"Ohayou~ Yugi!"
Early in the morning, at the steps of the school gate, Anzu and Yugi met, exchanging smiles.
"Hm? Anzu, did you change your hairstyle? It really suits you~"
Touching the bangs she had deliberately trimmed, Anzu replied shyly, "Well, high school life is about to end soon, right? I wanted to change my image a little. So… what do you think, Atem?"
"Uh…" Yugi gave an awkward laugh. "The other me thinks… yeah, it's really cute."
Even though Atem hadn't said a word, that much was Yugi's gentle white lie.
"That's great!" Anzu patted her chest, looking relieved.
"Wait, why haven't I seen Hoshino today? Don't tell me she overslept again?"
Yugi sighed and nodded. "Same as always. I bet she stayed up late last night playing with Mana again. But when it comes to Hoshino, even if she's late, the teachers won't say anything."
After all, she had always been ranked first in the year, bore the title of Duel King, and rumors said KaibaCorp had already offered her a high-paying contract before graduation—her future looked like that of a lifelong winner.
A model student like Hoshino, even if she frequently came late or left early, was usually overlooked by the teachers, who rarely scolded her.
"Really makes me a little jealous~" Yugi sighed, admitting sometimes the gap between people was just too wide.
"No, no, that's not right, Yugi!"
Anzu's expression suddenly turned anxious as she quickly waved her hands. "Hoshino can't have forgotten—this morning isn't a normal class. It's the graduation ceremony and the speech from the outstanding graduate, remember?"
Although the actual graduation was still a little way off, Domino High School held its ceremony a few days early. Like most ceremonies, the top student was required to give a speech.
And that very "outstanding graduate" was now standing before a mirror, looking completely distressed.
(***)
Kame Game Shop – Hoshino's Room
Compared to the neat, simple (almost bare) room from two years ago, it looked a little more cluttered now. Not because Hoshino had given up and started living like a fallen otaku, but because another "roommate" had moved in…
"zZ~ Hahh… Prince, Mana's cooking is delicious, just one bite, heehee…"
Wearing a green triangular sleep hat, Mana muttered nonsense even in her dreams.
Even though Mana was just a spirit, she loved staying up late, sleeping in, binging on snacks and games, and had turned herself from a national apprentice mage into a good-for-nothing shut-in.
Well, it couldn't be helped—the shut-in lifestyle was just too sweet. If given the chance, who wouldn't want to spend all day playing games? Work? Doesn't exist.
"Disaster! I've actually shrunk!!"
"Mm?! What is it, Hoshino?!"
Mana, half-asleep, rubbed her eyes and tried to focus after being jolted awake by Hoshino's scream in front of the mirror.
Clutching her chest tightly, Hoshino's trembling voice cracked. "As I feared… it finally happened."
Over two years, everyone had changed in some way. Yugi in particular had grown dramatically, fully embodying the rapid development of a high school boy—he was now nearly as tall as Anzu (counting his hair, of course).
But Hoshino carried a hidden worry: her body hadn't grown at all.
Sure, one might argue not everyone grows much during high school, and many finish maturing before then.
But Hoshino was different. She had seen her future self with her own eyes—ten years older, possessing long, alluring legs and a full, mature figure. She had believed wholeheartedly she would grow into that.
Reality, however, had cruelly slapped her in the face. Ever since awakening the powers of Atlantis, her body had not only failed to grow, but had even begun to regress—reversing in development.
This morning, while changing clothes, she realized just how serious the problem had become.
["Big crisis, aibou! This is a singularity!!"]
"What in the world happened to scare you like this, Hoshino?"
Still dazed, Mana crawled out of bed in her green pajamas, eyes half-closed.
When Hoshino's eyes flicked to Mana's chest—so large it looked ready to burst through the buttons—an inexplicable fire rose within her.
"Take this! I activate Soul Release—banish your chest! No… better yet, I'll play the Spell Card Steal instead…"
.
..
...
"Hoshino really didn't make it, huh."
In the school auditorium, Yugi glanced at Hoshino's still-empty seat. All the graduates, along with their underclassmen, had gathered to hear the principal's long speech.
Bakura looked around. "Not just Hoshino. Kaiba isn't here either."
But Kaiba's absence was nothing new. If in the past two years he had still occasionally shown up to maintain attendance, by their third year he had completely vanished from school life. Some even suspected he had dropped out.
"Ohoho~ And with that, I wish our graduates a bright future! Now, please welcome our top student, Hoshino Chiyuki, to the stage for her address~"
The kindly old principal, wrinkles lined with joy, cast a hopeful gaze toward Hoshino's class.
When his old friend Sugoroku Muto had first introduced this girl, he had worried she might be a troublesome student. But in the blink of an eye, two years had passed, and this transfer student had become Domino High's pride.
Though Hoshino sometimes caused mischief, the principal adored her nonetheless—she brought him genuine happiness.
"What do we do, what do we do?!" Jonouchi clutched his head in panic. "Should I go up and give the speech in her place?"
Honda gave him a deadpan look. "Out of everyone, you're the last person who'd be chosen. Stop daydreaming."
"So what, we're just gonna sit here listening to the air give a speech?"
As the silence stretched on and students began to murmur, searching for Hoshino's figure, a deafening crash from the schoolyard outside suddenly seized everyone's attention—
"We've arrived, Senpai!"
Using her shield to soften the landing, Mashu looked down at Hoshino, who was curled up in her arms.
"No good, Mash… I think I'm airsick. Ugh! I swear I'm never flying Arash Airlines again."
Because of the sudden situation that morning, Hoshino had nearly missed her graduation speech. Left with no other option, she resorted to the last measure—Arash Airlines, the guaranteed way to arrive on time no matter where you were.
Of course, that only applied if you survived the landing. Otherwise, you'd just end up as a smear on the ground.
"Please, pull yourself together, Senpai! If we don't make it to the ceremony, then all my efforts—and Arash-san's too—will have been wasted."
"You're right, I can't let Arash's sacrifice be for nothing. (…He's not actually dead, though.)"
Brushing the dust off her clothes, Hoshino strode into the auditorium and pushed open the doors. Under countless stares, she walked toward the podium as if nothing had happened.
"Even at graduation, she manages to stir up chaos… that's so typical of Hoshino," Jonouchi snickered.
But Anzu frowned in concern. "Why is she all dirty? And maybe it's just me, but lately… doesn't Hoshino look a little smaller somehow?"
Yugi quickly agreed. "Eh? I thought it was just my imagination! So you noticed it too, Anzu?"
Honda and Jonouchi, however, were unconvinced. "Really? I don't see any difference. Maybe she just picked up some new fashion tricks, so it looks that way?"
From their taller perspectives, the boys were always looking down at Hoshino, so her subtle shrinking was harder for them to notice.
"It's not that kind of 'shrinking' at all… shh, the teacher's staring at us."
Caught by the homeroom teacher's icy glare, Anzu sheepishly stuck out her tongue.
"Ohoho, so glad you made it, Hoshino-kun~"
The kindly, smiling principal didn't even seem surprised—clearly used to such antics. Without pressing further, he simply handed her the microphone.
Taking it, Hoshino cleared her throat and solemnly began, "Ahem! Everyone! Uh, wait… no, that's wrong…"
That opening line was Kaiba's trademark, not exactly fitting for a graduation speech.
But… what was she even supposed to say at a graduation ceremony? Only after stepping up did Hoshino realize she'd never actually thought about it.
["I knew it, aibou—you didn't prepare a single word. Good thing I did my homework last night. Just repeat after me~"]
"Truly reliable, my other self! I'll leave it to you."
"Ahem! Time flows, like water through our fingers. In the blink of an eye, three years have already passed…"
Following Hoshino Alter's voice and her perfectly prepared crib notes, Hoshino managed to deliver a flawless graduation address.
"Jonouchi!!"
"Honda!! We're really graduating! I'll never forget you guys!!"
The barbarian duo embraced each other, bawling as they were swept away by the mood of the moment.
Bakura tugged at their sleeves, trying to calm them. "Come on, relax a little. We all live in Domino City—it's not like you'll never see each other again."
To be fair, graduation season wouldn't be complete without a few tears and sentiment.
But in the middle of the students, one person was completely out of step with the atmosphere.
"Hoshino Chiyuki? So this is the one Shadi spoke of—the one who destroyed the Millennium Eye. Quite the showy entrance."
A boy in a student uniform, his hairstyle unusual, fixed an intense gaze on Hoshino.
"Onii-chan, must we really do this? Lord Shadi clearly told us before he left not to interfere with anyone close to the Pharaoh."
Appearing beside him in a spirit-like form, a small girl with uncertain eyes tried to dissuade him.
But the boy's eyes did not waver. "Sera, it's because Hoshino destroyed the Millennium Eye that Lord Shin's soul couldn't return to the afterlife. We, too, are trapped, unable to ascend to a higher dimension."
The siblings—Sera and Diva—had been orphans since birth, scraping to survive in the slums of Egypt. Their savior had been none other than Shadi, guardian of the Millennium Items for three thousand years and inheritor of the late priest Shada's soul.
After the mission to unlock the Pharaoh's memories, Shadi should have returned with him to the afterlife using the power of the seven Millennium Items. But the broken Millennium Eye disrupted that plan, leaving the Pharaoh's soul behind in the living world.
Shadi, his strength exhausted, entrusted the Millennium Key and Scale to Ishizu before finally falling into eternal slumber.
"To me, Hoshino, who shattered the Millennium Eye, and the Pharaoh, who abandoned Lord Shadi… both of them are the murderers who caused his death! And now they dare to enjoy such carefree school lives?!"
To Diva, Shadi had been more than a savior—he revered him like a god. Not only for rescuing them, but for his teachings.
"Lord Shadi said the body is only a limited vessel. Only when the soul transcends the flesh can one reach the higher dimension. To fulfill his wish and ascend, I need strong souls as the key to open that gate."
From his observation, duelists' souls were far stronger than those of ordinary people. And the souls of Duel King Hoshino Chiyuki and Pharaoh Yugi Muto were the closest to what Shadi had described as transcendent.
"Onii-chan…" Watching her brother's obsession harden into ideology after Shadi's passing, Sera could only feel helpless.
"Senpai Hoshino, please give me your second button!"
"Senpai, I'll never forget you!"
"Without seeing you, my school life would mean nothing!"
Surrounded by underclassman girls, Hoshino struggled to endure their overwhelming enthusiasm.
Nearby, Jonouchi sulked with his hands in his pockets, kicking a stone across the yard.
"Tch, why is Hoshino so popular with the girls? I want some cute kouhai to see me off too!"
Bakura tried to console him. "Come on, Jonouchi. We should be looking to the future! Who knows—maybe once you become a pro duelist, you'll have plenty of fans too."
"You're really a good guy, Bakura. Let's work hard together from now on!"
"Bakura-senpai, this is a graduation gift from your fan club!"
Sorry, Jonouchi, but handsome Bakura already had a female fan club at school. The truth is, life isn't fair—some people are born at the finish line, while others aren't even running on the same track.
"Senpai Hoshino, may I speak with you alone?"
Pushing through the crowd, Diva approached. Gone was the coldness in his eyes from earlier; now, they were filled with sincerity.
"Wait, is this… a graduation confession?!"
The gossip-loving girls squealed in excitement, watching the strikingly handsome boy.