It was another morning in Paradise City. The sun rose up in the sky, casting its rays on the city and through some white clouds, illuminating its light all around the. The birds were chirping their melodies from the trees, the ground, and in the air. The citizens went about with their morning routines, whether it is getting ready for work, school, or learning more lessons about dueling. After the events with the Interdimensional War, Fusion Dimension's Duel Academy, and even Zarc, it felt nice to wake up to peaceful mornings, especially for Yuya.

The young Dueltainer was glad to know everyone can finally live their days in peace without the threat of Duel Academy looming over their shoulder and to have his father and Zuzu back. The only thing that will never be the same about him and his childhood friend was that their counterparts were now fused with their own. While going on about with their daily routines, the counterparts were managing their individual lives; at the same time, Yuto and Yugo kept their relationships with Lulu and Rin respectively, whereas Yuri and Celina developed a rivalry with each other. Due to people getting carded and Leo's intentions of fusing all four dimensions to bring his daughter Ray back, Celina had a valid reason to be Yuri's rival. All in all, all eight boys and girls were getting used to their new lives.

But there was one in particular who may not have changed after the conflict was officially resolved…

The Yu salad were getting ready for the day, each repeatedly switching out their spirits to get dressed and maintain their perfectly coiffed hairstyles. Yuto was currently taking control of Yuya's body, brushing his thick, spiky, black and light purple hair back, but he was also muttering something to himself. It was hard to distinguish, but it sounded very noble; the gestures he was doing even conveyed his nobility very easily. Was it a force of habit or part of his daily routine while growing up in Heartland City? Whatever the reason, it seemed to grab the attention of the other boys, including a certain banana-banged Synchro user.

"Enough with the fancy talk, Prince Charming," Yugo said. "We're not in the Middle Ages."

"I do agree with the moron," Yuri chimed in. "Ever since the whole dimension fiasco, I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be acting like a fairytale knight. Why is that?"

"That's none of your concerned," Yuto answered, his grip on his brush tightening.

"Actually, Yuri might be right," Yuya said. "I know he was trained by Leo while Yugo grew up in the streets of New Domino City, but we know nothing about your past."

"Do you really want to know?" Yuto asked. "My past life in Heartland is-"

"Can't be any worse than fishing through garbage cans for any good cards," Yugo interrupted.

"It's not," Yuto said. "I just don't like talking about it."

"Aw, come on, Yuto!" Yuya insisted. "What made you who you are today?"

Yuto let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine," he said, putting his brush on Yuya's nightstand. "This might come as a shock, but when I was younger, I wasn't always a noble person…"

Yuya, Yugo, and even Yuri were surprised to hear Yuto say that, but it was true; he wasn't born with a noble personality. In fact, he used to be an extremely shy kid while growing up. It dates back several years ago in Heartland City, long before Duel Academy invaded.

In a peaceful, colorful, duel-loving city like Heartland, one would expect the residents to be enthusiastic, extroverted, joyful, friendly, and full of smiles. They would be right…for the most part. As a young child, Yuto initially was not one of those people. He used to be quite the shrinking violet because he didn't fit right in with the others, so it made finding friends difficult. Surprisingly, the only thing he regarded as his friend was his signature card: Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon. He felt like it was speaking to him and he kept it with him wherever he went. Additionally, his hairstyle wasn't always combed back; it used to be short and spiky with his bangs hiding his eyes. In other words, it could be considered a borderline or a straight-up emo hairstyle, something that would stick out like a sore thumb in such a bright and cheery town.

As he grew up in the city, he still remained a wallflower, with Dark Rebellion as his only friend and no one to talk to or bond with. It was pretty much a lonesome childhood for him up until the day he met him. Someone who changed his life forever.

His name was Shay Obsidian.

One day, Yuto continued his never-ending cycle of introverted loneliness when he couldn't help but notice something occurring right outside Heartland Duel School. It looked like there was a duel going on, but who was it between? Curious, the young boy decided to go investigate. As he got closer, he started figuring out what was going. One side of the field had a Duelist about to lose. His opponent on the other side caught the shy kid's eye; he had blueish-black hair extending up to his chin and light green bangs swept left and tucked underneath some strands. His eyes were a mix between yellow and green, maybe a chartreuse color? He wore a while buttoned-up shirt, dark grey shorts, and a pair of black sneakers. His choice of monsters intrigued Yuto as well. He could see what looked like some kind of blue, green, and silver falcon with yellow and purple details; what surprised the kid is when the young teen declared its effect.

"Finish him off with Ravaging Rebellion!" the young teen happily exclaimed.

With that, the falcon flew up to the sky and then became cloaked in flames, much like a phoenix. Yuto brushed his bangs aside to try and get a better view of the young teen's final attack; he had rather poor eyesight and felt he looked weird wearing glasses, so he prefers to not wear them. With an increased ATK of 2700, the falcon destroyed the special summoned Gem-Knight Pearl, reducing the opponent's remaining Life Points to 0. The students cheered and applauded at his victory and the astonishing duel the two young teenage boys had. Yuto didn't care if he missed what happened; he was amazed at how the young teen and his falcon finished it with such an exhilarating move.

After the applauding had died down, everyone went back to their routines, talking about the duel they watched. They mentioned how impressive Shay's skills were and maybe had the most impressive skills in the entire Spade Branch. Yuto's thoughts were flooding his mind about who this Shay person is. Should he talk to him? No, he can't; his shyness always got the better of him, so he didn't see the point of it. He then started to leave, only to find himself tripping down on the ground, which apparently caught Shay's attention.

The young teen quickly ran up to Yuto. "Are you alright?" he asked.

He helped the kid get up from the ground; as he brushed off any dirt that may have gotten on his clothes, he noticed the person that helped him. It was Shay! The same person who won the duel with his falcon! Yuto tried to respond, but he had trouble responding.

"My name's Shay Obsidian," he said, smiling pleasantly. "What's yours?"

Yuto looked down. "Y-Yuto…" he muttered.

"Huh?" Shay asked.

"Yuto!" the dark-haired boy blurted out. He quickly covered his mouth, embarrassed for shouting like that.

"Yuto, huh?" Shay asked. "Aren't you that shy kid everyone talks about?"

He nodded slowly, feeling nervous about talking to someone for the first time.

"Well don't you worry, Yuto," Shay said, patting the younger boy on the back. "How about I get the honor to be your first official friend?"

This surprised the kid. An actual friend? An actual human friend? Someone besides his Dark Rebellion really wants to be his friend? He never thought the day would come, yet he was unsure about it.

"Are you okay?" Shay asked, concerned due to the young boy's silence.

Something was running through the kid's mind, almost like he's experiencing a flashback. Throughout his life, people had always made fun of his dark appearances. His baggy clothes, his hair, you name it. It was no wonder he felt left out; for a socializing, happy city, the residents teasing Yuto like that could be described as ironic. As a result, he felt like the only person he feels comfortable talking to was his own mother.

The sheer thought of him getting poked fun of like that worsened his anxiety. He was afraid Shay might do the same thing, but surprisingly, he didn't.

"I heard what other kids at school say about you," Shay said. "You constantly get teased for having a dark outlook. Right?"

He nodded again.

"Don't worry about it," Shay said. "Just stick by my side and no one will make fun of you again."

A small smile formed on Yuto's face. This was definitely a moment he wouldn't expect to happen, but it was. This was going to be a life changer. It made him feel…happy…and relieved that there is someone who will protect him. As he was about to reach his hand out to shake Shay's, his Dark Rebellion card fell onto the ground, catching the young teen's attention.

Shay picked up the dragon card. "I never saw this card before," he said. "Do you duel?"

Yuto shook his head "no", shocking the young teen.

"Then I guess I should teach you how to play," Shay said, still smiling.

The shy kid felt hesitant about learning to duel. He had never played Duel Monsters before; heck, he never even had a deck of his own. Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon was the only card he had because of how they're both connected, so wanting the card back felt more important to him.

Shay noticed Yuto's nervous expression. "You want this back?" the young teen asked, giving Dark Rebellion back to Yuto. He uttered a small "Yes", still feeling uncomfortable about dueling.

"That could be the starting point of your deck," Shay said. "I never saw anyone use that card, but I'm sure it could work for any type of deck. You just need to find your dueling style."

For several days, Shay has been finding various—and somewhat creative—ways to get his new friend into dueling. Knowing Yuto doesn't have a deck and a single card, he went with using his own deck to bribe him. With so many imaginative methods to persuade him, it almost felt endless for the kid.

One time, Shay switched out Yuto's lunch when he wasn't looking. Upon removing the lid, he saw Shay's cards, baffling him immensely. Did the lunch lady accidentally mixed up my order? he wondered. Yeah, that's gotta be it. A couple days later, he opened his locker to get his sneakers after the school day had ended, only to find the same deck behind them. This left him stunned silent; why were these cards appearing everywhere? As for using the bathroom, well… Let's just say Shay was sitting in the stall Yuto wanted to use, showing the shocked boy his deck. The same deck that kept popping up on places.

Eventually, Yuto decided to give in. The young teen's "persuasive" techniques were honestly getting more and more unusual per day. Now, he thought, if he was going to learn how to duel, what would be the best place to start? Fortunately, Shay has just the answer.

"You want to join the school's dueling club?" Shay asked one day.

"Y-Y-Yes…" Yuto muttered. "I want to duel too…"

"That's the spirit!" Shay happily said, sounding completely innocent. "Meet me at the school gym after class. That's where we meet every afternoon."

Later that day, Yuto immediately went to the gym after class. He was wondering how he was going to learn to play. He doesn't have a deck to use and needs to have a unique, individual style to it. Hopefully, the dueling club will figure something out for him. Outside the gym doors, he saw and met up with Shay, who was eagerly waiting for him. Was he hiding something to surprise the boy? Who knows. Whatever it is, it will definitely change Yuto's life forever.

"Glad you could make it," Shay said, ruffling Yuto's hair. "We were just about to get started with today's meeting."

Right as he finished talking, one of the doors opened, revealing a club member. He had blonde hair with a curled point and dark green, spiky bangs. His eyes were blueish-gray and had pale skin. He wore a white t-shirt with blue pants and light brown shoes. Yuto has never met him before, but he looked like he was friends with Shay.

"So this is that Yuto kid you kept talking about?" the young blonde teen asked, speaking in a somewhat hoarse voice.

"Yeah, that's him," Shay said. "Yuto, this is Kite Tenjo."

"Nice to meet you," Kite told Yuto, smiling pleasantly.

Yuto looked around the school gym. "Wh-Where…" he stammered.

"Where's everyone else?" Kite asked. "It's just me and Shay."

"But we hope to get more members," Shay added.

This was surprisingly unusual to hear. A duel club with only two members? That's virtually impossible. Yuto was expecting to find more members, especially regarding how popular Duel Monsters is in Heartland City, but seeing how timid he currently is, two was a comfortable number of people to have.

The sound of the school bell rang; it was time for students to take part in their club activities. "Okay Duelists," Shay said, addressing Yuto and Kite. "Before we begin I want to see if everyone is present. Kite Tenjo?"

"Here," Kite replied.

"And that's everyone," Shay said. "As our first order of business, I would like to introduce you to Yuto. He will be joining us starting today."

Yuto felt a little embarrassed being introduced to a crowd, let alone a tiny crowd; there is literally one person sitting down. Joining such a small club felt more awkward than he initially thought. But this'll be the last moment of shyness he experiences.

For today's club meeting, Shay and Kite plan on introducing its newest member to various card archetypes. Yuto has never heard of archetypes before. He had questions running through his head: What even represents an archetype? The Japanese symbol on the top right corner of the card? The monster's typing? Or are they a group of supported cards? These question made him puzzled, but hearing Shay talking snapped him out of his confusion.

"Before we begin today's dueling practice, we should help Yuto create his very own deck," Shay said. "He already has one card, so that should be his starting point."

"One card?" Kite asked. "Can I see it?"

Yuto felt a little hesitant, but he let the other young teen look at his Dark Rebellion card.

Kite read the card's stats. "Looks like this card can work with any archetype," he said, giving the card back to Yuto. "I never heard of it before."

"I never saw that card anywhere else either," Shay said. "But hopefully there's some archetype that would work."

Then it was settled; their first order of business was to help Yuto find the perfect archetype in order to construct his first dueling deck. Shay took out his Duel Disk and after a bit of setup, holograms appeared from the pad. The young boy was about to get his first lesson on how to play Duel Monsters.

"Since your monster is a dark-attribute dragon, let's start with that," Shay said, going through the category filters. "You should start off with a basic dragon deck, so you should start off with normal dragon monsters. But you can't have only monsters in your deck, so maybe the equip spell card Dragon Treasure could work as a starter power boost…"

Shay and Kite scrolled through the various groups of cards to deduce which ones would work well in Yuto's deck. At the same time, Yuto brushed his light purple bangs aside once again to see their working process and the vast variety of cards. He saw that applying certain filters can help organize the cards based on Attribute, Type, Level, Spell, Trap, and even archetype. He can already imagine millions of Duel Monsters cards that have existed and are existing ever since the day they were first created. His body was filled once again with amazement and awe.

Deck construction seemed to be going at a steady pace. The two young teens discussed and strategized which cards would work best with one another while the boy continued to stare in admiration. He hadn't felt this happy since he witnessed Shay's victory several days ago; today was a really good day, something he never thought he would experience in his life, but he is and it feels great. A few minutes later, as deck construction progressed, something caught Yuto's eye. Whatever it was displayed holographically piqued his interests.

Yuto gasped softly. "What is it?" Shay asked.

"G-Go back…" Yuto said.

"You found an archetype you like?" Kite asked.

Yuto nodded his head. Shay scrolled back to stop at the archetype the boy saw. It consists of DARK Warrior-Type Monsters; some of them looked ghostly while the others were Pseudo-Trap Monsters, having animated armor or weapons surrounded by ghostly flames.

"Was this what you saw?" Shay asked.

Yuto nodded "Yes" once again.

Shay looked a bit concerned. "The Phantom Knights aren't exactly cheerful," he informed. "According to their card lore, they're leftover ghosts from a war that wiped out a once-grand kingdom."

"And it's not exactly the best archetype," Kite informed. "It mostly consists of trap cards, which can be a bit of a problem since a good deck mostly needs monsters."

The kid then explained that he and the Phantom Kinghts both have dark appearances, making his outlook a perfect match. Shay and Kite were rather surprised at his explanation.

"Alright, Yuto," Shay said. "If you insist, I guess you can work with that deck."

"Th-Thank you…" Yuto stammered.

"But you can't duel with that kind of attitude," Shay said.

Yuto looked at the ground, blushing heavily. "I-I-I…"

Shay tilted Yuto's head upwards so he was looking at him. "Just imagine yourself being as brave as the Phantom Knights," the young teen informed.

"Brave…?" Yuto asked. "I-I can't do that…"

"The Phantom Knights are noble and chivalrous," Shay explained. "Remember those knights from medieval films?"

"Y-Yes…" Yuto stammered.

"Channel that behavior into your dueling," Shay continued. "Can you do that?"

Yuto nodded his head once more and began to think. Be as brave, noble, and chivalrous as the Phantom Knights, he thought to himself. He started to picture an older version of himself, using the Phantom Knights in duels, being brave in the face of danger, and a loyal, chivalrous, and noble person to his friends, much like a knight.

The dark-haired boy responded to Shay with a slight bow. "A-As you wish…" he replied.

Shay looked surprised as Kite repressed an amused laugh. "Close enough, I guess," the blue-green-haired teen said.

As the years went on, Yuto practiced and perfected his dueling skills. He attended the school's dueling club everyday, learning how to utilize a monster's effect, know when to use Spells and Traps, perform an XYZ summon, and use these skills to construct a strategy that works best for him. He even took the opportunity to test them out after club activities ended each day. At one point, Shay declared an attack with one of his Raidraptors, who had enough strength to blow Yuto's hair back. The teen couldn't help but comment on the dark-haired boy's new look.

"What are you talking about?" Yuto asked, speaking more often than usual.

"I said you look good with your hair pushed back," Shay repeated. "In fact, you actually look better than when you started dueling."

"Yeah right," Yuto said. "I don't feel any diff-"

But he did. He didn't feel his hair covering his eyes and forehead; they were more exposed. This was a rather interesting hairstyle he received, so he started combing his hair back. Of course, this didn't change the fact that his new haircut didn't help his eyesight one bit.

"Yuto, I noticed you have been squinting a lot," his mother told him one day. "Maybe you should get glasses."

"Mom, I really don't want glasses," Yuto insisted. "They'll make me look weird."

"Oh, don't be silly!" Yuto's mother replied. "Don't you want the world to see your pretty eyes?"

Much to Yuto's embarrassment, he was given his first pair of glasses; the ones he got had dark purple frames. Additionally, his appearance started to change. His gravity-defying hairstyle grew longer and he became quite handsome, especially with the confident sparks in his eyes. He also stopped wearing baggy clothes in favor of more casual ones; his new attire consisted of a black shirt, a black belt with silver studs, a black and cream-colored coat, a necklace, two black wristbands, dark jeans, and a pair of black shoes.

At the same time, his personality also changed. He didn't notice at first, but people have been treating him differently. They saw that this Yuto wasn't the same isolated, shy, lonely kid anymore; he has become more open to others, actively participating in and watching duels, developed caring and knightly traits, and smiled a lot more often. It was like he was a new person.

"You want to get more members?" Shay asked during a dueling club meeting.

"Yeah," Yuto answered. "You said this dueling club is a truce between the Spade and Clover Branches, so we need to get more people interested."

"Alright," Kite said. "It would be nice to have other people from the Clover Branch in the club."

Shay, Kite, and a now 14-year-old Yuto have spent the last few years in the dueling club as its only members, so it would be nice to add a few new ones. Besides, having said new members be from the Spade and Clover Branches can help emphasize the truce between the two branches. The only question is how they're going to find people who are not only in the two branches, but are also interested in joining.

"So what's your idea, Yuto?" Kite asked.

"There's a duel tournament going on between the girls from the Spade and Clover Branches," Yuto explained. "Maybe we can recruit members during the tournament."

"I think I heard about that earlier today," Shay recalled. "My sister is participating in it."

"You have a sister?" Yuto asked, trying to imagine what the sister of Shay Obsidian would look like.

"Yeah," Shay answered. "She would make a nice addition to the dueling club."

"Then we should get going," Kite said. "Those new members aren't going to recruit themselves."

A few minutes later, the three boys arrived at the tournament. As they watched, they saw two girls dueling each other. One had brown hair tied in a ponytail, fair skin, a red, long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, grayish-blue capris, and a pair of blue sneakers. Her opponent was a pale-skinned girl with magenta eyes and long, dark purple hair tied in a bow shape with a wing-shaped barrette and shorter, lilac side tails. She wore a light yellow and white, knee-length dress, a pair of white shoes, and a bracelet with a wing-shaped design and a yellow diamond framed in the design.

Several minutes have passed and the dark-purple haired girl brought the brown-haired girl's Life Points down to 0, winning the duel.

"That girl's amazing!" Yuto explained.

"Yeah, that's my younger sister," Shay said.

"Oh, she is?" Yuto asked without a second thought.

Suddenly, realization hit him and he looked back and forth between Shay and his sister with a shocked look on his face. Shay just simply glared back at Yuto, knowing he chose not to wear his glasses today.

After the tournament, Shay introduced his sister to his dark-haired friend. "Nice to meet you," the dark-haired girl said. "My name's Lulu."

Lulu smiled at Yuto, causing him to blush. There was something about her appearance that he adores. Was it the eyes? The hair? Or what about the clothes she wore? No, it was every single detail about her. Upon seeing her lips, he developed fantasies in his head…kissing-related fantasies. He started developing this weird feeling in his heart; he could have sworn it just skipped a beat. What is this emotion he was having? He never experienced this before. Was is…love? Love at first sight?

Shortly thereafter, the two instantly grew close to each other. On one sunny day, the two sat at a table with Yuto checking out her deck. From the look of things, her archetype was Lyrilusc, consisting of WIND Winged-Beast Type female monsters; their low Levels, ATK, and DEF were accompanied by really useful effects that increase the ATK and number of direct attacks based on how many monsters are summoned. Her ace, Assembled Nightingale, can even OTK her opponents with the right amount of XYZ Materials.

"Lyrilusc, huh?" Yuto remarked. "This is a pretty good deck. Did you make this yourself?"

"Yeah, I did," Lulu answered. "I want to have fun, bright duels like the songbirds that fly in the sky during warm summer days."

"This deck is perfect," Yuto said as he gave the deck back to Lulu. "Have you thought about joining the dueling club?"

"I have," Lulu answered. "But I'm worried that my deck isn't good enough."

"That's crazy," Yuto said, placing his hand over Lulu's. "You should be proud to have a deck like that."

Lulu smiled softly at Yuto. "Okay," she said. "I'll join."

And with that, Lulu Obsidian from the Spade Branch became one of the newest members of the dueling club. She even took the opportunity to convince her friends Sarah Glitters and Alex Kablam—two students in the Clover Branch—to join as well, making them two new additional members of the club.

A few weeks later, while she and Yuto were sitting on a bench, they grew closer than when they first met. "Lulu?" Yuto asked. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Lulu answered.

"These past few weeks have been amazing," Yuto said. "Especially you. You're the most amazing girl I ever met. You're beautiful both inside and out, and you're one of the best Duelists I know."

"What are you saying?" Lulu asked.

"Lulu Obsidian, will you accompany me to the school dance?" Yuto asked.

"The one that's coming up in three weeks?" Lulu asked in response.

"Yes," Yuto answered. "But not as a friend. As a date."

Lulu smiled with pure delight. "Of course, Yuto!" she said. "I'll be more than happy to be your date to the dance!"

With that being said, she leaned her head on Yuto's shoulder, surprising him. He can't hardly believe he not only got a date for the upcoming school dance, but a girlfriend as well. He happily looked over to see Lulu, who was still resting on his shoulder.

Three weeks have passed and Yuto was getting ready for the big night. However, he felt like something was missing… He now remembered; he officially decided to wear his glasses for the first time. Aside from that, he wore a dull green formal shirt with a dark blue tie, a black dress jacket, dark blue pants, and black shoes. Putting on the glasses, he was ready for the school dance and his first date with Lulu.

When Yuto headed downstairs, his mother was amazed. "Look at you!" she happily exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "You look so grown up and handsome!"

"Mom!" Yuto exclaimed, blushing heavily. "This suit is a rental!"

Yuto's mother quickly let go. "Sorry," she said. "It feels like it was only yesterday you were a shy, nervous boy. Now look at you! Confident and about to attend your first school dance!"

Yuto smiled. "Thanks mom," he said. "The dance is over at 11. I'll be back home around that time."

Yuto's mother planted a kiss on his forehead. "Don't worry about it, sweetie," she said. "Just remember to relax and have fun."

Several minutes later, she brought her son to the school. Upon dropping him off, they said their goodbyes to each other and he entered the gym. Everything was decorated with streamers and balloons tied in a few areas. There was an alignment of food and drinks on the table, even a bowl of fruit punch next to some stacks of cups. A band was performing on stage, with everyone eating, drinking, dancing, and having a good time.

As he looked over at the crowd, he saw and met up with the dueling club, who were all wearing different outfits, albeit Sarah for some reason. Alex also wore his usual outfit, but wore a poncho over it. Shay, Kite, and Lulu, on the other hand, had really nice clothes on. Kite wore a black suit (which included a matching trench coat) while Shay wore a tuxedo with gray pants and brown shoes. Lulu had her hair pinned up and donned large, feather earrings. She also sported a long, silver dress with sleeves on the shoulders and sparkly white heels. Yuto blushed at the sight of his date looking so beautiful.

"About time you got here," Shay said.

"Sorry I was late," Yuto said, smoothing out his dress jacket. "My mom was a little too happy about me being here."

"Hang on…" Kite said. "Are you wearing your glasses?"

Yuto didn't respond right away, causing the blonde teen to chuckle. "Don't worry," Kite said. "You look great."

"It still feels weird," Yuto admitted.

"Only during the first few times," Sarah reassured. "You'll get used to it eventually."

That was when Yuto noticed Sarah's choice of attire. "What happened to your dress?" he asked.

"Briar mistook it for a scratching post," Sarah explained, referring to her pet cat. "And due to it being a custom, there was no way to restore it in time."

"Don't worry," Lulu told Sarah. "You still look great. And at least you actually put some effort into your outfit."

"Oh, come on!" Alex exclaimed, knowing Lulu was referring to him. "This is my cleanest poncho!"

"But you're still wearing that smelly old hoodie," Kite pointed out.

"You're one to talk," Alex replied. "You're wearing an old black coat."

"My father wore this coat during his first school dance when he was my age," Kite explained. "As did his father before him. It's a family heirloom."

"Alright, that's enough," Shay said. "We're here to enjoy the dance, not criticize our choices in formal wear."

"Even though that's clearly an angel who shape-shifted into a prettier replica of your sister?" Yuto asked in response.

Lulu quickly realized what Yuto just said. "Did you just call me pretty?" she asked.

Yuto smiled softly at Lulu. "Of course," he answered, reaching out to hold her hand. "Fair princess." He planted a kiss on the back of her hand, making her blush.

The night went on and it was clear the dance was a big hit. The band played so many great songs while people talked, joked around, laughed, ate, drank, and danced. Yuto, especially, had an amazing night with Lulu; he was even able to share a dance with her.

Near the end of the night, Lulu and Yuto were resting on the gymnasium bleachers. "Thanks for the fun time, Yuto," Lulu said, leaning in to him.

"You're welcome," Yuto replied, smiling softly. He carefully placed his hand on Lulu's cheek and-

"And what?" Yugo asked. "Come on, Yoot! Don't leave us hanging! Did you get your first kiss with Lulu?"

No response. Something was wrong with Yuto. Is he okay? He sure doesn't look like it. He just simply stared at his reflection in Yuya's mirror.

"Yuto?" Yuya asked, sounding a bit concerned. "Are you alright?"

The only response he got was a saddened look on Yuto's face. Yuya and Yugo grew worried about their XYZ counterpart. Even Yuri couldn't help but feel bad for him. Looking back at the mirror, he could see a reflection of himself on the night of the school dance. He looked so handsome in his outfit and enjoyed spending the night with his friends…and with Lulu… But now, it was dashed…dashed by the sudden Invasion. He never forgot that night. The night where everyone ran away in fear from the Obelisk Force and their Chaos Ancient Gear Giants. The night where so many innocent people got their souls carded. The night he lost his mother… He still remembers seeing her death as she protected her own son from one of the Giant's attacks. Everything that happened completely changed his life, and the only thing he had left to remind him of this painful night were the very clothes he was wearing, which were now ripped and tattered.

Suddenly, Yuya was switched out. "Huh?" he asked, surprised by the sudden switch. "Yuto?"

As the tomato-haired boy was left wondering what was wrong with Yuto, there was a knock on the door. "Hey Yuya, what's taking so long?" a familiar voice asked. "Your mom just finished making pancakes."

That voice belonged to none other than Sora Perse, who was recently adopted by Yoko. He opened the door, only to find Yuri taking Yuya's place. "Oh, hey Yuri," Sora said, greeting his former Obelisk Force teammate. "Wasn't expecting to see you this early."

"Never mind that," Yuri said. "When did the Invasion begin?"

"Geez, didn't know you already forgot," Sora casually answered. "I don't really remember the exact day, but I do remember seeing a bunch of school students dressed in fancy outfits. Don't know why, though."

Based on the given information, it immediately clicked together for Yuri. The Invasion occurred on the night of the school dance (making Yuya wonder if what Yuto initially told him about the Invasion happening during the daytime was a lie); it was no wonder why Yuto was upset and switched places with Yuya. But how on earth are they going to make him feel better? Just then, he developed an idea.

"Thank you for informing us," Yuri said as he left the room, referring to himself, Yuya, and Yugo. "Now if you excuse us, we need to speak to Mr. and Mrs. Sakaki."