After they left Yugo and Rin behind, Yuzu and Yuya headed off towards the beach, where many stalls had been set up on the sand. Yuzu let out a laugh next to him as they saw a ball get tossed through the air and hit a target, before the tank in the distance shook and a lot of shouts could be heard. Yuya gave her a fond smile, and they began looking around. There were stalls with art, plushies and so on.

"Want one?" Yuya offered, gesturing to the plush toys of several small Fairy monsters. Yuzu looked at them, seeming at first intrigued, before she checked the price tag and let out a huff, taking Yuya's hand and dragging him away. "Huh?"

"I would," the pink-haired girl said. "But you know, those are completely overpriced! I'll just get Ruri to catch me one."

She saw Yuya's befuddled look and carried on. "So," she said, "Ruri's pretty good at claw machines. So we always just toss a few coins at her and let her go all out."

Yuya laughed. "Makes sense," he said cheerfully. "So, where next?"

"The dunk tank!" Yuzu declared, pulling him along again. He followed her with a smile, because… well, why not? She was fun to be around, anyway. They got to the dunk tank area. The first thing that Yuya saw was the large purple hair spike that stood out from literally everything else. Hokuto Shijima glanced up when he saw them. "Ah, Yuto," he said, before Yaiba Todo smacked him over the head.

"Are you colour-blind?" The boy with only marginally less ridiculous hair said. "That's clearly Yuya Sakaki." He gave a wave. "Yo. Your brothers all go by their first names, so I can call you by yours too, right?"

Yuya nodded with a smile. "Nice to meet you," he said.

Yaiba turned to Yuzu. "And you're one of the famous Kurosaki sisters, right? Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-san."

"Just call me by my first name," Yuzu said with a smile. There was a moment of silence, before Yaiba let out a sigh.

"Alright, I give up, I'm sorry." He held out a hand. "What's your first name, Kurosaki-san?"

It took exactly nine seconds for Yuzu to react by hitting him with her fan. Afterwards, it took a few minutes for Hokuto to stop laughing. "Yuzu Kurosaki," she said with a bright smile. "Nice to meet you!" Her suddenly friendly demeanour set Hokuto off again, and Yuya watched her with slight amusement.

"Nice to meet you," Yaiba said with a groan. "Man, you hit really hard!"

At Yuzu's glare, he quickly changed his tone.

"I mean, yes, nice to meet you! Where are your siblings?"

"It's easier to go around in smaller groups," Yuzu said. "So it's just me and Yuya here." Yuya nodded.

Hokuto nodded, and he glanced at the dunk tank. "We're the ones in charge of running this for now," he says. "Want to play?"

"How do we play?" Yuya said.

"Well, we're having the teachers come here and switch with the previous one every hour. Then, you can pay to get balls and toss them at the targets there." Hokuto pointed to the targets around the dunk tank. Some of the targets were already knocked down, with some students around the tank, continuing to toss the balls at the targets. "And when they're all knocked down, the teacher gets dunked!"

"Oh," Yuzu said, glancing at the tank with a smile. "So it's Professor Yuki now, huh?"

"You should've seen the turnout for Professor Chronos just now. I think there were at least a hundred students here."

"I can imagine," Yuya said. He passed over a thousand yen and got ten balls for him and Yuzu. The pink-haired girl immediately started tossing them out violently at the targets, barely missing a few of them. She hit one and the dunk tank let out a bell-like sound. Yuya quietly exchanged for more points and handed them to Yuzu the moment she ran out, letting her continue shooting.

Eventually, after sacrificing twenty balls, they hit eight targets. (A terrible record, but Yuya would take it as a win.) The moment the ball hit the eighth target, Judai Yuki was dunked into the dunk tank with his loud laughter echoing around the place.

Yuzu laughed and cheered.

"Anything else you want to do?" Yuya offered. "There's a lot of things around."

"True," Yuzu said. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, before she said, "do you know a place where there won't be anyone around?"

Yuya frowned. "I think the forested areas might work."

Yuzu nodded. "Let's go then!"


They headed there, where Yuzu stood opposite him. "Is there a reason why?"

"Yup!" Yuzu gave him a friendly smile. "I wanted to duel you again, Yuya. What do you think?"

Yuya smiled. "Sure!" He declared, swiping out at his own red cloak. "I wanted to duel today anyway, and there's no one else I'd rather have dueled but you!"

Yuzu went a little red. "Flatterer," she said. "Geez… ok. Let's go, Yuya Sakaki!"

"Three, two, one—"

"Duel!"

Yuya Sakaki: 4000LP

Yuzu Kurosaki: 4000LP

"I'll start!" Yuzu declared, swiping out the five cards from her deck. Yuya nodded, and as Yuzu glanced at her cards, so did he. He smiled for a moment. Alright. He already had Odd-Eyes with him, as well as Skullcrobat Joker, so he could probably combo off that depending on whatever the next monster he drew was. He'd decide once he saw Yuzu's next course of action.

That didn't take too long, luckily.

"I'll activate Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen!" Yuzu declared. Light flashed out around them, quick beams and glowing lights floating and shooting all around them. An altar appeared behind Yuzu, and it immediately took on a beautiful glow. "And if I control no monsters, I can Special Summon any Fairy monster from my hand once per turn! So, you ready?"

Melodious monsters became a lot stronger when they were Special Summoned, didn't they?

Yuya gave a thumbs up. "Bring your worst!"

Yuzu winked at him. "Nah," she said. "I think that I'll save that for the next turn. For now, I'm going to Special Summon the one and only Mozarta the Melodious Maestra!" (8*/2600/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) The beautiful red-themed angel emerged, the patterns of music notes on her dress and dainty wings keeping her aloft in the air. "And Mozarta lets me Special Summon another Fairy from my hand, so I'll bring out one of the strongest members of this performance! The one, the only Aria the Melodious Diva!" (4*/1600/1200/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) A pink-skinned girl appears, her entire attire and theme made up of earthy colours like orange and brown. Her hair was a lighter purple, with a perplexing orange swirl at the front.

Ok, to be fair, Yuya didn't have normal hair himself, so he couldn't exactly laugh at that.

"And while Aria is face-up on the field after being Special Summoned, my "Melodious" monsters cannot be destroyed by battle or targeted by card effects!" She took a card from her hand and gently fit it into her duel disk. "And I think to keep the suspense a bit, I'll set a card. Over to you, Yuya."

"Draw!" He declared. He grinned at the card. Ah. Sky Iris. He placed it in his hand, and then he plucked out another card from his hand. "I'll be Normal Summoning the ever-helpful Performapal Skullcrobat Joker!" (4*/S8/1800/100/DARK/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect) The mischievous spellcaster in an oversized purple and black suit emerged, a grin on his face as he tipped his patchwork top hat towards Yuzu, who giggled. "And Skullcrobat Joker can add a "Performapal" monster, an "Odd-Eyes" monster or one of my Pendulum Magicians to my hand! So I'll be adding the Scale 8 Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum Dragon (7*/S8/2700/2000/DARK/Dragon/Pendulum) to my hand!"

"Performapal, huh?" Yuzu glanced at the cards on the field. "They're pretty cute! How come you don't use them more?"

Yuya paused. "Ah," he said. "Uh… it's not like I don't use them at all, but…" He shrugged. "I guess if you win, you can ask me after the duel. How about that?" He forced a smile on his face. "For now, let's have the show begin! Now, with the Scale 4 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (7*/S4/2500/2000/DARK/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect) and the Scale 8 Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum Dragon, I'll set my Pendulum Scales!" The duo of pillars surrounded him. "I'll be activating the Field Spell, Sky Iris! I'll destroy a face-up card I control to add an "Odd-Eyes" card to my hand, Yuzu!" His ace turned into particles, and he nodded to it. "And since an "Odd-Eyes" card I control was destroyed, Arc Pendulum can bring out another from my hand, deck or graveyard!"

"And seeing as your graveyard is empty," Yuzu prompted.

"That's right! I'll be bringing it out from the deck!" He winked. "You're a pretty good audience, Yuzu!"

"Still a flatterer," she joked. "Carry on."

"Sure. Emerge from the deck! Dragon with the beautiful haunted eyes! Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!" (7*/S4/2500/2000/DARK/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect) He glanced at his Extra Deck. "I'll set the Scale 1 Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon (5*/S1/1200/2400/DARK/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect) in the other Pendulum Scale! Now, swing, pendulum! Cast your light across the aether! Pendulum Summon! Emerge stronger than ever! Dragon with heterochromatic eyes, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" His ace re-emerged onto the field with a loud roar.

"Nice! Both dragons at once, huh?"

Both of his dragons didn't have enough attack points to take out Mozarta. Thankfully though, Aria was there, and she couldn't be destroyed by battle—

Was that a trap by Yuzu?

Maybe she was leaving Aria there on purpose, in order to lure in attacks…

"Hey, Yuya! You're taking a while there, aren't you?"

He shakes his head. "Sorry! I'll have Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attack your Aria! And when battling, he deals twice the damage! Spiral Flame Strike! Reaction Force!"

"Sorry," Yuzu said cheerfully. "I'll activate the effect of Score the Melodious Diva (2*/200/200/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) in my hand. I'll discard her and lower your monster's attack and defence points to zero!" A white glow surrounded Odd-Eyes, slowing the red dragon to a halt. (Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500 - 0ATK; 2000 - 0DEF) "And your attack must continue!"

Oh—

Odd-Eyes was destroyed by the retaliation from Aria, and Yuya winced as the shockwave hit him too.

Yuya Sakaki: 4000 – 1600 = 2400LP

"Nice early hit," he said. "I'll have Phantom Dragon attack! Phantom Spiral Flame!"

The fire scorched Aria this time, and Yuzu winced as she took some damage too.

Yuzu Kurosaki: 4000 – 900 = 3100LP

"And you're not clear yet, because you're taking 1200 damage for each "Odd-Eyes" card in my Pendulum Scales! Atomic Force!"

Yuzu Kurosaki: 3100 – 1200 x 2 = 700LP

"Since I took two thousand or more damage," Yuzu declared, "I can activate the Trap card Melodious Encore! By banishing a "Melodious" monster in my graveyard and sending a card I control to the graveyard, I can add two "Melodious" monsters to my hand! So I'll send Valhalla and banish Score!" She picked up the two cards from her deck, and Yuya watched cautiously.

One of those cards could be another Score, right? And in that case, attacking again might just make things worse for him.

"I'll set a card facedown," he said, leaving himself with two cards in his hand. "And I'll end my turn. The first act is over—I'll hand the time over to you now!"

Despite his overdramatic tone, Yuzu responded as enthusiastically as he had expected. "I'll definitely entertain you too!" She declared. "Draw! And I'll Normal Summon Chord the Melodious Diva (4*/1200/700/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) from my hand!"

A strange diva looking like a female version of him appeared, giving a wink.

"And when Chord is Normal or Special Summoned, I can bring back a banished "Melodious" monster to my field! So I'll Special Summon Score back to my field!"

Banishing Score with her Trap just to bring it back with the Chord that she added from said Trap's effect…

Yuya grinned. "So you've brought out two more performers to the stage? Fantastic!"

"And now, I will activate Mozarta's effect!" Yuzu declared. "I'll Special Summon a Fairy monster from my hand again, just like my Tamtam the Melodious Diva!" (4*/1000/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) A cheerful idol with a light-hearted smile appeared, holding onto a large staff. "And when Tamtam is Special Summoned while I have a "Melodious" monster other than her, I can add this card to my hand!" With a flourish, she revealed the card. "Polymerization!"

Yuya gave her a thumbs up and a pleased smile.

"I'll now activate Polymerization to fuse Tamtam the Melodious Diva, Chord the Melodious Diva and Score the Melodious Diva!" The three idols shot up into the sky, turning into three lights.

"A triple Fusion?" Yuya said, eyes widening. He'd rarely ever seen people pull it off due to the huge amount of resources required, but…

Well, of course Yuzu could do it. She had a habit of breaking the mold, after all.

"Underworld songstress who wanders the world with your dark voice! Appear now, and aid me! Fusion Summon! Level 9! The dark melodious angel—Farsa Flora the Melodious Angel Choir!" (9*/S10/3000/2000/DARK/Fairy/Fusion/Pendulum/Effect)

The older version of Bloom Diva appeared, wisps swirling around her with a flourish.

"I won't activate Tamtam's effect," Yuzu said. "There are better opportunities anyway… and I can't activate Chord's other effect anyway. So we'll just go on with the show! Farsa Flora's effect! I can banish a "Melodious" monster from my graveyard, and she gains that monster's attack points! I'll banish Tamtam!" (Farsa Flora the Melodious Angel Choir: 3000 + 1000 = 4000ATK)

"Wait, 4000 attack points?" Yuya said, balking. And she could still take out his other monster with Mozarta…

"Yup!" She pointed forward. "Farsa Flora will attack your Skullcrobat Joker! Mysterious Underworld Dirge!"

Going right for the win, huh?

Sorry, Yuzu. That's not going to work.

"I'll activate Impenetrable Attack!" He declared, the Trap flipping up. "I'll pick the option that says that I take no battle damage this turn!" Skullcrobat Joker vanished into several small particles.

Yuzu nodded in acceptance. "I'll end my turn then," she said. When he gave her a puzzled look, she winked. "I'm not going to give you another search that easily, Yuya. Figure out another way."

Geez…

"Have it your way," he said. "Farsa Flora's boost wears off, right?"

"Yeah." (Farsa Flora the Melodious Angel Choir: 4000 - 3000ATK)

"Alright then. Draw!"

He needed a way to take out a monster with that many attack points without targeting it and defeating it by battle… that was admittedly pretty hard.

He grinned. "Ladies and gentlemen! Let's give a warm welcome to our three performers as they emerge! Swing, pendulum! Now, reappear, my ace! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" The red dragon reappeared with a loud roar. "Of course, we can't forget Performapal Skullcrobat Joker!And let's greet the new performer on the field! Performapal U-Go Golem!" (4*/S1/1600/1000/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect) The peculiar white fiend appeared on his field, letting out a loud and cheerful laugh. "And when U-Go Golem is Pendulum Summoned, on the same turn, I can use him and Dragon monsters I control to Fusion Summon! I will fuse Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon and Performapal U-Go Golem!"

"Nice!" Yuzu said. "Vortex Dragon?"

"No," Yuya said sheepishly. "Someone else." He began his chant immediately, spreading out his arms dramatically. "Now, appear, playful demon of the circus performers! Blast away all barriers! Fusion Summon! The enigmatic, the shadowed, the one and only Performapal Gatlinghoul!" (8*/2900/900/DARK/Fiend/Fusion/Effect)

A demon with a bright, trigger-happy smile appeared in front of him, firing out a few loud blasts into the air. Yuzu let out a giggle at the sight of it, and Yuya found himself smiling at her fondly before he snapped back to reality and focused on his cards, trying to fight down his blush.

"When Gatlinghoul is Fusion Summoned, I can deal you 200 damage for every card on the field! Sky Iris, Skullcrobat Joker, Odd-Eyes, Gatlinghoul, my two Pendulum Scales, Mozarta, Aria and your Farsa Flora! That's nine cards!"

"When I would take effect damage," Yuzu declared, "I can Special Summon Concerto the Melodious Songstress (1*/300/200/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) from my hand and gain life points equal to the attack points of the monster with the highest attack points on the field!" A cute idol in bright green and orange clothing appeared, and a glow surrounded both Farsa Flora and Yuzu.

Yuzu Kurosaki: 700 + 3000 – 200 x 9 = 1900LP

"That's fine," Yuya said. "That still leaves your monster open to my second effect! Since I used a Pendulum Monster for Gatlinghoul's Fusion Summoning, I can destroy one of your monsters and deal you damage equal to its attack points!"

Yuzu frowned. "Aria—"

"Aria doesn't defend against non-targeting destruction! I'll be taking Farsa Flora down!"

A missile shot out as Gatlinghoul giggled menacingly, landing on Yuzu's field and exploding, filling the area with smoke.

Then, seconds later, Yuzu reappeared, unscathed.

"Sorry, Yuya," she said with a smile. "I'm afraid that isn't going to work. While a Special Summoned Concerto is on the field, I don't take effect damage. And Farsa Flora can't be destroyed by battle or card effects."

The perfect defence against burn damage… "Must be a big advantage when you're dueling Rin."

"It works," she says.

"Anyway though," Yuya said, "I'm not going to leave without some results! I'll activate Sky Iris's effect. I'll destroy Persona Dragon in my Scale to add an "Odd-Eyes" card to my hand! And since an "Odd-Eyes" card is being destroyed, I can activate Arc Pendulum Dragon's effect too! So I'll Special Summon Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon!" (7*/2800/2000/LIGHT/Dragon/Effect) A version of Odd-Eyes with darker red scales appeared, white and silver spikes jutting out all over its body. "And now, I'll overlay the Level 7 Saber Dragon and Pendulum Dragon! Dragon of the far north, bring your winter wind to us—and unleash the relentless blizzard! Xyz Summon! Rank 7! Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon!" (R7/2800/2500/WATER/Dragon/Xyz/Effect/OU:2) The icy dragon let out a roar as it crashed down in front of him. "Attack Aria!"

Yuzu Kurosaki: 1900 – 1200 = 700LP

"I'll set a card. Over to you."

Yuzu stared at him for a moment. "You could've won," she said.

"Huh?" Yuya scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I guess I could have. Would there be a point though?" He patted Absolute Dragon's head. "I want us to both have fun. It's not really that fun for either of us if I just circumvent your dueling style by hitting you with raw power. And I know you can do better, Yuzu—in fact, I'm pretty sure you were just distracted and forgot to switch Aria to Defence Position. Can't exactly feel good taking a win from that."

Yuzu sighed. "Idiot," she said. "Draw!" She nodded at the card. "I'll activate Concerto's effect. It'll copy Aria's Level." (Concerto the Melodious Songstress: 1* - 4*)

So it's an Xyz support card then?

"And I'll activate Mozarta's effect. I'll Special Summon a LIGHT Fairy from my hand, like Soprano the Melodious Songstress!" (4*/1400/1400/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect) The colourful blindfolded idol rose up. "And I'll activate her effect. When Special Summoned, she'll add a "Melodious" monster from my graveyard to my hand, like Score."

"So you're going to attack my monster?"

"I'm going to crush you," Yuzu said with a sweet smile. "I'll overlay the Level 4 Concerto, Aria and Soprano! Storms, gather! Light, strike forth with the power of the overwhelming electricity! Xyz Summon!"

Yuya heard a quiet voice in his head. "Stay vigilant!"

"Rank 4! Number 16: Shock Master!" (R4/2300/1600/LIGHT/Fairy/Xyz/Effect/OU:3)

"Hold on—" Yuya said. "That's…"

A Number, right?

Was Yuzu possessed by it or something?

Shit, he hadn't even noticed…

She laughed. "Relax, Yuya," she said. "It's giving me a bit of a headache, but it's not like I'm possessed by it or anything you know? I'm being tested by it or something."

Yuya stared at the monster. "I thought we told your kind not to test us anymore," he said, voice a lot less casual than usual.

"It's ok, Yuya," Yuzu said, but before she could continue, Yuya shook his head. Absolute Dragon nudged his arm.

"It's not," Yuya said. "It's not fair to you, is it? That you're caught up in this thing… I don't even know what's going on fully, but…"

"Hey, keep that smile on your face!" Yuzu said, putting a hand on her hip. "Don't just think that you and your brothers are the only ones that have to deal with this kind of stuff! What kind of messiah complex is that?" She placed a hand over the bracelet on her wrist. "You remember that duel that day, right? When that Blaze or whatever attacked you, I fought her for you, you know? And that was when I didn't even know you that well! What makes you think that I won't fight alongside you now when I know you better?"

She sighed.

"It's not just your burden to bear, you know…"

"Oh," Yuya said. He tried to fight his blush, and he smiled. "Even if you're in trouble?"

"Let's all face it together," she said. "Yeah? Meeting you, Yuto, Yugo and Yuri… it felt like meeting an old friend again, like some kind of déjà vu. I'm glad that I met you guys, because you are the friends that I always wanted so much."

"Yuzu…"

He gave her a thumbs up.

"I never really had friends," he admitted. "Everyone always laughed at me for who my father was… and then, for who I was."

"I never actually got details on that," Yuzu said. "They just said that Yusho Sakaki's son pulled off something weird at a tournament.'

"I'll tell you about it after this is over," he said. "Tell me if you don't feel well, alright? It's still your turn."

"Yeah," Yuzu said, giving him a challenging look. "You're going to regret not finishing me off last turn! I'll activate Shock Master's effect! I'll detach one of her Overlay Units, and then I'll declare a card type, and we both cannot activate the effects of that type until your next End Phase!" She winked. "And guess what, Yuya? I'll declare monster, so your monster cannot negate my attacks anymore, and it can't bring out another one from your Extra Deck."

Oh.

Oh, she still remembered his card effects, huh?

Yuya tried his best to avoid getting flustered over the idea.

"I don't know if your Gatlinghoul has any extra effects, but it doesn't matter. I'll banish Chord from my graveyard to give Farsa Flora more attack points." (Farsa Flora the Melodious Angel Choir: 3000 + 1200 = 4200ATK) She pointed at Skullcrobat Joker. "Sorry, Yuya, but I'm not nearly as merciful as you! Take it out, Farsa Flora! Mysterious Underworld Dirge!"

The song rung out, and at the same time that it ended, so did the duel.

Yuya Sakaki: 2400 – 2400 = 0LP

Yuya stared at her.

"You're really good," he said. Yuzu grinned.

"You're just saying that because I defeated you," she said. "Anyway, now do you get why I wanted to duel you?"

Huh?

"Did there have to be a reason?" Yuya said, and it was probably the wrong thing to say, because Yuzu scowled and hit him over the head with a fan, before she stormed off. Yuya followed after her, extremely confused.

What was the reason?

Oh.

"Did you want to test out the Number or something?" He said. "Well, you could have told me that right away…"

He didn't understand why Yuzu let out another sigh, but she slowed down so that he could walk next to her, so he was fine with it. He glanced at her.

His heart felt weird…

Ah. It was probably nothing.


Yuya Sakaki was an idiot, Yuzu thought with a pout. Ruri and Yuto made it look so easy, but…

Oh well.

She'd figure it out.


At the end of the day, they all met up again.

"What happened to you two?"

"We dunked Professor Yuki in the tank," Serena said, sounding far too calm and collected for such a ridiculous line. It immediately set Yugo off, and Rin gave him an exasperated look. "Did it seven times. It was fun. What about you guys? Bet that your day can't beat ours!"

"We caught claw machine toys," Ruri said. "Oh, and we met one of Professor Yuki's friends. Someone called Rei Saotome. Who knows?" She beamed. "She was really nice though!"

Rin stepped over to Yuzu. "How was it?" She said.

"It was ok," she said. Rin nodded, giving her a knowing frown.

Serena yawned. "I think I'm going to sleep," she said. "See you guys." She began walking off, and Yuri followed after her. The two of them started bickering about something, and the other six of them stared after them, slightly confused.

"Yeah, sleeping's great," Yugo said.

Sorry, the five of them had been staring after Yuri and Serena. Yugo was already sitting on the floor.

"Don't sleep there," Yuto said.

"Yeah," Rin chided. "Have a bit more common sense."

Yugo let out some complaints, but eventually, they all separated and headed back to their own dorms.

Yuzu sighed.

Today had been nice, but…

She had wanted just a little more.

Oh well. It couldn't be helped.

Boys were so stupid.

A/N: So firstly, new Lyrilusc support! Hell yeah! I love the new cards, honestly, and considering that I obviously have not given Ruri enough options yet (or Rin, for that matter), I feel like I might as well include them. And considering there's a Ruri duel very soon anyway, it was perfect timing to break my writer's block.

I really want to give Yuya a duel at some point that is not completely essential to the plot, but I'll be honest and say that when it comes to casual duels, I just like writing for the other three more. To me, it always felt like they had a bit more substance than Yuya. That's a bias that I'm working to correct though, and as the previews will show, Yuya will get a more casual duel next chapter.

Anyway, fun fact—the previous two paragraphs of this author's note were written two months ago. I need help. Send help.

This chapter is horrendously late, and I do apologise. There were a lot of things going on, and I only just managed to get back to writing. Hope that this does make up for it though. Thanks for your concern, Guest 01. Life hit me pretty hard during the previous month, but I'm glad that I can finally conclude this arc and move on to the next one. So, to celebrate that? New previews!

Chapter Preview: Chapter 22—Blooming Soul

Yuzu isn't sure how to get across what she means to Yuya. She ends up talking to one of her teachers, who has some wisdom to share, and then, she finds out that Yuya has planned something for her…

Chapter Preview: Chapter 23—Whimsical Musings

While going out to take photographs of birds, Ruri runs into a surprising figure taking care of a flower patch in a forest. They talk, before a strange animal emerges from the flowers…

Chapter Preview: Chapter 24—Sweet Relief

Sora Shiun'in knows that he doesn't cause nearly as much fuss around school as the Sakaki brothers. He likes to avoid the crowd. But when he finally starts associating with them, he ends up having to actually deal with one of the loudest people ever… and one of the most responsible.

Chapter Preview: Chapter 25—Stirring Shadows

Serena, feeling a little tired, goes to the beach to rest under the night sky. As she is stargazing, a certain someone shows their face, and she decides that now is as good of a time as ever to ask what she wants to ask…

Chapter Preview: Chapter 26—Speeding On!

The school announces its newest event, and thoroughly filled with hype, Yugo decides to try practicing with his D-Wheel after it gets shipped to the school. He ends up bumping into one of West Academy's teachers there, however… and the rest is history.

Chapter 24 is actually going to be the first time that a chapter isn't primarily focused on one of the counterparts, now that I think about it. I do have 'spotlight' chapters for some of the characters that are on this island but who haven't gotten the chance to interact too much with the main characters yet. Honestly speaking, I'm just not really interested in writing them yet. Right now, my plan is to include a chapter for Sora (as seen above), Dennis and possibly Sawatari. (That one would be a very stupid chapter. So stupid.) But yeah. Hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Now I'm going to go and collapse. Take care. The world's still kind of going to shit right now.

~ Blaise

OC Cards:

Melodious Encore

(Trap)

If you take 2000 or more damage (from battle or card effects): You can send 1 card you control to the GY and banish 1 "Melodious" monster from your GY; add 2 "Melodious" monsters from your Deck to your hand, but you cannot Summon them this turn.

Chord the Melodious Diva

(4*/1200/700/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)

If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can Special Summon a banished "Melodious" monster to your field. If this card is sent from the field to the GY: Add 1 Level 6 or higher "Melodious" monster from your GY to your hand.

Farsa Flora the Melodious Angel Choir

(9*/S10/3000/2000/DARK/Fairy/Fusion/Pendulum/Effect)

Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, during either player's turn, you can tribute 1 "Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir" you control: Special Summon this monster from your Pendulum Scale, and if you do it loses 500ATK until the end of this turn.

3 "Melodious" monsters

This monster cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. If this monster deals battle damage to your opponent, you can gain LP equal to that amount. You can banish 1 "Melodious" monster from your GY; this monster gains ATK equal to the banished monster's ATK until the End Phase. If this monster would leave the field, you can place it in your Pendulum Scale.

Concerto the Melodious Songstress

(1*/300/200/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)

If an effect is activated that would deal you damage: You can gain LP equal to the ATK of the monster with the highest ATK on the field, then, Special Summon this card from your hand in Defence Position. Once per turn: You can target 1 "Melodious" monster you control; change this monster's Level to that monster's Level. While this Special Summoned card is on the field, you do not take damage from card effects.