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sasuhinasno1fan · 3 years

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Proof of your sunny smile -Adrien AUG-reste Day 12

As my last submission for @adrienaugust and to celebrate the @lukadrienvault discord reopening, I wrote a fic on one of the AUs we came up with Yu-Gi-Oh au, with King of Games!Luka and CEO!Adrien, except he’s only like Kaiba with people he doesn’t repect. Anyway, this was this random headcannon I came up with turned story, so I hope you enjoy. Photographs

Adrien yawned. He was beyond tired. Trying to create a Duel Disk and plan a duelling tournament, one that way more elaborate than Duellist Kingdom, not to mention the dreams he’d been having took so much out of him. Adrien wasn’t the type to just hear an order and go follow it. He’d raise an eyebrow and ask the person if they wanted to try that statement again. But after seeing that Miraculous on TV while they talked about the new Egyptian display at the Louver, Adrien had to find them. with a new card and instructions, Adrien snapped to it, working to find the other holders of these God cards. Also realising that skilled Duellist has Miraculous with them, it made sense to invite the top duellist to participate. He hadn’t thought about how much work went into it though. His other tournaments were never this hard to pull off.

He’d been close to falling asleep at his desk when Luka called. Well, Sass actually. The spirit of the Snake Miraculous always spoke with a lower register in Luka’s voice. He’d asked if they could meet and it wasn’t until they hung up, Adrien realised he hadn’t told any of the other holders about this strange person and the God card he now had. He knew he should of. The hieroglyphic picture had Plagg and two others on it, two others who had to be Sass and Tikki. With Sass’ limited memory, they were all looking for answers.

So here he was, sitting in the back of one of his cars, waiting for Sass to show up. He wondered what Luka thought about Sass borrowing his body for the day as he pulled his overcoat off his shoulders. He’d put his usually white trench coat to the side for today after Rose insisted on dressing him. He probably should have said no to the sleeveless black shirt with ankh on it, since it was small and tended to ride up, but with him winning the fight for white slacks and black dress shoes, Rose hadn’t given up. He was sure Sass would enjoy it. Plagg hadn’t given him any comment, which was odd. It wasn’t like him to be so silent.

“Sir.” His driver called. “he’s arrived.”

Looking out the window, he saw Sass pull up on Luka’s bike. Or maybe that was Luka, he was so protective of his bike. While Adrien felt uncomfortable with his stomach on show, Luka clearly didn’t mind with his asymmetrically ripped shirt. The leather jacket was different from his normal one he wore when not chilling in his school uniform, but it looked innocent when compared to the cross garter traveling up one leg. Adrien wasn’t afraid to admit Luka was good-looking. Even though he wore enough leather and dark colours for people to consider him a goth, he was still one of the kindest people Adrien ever met. The green bracelet shone brightly against the black wristbands on his outfit.

“I’ll call you when we’re done.” He said, climbing out of the car, phone in one hand, his coat in the other. As he climbed up the steps, he realised that Luka or Sass seemed to be arguing with the other. Luka’s eyes were their normal blue – they were usually teal green when Sass was in charge – and he seemed annoyed, even taking to speak directly to the Snake Miraculous. “Everything ok?”

“Adrien?” Luka sounded confused at the sight of him.

“Hey.”

“Sass called you last night?”

Nodding his head and surprised that Sass had kept Luka in the dark about it – as far as he knew, they only ever did that against Myura – Adrien replied, “He called me last night and asked if we could meet up. I take it you didn’t know?”

“No, he just asked if he could have control for a little while, bugged me for advice for dressing up and then drove my bike over here. Though, that explains why he asked me to check something in his Soul Room last night by myself. He doesn’t like me doing that with all the traps he has.”

“Oh.” That was odd. Sass wasn’t devious by nature. “Um, well I guess this works out. I need to tell you about something. Have been for a while but I’ve been really busy.”

“So Rose says.” At his raised eyebrow, Luka explained. “Your sister came by the hospital to hang out with Juleka and she mentioned you’ve been really busy. Making a Duelling Disk? Don’t you already have one?”

“This one is better and will actually be for sale. No more only having four cards out and using and extra device to make the holograms. Well sorta, this device will place the hologram makers out for you and you’re not limited to the 5 cards and having to hide behind the cards. Since I made that to deal with Myura, I took it out so you hold your cards in the hand with the Disk and play with the other. It also gets rid of the extra rules made by the prototype and works like a normal duelling field. It’ll shuffle your cards for you, the attacks of duel monsters look more real. And I’ve also made it compatible for duelling arenas and-” Adrien cut himself off when he realised, he was rambling and Luka was smiling at him. “What?”

“Nothing. Sounds like you’ve been busy. Why the sudden urge to work though? I thought you said after that virtual reality event, you’d take it easy.”

“I was gonna, but then a news report changed everything.”

After Luka let him sit on his bike, leaning against it as well, Adrien explained everything, about meeting the Cesear person, who had a Miraculous, the things in the new Egyptian exhibit that had Sass, Plagg and Tikki featured front and centre and the God card he’d been given, how it nearly overloaded the system when played. As if more powerful than just life points. How he was told that others had these God cards and Adrien’s own hypothesis about strong duellist having a Miraculous.

“So you’ve been planning this whole event?”

“Basically we get the God cards in one place and then we can find out more about Sass’ past. It’s a long shot and placing a lot on one thing, but if these cards, if these people are connected, how can I not? Maybe if we go to the museum, we can find them.” he thought out loud, mind already going a mile a minute.

“Adrien, have you gotten much sleep lately?” Luka asked randomly.

“Sort of. A lot of late nights, but I’m used to that.”

“Ok, off.” Luke ordered, pulling his extra helmet out. “Put this on. We’re going down to the arcades.”

“Arcades? Why? I thought we were going to the museum.”

“Because now I know why Sass planned this. Adrien, you’ve been over working yourself. I want to find out more about Sass too but not at this expense. So we’re going to the arcade so you can easily beat the games, maybe duel a couple of kids and you’re going to relax. Then maybe, we can go to the museum.”

Adrien opened his mouth to argue, but Luka gave him that look at told him to try arguing. He gave that look to Juleka and his friends and even though Adrien was used to giving that look to Rose, he was not enjoying being on the receiving end of it. God knows Luka had more than enough practise with it.

“Fine.”

“Good. Now put your helmet on. I like your shirt by the way. Very fitting.”

“You can thank Rose. She thought Sass might like it.”

Luka’s lip twitched. “He does.”

____________________

Adrien probably should feel bad about the crying kid in front of him, but seeing how they insulted him for the duration of the duel plus 10 minutes before, since Adrien didn’t love being insulted without reason, he didn’t feel too bad. Plus Luka seemed to be hiding his laughter, so he felt justified.

“How long was that? 20 minutes?” Adrien asked, scooping up his cards.

“17 but close enough. I’m surprised you didn’t insult him back when you played Chat Noir.”

“Please, could have beaten him without Chat Noir.” Adrien said, looking at his ace card and checking to see if it been bent when he threw it down, ready to end the duel. “God, I hope the duellist at Battle City are better than this.”

“So you’ll be competing? That mean I get a chance to go up against you?”

“As long as you’re willing to part with your Viperion. I’ll have nothing to risk so I won’t be pulling any tricks like last time.”

He didn’t love that he’d threatened Luka with falling off that ledge the last time the duelled, but he needed to get inside the castle to get his sister and nothing would stop him.

“Looking forward to it. Maybe Rose can stay with Juleka. Her surgery is coming up soon.”

“I planned on having Rose on security but I’m sure she’ll leave a few times to check up on her. What are looking forward to most after her surgery?” Adrien asked as he put his cards away and they strolled through the arcade.

“I guess knowing she’s not going blind is one thing. taking pictures for another. She has this thing against being photographed. Said she didn’t want to see herself when she was gonna forget what she looked like soon enough. I’ve had to stop myself from just filling her room with all the pictures of us, scared she’d forget what I looked like if she didn’t get the surgery. Now all I want to do is take tons of pictures so she can see herself getting better.”

The blonde CEO smiled to himself at all the plans the King of Games had for his sister when he saw a photobooth and thought of an idea.

“How about we take some now?” he asked, pointing to the photobooth. He let out a squeak when Luka grabbed his arm and pulled him towards it. “Didn’t know you’d be so excited.”

“I feel like I’ve never seen you smile in pictures. All those interview pics you have make you seem so serious. Rose has like one photo on her phone of you smiling.”

“I smile all the time.”

“But now I’ll have proof of it.”

Adrien rolled his eye but didn’t say anything as he sat on the bench and let Luka choose the boarder.

“Ok,” Luka said, tossing his arm over Adrien’s shoulder, “now give us a big smile!” he asked, pinching Adrien’s cheek.

The flash went off before Adrien could pull his hand off, though he got him back by messing with his hair in the next picture. They came to a truce by the third picture and for the fourth, they both gave the camera big smiles.

Adrien enjoyed writing King of Games over Luka’s head in each picture while the said King painted cat ears over his blonde hair.

“Can’t let everyone forget your ace card.”

“I don’t think they possibly could, seeing how I bought rights to it from Myura to be able to use it in pretty much all my advertising.” Adrien said, picking up the printed pictures and handing it to Luka to cut the copies apart. “I hope you don’t use all those pictures for Juleka.”

“I don’t know, I like the last one. I might keep it for myself.”

Adrien shook his head, leading them to leave the arcade. “Thanks by the way. It feels like my mind has been going a mile a minute. The idea that we can actually get more information is exciting but I’m really starting to question if doing all this is worth it. I mean, what are we having to prove to get answers?”

“I don’t know why they want you to do this, but you’ve got me and the rest of the group to do whatever it takes to get answers. He’s being annoyingly silent right now, but I know Sass appreciates what you’re doing. How about we head to museum and see if we can’t work that Agreste snark on them?”

“Sounds good.”

#adrien augrest #yugioh au

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chroniclerdl · 3 years

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Seven Fundamentals to Writing Better Yu-Gi-Oh Duelfics

Ever wanted to write a duelfic just as good or better than canon?

Done right, duels are memorable action scenes.

Done wrong, duels shatter the suspension of disbelief. It’s already a big ask to imagine the world revolving around a card game.

You don’t want the tragedy where your readers yank the scrollbar past your duel, or worse, close your tab. Even the small pool of duelfic readers/writers like me will skip huge chunks of your chapters when the duels sag.

By implementing basic storytelling techniques tailored to dueling, you can hook your readers into following the play-by-play.

High Stakes

Consistent Rules

Sneaks Checked

“Balanced” Gameplay

Foreshadowing Victory

Engaging Description

Dramatic Tension

1. High Stakes

When you advertise your story as a duelfic, your first duel tells readers whether or not what you wrote is worth their time.

If your characters duel without a concrete reason to rip the opponent’s throat, readers already know the outcome:

You lose.

Why? The game is pointless. Who’s dropping whatever they’re doing just to read the equivalent of your characters sipping afternoon tea? If you’re introducing the setting and characters, why can’t you introduce exciting threats?

No reader expects your first duel to decide the fate of the world, but your characters still need to bet.

Characters wager life chips.

If your character loses, they suffer death or suicide-inducing despair.

Is it too much to start with life-and-death? No. Think of the life chip as the culmination of hopes and dreams.

As the story progresses, the stakes will rise, must rise. How? Others will entrust the main characters with their own life chips, and/or the life chips acquire additional meaning. Consider this loose analogy: at the end of a poker tournament, gamblers sit at the final table with stacks built from the chips of others.

Life chips mean different things to different characters. Let’s take the Duelist Kingdom arc.

Yugi’s life chip is the hope to save his grandfather (and later, his own soul)

Joey’s life chip is the hope to win the prize money to fund his sister’s medical operation

Kaiba’s life chip is the hope to save his little brother (and later, his own soul)

You don’t even need your final showdown to revolve around the fate of world; it just has to be one or more things that matter to your characters.

Also, make sure to communicate the stakes, or why the characters accept uneven bets.

If you have the chops, you can also play around with disguising the stakes. As in, your character thinks they’re wagering something small, but it’s actually their life chip. However, your readers still need a vague reason to believe that a defeat will devour the character.

Always make sure the characters stake one or more life chips!

2. Consistent Rules

If you watched the Duelist Kingdom arc and tried to understand the moves everyone made, your head exploded.

Ask yourself: will the clever scheme that your hero invented drive readers crazy?

If I write a magic system that requires a wand, this applies to all. I cannot become a genius and suddenly wave my hands to cast magic.

Demonstrate the rules early, preferably in the first duel, and keep them sacred.

If you must make an exception, establish it early. In that case, the exception becomes a well-defined branch of the rules that the readers can anticipate.

Can the players magically draw the card they need, whenever they want?

If you can establish the when and why, by all means. The readers proceed with the understanding that the players can reach into their deck like a glorified toolbox.

For example, Duel Links has a concept called “skills” that function like a player’s special ability. At the time I wrote this, Yami Yugi’s “Destiny Draw” skill lets the player take any card from their deck once per duel after losing 2000LP (and even if they stacked the top of the deck earlier!).

Card should also have the same, predictable effect. If the card prevents attacks, I doubt the text discusses physical properties or mentions holding things in the air. But you knew that, right?

The rules are the laws of the universe.

3. Sneaks Checked

I love duels. I also love getting what I want.

Why does getting what I want have to be through a duel?

If we talk, maybe we can come to an agreement. If I blackmail you, maybe you’ll give in to my demands. If I shoot you, I can loot your corpse. Give the readers a good reason as to why your characters would bother with the hassle of honest dueling and can’t wiggle from the consequences of losing.

Often, the duel takes place in the context of a tournament. Hopefully, the tournament officials are keeping a good eye on the players and cracking down on cheaters.

However, even that’s not a guarantee. What’s the key concept?

Power.

The competitors have equivalent capacity for coercion (usually violence) or have a neutral referee presiding over the match with the most capacity for coercion (shoutout to gambling manga Usogui).

Anyone who enters a game otherwise has lost before the first move.

In Yu-Gi-Oh, magical and sci-fi enforcement are common. The Shadow Realm can trap the loser in a desolate hell. In a digital world, the loser suffers deletion. Or just have good tournament officials.

Be vigilant when your duel doesn’t call upon these tropes.

Your amoral characters won’t mind blindsiding your other characters, and they won’t mind blindsiding you with a plot hole.

If you’re not careful, the readers will ask you why they played uncharacteristically fair.

4. “Balanced” Gameplay

Duels should be fair and fun…for the villain.

Ostensibly, everyone plays a balanced game, designed to give both sides a sporting chance. In reality, the villain tilts the field to their favor with one or more tricks up their sleeves. Why would your villain ever fight fair?

But that’s fine. We love rooting for the underdog and watching the villain get their comeuppance.

Overpowered ability to let the villain read minds? Deck full of unbalanced cards that makes the villain’s monsters invincible with no drawback? Creator who knows every strategy in the game? Readers will turn the page as they wonder how the hero will prevail.

The more obstacles you can throw in the hero’s way, the better.

Got custom cards? No problem, just follow a couple guidelines. After all, some duelists are more equal than others.

The hero’s deck is full of regular cards that have a cost to use. For every play they want to make, their cards insist that they give up their attack, discard to play, etc.

The villain’s deck is full of rare cards that power up their game for free. So long as you can justify why the card made it to print, the villain can play whatever they want.

For every step your hero takes, the villain gets two.

5. Foreshadowing Victory

How many times have you watched a duel where the protagonist comes up with this never-before-seen card that does exactly what the protagonist needs to clinch the win? In the final showdown, no less? It’s like the writers begged to be called amateurs and idiots.

No other genre tolerates such laziness.

However, readers don’t want an infodump of the characters’ decks. Show the cards in action. To cover the deck, you'll probably need multiple duels.

This also implies you have more freedom in how your character defeats their early opponents in the duelfic.

Does that previous statement contradict what I said about never-before-seen cards clinching the win as the mark of laziness? No, because here’s the rule:

Tolerance for the hero’s new cards decreases as the story progresses.

(Notice that I specify the hero’s new cards; your villains exist to make life harder by inventing unfair tricks.)

When you must include new cards for the hero late in the duelfic, at least find a way to make them first backfire.

Now, some writers have lots of knowledge about the card pool and metagame. Can they assume the readers a priori know the hero has access to any of the available cards in a given archetype?

I’d err on the side of caution and properly foreshadow the cards before they appear late in the duelfic. Not every reader is a walking card database. They have no reason to assume something exists unless you show the card.

Take the tolerance rule into consideration when planning your duels. If you know the awesome combo you want to use for the final turn in the duelfic climax, that’s your cue to scatter the cards into the earlier duels.

Plan the last duel first and your early duels last.

6. Description

Every reader wants a front-row seat to the action.

They’re paying you their time, so make it worth the admission: sleek combatants & budget-busting fights. Kaiba invented Solid Vision technology for a reason, so help readers envision your duels.

Who’s fighting? Describe the point-of-view’s impression of the monsters’ appearances. Red-Eyes Black Dragon should be self-explanatory.

What about a decorated monster like Time Wizard?

You could go into detail about how the red clock humanoid has yellow gears that form epaulets and purple, pointy boots and a green mustache made from clock hands and so on, but such a level of minutiae bogs pacing and invites skimming.

Readers just need to hear about a purple-caped, red clock humanoid with a wand to form an image. Their imaginations can handle the little details.

Paint appearances in broad strokes and one or two brief sentences.

How are the monsters fighting? Duel Monsters is a game where the target takes the aggressor’s attack like a champ. That doesn’t mean you can’t spice it up.

For example, my opponent’s dragon attacks my weaker knight with a fireball. My knight, interested in not dying, raises his shield. Unfortunately, he screams as the flames engulf him.

You wouldn’t just stand still with a straight face if someone armed with a knife lunged for your gut.

A fight scene is a string of action and reaction.

Most people also experience life in more senses than just sight.

A dragon’s fireball is a bright reddish-orange, hot, dries the air, smoky, and explodes with a boom on impact. I never tasted a fireball, and I hope I never do, but that’s still four senses: sight, touch, smell, and sound.

Include multiple sensory details.

Let’s spare a moment to talk about the heads-up display (HUD).

In Yu-Gi-Oh, cards have multiple stats and abilities. You’re free to mention whatever you deem necessary. No set formula exists. On one extreme, you can mention nothing to keep the narrative clean at the risk of confusing the readers. At the other extreme, infodumps about the monster’s abilities provide great detail but wreck the pacing. But there’s a cozy middle.

State only what you need from the card.

If your duels occurred before the era of Synchro, you don’t need details about levels. You can just display the basic stats to determine the stronger monster. If a deck has Pendulum monsters, just mention the scale numbers when they're played as scales. And so on.

You can also make an index of new cards at the end of a chapter.

BONUS TIP! Understanding show, don’t tell.

What is show, don’t tell? At its core, this concept refers to immersing your readers in the senses and feelings instead of exposition. Unfortunately, that definition is a bit vague to execute. After writing for a while, I had my lightbulb moment.

Don’t TELL the readers how to think or force-feed them a conclusion.

SHOW your readers the evidence.

Here’s a written example from Joey vs. Rex in Duelist Kingdom. See if you can spot what makes this prose telling instead of showing.

“Joey watched nervously as Two-Headed King Rex stomped Baby Dragon. He messed up his Baby Dragon-Time Wizard combo!”

You can see two failures: “nervously” and the second sentence.

Adverbs like “nervously” and other “-ly” friends get a bad rep because rookies tend to use them as telling crutches (especially beware adverbs after dialogue tags!). “Nervously” tells me how Joey reacts. But what does “nervously” look like? One character might bite their thumb. Another might fidget in their seat. The adverb in this context lacks nuance.

We also have the second sentence: “He messed up his Baby Dragon-Time Wizard combo!” When you’re explaining the “why” to something, you’re telling. It’s like talking down to your readers.

Contrast with the next example.

“A bead of sweat rolled off Joey’s face as Two-Headed King Rex stomped Baby Dragon. He stared at the Time Wizard in his hand.”

The first sentence shows me Joey’s physical reaction. I see him sweating, so I think he’s nervous.

We also see a second physical reaction: “He stared at the Time Wizard in his hand.” This comes on the heels of the first sentence, and I also have knowledge of when Joey used the Baby Dragon-Time Wizard combo in a prior duel. Combined, I think Joey is ruminating about a missed chance.

Readers are smart; they’ll catch your intention if you show the proof.

7. Dramatic Tension

I bet you know what it's like to draw a bad hand.

Imagine: The hero staggers into the arena, and the villain just needs to win one duel to take over the world. The villain draws a bunch of powerups with no monster, but the hero draws a one-turn-kill combo.

Anticlimactic. The readers throw that duelfic straight into the trash.

Don’t just write real-life duels. “It really happened” doesn’t mean it’s emotionally satisfying.

That’s why we have literary structure.

Success and setback pace together with progressive intensity to maximize dramatic tension and emotional payoff.

I’ll spare the nitty-gritty theory detail, but your duels should look like this on a basic level:

Part 1: Villain’s basic threats. Introduces the villain’s deck and style.

Part 2: Villain’s minor strategy. The villain’s first serious attempt to defeat the hero.

Part 3: Villain’s major strategy. The hero’s reversal! But the villain has worse in store.

Part 4: Hero’s imminent defeat. The hero must break through, or else will instantly lose!

Ideally, you’re also integrating the story itself into the duel; themes and duels synergize to create a stronger effect.

You may notice how the format resembles the three-act structure.

Act I is Part 1

Act II until the Act II midpoint is Part 2

Act II midpoint until Act III is Part 3

Act III is part 4.

I’ll use Yugi/Pharaoh vs. Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom as an example.

Part 1: Mind scan. Pegasus can read minds to counter combos.

Part 2: Toon World. Indestructible, cartoonified monsters attack.

Part 3: Shadow game. Toons destroyed! But playing a shadow game weakens Yugi.

Part 4: Yugi passes out. The Pharaoh must find a new way to stop Pegasus’s mind scan!

Figure out each part of the structure for your duels before writing the turn-by-turn plays.

By the way, modern real-life Yu-Gi-Oh duels don’t suit drama because the rules provide weak constraints to creating strong boards. A good modern deck usually establishes a scary turn one board and jumps straight into Part 4, whereas other card games like Magic: The Gathering and Hearthstone force the powerhouse cards to wait several turns until the player builds the mana to pay costs.

You can still write a good modern duel. Here’s a basic outline of Arc-V’s duel between Sora and Shay. Technically, “tragedy” is the structure of this duel, so I’ll make Shay the “hero” to flip it and keep matters simplified.

Part 1: Basic monsters. These clash before a monster appears from the Extra Deck.

Part 2: Frightfurs. They come one after another to crush Shay’s Raidraptors.

Part 3: Sora’s wrath. Rise Falcon survives! But Sora’s malevolent nature comes to light.

Part 4: Frightfur Chimera. Sora chomps candy and summons his biggest fusion horror!

If following the four parts is too difficult for you, that’s okay. They're just logical extensions of one basic concept. Keep the following in mind, and you’ll never go wrong:

The villain’s subsequent threats become increasingly overwhelming.

Conclusion

Much of writing a duel boils down to storytelling technique.

Let’s tl;dr the main takeaways.

High Stakes: Minimum ante is the life chip, worth a character’s hopes and dreams.

Consistent Rules: Everyone plays by the same logic.

Sneaks Checked: Characters can’t skip the duels with violence and coercion.

“Balanced” Gameplay: Villains enjoy advantages.

Foreshadowing Victory: Readers have a chance to predict the winning combo.

Engaging Description: Immerse senses and invite reactions.

Dramatic Tension: The villain makes progressively stronger threats.

As a duelfic reader/writer, I can gauge a writer's ability by measuring their duels with the fundamentals. Many fan writers struggle; even the canon writers struggle.

But writing a duelfic isn’t rocket science. With practice, minding the fundamentals will become second nature.

And don't forget to tag your story as a duelfic. It's a whole genre in fanfic, so sort it properly and help readers from the future find you.

May the heart of the cards be with you.

…

Want to see in-depth examples of my advice? I rewrote the Orichalcos arc to reimagine its untapped potential without the failures of the canon presentation. You can find it on FFnet and AO3.

#yugioh #ygo #yugioh fanfiction #yugioh fandom #fanfic writing #duelfic #writing #writing tips #writing advice #writing help #how to write #listicles

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real-life-pine-tree · 7 years

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Arc-V Aftermath: Beautiful Odd-Eyes and Girl’s Night Out (9/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

The next morning, at the Sakaki residence, Yuya and Sora were having breakfast, eating Yoko’s homemade pancakes once again. With a killer recipe like hers, it makes you want to eat it every morning like those two. Before starting on his next pancake, Yuya asked Sora if anything new happened ever since Zarc brought back the Original Dimension. The candy-loving young teen replied that he, Dennis, and Yuri bought new cards yesterday and tested them out at Duel Academy. He also mentioned Leo telling him and his two Obelisk friends that Declan is hosting a Team Duel Tournament in a few weeks.

The tomato-haired teen was blown away after hearing the news. He asked Sora if Team Duels were now tournament-legal; the latter said “Yes” because Declan spoke with the CEO of the Vanguard Association, with Yuya groaning after hearing that company’s name. His reaction was pretty much similar to Sora, Dennis, and Yuri’s. Anyways, he learned about Declan making Team Duels legal because he wanted Duelists to establish trust among each other the same way Card Fighters do, especially after the Interdimensional War. Registrations were beginning soon, where a team composing of three Duelists must sign up if they wish to take part in it.

Yuya was pumped about the upcoming tournament and couldn’t wait to form his team. Sora casually warned his adopted brother to be prepared for his team in a few weeks. He said they were getting some ideas on their Dueltaining style that will surely captivate the audience. This intrigued the former; a new Dueltaining style? Whatever it was, he was looking forward to it even more now.

“What is it?” Yuya asked.

“Can’t tell you this early,” Sora innocently answered. “Just be prepared for a new dueling king.”

Shortly after answering, Sora noticed Yuya wearing his goggles over his eyes. That’s strange, he wondered. When was the last time he wore them? He honestly couldn’t remember, but considering recent events, he may know the reason why.

“Uh, Yuya?” Sora asked. “What’s with the goggles?”

“Huh?” Yuya murmured, alarmed. “Oh… That. I, uh…was up playing Duel Sims all night! Yeah, that’s it!” He let out a small laugh. “Don’t want anyone to see me with tired eyes.”

Sora wasn’t buying it and, with the aftermath of the separation plan still in his head, questioned if it had anything to do with the dual eye colors. Quickly realizing that the Duel Simulators excuse wasn’t going to work, Yuya sighed out a “Yeah”, explaining that he still doesn’t feel used to having two different eye colors.

“It just doesn’t feel right,” Yuya admitted, briefly touching his face near his left eye. “Why did I end up like this once Zarc was separated again?”

“Beats me,” Sora replied with a shrug. “But what are you so afraid of? Don’t you want people to see your eyes?”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Yuya answered. “What if the other kids at school make fun of me for having two different eye colors?”

Knowing he now has Odd-Eyes’ eye colors, Yuya was afraid that people may come up with a new taunt, something like “an odd-eyed freak with an odd-eyed dragon”. His nervousness and fear were starting to come back to him; just when he thought he didn’t have to worry about Yusho going missing or the threat of Zarc, something had to show up in front of him to give him something else to be anxious about. He was starting to go through a relapse.

“Cheer up, Yuya!” Sora said. “You’re probably overreacting. Do you really think everyone will make fun of you?”

“Yes,” Yuya bluntly stated.

There may be a possibility of that happening because people always find ways to bully someone. Ever since his father didn’t show up for his duel against the Sledgehammer, Yuya was bullied about it. He wasn’t sure if he could handle any more bullying from everyone, especially since he just got his father back and the Zarc situation was permanently dealt with.

“I still think they won’t make fun of you for your new eye colors,” Sora insisted.

Yuya started having some second thoughts about this. Maybe Sora’s right about the different eye colors. There must be other people in the world who has two eye colors like him. The only way he was going to find out is him taking on the day. Now having mixed feelings about this, he thanked Sora for the talk and finished eating breakfast. He doesn’t want to be late for school.

At Paradise Prep, the day seemed to be going on as normal: classes, lunch, gym, the usual. Yuya did whatever he did to make sure he didn’t made any eye contact with anyone except Zuzu, Celina, and Sylvio. Shortly after the separation procedure, Celina started attending Paradise Prep; during this, Zuzu noticed her Fusion counterpart had her hair down. The indigo-haired girl explained it was because she found a new dueling rival in Sylvio. Although they weren’t officially dating, they acted more like girlfriend and boyfriend. The three asked Yuya during their lunch break about why he wasn’t like himself today, with him responding that he doesn’t want anyone making fun of his dual eye colors.

Sylvio covered his mouth, trying to muffle a laugh. “It’s not funny!” Yuya snapped.

“I think what Sylvio is responding to is how ridiculous you’re acting,” Celina explained. “Now will you stop acting scared and take off your goggles already?”

Yuya lifted his goggles up to his head, causing some water to splash down on the ground. The water happened to be his own tears, which came from his visibly-upset eyes. Has he been crying this whole time?

“Yuya…” Zuzu sadly said.

“I don’t know why this happened to me,” Yuya said, still crying. “This can’t be covered up by makeup. I’m stuck with these weird eye colors and not even colored contacts can fix it!”

Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri were lucky; even though they also got eye colors to match their respective dragons’ eyes, they were all single-colored. Why is he the only one with double-colored eyes? A better question would actually be why Odd-Eyes has double-colored eyes. Zuzu moved from her spot to sit next to Yuya to try and cheer him up. She comforted him before when dealing with Yusho’s sudden disappearance and she’ll do it again. Besides, she wants to see his smiling face again.

“Hey Yuya…” Zuzu said. “Didn’t you say Declan is going to host a Team Duel Tournament?”

Yuya could simply nod in response.

“Then how about we form a team with Gong and take part in the tournament together?” Zuzu suggested.

This seemed to have help brighten Yuya’s mood. Coincidentally, he wanted to ask his friends after school to see if a couple of them wanted to join his team once he calmed down. He asked Zuzu if she really meant it, receiving a smiling nod as her answer.

“Team Duels?” Sylvio asked. He looked repulsed. “Don’t tell me Declan got the idea from-”

“He did,” Yuya answered. “I’m not happy about it either, but it’s to promote teamwork between Duelists.”

“I swear, Cardfighters are the worst,” Celina added. “I heard one of the more skilled ones claimed his favorite card was his alien dad.”

Zuzu laughed a bit. “Seriously?” she asked. “How delusional are those people?”

“But wait!” Yuya said, chiming in on the humor. “My favorite card is Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.” He took the card out of his deck and let out a mock gasp. “Could he have been my real dad this whole time?”

Yuya’s friends laughed at his humorous yet sarcastic remark. If there was one thing all Duelists enjoy is mocking Cardfighters, so it was no surprise that they, along with Yuya, would also discuss about this topic. Throughout their lunch period, they continued doing just that; at one point, Sylvio told the gang that he overheard a conversation about Vanguard from a couple students a few hours earlier when they were in between classes about some weird card-reading power called ‘Psyquallia’. He ranked Card Fighters an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most delusional. Naturally, they all agreed with that statement.

After having a fun lunch break and finishing the rest of the school day, Yuya and Zuzu went to You Show Duel School with Gong to practice for the upcoming tournament. Since this is a Team Duel, they need to determine which strategies would work well with the Performapals, Melodius, and Superheavy Samurai archetypes. The best way to answer this was with a Battle Royale. So far, they were keeping track of which monster effects, Spells, and Traps coincides fluidly with all three decks.

“My turn!” Yuya happily announced. “I draw!”

He looked at the card he drew, triggering a panic attack. It was Stargazer Magician, which reminded him of the Sorcerer cards Zarc used during his duels against Leo and the Lancers. He never forgot that day… The day the four dimensions were merging as his incarnation made his return, proving himself to be unstoppable as he defeated every single one of them until his demise at the hands of Riley and Ray. Ever since then, Yuya and Zuzu had their souls fused with their counterparts until recently. Everything that happened until now is what led to his eyes changing color.

“No…” Yuya said, dropping the cards in his hands and he fell to his knees and covered his left eye. “I can’t let things go back to the way they were!” He started crying again. “I can’t be a laughing stock again!”

Zuzu and Gong ran up to their friend to see what was going on. The Superheavy Samurai user asked what was happening to their tomato-haired friend and Zuzu replied that it has to do with his dual eye colors. She explained that he ended up gaining Odd-Eyes’ eye colors after Zarc and Ray were officially separated and is afraid people may start making fun of him again. After the Interdimensional War ended, he wanted to continue being himself without having the aftermath of his father’s disappearance looming over him again. In all fairness, who wouldn’t blame him? The two tried their hardest to make Yuya feel better.

“Don’t be like that, Yuya!” Gong said. “You can’t let your new eye colors distract you!”

“Don’t you remember what happened when my dad vanished?” Yuya asked, still crying as he closed his eyes. “I refuse to let it happen again!”

Zuzu asked Yuya if he can remove his hand from his left eye. He was initially hesitant, but this was his childhood friend. She was always there for him for comfort, regardless of how upsetting the issue may be. He never forgot the time she brought reassurance to him after Yusho vanished. With tears still welling up, he lowered his hand from his left eye, which had his green iris. His eyes remained closed, but he felt Zuzu’s lips press against his eyelid.

Yuya let out a soft gasp. “Zuzu…” he said, speaking very softly.

His right eye opened slightly and his cheeks turned light pink upon feeling his eyelid getting kissed. The first thing he saw was Zuzu and she noticed that she looked as pretty as a flower. His eyes open wide, he realized what he said about how there’s nothing sweet about her was wrong. She really was a sweetheart and he never knew until now. He was convinced that he may be developing feelings for her.

Yuya soon was overcame with a variety of emotions: lovestruck, sadness, tranquility, reassurance. They were increasingly overlapping his head, slowly clouding his thoughts until he reached out and connected his lips to Zuzu’s, surprising her. She always knew he was rather spontaneous, but this was the most unexpected thing he has ever done. Why did he do this? Whatever the reason is, she eventually succumbed to the stunning display of affection and returned the kiss to him, entangling her fingers through his hair. If she was going to be honest, she thought he was adorable, from his feminine-looking eyes and face to his girlish and fluffy short hair, but she’s come to realize how beautiful he always was. Simultaneously, he hugged her tightly as they kissed, out of fear of losing her again. After everything that happened during the Interdimensional War, he didn’t want anything bad happening to her while also desiring to cherish what makes her the most fantastic girl he has ever met.

Ultimately the two parted for breath, but Yuya was still holding tight. “I said it once and I’ll say it again,” the tomato-haired teen said, his eyes brimming with tears. “I missed you. We’re finally back together and I’ll never let you out of my sight again.”

“Yuya…” Zuzu breathed, realizing that Yuya was confessing his love to her.

At that moment, Gong cleared his throat. “So are we gonna go back to training, or does Gong have to watch you two smooching?”

The sound of Gong’s throat clearing startled the two, causing them to blush out of slight embarrassment. They instantly stood up from the floor, with Yuya picking up the cards he dropped. As they got back into their dueling positions, they continued where they left off, which was his first Main Phase. Looking at the Stargazer Magician he drew, he breathed out of his mouth, preparing to initiate a Pendulum Summon. Despite what may have happened back when the dimensions were merging, he remembered Zarc’s monsters were similar to his own and his counterparts, but they will be nothing like them. Grasping onto his pendant, he recited what Yusho taught him in his head. He then bolted his eyes open, revealing his red and green irises, ready to make his move.

“I’ll use Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician to set the Pendulum Scale!” Yuya declared. “I’m taking control of this duel starting now!”

With his Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician on the Pendulum Scale, Yuya was ready to summon his monsters between Levels 2 and 7. Before doing so, he narrated his famous Pendulum Summoning chant.

“I’m allow to summon monsters Level 2 through 7 all at the same time!” Yuya continued. “Swing far, pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready…to SWING INTO ACTIOOOOOON!”

He proceeded to Pendulum Summon a total of five monsters. Flying out of the Pendulum “portal” were two horned female monsters, one with yellow hair with magenta highlights tied in a long ponytail and the other with light blue pigtails, a black-haired shogun with dark red armor, a small, chartreuse dragon with a golden, oval coin, and his ace monster.

“Wow the crowd, Performapal Corn!” Yuya announced. “Dazzle and shine, Performapal Uni! Slice n’ dice, Performapal Handsome Liger! Shine in the spotlight, Performapal Coin Dragon! Turn up the heat, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!”

Zuzu and Gong stared in awe as Yuya’s summoned monsters took center stage of the Battle Royale. Shortly thereafter, he activated Corn’s effect, switching her and Uni to Defense Position and Coin Dragon’s monster effect has all Dragon-Type monsters he controls gain 500 ATK; now he was ready to battle. He had Handsome Liger attack and destroy one of Zuzu’s Melodius monster, letting him add a Level 5 or higher Pendulum monster from his hand. At the same time, Odd-Eyes sent one of Gong’s Superheavy Samurai monsters—which was in defense position—to the Graveyard. With that, he placed one card face down and ended his turn. Now it was time for Zuzu to try and turn this duel around in her favor.

“Not bad,” Zuzu said. “Now it’s my turn to set the Pendulum Scale! And I’ll do that with Scale 1 Beetho the Melodious Songstress and Scale 9 Opheli the Melodious Operetta!”

Her Pendulum scale was set as a green-skinned girl in a piano dress and a blonde girl dressed in black with a white mask appeared on the field, enabling her to summon any monsters between Levels 2 and 8 all at once. She knew which ones she was going to choose: Aria the Melodious Diva, Sonata the Melodious Diva, and Mozarta the Melodious Maestra. Her plan is to Pendulum Summon them so that she can Fusion Summon her ace: Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir.

“Fairies of song, lend me your voices!” Zuzu chanted. “Take flight onto the stage in a beautiful harmony! I enact the Pendulum Summon of floral glory!”

Once the Melodious monster appeared, Zuzu, who was complete oblivious to her glowing marking on her right cheek, activated her two Divas’ effects. Since Aria was special summoned, all her monsters aren’t targeted by card effects or destroyed by battle. Sonata was also special summoned because she controlled a Melodious monster, giving all Fairy-Type monsters a 500 ATK and DEF increase. Time for her Battle Phase to commence.

“Next I activate Polymerization to fuse Aria and Mozarta!” Zuzu continued. “Together, you’ll sing a sensational duet that will form an even more Melodious monster! I Fusion Summon Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir!”

If targeted, Bloom Diva negates battle damage from attacks involving this card and isn’t destroyed by battle or card effects. By attacking and destroying an opponent’s special summoned monster, she can inflict damage equal to the difference between the original ATK of the opposing monster and her. Now she was ready for her Battle Phase.

“Bloom Diva, attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!” Zuzu declared. “Vaporizing Miracle!”

Normally, Zuzu would be taking the damage because Bloom Diva has 1000 ATK, but thanks to her effect, the damage is actually dealt to Yuya. Since Odd Eyes’ original ATK was 2500, that means he was about to lose 1500 LP. He was so focused by the glowing marking that he almost forgot to activate his face-down card… Almost.

“I activate the Trap card Cross Damage!” Yuya exclaimed. “Since I’m about to lose 1500 life points, you also lose the same amount!”

Vaporizing Miracle struck Odd Eyes, destroying it and lowering Yuya’s LP by 1500. At the same time, Bloom Diva remains on the field due to her effect, but it doesn’t prevent Cross Damage from dealing the same amount of damage to Zuzu. It was almost like attacking an opponent’s monster whose stronger than yours and you end up taking the damage. After the tomato-haired teen’s maneuver was finished, his pink-haired friend had no choice but to end her turn.

“I’ll have to end my turn,” Zuzu said as her marking stopped glowing.

Before Gong began his turn, he asked Zuzu why her marking stopped glowing. She was confused about what he means by that and Yuya commented about how it glowed pink from her right cheek from when she Pendulum Summoned up until now. Her eyes widened a little as she touched her En Flowers marking; she wasn’t aware of it during her turn. It was no wonder why she could have sworn she caught a glimpse of her friends’ stunned faces. They all agreed it must have something to do with her Pendulum Summoning. She then had an idea that can turn this brief confusion into something spectacular for the tournament. Her glowing marking can help provide a bit of creativity during her turns to emphasize the entertainment Yusho demonstrates and teaches his students.

The two boys were intrigued by this. It sounded like a marvelous idea to add some pizazz to their Dueltaining. They wondered if Zuzu’s counterparts’ markings also glowed to their respective special summons and how they will incorporate it to their teams. Zuzu replied that they’ll find a way…except Lulu, who was more focused on bringing back her family’s wealth. For now, they continued their duel, with Gong starting his turn. At the end of the day, they managed to record a few working strategies and planned on finding more starting tomorrow.

“So what should we call our team?” Yuya asked.

“How about Team Smiles?” Zuzu suggested.

“Team Smiles?” Gong asked. “Gong likes that. Puts an emphasis on our dueling styles.”

“Then it’s settled,” Yuya said. “We’re Team Smiles!”

The three took out their aces and drew them up in the air, officially forming Team Smiles. After putting them back in their decks, Yuya asked Zuzu what she was doing tonight and she replied that’s she, Celina, and Rin were all invited by Lulu to attend a sleepover at the Obsidian family house.

“A sleepover?” Yuya asked.

“It was Lulu’s idea,” Zuzu explained. “She figured we could all use some girl time, mostly since she jokingly told Rin she’s forgetting her gender.”

“Why would she forget her own-” Yuya was about to ask, but then he realized she mostly hangs out with guys. “Oh…”

Zuzu chuckled at Yuya’s realization since Rin was the most tomboyish out of all the Bracelet Girls. She then grabbed her stuff to bring most of them back home because she wanted to pack her pajamas, Duel Monsters cards, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, and the clothes Alexis Rhodes gave to her back in the Fusion Dimension.

“Dad, I’m heading over to Lulu’s place!” Zuzu called out.

“Don’t forget to call if you need to be picked up!” Skip replied.

Zuzu responded that she will as she headed out the door. Taking out her Duel Disk, she opened up the Maps app and enter Lulu’s address to get directions. Once the directions were given, she started walking down the sidewalk. Some time later, she stopped in front of a gate. She looked through it to see a building that is bigger than a large house but smaller than a mansion; this must be the Obsidian residence. She noticed a speaker on the gate, so she pressed a button to let the family know she’s not an intruder.

“WHO IS THIS?”

“I’m Zuzu Boyle,” the Dueltainer answered. “A friend of Lulu’s.”

“MISTRESS L-LULU, DO YOU KNOW ANYONE NAMED ZUZU BOYLE?”

“Yes, Orbital. Let her in.”

“YES MADAM, MISTRESS L-LULU.”

The front gates opened, allowing Zuzu to enter. As she walked down the pathway to the house, she glanced over at the well-cut hedges, the freshly mowed lawn, and how huge the front yard is. She wasn’t expecting Lulu to come from a wealthy family; guess she learned something new about her XYZ counterpart. Upon approaching the house, she knocked on the door, and after waiting a few seconds, it opened, revealing Lulu, Celina, and Rin all in their pajamas.

“Hey Zuzu!” Lulu happily said. “I’m glad you could finally make it.”

“Sorry I’m late,” Zuzu said. “I was training with my team for the upcoming tournament.”

“Your team wouldn’t happen to include Yuya, would it?” Rin asked.

“He and Gong are my teammates, so yeah,” Zuzu answered.

“That’s no surprise,” Celina said. “I managed to form a team with Sylvio, but it was tough trying to find a third teammate. I suggested Moon Shadow, but it turns out he and Sun Shadow are stuck on 'baby duty’. Luckily we came across that Aura girl and she didn’t mind joining our team.”

“Baby duty?” Zuzu repeated.

“Apparently Riley not smiling wasn’t because of the darkness within Zarc’s heart, but because all of her memories were retained and she clearly remembers the experimenting Henrietta did to her,” Celina explained. “Declan decided it would be best for Moon Shadow to raise her properly.”

“But didn’t Riley apparently smile as she watched Yuya’s duels?” Rin asked, remembering what Yuya explained to the other counterparts.

“Turns out she was just distracted by him,” Celina clarified.

This took a little adjusting, but Riley getting distracted must have coincidentally purified Zarc’s soul. They were admittedly glad that it happened because the last thing they needed was him and his darkness returning and threatening the world once more. With that out of the way, Zuzu asked her counterparts what were the plans for the sleepover.

“Just typical girl things,” Lulu answered. “Painting our nails, gushing about boys, discussing dueling strategies for the tournament…”

“Wait, I thought you weren’t participating,” Zuzu recalled.

“I thought so too,” Lulu said. “But mother and father wanted Shay and I to participate because our family company is a sponsor, so we formed a team with Yuto.”

Lulu’s counterparts questioned about why her parents’ company was sponsoring the tournament, with her responding that her parents received an email from Leo Corporation about how Declan is hosting it as a way to promote teamwork and trust among Duelists and asked if ObsidianCorp would sponsor it. Naturally, they said “Yes”, but it was for a different reason; they were always glad to sponsor special events, but they wanted to find ways to bring back their wealth, so this was a good starting point. After they agreed to the request and she, Shay, and Yuto formed their team called Team Noble, she was curious about why team duels were now legal. Kameron and Astra—annoyed at what the most likely reason is—both had a hunch that the Vanguard Association is involved with it, causing Team Noble to groan in disgust. Hearing this made Rin annoyed as well, with Lulu with an “Exactly” face and Zuzu and Celina mentioning about how they talked about Cardfighters with Sylvio and Yuya during lunch.

“Those Cardfighters are probably going to attend,” Rin guessed.

“Probably,” Lulu figured.

“I bet they want to see how badly us Duelists will screw up their tournament style,” Celina added.

After talking about the tournament, the Bracelet Girls headed upstairs to Lulu’s room, where they were doing makeovers and talking about their crushes…most of them, actually. Celina was completely unsure of what to do. For someone who grew up in Duel Academy with no social skills, this was understandable. At the same time, Zuzu suspected Rin of having a different behavior to all this girly stuff since she is a tomboy, but she was actually having a blast with doing makeovers. The pink-haired girl saw a perplexed Celina and asked her if she can braid her hair.

“Uh… No thanks,” Celina said. “I don’t want to get too attached to my hair.”

“Oh?” Rin asked. “You want short hair?”

“Kind of,” Celina admitted, tugging on her indigo hair. “My hair was always this length my whole life. Since I’m trying to find my identity outside of Duel Academy, I figured a haircut could help me rediscover who I really am.”

“You should go for it!” Rin encouraged, finger-combing her short, mint green hair. “Short hair is easier to manage. Definitely useful for Turbo Duels.”

“But I’m not sure if I would like it,” Celina said.

“Don’t question it,” Lulu said. “Just go for it.” She proceeded to clap her hands twice, causing Lillybot to enter the room.

“WHAT IS IT, MISTRESS LULU?” Lillybot asked.

“Show Celina where the salon room is,” Lulu instructed. “She wants to try out a new look.”

“I UNDERSTAND, MISTRESS LULU,” Lillybot replied.

Lillybot escorted Celina to the salon room, leaving the other three girls in Lulu’s room. “So Zuzu, you said you were practicing with your team,” the XYZ Duelist said.

“Yeah,” Zuzu replied.

“Did you and Yuya…?” Lulu asked.

Zuzu blushed. “You did!” Rin realized.

“He just kissed me,” Zuzu explained. “I mean, he’s beautiful, but he mostly felt upset about having two eye colors.” She smiled softly. “But he has soft, fluffy hair and an adorable smile.”

“Fluffy?” Lulu asked, amused.

Zuzu explained that even though his hair may not be as spiky as his Yuto’s, but she didn’t mind that at all. Alongside his loyalty to his friends and his smile, the soft fluffiness of his hair is one of the qualities that makes Yuya stand out from the Yu-Salad in her eyes. Admittedly, part of her felt like the hair and face make him look like a girl.

“At least Yugo doesn’t have that 'mistaken for a girl’ problem,” Rin said as she painted her nails. “Sure he’s loud and rude, but he’s taking better care of his looks, especially his hair. He’s been combing it more often and he started bathing regularly, so he looks much cuter.”

Lulu politely muffled a laugh. “He is!” Rin insisted. “Once you get past the rude behavior, you’ll see that he means well.”

“Who are we talking about?”

Celina and Lillybot returned from the salon room. The Fusion girl founded a new hairstyle she liked and now has a shoulder-length bob cut. Her counterparts were amazed.

“Not bad,” Zuzu said.

“It feels a bit weird,” Celina said. “But I like it. Feels more like me.”

“I bet whoever you like is going to be impressed,” Rin said. But then she realized she, Zuzu, and Lulu have fallen in love for their respected Zarc counterparts. What if that happened to Celina as well? “Are you…?”

“Oh, hecks no,” Celina corrected, sitting next to Zuzu. “Yuri is egotistical and he looks as ugly as his personality.”

“Then who’s the lucky guy?” Rin asked, intrigued.

Celina blushed slightly. “Sylvio,” she admitted.

“Who?” Rin asked.

“A nicer version of Yuri,” Zuzu explained.

“He’s also a worthy rival,” Celina said. “He often compliments my dueling strategies and he doesn’t deliberately anger me like Yuri did.”

“So it seems my counterparts have fallen for a showman, a quick-tempered biker, and a flashy actor,” Lulu said. “It looks like I’m the only one who found the better guy.”

“Yuto?” Celina asked.

Lulu let out a loving sigh. “Yes…” she said, brushing her long hair. “He’s such a noble gentleman. It helps that he’s so handsome with his cute smile, adorable spiky hair, and gorgeous eyes.”

Rin glanced over to see Lulu brushing her long, dark purple hair. She seemed rather mesmerized by it, as if she was missing out on something. She lightly pulled some strands of her short hair. Although she liked how short it is, it was clear she also wanted to try a new hairstyle like Celina did. After letting go of her hair strands, she made a decision on what she wants to do.

“Lulu, what’s it like having long hair?” Rin asked.

“Amazing,” Lulu answered, still brushing her hair. “The best part is styling it for the right occasion.”

“But didn’t you say having short hair is convenient?” Zuzu recalled.

“Well… Yeah,” Rin replied. “But since Celina is trying out a new style, I want to do the same and grow out my hair.”

“Well it does look like your hair is bit longer,” Lulu pointed out. “So go for it.”

Rin nodded at Lulu’s suggestion. Starting tonight, she decided to grow out her hair. During that time, she can learn from her XYZ counterpart how to take care of it in order to maintain its lusciousness and keep it healthy, try out different styles for various special occasions, and determine which brand of shampoo and conditioner works best. With Celina cutting her hair short to break free from her old life, Rin figured having her hair longer will be a sign of her starting a new life of her own.

#Arc V Aftermath #yugioh arc v #Yuya Sakaki #Zuzu Boyle #Yuzu Hiragi #FruitShipping #Yuto (arc v)#Lulu Obsidian #Ruri Kurosaki #FallenAngelShipping #Yugo (arc v)#Rin (arc v)#AppleShipping #Yuri (arc v)#Celina (arc v)#Serena (arc v)#PredatorShipping

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