Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, nor will I ever and I am only saying this once and I will not repeat it in later chapters.

. . .

. . .

Light the Night With Stars

. . .

. . .

Arc I

. . .

. . .

Turn 1

Sway, Pendulum of the Soul

You Show Duel School was unusually quiet today. There were only two people there at the moment, seated in the lounge sorting through the various cards scattered on the table or on the floor. The first was Sakaki Yuya, eldest son of the legendary Entertainment Duelist Sakaki Yusho, who had crimson and green hair and was dressed in green pants and a red shirt with his school's uniform jacket hanging around his shoulders like a cape. Around his neck hung a prism-shaped light-blue pendulum crystal. His crimson eyes studied the cards in his hand.

"Where is everyone?" he said, lifting his head from his cards and fixing his gaze on the second boy in the room.

"Running late," the second boy said. Sakaki Kazuki, Yuya's younger twin brother, looked nothing like his twin. He had spiky white hair with chin-length light blue bangs framing either side of his face and was dressed in dark blue pants with a white short-sleeved shirt over which was a light-blue vest as well as his school's uniform jacket. Around his neck was a sapphire gem encased in a silver bale and attached to a silver chain. His light blue eyes didn't lift from the cards he was studying in his hands.

"Oh." Yuya turned his gaze to his cards again and pressed his lips together. "Hey, Kazuki, what did Mrs. Nakano want anyway?"

Kazuki grimaced at the reminder. Nakano, one of their teachers at Maiami Second, had asked Kazuki to stay behind again today for some reason, though Kazuki hadn't told Yuya what that reason was during their walk home.

"She just wanted to remind me to focus a bit more on my studies and less on dueling. I've been getting a bit behind in her class," Kazuki admitted and shuffled his cards together before placing them on the ground and leaning back against the wall.

Yuya raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You? Not study?" he teased.

"Haha. I do study. She just doesn't think I do since I have a bit of a hard time in her class," Kazuki said, rolling his eyes at Yuya. He was always the more studious of the two of them, and not just in his classes at Maiami Second. He was also studious in terms of dueling, which was why he was actually teaching himself how to perform one of the summoning methods that had only just been recently introduced to the curriculum at Leo Duel School. That was impressive and Yuya couldn't help but feel proud of his little brother.

He wasn't that way. He enjoyed dueling and he didn't mind learning new things about dueling, but his dueling was geared toward making others smile and happy and enjoy the duel. That was what his father wanted to happen with his dueling and Yuya wanted his father's duel style to live on through him.

"Speaking of dueling," Yuya said as he gathered his cards together and shuffled them, "what do you say to a practice duel while we wait for Gongenzaka, Yuzu, and others to show up?"

"Action Duel or regular duel?" Kazuki asked, grinning and getting to his feet as he said that. Yuya laughed because Kazuki should already know his answer to that.

They didn't get the chance to start their duel, though, because Gongenzaka, Yuzu, and Shuzo should up at that moment.

"You got here a lot sooner than I thought, given that I left before you did," Hiiragi Yuzu, one of Yuya's two closest friends, commented, a faint smile on her lips. She was a slim girl standing a few inches taller than Yuya, something that he would admit he was a bit irritated about, with pink hair and lighter pink bangs framing her face, her bright blue eyes lit with amusement as she added, "I would've thought Kazuki would've gotten distracted by something shiny and made you guys late."

Yuya laughed while Kazuki pouted, even though what Yuzu said was mostly true. When he wasn't dueling or studying, Kazuki got distracted by the littlest of things. It really was a wonder just how he didn't get distracted during a duel or while studying.

"It's not like that happens all the time," Kazuki mumbled.

Yuya stretched out a hand and patted his brother's shoulder. "Not all the time, no, just most of the time," he said with a grin.

"Thanks." The sarcasm was evident in the other boy's voice.

Yuya just kept smiling. "Speaking of that, are we still gonna duel, Little Bro?" he asked.

"Who are you calling 'little bro'? I know I'm older than you, and you and Gongenzaka were gonna duel, remember?" Kazuki said.

"I know I'm older, and I meant afterwards."

"I'm positive I'm older, and that's fine by me."

"I'm positive I'm older, and great! We haven't dueled in a while."

"No, I'm positive I'm older, and it has been a while."

Yuzu sweatdropped at the half-argument, half-conversation Yuya was having with his twin. "Are you two really arguing over who's older again?"

"Maybe," Yuya said.

Yuzu's sweatdrop grew and she shook her head. "Anyway, weren't you and Gongenzaka going to duel?" she said.

Yuya nodded and grinned at his other closest friend. Tall and stocky, Gongenzaka Noboru had black hair style like a pompadour and tied back by a red band. "Ready, Gongenzaka?"

"I, the man Gongenzaka, am always ready," Gongenzaka declared and the two headed toward the duel chamber near the heart of You Show Duel School.

. . .

As the duel between Gongenzaka and Yuya was going on, Kazuki was seated cross-legged on the ground with his back resting against the wall opposite of the viewing window. He was listening to the duel as he studied the requirements of summoning the monsters in his hand.

It didn't seem as if it would be too hard, based on the manuals and other source materials that he had looked through since he got these cards, but how to fit his new cards into his deck and his strategies was going to take some more thinking. He should probably go over those source materials again, just in case.

"Hey," a soft voice said and Kazuki turned his head to find Yamashiro Tatsuya standing at his side. The blue-haired boy was a grade schooler who often came to You Show with his study group but, today, he seemed to be staying longer than he usually did. The study group had already left for the day.

"Hey," Kazuki replied a little shyly. He wasn't really one to speak to others, since he was a bit less social than Yuya, but that didn't mean that he couldn't be polite. "Was there something you needed?"

"Erm, no, not really. I was just wondering...this school teaches the Entertainment Dueling that Sakaki Yusho founded, right?" Tatsuya asked.

"Right." Kazuki's face closed off a little at the mention of his dad. Three years ago, on the day that Sakaki Yusho was to defend his title as Duel Champion against Strong Ishijima, he didn't show up to the duel. Everyone labeled him as a coward as a result and, unfortunately, Kazuki and Yuya were left to deal with the consequences of their dad's actions.

And Kazuki resented his dad for that. His dad had just up and left and left his kids to deal with the aftermath of his action. The bullies. The hurtful words. It never ceased to anger Kazuki, and upset Yuya even though the latter tried to hide it behind a smiling mask. Even if the bullying had stopped in recent years, the scars left by those bullies never did.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Tatsuya said quickly, making Kazuki realize that his brief flash of anger must have appeared on his face.

"Oh don't worry about it. It's just hard to think about Dad," Kazuki assured the boy. "But, yeah, that's what You Show's all about. Why do you ask?"

Tatsuya bit his lip. "Well, it's just..." he trailed off and turned his gaze to the window where Gongenzaka had just summoned Superheavy Samurai Waka-O2, a giant blue machine monster. "I've been thinking about which duel school I wanna attend and, well, I don't really know much about this one, so I was just curious about it."

With You Show Duel School being in the same city as prestigious schools like Leo Duel School, it didn't come as a surprise that Tatsuya didn't know much about it. Very few applicants applied to You Show because of the kind of dueling that You Show taught, and most of the applicants wanted to learn from a more prestigious school, and that number had dropped significantly after Yusho failed to show up to his duel against Strong Ishijima.

"What do you want to know?" Kazuki said.

Because of the lack of students, You Show was always in danger of being closed, and Kazuki didn't want that to happen. No matter his personal feelings toward his dad, his dad's dueling style and way of bringing happiness and smiles to his audience was something that Kazuki could respect and You Show was his dad's way of reaching out to potential entertainment duelists who wanted to follow in his teachings and his dueling style. There was no way that Kazuki was going to let his dad's school close, and if he could, possibly, get a new student to enroll then that could help prevent that. And it would probably make the principal beyond happy.

Kazuki spent the next ten minutes answering Tatsuya's questions before a commotion in the arena came to him and he, pushing himself to his feet, watched in surprise when the Action Field suddenly fizzled out, sending Yuya, who'd been standing atop a pagoda, to the ground.

Kazuki winced. "Ouch…"

"Is he okay?" Tatsuya asked.

"Knowing Yuya, probably."

Sure enough, Yuya was quick to recover from falling off the pagoda when the Action Field disappeared and gave the few people in the audience a funny face.

Tatsuya's brow furrowed.

"See? He's fine," Kazuki added while smiling sadly at his brother. He knew his brother better than anyone, except maybe their mother, and he knew that his brother was simply putting up a facade to try to make light of the situation he ended up in. It was a mask, the mask of a clown he'd been wearing since the day their dad disappeared, but one that Kazuki could easily see past.

He was probably the only one that Yuya let that mask fall around because he had dealt with his fair share of the bullying and hurtful remarks that scarred Yuya's spirit as well. He just dealt with it a different way.

Yuya would eventually let that mask fall, but he needed to do it on his own. It wasn't anyone else's place to try to force him to give up the mask that has been his way of protecting himself from getting too hurt by the words of the bullies. He'd admitted to Kazuki that if he could make fun of himself then it wouldn't hurt so much when others made fun of him.

"Still," Tatsuya murmured.

"Tatsuya, let's head home," Tatsuya's mother said as she walked over to join the two of them.

"All right, Mom. Thanks for answering my questions, Kazuki," Tatsuya said and, with a wave, jogged after his mother as the tall woman led the way out of the school.

Kazuki glanced through the window as Yuya and Gongenzaka made their way out of the arena and he turned and walked toward the elevator as well. He had this odd feeling that Yuzu wasn't going to be happy, but he was also curious about why the Action Field went out on them.

He found out quickly enough when he walked into the lounge to find Shuzo practically crying while Yuzu was scowling at Yuya who'd taken a seat on the couch, his goggles resting over his eyes and his lips pulled into a slight pout. Gongenzaka was standing nearby, his arms folded across his chest. Kazuki raised an eyebrow. "Why's the principal almost crying?"

"Yuzu broke the Solid Vision System," Yuya said, his pout deepening as he added, "And I wanted to keep dueling and making the audience laugh."

"That only happened 'cause you were goofing off," Yuzu exclaimed, swatting at Yuya, but the boy jumped off the couch and dodged out of the way, only to run smack into Gongenzaka.

"The boy wasn't laughing," Gongenzaka said firmly, clearly not amused by Yuya's words or his actions.

"I'm sure he was cracking up," Yuya said with a lighthearted grin as he removed the goggles from his eyes.

"Someone laughing at you is not the same as someone laughing with you," Gongenzaka snapped. "Your father always made his audience smile and laugh and be happy with his dueling. Have you forgotten that his dueling stirred the hearts of his audience?"

Yuya shrugged. "They were all laughing at him in the end."

"Yuya!" Gongenzaka and Yuzu exclaimed.

"He's not wrong, technically speaking anyway," Kazuki pointed out.

"Kazuki," Yuzu chided.

"What?"

Yuzu sighed.

"Oh ho. I sense something is amiss in here! Am I interrupting something?" At the sound of a voice right behind Kazuki, he jumped and whirled around to find a tall, thin man dressed in a yellow-and-black suit standing in the doorway to the lounge. He had a small mustache and straight black hair with a pair of lightly tinted sunglasses over his eyes.

"So sorry. Didn't mean to startle you," the man added with a grin.

"Um, who're you?" Shuzo asked.

"I'm Nico Smiley, promoter and manager of the current Action Duel Champion Strong Ishijima," the man, Nico Smiley, said.

"Strong...Ishijima?" Yuya whispered.

Smiley nodded, still grinning. "Fan Appreciation Day is coming up and Strong Ishijima has requested that you,"—he pointed at a startled Yuya—"join him and duel him that day."

"Me?" Yuya said in shock.

"Uh huh. Isn't it great? You can fulfill the promise you made three years ago," Smiley said.

Kazuki remembered that promise. He'd been present when his brother had run to the edge of the stands and shouted at Strong Ishijima, telling him that his father wasn't a coward and would show up but, until then, he would duel in his father's place. It had been very brave of Yuya to stand up to the other duelist and Kazuki couldn't help but feel proud of his brother for his bravery. Back then, he would have never been able to do something like that and, even now, he wasn't sure if he could or not.

Yuya looked nervous however, not that Kazuki could blame him. Anyone would be nervous at the thought of facing a champion as strong as Strong Ishijima; there was a reason why he was still the duel champion after three years. He was a strong duelist and, even though he'd gotten his title from Yusho because Yusho never showed up to his duel, he'd proven himself strong enough to keep it.

Smiley pulled out a poster and laid it out in front of them. At the center of the poster was an image of Strong Ishijima and, in the corner, was a picture of Yuya with a caption reading that Yuya would be the Duel Champion's opponent on Fan Appreciation Day.

"Everything is already set up," Smiley said.

"I'm not gonna let Yuya compete," Shuzo said firmly.

Smiley's smile faded. "What? But why?" he protested. "But Sakaki Yusho's fans will love it if his eldest son shows up."

"I'm not gonna let you use Yuya as your show pony!"

Kazuki saw his brother stand up out of the corner of his eyes as Smiley and Shuzo continued to argue. He caught his brother's arm as the boy started past him. "Yuya..." he began but stopped when he caught sight of the nervousness and distress on his brother's face. That look told him that Yuya needed some time alone to process what Smiley just told him. He let go of his brother's arm and added, "Don't be out too late. Mom'll get worried."

Yuya gave him a grateful smile and nodded before he left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

When Kazuki turned his attention back to the argument, he was just in time to hear Smiley say, "It's unfortunate. As a token of our gratitude for agreeing, Leo Corporation was willing to give you the newest Real Solid Vision system for free."

"Really?" Shuzo's eyes lit up and he grinned.

Yuzu promptly smacked him, hard, upside the head with her harisen. "I thought you said you didn't want them to use Yuya as a show pony," she scolded.

"But..." Shuzo began, holding his head.

"What about how Yuya feels about all of this?" Gongenzaka demanded. "Shouldn't we take that into account as well? Wait..." The stocky young man frowned when he noticed that they were missing someone. "Where is Yuya?"

"He needed to get some air," Kazuki said. "He has a lot to think about. We should let him have some space to come to his own conclusion about all of this."

Yuzu sighed, but nodded in agreement.

Smiley gathered the poster and stretched his arms above his head. "Well, I'd best get going. It's only a few days until Fan Appreciation Day. I do hope to see Yuya-kun there," he said before walking out of the lounge.

. . .

Yuya sat on the railing of the bridge, gazing out at the waters that lay in front of him, with his goggles resting over his eyes. He hadn't known where he was going when he left You Show, but the bridge seemed as good a place to think as anyway. His thoughts kept going back to what happened three years ago, when he had challenged Strong Ishijima in his father's place. He hadn't really thought about it; he only wanted everyone to stop calling his father a coward and, at the time, thought that challenging Strong Ishijima in his father's place was a good move.

But, now that he was actually faced with the chance to fulfill that wish from three years ago, he couldn't quench the nervousness that was spreading throughout him. He had every right to be nervous, but he didn't know what to do. If he backed out of the duel then that would only make his action from three years ago meaningless and his father would still be considered a coward. But if he did duel, then he would be up against the Duel Champion, someone who'd earned his title many times over in the past three years, and he wasn't sure if he could win against the champion.

He removed the pendant from around his neck as his thoughts drifted to the one time when he was younger and his father had spoken to him, encouraging him to laugh whenever he felt like crying and that once he started laughing, that would give him the energy to keep on going.

He remembered when Yusho had taken the pendant that he wore around his neck and swung it in front of him, saying, "It's like this pendulum. The more you push, the more it comes back. The same can be applied to dueling."

"You can't do anything if you're frozen in fear, Yuya," Yusho said as the pendulum swayed in front of little Yuya's eyes. "You need to step forward and have courage if you want to win. If you keep pushing forward with courage then happiness will swing back to you, just like this pendulum."

Little Yuya gazed at the pendulum, mesmerized.

Yusho smiled at the small boy. "Remember, the pendulum can also be used for discovery, Yuya," he said gently. "When you're lost, the pendulum can show you where to go."

Yuya pulled himself from his thoughts as he watched the prism-shaped pendant sway in front of his eyes.

"Yuya?" Yuya heard his brother's voice right before he felt the other boy sit down next to him. "It's getting late. I thought I said not to stay out too late or Mom'll get worried."

"Sorry. I lost track of time," he said. He hadn't realized he'd been sitting on that railing for a while but he could see the sun was starting to set. He'd been so lost in his thoughts and in his memories that he hadn't noticed.

"Are you all right?" Kazuki asked.

"I'm fine now," Yuya said and gave his brother a small smile. "I just remembered Dad's words and...I think I've found my resolve. I know what to do now."

Kazuki smiled. "Well, whatever you decide to do, you know I've got your back."

"I know."

The two fell silent for a moment, gazing out at the waters and at the swaying pendulum that Yuya held in front of their eyes.

"Sometimes," Kazuki began softly and, when Yuya glanced at him, he saw a pensive expression on his brother's face, "I wonder if I could ever be as courageous as you. I want Dad to be proud of me and yet when I try to take a step forward with courage, like you did, I falter." His brow furrowed and Yuya gazed at his brother sympathetically, knowing what this was all about.

Ever since their father disappeared three years ago, Yuya and Kazuki had dealt with it in different ways. Yuya hid behind the mask of a clown and made fun of himself before others could hurt him by making fun of him for his father running away. On the other hand, Kazuki almost completely closed himself off from others, slinking back into the shell that he'd only just started to emerge from and socially isolating himself from anyone with whom he wasn't already well acquainted.

"I'm not as brave as you are, Yuya," Kazuki said quietly. "I don't think I ever will be."

Yuya gazed at his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone falters every once and a while," he said. "Just remember what Dad said. You can't do anything when you're frozen in fear. You have to take that step. Even if you falter, don't let that get you down and don't let the fact that you faltered once, twice, or even a few times stop you from moving forward. Dad was right about that. I should have remembered that sooner, but I guess my nerves got the better of me for a moment."

"Yeah. Well, we should get home or Mom's gonna get mad or worried, or both," Kazuki said, climbing off the railing. He smiled at Yuya. "Thanks though."

"Anytime, Bro," Yuya said with a smile and climbed off the railing as well, putting the pendant around his neck again before he and his brother began making their way toward their home.

. . .

The stadium was packed, making it difficult for Kazuki, Yuzu, Shuzo, and Gongenzaka to make their way through the crowd toward the dueling arena inside. Everyone was scrambling to get to their seats, none of them wanted to miss the upcoming duel between Strong Ishijima and the eldest son of Sakaki Yusho. Finding seats in that chaos made finding a needle in a haystack look easy, so Kazuki, Yuzu, Shuzo, and Gongenzaka didn't bother on looking and simply stayed standing near the entrance to the lower stands.

"Do you think Yuya will show up?" Gongenzaka asked.

"I have no doubt he will," Kazuki said with confidence. His talk with Yuya a few days ago had also helped him to, at least, start to overcome his own insecurities. He knew that he was unlikely to leave the shell he'd disappeared into three years ago right away, but he was starting to edge his way out. Yuya was right that he shouldn't let the fact that he faltered a few times when he tried to move forward stop him from trying again.

"Yuya..." Yuzu murmured.

"Oh I can just smell the new Real Solid Vision system! I can't wait to get my hands on it," Shuzo said eagerly.

Yuzu's eye twitched and she smacked her father hard upside the head with her harisen.

Kazuki winced in sympathy. He knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of that harisen.

"Welcome, everyone," Smiley said and everyone's attention turned to the stadium. "Today's main event is the long awaited duel between the Action Duel Champion, Strong Ishijima, and the eldest son of the Star Champion Sakaki Yusho, Sakaki Yuya!"

Smiley went on to activate the Action Field on which the duel would take place. Called Frontier Fang Castle, the Action Field was a giant stone castle surrounded by a thick forest. On one of the castle's turrets was the muscular form of Strong Ishijima, his purple hair falling past his shoulders and a militaristic uniform covering his body, with his duel disk resting on his arm.

"Introducing first, the Ultimate King of Action Dueling for the past three years, Strong Ishijima!" Smiley declared.

Everyone began cheering.

Ishijima let loose a battle cry.

"And, next, we introduce the young challenger to the Ultimate King. Sakaki Yuya!" Smiley said, gesturing to the other side of the field. A spotlight shone down on the spot, but it was empty.

"Where is he?" Yuzu said in puzzlement.

"He'll show up," Kazuki said, his brow furrowing. Where are you, Yuya?

"Did Sakaki Yuya run away?" one audience member wondered.

"He must have, just like his father," another one that was close to where Kazuki was standing said.

"Like father, like son, I guess," his companion added.

"Yuya is far braver than you think he is," Kazuki murmured to himself.

Yuzu cast a glance at him, having overheard his words, but she said nothing about that. She just smiled, nodded, and refocused her attention on the arena down below. "Just give him a minute. Yuya will show up," she said firmly.

"Hey, who's that?" At the sound of the audience member's exclamation, Kazuki turned to find someone dressed in a clown outfit had appeared behind Ishijima, dancing around and making funny faces.

Bewildered, Kazuki raised his eyebrows. What was Yuya doing?

The audience began shouting at Ishijima to turn around and, when he did, he frowned at the clown behind him. "Are you the brat of Sakaki Yusho?" he demanded.

Yuya bowed mockingly.

"Is that how you show respect to the Champion?" Ishijima demanded.

Yuya removed his mask. "I apologize for my rudeness," he said with a smile. "To make up for it, would you do me the honor of allowing me to duel you? I wonder how great of a duelist you are." His duel disk blazed to life revealing an orange-edged blade.

"Know your place. I will show you the skills of a pro!"

Yuya just smiled.

"Well, this is an unexpected turn of events. But everyone is ready! Let's begin!" Smiley declared and raised his hand as he began chanting, "Duelists locked in battle. Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters. They storm through the field. Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! Action..."

"Duel!" Yuya, Ishijima, and the audience shouted in unison as Smiley snapped his fingers and the holographic bubble containing the Action Cards shattered, sending the cards raining down.

The duel started off with Yuya and began with him summoning Entermate Discover Hippo, a pink hippo with a top hat on his head. Then, after zip-lining down to land on the hippo's back, he began running through the forest, challenging Ishijima to catch him if he could.

Ishijima wasn't happy with Yuya's words, or his actions, neither was Gongenzaka.

"He should face Ishijima proudly," Gongenzaka said, upset.

"I'm sure he has a plan," Kazuki said, though what that plan was, he couldn't figure that out just yet.

Ishijima went on the offensive and, with the effect of Feast of the Wild LV5, brought out Barbarian #2 and Barbarian #1 before quickly releasing them to bring out Barbarian King, a giant red-skinned orc-like warrior in dark purple armor wielding a giant mallet.

As Barbarian King went to attack Entermate Hippo, throwing aside several trees that got in its way, Yuya quickly used the Action Card Evasion to dodge the attack, somersaulting away from the club that swung at him.

Kazuki watched the ease with which Yuya grabbed the Action Card and pressed his lips together as he realized what was happening.

I think I might be starting to get, at least, an idea of what your plan is, Yuya, he thought.

"He can't win just by evading. He needs to fight," Gongenzaka exclaimed.

"He is. He is reinventing himself while fighting." At the sound of his mom's voice, Kazuki turned to find the tall, blonde woman with golden bangs standing just behind them.

"Mom?"

Sakaki Yoko smiled in greeting at Kazuki.

Back on the field, Yuya had just avoided Barbarian King's second attack, made because of the monster's effect, by using the Action Card Miracle, which halved the damage and prevented Entermate Discover Hippo's destruction. His Life Points were now at 2900, which was better than it could have been.

"What did you mean about Yuya reinventing himself?" Yuzu asked Yoko.

"Yuya spent the last three years behind the mask of a clown," Yoko explained. "Unlike Kazuki, who just went back into and remained in his shell and tried to ignore what others said about him and tried to avoid attracting anyone's attention, Yuya made fun of himself before letting others make fun of him."

She turned her attention to the duel and smiled as she added, "While Kazuki simply wants to make his father proud of him, Yuya wants to follow in his father's footsteps as an Entertainment Duelist. No matter what they both want, they both admire their father and have since they were little."

On the field, Yuya had just sacrificed Discover Hippo to bring out Odd-Eyes Dragon, a large bipedal red dragon with white armor plating around its chest and dichromatic eyes.

"The fun has only just begun!" Yuya shouted.

Kazuki smiled as his father's famous catchphrase left his brother's lips. It suited him.

Shuzo was cheering. "That's Yusho's catchphrase! My blood is burning with excitement. Way to go, Yuya! Hot-blooded!"

"You'd use the catchphrase of that coward?" Ishijima scoffed.

"Dad wasn't a coward. I will win this duel using the skills Dad taught me," Yuya declared with determination and proceeded to activate Wonder Balloon, and sent three Action Cards to the Cemetery to lower Barbarian King's Attack by 1000 times the number of cards he sent out with Wonder Balloon's effect. Barbarian King was completely engulfed by three large balloons. "It's Attack's 0 now!" Smiley exclaimed. "Yuya managed to turn the duel around with the clever use of Action Cards."

"So that's what your plan was," Kazuki said with a soft smile. "Nice going, Yuya."

When Yuya informed everyone of Odd-Eyes's effect, Kazuki knew that if the attack went through then Yuya would win. Odd-Eyes's effect would inflict damage equal to half of the original Attack of the monster that Odd-Eyes destroyed in battle. Ishijima, unfortunately, didn't look fazed.

Kazuki frowned. What do you have planned, Ishijima? he thought, since Ishijima had the look of someone who had something up his sleeve.

And have something up his sleeve, he did. When Yuya attacked, and everyone thought he'd won, Ishijima revealed that he'd grabbed the Action Card Miracle just in time, allowing him to remain in the game.

He then used a Trap, Barbarian Rage, to increase his monster's Attack by 2000 and, once Yuya ended his turn and Wonder Balloon's effect ended, Barbarian King's Attack jumped up to 5000. It roared and swung its mallet, destroying all the balloons that had engulfed it.

The tide turned against Yuya in Ishijima's next turn when he succeeded in destroying Yuya's Odd-Eyes Dragon. The resulting shockwave sent Yuya flying to the ground, hitting hard enough that Kazuki winced. Yuya's Life Points went down to 400 and Odd-Eyes Dragon, due to the Trap's other effect, was sent back to Yuya's hand. To make matters even worse, Ishijima restored all of his Life Points with the effect of Barbarian Magic.

"That's not good. Ishijima's back to where he started," Yuzu whispered.

Ishijima ended his turn with that, stating that Yuya was lucky because Barbarian King could only attack monsters twice. He then offered Yuya the chance to surrender and run away like his father.

"I will never run," Yuya shouted, but lowered his head, his hand gripping the pendant that hung around his neck. His posture clearly indicated that he didn't know what to do.

Kazuki rested his hand on the sapphire pendant around his neck when he felt it start to warm and glance down at it in puzzlement. He wasn't sure why it was warming.Odd…

"...zuki? Kazuki, are you okay?" At the sound of Yuzu's voice, Kazuki blinked, unsure of what just happened.

"Huh?" he said as his hand released the pendant.

"You spaced out for a moment there," Yuzu said.

"I did?" Did he blackout? He wasn't sure. He just remembered his pendant warming and then...what happened after that?

"Sorry," he added when he saw the worried look in Yuzu's blue eyes.

She gave him a small smile. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're okay now," she said and turned back to the duel, her brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Though I'm at a loss of what just happened."

"What do you mean?" Kazuki turned to the duel and was surprised that Yuya had two monsters hovering in columns of blue light on either side of his field, with the numbers 1 and 8 resting beneath each one. He also had three monsters on the field: Entermate Whip Viper, Entermate Sword Fish, and an upgraded version of Odd-Eyes Dragon. Odd-Eye Pendulum Dragon, according to the screen displaying the monster's name and stats.

And Yuya...Yuya looked so confident. His lips were curved into a smile and his eyes were filled with a determination that wasn't there earlier.

"Wait, how did this happen?" Kazuki added bewildered.

"You weren't paying attention?" Shuzo asked. "Yuya brought 'em out through use of a Pendulum Summon."

"Pendulum Summon?"

Shuzo nodded and returned his attention to the duel, looking excited at what looked to be the turning point for Yuya.

Yuzu studied Kazuki. "You really didn't see that?"

Kazuki shook his head. "I don't...remember seeing how those monsters came onto the field. The last thing I remember was that Yuya was about to start his turn and then you were asking if I was all right."

"It seems like you blacked out for some reason. Are you sure you're okay?" Yuzu asked.

"I'm fine now," Kazuki assured her. No matter how confused he was by what just happened, he was sure that he was all right now. While there was a slight gap in his memory, that was all that was wrong.

Yuya used of the effects of Whip Viper and Sword Fish, which decreased Barbarian King's to 500, then Timegazer Magician's Pendulum Effect to negate Ishijima's Trap, and Stargazer Magician's Pendulum Effect to negate the Action Card Ishijima had grabbed.

"Let's go, Odd-Eyes," Yuya declared as he stood confidently on top of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, his lips still in a wide grin. "With your dual-colored eyes, lay waste to all that you see! Spiral Strike Burst!" Odd-Eyes ran forward and leapt into the air, unleashing a dark red beam from its mouth. Barbarian King immediately raised his club to catch the attack.

"I will get you next turn," Ishijima said.

"Odd-Eyes' effect!" Yuya declared. "When it battles a Level 5 or higher monster, the battle damage is doubled! Reaction Force!" The orbs on Odd-Eyes' body glowed brightly as an orange flame engulfed the red stream. The double stream of fire slammed into and through Barbarian King, obliterating it and crashing into Ishijima. The duel champion was thrown backwards, crashing hard into the ground as his Life Points fell to zero.

Sakaki Yuya had won.

. . .

"So you have no idea how you did it?"

"No. I just remember wondering what I should do next and the next thing I knew, everyone was cheering and then Smiley asked me about that summoning method I used."

"Odd. I don't even remember seeing you summon those monsters. I think I might've blacked out for some reason."

"That's really odd." Yuya sighed as he leaned back against the wall and gazed up at the ceiling. "I even looked through my deck and most of my cards are different now."

"They are?"

He nodded. Most of his monster cards were now half orange and half green and had an extra effect.

Kazuki's brow furrowed. "I wish I could remember how you did this. Did rewatching the duel help you at all?"

"Not by much. I didn't really have enough time this morning to watch it all." Yuya pushed away from the wall and smiled. "But I guess I'll just have to try my best in my duel against Yuzu and hope it comes back to me. It's hard to believe there are so many new students wanting to attend You Show now."

"Yeah. This'll really help You Show, I think. And I know the principal's happy. He hasn't stopped hugging that new Real Solid Vision system and crying since this morning after Leo Corporation finished installing it."

Yuya laughed. That would be just like the principal. "Well, I'd better get out there," he said.

"Good luck. I hope it comes back to you."

Yeah, me too. Yuya decided to try to focus on the positive and began to try to remind himself of what happened during his duel against Strong Ishijima before he Pendulum Summoned; there had to be a clue somewhere in his memories that could indicate just how he'd done it.

He also went over what he'd seen in the recap of the duel but, as he'd told his brother, he hadn't been able to finish watching it before he had to head off to school. That recap might be the only way he could figure out how he'd Pendulum Summoned the first time but, until he could actually watch it fully, he would have to just go based off what he could remember and hope for the best. If he could figure out what he did during his duel against Yuzu then he wouldn't need to do that.

Focus, Yuya, he told himself as he made his way into the arena. I can definitely do this.

But he didn't.

He tried to remember and even tried to recreate his duel against Strong Ishijima by allowing Yuzu to actually attack him directly with Prodigy Mozart the Melodious Maestra in an attempt to put himself in a pinch. He'd been in a pinch when he Pendulum Summoned against Strong Ishijima, so he thought that could work again.

It hadn't, and Yuzu ended up winning that duel.

Facing the crowd of potential students who'd come to You Show to witness his Pendulum Summoning was hard, especially when he could see the disappointment in their eyes. The only ones who didn't look disappointment, though they were puzzled, were the two youngest students at You Show. The first was a small red haired girl named Ayu Ayukawa, and the second was a large blonde boy name Futoshi Harada.

"I have a question," one of the kids said. "During your duel, you mentioned Pendulum cards. What are those?"

"I don't know what they're actually called," Yuya admitted. "That's just the name I gave to them."

Yuzu glanced at him. "Can I see those cards?" she asked and, when Yuya nodded and handed her his deck, she frowned as she compared his cards to hers. "Your cards aren't the same as mine."

Kazuki peered at Yuya's deck from between him and Yuzu, causing both of them to jump in surprise. "You weren't kidding when you said they looked different now," he commented.

"Gees, Kazuki, would you stop sneaking up on us like that?" Yuzu exclaimed to which Kazuki smiled sheepishly.

"I swear you walk like a cat," Yuya muttered and, studying his cards, added, "I don't even know why they look different."

"If you're the only one with those cards then that isn't fair," the kid who'd asked the question said and, when Yuya turned to gaze at the crowd, he winced at the angry glares that he was receiving. "That's cheating. You cheated to win against Strong Ishijima 'cause you used cards that no one else can use."

"I didn't cheat," Yuya protested.

"The system wouldn't have registered the summon if it wasn't legal," Kazuki objected.

"He must've rigged the system somehow," another kid said with a sneer.

"That's stupid. You'd have to be a pretty talented hacker or a whiz at technology to be able to do something like that, and Yuya can't do that," Kazuki insisted, but it didn't seem as if anyone was listening to him.

"He's a coward, just like his dad," another kid snapped while the rest of the crowd were still directing glares at Yuya before they turned and started to leave.

"Don't compare him to Dad! He's no coward!" But, once again, Kazuki was ignored.

Yuya lowered his head, feeling downcast at his inability to Pendulum Summon again and being accused of cheating since, in a way, he had because no one else had those cards. He lowered his goggles to cover his eyes.

"Yuya..." Yuzu murmured.

"Don't listen to them, Yuya. They're wrong. You didn't cheat," Kazuki said.

Yuya didn't respond.

"Big Bro Yuya isn't a cheater!" At the shout, Yuya, Kazuki, and Yuzu turned to find the blue-haired boy that Yuya recognized as being part of the study group that came to You Show often was standing there, glaring at the crowd. "He won against Strong Ishijima fair and square! I believe in Big Bro Yuya. I know he beat Strong Ishijima with the Pendulum Summon!"

The crowd ignored the boy's words and just left, trampling Shuzo who was trying to convince them to stay.

Gongenzaka appeared behind the blue-haired boy and rested his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Doesn't it frustrate you that your first fan has to say something like that?" he said with a frown at Yuya.

"First fan?" Yuya repeated.

"That's Yamashiro Tatsuya," Yuzu explained. "He comes by often with his study group."

Ayu nodded and beamed at Yuya. "He's been your fan since you beat Strong Ishijima, Big Bro Yuya!" she said. "You were awesome in that duel!"

"That duel gave me the shivers!" Futoshi exclaimed.

Tatsuya nodded. "You were amazing, Big Bro Yuya, dueling in front of everyone like that and bringing everyone together with that single duel. Someday, I wanna have a duel just like yours!" he said with bright, excited purplish-gray eyes.

Kazuki nudged Yuya and, when he glanced at him, the white-and-blue haired boy gave him an encouraging half-smile. "Are you gonna let one of your fans down by giving up right away?" he said.

"But I don't even remember how I did it," Yuya reminded his brother.

"So? That shouldn't stop you from trying and moving forward."

"And you reinvented yourself in that duel, Yuya," Gongenzaka said firmly. "Now I know you'll never run."

Yuya smiled at his friend and brother and nodded, removing his goggles from his eyes. "You're right, both of you," he said. "I'm not gonna give up! I'll figure out how to Pendulum Summon again and I will master it! Yuzu, Gongenzaka, Kazuki, let's duel!"

Yuzu smiled. "Yuya...Right!" she said, her eyes set in determination.

"Let's do it," Kazuki said eagerly.

"I, the man Gongenzaka, accept your challenge," Gongenzaka said firmly.

Yuya grinned. His brother and his best friends were the greatest.

. . .

"Sway, Pendulum of the Soul. Draw your arc of light across the ether. Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!" As the words left Yuya's mouth while the pendulum swayed between the two columns of blue light in which were Timegazer Magician and Stargazer Magician, three blasts of light shot downward and crashed into the ground, revealing two Entermate monsters, Whip Viper and Kaleido Scorpion, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.

"Congrats, Yuya. After 271 times, you've finally done it," Gongenzaka said, looking like he was about to start crying while Yuya smiled tiredly.

"And now you look like you're about ready to fall asleep where you're standing," Kazuki said through the intercom. For the past few days since Fan Appreciation Day, Kazuki and Gongenzaka, and Yuzu whenever she could, had been dueling Yuya in an attempt to help him remember how to Pendulum Summon. After several duels, and rewatching his duel against Strong Ishijima, Yuya had finally remembered how to do it.

Yuya yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Yuzu's not gonna be happy if you fall asleep in class tomorrow. Let's go home," Kazuki said.

Yuya yawned again but nodded and shut off his duel disk. "Thanks again, Gongenzaka."

"You are welcome, Yuya," Gongenzaka said as he also deactivated his duel disk while Kazuki shut down the Real Solid Vision system and made his way to the elevator.

After saying bye to Gongenzaka, Yuya and Kazuki began the trek home. Even though it was still light out, the sun was starting to set, so they had left at a good time. Their mother didn't like it when they were out after dark; even if Maiami City was pretty safe at night, she still felt better if they were home once it was dark.

Yuya was exhausted, though, but Kazuki knew that was only because of how often he had dueled today. Even though he knew that Yuya was proud of himself, and Kazuki was proud of him, for finally getting Pendulum Summoning down, it had taken a lot out of him.

"I'm glad I finally got it down," Yuya said around another yawn.

Kazuki smiled at his brother. It was nice of Yuya to have finally gotten the hang of Pendulum Summoning. It wasn't as if he was jealous and, while he would like to learn how to Pendulum Summon, he was fine without the method he was teaching himself for now.

Briefly, he wondered if Yuya would always be the only one who could Pendulum Summon. He suspected that if that was the case then Yuya would still get several people claiming that his access to Pendulum Summoning was giving him an unfair advantage. It wasn't cheating, no matter what those people said, but Kazuki supposed it did give him a bit of an unfair advantage.

"I wonder what would happen if others learned how to Pendulum Summon," Kazuki said. "It'd be nice to be the one to create this summoning method and have it become mainstream like Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz, don't you think?"

Yuya's brow furrowed. "But they'd need Pendulum cards in order to do it, and I'm the only one who has them," he pointed out, sounding almost disappointed at the thought of the summoning method becoming commonplace.

"If everyone had Pendulum cards, it'd be nice. At least, I think so," Kazuki said just as his duel disk began ringing and he pulled it out. "Hello?"

"Kazuki, where are you and Yuya?" Yoko's voice said through the phone that was incorporated within Kazuki's duel disk.

"We're about five minutes away, Mom," Kazuki said.

"Dinner's on the table when you get home," Yoko said.

"All right. Thanks."

"How did it go?"

Kazuki smiled at his distracted brother in pride. "Yuya finally managed to do it. He Pendulum Summoned again," he said.

"That's good news!"

"Definitely. I'm proud of him."

Yuya glanced at him at that and gave him a small smile that Kazuki returned.

"So am I. I will see you soon. Be safe."

"We will, Mom. See you in a bit." Kazuki hung up and returned his duel disk to its holster on his belt and glanced at Yuya. "Mom's got dinner ready. I dunno about you, but I'm hungry."

Yuya's stomach growled at that moment and his cheeks reddened. "Well, we did have a very light lunch," he said and the two began jogging toward their house.

. . .

Kazuki wondered if he could borrow Yuzu's harisen and smack Sawatari Shingo with it. The day had started off well, just with Yuya getting a paper fan of doom to the back of the head because he fell asleep in class, and then they met Sawatari Shingo when he shot three sucker-tipped darts into Yuya's face. That was when the day started to go downhill.

Sawatari told them that he wanted to check out Yuya's Pendulum Summoning and managed to convince them to have that demonstration at LDS's Center Court.

While Kazuki had gotten a bad feeling about Sawatari's offer, and Yuzu insisted that they could have done that demonstration at You Show—which Kazuki also agreed with—Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya were convinced and managed to convince Yuzu and Kazuki as well.

And, now that they were there, Kazuki really wished he'd listened to his gut.

How low can that bastard sink? he thought in fury, clenching his hands into fists and glaring down at Sawatari, who was still gloating about the Pendulum cards he'd stolen from Yuya, the cards that he now claimed were his.

To make matters worse, he'd had his cronies grab Yuzu, Ayu, Futoshi, and Kazuki as well and force them onto the top of one of the tallest towers in the Action Field Prison Tower of Darktown, and then challenged Yuya to a duel while also giving him many cards that he called trash. Kazuki, personally, believed that no card was trash and he knew Yuya felt the same way. To prove that, Yuya had gathered the cards together carefully to avoid ripping them and slipped one into his deck.

Yuya did accept the duel, though. Kazuki was sure it was because he didn't really have a choice—Sawatari said that Yuya couldn't get Kazuki, Yuzu, and the kids back until after the duel—and he knew that distraction would hinder Yuya if he wasn't careful.

"Coward," Yuzu growled, glaring at Sawatari.

"I'll say," Kazuki thought in irritation, watching as the duel between Sawatari and Yuya began. "Yuya's gonna be distracted because he's going to be trying to get to us. I guess the only thing we can do is cheer him on and assure him that we're all right."

"Right. We can't do much else unless we can find a way down from this place," Yuzu said, scanning the tower and the chains that were encircling it. "And I don't see any ways down."

"Wonderful." Sawatari definitely deserved a smack from Yuzu's harisen.

Just as Kazuki expected, Yuya was a bit more focused on reaching Kazuki, Yuzu, and the three kids than on the duel itself. He summoned and used Whip Viper to make his way across the field toward the tower.

Sawatari, who was riding on top of the Lightning Board that he'd just summoned, easily kept pace with Yuya, forcing Yuya to divide his attention between them and the duel.

Kazuki hoped that Yuya would focus more on the duel itself; it wasn't as if he, Yuzu, and the kids were in danger.

Naturally, he had to jinx it but, then, how was he to know that this Action Field was filled with Action Traps as opposed to Action Magic Cards?

He winced as Yuya not only lost Whip Viper, but also some of his Life Points. And then the tower he, Yuzu, Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya were on just happened to be on the receiving end of the resulting explosion, causing it to start leaning. Kazuki decided then and there that he was going to punch Sawatari in the face for this as he dived forward to catch Ayu's hand when the little red-haired girl went sliding off the edge of the tower with a scream. Futoshi was in a similar predicament but, thankfully, Yuzu managed to grab his hand before he could fall.

Ayu was trembling as she clung onto Kazuki's hand while Kazuki held tightly onto the chain next to him. "Big Bro Kazuki, I'm scared," she whimpered.

"It's okay," Kazuki said. "I've got you. I've got you."

Ayu whimpered but nodded slowly and tightened her grip.

"Yuzu?" Kazuki said, turning to the pink-haired girl.

"I've got him," Yuzu assured him as she curled her arm around the chain while tightening her grip on Futoshi's hand while Tatsuya had his arms wrapped around her waist in an attempt to keep himself from falling off as well.

Yuzu glared at Sawatari, who didn't seem to care about the predicament the five of them had ended up in as a result of Yuya's most recent turn; even if it wasn't Sawatari's fault, it wasn't Yuya's either. How was Yuya to know that the Action Field held primarily Action Trap Cards? It wasn't as if Sawatari deemed it important enough to let his opponent know of that little fact until afterwards.

Unfortunately, due to accidentally activating two Action Traps, Yuya became wary of using any of the Action Cards he came across, forcing him to rely on his own cards. While that wasn't that big of a deal, and Kazuki was confident that Yuya could win without using Action Cards, he also knew that the predicament he, Yuzu, and the kids were in was distracting Yuya even more than before.

"I don't wanna fall!" Futoshi cried.

Ayu was sobbing again.

"It's okay. Don't cry," Kazuki reassured the little girl while Yuzu was trying to calm Futoshi down by reminding him that boys didn't cry and that Yuya wasn't crying. "You've gotta be strong, Ayu-chan. Everything will be okay. Yuya'll get us out of this mess. I'm sure of it. Don't give up."

Ayu gazed at him with large teary eyes, but nodded slowly. "O...Okay," she stammered out.

"Don't worry, you guys!" Yuya shouted at them from down below, his words just barely reaching them. "I'll save you!"

"See?" Kazuki said, completely ignoring Sawatari's mocking response to Yuya's statement. "Yuya'll come and rescue us."

Yuzu nodded in agreement, her face set in determination. "Yes, he will," she said firmly. "Beat this second-rate duelist, Yuya!"

"Third rate is more like it," Kazuki said.

"Hundredth rate, now that I think about it," Yuzu amended.

"Thousandth rate would be better," Kazuki commented casually.

Yuzu grinned. "Okay, I'll agree with that one. Sawatari's a thousandth rate duelist," she said and glanced down at Futoshi and Ayu and gave them a reassuring smile. "Yuya will never lose to a thousandth rate duelist."

Ayu and Futoshi swallowed their fear and nodded, and Kazuki was relieved to see their fear slowly fading from their eyes to be replaced by determination. They believed in Yuya, just as Kazuki and Yuzu believed in him.

But then Sawatari, releasing Lightning Board to activate the effect of Release Trade and add a monster card with a Level that was one higher than Lightning Board, added Stargazer Magician to his hand. The arrogant look on his face and the way he was grinning caused Kazuki to frown.

"He can't do a Pendulum Summon with only one of Yuya's Pendulum cards," Yuzu said with a frown.

"His stance is suggesting confidence. He has the other Pendulum card in his hand. I'm sure of it," Kazuki said.

Yuzu didn't argue. Kazuki had always been pretty good at reading others. Most duelists were capable of reading others; it helped them to grow as a duelist since reading others helped to develop strategies. The more one knew about someone, the better they could predict their moves.

Kazuki was proven correct a few moments later when Sawatari proceeded to use Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician to Pendulum Summon Power Darts Shooter, Rocket Darts Shooter, and Ultimate Darts Shooter, all in Attack Position.

"Pendulum Summoning is amazing," Sawatari exclaimed and began laughing while Yuya looked to have gone into shock, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape.

"He Pendulum Summoned?" Tatsuya gasped in disbelief.

"Yuya..." Yuzu whispered.

. . .

Off in the shadows of the stadium, Shuinin Sora watched the duel while licking the lollipop in his hand. He could tell that the boy Sakaki Yuya was in a bit of a tough predicament; not only had that other kid, Sawatari, managed to bring out three powerful monsters at once, but Yuya was out of monsters. It wasn't long before Sawatari, using the three monsters he Pendulum Summoned, knocked Yuya down to his last 600 Life Points.

He hummed to himself. It was an interesting duel. That was for sure. Sawatari seemed to be an okay duelist, though Sora felt that stealing someone else's cards as Sawatari had done was what prevented him from becoming more than an okay duelist. Even for someone like Sora, who grew up in the harsh environment of Academia, that was one thing that they never did; they relied on their skills and, while they did get ruthless in their duels and they did some morally questionable actions, even they didn't stoop so low as to steal another duelist's cards.

At least, Sora had never done that and none of the duelists he'd fought had ever stooped that low.

Sora licked his lollipop. He had considered on attending LDS for the sole purpose of continuing his mission, but he was starting to wonder if it was worth it. It wasn't as if he'd been ordered to attend LDS; he'd only been ordered to find information and keep an eye on this dimension for the time being, but he had thought it would be best to join LDS because it was rumored to be the best school in this dimension.

Sakaki Yuya began his turn, imbued with a confidence that made Sora wonder just what had gone on in his mind while he was trying to regain his bearings after such a devastating attack. Yuya proceeded to create an Attack Lock using Block Spider and a Magic Card known as Mimiclay that duplicated Block Spider's effect and summoned itself as a monster with that effect. That prevented Sawatari from attacking and Sora whistled. Using two seemingly useless monsters to stop Sawatari's attacks like that. Not bad,he thought.

He was only marginally surprised when Sawatari countered through use of a Magic Card that negated the effect of one of Yuya's cards, by negating two Magic Cards he controlled, and he discovered something interesting about Pendulum cards. They were treated as Magic Cards when they were in that special zone.

Interesting. So Sawatari took advantage of that little fact to negate Yuya's Mimiclay and break the attack lock that Yuya set up, Sora realized.

Yuya wasn't done yet, though. As Sora leaned against the wall, almost finished with the lollipop in his hand, Yuya boosted Block Spider's Defense so that it equaled Ultimate Darts Shooter's Attack.

"Sawatari looks too confident," Sora murmured upon seeing Sawatari fake being upset about it and then revealing that he hadn't really been bothered at all. Sora had figured that out and also figured that Sawatari had a plan.

He was right.

Sawatari released Power Darts Shooter and Rocket Darts Shooter to activate their effects; the first increased the Attack of Ultimate Darts Shooter by 600 while the latter allowed Ultimate Darts Shooter to inflict piercing damage.

If Ultimate Darts Shooter's attack connects, Yuya's done for,Sora thought, but hummed, raising an eyebrow when he noticed that Yuya seemed absolutely unfazed by Sawatari's move. In fact, Sora was positive the other boy was smiling right before the darts Ultimate Darts Shooter shot at him crashed into him, and the bridge behind him.

Sora winced when he saw the five individuals that had been on top of the tower fall; the little-red haired girl was screaming while the white-and-blue-haired tried desperately to hold on to her even as he fell. The pink-haired girl lost her grip on the blonde boy but she and the blue-haired boy at her side also fell as the tower fell.

If those two hit the ground then that was likely to be very bad, and Sora was sure that was an understatement.

"I activate Empty Fishing!" Yuya declared, revealing the facedown on his field that Sora only just remembered was there from the previous turn. "With this, I can halve the battle damage and add two cards with their effects negated to my hand! I'm adding Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician! Help them, Stargazer and Timegazer!"

The columns of blue light shattered as Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician, regaining their full forms now that they were no longer restrained by Sawatari's Magic Card, shot forward.

Timegazer Magician caught the blue-haired boy and the blonde boy while Stargazer Magician managed to catch the pink-haired girl and the white-and-blue haired boy who was cradling the terrified red-haired girl close to him.

"Not bad. Not only did he get his Pendulum cards back, but he also saved his friends," Sora mused and licked his lollipop. "Now can you make a comeback from this, I wonder? I really am quite interested in seeing how this duel ends."

. . .

"Thank you," Yuya said to Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician as they gently deposited Yuzu, Kazuki, who was still holding a trembling Ayu in his arms, Tatsuya, and Futoshi on the ground behind him. Ayu's trembles died down and she shyly thanked Stargazer Magician who nodded before vanishing as Yuya turned and caught the cards that an irritated Sawatari threw at him.

He was glad that he had put his faith in the cards he had set the previous turn. He had hoped that Sawatari would do something that would allow him to use Empty Fishing to not only keep himself in the duel, but also rescue his brother and his friends. Having Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician back in his hands also made him happy; even if he was still upset that someone as horrible as Sawatari could use Pendulum Summoning, he was glad that he'd gotten them back.

"Did you plan for all of this to happen?" Sawatari demanded.

"No. I just believed," Yuya answered honestly.

Sawatari scowled. "I activate Ultimate Darts Shooter's effect and Special Summon the Released monsters at the end of my turn," he said and Power Darts Shooter and Rocket Darts Shooter returned to the field before Sawatari added, "I'll just crush you next time."

"There's three of them again," Tatsuya gasped.

Yuya smiled at them, not really bothered by the appearance of three powerful monsters on Sawatari's side of the field. "I'm sorry for putting you guys through that."

"Don't worry about it, Yuya," Kazuki said. "I knew you'd get us down from there."

"I always believed, too," Tatsuya said with a firm nod.

"That was so thrilling, it gave me the shivers!" Futoshi exclaimed.

"It's time for a comeback, Yuya," Yuzu said, clenching her fist in determination.

"Yeah, go get him," Ayu said, determination in her eyes.

Kazuki ruffled Ayu's hair. "You okay to get down now?" he asked.

Ayu nodded and Kazuki gently put the small girl on the ground.

Yuya smiled at all of them before facing Sawatari again. "My move," he said and drew a card. He grinned when he saw the card that he'd drawn: Entermate Turn Toad. "The fun has only just begun!"

Futoshi cheered. "It's finally starting," he exclaimed.

"Pendulum! Pendulum!" Yuzu started chanting and it wasn't long before Kazuki, Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya started chanting alongside her while the lights went off.

The lights came back on and Yuya, standing on the bridge, spread his arms out. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" he declared as a spotlight trained on him. "Today, I've prepared a fantastic light show for you. But, first, we can't Pendulum Summon without these." He held up Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician in his hands before he declared, "With the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale!"

In a flash, two columns of blue light appeared on either side of Yuya with Stargazer Magician floating in one with a cursive 1 below him and Timegazer Magician floated in the other with a cursive 8 below him.

"With this, I can now summon multiple monsters from the Levels 2 to 7. Sway, Pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!"

In three bursts of light that streaked down from the swaying pendulum that swung between the two columns, three monsters emerged on the field. First was Entermate Turn Toad, a green toad wearing a top hat, next was Entermate Kaleido Scorpion, a scorpion with two shields on which were orange stars on its front appendages, and, appearing last, was Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, the beautiful red dragon clad in white armor with long white horns jutting out of its head and dichromatic eyes, one was green while the other was red.

"Awesome!" Tatsuya exclaimed.

"That was perfect, Big Bro Yuya!" Ayu cheered.

"Nice job, Bro," Kazuki said with a smile.

Sawatari scoffed. "You summoned a Level 6 monster with only 100 Attack and a monster with 0 Attack. You just summoned a bunch of garbage onto the field," he said with a sneer.

"Kaleido Scorpion has a rather ferocious effect," Yuya said, that smile remaining on his lips, and he glanced at his audience as he added, "What's gonna happen next may be bright, but don't close your eyes! You don't want to miss the show! I activate Kaleido Scorpion's effect! Kaleido Light!" Kaleidoscopic images shined in the sky as Kaleido Scorpion shot a beam of light toward Ultimate Darts Shooter, who began to glow blue.

"You see, everyone," Yuya said. "When there is a Pendulum Summoned monster on my opponent's field, this effect activates."

"Ultimate Darts Shooter, right? So what?" Sawatari said.

Yuya placed a hand on Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's side. "Now I can choose a Pendulum Summoned monster of my own!" A yellow light covered Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and both Rockets Darts Shooter and Power Darts Shooter lit up before beams of light shot off from them and formed into a blue and red versions of Odd-Eyes. "It's amazing! My selected monster can now attack all monsters you control once each! It's the fabulous Kaleido Mirage!"

Each copy of Odd-Eyes flew into the sky and Ayu gasped.

"It's so pretty," she whispered.

"I'd like to enjoy the view myself but I'm dueling right now. How about I show my flight of Odd-Eyes battle?" Yuya said with a grin and pointed. "Battle! I attack Ultimate Darts Shooter with my red Odd-Eyes!"

As the red Odd-Eyes shot toward Ultimate Darts Shooter, Yuya glanced at his audience. "Now then, what happens when Odd-Eyes battles a Level 5 or higher monster?"

"All battle damage is doubled!" Tatsuya said right away.

"You're correct! So I'll have Sawatari take that double damage!"

"Double?" Sawatari repeated and yelped when the red mirage crashed into Ultimate Darts Shooter, destroying it and reducing Sawatari's Life Points to 3800. The force of the shockwave threw Sawatari off the harbor and into the water.

"Now then, my blue Odd-Eyes attacks Rocket Darts Shooter!" Yuya declared.

Sawatari scrambled out of the water and got quickly to his feet, darting off as the blue mirage crashed into Rocket Darts Shooter.

"And the battle damage is doubled!" Yuya shouted and Sawatari yelped again as he was thrown off his feet and his Life Points fell to 2600.

"Now, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Power Darts Shooter!" Yuya declared, pointing at Power Darts Shooter. "Spiral Strike Burst!"

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon roared and unleashed a powerful blast of red energy that spiraled toward Sawatari's last monster.

"And the damage will be..." Yuya began.

"Doubled!" his brother and friends shouted.

"Of course it is!" Sawatari exclaimed as he dodged the attack, even as his monster exploded and his Life Points fell to 1200.

"You're getting pretty ahead of yourself," he said.

"He still has Life Points left," Futoshi said.

"And Yuya's monsters can't attack anymore," Tatsuya agreed.

"It's all right," Yuzu said.

"Yeah, just look at Yuya's face," Kazuki added.

Yuya was still smiling. He knew he had this duel won. He raised his hands and stated, "Now it's time to introduce the stars of today's show! Block Spider and Entermate Turn Toad!"

"They're just a zero Attack monster and a Defense position monster! How can they do anything to beat me?" Sawatari said with a sneer.

"You're right that they won't be able to attack now," Yuya said, still smiling.

Sawatari sighed in relief.

"But worry not!" Yuya declared, completely ignoring Sawatari's growl of annoyance. "Entermate Turn Toad can turn something around." Turn Toad turned Block Spider's shadow on him and Block Spider was switched to Attack Position while his Attack rose up to 1200. "You see, Turn Toad can switch a monster to Attack Position and its Attack becomes half of its Defense."

"This can't be!" Sawatari exclaimed.

"Everyone, do you know what we will get when the 1200 Attack Block Spider attacks Sawatari's 1200 Life Points directly?" Yuya asked his audience.

"Of course we do," his audience shouted at once.

"Then let's do so. Everyone, let's attack directly with Block Spider!" Block Spider shot forward toward Sawatari as Yuya added with a grin, "And the answer is…?"

"Zero!" The three kids, Kazuki, and Yuzu all cheered at once, watching as Block Spider tackled Sawatari to the ground and knocked out the rest of his Life Points. Spider webs flickered into the sky like fireworks, being the last sight the audience saw before the action field vanished.

Sawatari scrambled to his feet, scowling and glowering at Yuya. "If it's come to this then I'll just take the cards by force! Go and get them!" he shouted to his lackeys.

They started forward when, suddenly, a blur of blue shot between them and they all dropped, unconscious, with Sawatari quickly joining them. Standing in the middle of the group of unconscious students was a short boy with cyan-colored hair in a thick ponytail that spiked upward and bright green eyes. "They were uncool 'till the end," he noted as a lollipop stick rolled on the ground.

Yuya stared, unable to comprehend what just happened for a moment.

"You were really cool back there, though," the boy said with a grin.

"Are you an LDS student, too?" Yuya asked once he pulled himself from his shock.

"I was planning to be, but not now. I'm gonna be your apprentice now," the boy said with a grin.

"Wait, what?" Kazuki said while everyone else just stared at the cyan-haired boy in puzzlement.

"If I'm gonna have a teacher, then I might as well pick someone interesting and Yuya's the most interesting person that I've seen so far since I got here," the boy said.

"Um, did you do that?" Yuzu asked, pointing at the unconscious kids.

"Ah, don't worry. I just knocked 'em out," the boy said with a shrug and then held out a hand. "I'm Sora by the way, Shuinin Sora! It's nice to meet you, Yuya."

Yuya blinked. "Nice to meet you," he said, shaking the boy's hand even as the confusion remained.

. . .

Next Time: The Masked Shadows

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: before you get on my case for starting a new story after I have so many stories unfinished (that is primarily because I'm stuck on all of them, which is irritating), I've been wanting to write an ARC-V story for ages! And, after that rather...lackluster—and, personally speaking, very disappointing—ending to the actual anime, I decided that I would write my own version with many changes.

Yuya: what changes?

Blaze: First of all, I have four very important OCs, with the one that's introduced in this chapter being the deuteragonist (that is second main character) of this story, who each have original decks (decks created by my amazing beta-reader/co-author Misha [EndlessNight025]). You will see one of those decks make its debut in the next chapter.

Bakura: Second of all, unlike in White Radiance, any canon duel in this story that is not changed will not be written out in full; it will be written more like a recap of the duel as is seen in this chapter.

Blaze: Third of all, the history leading up to the splitting of the dimensions is changed and will be explored in this story and in a prequel that I will begin writing once I get through the Synchro Arc of this story.

Bakura: Fourth of all, Blaze will be exploring perspectives quite a bit in this story, meaning that characters who really didn't get much screen-time (coughYutocough), will get more screen-time. She just figures that it will make the story more interesting if it's seen through multiple perspectives, rather than just a few perspectives.

Blaze: Hmm, I can't think of any other notes right now. I have no doubt I'm forgetting something though so, as usual when this happens, I'll just mention it in a later chapter when I do remember it. Anyway, even though this chapter was primarily a recap chapter that introduces the first of my four OCs, and the deuteragonist of this story, I do hope that you enjoyed it. More original stuff is on the way! Reviews, as always, are much appreciated and the next chapter will be out sometime next week...I hope.