[Yumi, LP 4000]
[Declan, LP 4000]
"My turn. Draw!"
Yumi drew a card and glanced at it briefly before sliding it into his hand.
"Spell Card, Take Over 5! I send the top five cards from my deck to the Graveyard."
Five cards shot out one after another. Yumi calmly collected them and placed them into his Graveyard without even checking twice.
"I banish the Winged Kuriboh in my Graveyard and Special Summon the Winged Kuriboh LV 4 in my Graveyard!"
A small glow flickered from the Graveyard slot. The banished Winged Kuriboh faded away, and in its place, a brown furball with large white feathery wings appeared on the field.
[Winged Kuriboh LV 4, 1000 ATK]
Winged Kuriboh LV 4: Kuri Kuri!
"Winged Kuriboh LV 4's effect," Yumi continued evenly. "I banish it and Special Summon any Kuriboh monster from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard, ignoring its Summoning conditions."
The winged furball dissolved into light.
In its place, a different Kuriboh dropped onto the field, this one wearing a yellow bandana and an eyepatch, with small sharp fangs poking out.
[Kuribandit, 1000 ATK]
"I activate Kuribandit's effect. I Tribute it. I draw five cards, then send any monsters I drew to the Graveyard."
Kuribandit saluted before vanishing.
Yumi drew five cards in one smooth motion. He glanced at them, then selected two monster cards and sent them straight to the Graveyard without hesitation. The remaining three stayed in his hand.
Declan watched the sequence carefully.
Drawing many cards this early. Milling cards. Special Summoning repeatedly.
It didn't look threatening yet, but something about the flow bothered him. It reminded him of that girl, who seemed to keep haunting him no matter where he went.
"I activate KuriDJ's effect," Yumi said, discarding the card. "I discard it and reveal three cards from my Deck or Graveyard that consist of a monster, a spell, and a trap. You choose one to add to my hand. The rest get shuffled back to my deck."
Two cards slid out from his Deck. One rose from the Graveyard slot. Yumi held them up for Declan to see.
Kuribangboo, Transaction Rollback, Kuriboh Exchange
Declan's eyelid twitched slightly. He had never seen any of them before. No familiarity. No way to calculate risk properly.
He didn't like picking blind. But there is nothing he could do.
"Kuriboh Exchange," Declan said at random.
Yumi added Kuriboh Exchange to his hand and returned the other two cards to the Deck, the deck shuffled itself.
"I Normal Summon, Sky Striker Kuriboh."
A small brown Kuriboh appeared, holding a miniature Sky Striker Ace katana that was slightly too big for it.
[Sky Striker Kuriboh, 300 ATK]
"Spell Card, Kuriboh Exchange! I return the Sky Striker Kuriboh on my field to the Deck and Special Summon a different Kuriboh monster from my Deck."
Sky Striker Kuriboh spun once before turning into particles and returning to Yumi's Deck.
A heavier presence followed.
A deep green-cyan furball with a massive single horn and sharp, focused eyes appeared, floating steadily above the field.
[Kuribabylon, 0 -> 2400 ATK]
Declan's gaze sharpened.
"I activate Kuribabylon's effect. I return it to my hand, and Special Summon my five Kuriboh brothers from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard."
The large horned Kuriboh compressed into a glowing sphere before splitting into five smaller streaks of light.
One by one, they materialized.
[Kuriboh, 300 ATK]
[Kuribah, 300 ATK]
[Kuribee, 300 ATK]
[Kuribeh, 300 ATK]
[Kuriboo, 300 ATK]
Five small furballs floated across Yumi's field, chirping in unison.
"I activate Kuribah's effect!" Yumi raised his hand slightly. "By sending all five brothers to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Kuribabylon from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard. And its original ATK is based on the combined ATK of my Kuriboh brothers!"
The five Kuribohs glowed at the same time. Their small bodies dissolved into light, merging together midair into a single, growing sphere.
The sphere expanded before bursting open.
Kuribabylon returned, larger, its horn sharper, eyes more intense.
[Kuribabylon, 1500 -> 5100 ATK]
Declan: "!!!"
Were the Kuribohs supposed to be weak offensively?
How come there is a Kuriboh with over 5000 attack power!?
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, The Monarchs Stormforth!"
Declan flipped his face-down card instantly.
"With this, I can Tribute your Kuribabylon and Tribute Summon Raiza the Storm Monarch!"
A violent storm formed around the massive furball. Wind spiraled downward, lifting Kuribabylon off the field and tearing it apart into streaks of light.
The storm shifted sides, slamming onto Declan's side of the field.
A tall figure clad in light green armor stepped forward, a long cape billowing behind it as the winds died down.
[Raiza the Storm Monarch, 2400 ATK]
Declan exhaled quietly. The threat was removed before it could cause any major damage.
Yumi looked at his now-empty field for a moment.
Then, "I set four cards face-down."
Four cards appeared behind him in a straight line.
"Turn end."
"My turn! Draw!"
Declan drew smoothly, eyes lowering to the card in his hand. His expression didn't change, but his next move came immediately.
"I Tribute Raiza on my field to Tribute Summon Mobius the Mega Monarch!"
A freezing wind spiraled outward, replacing the fading presence of Raiza. The temperature around the field seemed to drop as frost formed in the air.
The storm dissipated.
In its place stood a towering figure clad in silver-white armor, a long flowing blue cape trailing behind it like frozen mist.
[Mobius the Mega Monarch, 2800 ATK]
"This card can be Tribute Summoned with one Tribute if the Tribute was a Tribute Summoned monster," Declan explained calmly before lifting his hand. "Mobius's effect activate-"
"Quick-Play Spell, Effect Shut."
Yumi snapped his fingers.
One of his face-down cards flipped open instantly.
"When you activate a monster effect, negate it and destroy it."
Golden electricity surged across Mobius's body. The frost cracked. The armor fractured. A second later, the Mega Monarch exploded into fragments of light.
"Tch." Declan clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Mobius was gone before it could even resolve.
"Then battle!" Declan said without hesitation. "Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, direct attack!"
Thestalos stepped forward. Flames gathered rapidly in its palms, compressing into a dense sphere before being launched straight at Yumi.
Yumi didn't move.
Instead, he raised his Duel Disk slightly as a card slid outward.
"I activate Clear Kuriboh's effect. When you declare a direct attack, I can banish this card from my grave, draw one card, and if it's a monster, I Special Summon it. Then you must attack that monster."
He placed two fingers lightly on top of his deck and drew.
Without even checking the card, he smiled, then placed it onto his Duel Disk.
[Kuriboh, 300 ATK]
A small brown furball appeared directly in front of him.
Kuriboh: "Kuri!"
The fireball redirected toward the tiny monster.
"Continuous Trap, Dimension Sphinx."
Another face-down flipped open.
Behind Yumi, a massive stone sphinx rose from the ground, ancient markings glowing faintly.
"I target my Kuriboh. During the Battle Step, if it's attacked by a monster with higher ATK, I inflict damage to you equal to the difference in our monsters' ATK."
Energy flowed from the Sphinx into the Kuriboh. The small furball began glowing intensely despite its size.
Kuriboh: "Kuri! Kuri!"
The fireball struck.
Instead of being consumed, Kuriboh absorbed the force and immediately rebounded it back across the field.
The redirected flames slammed into Declan.
[Declan, LP 4000 -> 1900]
Declan lowered his arms slowly, staring at Yumi's field.
A 300 ATK monster had just reflected damage more than half his Life Points.
"I chain my Continuous Trap, Dimension Guardian." Another of Yumi's face-down cards flipped.
A massive ancient statue rose behind him, standing beside the Sphinx.
"I target my Kuriboh. It can't be destroyed by battle or card effects."
The small furball floated confidently in front of him, completely protected.
"And I chain my Continuous Trap, Dimension Mirage." His final face-down card flipped open.
A black ancient tablet emerged from the ground beside the other monuments, inscriptions glowing faintly.
"I target your Thestalos. At the end of the Damage Step, if it attacks a monster and that monster wasn't destroyed, I can banish one monster from my Graveyard. Then your monster must attack again."
Declan: "!!!"
From Yumi's Graveyard, Kuribabylon briefly appeared, then vanished as it was banished.
Thestalos raised its arm again. "Stop!" Declan started, but it was too late.
Under the effect of Dimension Mirage, Thestalos was forced to continue.
Another sphere of fire formed, larger this time, launched once more toward the same tiny Kuriboh.
Kuriboh remained glowing under the protection of Dimension Guardian and empowered by Dimension Sphinx.
The fireball struck again.
And once again.
It reversed direction.
The reflected flames crashed directly into Declan.
[Declan, LP 1900 -> 0]
The fire dissipated as Declan fell to his knees. Across the field, a single 300 ATK Kuriboh floated in front of three ancient monuments.
Kuriboh: "Kuri, Kuri."
Yumi lowered his Duel Disk slightly as the hologram faded.
At the corner of his eye, Yumi noticed his teacher was running toward him. Behind her were three girls, keeping pace without much difficulty. Their faces were too familiar. They looked identical to the other bracelet girls, Zuzu, Rin, and Lulu.
According to what Celina had told him, and what he had already suspected, the other bracelet girls were her sisters.
But as for the brother…
Yumi had assumed it would be Shay. Lulu's older brother in Arc-V. The guy who jumped across dimensions trying to save his sister, yet he still failed in the end.
"Are you alright, Nii-san?" Lulu rushed forward, kneeling slightly to help Declan sit upright.
Yumi: "?"
Wait... so the brother in this large family is Declan?
What happened to Shay?
Did he get replaced? Edited out of the script? Cuckolded out of the older brother position?
"I'm fine…" he muttered, though he still looked slightly dazed after losing to a Kuriboh.
As he slowly raised his gaze toward Yumi, something flickered across his expression. For just a second, the image of a black-haired girl wearing her jacket like a cape overlapped with the pink-haired boy standing in front of him.
The memory wasn't pleasant.
Seeing that her brother just got beaten up, the hotheaded Zuzu immediately stepped forward, glaring at Yumi.
"Hey! How dare you bully my big brother!?" she snapped, pointing directly at Yumi.
Perhaps he was still wondering what happened to Shay; he didn't pay much attention to his words and just replied without any filter.
"So?"
Midori just sighed, not surprised to hear something so heartless coming from a Kawakami. Rin and Lulu's sweat dropped, unsure of what to say to that. Declan pressed his fingers against his temple. A headache was forming.
Declan: "Judo, kunfu, taekwondo, boxing, and now even Dueling! Why are you alway get in my way!?"
Momoyo: "So?"
Just remembering that flat, indifferent reply made his vision blur slightly.
No matter what competition he entered, as long as she participated, he would always end up one step short of first place.
Zuzu clenched her fists tighter. "What kind of answer is that? Did your mother never teach you any manners?"
"She's dead to me," Yumi replied without a filter, causing the previous tense atmosphere to become awkward.
Although he was raised by those yakuza monks in the Kawakami Temple, there was never anyone there whom he viewed as a mother figure or a father figure; the yakuza monks were more like legal guardians to him and the Kawakami siblings than anything.
Kazuko was an orphan picked up by the Kawakami, like him. While Momoyo was the legitimate heiress, with her grandfather being the head of the Kawakami house.
As for her parents, both Yumi and Kazuko know nothing about them. The topic of parents was a bit sensitive with the two of them, and Momoyo never brought it up either.
So whenever someone mentioned Yumi's old parents, he treated them the same way they treated him.
Dead.
"Uhhh..." Zuzu looked uncertain now, her earlier anger fading into discomfort.
Seeing the conversation drifting somewhere unproductive, Midori stepped in smoothly.
"Alright, that's enough," she said calmly. "Let's clear things up properly."
She began introductions.
"These are the Hiiragi siblings, Declan, Lulu, Rin, and Zuzu. They are Celina's siblings."
Then she gestured toward Yumi.
"This is Yumi Uzushi." There was a slight pause before she added. "He's Celina Hiiragi's roommate."
That made Declan glance at Yumi again.
He hadn't paid much attention to Celina's daily life at the Academy. Just like his other sisters, she didn't volunteer information unless asked directly. He assumed she was doing well academically and left it at that.
Apparently, there was more he didn't know.
...
Once they reached Yumi and Celina's dorm room, the three sisters didn't even bother sitting down. They moved straight toward the still bedridden Celina, surrounding her like she was some fragile artifact that might crack again if left unattended. Worry and concern were written clearly on their faces, though each expressed it differently.
After her fall, her phone had been cracked and soaked beyond saving. The screen was black, the casing warped. She hadn't received any calls or messages from her family, and with the excellent care and nursing from the Dragonmaids, she had honestly forgotten about it entirely.
"What happened?" Lulu demanded first, arms crossed.
Celina kept her expression steady. She gave them the same explanation she gave Yumi.
"I wasn't paying attention, and I slipped."
Silence.
Then Lulu exploded.
"You slipped?" she repeated. "How careless can you be? Do you know how worried we were!?"
Celina endured the scolding without much resistance. She knew it came from worry. Despite the sharp words, the room remained warm. One sister adjusted her blanket. Another checked her bandages. Lulu muttered under her breath but gently fixed Celina's pillow.
They were angry because they were scared.
Celina didn't miss that.
While this was happening, Declan stood near the doorway, staring around at the shabby interior of Slifer Red Dorm. The old wooden walls. The slightly uneven flooring. The overall atmosphere that screamed "underfunded."
He frowned.
"Over a year in Duel Academy, yet you still haven't moved past Slifer Red?" Declan said disdainfully.
The warmth in the room faded almost instantly.
"Declan!" Lulu yell but he didn't pay any attention to her and looked down on Celina.
"I expected more from you, Celina. And this is the result you gave me?"
His tone wasn't loud. It didn't need to be. Disappointment carried more weight than anger.
Celina's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What does it matter which dorm room I belong to?" she replied, her voice firm, a faint edge of irritation slipping through.
Declan scoffed lightly.
She knew exactly what he was thinking. Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue were considered the elites compared to Slifer Red. Having better funding, more prestige, and a much better overall reputation.
But Celina also knew the reality.
Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue were elite on paper. Their excellence mostly stopped at academics and rankings.
Slifer Red, on the other hand...
The previous head male teacher had been an Alchemy Professor who could perform actual Alchemy, not just theoretical nonsense from textbooks.
The head female teacher could control and interact with Duel Monster Spirits like it was second nature.
The previous strongest Slifer Red, Momoyo Kawakami, She-Devil, could physically beat up spirits. Her punches were strong enough to crack metal and shatter bones.
The current strongest Slifer Red, Yumi Uzushi, Slifer, could interact with Duel Monster Spirits, wield all eight Shadow Charms, is a powerful card dealer, and still casually wins duels.
Even Jaden Yuki had built an impressive dueling record while staying in Slifer Red. That also does not mention he could see Duel Monster Spirits.
And Slifer Red had a cat.
Compared to that, the other two dorms felt more like filters. Shiny on the outside with strict rankings and clean uniforms.
The real monsters stayed in the shabby building with the creaky floors.
Hearing his sister talk back to him, Declan's expression darkened.
Before he could respond.
"And here you lost to a Slifer Red," Yumi said casually from the side, not even looking at him. "Doesn't that make you worse than a Slifer Red?"
Celina tilted her head slightly to look at her roommate.
"Oh, right. You don't actually think my main deck is a Kuriboh Deck, right?"
Declan's face visibly darkened.
He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything.
"Isn't your Kuriboh Deck basically a meme deck?" Celina added calmly. "Something you use when you're messing around and not taking things seriously?"
She didn't raise her voice. She didn't need to when she was adding salt to her brother's wounded pride.
"And here you are talking badly about Slifer, yet you couldn't even beat a Slifer that was messing around."
The sisters froze as Celina was now pouring chili powder onto the wound.
Declan inhaled slowly. His jaw tightened. For a brief moment, it looked like he might say something sharp in return.
Instead, he exhaled. Without another word, he turned and walked out of the room.
The door closed with a quiet click.
The Hiiragi siblings all knew about their elder brother's pride. Declan didn't half-commit to anything. If he participated, he intended to be the best. Losing, especially to someone he subconsciously looked down on, cut deep.
Celina leaned back into her pillow.
She knew her words had hit exactly where it hurt.
And she didn't regret it.