Chapter Text
"This is the last stop. You have arrived at Maiami City."
With a small hop, a girl stepped off from the train. She stretched her arms as she got the cricks out of her joints. The beds on the train were surprisingly pretty relaxing. Something about the beds were comforting as the train bustled along. She shook her head to get the last bit of grogginess out of her eyes. The Sun was still down, meaning it was a bit dusky out. As she walked down the streets of the city, she pulled out a slip of paper.
"Let's see here… address 72 Raven Street…" She said. "Right over here."
It was a rather modest house in the more quiet part of the city. Single story, but cozy. She went over to the door and rang the doorbell.
When no one came, she rang it again. She tapped her foot, waiting patiently, but she didn't even hear her footsteps. Looking at the slip of paper again, she smirked. She glanced at the vines growing on the wall, before kicking off the wall and grabbing on. She climbed the vines, crawling through the open window. Once she was inside, she leaned against the windowsill, looking over at the bed. Sleeping there was a girl her age with long red and blue hair. She was snoring rather loudly.
The intruder cleared her throat, tapping her foot. It caused the red and blue-haired girl to stir, slightly opening her eyes. Half-asleep, she registered a head of silver hair. "Huh…?"
"You'll catch a cold sleeping with the window open, Takina."
"BWUH?!"
The once-sleeping girl, now identified as Takina, tumbled out of her bed. The other girl chuckled as she went over to help Takina up.
"Hana! What's wrong with you?!"
"You're the one that wrote on the note that I could let myself in if you didn't wake up." Hana reminded her, pulling Takina to her feet.
"With the spare key! Not through the window!" Takina sighed, rubbing her temples.
"Whoopsie-gravy~!" Hana grinned.
Awake now, Takina rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Sure enough, there was Hana. Her short silver hair, and single red ribbon. Dual-colored eyes of orange and yellow. She was wearing a black button-up shirt with a beige jacket over it, and similarly colored beige cargo shorts. Clashing horribly with the rest of her outfit was her pink- no, magenta sneakers.
Yup. Definitely Hana.
"Ugh…" Takina rubbed her temples. "I have work in a few hours. You didn't have to wake me up this early…"
"If you want to go back to sleep, go for it." Hana said. "I just wanted to get in the house, you know?"
"Fine, fine…" Takina sighed. "The guest room is down the hall on the right."
"Gotcha, thanks." Hana smiled. "I'll wake you up in a few hours after I get settled in."
"Do me a favor and don't." Takina groaned, getting back in bed.
After unpacking the essentials, Hana flopped down on the bed, reflecting on the reason for her arrival. Takina, her best friend since they were little kids, had gotten a job at Leo Corporation. Upon Takina's recommendation, Hana had received an invitation to an upcoming tournament that Leo Corporation was holding. Because of that, she was going to be staying with Takina for a while.
She was curious why the CEO of Leo Corporation would allow something like this. She wasn't too special, all things considered. She was just really good at Duel Monsters, but her real forte was being a suit actress. Well, she wasn't complaining too much. A tournament sounded like it'd be a lot of fun. When she called her brother about it, he said she should go full force.
"Full force, huh…" Hana pulled out her deck, looking at her cards. "Guess I gotta make an explosive impact, then."
About an hour later, Hana was sitting at the dining room table, selecting what cards she'd use for now. It was always difficult making a deck with her cards, because she had so many of them on hand. She didn't even notice Takina walking downstairs with how absorbed she was. "And as I thought, you didn't wake me."
Hana looked over to see Takina had combed her red and blue hair. She was dressed in her work uniform, which consisted of a dress shirt, blazer and a skirt. But there was a sense of customization on them, because Takina didn't tuck in her shirt, her blazer was open, and her skirt wasn't restricting in the slightest. She had a pair of black shoes on, but they were simple black runners that could pass-off as dress shoes if someone wasn't looking hard enough.
"Well, I was gonna wake you, but figured you had an alarm set." Hana said, going back to her cards. "Besides, you looked cute sleeping, and I didn't want to disturb you."
"You already did that; climbing through my window like a maniac." Takina rolled her eyes as she went over to the cupboard to make them breakfast. "Anyways, I have to go to work. You got any plans for today?"
"I'm just gonna walk around a bit. Take Miaimi City in." Hana said. "Wanna get to know the place and all."
"Alright then, just don't get lost." Takina said.
"Since when do I get lost?" Hana crossed her arms.
"Do I need to bring up the forest incident when we were twelve?" Takina asked.
"...okay, fair." Hana pouted. "Alright, I'll use the map app."
"And try to stay out of trouble too." Takina added.
"Yes Mom." Hana rolled her eyes.
A fulfilling breakfast later, Hana hitched a ride in her car as they arrived at Takina's place of work.
"So do I go in for the registration now, or…?" Hana asked.
"There's no pre-registration aside from special invites, which you have." Takina explained, as she parked. "Even so, you just have to show up when the tournament begins."
"Alright, I gotcha." Hana nodded as she stepped out of the car. She looked up at the building and whistled, seeing how tall it was. "How many job interviews did it take to work here?"
"Just one." Takina locked her car. "I think I almost screwed up until I told them I dueled."
"You know, for a gaming company, that should probably be the first thing you say in an interview." Hana pointed out.
"Yeah, I was kicking myself later when I realized that." Takina admitted. "Anyways, you want a tour inside, or…?"
"I can save that for later before the tournament." Hana said, looking out at the city. "I wanna check out the town."
"Alright, just don't get lost." Takina said again.
"I got your point." Hana pouted. "I'm not a kid who needs constant reminders."
"I'm just saying you should watch where you go and stay out of trouble, since you have a habit of diving into things head first… like my window earlier."
"Alright, I got it." Hana said. "I'll be careful. Promise. Have a good day at work, Honey."
"Oh stop it." Takina didn't look too displeased from the teasing as she headed into the building.
Putting her hands behind her head, Hana walked down the street, taking in the sights. It was still a bit early, so this meant that the city was slowly coming to life. Kids were going to school and adults were heading to work. It was quite amazing how large the town felt, yet she could feel the community was pretty tight.
Coming here to duel just felt like it made a lot of sense. Like this was a place made for it. Was she excited for the duels to come? Yes. But she felt more interested in learning about the city.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard some crying. Looking over, she saw a little boy and his mother. Following where he was pointing, she saw a balloon stuck in a tree. The tree was far too tall and steep for his mother to get it for him. She was trying to say she could get him another one, but the boy wouldn't stop crying.
A tree too tall for a normal person, but not for her. With a running start, she dashed at the tree. She jumped, kicking off the trunk and grabbing onto one of the upper branches. Moving along the branch like sideways monkey bars, Hana hoisted herself up, grabbing the balloon by the string. With one hand, she got to the lowest point possible, before sliding down the trunk and landing on her feet. Walking over, she handed the balloon to the little boy, who was now clapping in joy. His mother was a bit baffled at the stunt Hana had just pulled off, but was grateful. She gave the two a smile and a thumbs-up before going back on her way.
This place is alright.
Hana had lost track of time as she continued to walk around Maiami City. The citizens she ran into every now and then were quite polite. She snagged a hot dog from a stand as she continued on her way.
Well now… what's that?
A rather haphazardly built building came into view. It looked similar to play structures that one would find on playgrounds, or similar. A normal person would probably think there's some sort of building permit violation.
But Hana smiled. A place like this was just her style. Looking up, she read the words on the front. ""You Show Duel School". Huh, sounds neat."
She knocked on the door, only to not get any response. There wasn't a doorbell, which she found pretty weird since schools would usually have a buzzer at the front door. Putting a hand under her chin, she decided that she might as well walk up the stairs located underneath most of the building. As she walked up the steps, she could hear the sounds of battle growing louder.
A duel?
"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Spiral Strike Burst!"
Poking her head out, she realized she was on the side of an arena, and she saw a dragon blasting a rather muscular young man with black hair. She saw his life points hit zero as he fell to one knee. The entire area around them shimmered and turned into a simple dueling arena.
"Good game, Gongenzaka!" A young man with red and green hair dropped down, his jacket fluttering behind him.
"Mm!" The muscular boy stood up. "The man, Gongenzaka, accepts this defeat."
"You two did really well." A pink-haired girl walked up to them both. "I really thought Gongenzaka had that in the bag."
"So did I!" The red and green-haired boy said. "But I managed to pull through."
It was then that they noticed the white-haired girl sticking her head out of the entrance in the floor.
"Uh… hi there!" Hana waved. "There wasn't a doorbell, so…"
"I told dad we should've had one…" The pink-haired girl sighed.
"This place looked pretty cool, so I was kind of curious what it was." Hana stepped up. "So this is a dueling school?"
"Yep! Welcome to You Show Duel School! I'm Yuya Sakaki!" The green and red-haired boy said.
"Yuzu Hiiragi." The pink haired girl did a slight bow.
"I am, the man, Noboru Gongaenzaka." The muscular boy said.
"Nice to meet you all." Hana smiled. "Name's Hana Inoue."
Hana Inoue? Yuzu put a hand under her chin. Huh, why does that name sound familiar?
"I gotta ask, who was the designer for this place?" Hana ran a hand across the fenced wall. It was perfect for climbing. "They got a good eye."
"Oh, that'd be my dad, Yusho Sakaki." Yuya said proudly.
"Your dad's got good taste." Hana said, fighting down her urge to climb the fence. "But only three of you? I'd have thought a school would have more students than that."
"Two." Gongenzaka said. "The man, Gongenzaka, is part of Gongenzaka Dojo."
"Well, the Principal, he's Yuzu's dad, took our other students out for a bit. We're watching over the place for now." Yuya said.
"Gotcha, gotcha." Hana said.
"Are you interested in enrolling?" Yuya asked, a bit of hope in his voice. "Cause when the principal shows up, he'd be happy to help. We teach Entertainment Dueling here!"
"I'm only visiting the city." Hana said. "I'm just here for the Maiami Championship."
"Oh, so you're a duelist then?" Yuzu asked.
"Yup." Hana reached into her jacket, showing her duel disk. "Though this Entertainment Dueling thing sounds pretty interesting. I've heard that Maiami City's got some pretty interesting spins on the usual game."
"Then how about a bit of a friendly duel?" Yuya asked.
"Right after another?" Yuzu sighed.
"Hey, I don't mind." Hana grinned, slipping her duel disk on. "I'm kinda curious to see what this place has got to offer."
"Then the man, Gongenzaka, will maintain the Solid Vision with Yuzu!" Gongenzaka said.
"Alright then." Yuzu nodded, also a bit curious to see what kind of duelist Hana was.
Yuya and Hana set their decks, getting on separate sides of the arena. Hana's red duel disk blade came to life.
"Action Field, on!" Gongenzaka called.
The arena around them came to life, shimmering just like how Hana remembered before. A circus-like area came to life around them. Cards seemed to scatter all around the field, though Hana wasn't sure what it meant.
"Field Spell, Performance Coliseum!" Yuzu called. "This one is good to start with!"
The ARC System. Real Solid Vision. Hana thought. Takina explained this to me, but it's still pretty cool. Can't say I prefer it over practical effects, though.
"Alright! You ready for this, Hana?" Yuya grinned, his own duel disk active.
"Yeah… Let's go!"
"Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Yuya chanted. "They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! Action Duel!"
Hana blinked a few times. "What was that?"
"You haven't heard about the Action Duel chant?" Yuya asked.
"She's from out of town, remember?" Yuzu called.
"Oh no don't worry!" Hana shook her head to reassure Yuzu. "It was pretty cool! Love the enthusiasm! Let's do this!"
[ACTION DUEL]
Yuya: 4000 LP
Hana: 4000 LP
"Alright, here's a big hitter right out of the gate!" Yuya grinned, taking the first turn. "Ladies and gentlemen! Let me show you what the pioneer of Pendulum Summoning can do!"
Pendulum Summoning? Hana blinked.
"With my Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale!" He placed the two monsters on two different ends of his duel disk, as the words "PENDULUM" were spelled out on the blade.
Hana widened her eyes, watching as the two different magicians rose on pillars of light. Yuya grabbed onto a rope and tugged on it, as it pulled him to a higher platform.
"With this Pendulum Scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from Level 2 to Level 7!" Yuya declared, landing safely and holding out his arms. "Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light in the sky! Pendulum Summon! Appear now! My monsters!"
He pulled two cards from his hand, placing them on the field.
"First, Performapal Whip Snake!" Yuya called, as a purple snake with a top hat appeared. "And second, appear! Wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Landing next to the snake was the huge white and red dragon Hana saw earlier. Getting a closer look, she saw the various orbs on its body, but the most alluring part were the green and red heterochromatic eyes.
[Performapal Whip Snake – EARTH/Reptile/Effect/L4/1700/900]
[Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon – DARK/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/L7/S4/2500/2000]
"The fun has just begun!" Yuya smiled, posing next to his monsters.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa! What?!" Hana was baffled. "What was that?!"
"The man, Gongenzaka, would explain, but is still not too sure himself!" Gongenzaka said.
"Yuya, the spotlight's on you. It's your summon." Yuzu smiled, as the spotlight literally shone down on him.
"This is the Pendulum Summon!" Yuya said. "Pendulum Monsters are special as they are also spell cards! And by placing two together and getting the right Scale, I can Special Summon any monsters with the right levels between the Scales!"
Special summoning monsters that quickly… and treating monsters as spells? Hana was stunned. I wasn't expecting this much of a surprise to Maiami City! I gotta tell Takina later!
"Since I took the first turn, I can't attack, so I'll end." Yuya said. "So, what do you think?"
Hana was admittedly confused about the Pendulum Summon. The system wasn't registering it as an error, so it couldn't have been against the rules.
But seeing such a new gameplay mechanic excited her. Yuya might be bringing in the new, but now it was Hana's turn to show some classics.
"Pretty dang cool." Hana admitted with a grin, before closing her eyes and taking a breath.
"Uh… Hana?" Yuya wondered if she was trying to doze off.
"Action Duel. Pendulum Summoning. Okay, I think I got it now." Hana opened her eyes. "Here I go!"
With a running start, the girl jumped onto several stacked crates, before flipping into the air. She landed on her feet atop one of the pillars, reaching Yuya's level.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Hana called, shocking Yuya and his friends as she used Yuya's words. "It's time for... Superstar Action!"
"H-Hey! You can't steal my lines!" Yuya complained.
"I put my own twist on it." Hana chuckled. "Now it's my turn! I draw!"
She pulled a card from her deck, seeing a familiar art.
"You might have those Pendulum Monsters, but I have a specialty of my own!" Hana declared. "I activate the spell card, Polymerization!"
"Polymerization?" Yuya said. "Ah, you can Fusion Summon?!"
"Yup!" Hana grinned. "And from my hand I'll fuse Elemental HERO Sparkman and Elemental HERO Clayman!"
Appearing at Hana's side was a blue and gold robotic hero, and a large bulky hero made of clay. The two heroes jumped skyward into a swirling helix.
"Hero of sparks, hero of clay! Merge your powers together and harness the powers of your allies!" Hana clapped her hands before holding a hand forward and clenching her fist. "Fusion Summon! It's showtime, Elemental HERO Grandmerge!"
Landing on the battlefield was a large muscular hero. It had a similar appearance to Sparkman, but with several red highlights on his bodysuit. Clayman's parts formed upper body armor and a gauntlet on its right arm, ending in a laser cannon. Its left arm and right ankle had green tufts of fur, as well as a pair of angelic wings.
[Elemental HERO Grandmerge – LIGHT/Warrior/Fusion/Effect/L6/0/0]
"Fusion Summoning!" Yuzu was impressed.
"Most duelists struggle to learn such techniques. The man, Gongenzaka, is impressed!" Gongenzaka nodded.
"Wait, but your monster has zero attack points!" Yuya said, seeing the monster was practically powerless.
"Grandmerge isn't any ordinary hero!" Hana declared. "He gains 300 attack and defense points from the combined levels of his Fusion materials! Sparkman and Clayman's levels combined are 8! Meaning that Grandmerge's attack points and defense points rise to 2400!"
Grandmerge clenched his fists, as his power increased.
[Elemental HERO Grandmerge – ATK/DEF: 0/0 2400/2400]
"Now, let's battle!" Hana declared. "Elemental HERO Grandmerge, attack Performapal Whip Snake! Elemental Barrage!"
Grandmerge spread its wings and took off towards Whip Snake. Yuya widened his eyes. There's no point in me using Whip Snake's ability because Grandmerge's stats are the same! In that case…!
Hana watched as Yuya jumped off the platform, grabbing onto one of the hanging ropes. "Wait, what are you-?"
"Found one!" Yuya snagged a card stuck on a nearby pillar. "Action Spell, Attack Force! This increases Performapal Whip Snake's attack points by 600!"
[Performapal Whip Snake – ATK: 1700 2300]
Despite the attack boost, Grandmerge continued his attack. He aimed his wrist cannon, firing two blasts of lightning and clay respectively, obliterating Whip Snake.
Yuya: 4000 -> 3900 LP
"Whew!" Yuya landed on the pile of crates Hana jumped off earlier. "I shaved off a hit there!"
"Hold on, what was that?" Hana called, confused. "You just grabbed a card out of nowhere!"
"That's an Action Card!" Yuya explained. "In Action Duels, we have them scattered around the field. If you grab one, you can activate it whenever! Though you can only have one Action Card in your hand at a time!"
"Where did they come from?" Hana asked, turning towards the two observers.
"They're made from Solid Vision!" Yuzu explained. "We can't exactly scatter real cards all around at all times now, can we?"
"Action Cards add an element of surprise to even the most intense duels!" Yuya said. "A good Entertainment Duelist keeps his audience guessing, after all! What do you think?"
Hana felt her grin grow. Maiami City just kept getting better and better with all the twists they were throwing at her. Action Cards… How thrilling!
"You've shown me quite a bit, Yuya, but my battle phase isn't over!" Hana said.
"Huh? But you already attacked with your monster!" Yuya pointed out.
"I told you that Grandmerge isn't an ordinary hero!" Hana called. "After destroying a monster in battle, I can tribute him to Special Summon an Elemental HERO Fusion Monster from my extra deck, ignoring its summoning conditions!"
"Say what?!"
"The tradeoff is that I can't attack monsters of an equal or lower level to my new monster, but this guy won't have to worry about that handicap! Let's go, Grandmerge!" Grandmerge turned into light, before shattering. "Now Grandmerge will create the path for my new hero to arrive! The power of the light and earth will evolve further into an explosive force! It's showtime, Elemental HERO Thunder Giant – Voltic Thunder!"
An absolutely massive hero with yellow armor and a purple undersuit arrived on the battlefield, shaking the arena with its presence.
[Elemental HERO Thunder Giant – Voltic Thunder – LIGHT/Warrior/Fusion/Effect/L6/2400/1500]
"She brought out a Fusion Monster without Fusion Summoning!" Yuzu was amazed.
"But it's just as strong as Grandmerge was!" Yuya said. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon won't go down to it!"
"Oh I'm not battling just yet!" Hana grinned. "When Thunder Giant – Voltic Thunder is Special Summoned and you control more cards than I do, I can destroy all other cards on the field!"
"What?!"
"Elemental HERO Thunder Giant – Voltic Thunder!" Hana called. "Vapor Storm!"
Thunder Giant – Voltic Thunder brought its hands together, before creating a ball of yellow electricity. It brought an arm back before throwing it forward, unleashing a massive blast of power, destroying not only Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, but also Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician."
"No! Odd-Eyes!" Yuya called, before jumping off the crates. "I need an Action Card-!"
"Now, Elemental HERO Thunder Giant – Voltic Thunder! Attack Yuya's life points directly with Voltic Crash!"
With surprising speed for how massive the monster was, Thunder Giant – Voltic Thunder flew towards Yuya, before holding out a massive hand and shocking him.
Yuya: 3900 -> 1500 LP
"Gggaaaaah!" Yuya was shocked by the blast. "That stung like crazy!"
"Sorry about that!" Hana apologized. "I'll set a card and end my turn!"
Yuya was still smoking a bit from the shock as Thunder Giant – Voltic Thunder returned to Hana's side.
"The man, Gongenzaka, is amazed!" Gongenzaka said. "She broke through Yuya's Pendulum Summon, and destroyed every one of the cards on his field!"
"Yuya!" Yuzu called. "You better not give up now!"
"Y-Yeah!" Yuya coughed, getting the last bit of the shock pain out. "I'm impressed, Hana! This is your first Action Duel and you're doing really well! I'd say you got the potential to be a great Entertainment Duelist!"
"I just like showing what heroes can do." Hana said humbly. "You got more to show yourself, don't you Yuya? It's your stage now, so let's see what turnaround you can make!"
Yuya grinned. Hana's own enthusiasm was contagious, so he had to keep up the tempo. "Then it's my turn now! I draw!"
Yuya looked at the cards in his hand. His grin slightly faltered. Though he had the cards to set the Pendulum Scale again, he didn't have the right cards to Pendulum Summon proper.
But then he heard the roar of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, as his extra deck glew. "Odd-Eyes? What are you trying to tell me?"
Hana raised a brow. Yuya had two cards in his hand, putting him at a distinct disadvantage since she was the only one with a monster on the field. Despite everything he had shown her so far with Entertainment Dueling, Action Cards and Pendulum Summoning, something told her he still had more cards to play.
"Alright! I'll go with this!" Yuya said. "With my Scale 2 Performapal Ballad and Scale 8 Performapal Skullcrobat Joker, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
Like before, Yuya set the two cards on different ends of the duel disk. Two human-like creatures rose on the pillars. One had a large flower on its head with thorns spreading down, while the other was dressed like a jester.
But he doesn't have any cards in his hand. Hana noted. Will his monsters activate their effects?
"With this Pendulum Scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from Level 3 to Level 7!" Yuya called. "Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light in the sky! Pendulum Summon! Appear now! My monsters!"
Hana widened her eyes as she saw three beams of light shot down from above.
"First, Timegazer Magician! Then second, Stargazer Magician!" Yuya shouted, as the two magicians from earlier appeared at his side. "And last but not least! Wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
[Timegazer Magician – DARK/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/L3/S8/1200/600]
[Stargazer Magician – DARK/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/L5/S1/1200/2400]
[Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon – DARK/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/L7/S4/2500/2000]
"Whaaaaa?!" Hana widened her eyes. "You can Special Summon monsters from the graveyard?!"
"The man, Gongenzaka, did not know this!" Gongenzaka said.
Yuzu looked at the dashboard recording the duel. "Wait, it says Yuya's monsters never went to the graveyard!"
"That's because when Pendulum Monsters are destroyed, they're sent to the extra deck!" Yuya said, stunning everyone. "Let's battle! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Elemental HERO Thunder Giant – Voltic Thunder! Spiral Strike Burst!"
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon jumped in the air, shooting a burst of red energy from its mouth. Thunder Giant – Voltic Thunder crossed his arms to try blocking the strike.
"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's effect activates!" Yuya pointed. "When it battles a monster, battle damage is doubled! Reaction Force!"
The orbs on Odd-Eyes' body glew as the burst of energy grew larger. Hana raised an arm as Thunder Giant – Voltic Thunder exploded. Yuya jumped onto a seesaw once her life points dropped.
Hana: 4000 -> 3800 LP
"And now, both Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician will attack you directly!" Yuya called.
The two magicians rushed forward. Timegazer landed on the other end of the seesaw first, launching Yuya upwards as he grabbed into a tightrope. The two magicians sped towards Hana, each striking and causing her life points to plummet even further.
Hana: 3800 -> 1400 LP
"With that, I end my turn!" Yuya said, landing back on one of the upper levels. "What do you think, Hana?!"
Hana stood back up, smiling. She flicked her wrist once. "Pretty cool! I'm glad I stopped by. So let me return that move in kind! Draw!"
Drawing with a flourish, Hana glanced at the card. She smirked, seeing who it was. So it's your turn, huh?
"I'll summon Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird!" Hana placed the card on her duel disk. Landing on the field was a humanoid bird hero.
[Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird – WIND/Winged Beast/Effect/L3/800/600]
"Neo-Spacian?" Yuzu said.
"Hey, that card's pretty different!" Yuya noted. "Kinda reminds me of my Performapals!"
"You ready to do this, Air Hummingbird?" Hana asked.
The monster looked back at her and nodded with a smile.
"I activate the spell card, Miracle Fusion!" Hana called. "I banish Elemental HERO Sparkman and Elemental HERO Clayman from my graveyard for a Fusion Summon!"
"Fusing cards in the graveyard?!" Gongenzaka was amazed as Sparkman and Clayman briefly appeared again.
"Hero of sparks, hero of clay! Combine your power to create a force that will shake the very earth beneath our feet!" Clapping her hands, she punched forward. "Fusion Summon! It's showtime, Elemental HERO Gaia!"
Crashing onto the field next to Air Hummingbird was a massive hero. It had a body made of polished stone, with red orbs all over his body. He raised his arms, roaring in challenge.
[Elemental HERO Gaia – EARTH/Warrior/Fusion/Effect/L6/2200/2600]
"Impressive, Hana!" Yuya said. "But that monster's not strong enough to defeat Odd-Eyes!"
"Not just yet!" Hana said. "Upon being Special Summoned, Elemental HERO Gaia halves one of your monster's attack points, before adding it to his!"
"What?!"
"Shifting Tremors!" Hana shouted.
Gaia slammed his fist into the ground, causing a crack to form in the ground and shoot towards Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. The dragon roared as Gaia absorbed its attack points.
[Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon – ATK: 2500 1250]
[Elemental HERO Gaia – ATK: 2200 3450]
"3450?!" Yuya shouted.
"This is bad! If Yuya takes this attack, he'll lose!" Yuzu realized.
"Go, Elemental HERO Gaia!" Hana shouted. "Continental Hammer!"
Gaia raised a fist, bringing it down towards the weakened dragon.
Yuya jumped off the platform, entering a dive. He grabbed an Action Card from a hanging rope. "Action Spell, Miracle! With this, Odd-Eyes can't be destroyed, and battle damage is halved!"
Odd-Eyes managed to deflect the strike from Gaia, as Yuya's life points managed to survive the attack.
Yuya: 1500 -> 400 LP
Yuya landed on a trampoline below, before jumping off and rolling onto one of the lower platforms. "Whew! Close shave!"
"I'm not done yet!" Hana shouted, tapping her duel disk. "I activate my Trap! Favorite Contact!"
The Trap card flipped up, and Air Hummingbird began to glow.
"With this, I can return two cards to the bottom my deck for a Fusion Summon!" Hana declared.
"Another way to Fusion Summon?!" Yuzu was shocked.
"The man, Gongenzaka, is amazed by how much she can do!" Gongenzaka said.
"I return Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird on the field and Elemental HERO Neos in my hand to my deck!" Hana shouted, as Air Hummingbird returned to her deck and she slid Neos in the bottom. The winds started to kick up, and Yuya and his monsters were slightly pushed back by the gust. Hovering by Hana was a muscular hero of white and red, with a blue orb in his chest. The skies transformed into space, and the two heroes flew into the stars.
"Hero of Neo-Space, gain the wings of the hummingbird and take flight to defeat evil!" Hana clapped, clenching her fist. "Contact Fusion! It's showtime, Elemental HERO Air Neos!"
Descending onto the field was Neos, but he was now red like Air Hummingbird, with a pair of feathery wings.
[Elemental HERO Air Neos – WIND/Warrior/Fusion/Effect/L7/2500/2000]
"The law of victory is set! Go, Elemental HERO Air Neos! Attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Hana threw a fist forward. "Skyrip Wing!"
Yuya started running for another Action Card, but Air Neos flew past Yuya, the gust of wind blowing the action card out of his reach. Air Neos flew up before diving at Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Odd-Eyes attempted to retaliate with a blast of energy, but Air Neos dove straight through the beam, before tackling the dragon head-on. Flying out of the beam, Air Neos landed with his back turned to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, before the dragon exploded and depleted the rest of Yuya's life points.
Yuya: 400 -> 0 LP
Hana snapped her fingers and pointed skyward as she turned away from the duel. "The winner in the end is me!"
Winner! Hana Inoue!
Hana jumped down from above onto the trampoline, before flipping in the air briefly and landing on her feet. She walked over to Yuya, who had been knocked over by the defeat.
"Good game, Yuya." Hana said, holding out her hand. "You kept me guessing that entire time. Pendulum Summoning was a massive surprise."
"I can say the same!" Yuya grinned as he was pulled up. "I didn't know you could Fusion Summon in so many ways!"
Imitating their duelists, Air Neos and Gaia held out their fists towards Timegazer and Stargazer. The two magicians shared a glance before returning the fist bumps. The arena around them started to fade away to clapping. Yuya and Hana turned to see not just Yuzu and Gongenzaka, but a few more faces.
"Huh?!" Yuzu took a step back. "When did you guys get here?!"
"Amazing! Incredible!" A with brown hair dressed in a red tracksuit was clapping. "That duel got my blood boiling!"
"Yeah! It gave me the shivers!" Said a kid with green hair.
"I can't believe Yuya lost, though…" A girl with red hair said.
"That's just how strong his opponent must be!" A blue-haired boy said.
Hana looked at Yuya. "I'm guessing these must be the principal and the other students?"
"Yup!" Yuya smiled. "Principal Shuzo Hiiragi, and the You Show Junior division, Tatsuya Yamashiro, Ayu Ayukawa and Futoshi Harada. Everyone, this is Hana Inoue."
So these are all the students huh? Hana noted. And the principal is Yuzu's dad? Not seeing much of a family resemblance.
"And to answer your question Yuzu, we just got here on the second last turn. We just didn't speak up." Suzhou said. "And I can't believe we got to witness another ability of the new summoning method Yuya created."
Yuya chuckled and bowed. "Thank you, thank you."
Hana smirked, but then noticed that the three kids were looking rather intently at her. "Is there something on my face?"
As if a timer went off, the three kids all widened their eyes at the same time.
"Ahh!" All three of the younger students recognized Hana. "You're her!"
""Her?"" Yuzu repeated.
"She's Ruka Asuka!" Tatsuya said, stars in his eyes.
"Duel Rider Destiny! I've got the shivers!" Futoshi grinned.
"You're the coolest! I always loved watching you!" Aya smiled.
"Haha…" Hana rubbed the back of her head. "Looks like I've been found out."
"Hana Inoue…" Shuzo tapped his foot, thinking about where he heard the name. "Oh! Now I remember! You're the daughter of famous actor Takeshi Inoue, the actor for the very first Duel Rider series! Your mother, Ruriko Inoue, is a bestselling author, and your brother, Hayato Inoue, is a former pro-duelist! And you yourself made that breakthrough performance as Ruka Asuka in Duel Rider Freedom."
"Yeah, that's all correct." Hana shrugged. "I really gotta get my wikipedia page taken down…"
"That's right!" Yuzu remembered. "She was in that popular drama from last year, Rain Day Shine!"
"Whoa!" Yuya's eyes were wide. "You're that famous?!"
"It's nothing." Hana shrugged. "I only have a few roles under my belt, so I wouldn't consider myself to be in the big leagues."
"That's still a lot!" Yuzu said, clearly feeling the presence of a superstar.
"Listen, I appreciate the words, but I'm Hana Inoue before anything else." Hana said, before checking her watch. "But it was neat meeting you all. I should probably go though; I haven't finished unpacking everything yet, and my roommate will probably get on my case about it."
"Wait, have you considered enroll-?" Shuzo started to ask.
WHACK
Hana took a step back, as Yuzu had pulled a paper fan out of nowhere.
"We can't just ask people out of nowhere, Dad!" Yuzu reminded him.
"Uh, I appreciate the offer, but I think high school was enough for me." Hana sweatdropped.
"You're telling me…" Yuya groaned, thinking about regular classes.
"But I'll probably drop in every now and then. We got some time before the Maiami Championship, after all." Hana said, before heading over to the stairs. "I'd better see you guys in the tournament, yeah? Show me more of that Entertainment Dueling."
"Yeah, of course! It's a promise!" Yuya said.
"The man, Gongenzaka, is filled with determination!" Gongenzaka nodded.
"Count on it!" Yuzu waved.
With a thumbs-up, Hana walked down the stairs, leaving You Show Duel School behind.
Pretty cool place. Guess taking that invite was a good decision after all.
Within a dark room slightly illuminated by computers, three figures were discussing the recent duel that had been picked up.
"So that's your report, Nakajima?"
"Yes, President." A black-haired man with dark glasses said. "Not long after the Pendulum Summoning signals, there were Fusion Summon signals. Strong ones too."
A young man with glasses and a red scarf tented his fingers. Reiji Akaba, the young yet brilliant president of Leo Corp. "Fusion Summoning… we likely don't need to go through the database. Takina, I suppose that's your friend?"
Takina stepped up with a nod. "She did say she wanted to go out and explore the city, so that's a fair guess. I should keep her on a tighter leash."
"Leash…?" Nakajima sweatdropped.
"I suppose your judgement to give her an invite wasn't far off." Reiji said. "I'm curious to see what else she will do."
"She's always been like this." Takina smiled. "Ever since we were kids."
"If that's the case, I suppose I shall expect great things." Reiji said. "Takina, if you would…"
The girl crossed her arms. "I'll be your eyes. If there's anyone that can help us, it'll be Hana."