freaky deaky, I don't dance for them unless they ask for it."
"Alright, whatever floats your boat." Rex noted.
"I'm pretty sure you would know if you even have felt love." The disco fan said. That's when the mutt flinched for once, intriguing Koji. After all, everyone in the Academy mostly knew Rex as the Gladial Loudmouth. "Ohoho~?" He muttered with interest.
"U-Uh, Y-Yeah. I have no clue about love whatsoever." Rex denked, "Nope, not me!"
"You got someone on your radar, hound dog?" He asked the mutt as he tried to pry into his love life.
"H-Ha! Me? In love? No… you must be hearing things wrong!" He denied whilst avoiding eye contact.
"Wait, do you mean your pal ba-"
"Judai, shut it!" Rex shouted, covering the E-Hero Duelist as if he was going to spill something.
"This I have to hear!" Momoe said excitedly, "Spill it! Who's the lucky girl?"
"Oh, he's got a friend waiting for him back in New York." Judai innocently spilled.
"JUDAI, I SWEAR!" The mutt snarled.
"What?" The E-Hero Duelist noted while Kuromu found some relief as Junko and Momoe hounded Rex for details. At least he wasn't the center of love talk this time.
*RUSTLE! RUSTLE!*
Almost immediately, the mutt went from embarrassed to on-edge upon hearing the rustling bushes.
"Something's here, be ready." He told the group. Everyone went silent as the group slowly approached the rustling bushes.
"Manjoume-san?" Momoe uttered.
"Alright, lightning rod, come on out." Rex said, placing his hand on the bush. But just when he was about to part it-
*WOOSH!*
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH! GET THIS THING OFF ME!" a panicked mutt screamed as something grabbed onto his face.
All of a sudden, a brief scuffle began to get whatever was on the mutt off, the scramble kicking up a large dust cloud while arms and legs stuck out. When it finally cleared, the group's bodies were all bunched up and limbs were twisted and tied in very uncomfortable positions.
"Okay, this is awkward!" Kuromu cried out. "What the heck just happened?!"
Rex then finally grabbed the thing on his face and finally pried it off. It was…
"A CHIMP?!"
Sure enough, it seemed like a chimpanzee hooked up with some kind of experimental rig on its body, with a large helmet that had a red visor and gem, and to everyone's surprise a Duel Academia Duel Disk that even had a deck already inserted. The ape suddenly screeched and another scuffle ensued, this time, the group in an even more uncomfortable position with how their bodies and limbs were twisted.
"Bodies are not supposed to bend this way!" Rika cried out in pain.
"Why you little punk!" the mutt growled.
"Wait, where's the ape?" Judai wondered.
"Forget that, where's Junko?!" Momoe panicked.
"He went this way!" The group of teens turned when three new faces came barreling out of the brush. One was a tall man in a black suit with glasses and black hair. Another was a non-descript man with a rifle in his arms and the last was a shorter old man with a gray beard and glasses of his own.
"Blast," the man in black frowned. "He's not here."
"It got away?" the shortest of the three asked as the three men looked around.
"SOMEBODY HELP!"
Everyone soon turned their attention towards the sound and saw the ape leaping from tree to tree with Junko in hand. The chimp however turned to Rex and flashed a cheeky grin, revealing two cards.
"What the-?! That's my Slave Ape! And that's Essedarii!" he yelped, "Give those back, you damn dirty ape!" He then tried to move, but then everyone else shouted in pain.
"Daddy-O, easy with the stretch!" Koji complained.
"Wish I could, without your foot in my face." the mutt groaned. "That little thief's gonna pay for stealing two of my cards!" he snarled.
"Okay, let's try and figure this out." Kuromu said, before the group worked together to untie themselves.
Junko was frantically trying to tell the monkey to set her free to no avail, and it continued all the way to a cliff with a tree. After landing at the tree, Jasmine was hanging on to the primate for dear life! "Don't let me go!"
The men in the black suits caught up to them first. "Take aim and fire!" The short one commanded.
"Sir, I can't shoot him without harming the girl." The man with the rifle said. "As much as we need that creature back, harming a girl would put us in a lot of hot water." It was then that Judai and the others arrived, after somehow managing to untie themselves off.
"Found you, thief!" an angry Rex accused.
"Oooh! Oooh! Ahh! Ahh!"
"Let the girl go and give back my cards, or else I'm gonna peel you like a banana!" he snarled while the ape held both of its prizes in hand.
"That impudent ape has taken a hostage." one of the men in black observed.
"But… what's with the Duel Disk though?" Sho asked.
"He's no ordinary chimpanzee." The short one explained. "He's a Duelist ape. Super Animal Learner, SAL for short. We've been training it to learn how to Duel and-"
"Sir, top secret." The man in black said.
"Oh right… I've said too much." The short man muttered.
"That's good enough for me!" Rex snarled before preparing to equip his Duel Disk, but that's when the disco fan motioned for him to stand down.
"Hold on hound dog, lemme take a crack at this funky monkey." Koji said.
"Koji?" Rika blinked.
"Hey ape boy, SAL right?" Koji asked the ape as he slowly approached it. "Check it out. You and I are gonna boogie down with a Duel. If I win, you hand the Foxy Mama over there to us and give us those cards back. And if you win, you get to skedaddle out of here."
"But where does that leave me?!" Junko cried out in dismay.
"I'm hoping that you won't end up a monkey's wife, babe." Koji said as he waited for the ape's response.
The dueling ape stared at Koji for what seemed like an eternity, but eventually nodded in agreement as he placed Junko on the tree then found itself standing on a rock.
"He released the hostage! I have a visual!" The man with the rifle said, aiming.
"Wait… this may be the field test we need." The short man with glasses said.
As the man with the rifle looked on, SAL shuffled the cards it stole from Rex into his deck while Koji shuffled his own deck.
"Hey Disco Boy, make sure you kick his jive-turkey ass for me, got it?" Rex snapped.
"Easy hound dog, I got this." the disco fan reassured him. Both players then activated their Duel Disks and drew their starting Hands. "DUEL!"
["DUEL!"]
"The monkey talked!" Kuromu said, flabbergasted, as were the rest.
"So that helmet translates the chimp's thoughts, weird…" the mutt commented.
Koji: 4000
SAL: 4000
"I'll start this dance-off! Draw!" Koji declared, drawing his sixth card. As he looked over his starting hand, Koji began to weigh his options. "Alright, let's start out nice and small. I summon Boogie Knights Vassal - Shadow Spy in ATK mode!" Coming onto the field was a violet skinned girl with a black afro dressed in a black catsuit and platform boots, carrying afro-picks as daggers. (3/ATK: 1400/DEF: 700)
"Never seen that one before." Sho said.
"I activate Boogie Knights Vassal - Shadow Spy's effect! I send the top card from my Deck to the Graveyard, check out your Hand and send a Monster to do The Thriller. Now show it!"
SAL growled at this, before showing said hand, showcasing a single Vortex Kong, two Berserk Gorillas, a Cattle Mutilation, and a Closer Forest card in his hand.
"Alright, one of your Berserk Gorillas gotta go." Koji said as he pointed towards one of the Berserk Gorilla cards, to which SAL sent to the Graveyard. "Then I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo." He said, as a reverse card appeared on the field.
["Watashi no ta-n! Draw!"] SAL declared, drawing what was supposed to be his sixth card, now fifth. ["Vortex Kong summon! ATK mode!"]
All of a sudden, a large red-furred gorilla appeared and started creating volts of electricity around its body (4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000).
["Next, activating Spell card, Cyclone! Face-down destroyed!"]
"Aw, not groovy!" Koji groaned as the huge whirlwind gusted over to the card and shattered into pixels, without revealing it.
["Battle! Vortex Kong attacks Boogie Knight Vassal - Shadow Spy! Thunder Fist!"]
Vortex Kong lifted its hand up and clenched it. The gorilla then spun his fist to generate more electricity before clocking the Shadow Spy square in the jaw, destroying the monster while allowing the remaining electricity to zap Koji.
"Yeowza!"
Koji: 3600
SAL: 4000
["Vortex Kong's effect activates! When inflict Battle Damage to opponent: Send 1 card from top of opponent's Deck to Graveyard for each face-up LIGHT monster I control."]
Koji was forced to mill one card off of his deck while the chimpanzee let out a cheeky screech.
"You gotta be kidding me, a mill deck?" Kuromu groaned.
["One card facedown. Ta-n endo!"]
"This is going to be one tough nut to crack." Koji noted. "But no skin off my nose. O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Koji declared, drawing his next card, increasing his Hand to five. "First, I send the top card from my Deck to the Graveyard, to Special Summon Boogie Knights Vassal - Shadow Spy from the Graveyard!" Suddenly, Shadow Spy returned to Koji's side of the field, good as new.
"Next! Ladies and gents, give it up for Boogie Knight Vassal - Fanboy!"
Appearing on the field was a sea-green skinned teenage boy in powder blue leisure suit, carrying a sword. (4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200)
"Dare I ask why he's dressed like that?" Rex asked, fearing the aura the pair were giving off.
"Hey, don't go dissin' their threads now." Koji scolded.
"Oh, I'm not worried about their fashion. I'm worried about their intentions." the mutt reassured him.
"You'll find out soon enough. Boogie Knight Vassal - Fanboy's effects activate! First, any "Boogie Knights" on the Field can't be targeted for attacks, except him. Now here's the 411 on Fanboy's other effects! I can send the top card of my Deck to the Graveyard and Tribute Boogie Knight Vassal - Fanboy to Normal Summon a Level 5 or higher "Boogie Knight" Monster from my Hand in addition to the Normal Summon I just did earlier!"
"Sweet! Which one?" Judai asked.
"Ask and you shall receive! I special summon Boogie Knight - Tornado Hippie!" Koji declared, slapping the card on the tray.
Emerging from a green tornado that gusted through was a female Boogie Knight with green skin and blonde hair, green flower in her hair, a lighter green and white hippie dress with white platform boots with green peace signs on them, and a guitar. (8/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2400)
["Activate Trap! Cattle Mutilation!"] SAL declared as he revealed his facedown card, ["Targeting 1 Beast-Type to return to Hand. Special summon one Beast-Type from hand with same level as re-called monster!"]
"That's fine with me, but you gotta mill the top card of your Deck to that. That's Tornado Hippie's ability." Koji pointed out, as the chimp milled his top card.
["Special Summon! Berserk Gorilla!"] the ape shouted before Vortex Kong vanished in a burst of electricity to reveal a large gorilla with a lot of muscle. (4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000)
"Yeesh, half-expecting that thing to breathe fire." Kuromu commented before the ape began to smirk.
"Alright, time to dance off! Boogie Knight - Tornado Hippie attacks Berserk Gorilla! Tempest Riff!"
At his command, Tornado Hippie strummed her acoustic guitar and launched a tornado of green windy peace signs to form that blew Berserk Gorilla into a tornado before being destroyed.
Koji: 3600
SAL: 3400
"And now to wage a direct attack on your Life Points! Boogie Knight Vassal - Shadow Spy, attack with Funky Dagger Throw!"
Shadow Spy reached into her afro and pulled out two fro-pick shaped throwing daggers and tossed them at SAL.
Koji: 3600
SAL: 2000
"And last but not least, Boogie Knight Vassal - Fanboy attacks you directly too! Fan Service Slash!"
With a battle cry of "For Aqua Mama!", the fanboy delivered a running slash at the chimp, further damaging it's Life Points.
Koji: 3600
SAL: 500
"I'll set one card facedown. Ta-n endo." Koji finished, "Not bad for a turn, if I do say so myself." Koji said.
However, the chimp began to laugh as he checked his graveyard zone, making the disco fan increasingly worried.
"That's not a good sign." Asuka said worriedly.
["Watashi no ta-n! Draw!"] SAL declared before drawing another card, increasing his hand to four. ["Spell Card Activate! Pot of Greed! Draw two cards!"]
"But you still have to mill your top card from your deck if you have to activate that." Koji added as the ape drew three cards but discarded the first one he drew, their hand now at five.
["Spell Activate! Unexpected Guy!"] the ape declared, milling the top card again.
"Given that we saw an Acrobat Monkey in his hand, it's likely he's got two more copies of that Monster in his deck for him to summon." Rex observed, knowing how the Spell Card worked.
["Special Summon from Deck! Acrobat Monkey!"] SAL called out before summoning a blue and white robotic monkey with a wire-like tail and a screen for eyes (3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1800).
["Next, Activate Spell! Resurrection of the Dead! Targeting Kongrade, Prime Primate of Conglomerates to Special Summon!"] the ape declared before milling the top card of his Deck again. A large ankh appeared and caused a huge gorilla golem with red eyes that quickly beats its chest and roared at Koji (8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000)
"WOWZA!"
"The hell?!" Rex gasped, "He has something that strong in his deck?!"
"Koji's gonna be done for if he can't counter it!" Rika panicked.
["Next, normal Summon Vortex Kong back to field!"] the ape declared as the electric gorilla joined its two fellow ape monsters (4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000), ["Then activate Closer Forest! All Beasts gain 100 ATK for every monster in Graveyard! No other Field Spells can activate!"] He milled yet another card from the top of his Deck, yet again, the mill count now at six.
All of a sudden, a massive fortress formed around the group as the sounds of the various apes and monkeys could be heard, boosting the three apes on the field.
Acrobat Monkey (ATK: 1000-1300)
Vortex Kong (ATK: 1800-2100)
Kongrade, Prime Primate of Conglomerates (ATK: 3000-3300)
"Well dang…" Koji growled.
"Wait, why did their ATK increase by 300?" Judai asked.
["Berserk Gorilla because it was discarding during first turn. Magician's Ape and Fighter's Ape from milling Deck, because of Tornado Hippie's effect when activating Spell/Trap cards."]
"That explains it." Asuka nodded.
["Battle! Battle! Vortex Kong attacks Boogie Knight Vassal - Fanboy! Thunder Fist!"]
Like before, the electric gorilla spun his fist to generate more electricity before quickly delivering a punch that destroyed Fanboy and zapped Koji.
"GRKGFS!" he yelped while the voltage coursed through him.
Koji: 3000
SAL: 500
"And now that Fanboy isn't on the Field, he can now target Tornado Hippie." Asuka said.
"Meaning he's in for a world of hurt now." Momoe feared.
["Continue Battle! Kongrade, Prime Primate of Conglomerates attack Boogie Knight - Tornado Hippie! Conglomerate Mash!"]
The gorilla golem roared and charged Tornado Hippie before the gorilla bashed its fists into her skull, leaving behind a shockwave that damaged Koji.
Koji: 2300
SAL: 500
[Turn end."] the ape finished before howling with glee.
"He's performing better than usual." The short old man commented.
"This is the worst." Rika groaned.
"Come on, Koji! You can do it!" Judai encouraged the disco fan.
"Yeah, I don't wanna be that monkey's girlfriend!" Junko cried out.
"Alright funky monkey, fess up! Why the heck are you going through all of this effort just to grab Junko or those cards?" Koji shouted.
["Want to go back to friends and family! Want to be free!"] SAL screeched, repeatedly looking towards the forests of Duel Academia.
"Wait, I did hear that this island has an unusually high chimpanzee population after a ship smuggling some out of Africa crashed into the sand bar and let the chimps out several decades or so ago." Sho recalled, "Which is surprising given it's near Japan, so likely these ."
"Ooh! Ooh! Ahh! Ahh! Ooh! Ooh! Ahh! Ahh! Ooh! Ooh! Ahh! Ahh! Ooh! Ooh! Ahh! Ahh!"
Everyone turned towards a part of the forest, and nearby were a bunch of chimpanzees all huddled together, hiding behind the rocks.
"Is that… SAL's family?" Asuka guessed.
"I think the sound of SAL dueling must have attracted their attention." Kuromu noted. "But, now we're in a precarious position… If Koji wins, we get Junko back, but those guys are gonna get SAL back to their lab."
"And if SAL wins, he gets to go free, but where will that leave Junko-san, or either of Rex's cards?" Sho said. "Ahhh, I don't like this at all!"
Koji and Rex looked towards each other on what to do. The pair remained silent for a bit before the mutt gave the disco fan the nod, as if giving him permission to do what he had to do.
"I hate to say this, but in Duels, you gotta give it your all and not show any mercy." Koji said. "That's how we Duelists roll and it's gotta stay that way."
"If we hold back, then we're not giving our opponents a real fight." Rex agreed.
"So let's make it count! O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Koji declared, drawing his next card, but frowned at what he got. "Better than nothing, I play Resurrection of the Dead to revive Tornado Hippie!" Koji declared, as the green-skinned woman reappeared. "Then I'll switch Shadow Spy to DEF mode!" He said, turning the card sideways, as the purple-skinned lady took a knee. "Ta-n endo."
"Wait, that's it?" Sho gasped.
"Not much he could do…" Kuromu grimaced.
"Which means that potentially it's game over." Judai said.
["Watashi no ta-n! Draw!"] SAL declared, drawing the one card. ["Battle Phase! Kongrade, Prime Primate of Conglomerates and Acrobat Monkey attacks Boogie Knight - Tornado Hippie and Boogie Knight Vassal - Shadow Spy! Jungle Rampage!"] he ordered. The two apes charged at the ladies and mauled them mercilessly, destroying them both in the process. ["Vortex Kong, direct attack! Direct attack! Thunder Fist!"]
Unlike the previous Thunder Fists, Koji was going to feel the direct effects of Vortex Kong's punch with no buffer from a destroyed monster. He screamed in pain as the electricity surged through his body.
Koji: 200
SAL: 500
["Ta-n endo!"] SAL declared as he began to hoot and holler now that victory, and by extension his freedom, was just in reach for him.
Koji stumbled a bit from the attack, but he wasn't out of the fight yet.
"Tsk, this dance ain't over. I still haven't busted out my best moves." the disco fan said. "I just need to draw the right card. Come on deck, don't fail me now! O-re no ta-n! Draw!" He then drew his card and looked at it. With stars in his eyes, he suddenly tapped his feet to the tune of the jungle.
"Alright! It's time for the Final Dance!" Koji cheered as he pointed to the sky in a disco pose.
"He got it?" Rika gasped.
"I sure do, soul sistah! And it starts with this card I drew! Riding the Pimpmobile!" Koji said. "With this, all "Boogie Knight" Monsters gain a 300 ATK point boost! Plus, if I don't control a Level 5 or higher "Boogie Knight" Monster, I can mill two cards to Special Summon said monster from my Hand without Tributing!"
"Aw yeah, close in for the kill bro!" Rex called out, guessing that Koji has a card in his hand that the card could effect.
"The card I summon… is Boogie Knights Vassal - Cleaner!"
The group then saw a large limousine crash through the trees of the Closer Forest and park at Koji's side of the field, the door opening to reveal a kindly looking old man with cobalt blue skin, a white janitor's jumpsuit, but glittery blue platform shoes, carrying a mop like a wizard's staff in one hand and a sword in the other. (4/ATK: 1700-2000/DEF: 1300)
"He won! He has enough ATK points to take out Acrobat Monkey!"
"Now it's time for your swan song, funky monkey." Koji declared as he pointed towards the robotic monkey, who looked at Cleaner with a deer in the headlights expression. "Time to end this! Boogie Knights Vassal - Cleaner attacks Acrobat Monkey! Disco Washout!"
Cleaner nodded and pointed his wizard staff mop at the enemy and whistled a disco song, causing a stream of muddy water to shoot out of it, shorting out Acrobat Monkey's circuits and causing it to explode.
Koji: 200
SAL: 0
The Solid Vision disappeared as SAL looked downtrodden at his defeat as the screen on SAL's lenses, displaying a sad monkey emoji and also said, "GAME OVER".
"Yeah! Koji won!" Kuromu cheered.
"Way to go!" Judai added.
"Alright, SAL. It's as promised. Give Junko back to us, please." Koji said, approaching the chimp.
SAL was still sad, but nonetheless agreed, as the chimpanzee went over to Junko and carried her from the tree before setting her down on the grass. It was then that Junko ran off and into Koji's arms.
"Thank goodness! You saved me!" Junko cried out in relief.
"Whoa, easy there. You alright, Foxy Mama?" He asked the girl, "Hope that funky monkey didn't do anything to ya."
Junko shook her head, "No I'm fine."
"Junko!" Momoe called out, as she, Asuka, and Rika met up with her.
"Asuka-san, Momoe, Rika-san!"
"You okay, Junko?" Rika asked.
"Yeah, thanks to your disco friend." Junko smiled, then turned to the disco fanatic, "So~ about that offer…"
"Oh? You cashing in?" Koji smirked knowingly.
"W-Well I…" she stammered. "I suppose it's more of a… trial run. If… you're cool with that."
"Sure, I don't mind," Koji smiled.
"Hey no fair! I call dibs on him!" Momoe complained, hugging Koji's free arm.
"Get in line! I'm first!"
Kuromu couldn't help but chuckle, it seems his friend's infinite charm has finally struck Duel Academia. Meanwhile, SAL saw Rex, who had cooled off after hearing the ape out, sigh. The ape was ready to fight, but the mutt raised his hands up.
"Easy, I'm not here to fight. I just want my friends back." He told the ape.
The ape was confused as he took the Slave Ape and Gladial Beast Essedarii cards from his deck in confusion.
"Yeah, they're my friends. And I'd appreciate it if you gave them back to me." He confirmed, "You said that you didn't like how you were taken from your home and friends, right? Well, that's the same with me, the Gladial Beasts and I have lost people, but we will do everything in our power to fight to protect those who we love. And these guys?" The mutt said as he saw the Duel Spirits of the not just the two cards manifest by the chimp's side, but also Dimucari, Bestiari, Laquari, and Murmullo as well, "These guys I'm glad to Duel alongside."
SAL seemed to think about it for a moment, before eventually giving the two cards back to Rex.
"Thank you."
"Alright, you failure of a chimp! It's back to the lab with you!" The short man said, as one of his men aimed his rifle.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it!" Judai said, getting in front of the men, arms spread out. "SAL agreed to let go of Junko if Koji won that Duel! We never agreed that SAL goes back with you should he lose! He belongs with his friends and family!"
"You know what?" The old man said. "The boy has a point: SAL does belong with his family. So we'll just take all of them!" Immediately he and the other man took out guns and aimed them at the monkeys.
"Oh, now you've gone and done it." Rex snarled as he and the rest of the Duelists stood in between the man with the rifle and the other chimps.
"Move out of the way!" The old man said.
"Then shoot us, go ahead." Koji taunted him.
Kuromu went over to SAL, carefully yet quickly got all of the equipment off of the chimp, keeping the Duel Disk on him. "Get out of here while you can! Hurry!"
The chimp gave a nod and ran off with his friends and family while Kuromu, Judai, Koji, and Rex prevented the man from firing at any of the apes.
"Do you realize what you've done?!" The old man snapped.
"Yeah, doing the right thing." Rex said. "You sick fucks tried to strap some tech onto an unwilling animal for your own reasons! I'll beat you guys up so bad you'll be seeing the whole cosmos!"
"Couldn't have said it better myself." A new voice said, as everyone turned to see the Kururugi patriarch and Tsukasa standing there.
"Tou-chan! Kadoya-sensei!" Kuromu gasped.
"Who are you?!"
"Just passing through teachers, ones about to call security about a group of suspicious men conducting animal experiments through abuse." Tsukasa smirked, much to the chagrin of the old man. There was no way they could win this one, so they decided to leave. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He scoffed.
"Tou-chan, Kadoya-sensei, what are you doing here?" Kuromu asked.
"We heard about the disappearance of Manjoume and heard that you kids were looking for him." Kyoshiro explained. "Well, I'm here to tell you that he's okay." The group all sighed in relief. "In fact, I saw him leaving early this morning."
Flashback
Just before Kyoshiro went to pick up his son to go to Obelisk Blue, he saw Manjoume at the entrance of Duel Academia, walking away from the school with a bag over his shoulder. He briefly stopped to turn around and look at the school one last time.
"Goodbye… Duel Academia…" He muttered, before turning on his heel and walking away once more, not looking back. He kept walking down the path, until he saw Kyoshiro to the side. Manjoume looked a bit surprised, but looked away with shame as he kept walking, moving past him.
"I'm not gonna stop you." Kyoshiro said, as Manjoume paused in his steps. "If you feel like we've failed you as teachers, then that's on us. But are you really sure you want to do this?"
Manjoume merely looked away, saying nothing at first.
Kyoshiro sighed at this, "For what it's worth, it's not your fault for being kept in the dark about my family's situation. However… you still need to reflect on your actions and find a way to make amends. If you truly want to be one of the best Duelists, prove that you can actually stand on your own two feet."
"I guess that's why I'm leaving." Manjoume said, "This should be a fresh new start for me."
"Maybe, but at the end of the day, you're still running. You will answer for your shortcomings. And once you do, that's when the real work begins."
"I'll face that day when it comes." Manjoume stated, before walking away.
"Well I guess that's better than nothing…" Kuromu sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head.
"So that's it then. He's leaving?" Judai asked.
"Apparently…" Rika sighed. "I really wanted to hit him with my cast iron."
"Are you always this violent?" Tsukasa deadpanned dryly.
"You should see what happened to Rex after he nearly burned an oven trying to make pizza." Sho shuttered.
"H-Hey, it was just one time! Okay?" Rex yelped, "I've gotten better at it."
"And we're all glad for it." Rika said with a sigh of relief, "One kitchen fire is enough."
"Well, anyways, lunch break is over, back to classes everyone." Tsukasa said, before walking off. "C'mon, let's go." He motioned with a wave of his hand. With this, Koji walked to class with both girls on each of his arms. Rika shortly joined the group as she was grumbling about Manjoume, while Judai, Sho, and Rex were discussing how good SAL's deck was. Kyoshiro, Kuromu, and Asuka were the last to follow suit.
Just another day in Duel Academia.
Meanwhile, the short old man with his two men had returned to their base of operations, a large cubical-like building that sat at the base of the volcano. The former could only grumble at how they failed to capture the dueling ape. It escaped with its friends and family, no thanks to those pesky kids. And thanks to those teachers, they may very well be arrested by the authorities if what that teacher said about calling the police to press charges for animal abuse were true.
"To think, all these years of hard work, dedication. It all amounts to nothing!" he snarled.
"What do we do now, sir?" One of his men asked.
"I don't know…" the short old man admitted.
They soon came to the door and using their security clearance, they went in, but when they did, they were met with a horrible sight.
Bodies of the soldiers and staff that worked this place littered the floor. Smears and patches of blood stained the walls. It was something that made even the most gruesome of crime scenes look like a pleasant sight. The stench of blood and grime filling their noses heavily. All the while the lights were flickering on and off.
"Tsk, so there are only three left? Not like anyone's going to miss people like you." a voice chuckled in the darkness.
The three men looked towards the end of the hallway where a lone figure with a cloak and a familiar spider-mask stood.
"Who are you?!" The short old man demanded.
"Does it matter? You won't live long enough to remember it." he chuckled.
The man with the rifle, shakingly, took aim at the cloaked man.
*BANG!*
The cloaked man merely dusted himself off, the bullet having no effect on him. "I'm sorry, was that supposed to hurt? That felt like a bee sting if I'm being completely honest." he said.
The man with the rifle was stunned but tried again, firing several more shots. They again have little effect on the cloaked man, if they were even effective at all. The cloaked man merely shook his head at the man with the rifle's attempt to hurt him.
The last thing ever heard from the facility were the screams of those three men. Afterwards, the lights shut off before the cloaked man walked out, holding a destroyed rifle in his hands.