Today was finally the day!
After weeks of preparation, from Deck editing to practice Dueling, the three representatives of Duel Academia were finally ready for the Inter-School Duel! Of course, they couldn't have done without the help of their friends. They would seek counsel with Ryo, Koji, Rex, Rika, Misawa, and Sho, who made suggestions of what cards to add and what to remove. After taking these suggestions into consideration, Judai, Kuromu, and Asuka would test their Decks against any combination. Whether it would be Judai vs. Rex or Judai vs. Koji to Kuromu/Asuka vs. Ryo/Misawa and Kuromu/Asuka vs. Sho/Rika.
They had done each and every combination of practice Duels they could think of.
Misawa would record and collect all the data of each Duel, using special equipment and computer programs that not only recorded each Turn that was played, but also recorded what was in each Duelists' hand, field, and graveyard. They would use this data for review and make good use of whatever feedback was provided to improve the tactics and strategies for the representatives.
Judai had an entire second Deck to adjust to: the nature-themed Elemental HEROes. Rex had given this to Judai from Kosuke, the old geezer reporter who had a change of heart after his Duel with Kuromu. He saw something in Judai and thought of giving his Deck to him, as he felt that they were better in his hands. With this new Deck, one could say that Judai now had the entire archetype at his disposal for him to use, especially now that he had the Masked HEROes.
As for Asuka, she had recently received a substantial upgrade to her Deck, having more support cards for her Cyber Angels. Cards that leaned more into Ritual Summoning than Fusion Summoning like the rest of her friends. These new supports would help her with searching for the components needed to conduct a Ritual Summon. Suffice to say, these new supports will give Asuka the edge she'll need in her Tag Duel with Kuromu against North Academia's representatives.
Finally for Kuromu, while his monsters remain the same, his new arsenal of Equip Spells and Trap Cards were a different story. While his Deck took the most time to develop because of the versatility of these new cards, it gave Kuromu new insight on new strategies he never thought up of before, giving him new ideas of how he could catch his opponent off guard. It certainly showed in their practice of Tag Duels, which impressed even Ryo.
After winding down to the final days before the Inter-School Duel, all three Duelists finally had everything pat down.
"Alright! Our Decks checked out, my belly is full of food, and I'm ready to go!" Judai cheered.
"Yeah, the day has finally come." Kuromu nodded with a smile of confidence. He then turned to the Obelisk Queen. "Feeling nervous?"
"A little. It's an honor to represent Duel Academia but, I won't lie if I said that I'm worried I won't be able to make our school proud." She answered. "What about you?"
"Ice cold feet. Case in point." Kuromu smiled unashamed, pointing down to his feet.
While the top half of his body was normal, the bottom half told a different story, as his legs and feet were shaking.
Asuka giggled before Judai slung his arm around the Rider Duelist.
"Ah, come on bro! Don't worry! We got this!" Judai happily reassured him. "We trained tooth and nail to get ready for this!"
"Heh, yeah, you're right." Kuromu scoffed good-naturedly. "What am I saying? Of course we're gonna win this!"
"That's the spirit!" Judai cheered.
"Hey you three!" A voice shouted as Rika, Koji, Sho, and Rex all ran towards them with a mixture of excitement and shock.
"What's up?" Judai asked.
"There's a big ass submarine showing up!" Rex called out.
"A submarine?" Asuka blinked in surprise.
"That must be North Academia." Kuromu surmised. "But… why would they show up in a submarine?"
"I mean, gotta style on your rivals somehow. Right?" The mutt argued.
"Sure?" Judai shrugged, but then shook his head, "Ah whatever, let's get going and greet these guys!" He said, before running off.
"Aniki, wait up!" Sho cried out.
"Ah, geez! Here we go again!" Rex yelped before he began running. Thankfully not at full speed but enough to help catch up to his fellow Osiris dorm mates.
"C'mon, Asuka-chan, we gotta hurry!" Rika said, grabbing the Obelisk Queen's hand and made a run for it.
"Rika, slow down!" Asuka cried out, but to no avail.
"Heh, well I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get this party started." Koji grinned.
"Yeah, same here." Kuromu chuckled, before the two went after the girls.
The Osiris Trio arrived first at the docks as they spotted a whole crowd of students looking towards the submarine rising from the water.
Rika, Asuka, Koji, and Kuromu weren't far behind as they had just arrived with them. Once the submarine surfaced, a hatch opened up and by one-by-one a plethora of North Academia's students came out. Unlike Duel Academia, which has different uniforms for each dorm, North Academia students wear varying shades of brown and gray. On the chest of the uniforms is the North Academia symbol. Some students even have specially-tailored outfits.
"Damn, these guys have style." The disco fan observed.
Once all of the students were out, one person came out from amongst the crowd, namely a man with a bald front and spiky hair in the back, an aftershave shadow, and large round glasses.
"Principal Ichinose." Samejima greeted warmly with a smile, shaking the other older man's hand with his own. "So good to see you again."
"It is good to see you too." Ichinose agreed, "Is Tome-san doing well?"
"Of course. Tome-san is a person in which this Inter-School Duel could not be held, after all." Samejima nodded.
"And I assume those three are your representatives?" He asked, looking over the Elemental HERO Duelist as well as Kuromu and Asuka.
"That's right." Samejima nodded as that was the cue for the three to approach them.
"Well now… you have each dorm representing Duel Academia, eh?" Ichinose smiled, impressed, "I can tell your first years must be quite talented if you're putting this much faith in them."
"We do what we can, sir." Kuromu bowed. "The three of us worked hard for this day, and we'll give you nothing but our best, for the spirit of competition. I hope that your representatives will do the same."
"Yeah, so bring it on!" Judai declared.
Ichinose smiled at this, as he looked at Samejima, "It seems this year's students have a promising future ahead of them."
"I hope you brought your A-game as well." Samejima said rather smugly.
"Of course I did. Especially with the students I've chosen." Ichinose smirked back, before standing to the side, "Allow me to introduce to you my Tag Team Representatives."
Out stepped two boys who were just as much foreigners as the mutt, with the first having shaggy brown hair and a baseball cap, while the other had long black hair tied up in a man bun with round glasses on.
'Oh, they're cool looking dudes.' The mutt pondered.
The North Academia tag team looked towards the group and saw the pair.
"Hey bruv, looks like we got a couple as our opponents." The baseball cap boy observed, speaking in a slight Cockney accent.
Kuromu and Asuka felt flustered by that comment. But Rex? The poor mutt winced, 'Oh no… they're British…' he mentally grumbled. 'Never mind, I take back what I said…'
That's when the student in the manbun adjusted his glasses and observed the others, "And they got a Yank, an afro lover, and a bad cook too."
Rex had to translate what the British North Academia students said and…
"What did you say about me being a bad cook?!" Rika snarled, as she was about to maul them with her cast iron, until Koji hooked his arms to hold the Foodon Duelist back.
"Rika, sistah! Take a chill pill!" Koji grunted.
"Lemme at 'em! No one disses my skills as a chef and gets away with it!" She snarled.
"Oh course, the Brits got a mouth on 'em." Rex snarled, speaking English knowing the pair would understand him, "So what's next? Ya gonna insult the rest of my buddies?"
"Well well well, look what the cat dragged in." The student with the baseball cap snarled before the two glared until both Samejima and Ichinose pushed them apart.
"Alright now, settle down." Ichinose said. "You'll show your Dueling prowess soon enough."
"Tch…" The student with the baseball cap clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Ah yes. I've yet to introduce them. These boys are Bobby Flynn and Lyle Dawnstone. And I can assure you, they will win against your Tag Team Representatives." Ichinose introduced the pair.
"As for your Singles Representative?" Samejima asked.
"Yeah, where is he?" Judai asked excitedly. "C'mon, I wanna meet him!"
"Oh trust me, I've been waiting for you."
The Osiris Trio collectively gasped in surprise. As did Kuromu, Asuka, Rika, and Koji. They knew that voice. They all looked towards the crowd of North Academia students who parted ways to reveal a familiar face. He certainly looked different as he wore a slightly tattered black jacket with gray trimmings and sharp edges over a purple shirt, dark blue pants and brown shoes.
"Manjoume…" Kuromu said wide-eyed.
"You're North Academia's Singles Representative?" Asuka asked, surprised.
"Did ya miss me?" He asked the Duel Academia students.
"Barely." Rex groaned, which earned the ire of the former Obelisk Blue student.
"Didn't think you'd set up shop in North Academia after you bailed out on our dance floor three months ago." Koji glared.
"Yeah, but after I beat every student there, I was able to claim my top spot again." Manjoume said, then looked towards Kuromu, his expression changing as he frowned. "Kururugi…"
"Manjoume…" Kuromu trailed off with a glare of his own, "Don't think that I've forgotten what you've done."
"Tch…" Manjoume clicked his tongue, but then looked confused, when he noticed the Ra Yellow jacket on his person. "You're-"
"My promotion to Obelisk was a sham." Kuromu cut off. "You can thank Instructor Chronos for that."
"What?!" Manjoume gasped. "How?"
"Why would you care? Then again, it's not like you're as much of a Judai-hater yourself." Rex said, much to Manjoume's chagrin. "And if you really wanted to know, I called out Chronos's BS of using Kuromu's promotion to expel Judai." The mutt said.
Manjoume clicked his tongue again. However, the mutt could tell from the look in his eyes that he was likely just as hurt about hearing this as the rest of them. Not that he'd want to tell it to his face, but it did show that Manjoume wasn't completely heartless.
He then looked to see Kyoshiro standing there as well with arms crossed. He could only look away with a bit of shame still present.
"So you've come back, Manjoume." Kyoshiro said, approaching him, "Are you finally going to answer for what you've done?"
"Get off my case old man. I'm pretty sure getting demoted and leaving should have been good enough for you." Manjoume sighed.
Just then, everyone heard the blades of helicopters from above. The two quickly spotted two choppers above them all.
"What in- What's going on?!" Kuromu gritted, raising his arm to cover himself from the sudden wind, as did everyone else.
"Hold on, look at that mark!" Misawa called out. "It's Manjoume Group!"
"Guess he brought his family with him to show off." The mutt guessed until they saw Manjoume's scared face telling them otherwise. The doors to the helicopter opened up to reveal the two elder brothers of Manjoume: Chosaku and Shouji.
"Yo, Jun." Chosaku greeted his youngest brother, "Have you been doing well?"
"Chosaku-niisan! Shouji-niisan! What is this?!" Manjoume demanded. "What are you here to do?"
"Isn't it obvious? To give your victory our blessings!" Shouji answered as the helicopters landed on the helipads. "You are going to win, right Jun?"
"Gh…" Manjoume gritted his teeth, while clenching his fist. To make matters worse, the area was then flooded by a hoard of cameras, wires, microphones and other such broadcasting equipment, as well as the people who came with it.
"What's with all the fuss?" Principal Samejima asked one of the broadcasting crew.
"The heck is this? WrestleMania? The King of Fighters tournament?" Rex asked.
"You haven't heard? This year we'll be broadcasting the Inter-School Duel all across the country, live on TV!" The broadcasting staff member answered.
Manjoume gritted his teeth in frustration, something that Kuromu had taken notice of.
"Wait, does this mean my face will be broadcasting across Japan?!" Judai realized.
Upon hearing this, Rex immediately made himself scarce. Judai knew why. Maybe he shouldn't have said that part out loud.
"R-Rex, where are you going?!" Sho called out.
"I-I got a bad case of the runs. Gotta go!" Rex lied before running off at full speed.
This intrigued Manjoume. Why would the mutt want to avoid the spotlight? He figured Americans like him would be all about showing off? At least, the mutt would have escaped if he didn't get flattened by someone.
"Ow…" Rex groaned in pain.
"Well, at least our family and friends back home can watch us Duel." Asuka commented.
"Or be right here." A voice called out from behind.
Asuka and Kuromu turned around, with the former gasping. Kuromu looked surprised too. Standing in front of them was an older woman that was the spitting image of Asuka. At least in terms of her facial appearance. The hairstyle and color were slightly different as it was a dirty blonde color with brown highlights; and that it was also long, falling to her mid back, with the tip tied in a dolphin-tail split.
"Okaa-san!" Asuka smiled as both of them shared a hug. After the embrace, the Cyber Girl Duelist was left a little confused, "What are you doing here?"
"I do work for the broadcasting team, remember?" The Tenjoin matriarch reminded her daughter. "The Manjoume Brothers paid the station a lot of money to have this Inter-School Duel broadcasted, personal reasons aside. I could at least see my daughter Duel and see how she's coming along in her studies."
"Um, thanks," Asuka thanked her.
She smiled at her daughter and looked towards the Rider Duelist, "Oh my, is that you, Kuromu-kun?"
"Hello, Chiyomi-san." Kuromu bowed to her, "It's been a while."
"Oh, I see that you've grown since the last time I saw you." Chiyomi greeted him.
"Well, it's a given." Kuromu smiled sheepishly.
Chiyomi then leaned towards her daughter's ear and whispered mischievously, "Did he finally make a move on you yet?"
Kuromu flinched at the question.
"Okaa-san…!" Asuka hissed, looking miffed.
"Asuka, you've bloomed into a beautiful young woman and you've left a trail of broken hearts ever since Kuromu confessed to you that day and the two years you've been apart from each other. A lot of those boys and their mothers back home would have committed murder to have to get serious with their daughters. Like that other boy from prep school?"
"You mean the one who kept peppering me with chocolates?" Asuka sighed, her face a flaming red.
"Hoho~?" Kuromu muttered, looking strangely miffed, with one of his eyes twitching. "How come I didn't hear of this?"
"Uh-oh, sounds like someone's jealous." Rika chuckled.
"Okaa-san…" Asuka gritted her teeth, looking very annoyed.
"And then there was another boy who was the heir of some big corporation, studying abroad, and would try to woo you with all sorts of gifts and things, but you never even seemed too excited over it all. Then there was that dueling prodigy who's a big Duelist on the pro circuit that called you his greatest inspiration, the creative artist who made a portrait of you, that foreign boy who we all thought was hidden royalty…"
*C-C-CRACK! C-C-CRACK!*
"Give me their names so I can put them on a hit list." Kuromu growled with a crazed smile.
"Whoa, whoa, easy there pal." Judai placated, getting in front of Kuromu, "We don't want any murders."
"Besides, you're taking too long bro. The longer you don't commit, the longer she stays on the market. Dig?" Koji pointed out.
"And everything else that's been thrown at me throughout this whole year wasn't a priority?" Kuromu countered.
"Aight, fair point, but-"
"Mmmmmmmmmmmm?!" Kuromu looked at his disco friend expectantly, as if warning him, prompting the Boogie Knight Duelist to sweat drop and shut up.
"Ah, I noticed there was a friend of yours that fled. I assume he's camera shy?"
Judai, Sho, and Kuromu began sweating bullets. It's best she doesn't know, given the mutt hadn't told everyone yet.
"Yo, Chiyomi-chan!" Kyoshiro greeted the news reporter, "It's been a long time."
"Kyo-kun!"
"Kyo-kun?" Judai, Sho, and Misawa asked.
"She's an old drinking buddy of mine back in the day." Kyoshiro explained, "She once drank a whole bar dry and was still sober enough to drive."
"Mou~ do you have to keep bringing that up?" Chiyomi pouted.
"Hey, at least that's how you met your husband." Kyoshiro grinned. "Speaking of, how is he?"
"Stressed like you wouldn't believe. Managing the family estate has definitely left him listless for some action." Chiyomi relayed.
"Yeesh, the guy needs a vacation." Kyoshiro shook his head, "Maybe take a visit to South Town or something."
"Also… any word on…" Chiyomi began, to which Kyoshiro shook his head sadly, "I see… I suppose Yukina-chan is still…" she didn't want to say it out loud, but Kyoshiro knew what she meant.
"We've made some progress, but sadly we've hit a brick wall at the moment." Kyoshiro sighed.
"Oh right, Okaa-san." Asuka remembered, as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the PDA device.
"What's this?" Chiyomi asked, as she took said device.
"…Nii-san's missing file is in there." Asuka trailed off.
Chiyomi gasped, "Fubuki?" The matriarch of the Tenjoin family couldn't help but tear up, "I see…"
"I only learned of this a little after school started." Kuromu cut in. "I don't know how much help it'll be, but… if it means being one step closer to finding your son, it'll be that."
"Thank you." was all that Chiyomi could muster. Afterwards, she wiped her tears, "Alright, no more crying."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Kyoshiro asked.
"I'll be fine. I just need some time to process this." She reassured him before regaining her composure. "Besides, I need to be strong for my family's sake and yours. Especially for Yukina-chan."
Kyoshiro nodded, he knew what she meant. "I promise we'll get her back."
Chiyomi nodded back, "Saa, saa, let's all head to the Main Arena, ne? I can't wait to see you two Duel." She said to Asuka and Kuromu.
"Hai." Kuromu nodded with a smile. 'Just hope Rex will be there to see it.'
Meanwhile…
"Just what are you trying to do, Niisan-tachi?" Manjoume demanded. Here he was sitting in an empty locker room with the two older brothers.
While it was true that the three brothers had planned to take over the world through politics, finances, and Duel Monsters, that goal didn't seem feasible now. His recent losses at Duel Academia and dropping out of said school made him doubt himself as a Duelist as of late.
By no means was he perfect. He made his mistakes and is currently lying on said bed of mistakes he made before all of this, but now this situation has become even more frustrating than ever.
"We've decided, haven't we?" Chosaku began. "This TV broadcast is our first plan to make the promise between us siblings a reality. To make the world into the Manjoume Empire. Or have you forgotten already?"
"…" Manjoume remained silent.
"To that end, our goal is to promote you and make you the star of the card game world." Chosaku continued.
"Jun… we heard from an Instructor Chronos that you dropped out of this school three months ago, didn't you?"
"T-That's…" Manjoume trailed off.
"Are you even listening to me, Jun?!" Shouji snapped, standing up. "You were always the bum out of us three siblings!"
"Since our Manjoume Group organization is broadcasting this TV broadcast, you simply cannot afford to lose!" Chosaku added, before Shouji presented Manjoume with a black briefcase.
"In here are loads of cards that we've spent money to assemble. You'll use these cards and make yourself the ultimate Deck! Do you understand, Jun? You had better not do anything to disgrace our family name! You got that, Jun?!"
"It doesn't matter who wins the Tag Team Duel, your Duel with that Judai kid is all that matters." Chosaku said, "And once you're done beating him, you're going to fix your mistake of disgracing our family by defeating the person that made you quit Duel Academia to begin with, and if you can't do that… we'll handle it ourselves."
Manjoume gasped at this, "What do you mean? What are you going to do to Kururugi?"
"That's for us to know and for you to never see." His brothers said rather coldly, "So do you understand?"
"I…"
"JUN!"
"Ah, geez! Why the hell are there cameras here?!" Rex groaned now that he was a good distance away, "I'm supposed to keep a low profile!"
He kept walking around until he saw Judai near the bathroom stall, holding a hairbrush and a toothpaste bottle. Curious, the mutt approached the Elemental HERO Duelist. "Judai? What-"
The Elemental HERO Duelist whipped his head towards the mutt's direction and hissed out, "Shhh!"
"It's no use! It's no use!"
'Lightning rod?' Rex got out, as he got close and peeked over with Judai. Inside, Manjoume was staring at himself in front of the mirror. It looked like he was trying to hype himself up, but the current expression on Manjoume's face said otherwise. It was full of pain, anguish, and suffering.
"Win! Win! There's no way I'm the bum out of the three of us!" The ace snarled, "I have to keep winning, I need to keep winning! There's no one who understands the weight on my shoulders! All they tell me is to win! That's all they tell me!"
The mutt and the Elemental HERO Duelist looked at each other and then back to Manjoume who now fell to his hands and knees, banging his fist on the floor.
"What do I do?! If I lose… then… What good am I? And even if I did win against Judai. If I lose to Kururugi… Niisan-tachi, they're going to-"
'Shit… looks like the lightning rod's brothers want to make him disappear.' The mutt thought, as he had seen this happen on the news a couple of times before with other powerful families. 'Guys?' He mentally called out.
"General, you called for us?" Diecarii asked as the Gladial quartet appeared.
'Get the Taros, I need to have a word with them.' Rex relayed to the Duel Monster Spirits.
"With haste, General!" The four declared before they ran off.
"I can't believe this… they're gonna try to-" Judai said, horrified, now that they were out of Manjoume's earshot.
"Make him vanish? Yeah, I got a bad feeling about this." Rex finished. He wasn't going to mince words about it, their friend was going to need some help.
"We gotta tell him!" Judai shouted.
"If we do, then his brothers will catch on." Rex told him, "We need to expose them before either of Manjoume's brothers can get the chance to make Kuromu go poof. Because if Kuromu goes, then I have zero doubt that Oogumo will have no issue ransacking this place once he finds out."
"Still… Manjoume, he-" Judai stopped himself, "Wait, did you just call him Manjoume?"
"Yeah, because he's being an unwilling pawn in his brothers' scheme." The mutt stated, "Whatever beef I got with him doesn't matter anymore. And I'm sure Kuro's gonna change his tune about him too once he finds out." Rex then placed a hand on Judai, "Try and talk to him through your Duel. If you see any way to reach out to him during your turn, take it."
"Will it work?"
"C'mon man, you should know by now that a person's true feelings are revealed during Duels." Rex rolled his eyes. "If anyone can force a person into showing their true feelings, it's you."
After a bit of thinking, Judai gave a nod, "Alright, I'll do it." he said.
"That's good enough for me." The mutt sighed, "Anyway, we should probably get ready for that before your Duel comes up."
"Right." Judai nodded, before the two rushed off.
In the arena, every student in Duel Academia and North Academia was cheering their hearts out.
It's now time for the Inter-School Duel to finally commence!
All the spectators had now gathered in their seats at the arena where the duels would be happening. The students from their respective Academies were seated in one general area, making them separate and equal. The two chancellors were sitting together with the North Academia group. A group of crane arms, each with a cameraman and another crewman, were positioned around the platform in the middle, so that they would be able to cover every angle there was.
"That's it everyone, lots of energy," The man with a megaphone in his hand said. "Remember, the whole country's watching you live! Now let's cheer these Duelists on!" The two groups of students continued to do so.
"You sure this hat will hide my face?" Rex asked Judai as he was given a Duel Academia cap with goggles.
"Relax, the cameras won't see your face." Judai assured the mutt. "Then again, even with the hat on, it sorta makes you stand out."
"Yeah, and I don't think the different Osiris Red Jacket helps." The mutt added, looking over the rest of the disguise he was given, namely a plain black shirt and an Osiris Red jacket with white sleeve cuffs. "Still, it's the thought that counts." The mutt reassured the Elemental HERO Duelist as he put on the brown wig and then wore the cap so that it would cover his face. "So, how do I look?"
"Perfect!" Judai gave a thumbs-up and a smile that made one tooth on the corner of his mouth sparkle.
"Thanks. Now come on, we got a Tag Duel to catch!" Rex said before the two entered the arena and sat beside their friends.
Misawa was confused, "Ichiban-kun? Who's your new friend over there?"
'Nice, Judai's plan is actually working!' Rex thought as the rest, sans Sho who was told beforehand, were equally as fooled.
"Huh, didn't expect a transfer this late." Koji noted.
"And looks like he's actually a boy this time." Rika added.
'No way, they're actually falling for it?' Judai thought to himself, then cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah, he arrived late after North Academia did and I wanted to show him the Inter-School Duel for his first day. Hahahahaha!" He laughed nervously.
Rex gave a silent nod, not wanting to speak and give himself away. After all, this was all to allow him to watch the Inter-School Duel and not give Wally a chance to spot him and come after him.
"It is now time!" Samejima declared. "The Inter-School Duel between Duel Academia's Main Campus!"
"And North Campus!" Ichinose added.
"Will now finally begin!" They finished in unison making the crowds of students cheer. Samejima then looked towards Chronos who was on the stage with the microphone. "Instructor Chronos, please introduce our Duelists for the Tag Team Division."
"I do not believe this!" The instructor, now sporting a red variant of his coat to signify his current punishment, "To think I am currently being broadcasted across the whole country after last week!" He hesitantly said before clearing his throat, "A-Anyway, now we will begin the first round of the Inter-School Duel between Duel Academia and North Academia!"
The two campuses then cheered for their respective representatives.
"First, I'll introduce Duel Academia's star-crossed tag team! The Obelisk Queen and Tenacious Rider! Tenjoin Asuka and Kururugi Kuromu!" The instructor called out as Kuromu and Asuka took to the stage.
"Kuro! Asuka-chan! Ganbatte!" Rika cheered.
"You two got this!" Koji cheered as well.
Kuromu and Asuka soon noticed the disguised Rex next to Judai. But unlike their friends, neither of them were fooled by the disguise.
"Is that who I think it is?" Asuka asked him.
"Looks like it." Kuromu answered, "Not sure why he's got a wig though."
"And their opponents!" Chronos continued, "Representing North Academia! The team of Bobby Flynn and Lyle Dawnstone!"
The two soon heard North Academia shout "Oi! Oi! Oi!" as a rallying cry. Approaching the stage were the two British Duelists who looked prime and ready. However as they stepped onto the field, they had this swagger to them.
"Well well well, seems like Romeo and Juliet didn't back down." Lyle smirked.
"We don't back down from any challenge." Asuka spat back.
"I can see that." Bobby commented.
"So get ready! You're gonna see the best of Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue!" Kuromu taunted.
"We'll see, bruv." Lyle chuckled.
"Bring it on!" Bobby declared.
"Now then a quick run-down on the rules! Both teams share their field and Life Points of 8000, and for this round of first turns, no one will attack until the fourth person's first turn. Prior to this, North Academia won the coin toss and chose to go second, is that understood?"
"Yes." All four competitors nodded.
"Then let the Tag Duel commence!" Instructor Chronos declared as the two duos shuffled their decks and drew their starting hands while the crowd cheered for their favorite side.
"Let's go, Asuka!" Kuromu called out.
"Right!" Asuka nodded.
"DUEL!"
Asuka/Kuromu: 8000
Bobby/Lyle: 8000
"Watashi no ta-n! Draw!" Asuka declared, drawing her sixth card. "I summon Cyber Egg Angel in DEF mode!" A large mirror-like egg with a glowing center appeared, sporting two green wings (2/ATK: 200/DEF: 300).
"When I successfully summon this card, I can add an "Machine Angel" related-Spell or "Ritual Sanctuary" from my Deck to my hand." She said, before pulling out a card, "I choose to add Machine Angel Ritual to my hand!" After adding the card, she shuffled her Deck and inserted it back into the slot. "Then I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n shuuryou!"
"Alright then, my turn! I draw!" Bobby declared, drawing his sixth card. He smirked at what he got. "I set a card facedown before summoning to the field Dark Valkyria in ATK position!"
From a dark flame, a purple-skinned woman wearing a set of blue and yellow armor with a purple undersuit, black gauntlets adorned with red jewels, and two large metallic wings materialized on the field (4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1050).
"That's-" Rika said wide-eyed.
"A Gemini Monster." Misawa frowned.
"Gemini Monster?" Sho looked at the intellectual Duelist for an explanation.
Misawa nodded, "Gemini Monsters have the ability to summon themselves twice to activate their effects. Normally you summon them onto the field as Normal Monsters, then you can summon them once again to change them into Effect Monsters."
"That means Kuro and Asuka have to destroy them before they summon themselves again." Koji added.
"I'll end my turn by setting a card facedown." Bobby said. "Easy peasy. Now let's see what you got, bruv."
"Gladly. O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kuromu declared, drawing his sixth card. "I summon Kamen Rider Kuuga in ATK mode!" A sound akin to a turbine running echoed as slowly, a man began appearing on the field from the holographic card before revealing the red-armored stag beetle warrior. (4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200).
"Then I'll place a card face-down." He finished, placing a reversed card on the Field. "Ta-n endo."
"Aight, my turn! Draw!" Lyle declared as he summoned his sixth card, "Now then, let's party! First, I'll play Dual Summon allowing me to summon twice this turn. First I'll Gemini Summon Dark Valkyria!" Suddenly, the dark monster's wings quickly spread while the jewels began to glow bright. "While this card is face up on the field, I can add one Spell Counter to it to boost her ATK!" Lyle called out.
Dark Valkyria (ATK: 1800-2100)
"Then I'll summon Goggle Golem in ATK mode!" He declared, as a muscular golem with black pants and fingerless gloves appeared, adjusting his red goggles (4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 500).
"Next up, I activate Dark Valkyiria's effect! I remove one Spell Counter from her to destroy a monster! So say goodbye to your karate bug man!" Lyle called out. The dark-skinned valkyrie spread her wings and produced an orb of darkness from her hands before firing at Kuuga, destroying upon impact (ATK: 2100-1800).
"Gh…" Kuromu gritted his teeth, after the smoke cleared.
"Now it's time to battle! Goggle Golem attacks your Cyber Egg Angel! Diamond Crush!"
"I don't think so!" Asuka called out, "I activate my face-down! Holy Life Barrier! By discarding a card from my hand, I can negate your attack!"
The golem rushed forward and quickly lunged at the egg, only to crash face first into a magical barrier. Disappointed, Goggle Golem stomped back to his place.
"Well he's certainly grumpy." Rex pointed out to Judai.
"Tch, no matter, this is only the first round, so we'll have plenty of time to trounce you. I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." He finished, placing a reversed card on the field.
"Watashi no ta-n! Draw!" Asuka declared, drawing her next card. "I activate my Machine Angel Ritual!" She placed the card on the field. "This allows me to-"
"Not do anything!" Bobby cut off. "Because I'm activating my Counter Trap!" He said, pressing a button to reveal it. "Victim Counter! By switching one of our Gemini Monster's to face-down DEF, I can negate your Spell Card and destroy it! I'll switch Goggle Golem face-down to stop your ritual!"
Before he vanished into the facedown card, the golem quickly punched the card right out of Asuka's hand to send it to the Graveyard.
"Oh man, she won't be able to use the Ritual Summons we trained her for!" Sho groaned.
"Not yet. There's a reason why she has three copies of that card in her deck." Rika said, "Just look at her." She pointed out, to which she saw Asuka smirking confidently.
"Well whaddya know? She's cool as a cucumber." Koji commented.
"What's that smirk for?" Lyle frowned.
"It's because I knew you would do something like that." Asuka answered. "Which is why I have this in my hand. I summon Manju God in ATK mode!" Suddenly, a steel monster with ten thousand hands appeared on the field (4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1000). "Now I activate his effect. When Manju God is Normal or Flip Summoned, I can add either one Ritual Monster or 1 Ritual Spell Card from my deck to my hand." she declared, taking out her Deck and selecting a card. "And I choose… Machine Angel Ritual!"
"What?!"
"See? Nothing to worry about." Rika grinned.
"Just as she calculated." Misawa nodded with approval.
"Sorry you two, but I'm still performing a Ritual Summon!" Asuka called out. "I Tribute my Cyber Egg Angel and Manju God!" Soon, the whole arena turned a deep silver as a red altar gained its red flame. From there, the egg and steel god broke apart, going into the red flame before it shot out a pillar of fire.
"Angel of light hiding eternal power! Take to the battlefield to strike down your foes!"
Rex and Judai smirked, "Well what do you know, she's actually doing the thing." the mutt pointed out to the Elemental HERO Duelist.
The rest of their friends were surprised, "Wait, why is she chanting like Judai or Rex?" Rika pointed out.
"I'm guessing this was your doing?" Koji asked, looking at the smiling Elemental HERO Duelist.
"Yup." Judai grinned, "Now if only Sho can join us in this little club?" He then eyed the Roid Duelist, who quickly caught on that his friend was looking at him. Meanwhile, a figure emerged from the pillar of flames, revealing a stern woman with long hair and wore a white bodysuit with black on the lines, a corset on her waist that had a translucent skirt, and red boots.
"Ritual Summon! Cyber Angel - Benten!" (6/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500)
"So you managed to Ritual Summon a weak monster. So what?" Bobby scoffed. "Let me remind you that Dark Valkyria has the same ATK points as your Cyber Angel - Benten. So what good will that do ya?"
"Who said she was aiming for Dark Valkyria?" Kuromu retorted.
"What?!"
"Battle! Cyber Angel - Benten, attacks your facedown Goggle Golem!" she called out, "Angelic Turn!"
After using one of her tessen to force Goggle Golem out of the facedown card, the Cyber Angel unleashed a barrage of slaps that destroyed the monster before returning to Asuka's side.
Asuka/Kuromu: 8000
Bobby/Lyle: 7500
"Wait a minute, why did our Life Points go down?!" Lyle demanded.
"That's because of Cyber Angel - Benten's ability. Whenever she destroys a monster, you take Damage equal to the destroyed monster's DEF points." Asuka explained.
"Alright, first blood!" Rika cheered. "Way to go, Asuka-chan!"
"Nice!" Koji said.
"Ta-n shuuryou." Asuka concluded.
"Well, well, it seems your students' skills aren't just for show." Ichinose commented to Samejima.
"I could say the same for you. Not many people run Gemini Monsters these days." Samejima commented.
"Not bad, but that won't stop us!" Bobby laughed, "My turn now! I draw!" He then smiled at his drawn card, "I activate the Field Spell, Spark Field!" Suddenly, the whole field became a dimension filled with several colored sparks. "With this card, during each of our turns, we can summon a Level 5 or higher Gemini Monster without Tribute! Plus, we can make an additional Normal Summon as well. So we'll be Gemini Summoning our Monsters each round! Now I'll Gemini Summon Incandescent King Pyron!"
Suddenly a ball of fire fell onto the field and created a pillar of flames. After which, a man made of flames emerged onto the field (5/ATK: 1500/DEF: 500).
"I'll then activate Pyron's Gemini Effect! Now that he's been summoned as an Effect Monster, I can deal 1000 Points of Damage to you both! Heat Wave Impact!" He declared. With a wave of its arm, the human torch unleashed a wave of flames, which surrounded Kuromu and Asuka, instinctively covering themselves from the embers and fire that surrounded them.
Asuka/Kuromu: 7000
Bobby/Lyle: 7500
"And now it's time to battle! Incandescent King Pyron will attack Cyber Angel - Benten!"
"Huh?!" The Duel Academia group said, confused. Pyron quickly flew at Benten and predictably got smashed for his efforts… but this ended up making the cap-wearing student smile evilly.
Asuka/Kuromu: 7000
Bobby/Lyle: 7200
"Aight, Bob's your uncle! You just sprung my trap!" Bobby declared as he revealed his facedown card, "Dual Hole!"
"What's that do?" Sho asked.
"Whenever a Gemini monster that is treated as an Effect Monster is destroyed by battle, it can destroy all monsters their opponent controls." Ryo explained.
"Crap!" Kuromu gasped as Pyron's body suddenly became a black hole that sucked Benten in.
"Now it's time for the fun part. Dark Valkyria attacks you directly!" Bobby declared, "Midnight Bliss!"
Dark Valkyria smirked as she kissed the palm of her hand and a ball of energy that was heart-shaped and distorted appeared, before throwing towards Kuromu and Asuka, unleashing an unholy wave of darkness, overtaking them.
Asuka/Kuromu: 5200
Bobby/Lyle: 7200
"I'll just end this by setting another card face down." Bobby said before he smiled, "Your move."
"He's playing us like a damn fiddle…" Kuromu gritted his teeth as he struggled to his feet.
"We gotta try something to lock them down." Asuka agreed.
"Don't worry. I got this." Kuromu assured, before staring down Bobby and Lyle. "I'll make it even with a bit of interest. O-re no ta-n! Draw!" He declared, drawing his next card. He smiled at what he got. "Yosh! First, since I control no monsters and you do, I'll Special Summon Kamen Rider Build 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!
"Shōri no hosoku wa kimatta." Build quoted.
"Gonna need your help on this one, Sento." Kuromu said.
"Just say the word." The physicist Rider said.
Though Asuka did whisper something to Kuromu before he could call out Build's effect.
"Try and avoid physically talking to the Duel Spirits for now. We're on TV." She advised him.
"Right… people might think I'm going crazy." Kuromu muttered. Outloud, he continued, "Now that I have him on the field, I can Special Summon another Kamen Rider from my Hand, and the one I choose is Kamen Rider Faiz!"
There was the sound of three beeping noises, each frequency higher than the last before another beeping noise was heard.
STANDING BY
Another sound in the form of a pulsing power up noise was heard before there was another announcement.
COMPLETE
Red lines appeared in thin air forming a frame, then glowed briefly before the light dimmed, revealing the Rider. (4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500)
"Kamen Rider Build's second effect activates. If he's on the Field, while I special summoned a monster, in this case, Kamen Rider Faiz, I get to destroy one Spell/Trap card on your side!" He then pointed towards the face-down that was recently set. "And I'm thinking of choosing that one!"
"No!"
"Do it, Build!" Kuromu called out, to which the RabbitTank Rider obliged by holding out his hand, and tubes came out, before changing into the Drill Crusher.
He then took the drill and turned the drill around, allowing the point to be inserted into the hilt, turning it into a gun. He then took out the Tank FullBottle and inserted it in the slot.
READY?! GO!
He took aim at the card then fired.
VORTEC BREAK!
*BOOM!*
A shot rang out as the bullet sped towards the slime, giving the recoil of a tank shooting, before it pierced through the card revealing it to be Dual Ablation before it shattered.
"Wow, your son's good." Chiyomi commented to the Kururugi patriarch.
"Learned from the best." Kyoshiro affirmed with pride.
"Well, that threw a spanner in the works…" Bobby noted, surprised that Kuromu had an answer to his plan.
"Battle! Kamen Rider Faiz attacks Dark Valkyria! If he attacks a Monsters who's ATK is higher than his, he gains 500 ATK for that Battle Phase only! Crimson Smash!"
The phi symbol Rider took off the laser pointer off one side of his belt then slid the small metallic card out of the phone before sliding it into a slot on the laser pointer.
READY
With that, he attached the laser pointer to the right side of his leg, attaching it horizontally first before turning it so that it was parallel and facing downwards. Then he opened up his phone and pressed the 'ENTER' button before closing it.
EXCEED CHARGE
The phone glowed briefly before a red light traveled from the phone down his right leg, activating it. (ATK: 1500-2000). Faiz took the initiative to jump up and fire a laser at Dark Valkyria, stunning her, before diving down for his Rider Kick, kicking the cone and disappearing. Moments later, Faiz appeared behind Dark Valkyria, having landed on the ground safely in red blurs in a crouching position. Blue flames surrounded the dark-skinned woman, resulting in her yelling as a red thin light resembling the Phi symbol appeared, before the blue flames eventually died down and Dark Valkyria turned into dust.
Asuka/Kuromu: 5200
Bobby/Lyle: 7000
"Now Kamen Rider Build will attack you directly! Vortec Break!" Kuromu declared next.
The scientist Rider turns the crank on his belt, then jumps up with the power of the Rabbit Fullbottle. The white energy chart of a slope appeared and flew up to the surface with the dotted line leading towards Bobby then changed direction, following the dotted path also towards Lyle.
READY!? GO!
Build then dived down for his Rider Kick. The tank treads on Build's blue foot started spinning as he ran along the charted lines.
VORTEC FINISH! YAAAY!
He eventually hits his targets, causing Bobby and Lyle to fall to the ground they stood on.
Asuka/Kuromu: 5200
Bobby/Lyle: 5100
"Alright! They're back on an almost even playing field!" Sho cheered.
"All they need to do is keep the pressure up." Misawa said.
"Keep the soul train, a goin' Kuro! Asuka!" Koji called out.
"I place one card face-down. Ta-n endo." Kuromu declared, as a reversed card appeared on the field and the two North Academia students got back up from the attack. "Kamen Rider Faiz's ATK returns to normal."
"Alright, my turn now! Draw!" Lyle declared, seeing his new card. "I Gemini Summon Valuable Armor in ATK mode!" Suddenly, a large grass-like mantis emerged, bearing its mandibles at the Duel Academia students. (5/ATK: 2350/DEF: 1000) "And with its Gemini effect, it can attack all of your monsters! So I'm gonna slice your Kamen Rider Faiz and Kamen Rider Build into pieces! Mantis Shredder!"
Valuable Armor quickly fired out two crescent-shaped grass blades at both Riders.
"Activate trap! Kamen Rider Intervention!" Kuromu said, opening his face-down. "During the Damage Step, when a "Kamen Rider" monster is targeted for an attack, I can target 1 other "Kamen Rider" monster I control; that battling monster gains ATK equal to half the targeted monster's original ATK! So I take half of Build's ATK points and add it to Faiz's!"
"Takumi-san! Catch!" Build called out as he tossed a drill-like weapon to the mobile Rider before he got shattered by one of the blades of grass.
Asuka/Kuromu: 4750
Bobby/Lyle: 5100
"Got it!" Faiz said, catching it and quickly loading up a Fullbottle shaped like a wolf. (ATK: 1500-2450)
WOLF!
READY? GO! VORTEC BREAK!
He then pulled the trigger to let loose a quick wolf head projectile to destroy the blade of grass coming for him.
"Clever, aren't ya?" Lyle observed, "I end my turn." He said, as Faiz's ATK returned to normal, the Drill Crusher vanishing from his hand.
"Oh man, that was too close…" Sho sighed in relief.
'Let's hope Kuro and Asuka can keep up their momentum.' Rex thought.
"Watashi no ta-n! Draw!" Asuka declared, drawing her next card. "I activate Treasure Cards from the Heavens! Now all of us draw until we have six cards in our hands!" She said, as all of them drew them. She smiled at the new cards she drew. "I'll activate my third Machine Angel Ritual! With this, I'll Tribute my Cyber Angel - Izana!"
Once again, the whole arena turned a deep silver as a red altar now gained a blue flame. The one being sacrificed was a rather skimpy robotic Cyber Angel with four arms, a trident, and a battle axe as she was offered to the flaming pillar shot out as it did.
"Angel of light hiding eternal power! Cut down those who hide in darkness!"
Soon, after the pillar died down, a similar four-armed Cyber Angel appeared with an orange chestplate, a golden hat to cover her red hair, two blades in her extra hands, and finally a monk's rod in her primary hands.
"Ritual Summon! Cyber Angel - Dakini!" (8/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2400)
"What's that four-armed freak going to do with those knives and that stick? Start a bonfire?" Bobby taunted.
"Ohhh, you shouldn't have said that…" Kuromu muttered, looking away with a hand held up to cover his eyes from what was about to be unleashed. Asuka let out a snicker before looking at Bobby with a wicked gaze that was more at home on Rika and Rex's faces than hers.
"How about I show you what she can do?" She snarled, "Since this card was Ritual Summoned, I can make you choose which monster you send to the Graveyard." Both North Academia students flinched upon realizing this. "And oh my, it seems you only have one choice." She mused with a bit of an ojou-san look, twisting the knife even further as she decided to let out a little laugh.
Rex winced, 'Yeesh, and here I thought Asuka was the sanest of the four…' he thought.
"Asuka… no, just… no." Koji paled. "I think Ayano's been rubbing off on her."
"Who?" Judai, Sho, Misawa, Rex and even Ryo asked in unison.
"Another one of our friends, who is also our kouhai by one year." Rika answered.
The mutt was surprised, 'Haven't seen her before. Maybe she'll show up later?'
Back on the Duel Field, Kuromu soon tapped Asuka's shoulder as he motioned that she did that again. The Obelisk Queen quickly went from vengeful to flustered as she tried to regain composure.
"Ahem. Sorry about that." Asuka apologized to the… frankly disturbed Bobby and Lyle.
"Huh… seems like she's got a screw loose." Lyle commented, mentally taking note not to anger her.
"Moving on, your Valuable Armor is destroyed!" Asuka said, as Dakini jumped up and slashed the grass mantis to pixels. "And now that you have no monsters on your field, I'll have Cyber Angel - Dakini and Kamen Rider Faiz attack you directly!"
Dakini turned to Faiz, who gave the nod as he prepared his Rider Kick.
"Do not disappoint us, Orphenoch." The Cyber Angel said.
"I don't plan to." Faiz stated.
EXCEED CHARGE
Kuromu was surprised to hear this, 'Wonder if I should ask Takumi-san about this after the Duel?' He thought.
As the familiar red cone appeared, Dakini quickly dashed forward and began to spin, becoming a tornado of steel that slashed through the North Academia students before the mobile Rider landed a flying side kick on them.
Asuka/Kuromu: 4750
Bobby/Lyle: 900
"Ta-n shuuryou." Asuka finished. "At the End Phase, Dakini's second effect allows me to add Machine Angel Ritual back from my Graveyard and into to my hand."
"Boo-yah! That's what I'm talking about!" Koji cheered.
"All they need to do is land one more blow and it's over." Rika added.
While they, alongside Sho, cheered Kuromu and Asuka on, Judai soon noticed that Rex, Misawa, and Ryo didn't react.
'Something tells me they're currently bluffing.' The mutt thought.
"Hmhmhm, looks like I'm getting that prize sooner than expected." Samejima chuckled at Ichinose, who was sweating bullets.
"Come on, boys! Do something!" Ichinose begged and hoped.
"Alright… that's it… no more playing around…" Bobby said darkly, slowly standing up to his feet. "No one makes a fool of us and gets away with it!" He then placed his hand on his deck, "My turn! Draw!" After drawing his seventh card, he quickly put it to good use, "First I activate Supremacy Berry! Since our Life Points are lower than yours, we gain 2000 Life Points!" He declared, as a dove appeared and dropped a small branch that had two fruits, to which both he and Lyle took one each and ate it.
Asuka/Kuromu: 4750
Bobby/Lyle: 2900
"Next I'll Gemini Summon Evol-Chemical Beast Dioxin!" He said, slapping the card onto the tray. Suddenly; a group of polygon creatures emerged and combined into one monster with a lion face, crab legs on the back, two crab claws for arms, a pair of hooves, and a long tail. (8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 200)
"Yeesh, someone needs a makeover." Koji blanched.
"It's a chimera. They are not known for their aesthetics." Misawa corrected the disco fan.
"Now I activate his Gemini Effect! By banishing a Gemini Monster from the Graveyard, I can destroy one monster on the field!" He continued, "I banish Goggle Golem to destroy your clank of a Cyber Angel! Evo-Boost Crash!" Soon, Dixon quickly leaped into the air and let out a burst of pixel energy that vaporized Dakini.
"Oh no!" Rika gasped.
"The heart of their attack force was destroyed." Ryo frowned.
"Next I play Cyclone to destroy that facedown of yours!" Bobby declared as a twister destroyed the facedown Trap Card, Danger Sense.
"Crap…" Kuromu growled.
"And now to attack Kamen Rider Faiz! Destroy him!" Bobby ordered, "Error Report!"
The polygonal chimera quickly charged and rammed into Faiz, stunning him long enough for it to grab the mobile Rider with its claws and stab him to pieces and pixels with the legs on his back.
Asuka/Kuromu: 3450
Bobby/Lyle: 2900
"Crap, they blew through Kuro and Asuka's advantage like a freight train." Rex observed, keeping his voice low enough that only Judai could hear him.
"Yeah, those North Academia students aren't playing around." Judai commented.
"Still, think the cards we gave them will show up?" The mutt asked.
"Let's hope so."
"O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kuromu declared, drawing his next card, increasing his hand to seven. Looking at his hand, he saw a strategy he could use. "I activate Dual Summon allowing me to summon twice this turn! I summon Kamen Rider Decade and Kamen Rider Den-O in ATK mode!"
KAMEN RIDE!
A pulsing sound echoed in the arena before a holographic logo of a barcode with a mask-like face appeared.
DECADE!
The symbols of the Heisei Riders appeared before forming into silhouettes that converged onto his body, forming into his suit. (4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000)
Next they heard the sound of an electronic keyboard tune before the announcement was heard.
SWORD FORM!
Motes of light spread out on one space of the board before converging to reveal the train Rider's Plat Form before the red armor pieces and peach helmet formed onto him. (4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000)
"O-re… sanjou!" Den-O declared, striking his pose.
"Now, I activate the Spell Card Final Form Kamen Ride!" Kuromu declared as he revealed the card, "Once per turn, I can target a "Kamen Rider" monster I control and equip that monster to Kamen Rider Decade! When I do, Decade gains ATK points equal to half that targeted monster's original ATK!" He then pointed towards the train Rider, "And I choose Kamen Rider Den-O!"
"Wait, what?!" Den-O got out as Decade pulled out a card, showing Den-O on one half of the face-card while the other half depicted Momotaros's true form. He then opened the DecaDriver and slotted it in before closing it.
FINAL FORM RIDE: D-D-D-DEN-O!
"Momotaros. Chotto kusuguttai zo."
"E-Eh?" Den-O gasped before Decade grabbed Den-O's head and… pulled it back?!
Like with Kiva, everyone gasped in horror with Ryo, of all people, covering Sho's eyes before it happened.
"Sho, shield your eyes!" The Kaiser gasped.
"I can't see!" The Roid Duelist gasped.
"Good!" he stated.
Meanwhile, Den-O's body started to change. First, his body suit turned red, the wrist gauntlets flipped to be red and hands pulled back into his arm and out popped a new set of hands that were also red. His bottom literally flipped 180 to show his new red bodysuit with red armor, having a silver peach buckle and his Den-O armor flipped over to reveal even more red armor with black flame highlights, and Den-O's head was replaced with that of an oni head with two red horns, black eyes, and silver teeth. (ATK: 2000-2900)
"Wait… did… did Kadoya-sensei just reverse Den-O's transformation?" Judai realized.
"A demon!" Rex panicked, standing up in horror as his hat flew off his head, though he caught it before it or his wig could fall off. 'Whew, that was a close one!' The mutt thought, 'Almost lost the disguise there.'
"Are… you alright?" Misawa asked, a bit concerned.
"Church school." Judai explained in two words, which the mutt nodded in affirmation.
"Ah, I see." Misawa said before returning his attention back to the duel.
…
Asuka looked at Kuromu, "They really don't know it's him, do they?" she groaned.
"Nope."
"Dammit, pink bastard! That hurt!" Momotaros complained to Decade.
"Oh quit your whining. This isn't your first rodeo." Decade rolled his eyes behind his head. "Let's get show on the road, shall we?"
"Tch… fine, but this isn't over!" Momotaros said, before brandishing the DenGasher and his personal sword. "Oi, Kuro! Lemme bash this ugly bastard!"
"With pleasure! Battle! Kamen Rider Decade equipped with Kamen Rider Den-O attacks Evol-Chemical Beast Dioxin! Decade Extreme Slash!"
"Ikuze, ikuze, ikuze!" Momotaros shouted, rushing towards the beast, who in turn was about to strike. But then, just as Momotaros was about to clash his swords with the beast's claws.
"Oryaaa!"
Suddenly, Kuuga appeared out of nowhere and hit a Rider Kick… on Momotaros's neck.
*C-R-R-R-RACK!*
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Everyone cried out when Momotaro's neck snapped and his head tilted unnaturally while Kuuga kept his kicking foot on said neck while strangely being held midair.
"Yosh!" Kuuga cheered.
"Oi, baka! He's not the enemy!" Decade groaned.
"Eh?! No way!" Kuuga cried out in shock.
"What the hell are you doing, asshole?" Momotaros growled. "I'm the star here!"
'Hey, you three! Quit screwing around!' Kuromu mentally shouted to the Duel Spirits.
"Ugh… alright already. Let's just wrap this up." Decade sighed.
"I'm so sorry." Yuusuke clasped his hands together in apology while still in midair from his kick before landing and the three Riders kicked the Gemini Monster away.
"Pinkie, can you-"
"Yeah, yeah." Decade said, before grabbing his horns and straightening up his neck with a yank.
*C-R-R-R-RACK!*
"Ahh, that's better." Momotaros said before getting smacked behind the head, "Oi! What was that for?"
"Pink janai. Magenta da!" The photographer Rider told the oni Imagin.
'Oi, Kadoya-sensei, Momotaros! Ii kagen ni shiro!' Kuromu scolded.
Decade sighed again, "Let's just get this over with." Decade noted before slotting in another card.
FINAL FORM RIDE: K-K-K-KUUGA!
Now it's Judai's turn to shield Sho's eyes, since he knew this was not going to be pretty.
"Will you stop that?! Why is everyone always covering my eyes?!" Sho snapped.
"Trust us, bud. You don't want to know!" Judai shouted as he watched Kuuga's body grow armor and then contort into a black and gold stag beetle. This was his Final Form Ride: Kuuga Gouram.
"Yusuke? Sorry in advance!" Decade called out as he loaded up the next card.
FINAL ATTACK RIDE: D-D-D-DEN-O!
"Wait what?! Oh! Oh nonononononono-NOOO!" Kuuga panicked before…
*STAB!*
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Every man, woman, child, and Duel Spirit cried out in dismay as the blade of the DenGasher shot out of the hilt and stuck itself inside Kuuga's butt.
"Egads, why?! Why there?!" Misawa cried out.
"Right in the ass?!" Rex cried out, "I can't watch!" He cried out while covering his view with his cap.
"Yosh! Hissatsu! O-re no hissatsu waza! Kamen Rider GX Version!" Den-O declared before swinging the hapless Kuuga Gouram around like a mace and bringing him down on the chimera.
Asuka/Kuromu: 3450
Bobby/Lyle: 2800
"Ugh…" Kuuga groaned, returning to his Duel Spirit form.
"T-Ta-n endo…" Kuromu muttered. In his thoughts, 'What the hell, Kadoya-sensei?'
"It's a thing. Don't worry about it." Decade nonchalantly said.
'I have every reason to worry, especially since you made Momotaros stab Yusuke in the ass!'
"U-Um… Aight then… my turn." Lyle hesitantly said, drawing his seventh card. However, his hesitation instantly vanished when he smiled wickedly at what he drew. "Oi, Bobby, we got this won."
"Heh, better Adam and Eve it." The cap-wearing North Academia student agreed before Lyle declared, "Sorry to be knackered by that display, but this game's over!"
"Huh?" Kuromu and Asuka said, confused.
"UWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!" The students of North Academia cheered.
"Uh-oh, looks like they got some kind of magic combo to pull off a win." Judai muttered.
"Here it is! I Gemini Summon Magic Slime!" Suddenly, a large blue slime akin to the Metal Reflect Slime appeared (3/ATK: 700/DEF: 1200).
"Wait, that's it?" Rika asked incredulously.
"Don't be fooled by its appearance." Ryo advised. "There's more to that monster than meets the eye."
"Next, I activate the Spell Card Force! This allows me to choose two monsters where one of their ATK is cut in half while the other gains it. I decide to transfer half of Magic Slime's ATK over to Kamen Rider Decade."
"Huh?" Kuromu and Asuka were even more confused as an aura from Magic Slime transferred and washed over Kamen Rider Decade.
Magic Slime (ATK: 700-350)
Kamen Rider Decade (ATK: 2900-3250)
"But that doesn't make any sense! Why make his monster weaker?" Sho asked.
"Don't tell me…" Judai immediately guessed as his gut was telling him something was off, way off.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Rex asked the Elemental HERO Duelist as he nodded.
"Battle! Magic Slime attacks Kamen Rider Decade!" Lyle commanded. The Magic Slime suddenly launched itself at Decade, wrapping itself around him as the dimension Rider tried to free himself from it.
"Hey, what the-" Decade got out. The slime then glowed with magical energy before that same energy… fired at both Kuromu and Asuka, hitting their marks.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kuromu and Asuka cried out as they fell to their knees.
Asuka/Kuromu: 550
Bobby/Lyle: 2800
"Wait, what just happened?!" Rika panicked. "They lost Life Points! How?!"
"That's because Magic Slime's got a similar effect to Metal Reflect Slime." Judai answered.
"Huh?"
"That kid's right!" Lyle laughed. "Simply put, if you fight against our Magic Slime, all the Battle Damage is reflected right back!"
"Crap…" Kuromu gritted as he and Asuka managed to stand back up.
"I end my turn, so now Magic Slime's ATK returns to normal." Lyle finished as the Magic Slime got off of Decade and returned to its side. "You two seem pretty gobsmacked. Think you two can ace this?" He taunted.
Asuka growled, she needed to draw something and draw something soon.
"We'll keep fighting until the last card is drawn." Asuka retorted. "Just because you're ahead now doesn't mean you can look down on us thinking you've won."
"But we have. No matter what you do, anything that battles Magic Slime gets sent right back at you." Bobby smirked darkly.
'Come on, You can do it.' all of Kuromu and Asuka's friends thought as the latter prepared for the next draw.
"Watashi no ta-n! Draw!" Asuka declared as she drew what could be her last card. When she saw it, she smiled; as did Kuromu when he saw it. "It's here." she muttered under her breath.
Rika's eyes lit up, "They got it!"
"What are you smiling about?" Bobby frowned.
"I'm smiling about the card I drew. It's going to give Duel Academia a win." Asuka replied.
"You're bluffing!" Lyle said incredulously. "There's no way you pulled a Destiny Draw! That's a load of BS! If there's one thing I hate, it's relying on luck over skill! And you don't have the skills to win this!"
"Oh, haven't you heard? Duel Academia has multiple people who have used the Destiny Draw." Asuka declared, "This happens to be the first time I've pulled it off."
"You got nothing!"
"Oh really?" she soon revealed the card.
"That's-!" Bobby gawked.
"That's right. It's Rainbow Veil. And if I equip it with a Monster, the effects of the Monster it's battling is negated!" Asuka smirked. "All I need now is a powerful monster with enough ATK points to take out the rest of your Life Points."
"That's impossible. You have no monsters on the field to use it!" Lyle snarled.
"Not yet I do!" the Obelisk Queen stated as she started her turn, "I activate Machine Angel Ritual to discard Cyber Angel - Idaten and Etoile Cyber from my hand!"
The altar soon started up as both Etoile Cyber and a purple and pink Cyber Angel with a black bodysuit and a red helmet that had three thrusters on it. Once both girls entered the flame, it erupted in a brilliant golden flame.
"Angel of light hiding eternal power! Show your form to this vast world and illuminate all creation!"
Soon, a four-armed Cyber Angel wearing a pink bodysuit with purple on the sides, a huge gear in the back, two yellow energy wings, green side skirts, and silver wing-tipped shoes that reached up to her knees flew out and onto the battlefield.
"Ritual Summon! Descend, Cyber Angel - Vishnu!" (10/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000)
"Shucky ducky, quack quack…" Koji muttered with wide eyes.
"Easy now, you got Junko-chan and Momoe-chan don't you?" Rika smirked knowingly.
"Hey! Can't a guy admire beauty?" He said, "Just look at our new buddy over there. Dude's speechless!"
Sure enough, the chef saw that Rex was left in awe… but she could tell it was also of fear given how his hands were shaking. For the mutt, it was clear that he could feel the power emanating from this card.
"Rex? What's wrong?" Judai asked.
"I've only seen one other monster give off this power, and it's the king." The mutt stated.
"Wait, seriously?" Judai said wide-eyed, to which the mutt nodded.
"It's that potent." Rex confirmed.
"Hah! That may be powerful, but it's not enough to beat our Magic Slime!" Lyle said. "And even if you use Rainbow Veil, you'd only deal 2300 points of Damage, leaving us with only 500!"
"But then you'd still have to deal with, Kamen Rider Decade." Asuka pointed out, much to Bobby and Lyle's shock. "However, as much as that would make sense, I've decided to finish this Tag Duel in one attack."
"And how's that?" Bobby asked.
"Because when I Tributed Cyber Angel - Idaten to summon Vishnu, the former had an effect that when I do, Vishnu gains 1000 ATK points!"
"What?!"
Idaten's spirit appeared then entered Vishnu, giving her the boost in power that the queen of the Cyber Angels needed.
Cyber Angel - Vishnu (ATK: 3000-4000)
"Now I play Rainbow Veil and equip it to Vishnu!" the Obelisk Queen added before allowing a rainbow to form around her ace monster.
"No way! We lost against this skank and her boy toy?!" Bobby gawked.
"It's over!" Asuka shouted, "Battle! Cyber Angel - Vishnu attacks Magic Slime! Solaris Burst!"
After her visor flipped down, the queen of the Cyber Angels unleashed two powerful bursts of light from the halos that were attached behind her. The Magic Slime enlarged itself to protect them in vain. It eventually proved fruitless, as the two beams of light pierced through the slime, destroying it and hitting the two North Academia Duelists, ending the Duel.
Asuka/Kuromu: 550
Bobby/Lyle: 0
The Duel Academia crowd cheered as the Solid Vision disappeared. The North Academia voiced their dismay and disbelief that their Tag Team would lose.
"The winners of this Tag Duel are Kururugi Kuromu and Tenjoin Asuka! Duel Academia!" Chronos announced.
"YATTAAAAAAAAAA/YOSHAAAAAAAAAA!" Judai and the others cheered loudly.
"Alright guys!" Rika exclaimed.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Koji cheered.
"Yosha! Yatta ze, Asuka!" Kuromu said ecstatic, as he hugged Asuka and spun her around.
"Ah, young love." Kyoshiro chuckled, observing the pair.
"I'm so proud of my girl." Chiyomi shed a tear of joy.
Bobby and Lyle were peeved, but both of them had to admit that Kuromu and Asuka fought hard and earned their victory. They then approached the two, who were still celebrating. "Oi, lovebirds!" Bobby called out, getting their attention, "Stop making us single folk feel lonely!"
Kuromu and Asuka looked confused, then looked at each other, before realizing that they were holding each other. Both of them backed and looked away embarrassed and flustered.
"KUROMU-SAN NO AKUMA! AKUMA DA!" Sho shouted.
*CLANK!*
"ITAI!"
"KNOCK IT OFF!" Rika growled.
"Uh… sorry about that." Kuromu apologized.
"No, no. You two have every reason to celebrate." Lyle waved off. "It's us who should apologize for our poor sportsmanship. We'll be better lads. Right, Bobby?" He emphasized.
"Yeah yeah." Bobby shook off.
"Still, that was a good Duel." Kuromu smiled, before holding out his hand. "We should do it again sometime."
The cap-wearing North Academia student looked at his hand for a moment, before grunting with a nod and the pair shook hands, to the delight of the crowd.
"Just so you know, we don't intend to lose next time." Lyle said.
"Neither will we." Asuka added, which made the North Academia students smile.
Manjoume however was less than pleased by these events after he watched them from the crowd. He had seen Bobby and Lyle duel, and it was clear that this wasn't their best. Then again, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that they didn't have to do their best, unlike himself, who has no choice but to be at his best.
"Alright, Aniki. You're up next." Sho said.
Rex gave a thumbs up as he mouths, "Remember. If it's your turn, try and reach out to him." to the Elemental HERO Duelist.
"Right!" Judai nodded, as he looked towards Manjoume who was ready to prepare. 'Manjoume… I'll definitely reach out to you… no matter what it takes…'