"Hmm…" Rex grumbled, trying to wrap his head around the info he had stumbled upon. Chronos was definitely acting strange after the Duel between Judai and Misawa. Whatever it is, he didn't know, but his gut was telling him that Chronos had something up his sleeve. And it wasn't with good intentions.
"Yo, what's up bud?" Judai, still fresh from winning said duel, asked him.
"Something's fishy with Chronos." The mutt explained, "Not sure how though."
"Instructor Chronos being fishy?" Judai asked, confused. "Whaddya mean?"
"He mentioned something about Kuromu." Rex explained, before remembering something, "Oh right! Before that!" The mutt fished the deck of the reporter Kosuke out of his Duel Disk and gave it to him, "Here ya go."
"For me? Thanks, what-" Judai's voice was caught mid-sentence when he saw the nature-themed Elemental HEROes. To say he was shocked was an understatement. "Hang on a second, this is-! How did you-!"
"That old dude said that these cards are better kept in your hands than his." Rex explained, "Given that he didn't take back the deck, means he sees something in you to let me give this to ya, buddy."
"The ossan did?" Judai asked, surprised. "Where is he?! I gotta thank him!"
"Wish I knew." The mutt admitted, as he hadn't seen Kosuke after the Duel either.
Judai then remembered something, "So, what did you and Kuromu talk about?"
Rex took a moment to answer, "He knows."
"Wait, seriously?!"
"Long story, trust me. But… he did help me come to terms with what happened that day." The mutt said, "But before he left, Kuro told me that I'll have to tell everyone about this sooner than later."
"Are you sure about doing that?" Judai asked, with slight concern.
"I'm gonna have to bite the bullet at some point." Rex feared. "The longer I keep this all to myself, the worse it will get when they eventually find out and everything blows up."
The Elemental HERO Duelist saw the mutt's hand briefly shake before he took a deep breath, "But I don't wanna ruin the mood. We gotta celebrate you winning!" He stated before giving Judai a wild smile.
"Hey, I'm all for that! Buffet at the cafeteria?" Judai grinned.
"Best leave some for the rest of us." Rex chuckled.
"Welp they snooze they lose! You included!" Judai smiled trollishly, before comically running off. "So eat my dust!"
"Oh hell no!" Rex said before getting into high gear and running past Judai and right for the cafeteria. The Gladial Beasts and Winged Kuriboh could only look on, watching the cloud of dust moving away from them.
"Kuri, Kuri."
"General seems happy." Murmullo observed.
"And all the better for it." Laquer agreed.
*POW! BOP! BOP-BOP! POW! POW! WHACK! BAM!*
The sound of fists and feet meeting the surface of a heavy duty punching bag echoed in the Obelisk Blue's private gym. Kuromu was getting in his exercise as he continuously punched and kicked it. He was currently shirtless, exposing his athletic muscles while barefooted and wearing Duel Academia's mesh gym shorts.
Now that the Singles Representative was decided two days ago, they have about a few more days before the event. Meaning that he, Judai, and Asuka will have to be more focused than ever. For Kuromu, training his body in this manner keeps his mind sharp.
"Good, good!" Hibiki said, watching him from the side as if he were his coach while he continued to train at the punching bag. "Remember shounen, discipline nurtures a healthy body and mind."
"Hai!" Kuromu said, as he kept going.
*BOP! BOP-BOP! POW! POW! WHACK! BAM! POW! BAM! WHACK! POW-POW!*
The Rider Duelist continued to strike as Rika and Koji walked in on him, likely also ready to train as well. As Kuromu was a lot nicer compared to the other male Obelisk students, it wasn't uncommon to see lower ranked students enter the Obelisk dorm.
"Yo, Kuro!" Koji called out, as he was in a gray muscle shirt while wearing black mesh shorts and barefooted. Rika was wearing a blue sports bra where the straps cross each other at the back while wearing black shorts that hugged her thighs nicely while also barefooted as well.
Kuromu snapped out of his rhythm as he looked towards his childhood friends, panting heavily, "Hey guys… what's up?"
"Wanted to get some exercise in." Koji chuckled.
"Look at you Mr. Sweat & Muscles." Rika grinned mischievously. "If Asuka-chan sees you like that-"
"Oi, I want none of that." Kuromu interrupted with a deadpan, "Things finally calmed down with the rest of the girls. I don't want that starting up all over again."
"You're still mad about that?" Rika raised an eyebrow.
"No, but it gets annoying every time I think about it." Kuromu sighed, "Anyways, are we doing the usual?"
"Yep, been a while since we all sparred." Koji noted as he went to the cage ring, used by the students for various combat sports and had fighting gloves equipped onto him.
"Meet ya there!" Rika said, going over to the ring as well and doing the same thing that Koji did. With a shake of his head, Kuromu went over as well. Once they got themselves inside, the Rider Duelist locked the door and all of them placed on their mouthguards.
"You know the drill. Five minutes on the clock." Kuromu said, getting into a fighting stance.
Kuromu quickly cracked his knuckles and took up a karate stance while Koji began to take a capoeira stance. Rika, after briefly limbering up, quickly put up her dukes and took up an MMA stance. While she didn't specialize in any specific fighting style like Kuromu's karate, Koji's capoeira, or even from what she saw of Judai's street fighting or Rex's wrestling, it was good for her to at least stay a jack of all trades.
The three friends stared each other down, and with an unseen signal, Kuromu made the first move. He quickly threw out a punch that Koji saw coming and took a stance to dodge the attack and countered with an elbow to the mid section. The disco fan then delivered four kicks in quick succession to the Rider Duelist's head, doing so whilst doing a handstand for each hit.
Rika wasn't too far behind as she quickly dealt a swinging neckbreaker to the disco fan before delivering a few strikes to the midsection. She then performed a step-up jumping knee to Kuromu before the two locked up. Kuromu, after shoving the chef back, dashed in and delivered a strong side kick that was followed up with an uppercut. The three friends soon circled each other, staring the other down as they waited to see who would make the next move.
Koji was the one to act next as he briefly took a handstand before vaulting himself towards Rika, to deliver a drop kick onto the chef, who was sent back a bit as Kuromu quickly threw out a jab, a short straight punch, and a spinning hook kick onto the disco fan. The disco fan smirked as he jumped out of the way of an incoming strike from the Rider Duelist and delivered a back rodeo spin onto him in response.
"Heh, I see that you two are still as sharp as ever." Kuromu commented as he got back to his feet.
"Well then, watch this!" the disco fan declared before quickly charging forward.
He then performed a spinning roundhouse kick to Kuromu's stomach and began circling him to deliver a five hit combo of punches and kicks, the last of which sent the Rider Duelist into the air as Koji delivered a jumping roundhouse kick on the descent. Kuromu wasn't done yet as he dodged one more hit and knelt before hitting a leaping uppercut square to Koji's jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground.
The chef, who entered a track stance, smiled. 'Gotcha!' she thought to herself.
Kuromu realized too late that he let himself wide open for Rika's incoming assault. Before he could mount a counterattack, the chef rushed and tackled him to the ground with a Lou Thesz press. She then started unloading several punches to his face despite Kuromu's best attempts to block. She ended her assault with a powerful strike to the head, preventing him from intercepting with a punch of his own in the process.
The time was up and from the looks of it, Rika was the last one standing.
"Ugh… okay, you win this one, Rika…" Kuromu groaned as the chef helped him back to his feet, "Man, I shouldn't have gone for that uppercut."
"Hey, you really knocked me on my ass with that one." Koji pointed out after getting up.
"How are you feeling?" Rika asked.
"Other than getting my noggin whacked, I feel my mind is more focused than ever," Kuromu answered as he did some stretches, "I can't wait for the Inter-School Duel,"
"Have you and Asuka figured out your strategies for your Tag Duel?" Koji asked, limbering his body.
"It's getting there. We'll have it ready by the time it comes around." Kuromu said, before the three of them exited the cage ring.
"Kuro?"
Kuromu looked around and saw Asuka enter the gym, wearing something somewhat similar to Rika, though her hair was tied up in a high ponytail.
"Hey Asuka," Kuromu waved. "You're here for some training too?"
"Yeah, I have to keep up with you guys after all." the Obelisk Queen said.
Although Asuka couldn't help but stare at the Rider Duelist. The last time he saw him shirtless was when he was wrestling Taizan. Sure, his muscles weren't as pronounced now, compared to back then, but… it certainly looked appealing and she could really appreciate what she saw.
"Uh… Asuka?" Kuromu blinked, but no response.
"Asuka-chan, Kuro's eyes are up there." Rika teased with a giggle.
"H-Huh?!" Asuka snapped out of her thoughts, "U-Uh, s-sorry." she apologized, looking away with a blush and moving to one of the machines in the gym.
Rika couldn't help but giggle at her friend's disposition.
"I'm gonna hit the showers." Kuromu said, before grabbing a towel to hang on his neck and leaving the gym. Though as soon as he left, he leaned against the wall and crouched down, tugging on his hair, "Guhhhhhh, she was staring at me…!"
"That's because she likes ya buddy!" Fourze said, as he appeared. He then turned off the switches on his belt and a mechanical ring appeared above him to and light shined down while smoke hissed from the belt, returning him to civilian form to reveal, to Kuromu's surprise, a student that was dressed like a delinquent with a black pompadour underneath the armor. Kuromu was shocked.
"Wait… you're a teen like me?!" he gasped.
"That's right, buddy." Gentarou grinned before he attempted to do a handshake… but he immediately remembered that he was a Duel Spirit the moment he phased through the Rider Duelist. "Right, I forgot about that. Anyways, ya don't need to feel that embarrassed with Asuka. She's gonna be your girlfriend, right?"
"Not yet, but…" Kuromu trailed off.
"Ah, come on pal! Don't be sour!" the would-be delinquent told him. "Trust me, I had a girlfriend myself."
"You? A girlfriend?" Kuromu asked incredulously.
"Yeah, but then I found out she was an alien and then she left."
…
"That's rough buddy." Kuromo apologized.
"Yeah, but to be honest, I don't mind it." Gentarou admitted, "If I had hesitated way back when, even if I knew what would happen in the end, I don't think I would have gotten a second chance. So, trust me, don't wait forever. You'll never know what you missed until it's over."
"I see… okay then, I'll consider it." Kuromu nodded.
"Good on ya." Gentarou nodded with his fist held out, before disappearing.
"Alright… let's hit the showers." Kuromu said, slapping his cheeks to snap out of it, before making his way over.
Meanwhile…
'Ugh, I'm finally out of this arm cast and what do I do? Start skulking around and following Chronos.' Rex thought to himself as he kept out of sight of the professor. While Sho was helping Judai with deck building for the upcoming School Duel, the mutt decided to try and follow up on what he had heard from Chronos.
'I feel like I'm gonna get caught doing this and it's bye-bye me.' the mutt lamented in his thoughts, but the Head of Obelisk Blue was acting way too suspicious for his liking.
"General, I'm sure you realize that this is a bad idea." Dicaerii deadpanned.
"Oh, I know, but this concerns one of my friends and that smarmy jackass." Rex muttered, "Ain't no way I'm letting this slide. Besides, if what Bestrouli says is true, then that means that Kuromu got set up for something he didn't sign up for."
"Even if you're going through with this stake out. How exactly do you plan to expose him?"
"Well that's what the Duel Pilot is for." the mutt reminded him as he waved the device in hand.
"Grrr! Curse that Dropout Boy!" he heard Chronos snarl as he quickly hid and pressed record. "Signore Manjoume couldn't defeat him, now Signore Misawa couldn't defeat him. Why can't anyone beat him?!"
'Ryo beat him, but he's the Kaiser so that's a literal no brainer. I'm not gonna say that to his face tho…' Rex deadpanned.
"Ugh, there has to be someone who can beat him!" Chronos despaired, but then seemed to calm himself. "Non, non, remember the plan. This is long-term after all."
'Just what's up your sleeve?' Rex thought as he waited for the professor to slip up.
"Perhaps once this Inter-School Duel is over, I could- no, no that's too soon." Chronos grumbled, "Or perhaps- no, there's a chance that Dropout Boy was practicing on fighting that."
'What in the hell is he talking about?' Rex asked incredulously, 'Just get to the point already!'
"Gah, no matter! As long as Signore Kururugi keeps up with his Dueling, he'll be strong enough to beat that Dropout Boy and I can expel him once and for all!"
Rex's eyes widened at this. He couldn't believe what he heard!
'That bastard…! All this time-!' Rex thought as he remembered what Kuromu said about his promotion.
"Apparently, this Promotion Exam is his way of making it up to me for everything I went through."
"That son of a bitch…" Rex snarled under his breath, "He swindled us." His expression then turned bitter and sad. "Kuro's not gonna like this."
"That Dropout Boy won't even know what hit him!" Chronos chuckled to himself.
'Not if I can help it.' Rex thought as he stopped the recording and quietly left to find a place to collect his thoughts. He knew he was going to be in deep for what was coming up next, but it was either staying silent and watching one of his close friends get expelled, or telling the truth. Frankly, the mutt didn't want to make the same mistake he made in being unable to save a friend.
'I need to get this to Kuromu, and fast!' He thought before taking a track stance, 'Lucky for me? They didn't call me "Chedda" Nick for nothing!'
With that, he began to run. The mutt smirked as he felt the wind again, the feeling of freedom. While he was good at freerunning and the like, the mutt's best trait was his running speed, and now that he was fully healed, he was back at his regular pace.
And boy did he need it since he needed to get to the Rider Duelist pronto.
Asuka quickly blocked an incoming strike from Rika, the Obelisk Queen staring down the chef as they spared inside the cage. Since their childhood days, alongside the boys, she had been taking some fighting lessons with Rika whenever they got the chance. While not as proficient, Asuka can hold her own in a fight.
"Giving up already?" Rika teased her.
"Not yet. I'm just getting started." Asuka smirked back.
"Well then, how about this?!" Rika said, as she was able to dodge both of Asuka's kicks before delivering a takedown to pin the Obelisk Queen on the mat, Rika being on top of her, "Hehe~ I win." She grinned impishly.
"Grk, that was dirty." Asuka snarled, but it was clear that she was impressed.
"So~ do I get a prize?" Rika cheekily asked.
"Nuh-uh, no! My chest is already big!" Asuka denied, not liking where this was going.
"Sorry, but losers can't be choosers~!" She then straddled Asuka as her fingers were moving like a spider's legs as she grinned. "Now let's see how much they've-"
"Nooo!" Asuka sat up and pushed Rika away with a blush, covering her chest with her arms.
"Awwwww, c'mon!" Rika complained, after laying flat on the mat.
"One time in the bath was already enough." Asuka huffed. "Besides, Kuro will be mad at you for that."
"Or probably have a nosebleed." Rika pointed out, sitting back up.
"Don't remind me…" she muttered, "Seriously, can't you find another girl to smother, like your dakimakura of Kujaku Mai?"
"She's married to Jounouchi-san. So I can't go after her." Rika waved off nonchalantly.
…
"But you still have that pillow don't you?"
"Shut up!" Rika snapped with a blush.
Asuka laughed at this, "Though in all seriousness, you've gotten even bolder as of late."
"R-Really?"
"I mean, if your attempts to be deviant towards me weren't evident enough, then I don't know what is." Asuka smiled tiredly with slight exasperation, "What's pushing you to do this?"
"Well…" Rika trailed off, before hugging her knees. "When Kuro confessed to you two years ago, it… made me want to try too."
"Wait, what?" Asuka wasn't hearing what she thought she was hearing, was she?
"I-I mean not towards you, no! I wouldn't do that to Kuro at all!" Rika waved her hands frantically, her blush growing greatly. "He's loved you his whole life, so I don't want to take that away from him." She then looked down and muttered, "I just… wish there was someone out there who would do that for me."
"I'm sure there is." Asuka said reassuringly. "I mean, you're attracted to Judai, aren't you?"
"Huh?! That airhead?! No way!" Rika began panicking, "He's a bonehead, dunce, and stupid moron! All he ever thinks about is food and Dueling!"
Her blush spoke otherwise.
"I think those are exactly the two that fit you." Asuka giggled.
"Yeah, but do you really think he's the romantic type of guy?" Rika deadpanned, "I mean, have you seen how he acts? I'm pretty sure his one true love is Dueling than any actual person."
"That's fair, but you never know. Love sometimes comes from unexpected places." Asuka smiled. "Still… whatever happens, I'll support you. Kuro and the others too."
Rika smiled at this, "Thanks, Asuka-chan." She told her.
*ZZZZOOOOOOOMMM!*
"Did someone bring a racecar into the dorm?" Rika asked.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh…" Kuromu sighed in content, coming into his dorm room after taking a nice long shower. He definitely needed it after a long workout. The moment he puts on his clothes…
*ZZZZOOOOOOOMMM!*
"H-Huh?!" He gasped as he heard that sound again, "Oh no, not again!"
*SCREEEEEECH!*
"Yo. Uhh, is this the dorm room of one Kururugi Kuromu?" Rex's voice asked, "Got an MDC digital package for ya."
"Rex?" Kuromu got out, as he opened the door of his dorm room, revealing the Gladial Beast duelist. "What in the world are you-"
"Ah, so it is." The mutt noted as he off-handedly took Kuromu's Duel Pilot and started messing with it, "Okay, just gotta hit confirm on your Duel Pilot and mine and… bingo!" He then nodded, "Okay, delivery's done."
"What the- what did you send me?!" Kuromu asked incredulously before looking at the device, the text "Listen to this after I leave." on screen.
"Be sure to rate five stars!" Rex noted before zipping off like a rocket.
Kuromu was confused. Why act like this, and more importantly… Why was Rex smiling while his gaze looked so remorseful? He then looked at his device.
"Was that Rex?" Ryo asked, after coming out of his dorm room.
"That sounded way more like an F-1 car than someone running." Kuromu admitted.
"What did he do?"
"He was… delivering me something… digitally." Kuromu blinked, as he and Ryo looked at the device and the former pressed the button.
At first, he looked confused, but then as the playback continued, his eyes widened as disbelief and shock was etched onto his face. Ryo was just as equally horrified. When the playback ended, Kuromu felt his whole body tremble and go numb, dropping his Duel Pilot to the floor.
"Kuromu," The Kaiser got out.
"Senpai, I… I don't think I should be here anymore…" the Rider Duelist muttered in shame.
"Kuromu, listen to me." Ryo said, holding his shoulders. "I'm just as shocked as you are, but-"
"Everything I did was a lie!" Kuromu cried out. "How could he- I don't- why?!"
"I know one thing, you've proven that you're more worthy of being an Obelisk than others that are in this dorm." Ryo reassured him, "I think many of our friends can agree to that."
"Then why-"
"If I had to guess, Rex likely was furious about Chronos using you." The Kaiser said, "I'll admit, I don't know much about him but I know enough to tell that he wouldn't do this out of spite."
Kuromu remained silent as he clenched his fist, and his teeth gritted.
"Hey, mechhead!" Rex chuckled as he zipped to Chronos, a smile on his face and fury in his eyes, "Finally came up with a nickname for ya."
"I beg your pardon?" Chronos frowned.
"You thought you could pull a fast one on us, eh?" The mutt chuckled.
"What are you talking about?" The professor asked, but then the PA rang out.
["Would Instructor Chronos please report to the Principal's Office? I repeat, Instructor Chronos to the Principal's Office."]
"It would seem that I would be needed. Whatever it is you were about to say, it will have to wait." Chronos said, before leaving.
"Heh, welp! Best of luck at your future endeavors… liar!" Rex said, his smile changing back into a more sorrowful expression after the instructor left. 'Sorry Kuro… I know this hurts… you worked hard to get where you're at. But I want you to get there for real. Not because some egghead used you like a pawn.' He mentally lamented. 'I promise… I'll make it up to you.'
The professor soon arrived at the Principal's Office… where an upset Kuromu and an enraged Kyoshiro were there, alongside a disappointed Ryo waiting for him. Samejima was also there, at his desk, not looking happy either. Heck, even Judai was there. The only silver lining is, he was clueless as to why he was brought up here.
"What is the meaning of this?" Chronos questioned.
"Chronos," Samejima began sternly, the Antique Gear duelist looking confused yet unnerved about the tone of his voice. "It has come to my attention that one of our students has uncovered something about you advocating for Kururugi-san's Promotion Exam."
"What of it? He's earned his place, has he not?" Chronos argued.
"Cut the bullcrap!" Kyoshiro snapped. "How could you?! After everything my son's been through, you had the gall to promote him to Obelisk Blue only for the sake of using him for your own agenda?!"
"Wait, what?" Judai said, confused.
"I guess Taylor was right to warn Kururugi." Ryo lamented.
"Listen to this, Chronos!" Kyoshiro said, as he held up his son's Duel Pilot and replayed the message.
["Grrr! Curse that Dropout Boy! Signore Manjoume couldn't defeat him, now Signore Misawa couldn't defeat him. Why can't anyone beat him?! Ugh, there has to be someone who can beat him! Non, non, remember the plan. This is long-term after all. Perhaps once this Inter-School Duel is over, I could- no, no that's too soon. Or perhaps- no, there's a chance that Dropout Boy was practicing on fighting that. Gah, no matter! As long as Signore Kururugi keeps up with his Dueling, he'll be strong enough to beat that Dropout Boy and I can expel him once and for all! That Dropout Boy won't even know what hit him!"]
Chronos paled considerably. Suddenly Rex's earlier words started to make a lot more sense to the instructor.
"Wait, what?!" Now Judai was shocked.
"You know, I should have known you were scum. But this is low even for you." The voice that snitched him out rang through the room as the mutt himself stepped in, calm yet also furious.
"Mr. Taylor. Glad you could join us." Samejima greeted the mutt.
"Trust me, I didn't exactly want to do this." Rex admitted, looking towards Kuromu for forgiveness before returning his gaze back to the principal, "But… I just couldn't stand by and leave my friends in danger."
Kuromu saw that this was hurting him as the revelation destroyed him.
"Why you little-"
"I want answers, Chronos!" Kyoshiro demanded, standing between the instructor and the mutt. "Why do you have to stoop so low that you'd use my son in hopes to expel Judai?! Do you really hate him that much?!"
Chronos was left frozen.
"Come on, mechhead! Answer the question!" Rex snapped. "Or do I have to answer it for you?!" His hand shivered with regret, "I already smashed a friend's dream to save another's, I don't want to destroy it further."
"Yeah, now I wanna know!" Judai said, now angry. "Why all the hate? Was it because you lost against me at the entrance exams? Was it because I was late due to a train accident?"
Rex snapped his gaze towards his fellow Osiris student, "I'm sorry, what?!"
"Yeah, he was about to bar me from taking the entrance exams!"
Almost immediately Ryo kept Rex from mauling the professor.
"Chronos, I thought I told you that even if Judai-kun did poorly in the written exam, that you shouldn't deprive him of his chance?" Samejima glared at Chronos. "And I also said that our school's aim is to gather a wide range of talents to train them into well-rounded Duelists. Judai is one such talent."
"Especially given the big spider looking down on us right now!" Judai added.
"And another thing!" Kyoshiro said. "You yourself told my son that you supported his expulsion when he went to the Abandoned Dorm to face Oogumo! In fact, you were the first to advocate it! Why is that?!"
"Chronos, just tell them what's going on." Samejima calmly requested the professor.
Chronos himself felt ice cold sweat going down his face while feeling numb at the same time. He could tell that all of them weren't exactly in the mood to listen to his excuses. The jig was up. He was caught red-handed and was paying for it.
"ANSWER US DAMMIT!" Kyoshiro demanded
"Dios mio! Alright I'll confess! I initially hired someone to try and lure the Dropout Boy to the Abandoned Dorm! I only learned later that my initial contact declined and gave his ticket to Oogumo!" the professor cried out.
Kuromu was half-tempted to tell Ryo and Judai to not hold the mutt back, as now he knew how this mysterious spider-masked man got onto the island. Of course, as Chronos said, Oogumo was not even the man he hired, nor did he realize that this contact would let Oogumo in.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! DO YOU REALIZE YOU DOOMED US ALL?!" Rex roared as he thrashed about while Ryo was even struggling to hold him back.
"Taylor, that's enough!" Samejima shouted at the mutt, "I know that you're angry as we all are, but violence cannot make things any better."
"Principal…" Kuromu finally spoke, causing those present to look at him. "I… I want to resign from my position as an Obelisk Blue student…" The Rider Duelist then looked to Rex, who already knew what was coming.
"I… I'm sorry."
Kuromu raised his hand to tell the mutt to stop.
"No, you did the right thing." He told Rex, but the mutt's defeated look didn't help matters.
"Non, non, non, you can't!" Chronos protested.
"Why not?" Kuromu muttered, his heart becoming heavier. "It's clear that you were planning on using me to expel one of my friends. I can't, in good conscience, be in Obelisk Blue for that. You've manipulated, lied to, and worst of all betrayed me."
"Normally, I'd agree but this is setting a precedent." Samejima stated before nodding, "Very well, tomorrow we'll set up our first Demotion Test. If there are any additional terms you want added, say them now."
"Alright… if I lose, none of us will speak a word of this and I stay in Obelisk Blue." Kuromu began, "But if I win… not only will I go back to Ra Yellow, this incident will go public island-wide. And I'm sure Kaiba would want to hear this."
"CHE COSA?!" Chronos shouted in dismay.
"Oh, oh you're in trouble now mechhead." Rex now chuckled, recalling how ruthless Seto Kaiba, Yugi's greatest rival, can act at times.
"Is that all?" Principal Samejima asked.
"I have a few minor stipulations in mind, but… we can discuss that later." Kuromu said to the Principal. "If that's acceptable to you, sir…"
"I understand." The principal told him.
"Mama mia…" Chronos lamented in despair.
"Son, you don't have to do this." Kyoshiro frowned.
"Huh?" Kuromu said, confused, before Kyoshiro glared at Chronos.
"You yourself don't have to personally Duel Chronos. Because I'll Duel him in your place."
"Huh?!" Everyone, and even Ryo was shocked.
"Wait, sir, are you sure about this?" Judai asked.
"He's gone through too much this whole year." Kyoshiro said. "What Chronos did to my son… is unforgivable! I will not stand by and let my son suffer any more! So I'll make sure Chronos pays for his deception personally."
"Tou-chan…" Kuromu muttered.
"Very well. Tomorrow, Kyoshiro and Chronos will Duel in the main Arena." Samejima said. "And… since we are keeping this Duel private, it will take place once all students are in their dorm rooms and curfew is initiated. I'll make it a point for those present in this room to attend said Demotion Duel."
"Can our other friends come too? They need to see this." Judai requested, "We'll be sure to let them know beforehand."
"Very well." Samejima nodded.
Later on that day…
The two Osiris students had everyone gathered at the small gazebo at Ra Yellow and filled everyone in on what happened and to say they were surprised and disappointed in Chronos was an understatement.
"That no good dirty- oooooooooh, I wanna bring out my cast iron and whack his head until he bleeds!" Rika threatened.
"Join the club, I would have stomped him into the ground." Rex groaned, seeing that Rika shared the same need for vengence as he currently had.
"Honestly, I would've let the hound dog kick his ass." Koji admitted.
"But he had no idea that that client of his would have allowed Oogumo to enter in his place." Misawa said. "Still… this is unbelievable…"
"Kuro…? Are you alright?" Asuka asked worriedly.
"No, I'm not…" Kuromu shook his head, his face despondent. "I just… I'll need some time to think about this."
"I knew Chronos was no good, but to hear this…" Sho got out.
"Yeah, guess it was a good thing Kuromu pulled me aside yesterday. Otherwise I wouldn't have found out about Chronos's plan." Rex admitted.
"Pulled you aside for what?" Rika blinked in confusion.
"Uh… I'll tell you guys later." Rex flinched. "Anyways, Kuro. What are you gonna do once you go back to Ra Yellow?"
"Other than actually working my way back up and having to deal with Oogumo, I… don't know." Kuromu trailed off.
"There's still that goal you set yourself for when Kajiki dueled you." Rex pointed out.
Kuromu tried to smile at that, but failed, "Yeah, that's going to be a bit difficult right now. I can't smile at a time like this." He said, before getting up to leave. "Sorry guys… I need to be alone for a bit."
He walked away as he felt defeated.
"Kuro…" Asuka murmured worriedly, as she looked on.
"Asuka-chan, you should go after him." Rika suggested.
"What? But-"
"He's going to need you." Rika continued. "Please, just… be there for him."
"Are you sure?"
"No worries, the rest of us will be fine. Just be his backup dancer, aight?" Koji said.
Asuka remained silent at this, before nodding and going after him.
The next day couldn't come any sooner.
As the Principal intended, after all classes were done, the students were to immediately return to their respective dorms and initiated the curfew. Those that are involved and informed about the Demotion Test, made their way over to the main arena. There Kuromu and his friends took their seats, with Principal Samejima in the middle of the dueling stage, all of them awaiting the arrival of Kyoshiro and Chronos.
"To think such a Duel must be done in the first place. How disgraceful." Misawa commented, sitting next to Judai, Sho, and Rex.
"I still can't believe that Chronos-sensei would go this far just because he doesn't like Aniki." Sho groaned.
"Yeah, no joke!" Judai agreed. "Seriously, what the heck did I do to piss him off?"
"Do you really want us to answer that?" Rex asked dryly.
"Because there's a list." Sho added with a deadpan look.
"I even wrote it down!" Rika chimed in, holding up… a rather long list of reasons as to why Chronos didn't like Judai.
"Uh…" Judai sweat dropped. "Okay, fair point."
"By the way, Kuro, where's your Deck?" Koji asked, to which he pointed out that the Deck Box on Kuromu's belt was open and empty.
"Tou-chan's using it."
"What?!" The others gasped.
"Is that so strange? He did make the cards after all." Kuromu pointed out.
"Well, no, but… it's your Deck, right?" Judai pointed out. "Wouldn't your dad have his own Deck of Kamen Riders?"
"No, because the Kamen Riders I have are the only ones he ever made." Kuromu answered. "At least to my knowledge."
"If I had to guess, he's probably using your Deck to demonstrate its full potential." Ryo surmised. "Since he created the cards, it would stand to reason that he would fully know the ins and outs of said cards."
"So, we'll be seeing the Kamen Rider Deck at its full potential other than how Kuromu usually Duels." Sho chimed.
"That's right, kiddos!" A voice called out as they looked towards one side of the arena and saw Kyoshiro coming in with his Academia Duel Disk equipped, Kuromu's Deck in hand, and was making his way on stage.
"Mr. Kyo." Asuka acknowledged.
"I see you're prepared." Samejima said.
"Of course. I'm doing this for my son's sake." Kyoshiro nodded. "I am his father, after all."
"Understandable." Samejima nodded back.
Moments later, Chronos hesitantly made his way towards the stage as well, his own custom made Duel Disk equipped onto him, a Duel Vest to be more precise.
"And there he is, ladies and gentlemen." Rex said. "The mechhead actually had the balls to come here."
"Not like he had any other choice." Asuka frowned.
"Excellent. Now that both participants are here, allow me to explain the ground rules for Duel Academia's first Demotion Test." Samejima began. "First and foremost, just for confirmation, Kururugi Kyoshiro will be Dueling in his son's place, is that correct?" He looked to Kyoshiro who nodded. "Very well. As per the terms and agreement, should Chronos win, this incident will be kept under wraps and Kuromu will remain in Obelisk Blue. However, should Kyoshiro win, Kuromu's request to demote to Ra Yellow will be granted and knowledge of Chrono's actions will be made public to the entire school, including Kaiba Seto. Are those correct?"
"Yes sir…" Chronos muttered, pursing his lips with dissatisfaction to these terms.
"Additionally, Kuromu has informed me of additional minor stipulations to this Demotion Test." Samejima said, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket to read. "Firstly, should Chronos lose, he shall rescind his position as Head of the Obelisk Blue Boys' Dorm, and become an aide to Daitokuji-sensei for the remainder of the school year."
"CHE COSA?!" Chronos cried out in dismay.
"Ooooooooh, now that's humiliating." Rex chuckled.
"Pretty vindictive of you, Daddy-O." Koji looked at his friend.
"He should be lucky he's keeping his job." Kuromu said, with crossed arms. "As much as he should be fired, I still have standards."
"Secondly, uhhhh…" Samejima continued, though looking confused before looking back at Kuromu, "Is this right?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, to which Kuromu nodded. "Okay then… the second condition is that he retains full access to Obelisk Blue's private onsen for the duration of his three years here at the school."
"I'm sorry, what?!" Rex had to fight to not laugh his ass off.
"What?! Why didn't I hear about this?!" Rika cried out in shock.
"There's a private onsen for Obelisk Blue?!" The Osiris Trio gawked.
Ryo decided to answer, "It's something strictly for the Obelisk Blue dorm. I didn't exactly make the rules. I learned it the same way when I entered the Blue Dorm. But specifically, that onsen is solely for the Kaiser and Obelisk Queen. I don't use it as much, so I gave that access to Kuromu."
"So then… Kuro and… Asuka-chan…" Rika trailed off, as a blush crept onto her face, though Asuka blushed harder.
Sho suddenly exclaimed, "HE WANTS TO USE IT TO GET ALONE TIME WITH ASUKA-SAN?!"
That one shout from the Roid Duelist was enough to send Rex into a hyena-like laughing frenzy.
Kyoshiro blinked in surprise, "Wow son. You're moving along quickly."
"I DIDN'T USE IT YET!" Kuromu cried out in dismay with a face red as a tomato. "Asuka's been the only one using it! And besides, Kadoya-sensei had a barrier built in between when the security cameras for the island came in!"
"HOW CRUEL! YOU'RE JUST RUBBING IT IN NOW FOR THE REST OF US SINGLE, LONELY BOYS! AKUMA! KUROMU-SAN, YOU'RE AN AKUMA!"
Ryo stared at his little brother in shock, "Sho…"
Judai looked at his little brother figure in surprise, "Eh? But doesn't that sound like something out of those manga you have hidden under your pillow?"
"Yeah dude, that's totally normal." Rex shrugged off after finally calming down.
"NOT THE POINT!" Sho shouted at his fellow Osiris dorm mates.
"ER-HEM!" Samejima cleared his throat intentionally, getting their attention. "We're getting off track, so settle down please." He said calmly, to which the kids eventually relented. "Moving on, lastly, in terms of the Duel itself, both Players will start with 8000 Life Points. Are these terms acceptable?"
"Yup." Kyoshiro nodded.
"Yes sir…" Chronos muttered.
"Very well. With that said, good luck to you both, gentlemen. Especially you, Chronos. Do your best." Samejima said, before getting off the stage to sit on the sidelines with the students.
"Hope you've made your peace, Chronos." Kyoshiro said, taking out Kuromu's Deck. "I'll even let you go first. You'll need every advantage you can get. And don't you dare half-ass your way through this either."
Chronos took offense to that, "I'll have you know that I didn't become the Headmaster of the Blue Dorm through sheer bluster! And I'll prove it here and now!" He declared, activating his Duel Vest.
"Bring it!" Kyoshiro said before both Duelists drew their starting hands.
"DUEL!"
Chronos: 8000
Kyoshiro: 8000
"Watakushi no ta-n! Draw!" Chronos declared, as his sixth card ejected out of the Deck. He looked at the card before grinning with confidence. "First, I activate the Field Spell, Geartown! This card allows us both to Normal Summon "Antique Gear" monsters for 1 less Tribute! But I don't have to worry about that since you're using your son's cards."
The area around both Duelists suddenly morphed to resemble a steampunk-style city that was predominantly resembling gears.
"Whoa… talk about retro." Koji whistled.
"And with Geartown's effect, I'm able to summon this card, Antique Gear Engineer!" Chronos declared as he played his monster. Appearing on the effeminate man's field is a machine resembling the Antique Gear Golem but shorter in size and possessing a large drill for the right hand and a claw-like pincer for the left. (5/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500)
"Wait, that's a Level 5 monster! How could he-" Judai got out.
"Geartown." Asuka answered. "Remember Instructor Chronos can summon "Antique Gear" monsters for 1 less Tribute. Meaning if he has a Level 5 or Level 6 "Antique Gear", he can summon them as if they were a Normal Summon."
"And that goes double for his Antique Gear Golem. He would only need one Tribute to summon it." Misawa added, watching the Duel with interest.
Chronos took another card from his hand, "I set one card face-down. Ta-n endo!" A card appeared behind Antique Gear Engineer as the Blue Dorm leader's turn came to an end.
"O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kyoshiro declared, drawing his sixth card. He looked at his hand and smirked.
"Watch and learn, kids! I'll show you the true potential of the Rider Deck! First, I'll start by activating the Spell Card, Begins Night!" He declared, activating the card and revealing a picture of a shadowed Kamen Rider W, the red lenses glowing as he was surrounded by fire. "This lets me add a "Kamen Rider" from my Deck to my Hand!" he said, taking out his Deck before choosing a card. "And I choose Kamen Rider Wizard!" He said, before adding it and shuffling his deck, inserting it back in after. "Now I'll summon him in ATK mode!"
SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN!
FLAME! PLEASE!
A red magic seal with runic writing appeared and it slowly went across the air while leaving behind a fiery trail.
HII! HII! HII, HII, HII!
As the red magic seal passed over, and coming out of the other side was the ring-themed Rider. (4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1000)
"Saa, showtime da." Wizard quoted, before looking back at the patriarch, "Kyoshiro-san? What's going on?"
"Long story, short: Chronos lied about Kuromu's promotion and I'm here to punish him for it."
"Is that right? In that case, let's make sure he pays for it." Wizard stated. Sounding quite uncharacteristically mad.
"Right, Kamen Rider Wizard's effect activates! When he's summoned, I can add 1 Level 8 or lower "Kamen Rider" monster or 1 "Henshin" Spell/Trap from my Deck to my hand. And I choose to add Final Henshin!" He said, before doing as the card instructed and shuffling his deck.
"And before I activate Final Henshin, I'll activate Dual Summon allowing me to summon another monster this turn! And the one that I summon… is Kamen Rider Fourze!"
The sound of what sounded like a rocket noise coming to life echoed, with each pitch increasing before a countdown was heard.
3!
2!
1!
A tune played as a ring of metal appeared in a flash of light and smoke billowed out. The ring vanished and the light died down to reveal the astronaut-themed Rider. (4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1200) Fourze landed on his feet then suddenly crouched down and screamed-
"Uchu… KITTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He then saw Chronos and Kyoshiro. "Eh? Why is-"
"Chronos over there lied about Kuromu's promotion to Obelisk." Wizard explained.
"What?! That's so not cool! Alright, let me in on the beating! We're settling this man-to-man!"
"Now I'll activate Final Henshin! Upgrading Wizard first!"
Wizard placed a new ring on his finger which was silver but had an iridescent colored diamond to it with gray lines etching on said diamond to make the mask.
He then flipped the Hand Author and immediately placed the new ring in front of the WizarDriver.
INFINITY! PLEASE!
HII SUI FUU DO! BOU JABA BYUU DOGON!
The transformation took place and Wizard was now in his final form, (8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2000)
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider Wizard - Infinity Form!" Kyoshiro declared. "Then I'll activate his ability! When Special Summoned this way, I can activate a Final Henshin straight from my Deck, but I banish that card after I use it! So now I'll use it on Kamen Rider Fourze!"
"Let's do this!" Fourze said before taking out a large Astroswitch that had a large 'case' on it and placing it onto his belt.
COSMIC!
He then pressed down on the warning level, revealing a large red switch surrounded by warning tape. An alarm sounded before he pressed it.
CO-S-MI-C ON!
All forty Astroswitches appeared out of nowhere and circled Fourze before being absorbed into him. A bombastic space-like tune played as a column of multi-colored light enveloped Fourze until it dispersed to reveal Fourze's final form, equipped the Barizun Sword. (8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1200)
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider Fourze - Cosmic Form!"
"He's pulling all the stops isn't he," Rika muttered.
"I mean if anyone tried to harm your family members whether it be physical or mental, wouldn't you do the same?" Misawa asked rhetorically.
"True…"
"Battle! Kamen Rider Fourze attacks Antique Gear Engineer! When he attacks, your monster will lose 1000 ATK, but! And I need you to pay attention to this one. When Fourze - Cosmic Form attacks while I control another Warrior Fusion monster, your monster loses an additional 500!"
"Eh?!" Kuromu cried out in shock.
"If this hits, it'll be a One Turn Kill!" Sho cried out in surprise.
"By normal rules, it would be, but they're using the Master Duel ruleset so they are working with 8000 Life Points." Ryo reminded his little brother.
Antique Gear Engineer suddenly sagged and its lone blue eye dimmed to nothing as it lost power. (ATK: 1500-0)
After removing the Cosmic Switch from his belt, Fourze then slotted it into the Barizun Sword and slowly pulled down the lever, allowing the rocket cover to fold into a handguard and reveal a blue and golden blade underneath. He then removed the Cosmic Switch and then re-inserted it, the resulting burst of Cosmic Energy hurting the hybrid train monster.
LIMIT BREAK!
"Ikuzo! Rider Super Galaxy Finish!" Fourze yelled, before swinging the blade of cosmic energy towards the Antique Gear Engineer.
"I activate my face-down: Gravity Release!" Chronos declared, revealing his face down. "This forces all face-up monsters on the field to change their battle positions!"
All of a sudden, Fourze's jet-pack sparked and glitched, eventually flying out of control. "Uwhaaaaaaaaaa, why didn't Kengo-san calibrate this?!" He cried out, flying erratically before slamming onto the ground.
"Gentarou, you're an astronaut! Zero gravity shouldn't be a problem for you!" Kuromu shouted.
The sudden change in gravity forced all monsters, both Kamen Riders and the Antique Gear Engineer to drop to their knees. The Riders struggled to move while the depowered golem didn't have a problem.
Chronos smirked at Kyoshiro, "Still think that I'm not giving this my all, Signore Kyoshiro?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Chronos." Kyoshiro spat. "I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo. Fourze's effect on Antique Gear Engineer ends." As he said this, the Antique Gear monster on Chronos' field regained its full power and looked ready to fight.
"Watakushi no ta-n! Draw!" Chronos declared, drawing his next card as he looked at the image before grinning. "Since I control an EARTH Machine monster, I can Normal Summon this card without Tribute: Antique Gear Dragon!"
Appearing beside Engineer is a mechanical serpentine dragon composed of gears and dark green armor plating. Blazing red mechanical eyes glowed brightly as the dragon roared. (5/ATK: 500/DEF: 2500)
"Eh? Why would he summon such a weak monster?" Rika pondered in confusion.
"There's gotta be a trick to this." Rex pondered.
"What are you up to?" Kyoshiro demanded.
"Next, I activate the Spell: Change of Heart!" Chronos declared, playing a card that showcased a figure with a heart and two sides, one angelic and the other demonic. "This card allows me to take control of one monster on your field for the rest of the turn. I'll be taking control of Kamen Rider Wizard!"
"I don't think so! Reveal face-down!" Kyoshiro said, pressing a button to activate it, "Counter Trap: Danger Sense! When a card or effect is activated targeting a "Kamen Rider" monster I control, I can negate the activation and destroy it!"
Chronos smirked, "I knew you would do that, Signore." His expression turned serious. "Antique Gear Dragon's effect activates! When my opponent activates a Spell, Trap, or Monster effect, I can send 1 Machine-type monster from my hand or field to the Graveyard. However, I'll use the other version of its effect and send 1 Antique Gear Golem from my Deck to the Graveyard!" He takes out his Deck, searching through his cards before taking out his ace monster, revealing it for all to see before sending it to the GY. "And by doing so, I can negate the activation of your Trap and destroy it!"
Danger Sense flickered with static, before turning gray and shattering into pixels.
"Oh man, not good…" Sho whimpered.
"Now then. I believe that Kamen Rider Wizard is now in my hands?" Chronos taunted with confidence. The ring-themed Rider struggled to stay down, but couldn't as he got up and slowly walked over to Chronos's side of the field.
"Haruto!" Kyoshiro called out.
"Sorry, Kyoshiro… but this one's gonna hurt a bit…" Wizard grunted.
"Crap… this is gonna suck…" Fourze groaned.
"Now then I'll switch Kamen Rider Wizard - Infinity Form and Antique Gear Engineer to ATK mode!" Chronos continued as both of them stood up. "I'll make you regret having me use my full strength against you, Signore Kyoshiro. Battle da! Antique Gear Engineer attacks Kamen Rider Fourze!"
The lone blue eye of the mechanical golem glowed as it dashed towards the transformed Fourze, drill arm whirling with fury before throwing it forward and piercing the Kamen Riders' chest. Fourze released a pained grunt before shattering into particles.
"Next, Kamen Rider Wizard - Infinity Form will attack you directly!" Chronos commanded the pilfered Rider, who had no choice but to follow the order. To speed up the process and return to Kyoshiro's side, Wizard brought up his Kick Strike Ring and ran it along the Hand Author.
CHO II NE! KICK STRIKE! SAIKO~!
The magical Rider flipped into the air before descending towards Kyoshiro as diamond and elemental energy surrounded his kicking foot until it struck Kyoshiro dead center in the chest.
"Grrrrrrrr!" Kyoshiro grunted as he slid back.
Chronos: 8000
Kyoshiro: 5200
"Tou-chan!" Kuromu shouted.
"And for added pain, Antique Gear Dragon will attack you directly next!" Chronos declared.
Flames gathered in the dragon's mechanical maw before unleashing the flames upon Kyoshiro, bathing him in the fire.
Chronos: 8000
Kyoshiro: 4700
"All that damage in one turn." Koji winced.
"But that's alright. Next turn, Wizard will go back to Kyoshiro-san's field." Asuka stated.
Ryo, however, was skeptical, "Are you sure about that?"
Chronos looked at Kyoshiro with a frown. "I take no pleasure from this, Signore Kyoshiro. I hope you understand that."
"Yeah, I know. Because if and when you lose this Duel, you're going to be starting from zero. Just like Manjoume."
"Well, he's not exactly here now, is he?" Chronos pointed out with a scowl.
"I have a gut feeling he will. He still needs to answer for his transgressions too." Kyoshiro pointed out. "Now are you done with your turn?"
"I'm not. Mostly, because by the end of this turn, Kamen Rider Wizard will return to your field. However, I will not allow you to have such a strong monster on said field! I activate another Spell from my hand. One that you have played as well: Dual Summon!" Chronos exclaimed.
"I have a bad feeling as to what that monster will be." Misawa frowned with crossed arms.
"Due to Geartown's effect, I can summon this card with one less Tribute. I will sacrifice Kamen Rider Wizard - Infinity Form and Advance Summon: Antique Gear Golem!" The Obelisk Blue dorm leader declared as Wizard disappeared and the familiar gigantic form of Chronos' ace monster appeared on the field. (8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 3000)
"It's here!" Misawa gritted.
"Good Golly Molly, he's huge!" Koji gawked.
"I set one card face-down. Ta-n endo!" Chronos declared, finishing his turn after placing his last card on the field.
"O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kyoshiro declared, increasing his hand to three. "I activate from my graveyard, Final Henshin's second ability! I can shuffle it back into my Deck, and draw an additional card!" He said, before taking it out of the graveyard, shuffling his Deck, and drawing it, to increase his hand to four. "First, I play Support of Kamen Rider!" he said, playing the card depicting the Kamen Riders riding on their motorcycles. "I draw two cards then discard one "Kamen Rider" from my hand to the graveyard. If I can't do that, I'll send my entire hand." He drew two cards, his hand at five. He smirked at what he drew.
"He's got something." Kuromu noticed.
"I'll discard Kamen Rider OOO to the graveyard," He said, discarding it, his hand now back at four, "Then I'll bring him back using Resurrection of the Dead!" Kyoshiro continued as the animal themed Rider appeared on the field. (4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 0)
"Eh? Kyoshiro-san? Why are you-"
"I'll explain later, Eiji. Right now we have a Duel to win. Now I'll summon Kamen Rider Kabuto in ATK mode!"
The red mechanical rhino beetle suddenly appeared, flying in and circling around the Field, before it suddenly stopped in midair.
HENSHIN!
Hexagon-shaped panels materialized, spreading out to become the armored warrior, who then flipped the horn slightly and the sound of a charging noise echoed. Blue electricity crackled as the armor spread out, letting off steam.
"Cast Off!" He said, before flipping the horn to the other side letting the gold underside show and the back slid open.
CAST OFF!
The pieces of armor then went flying off in little parts in all directions, to reveal the armor underneath. The rhino beetle's horn rose from their chest armor and locked in place in the middle, bisecting the visor. (4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200)
CHANGE: BEETLE!
"Hm? Kyoshiro?"
"Long story." Kyoshiro answered. "But if you need context, one of your grandmother's quotes about damaging children who are treasures, comes to mind…"
"I see…" Kabuto said with a disturbing calmness in his voice before turning towards Chronos.
"Battle! Kamen Rider Kabuto battles Antique Gear Dragon! Rider Kick!"
Kabuto moved his hand towards the mechanical beetle's feet that were sideways and pressed three buttons from left to right.
1!
2!
3!
The red beetle themed warrior pushed the back of the beetle closed and flipped the horn back to its original position, letting it charge.
"Rider… Kick…"
Kabuto flipped the horn back to where it showed the golden underside once more.
RIDER KICK!
Electricity from the mechanical beetle traveled to the beetle horn of Kabuto's helmet before it traveled down his body and to his right foot, and with an unseen signal, the red beetle-themed warrior jumped up and dived down for his kick, before it connected with the rusty dragon, which its body caved in and crackled with electricity. The beetle-themed warrior then jumped back before the mechanical dragon exploded.
Chronos: 6600
Kyoshiro: 4700
"Nice, he's making some progress." Judai cheered.
"Hmph! Well played, but all in vain! I activate my face-down, Call of the Living Dead!" Chronos declared, revealing it. "It allows me to revive Antique Gear Dragon!" He said, as the metallic dragon reappeared.
"Aw man… he's back." Sho groaned, but Kyoshiro smirked at this.
"Heh, just like you, I knew you were going to do that." Kyoshiro said.
"Scusi?" Chronos frowned.
"In case you've forgotten, Kamen Rider Kabuto gets to attack a second time whenever he destroys a monster! Now destroy him, Kabuto! Avalanche Slash!" Kyoshiro called out as he repeated his attack, much to Chornos's shock. This time, Kabuto took out his KunaiGun and unsheathed the dagger inside the barrel. He then rushed towards the metal dragon and cut its head off.
Chronos: 5200
Kyoshiro: 4700
"Your turn Eiji! Attack Antique Gear Engineer! TaToBa Kick!"
"Wakarimashita!" OOO nodded, before taking his O's Scanner and scanned the metals.
SCANNING CHARGE!
His legs became a pair of grasshopper legs. Then he leaped into the air while three colored rings formed right in front of the Antique Gear Engineer. As a pair of red hawk wings materialized, OOO flew through the rings.
"SEIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
He landed the kick on his target, who blocked with his drill, but was overwhelmed and destroyed.
Chronos: 4700
Kyoshiro: 4700
"Alright! Now they're even!" Rika cheered.
"I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo." Kyoshiro said, as a reversed card appeared on the field.
"A brilliant strategy!" Misawa praised. "Kyoshiro-san took into account Antique Gear Dragon's effect of negating a Spell, Trap, or Monster effect and found a loophole around it!"
"Whaddya mean?" Sho asked.
"Kabuto's effect of attacking a second time rendered the timing of Antique Gear Dragon's quick effect invalid. Instructor Chronos could not negate that specific effect even if he wanted to." Ryo explained.
"So that means that Chronos's plan got bricked." Rex understood.
"It's gonna take more than that to keep me down, Chronos." Kyoshiro taunted. "Especially since I'm fighting on my son's behalf! You're going to feel a parent's wrath whether you like it or not!"
"Grk!" the professor gritted his teeth. "I'll show you that I'm not to be taken so lightly! Watakushi no ta-n! Draw!" Chronos's lone card ejected out of the Duel Vest. "I activate Treasure Cards from the Heavens! We each draw until we have six cards in our hand!" He said, as both of them drew.
Kuromu leered, 'So what's his plan now?'
"I hope you're prepared for what's to come, Signore Kyoshiro, because now you will see first hand what happens when I become serious! I'll activate the Spell Card, Antique Gear Fusion! This allows me to Fusion Summon an Antique Gear monster from my Extra Deck using monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Material. But more importantly, if I use Antique Gear Golem as part of its Fusion Material, I can also use my Antique Gear monsters from my Deck as well!"
Suddenly, the Golem quickly found itself alongside a copy of itself and a robotic beast-like creature. The two machines then broke apart and reformed around the mechanical warrior.
"I fuse the Antique Gear Golem on my field, the Antique Gear Golem from my Deck, and the Antique Gear Beast from my Deck as well!"
As the large mechanical being grew with the additional mechanisms combined with it, the result became a large hulking machine with six arms, the right side being claws while the left side being fists, and six legs. It also was a complete gray save for the one glowing red eye. (9/ATK: 3300/DEF: 3300)
"Fusion Summon! Antique Gear Megaton Golem!"
"OH JEEPERS!" Koji cried out.
"THAT'S A HUGE BITCH!" Rex gasped in horror.
"And it's about to become a huge problem for Signore Kyoshiro." Chronos added. "For you see, for every Antique Gear Golem I used to summon this monster, it can attack that many times per Battle Phase! In other words, since I used two Antique Gear Golems, I can attack twice every turn!"
"What?!" Kyoshiro gasped.
"No way!" Rika gawked.
"And all without sacrificing much of his hand, no less." Misawa gritted his teeth.
"Go, destroy his Kamen Riders! Ultimate Pound Barrage!" Chronos ordered.
The golem quickly performed a powerful stomp that sent both Kabuto and OOO into the air to be quickly taken out by a series of rapid punches and claw slashes, the force of these attacks hitting Kyoshiro before the two Riders shattered into pixels.
Chronos: 4700
Kyoshiro: 2000
"Tou-chan!" Kuromu cried out.
"Ha! How do you like me now, Signore Kyoshiro?" the professor taunted him.
"Still don't like your guts," Kyoshiro grunted. "That's nothing compared to what I'm about to do to you."
"Very well. Ta-n endo!" Chronos declared, "Now go ahead, do your worst!"
"With pleasure! O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kyoshiro drew his next card, increasing his hand to seven. He smirked at what he got. "Yosh… just what I need! First, since you control a monster and I don't, I get to Special Summon Kamen Rider Build from my hand! And I'll summon him in ATK mode!"
RABBIT! TANK!
BEST MATCH!
Several sets of tubes appeared. Red and blue liquid flowed through them as an assembly line was formed. The liquid then parted ways into the front and back as they solidified into two sets of armor pieces.
ARE YOU READY?!
The two pieces quickly combined onto his body, forming one suit of armor and steam came out before the assembly line disappeared. (4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000)
HAGANE NO MOONSAULT! RABBITTANK! YAA~Y!
"Eh? Kyoshiro-san?" Build noticed, after seeing him and Chronos, "I see…" he snarled, "Say no more, Kyoshiro-san. I think I got the picture now."
"Good. I don't have to repeat myself. Next up, since I have a Kamen Rider on my field, I can Special Summon Kamen Rider Gaim from my hand!"
ORANGE! LOCK ON!
The techno war horn noise that sounded then-
SOIYA! ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE!
The metal orange appeared, dropped and landed midair. The air rippled with energy until the dark blue bodysuit which had quilted leather appeared. The orange then sparked and disassembled and folded. (4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1500)
"Koko kara wa o-re no suteji da!" Gaim declared, getting into his stance. "Kyoshiro-san, I heard from the others. I'll make this no-good teacher pay!"
"I'm counting on you, Kouta!"
That's when Rex realized something. Throughout this whole Duel, the Riders could not only talk with Kyoshiro… but he was also talking back to them. He looked towards Judai and Kuromu to see if they noticed this as well.
"Uhh, guys?" he asked the pair, "You see it too, right?"
"I see it, but I… don't believe it." Judai said.
"Tou-chan… you…" Kuromu got out.
"First I'll activate Final Henshin!" Kyoshiro began. "This one I got from when I shuffled it back into my Deck in my previous turn and drew it when you activated Treasure Cards from the Heavens! So now I'll use it on Kamen Rider Build! Sento!"
"Aah!" Build said as he took out what appeared to be a blue cylindrical object, the size of a soda can, with three spouts and has a window, dubbed the Genius FullBottle. He then pressed one of the spouts and the window lit up.
GREAT! ALL YAAAAAY!
After taking out the Rabbit and Tank FullBottles, he then flipped the cap, turned the Genius FullBottle upside down, and inserted it in.
GENIUS!
A majestic version of the Build Driver's tune played before he started cranking it.
YAAAAAY! YEEEEEY! YAAAAAY! YEEEEEY!
Suddenly a large platform arose. First the floor was blue which built a wall behind him. Various production lines that had empty Fullbottoles on them moved along the belt as pistons were cranking behind him. With a smirk, the physicist Rider stopped cranking as he tapped his helmet.
ARE YOU READY?!
"Build Up!"
Suddenly, chutes appeared to allow the bottles to attach themselves to the new white bodysuit that Sento was given.
KANZEN MUKETSU NO BOTTLE YARŌ! BUILD GENIUS! SUGEI~! MONO SUGEI!
One by one, these now colored FullBottles attached themselves to each part of his body, wherever there was a space for it to insert. A new golden version of his symbol adorning his chest while his left and right sides were the same red and blue colors. His eyes also were changed to now be two valves adorned with Fullbottles. One side had warm colors of red, orange, and yellow, while the other had cool colors of green, blue, indigo, and violet. (8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2200)
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider Build - Genius Form!" Kyoshiro declared.
"Tsk, what use is this Final Form?" Chronos mocked.
"Oh, in this instance, nothing." The elder Kururugi stated. "Except that it's setting me up to activate my face-down!" He said, pressing a button and revealed an image of Kuuga's silhouette inside what appeared to be a burning church. "Emergency Henshin! This trap card is treated as Final Henshin! Normally, I would use this if you're attacking me, but since your Antique Gear monsters' effect specifically states that I can't activate any Spell or Trap cards during your Battle Phase, I choose to use it right now!"
"CHE COSA!?" Chronos gawked.
"Tou-chan… omae…" Kuromu got out.
"I choose Kamen Rider Gaim to go into his super form! Kouta!"
"Wakatta!" Gaim said before pulling out A bulky metallic Lockseed with octagonal metal orange on the cover. It has a slot on its left side and on top of that slot was the button to unlock the Lockseed. Written on the cover was the code K.L.S. - 01. "It's time to take the stage and raise the flags of triumph!"
KACHIDOKI!
The Arms Armor descended from the Crack above him. It wasn't shaped like a fruit, but like a set of bulky arms or painted in orange with black highlights and silver bolts that acted like studs. Gaim then removed the Orange Lockseed from the Sengoku Driver, and put Kachidoki Lockseed in before locking it.
LOCK ON!
The techno, Japanese war horn music played from the Driver then he sliced the Lockseed open, revealing its core, the top half having the octagon-shaped orange slice while the bottom showed the Arms Weapon which was a futuristic Tanegashima Rifle dubbed the Hinawa Daidai DJ Gun.
SOIYA!
His previous Arms disappeared in rainbow motes of light as the Kachidoki Arms Armor lowered itself to his body. It covered his entire upper body before it began to disassemble. The front part flipped down to become the skirt armor with black highlights and silver bolt studs which revealed the chest plate which was also orange with Gaim's symbol in gold on a black background surrounded by silver bolts. The two parts of the armor were connected by links of silver pipes. Its side parts rotated on its axis down to become large shoulder guards which were also orange with black highlights and silver bolts studs and his arm braces also gained similar armor while the top part slid down to his back on the top of the back part.
His helmet was now more ornate with black and gold side decorations and a white 'mustache' added to the face plate. The head crest now gained more decoration with curved gold crests. The helmet attachment now had silver bolt studs with an orange stem on top. The visor lit up as gold 'juice' splashed from his armor and a pair of orange flags with Gaim's symbol in black attached to his back on silver poles. (8/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2200)
KACHIDOKI ARMS! IZA SHUTSUJIN! EI, EI, O~H!
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider Gaim - Kachidoki Form!"
Almost instinctively, Rex began to tense upon seeing Kachidoki Form, the image of the Grandmaster of the Six Samurai appearing in his mind.
"Hey, you alright?" Judai asked.
"U-Uh, yeah. It's nothing."
"Kamen Rider Gaim - Kachidoki Form's effect activates! When he's Special Summoned while another Warrior Fusion Monster is on the field, I get to target 1 "Kamen Rider" or "Henshin" card in my Graveyard and add it to my hand. Guess which one I'm picking." He smirked.
"Mama mia!" Chronos cried out.
"That's right, it's Final Henshin!" Kyoshiro said, taking it out of the Graveyard and adding it to his hand. "But before I activate it, I'll activate another effect of Kamen Rider Gaim - Kachidoki Form! By discarding a "Kamen Rider" related Spell or Trap card; I can activate 1 of three effects. And that effect is destroying your Antique Gear Megaton Golem and inflicting damage equal to half its ATK! I discard Alive A Live to make it happen!"
"Damn!" Koji gasped.
With this, Gaim set the gun to a low setting and scratched the disk, and a slow techno tune of the war horn played, before aiming the gun and firing a huge ball of fire at Megaton Golem shattering it into a pile of scrap.
Chronos: 2950
Kyoshiro: 2000
"Grazie, Signore Kyoshiro. You fell for it." Chronos said eerily.
"Ah crap, what now?" Rika gasped.
"I commend you for destroying my Antique Gear Megaton Golem. However, you activated a special ability of his. If he's destroyed by a card effect, I can Special Summon a new Antique Gear Fusion Monster, ignoring its summoning conditions!"
"Antique Gear Megaton Golem wasn't his strongest?" Asuka gasped.
"Come forth! Antique Gear Ultimate Golem!"
Suddenly, the scrap pile came to life and began to rebuild itself until it became a centaur-like golem with a large blue metallic arm and this one was even bigger than Antique Gear Megaton Golem (10/ATK: 4400/DEF: 3400)
"SHUCKY DUCKY QUACK QUACK! SOMEBODY CALL MY MAMA!" Koji cried out, jumping into Rika's arms like a certain great dane of a dog.
"Get off!" Rika cried out, dropping him instantly.
"HOLY SHIT, LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT MONSTER!" Rex panicked.
"Egads…" Misawa said wide-eyed.
"Instructor Chronos had this hidden in his arsenal, all this time?" Ryo gasped in shock.
"I guess this is what happens when he gets serious." Asuka observed.
"Kyoshiro… you do have a plan right?" Build asked.
Kyoshiro after staring at this new monster for a while, before smirking, "Yeah. Everything's going according to plan."
"What?!" Chronos snarled.
"You're not gonna get a chance to use it next turn. Because I'm finishing it now."
"Impossible! You can't!"
"I can and I will. It's like I said before… you're going to feel the wrath of a parent whether you like it or not!" Kyoshiro declared. "Everything that my son's been through… everything he felt during his time here: anger, sadness, pain… how could I NOT protect my own son from such things?! Especially with what you were about to do!"
"Tou-chan…" Kuromu muttered.
"I will not forgive you for forging a path of lies for my son, just to deny another boy the future he deserves!" Kyoshiro declared.
"What was I supposed to do?!" Chronos snapped back. "You can't honestly expect exceptions for every student! Cruel as that may be, we must also recognize that raw talent cannot carry a person through life! You must also have the dedication to put that skill into use! If people like that Dropout Boy just waltz around and use their innate talents like a free ticket to success, then they will not be able to face the true hardships of this world!"
"Does that justify manipulating students against each other?" Kyoshiro retorted coldly. "Just how low are you willing to go just to get rid of one student?!"
"Grr…"
"Instructor Chronos!" Judai finally spoke, as the Antique Gear Duelist looked to the Elemental HERO Duelist, the latter looking serious for once. "I get it! I screwed up when I first showed up here. That's something I can't take back. I've done my share of failing and I even got my butt kicked by the Kaiser because I got too cocky."
"Scusi?! You were-"
"The point is, I'm still eager to learn how to be the best. And I can't do that if I can't be given that chance." Judai pleaded, "So please Instructor, give me that chance. Let me show you I'm more than just a one-trick pony. If I can't do that, if I really what you think I am, then I might as well give up my dream of becoming the next Duel King!"
"Judai…" Rika said surprised.
For once Chronos looked absolutely stunned. Here was Judai, surprisingly acting mature about this whole matter. He had every right to hate him, if his friends' reactions to his plans were any showcase of that, but here he's not condemning him but simply asking for one chance to make things right.
"Signore Judai… you…" Chronos got out before clearing his throat and for once, giving the Elemental HERO Duelist a simple yet sincere nod of approval. That was more than enough confirmation. "Very well… if you're willing to put in the work, then I suppose I could give you that chance."
"Then let's finish this!" Kyoshiro said, with Chronos turning his attention back to the Kururugi patriarch. "I activate Final Henshin once more! And Gaim will go into his true final form!"
"SCUSI?!"
"Hey, wait, so Ex-Aid wasn't the only one that has a two-parter?" Rex looked at Kuromu.
"Yeah, but I never got the chance to use Gaim's true Final Form." Kuromu revealed.
"Wonder what the card does then?" The mutt pondered.
The Rider Indicator on Gaim's belt disappeared and took out what appeared to be a Lockseed. But this one was different as it was shaped like a key. He pressed a button and the blade of the 'key' popped out.
FRUIT BASKET!
At that point, multiple Cracks opened up from above and a metallic orange, banana, grapes, melon, pineapple, strawberry, mango, kiwi, pinecone, walnut, acorn, durian, lemon, cherry, peach, and cantaloupe, along with a dragon fruit, and two apples being Gold and Silver descended down.
Gaim then inserted the Kiwami Lockseed and gave it a twist. The core revealed a new image as slices of fruits appeared on my Kachidoki and Kiwami Lockseed while their back lid image showed the faces of Kachidoki Arms and Kiwami Arms.
LOCK OPEN!
The metallic fruits and nuts then surrounded Gaim and the metallic fruits and nuts converged on him and casted off the Kachidoki Armor to reveal himself in new armor.
KIWAMI ARMS! DAI-DAI-DAI-DAI-DAI SHOGUN!
In this new armor he now had a white bodysuit that covered his body. Starting from the top, his helmet resembled a tsuinari kabuto and was silver. The visor was rainbow-colored and mounted on his helmet was Gaim's complete symbol. Continuing down, the armor was completely silver with vertical black stripes going down his sleeves and legs. Flaps of armor hung from his belt protecting the lower area and the sides of his thighs. He also wore plated armored boots and gloves. Next he had black shoulder pads and his chest armor was black having gold intricate designs surrounding the image of a fruit basket with images of a melon, grapes, banana, orange, watermelon and strawberry. To finish it off, his neck had a red collar around, holding up a black cape that draped down his entire back. (8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500)
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider Gaim - Kiwami Form!" Kyoshiro declared.
"Getting big godly vibes from this one." Judai observed.
"Kamen Rider Gaim - Kiwami Form's effect activates! When he's special summoned while I control another Warrior Fusion monster, I can target a "Kamen Rider" in my Graveyard and special summon it, ignoring Summoning conditions! And I choose to bring back Kamen Rider Fourze - Cosmic Form!"
CO-S-MI-C ON!
Soon, Fourze Cosmic Form re-appeared on the battlefield and even held his Barizun Sword in a badass way. (8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1200)
"Round two!" Fourze said.
"And now to finish this off! I activate the card I drew at the start of this turn! Preemptive Strike!" Kyoshiro said, playing it, as it depicted Ryuki with a dragon head on his hand, that's about to breathe a fire. "When a "Kamen Rider" attacks, that monster gains 400 ATK until the end of the Damage Step! So let's battle! Kamen Rider Fourze - Cosmic Form attacks Antique Gear Ultimate Golem!"
"Wait, what?! Why would he do that?!" Sho gawked.
"Hold on… I see his strategy now!" Ryo realized. "Remember Fourze's effect. The monster he attacks loses 1000 ATK during the Damage Step, but since there's another Warrior Fusion monster on the field, the target loses an additional 500. Reducing Antique Gear Ultimate Golem's ATK to 2900."
"But that's still not enough to beat it!" Koji pointed out.
"That's why Tou-chan played Preemptive Strike to begin with." Kuromu added. "Whenever a Kamen Rider attacks, they gain 400 ATK until the end of the Damage Step. Fourze's ATK is 2500, so adding 400…"
Antique Gear Ultimate Golem (ATK: 4400-2900)
Kamen Rider Fourze - Cosmic Form (ATK: 2500-2900)
Misawa gasped, "Their ATKs will be equal and both will destroy each other!"
LIMIT BREAK!
"Let's try this again! Rider Super Galaxy Finish!" Fourze yelled, before swinging the blade of cosmic energy towards the Antique Gear Ultimate Golem. The centaur golem-like giant reared its blue metallic arm, and collided with the attack before a large explosion occurred, causing those in the audience to protect themselves from the dust cloud that blew outward.
The dust cleared as now Chronos was defenseless and Fourze was nowhere to be seen.
"Grrrr… Thanks to you destroying Antique Gear Ultimate Golem, I can special summon an Antique Gear Golem from my Graveyard!" Chronos declared as the original robot golem appeared (8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 3000)
"It won't matter. Because I've already won thanks to playing Preemptive Strike." Kyoshiro said, shocking Chronos. "Kamen Rider Build - Genius Form's ATK would be 3200 when he attacks, and Kamen Rider Gaim - Kiwami Form's ATK would be 3400. In either case… you lose…"
"I… I see…"
"Sento, Kouta, finish this off! Hinawawa Daidai Musou Zan and Genius Finish!"
"Hai!" Gaim and Build said. Gaim turned the key twice.
HINAWADAIDAI DJ JU!
MUSOU SABER!
The two weapons then appeared, before Gaim inserted the Musou Saber into the barrel of the DJ Ju, and the curve of the gun had its edge pop out, before slicing the Lockseed twice and an energy flowed out of the blade spewing out a geyser of holographic fruits. (ATK: 3000-3400)
SOIYA! KIWAMI AU LAIT!
Meanwhile, Build started cranking the Build Driver and all FullBottles on his body were glowing. (ATK: 2800-3200)
ONE SIDE! GYAKU SIDE! ALLLLLLLL SIDES!
"Shōri no hosoku wa… kimatta!"
READY?! GO! GENIUS FINISH!
The two soon initiated their finishers as Gaim timed his swing with Build's supercharged kick, creating a powerful explosion that not only destroyed Antique Gear Golem but also decimated the rest of Chronos's Life Points.
Chronos: 0
Kyoshiro: 2000
The Solid Vision disappeared and Chronos stood there with silence. In the end, this is what he deserved. And rightfully so given the actions he made.
Kyoshiro stood there for a moment before sighing, "Well… it's over." then calmly removing the Duel Disk and returning it to the principal.
He thanked him for allowing him to borrow the blank Duel Disk, then turned his attention back to Chronos who looked bitter about his loss, but not completely enraged. Then again, it was all his fault in the first place, so it was well deserved.
"Let the record show that Kyoshiro is the victor of this Demotion Test. Therefore, the stipulations will proceed as planned." Samejima announced.
"That's that." Kuromu sighed, as he walked away from the stands and approached the stage.
Walking up the small staircase, he stood face-to-face with Chronos, as he then took off the Obelisk Blue jacket that disgraced him and presented it to Chronos.
"Give this to a more worthy student than I." He said.
"I assure you. That day may come sooner than you think." The instructor told him as he took back the jacket. "And… for what it's worth… you have my utmost sincerest apologies." He bowed.
Kuromu could only nod, before he walked back to his friends, who were all understandably still worried for him. While his father won on his behalf, they worried that this situation might end up affecting him in the long run.
But then, the Rider Duelist smiled softly, "Thanks for looking out for me guys." He then looked to Ryo, "And I promise I'll make it to Obelisk… for real."
Ryo nodded, "I know you will."
He then turned to Judai, "Sorry about, well… getting you involved in this."
"Hey, none of it is your fault! You had no idea!" Judai protested, waving his arms. "Heck, I had no idea."
"That's because you're dense when it comes to these things, Aniki." Sho deadpanned.
"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad." Rex agreed.
Meanwhile, Rika approached her childhood friend of a Rider Duelist and pulled him away, "Come on, Kuro. Let's go."
"H-Huh? What- where-"
"I gotta treat you to a farewell feast at least." Rika smiled sadly.
Kuromu was silent, before looking at his friends, then looked back at Rika with a sad smile of his own, "Don't leave them out."
"You sure?" Rika asked.
"It's cool." Kuromu assured his childhood friend.
"Alright." Rika smiled, before looking at the others, "C'mon guys, we're all celebrating his Demotion!"
"Aw yeah! Food!" Judai cheered with a fist pump.
"Aight, maybe one bite wouldn't hurt." Rex figured, before leaving the Duel Arena. As they left, the adults stood on the Duel stage, watching them.
"Now you're in the same boat as Manjoume." Kyoshiro said to Chronos.
"Yes, you're right…" Chronos trailed off.
One thing's for sure: His path to redemption is going to be a long one.
The next day had arrived…
As per the stipulation, Principal Samejima gathered the entire staff and student body into the main Duel Arena, to make Instructor Chronos's actions public. To say that they were in an uproar was an understatement. Especially from the Osiris Red students who were the loudest, demanding that Chronos should be fired. So when they found out Chronos was helping Daitokuji… let's say the poor professor found himself in the lion's den.
Even moreso, when word of this reached Kaiba's ears, the latter made a personal phone call to Chronos's cell phone and proceeded to really rip the Antique Gear Duelist a new one.
Kaiba knew that there were some people that shouldn't pick up a deck or Duel Disk. But that's why Duel Academia was made in the first place: to cull out those who weren't worthy to be in the Dueling World. Judai was more than worthy. And the fact that Chronos deliberately tried to expel such an extraordinary talent by using his now demoted friend as a pawn, didn't sit well with the CEO.
All while Judai once again escaped Chronos's plans without a scratch. Only this time he couldn't do anything to the Elemental HERO Duelist… and yet the instructor was strangely okay with that.
Speaking of Judai, he and the others, save for Kuromu, were hanging out at the gazebo. Judai showed off the new Elemental HEROes he had gotten from Rex. They were even shocked that he had a Legendary Planet monster in his arsenal as well.
"So, what now? I mean you got a lot of options to choose from for the Inter-School Duel." Rex observed.
"Yup! It's gonna be so powerful, I'm gonna win my Duel in a landslide!" Judai grinned.
"Say, where's Kuro?" Sho asked, looking around.
"Hey guys!"
Everyone heard Kuromu's voice as they all turned to see the Kamen Rider duelist jogging towards them, but something was different about him. He indeed had a Ra Yellow jacket, but the difference was that this particular Ra Yellow jacket was long tailed with white-trimmings, just like an Obelisk Blue would wear.
"Whoa, did you spray paint one of the Kaiser's jackets in Ra Yellow?" Judai asked wide-eyed.
Kuromu chuckled softly, "Nah, I had this custom made. Ayukawa-sensei worked on it last night. I guess you could say that it was something of a last request as an Obelisk before I officially left."
"Looking slick, dude." Koji greeted him.
"Hey, if I'm gonna be Ra Yellow. I gotta at least show that I'm the strongest Ra Yellow." Kuromu pointed out. "Again, thanks guys. For looking out for me. It really means the world."
"It's cool, bro." Koji said, "We're with ya 'till the end."
"Yeah, all for one and one for all, right?" Rika smiled.
"Yeah. Not only that, you know what this means?" Kuromu grinned knowingly, much to their friend's confusion. "Now that I'm demoted back to Ra Yellow, all three dorms can now represent Duel Academia at the Inter-School Duel."
"Hey you're right!" Judai realized. "That's awesome!"
"They won't know what hit them." Asuka smiled.
"And we'll show North Academia who's boss!" Kuromu smirked with a fist clenched. "Just wait! They're setting themselves up for a fall! And we're gonna win it all!"