Chapter 1: The Daily Chronicles

Yuzuki and Yuzuru. Sister and brother, announced in that order, by nothing less than the commanding presence the sister conjured. The brother by no means lacked presence, but when compared to the slightly older girl he accompanied, there was no helping it. In a way, it was comforting for the boy to slink into the proverbial shadow of his elder sibling, if only so there would be no expectations for him. He was far from an enigma, but that didn't mean he wanted people to know much about him. Of course, this also meant that unlike his sister's rather well-known dueling tactics, his could remain mostly unknown. Any opponent foolish enough to think he was an easy target just because he wasn't nearly as bombastic with his playstyle would soon discover that-

"Are you having an internal monologue again?" Yuzuki asked, placing a hand on Yuzuru's shoulder. The boy stopped, noticing he was about to walk past his sister and into the path of two cars crossing the street in front of them.

"… Maybe," Yuzuru said as the cars passed by. He saw their reflection in the oddly tinted windows of the car passing them, their clear protagonist hair reflected right back at them. His underlying layer of dark hair was accentuated by streaks of bright purple that lined the way up to his messy orange bangs, jumbled together into what should have been a pompadour but ultimately ended up as a blanche of messy spikes protruding up and down haphazardly. His sister kept her mostly purple hair into a neat ponytail, lined with green waves cupping the side of her head and a prolific cluster of golden hair obscuring her right eye. Indeed, anyone taking a single look at them could instantly tell that-

"I'm going to leave you behind," Yuzuki said, halfway through crossing the road before Yuzuru had started moving. The boy let out a surprised gasp, hurrying over to follow his sister once again. She sighed as he caught up to her. "Seriously, I bet if you said half of the weird crap in your head, people would think you're a pretty interesting duelist."

"What I say in my head is me thinking," Yuzuru countered. "Why would I give away my strategy mid-duel?"

"It makes things more exciting. Besides, it beats what usually happens with you just quietly looking at your cards for a few minutes and then making a move out of nowhere," Yuzuki said. "That's why half the people who duel you don't like it. It's weird just watching somebody be silent and play cards."

"… Is it?" Yuzuru asked.

"It definitely is," Yuzuki said. Having made her declaration, Yuzuru had nothing to counter it with, leaving the two to their usual silence on their walk to school. Well, more like Yuzuru's usual silence while Yuzuki tossed out pleasant greetings to everyone they passed by as they prepared to enter their school, Neo-Domino High.

"There you are, Ms. Perfect," a girl greeted in the center of the courtyard. Yuzuki looked up and sighed, well-aware of who awaited her. Awaiting her was a girl with long, free-flowing silver hair dressed in the standard school uniform, duel disk at the ready.

"Rin, what's the occasion?" Yuzuki asked, already handing her bag off to Yuzuru. Her brother silently took it, not showing any surprise at what was occurring.

"The same as always. Today, I kick you off your throne… or at the very least, make you late for class!" Rin said. "Now, duel me… or refuse, and prove you're a coward!"

"Anyone with a brain would know it isn't cowardice to refuse a battle against small fry," Yuzuki said. She whipped her arm around, her duel disk snapping into place as she smirked. "I might not have cleaning duty today, but there's so much dirt out here that needs cleaning, and your reputation is oh so perfect for collecting it… well, how could I resist?"

"Hmph! Talk as much nonsense as you want! Then you can blame yourself for being late," Rin sneered.

"Fair enough. Since you're so eager to begin, I'll let you go first," Yuzuki said. "Now then…"

"LET'S DUEL!" Yuzuki and Rin declared, causing the surrounding students to stop and watch. Their duel disks activated, setting them both to 4000 Life points and creating their projection fields for the holograms to come alive.

"This won't be like the last time, Yuzuki! With my new deck, I'll-" Rin began.

"Crush me, blah blah, incredible cards, blah blah, unstoppable combo, blah blah, whatever. Spare me the drivel so I can win already," Yuzuki said, blowing Rin off completely.

"… We'll see how long you can keep that attitude of yours up," Rin said. "First, I activate the spell card, Terraforming, to add the field spell card, Trickstar Light Stage, to my hand, but I'll waste no time and activate it immediately! When this card is activated, I get to add one Trickstar monster from my deck to my hand. I'll add Trickstar Candina, and waste no time in summoning her, triggering her effect! When she's normal summoned, I can add another Trickstar monster from my deck to my hand!"

Amidst the newly arrived holographic stadium filled with fake fans blending into the actual students watching the duel and the yellow idol-esque monster readying a megaphone to call for another friend, Yuzuki made her move. "That looks like an annoying set-up. Let's interrupt that," Yuzuki said. "I activate the effect of Ghost Ogre and Snow Rabbit from my hand in response to your monster's effect, destroying it!"

"You drew that first turn?!" Rin asked, flinching as a small ghostly appeared behind her monster. Candina finished her shout, only for a strange white rabbit with red markings to land on her shoulder. The fairy turned around, only to find a small floating girl with glowing talismans in her hand. The floating girl smacked a talisman on Candina's face, a bright blue energy erupting from it before both Candina and Ghost Ogre were enveloped in blue fire, vanishing from the field.

"Luckily for you, Ghost Ogre doesn't negate your effect, so you can still add a card," Yuzuki said. "Go ahead. Pick which monster dies next."

"Don't get too cocky! I add Trickstar Lycoris to my hand. Now, I'll fill my field once again by special summoning Trickstar Corobane!" Rin said. "If I control no monsters, I can special summon Corobane from my hand! Take a good look because this all you'll get to see of her!"

Rin proudly declared that as her monster, a silver-haired girl not too unlike herself in a green and white winter themed suit appeared in front of her.

"I activate the effect of Trickstar Lycoris in my hand! I can target another Trickstar monster I control and return it to my hand to special summon Lycoris, which means my girls are tagging out!" Rin said. As she described, Lycoris, a small fairy with brown hair in red wielding a star pointed wand, appeared next to Corobane and high-fived her, letting Corobane fly backstage and disappear.

"This is a lot of jumping around to end up with a single monster on the field," Yuzuki said. "Are you seriously trying to make me late, or is this just all you can do?"

"If you think this is all I have, you're dead wrong. Next, I activate the continuous spell, Dark Room of Nightmare! Now, every time you take effect damage, you take 300 more points of effect damage!"

"You can burn me twice with each effect thanks to Light Stage's second effect, so 600 points of extra damage every time a Trickstar effect activates," Yuzuki said.

"That's right! Since my Trickstars deal 200 damage per effect, and Light Stage deals an additional 200 damage per effect, you'll be taking 1000 damage every single time my Trickstars inflict damage to you! You'd better watch what moves you make carefully!" Rin said. She taunted her opponent happily, but in truth, her hand was less than stellar.

Though Rin had managed to add many cards to her hand this turn, her starting hand of Terraforming, Dark Room of Nightmare, Trickstar Corobane, Trickstar Narkissus, and Trickstar Bouquet wasn't the best she could hope for. If Candina had not been destroyed, she could have searched for Trickstar Lilybell and used it to go into a link summon, which would have left her with a stronger field presence. While her current situation allowed for her to raise Lycoris to over 4000 attack points if needed and deal effect damage quickly, she knew that one good destruction effect could turn her into a sitting duck. "I set one card facedown and end my turn! You might as well give up now because you're just four effects away from losing!"

"Gather all the annoying cards you want, you'll still lose," Yuzuki said. "My turn. Draw!"

"And there's the first effect!" Rin declared. "Trickstar Lycoris inflicts 200 points of damage to you every time you add a card to your hand, which also activates Dark Room of Nightmare, dealing another 300 points of damage. Additionally, Trickstar Light Stage deals an additional 200 damage to you because Lycoris' effect dealt damage to you, which once again triggers my Dark Room for another 300!"

"I can math out why I take 1000 damage on my own, thank you very much," Yuzuki said.

"Well here's an unexpected variable," Rin said. "I activate the effect of Trickstar Narkissus in my hand! Because you took effect damage, I can special summon this card from my hand!"

As Lycoris fired a colorful beam that was amplified by Light Stage at Yuzuki, who was being grabbed at by shadowy claws erupting from the darkened crowd around her, a second Trickstar monster appeared next to Lycoris, this one appearing as a blonde girl in a black and white uniform with a cute bug motif, wielding small, winged gun in one hand.

"Not only will you be taking damage for trying to add cards to your hand from Lycoris' effect, but Narkissus will inflict 200 points of damage to you if you dare to activate a monster's effect in your hand or graveyard!" Rin added. She let out a laugh. "I hope you drew something good, or this duel might end on your own turn!"

"Hmm. Those monsters might look as ridiculous as you, but your field could pass as threatening," Yuzuki said. She chuckled. "Not to me, of course, but I'm sure you'd make some preschoolers cry."

"Tough talk from someone who has half of their options on a move limit!" Rin retorted. Yuzuki scoffed at the girl, deciding she was getting tired of hearing the girl mouth off at her. She examined her hand, smirking as she saw an easy out to her predicament. Her hand was comprised of Keeper of the Shrine, Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon, Chronicle Magician, Twin Twisters, and Trade-In. Aware of the real problem cards on the field, she began her move.

"First, I'll activate Twin Twisters to get rid of your field spell and your continuous spell!" Yuzuki said, flashing the card in her hand.

"For the love of-! Really?!" Rin fumed, seeing that her countdown strategy was about to crumble. Yuzuki merely laughed as she discarded her Keeper of the Shrine, watching as two twisters began whirling around them during the duel. Dark Room of Nightmare and Trickstar Light Stage were destroyed, returning the duel to their school's courtyard.

"Next, I activate Trade-In. I send a level 8 monster from my hand to the graveyard to draw 2 cards from my deck!" Yuzuki said.

"Lycoris's effect activates, dealing you 400 points of damage because you drew 2 cards!" Rin said.

"Don't care," Yuzuki teased, drawing her cards in time with Lycoris's incoming wand beam to look as if she deflected the attack. As she saw her two new cards, she couldn't help but grin. "Next, I activate the effect of my Dictator of D! By sending a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to the graveyard, I get to special summon him from my hand!"

As Yuzuki summoned her monster, an orange monster with white dragon bone armor emerged wielding a mace shaped like the head of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, letting out a powerful roar as it landed raised its weapon in front of her.

"That one monster cost you another 200 life points thanks to Narkissus's effect!" Rin said.

"Again, don't care," Yuzuki said, readying her next card in time to deflect the blast from Narkissus's gun. "Now, I'll go ahead and activate my Dictator of D's effect on the field! I discard my trap card that mentions 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon', The Ultimate Creature of Destruction, to special summon a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my graveyard!"

Letting out a massive roar as it emerged from a portal created by Dictator of D slamming his weapon against the ground, a bluish silver dragon took to the skies above their duel. Coming back around, Blue-Eyes White Dragon let out a powerful roar before taking its place in front of Yuzuki.

"Great, that thing again," Rin said as she furrowed her brow. Internally, she cursed herself for not summoning Lycoris in defense position, but she had cards that could stop an attack from Blue-Eyes. Corobane and Bouquet were more than enough to destroy that dragon, and while it would cost her resources either way, she would still be in the duel.

"That's not all I'm summoning," Yuzuki said, raising the final card in her hand. "I activate the effect of Chronicle Magician in my hand! Because I summoned a monster with 2500 original defense points, I can special summon him from my hand in defense position!"

Swiftly accompanying Blue-Eyes' arrival was a magician dressed in silvery white robes with blue eyes matching the dragon's, wielding a floating green and blue tome at the ready. Rin's eyes widened at the sight of the monster, having faced it many times before. "You take another 200 points of damage from Narkissus, but… Why did that have to be the last card in your hand?!" she squealed.

"Because even he's sick of dealing with you by now," Yuzuki said, flicking her ponytail in time to once again deflect the blast from Narkissus's gun. "I activate Chronicle Magician's effect! Because I special summoned it, I can give my Blue-Eyes White Dragon an additional 2500 attack and defense this turn, bringing it up to a grand total of 5500 attack points! Go, Chronicle Magic!"

As Yuzuki activated her effect, Chronicle Magician began to furiously chant, the monster turning to face the great dragon it floated next to. Blue-Eyes White Dragon began to glow, a teal aura surrounding it as its muscles bulged and sparks of white lightning began to bubble up in its mouth.

Rin let out a scream of frustration. If she had drawn a battle trap, or any of her summon disruption cards, she would have an overwhelming advantage in this duel. Now, she found herself unable to save Lycoris even if she used both Corobane and Bouquet and would be at an overwhelming disadvantage in the upcoming turn.

"Well then, time to battle!" Yuzuki said. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Trickstar Lycoris!"

As Yuzuki's monster prepared for battle, Rin weighed her options. She could elect to do nothing, leaving Lycoris to perish and allowing herself to drop down to a mere 100 life points. She'd maintain the most advantage in that situation because Dictator of D would be unable to defeat Narkissus, guaranteeing her survival. She could opt to take slightly less damage, using Trickstar Corobane's discard effect alone to increase Lycoris's attack points to 3200, leaving her with 1700 life points instead. She could use only Trickstar Bouquet, but that would result in a loss, as the extra 1000 attack Lycoris gained would result in her having 1100 life points left, enough for Dictator of D to wipe out with its own direct attack. Finally, she could use both Trickstar Bouquet and Trickstar Corobane, increasing Lycoris to 4200 attack points but resulting in an empty field for the Dictator to come in and attack her, but she would at least survive and have Narkissus in her hand.

Deciding that she couldn't risk dropping to a mere 100 life points or relying solely on the next card she would draw, she made her choice. "First, when you declare your attack, I activate Trickstar Bouquet! This card allows me to return one of my Trickstar monsters on the field to my hand in order to give another monster on the field an increase in attack points equal to the returned monster's original attack points! I return Trickstar Narkissus to my hand to increase Trickstar Lycoris up to 2600 attack points!"

A flowery bouquet flew into the air, prompting Narkissus to fly up and catch it. She took a sniff before throwing it back to Lycoris and vanishing, the card returning to Rin's hand. Lycoris caught the bouquet in hand, gaining attack points as a red aura emerged around her.

"Pathetic. Now you're definitely going to lose," Yuzuki said.

"I'm not done yet!" Rin yelled. "During damage calculation, I can activate the effect of Trickstar Corobane! By discarding her from my hand, I can have my battling Trickstar Lycoris gain attack points equal to its original attack points during damage calculation!"

As Rin discarded Corobane, the monster in question appeared next to Lycoris, a bright golden aura engulfing both monsters as they prepared to launch a combined attack.

"Trash is still trash, no matter how much of it you pile up!" Yuzuki said. "Get those ugly fairies out of my sight!"

Blue-Eyes complied with its master's wishes, unleashed a torrent of destruction towards Lycoris and Corobane. The little red fairy and white fairy tried to fire back with a golden beam from their wands, but the attack was instantly consumed by Blue-Eyes' attack along with both monsters. Rin hissed as she saw her life points drop to 2700.

"Is that all you got?! It takes more than one big hit to finish me off!" Rin said.

"I know. You wouldn't be half as annoying if you knew when to quit," Yuzuki said. "I activate the effect of my Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon in the graveyard!"

"Your… what?" Rin asked.

"Oh? I suppose you haven't seen this card yet. Consider yourself lucky," Yuzuki teased. "You see, Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon has an incredible effect! If it's in my hand or graveyard when a card on the field is destroyed and a Blue-Eyes White Dragon is either on my field or in my graveyard, I can special summon my Jet Dragon to the field!"

A portal emerged from the smoke left behind by Blue-Eyes White Dragon's attack, giving way to a jet clearly modeled after Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The mechanical dragon zoomed around in circles, encircling Rin as the stunned girl's jaw dropped.

"Another 3000 attack monster?! Just like that?!" Rin asked. Yuzuki let out a laugh.

"I told you this duel was over! Now, Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon! Attack Rin directly and end this duel! Mecha Burst Stream!" Yuzuki declared.

The Blue-Eyes jet whipped around for a direct pass over Yuzuki, its mouth opening to reveal what looked like a railgun. White lightning sparked around it as it powered up, before the jet finally unleashed its attack against Rin. The girl raised her arms to protect herself from the holographic blast, blinded by the incoming beam of light. Her life points dropped to 0, causing her duel disk to let out a loud tone to indicate that she had lost the duel.

As the holograms dissipated, Yuzuki quickly packed her cards back into her deck and deactivated her duel disk, the contraption folding up and taking on the appearance of an oddly shaped gauntlet. "Well, I guess that killed enough time to head to class," Yuzuki said, holding her hand out to Yuzuru. He returned his bag to her silently once more, the boy merely watching as Rin stood there seething at his sister.

"… You… I'll get you next time!" Rin yelled.

"In your next life, maybe," Yuzuki teased. Rin trembled with rage, seemingly unable to find a counterargument. With no response, she took off running into the school building, ignoring the small crowd of onlookers that had begun to disperse.

"Maybe you should keep some of your comments in your mind during duels," Yuzuru said. "You come across as pretty mean."

"It's part of the game," Yuzuki said with a shrug. "Besides, she ran her mouth first."

Yuzuru sighed, knowing that if his sister believed her actions were justified, there was no changing her opinion. "Well, then I guess this is where we part ways. See you after school."

"Yeah, sure. Try to have an engaging duel today, will ya? I don't wanna have to duel you more later because you didn't challenge anyone," Yuzuki said. She walked off, giving a little wave to the few remaining onlookers before heading off to the third years' classrooms. Yuzuki went his own way, approaching the second years' classrooms and finding his usual seat dead center in class 2-A. This classroom, like most of the contemporary classrooms he had been in throughout his life, was entirely unremarkable, a fact his central observation position had made him painfully aware of. At the very least, his seat did place him next to someone slightly interesting, if only for the fact that she was someone who enjoyed dueling as much as he and his sister did.

"Mornin', Yuzuru. Did you duel someone like your sister before school too?" the girl in question asked as she took a seat next to him. He found her to be an oddity because, strangely enough, she could have passed for having protagonist hair.

A thick layer of long brown hair was crowned by a patch of fluffy, almost spiky red hair, kept from her face only by a visor of bright pink hair that formed large dual bangs which just barely went around her eyes. She wore a boy's blazer over the usual girl's student summer uniform, letting the jacket hang open over her clothing, in addition to wearing boys' pants instead of the usually issued skirt. "Morning, Kai. And no, I didn't duel anyone," Yuzuru said.

"Shame. I didn't have any luck either," Kai said as she took her seat. "Wanna duel at lunch?"

"Sure. Rooftop?" Yuzuru asked.

"Nah, they're doing cleaning this week. We can just duel in the courtyard," Kai said.

"That'll attract attention," Yuzuru said. Kai sighed.

"So? It's not like half the school doesn't know we're probably the best duelists in our year," Kai said. "But hey, if you're not down to duel, I'll play Yuzuki instead… but she might ask to duel while eating. Which would be weird."

"… You're right. Courtyard it is," Yuzuru said.

"Good. Now I can increase my lead in this rivalry," Kai said.

"You mean shorten the gap. I'm up 2 wins," Yuzuru said.

"Uhh, I think you mean that you're down 2 losses," Kai said.

"No. I'm definitely up 2 wins," Yuzuru said.

"In your dreams. I'm definitely up-"

"Good morning, teacher!" the rest of the students said as they rose from their seats, prompting the two of them to quiet down and join in.

Yuzuru idled through class as he usually did, occasionally getting yelled at by the teacher for zoning out while he thought about his current deck composition and didn't hear her ask him a question, but otherwise surviving without any issues. Kai was less affected, managing to at least keep her ear out for any questions while using her boy's blazer to conceal the phone she was using. Yuzuru always thought it was strange she was just allowed to dress like that, but she had apparently gotten a doctor's note saying she was extremely susceptible to cold temperatures, meaning she was either always allowed a hoodie or an additional blazer to wear over her usual uniform. The school settled on the blazer, which Kai wasted no time in exploiting. She hid her phone, snacks, and even occasionally covered one ear so she could have a headphone in and listen to something else entirely while class was going on.

His observations, odd as they were, ended up being what made Kai and Yuzuru start talking to each other. One day, when they were dismissed for lunch, she suddenly asked him to follow her for a talk. He agreed, and they went to the roof.

"Why do you keep staring at me in class?" Kai asked the moment the two of them had emerged onto the school's roof.

"What do you mean?" Yuzuru asked.

"I see you looking at me all the time," Kai said. "Well? Why do you do that?"

Yuzuru tilted his head to the side, looking as if he were examining Kai from head to toe. "… I'm envious of the extra blazer," Yuzuru said.

"… What?" Kai asked, not expecting him to say that.

"You use it to watch stuff on your phone during class or listen to something when you use it to cover your head," Yuzuru said. "And it looks comfy."

"It is," Kai said. "But… that's a weird thing to stare at a girl for. You sure that's all?"

"… There was something else," Yuzuru said.

"Oh? And what was that?" Kai asked.

"I saw…" Yuzuru began.

"… Saw what?" Kai asked.

"… You have an old school duel disk on your back," Yuzuru said. "One of the ones that can't fold up. That means either you've been dueling for a long time or you inherited that duel disk. And that means… you must be a good duelist."

Kai paused at that. "I… I am a good duelist, but… what does having an old duel disk have to do with that?" she asked.

"Duel disks hold pieces of their previous owners with them. If someone strong gave you that duel disk, you aren't just dueling by yourself," Yuzuru said. "Not to mention, an old school duel disk wielded by someone with hair like yours… there's no way you aren't a worthy opponent."

"… Are you an idiot?" Kai asked, any hint of curiosity she had evaporating immediately.

"My reasoning might be strange, but you said it yourself. I'm not wrong," Yuzuru said. At that, he took a step back and activated his duel disk, grimacing as he widened his stance. "I will admit one more thing. I wasn't sure how to challenge you to a duel. But since you brought me up here, there's no point in waiting. Kai, I challenge you."

"Pass. I skipped breakfast this morning, so I wanna eat now. Maybe some other time, though," Kai said, already turning around to walk to the door. Yuzuru stood there, frozen as Kai simply walked back downstairs, accompanied only by the sound of the wind blowing and the roof door slamming shut.

"… Wait. Now I still have to think of a good way to challenge her…" Yuzuru muttered to himself.

"Thinking of a dramatic entrance to the courtyard?" Kai asked, snapping Yuzuru out of his memories. Back in the present, he heard the bell dismissing them to lunch coming to its end. "Or were you curious about what I was watching again?"

"… I zoned out looking in your direction," Yuzuru admitted. Kai sighed at that.

"There's always that, I suppose," she said. "Now, c'mon. No chickening out."

Yuzuru nodded, following Kai downstairs and back into the schools' front courtyard. He noticed Yuzuki talking to Akashi on the first floor, the rather plain looking disciplinary member who was, as Yuzuru expected, giving her a scolding for the verbal abuse she hurled at Rin during their duel this morning. Yuzuki looked beyond over it, clearly not showing any respect as she gave him an exasperated 'blegh' look without any regard for the person lecturing her. Akashi looked over to him and furrowed his brow, and Yuzuru knew that he'd be getting a talking to at some point later in the day as well. By the time Akashi turned back to Yuzuki, the girl had already gotten her drink from the vending machine and began following Yuzuru, something that only prompted the boy to follow her.

"A few people out here, but that's fine," Kai said as they stopped in the school courtyard. She pulled her arms out of her extra blazer's sleeves, letting it hang on her shoulders, before she suddenly whipped around and grabbed her duel disk off the extra belt she wore to hold its mount. With a flourish that left her blazer trailing in the air behind her, Kai smirked as she slammed her arm into her duel disk, activating it and officially beginning to attract a small crowd. "I know you aren't the screaming type, so I'll do the honors. LET'S DUEL!"

"Duel," Yuzuru said, whipping his duel disk's arm out and letting the device extend out to its full form. Bringing it back in front of himself, he was about to draw when he heard a call from behind him.

"Put more 'oomph' into it!" Yuzuki said as she approached them.

"Do not listen to her advice, young man! She is a bad influence!" Akashi warned, chasing after Yuzuki.

"… Alright then," Yuzuki said. He took a deep breath, and then widened his stance. "Kai, here I come!"

"Pfft. Had to get her encouragement first, huh?" Kai teased. "Sure. Go ahead and go first."

"You might regret that," Yuzuki said. The two duelists drew their five cards as their life points were set to 4000, marking the start of their contest.

Yuzuki examined his hand, pleased with his first draw. Magician's Rod, Mirror Force Launcher, Magical Cylinders, Dark Magical Circle, and Magikuriboh was far from a terrible first turn hand, and as far as he could tell, his turn could play itself.

"First, I normal summon Magician's Rod from my hand," Yuzuru said. "When I normal summon this monster, I can add one spell or trap card from my deck to my hand that lists 'Dark Magician' in its card text. I add the field spell Magician's Salvation from my deck to my hand, and immediately activate it."

The school's courtyard remained mostly unchanged by the field spell, save for golden glowing glyphs beginning to appear around the duelists and the singular monster on the field, a floating staff with the ghost of a spellcaster carrying it around.

"A little early for this one, don't you think?" Kai asked.

"I may have nothing in the graveyard for its later effects now, but when I activate Magician's Salvation, I can set the continuous trap card Eternal Soul directly from my deck," Yuzuru said. The card emerged from his deck, allowing him to set it in his spell and trap zone. "Next, I activate the continuous spell, Dark Magical Circle. When I activate this card, I can look at the top 3 cards of my deck and add one spell or trap card that lists 'Dark Magician' in its card text to my hand, then place the other two on top of the deck in any order."

"Searching for more backrow, I see," Kai said as Yuzuru took the top 3 cards of his deck.

Yuzuru hummed at the cards he revealed, seeing Illusion Magic, Sacred Sword of Seven Stars,and Gagaga Magician. With no real choice, he took the top card and returned the second and third in the same order he drew them in.

"I reveal Illusion Magic, and add it to my hand," Yuzuru said. "Then, I set three cards and end my turn."

"A full spell and trap zone on the first turn? Sheesh, this is gonna be one of 'those' duels, huh?" Kai asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuzuru asked.

"I know how you play. The moment I try to make an attack, I'm gonna end up paying for it. And if one of those set cards is the Illusion Magic you added to your hand, then any attempt to destroy your monster outside of battle will just net you two copies of your main deck's signature monster," Kai said.

Yuzuru hummed at that, knowing full well that Kai was used to his playstyle and probably saw the duel going south already. Usually, he would let that comment slide, but he was trying to increase his presence. "If you recognize how bad the situation is, we could start over," he said.

Kai raised an eyebrow at the obvious taunt while Akashi gasped behind him. "Young man, that is unsportsmanlike! You apologize to-" Akashi began, only to be cut off by Yuzuki's much louder shouting.

"HECK YEAH, BRO! SHOW HER WHY WE'RE THE BEST DUELISTS!" Yuzuki cheered.

Kai laughed at that. "Taking dueling etiquette lessons from your big sis all of a sudden?" she asked.

Yuzuru looked away at that. "… She might have given me some pointers," he admitted. Kai chuckled at that.

"Well, you are a dramatic idiot. Dueling's a fine place to give that a voice," Kai said. "But enough banter. My turn. I draw!"

Checking her hand, Kai's face lit-up when she saw what card she drew. Her starting hand of Bountiful Artemis, Protecting Spirit Loagaeth, The Sanctum of Parshath, Sacred Arch-Airknight Parshath, and Harvest Angel of Wisdom were joined by Red Reboot, a card she was certain she needed this turn. "First off, I normal summon Bountiful Artemis! Then, I activate my continuous spell, The Sanctum of Parshath! While it's on the field, all my fairy monsters gain 300 attack and defense points, plus, its name is treated as The Sanctuary in the Sky while it remains face up on my field."

"So your monster is now stronger than mine," Yuzuru said.

"That's right. Now, time to battle! My Bountiful Artemis attacks your Magician's Rod!" Kai said. As she declared her attack, the strange almost porcelain looking fairy with a purple cape let out an unearthly yet feminine laugh as it bounded towards the spectral figure wielding a magic rod.

"I won't let that happen. I activate my quick-play spell, Illusion Magic," Yuzuru said. "I can tribute a Spellcaster monster I control to add up to two copies of Dark Magician from my deck or graveyard to my hand. I tribute my Magician's Rod to add two copies of Dark Magician from my deck to my hand."

The spectral rod disappeared, giving the porcelain angelic figure pause as the target for its wrath disappeared. "Well, since your monster isn't around anymore, that causes a replay. And since you have nothing left to defend yourself with, I can have my Bountiful Artemis attack you directly!" Kai said.

"Are you sure about that?" Yuzuru asked. "I activate my trap card, Eternal Soul! This allows me to special summon a Dark Magician from my hand!"

"You wish!" Kai said. "I activate the counter trap Red Reboot from my hand!"

"From… your hand?" Yuzuru asked. Kai smirked at that.

"You don't think I've dueled you enough to get some cards that stop your trap reliance?" Kai asked. "Red Reboot is a counter trap card I can activate from my hand by paying half of my life points! When it activates, it negates the activation and effect of one of your trap cards and sets it face down once more, but also lets you set another trap card directly from your deck. But don't feel too safe. After Red Reboot resolves, you can't activate trap cards for the rest of the turn!"

Yuzuru's eyes widened at that as Kai's life points dropped to 2000. Aside from his continuous spell and field spell, every other card he had was a trap card. He couldn't try to chain them at this point, since none of them were spell speed three counter traps, meaning all of his defenses were useless and he had just sacrificed the one monster he had to protect him.

"Well? Going to set a trap or not?" Kai asked.

Yuzuru huffed, unsure of what trap he could pull from his deck as the list of available options appeared on the secondary screen under his field. Looking through them and realizing none were particularly useful, he decided to gamble on a card he could use next turn. "I set the trap, Magician's Navigation, from my deck," Yuzuru said.

"Good. Now the chain can resolve, and I can start one of my own," Kai said. "First, because I activated a counter trap card, Bountiful Artemis allows me to draw one card!"

Kai drew her card and glanced at it, a huge smile reaching her face as she recognized the perfect fairy monster, Herald of Orange Light, that all but guaranteed her victory. "Second, I activate the effect of Protecting Spirit Loagaeth from my hand! Because I activated a fairy monster's effect on my field, I can special summon her from my hand!" Kai continued.

A blonde angel in white armor with red-tipped wings descended to Kai's field, brandishing a golden staff that bore a winged crest at the tip. A flowing red cloak was tied around the angel's waist, flowing behind it as it joined the porcelain one already on the field.

"Finally, with no monsters on your field and your trap cards out of commission, Bountiful Artemis continues her attack!" Kai said.

With no way to stop the incoming damage, Yuzuru took the strange blast of energy that the porcelain angel produced, his life points dropping to 2100. "Not bad. But now that I took battle damage, I can activate the effect of my Magikuriboh in my hand!" he said, revealing the lone card he held onto. "I can discard him to special summon Dark Magician of Dark Magician Girl from my deck or graveyard, so I'll special summon-"

"Absolutely nothing!" Kai said as she revealed a monster in her hand. "I activate the effect of my Herald of Orange Light! By sending it and my Harvest Angel of Wisdom from my hand to the graveyard, I negate the activation of your effect monster's effect and destroy it! Say goodbye to that furball playing dress-up!"

"… Guess that's it, then," Yuzuru said as he sent Magikuriboh to the graveyard, recognizing an inevitable defeat.

"What was that about me needing to start over? Because my Herald of Orange Light actually set up another effect for me!" Kai said. "Because I negated one of your cards, I can special summon my Sacred Arch-Airknight Parshath by banishing two fairy monsters from my hand, field, or graveyard. I think I'll banish the two fairies I just discarded to satisfy his requirements!"

"Huh. Definitely overkill, but I like it," Yuzuki said, watching as a titanic green armored angel with white wings and a lower half made of some celestial face descended to Kai's field.

"Now, I think we both know what comes next," Kai said. "Loagaeth, Parshath, finish him off!"

The two powerful fairies readied their weapons, rushing forwards to cut through Yuzuru. The boy took a step back, preparing for the incoming attack, only for the monsters to slash at the area in front of him as his life points dropped to 0.

"Heh, that makes three victories in my favor!" Kai said.

"No, it makes one victory in my favor. The score is getting even, not coming apart," Yuzuru said.

"Oh? Are you mad I'm pulling ahead? Because I'll gladly increase that lead right now. I can beat you in another five minutes, easy," Kai said.

"Young lady, that is completely uncalled for!" Akashi yelled.

"No, no, let her continue. If there's gonna be a rematch, I wanna see it," Yuzuki said. She shot a glare at Yuzuru, saying nothing to her younger brother, but he got her message loud and clear.

"How dare you let her crush you like that? You'd better destroy her in return," Yuzuki's glare said.

"If you think things will go that easily-" Yuzuru began, only to be cut off by the crash of thunder. He and Kai both flinched, glancing up to see that the sky had grown incredibly cloudy during their duel, something neither of them had noticed due to the wildly altered landscape they were in thanks to a field spell and two continuous spells being in play.

"… Reschedule when there's no chance we'll get rained on?" Kai asked, having already deactivated her duel disk. Yuzuru couldn't fault her for wanting to avoid another duel, as the older duel disks didn't have water tight deck locks and certainly weren't immune to the elements, though they could be submerged in water for short periods of time without significant damage.

"Yeah. Maybe we can get something from the vending machines before class," Yuzuru suggested. Kai nodded as Yuzuru deactivated his duel disk, the two of them making their way back towards the school building. Yuzuki glared at her brother, frowning at his nonchalance after such a defeat, but deciding against saying anything.

"Yuzuki, you should stop trying to get your brother to act as boorish as you do during duels," Akashi said. The girl merely glanced back at the disciplinary committee member before scoffing.

"Save your opinions for someone who cares," she said, walking off. Akashi gasped at that.

"The nerve! We are not done here!" Akashi yelled, but Yuzuki wasn't even listening by then.

After a short snack, Yuzuru and Kai returned to class like every other student. On the way there, Kai noticed paused on the stairwell, glancing upwards to see Yuzuki glaring down at her from the stairwell. "… Are you going to challenge me for revenge or something?" Kai asked. Yuzuru stopped as well, looking a little worried about the situation.

"Please don't," Yuzuru's look said.

"… Huh? Oh, sorry. I must have spaced out," Yuzuki said, her intense stare dissipating. She let out a little chuckle, waving bye to the two of them before heading upstairs.

"You guys are kinda airheads when it comes to everything other than dueling, huh?" Kai asked as she and Yuzuru approached their class. "I'm surprised you guys even make it to school without supervision."

"We aren't that hopeless," Yuzuru said. He wasn't the happiest with that comment but considering that he and his sister were basically responsible for almost a quarter of all the duels in their school, their reputation made sense. Either the freshmen asked around and challenged one of them or he and his sister challenged someone they learned was a duelist. Of course, he was thankful that was all most of the school knew about his sister, since he was worried them knowing anymore would only cause trouble. The glare she gave Kai worried him, and he hoped she wasn't going to go overboard because of how badly he just lost.

"What's with that look?" Kai asked as they took their seats, noticing Yuzuru's unusually furrowed brow.

"… Could you not duel my sister?" Yuzuru asked. Kai raised an eyebrow at that.

"Why shouldn't I?" Kai asked.

"Uhh… well, actually, feel free to duel her at school," Yuzuru said. "But… if she ever asks you to meet her after work or on the weekend for a duel, please refuse."

"That… sounds weirdly ominous," Kai said. "Is she going to challenge me to one of those… what did that manga call it… a 'Shadow Game' or something?"

Yuzuru wished his reasoning was something that stupid. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell Kai the real reason, so he opted for his usual excuse. "No, no, no. She just, uhh… well, since she takes care of the house and works part-time so she can keep buying cards, adding her need to duel all the time can get her really exhausted. She collapsed a few times when I was younger, and I'm worried it could happen again if she replaces rest time with more duel time," he explained.

"She collapsed…? I mean, she does seem like the type to duel until she drops, but… I didn't think that could actually happen," Kai said. She smiled, though Yuzuru wasn't really sure why. "I'll keep our duels to school, then. Since you're so worried about your sister and all."

"Don't make it sound weird," Yuzuru said, looking away from Kai. That only caused the girl to snicker at his reaction, but the sound barely registered to Yuzuru. He was too busy worrying about what his sister planned to do next. Yuzuki hadn't targeted any of his classmates after he entered high school since they had grown to be few and far between, but then again, he had never lost that badly in front of her since entering high school. He also tried to keep things from her view for the most part, often dueling in private whenever possible.

Thinking back on it, he should never have accepted a duel in the courtyard. He and Kai's duels on the roof were between them, a few stray cats, and the occasional delinquent or two who appreciated some entertainment aside from their phones or handheld consoles. Now, his carelessness had put Kai directly in his sister's sights, and none of the people he dared to call his friends managed to escape her unscathed. Regardless of the outcome, all of them kept their distance from him afterwards, resulting in his current social situation.

Recognizing what had to be done, Yuzuru bid Kai a quick farewell once class ended and began searching for Yuzuki immediately. He had become a common sight on the third floor, as he visited his sister for various reasons that included bringing her lunch or snacks when she was feeling too lazy to leave class, so his presence didn't raise any eyebrows. He entered her classroom, class 3-A, he almost bumped into Rin, the girl looking absolutely furious as they almost collided.

"… Please excuse me," Rin said, glancing back towards Yuzuki and her usual delinquent duo, who all had their eyes on her and Yuzuru. Yuzuru nodded, letting her pass by before he entered the classroom. He approached his sister and her friends, blonde twins with short curly hair, both of whom clearly disregarded school uniforms by wearing pink and green sports jackets in place of their blazers.

"Yo, lil' Yuzu!" the first delinquent friend in pink, Akari, greeted.

"Sup', little bro?" the second delinquent friend in green, Amari, greeted.

"Yuzuru. Something happen?" Yuzuki asked. Yuzuru nodded.

"… Can we talk?" he asked.

"About what?" Yuzuki asked.

"Kai," Yuzuru said. Yuzuki smirked at that, glancing around to make sure that nobody else was listening.

"Don't worry. We'll be taking care of her this weekend," Yuzuki said.

"Oh, we heard about that. She'll get what's coming to her," Akari said.

"I know where she lives, too," Amari said.

Yuzuru shook his head. "I want you to leave her alone," he said.

"… Why?" Yuzuki asked.

"Does she have something on you?" Akari asked.

"I can do some sniffing if its dirt you need," Amari offered.

"Because I'd like to be able to have a normal, friendly rivalry," Yuzuru said.

"You think some random girl like that can be your rival? You're better than her," Yuzuki said.

"Clearly, I'm not. She handily defeated me today," Yuzuru said.

"Because she must have cheated with that old disk. Those things aren't to regulation, and she said parts of her deck were made to beat you," Yuzuki said. "I bet she stacked her deck. Her opening hand was too perfect."

"There's always an element of chance when dueling, and she got very lucky today," Yuzuki said. "She didn't cheat or anything like that. She just played cards that worked well against my deck because we've dueled a few times before."

"… Oh yeah, she did say she was up three," Akari said.

"I thought he said she was only down one?" Amari asked.

"Regardless of whatever your record is," Yuzuki said, stopping the other two before they could continue, "no brother of mine loses that easily… Did Kai put you up to this? Is she on to me?"

"No, this is a personal request," Yuzuru said. "Kai is the only friend I've had for almost a year, and I don't want you to ruin that."

"Aww, does lil' bro have a crush?" Akari teased.

"She DOES have the right kinda hair for you guys," Amari said.

"Will you two be quiet, please?" Yuzuru asked. "Sis, just let this go. She had a good draw, and that's all there is to it."

"… If you insist," Yuzuki said. "But if I see her making a fool out of you again, I'm stepping in."

"She was just lucky today. Our duels are usually much more even contests," Yuzuru said. He sighed, looking out to the light rain outside. "Did you remember your umbrella?"

"Got my ponchos," Yuzuki said. "What, do you need one?"

Yuzuru shook his head. "Just checking," he said. He turned around, about to walk away before pausing. "… Will you be working late today?"

"… Not anymore. I shouldn't be too long," Yuzuki said. "I can bring in dinner if you don't mind waiting a little."

"Please do," Yuzuru said. At that, he walked off, leaving Yuzuki with her two friends.

"Big Yuzu is too nice sometimes," Akari said. "We should totally thrash that Kai brat. If she beat lil' Yuzu so quickly, I bet she has some rare cards."

"What was that counter trap she played from her hand? I think I remember hearing about cards like that being kinda pricey," Amari said.

"From what I saw, we could make a pretty penny off her," Yuzuki said. She sighed. "But we aren't allowed to go after her right now. The moment she gets on my nerves or does something to Yuzuru, though… well, it's nice to know we have emergency funds so close by."

Akari and Amari let out a laugh at that, loud enough for Yuzuru to hear as he began going downstairs. Something about their tone put him on edge, so he resolved to remedy the problem the only way he knew how.

Rushing downstairs, he managed to catch Kai getting ready to head outside with her umbrella. "Hey!" he called, barely catching up to her. She turned around, looking a little surprised to see him hurrying towards her.

"What's up?" Kai asked.

"Oh! I, uhh…" Yuzuru began, only to realize his mental plan had only involved his actions and none of his words. Forced to improvise, he spat out what he thought could work. "I was wondering… what are you up to?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going home," Kai said.

"Right, right." Yuzuru said. "… What if you… didn't do that?"

"Excuse me?" Kai asked.

"I meant uhh… we could go do… something," Yuzuru suggested, shifting about uncomfortably as his words failed him. Suddenly, the right phrase popped into his mind. "Hang out! Yeah, let's do that!"

"It's raining," Kai said. "I'd rather not get my stuff messed up because I stayed out in the rain."

Yuzuru paused at that. "… What if we hung out at your place?" he asked after a few moments of consideration.

"No way," Kai said. "Look, I'm flattered, but I have stuff to do. If you really want, I can walk you home or something."

"That… shouldn't it be the other way around?" Yuzuru asked.

"Says who?" Kai asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

Realizing he put his foot in his mouth, Yuzuru relented. "Sorry, that was a dumb thing to say," he admitted.

"You say a lot of dumb things," Kai said. "Still, what brought this on all of a sudden? Did your sister egg you into this?"

"No, nothing like that," Yuzuru said. He tried to think of some good reason for this that wasn't concern for her safety but failed. Ultimately, he let out a sigh of defeat, dejection clear as he spoke again. "I don't know, I guess I just… you're right. This came outta nowhere. Sorry for bothering you."

"H-hey, it's not really a bother," Kai said, taken aback by Yuzuru's reaction. "Today's just a bad day. If you really want to hang out or whatever, I was thinking of going to this local game lounge near my house. They have a nice little café and sell card packs, including the new legacy set that dropped last week… plus it's a quiet place to do homework during the week."'

"I thought you were going home?" Yuzuru asked.

"I am, but this place is directly on the way to my house. I'm not taking any detours aside from entering a building," Kai said.

"Oh… then sure, let's do that," Yuzuru said. Kai gave him an odd look again, once again unsure how to take his apparent lack of a reaction but decided against questioning it. She simply shrugged and nodded, letting him accompany her on the way to the café.

As the evening fell, the rain dissipated. Under the cover of night, Yuzuki left the convenience store she worked at. Another boring day of bagging snacks and lazing about on her phone had passed by uneventfully, and with no real targets to pursue tonight, went about making her way to the apartment she and Yuzuru lived in. Fishing out her keys, she opened up the door and saw Yuzuru sitting at their kitchen counter at one of the two stools that converted it into the siblings' dining room table, his deck spread out in front of him with discarded card pack wrappings next to him and piled atop a long box, apparently something that had arrived for them in the mail today.

"I'm back… and hey, what gives?" Yuzuki asked as she walked in.

"Hey sis," Yuzuru greeted. "I bought fried chicken and fries. There's a milkshake in the fridge for you, too."

"Thanks, but I meant the cards," Yuzuki said as she discarded her shoes and walked inside. "If you wanted new cards, you should have told me."

"I don't want Kai's cards," Yuzuru said.

"They weren't gonna be from her. We have a stash of stuff that wasn't selling, and I know some of it works with the theme of your deck," Yuzuki said. Yuzuru sighed.

"I appreciate it, but… I kind of wanted to try getting stuff for myself," he said. "And plus, maybe there's stuff in here you could use. There were some cool dragons I saw that I can't really use."

Yuzuki hummed at that. "… Where did you get those from, anyways? We don't live near a game shop, and that pack is one of the new ones… none of the convenience stores ever pack the new ones until a few weeks after they've released," she said.

"Kai showed me this café game lounge that sells cards," Yuzuru said. "I got them from there, along with your milkshake. I don't think it melted all that much by the time I got back here."

"… I'd like to ask you about why Kai was showing you a game lounge, but my cat-like curiosity cannot ignore this box apparently addressed to both of us," Yuzuki said, latching onto the first distraction that would prevent her from interrogating her brother. "Mind pausing so we can see what's inside?"

"Sure," Yuzuru said. He packed his deck up quickly, shifting it off to the side while Yuzuki took her seat next to him and began prying open their package. He looked inside as she got the top open, freezing in place along with his sister.

Covering the entirety of the box's inner contents was a framed picture of their parents that they had never seen before, showing their mother and father seemingly on a ship looking towards an island. As usual, their mother kept her duel disk on at all times, while their father didn't have his on in the photo.

A message was inscribed along the bottom of the photo in messy sharpie, the words sending a shudder through the siblings.

"If you want to see them again, follow our instructions."

"… What the hell?" Yuzuki asked. "Our parents have been dead for years. What kinda crap is this?!"

She yanked the picture out of the box, revealing two sealed scrolls encased in a velvet interior, surrounding a small circular device with a single button that had a sign above it saying 'Push Me!'. Before Yuzuru could say anything to calm his sister, Yuzuki pushed the button.

The circular device opened, revealing a hologram of a man in a black cloak wearing a red dragon mask. "Yuzuru and Yuzuki Kiroku. Thank you for accepting our invitation," a garbled voice greeted.

"The audio is modified," Yuzuru noted.

"You may be wondering who I am or why I would mention your parents, so I will answer those questions first as to ensure you are paying attention," the voice continued. Yuzuki huffed at that but sat back down regardless. "I cannot give you my name, but you may refer to me as Tensai."

"Humble, aren't you?" Yuzuki taunted, despite recognizing that this message was a recording.

"For the last five years, you two have lived believing that your parents perished at sea," Tensai said. "As I'm sure you have guessed after seeing that picture, their deaths were nothing more than fiction. They are still alive today."

Yuzuru and Yuzuki's eyes widened at that.

"You may be wondering why they have not contacted you, or why they would not somehow inform you that they survived the supposed ship crash," Tensai continued. "In truth, they did this to protect you. Your parents love you very much, and even now, cannot risk making any connection to you known. You would be endangered by both the government which has thankfully exploitable loopholes to ensure you are both somewhat provided for and by forces that act far outside of the public sphere."

"… Were our parents super spies or something?" Yuzuru asked.

"Listen carefully to what I say next, for this will explain everything," Tensai said. "Your parents left the country in order to help stop a group that threatened this world by attempting to unleash the power of ancient artifacts tied to the creation of Duel Monsters. Your mother, Yukina, was an incredibly powerful duelist, and played a key role in defeating multiple wielders of such artifacts. Your father, Akira, studied the occult, and learned how to counter some of the artifacts' effects. His contributions alone have saved thousands of lives."

"Wait, wait, wait… they disappeared to fight some… doomsday cultists?" Yuzuki asked.

"And apparently were… or, are… incredibly important," Yuzuru said.

"They worked tirelessly to ensure that you two would be protected, but unfortunately, that is no longer possible," Tensai continued. "The last battle your parents fought in resulted in severe injury. Neither of them are mortally wounded, but they will not recover in time for the next battle. Our forces can only do so much on their own, and I shall admit now… I am doing this without your parents' approval."

"… Are you going to ask for our help?" Yuzuru asked.

"While Yukina and Akira would never accept this decision, I must place the fate of the world above their desires," Tensai said. "Yuzuru and Yuzuki… There will be a private duel monsters tournament in the coming weeks. 128 duelists will go to a secluded ground and race to the middle, where the first 16 arrivals who have gathered the necessary entry keys will take part in the main tournament. Inside the box, the two scrolls you see are special invitations which will allow you to partake in the tournament without needing to win entry at one of the local tournaments around the country."

"What does going to a tournament have to do with saving the world?" Yuzuki asked.

"You two must participate in the tournament and bolster our numbers. So long as one member of our organization wins the tournament, we will receive the eccentric host's prize: the Lord of the Dead's greatest treasure, the Scales of Justice. It is an incredibly powerful magical artifact that cannot be allowed into the wrong hands," Tensai continued. "When we are victorious, I promise that I will reunite you with your parents. If we lose… I am afraid you may be dragged into far more than a simple tournament. In the time you have left, I beseech you to prepare to the best of your abilities. The fate of the world may well rest on your shoulders."

"You can't be serious," Yuzuki said. At that, the projection ended, causing the hologram of the man to disappear. "There's more, right? That barely explained anything!" she said, pressing the button once more. Unfortunately, nothing happened when she tried it again.

"… I knew we were meant for something," Yuzuru said. Yuzuki shot him a glare.

"Do not get any stupid ideas about this being our 'protagonist origin'," she warned. "I am not about to just trust some random message we got from a person we don't even know saying some outlandish crap about us and our family."

"… I mean, we haven't even heard of this tournament yet," Yuzuru said. "We have time to think about it."

Yuzuki huffed at that. "There really isn't that much to think about, aside from who the hell could have sent this," she said. She shook her head. "All this… I'm gonna worry about it later. I wanna eat, shower, and sleep first."

Yuzuru nodded. "Like I said… we have time. But for what it's worth… I think we should go," he said.

"Well think on it some more, because I don't agree with that right now," Yuzuki said. Yuzuru nodded, deciding he wasn't going to reason with her until tomorrow. He looked back to his cards, suddenly feeling much more concerned with the state of his deck. As his sister grumbled while getting her food, he once again returned to deck building.