Hi, guys! This is a total remake of my Arc V fanfic, so clearly, there's gonna be a lot of new changes coming your way! I'll keep my old fanfic, Yu-Gi-Oh Arc V: Alternate Arc, up until I reach some sort of checkpoint in this fanfic! And that point, I'll delete the old fanfic and then focus more on this fanfic! And now, here we go!~

Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own any Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!


BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Nnnhh...Shut up...just five more minutes..."

Grabbing her alarm clock, the young girl with blue hair, Mitsumi Nazuno, clicked the alarm button off before placing it back on her nightstand, pulling the covers over her head to grab some more shut-eye. Then again, today was a school day, and she still had some things to do before school, as her Grandmother could use all the help she needed.

After reluctantly getting out of bed, it took no less than a minute for Mitsumi to smooth out her bedsheets and properly make her bed before beginning her daily morning routine. Once she entered the bathroom, she washed her face at the sink, brushed her teeth, applied lotion to her skin, brushed and tied her long hair up, and got ready. A tired morning with a cold sink; fitting as the only advantage was that the cold water cleared all of Mitsumi's sleepiness away.

Upon finishing her business in the bathroom, it didn't take long for Mitsumi to get dressed in her school uniform. Deciding to check up on herself in her full-length mirror to see if anything was out of place, Mitsumi stood still and checked out her own appearance from her mirror's reflection.

Her long, silky blue hair flowed down her back like water, held up in the form of a high ponytail that was at hips' length, revealing how long it was. Her clear, gray-colored eyes glanced up and down at her school uniform from her reflection. Her pure, white paled skin shimmered from morning rays through the window, as though emphasizing how young, but purely beautiful she appeared. Satisfied with her appearance, Mitsumi headed downstairs to begin her morning tasks.

Every single morning, as early as the sun rose, she always woke up to cook and prepare any necessities for both her and her grandmother. Her parents weren't around anymore, so it was just her and her grandmother. Times were tough in the past, and her Grandmother taught her everything she needed to know about housekeeping, including cooking. Fortunately, Mitsumi was a fast and talented learner, so within several years later, she was just as a talented cook as her Grandmother, and because she's still young, she could still strive to improve her skills and become an even better cook in the future.

Sometime later, Mitsumi's grandmother, Miyuki Nazuno, carefully made her way downstairs, being mindful of her weak body and age just like always. Age was affecting her body greatly, especially since she was still employed at this old age when someone like her should already be in a nursery home. Her nose caught the delicious scent of breakfast and coffee by the time she was halfway down the stairs. She was always grateful for her always doing so much for her old soul, but the elderly woman constantly worried for the young girl for many reasons. One of them being that she shouldn't have to wake up so early in the morning to do so much for the both of them. Around this time, kids her age were still sleeping in and wouldn't wake up until a little bit more later, but here, Mitsumi was, taking the time to cook not only breakfast, but also preparing today's lunch and dinner.

Bless her granddaughter's kind soul.

When she arrived at the kitchen, she saw Mitsumi pouring the coffee pot onto a cup before setting it down. She had turned off the stove and was about to place the cooked egg muffins from the pan into a plate when she spotted her grandmother. "Oh! Good morning, Grandma! Breakfast is almost ready, so just wait for a few more minutes!"

Sitting down promptly at the dining table, Miyuki watched as her granddaughter finished the preparations for breakfast and made her way towards the dining table so that they could eat together. "Mitsumi-chan?" called out Miyuki.

"Yeah?"

"Starting today, there's going to be a change of schedule at the bakery, so I'll have to stay out a bit late at night from now on. I'm sorry, but would it be possible for you to start eating dinner without me? I know that we normally eat dinner together, but-"

"If that's the case, then why don't I just wait to eat dinner with you when you come back?" interrupted Mitsumi, taking an egg muffin and taking a bite out of it.

But Miyuki shook her head, frowning. "Unfortunately, I can't allow that. Mitsumi-chan, I didn't want to tell you this, but...I fear that I have no other choice." Taking a deep breath, Miyuki exhaled it out with a sigh. "Mitsumi...I requested for extended hours, and my request came through-"

Mitsumi slammed her hands on the table. "Grandma! Seriously?! You can't exhaust your body any further! I know this is for the money, but still!""

Miyuki sighed. "I...I remember that, Mitsumi-chan. But...money is tight right now, so the extra hours should help."

Clenching her fists, Mitsumi knew deep down that her grandmother was right. Her grandmother's been having financial issues for a long while now all the while taking care and supporting her own granddaughter. They weren't rich...not anymore, anyways, but fortunately, they weren't poor, either. It was just...getting more and more tough for their household in terms of their financial issues.

"...If only you would let me get a job, Grandma!" muttered Mitsumi, frustrated.

"Mitsumi, we talked about this."

"No, I'm serious! I know you want me to focus on my studies, but still-!"

"But nothing," spoke Miyuki sternly, gently placing a hand over one of her granddaughter's clenched fists in order to help her relax. "Just leave all the house problems to me, okay, Mitsumi-chan? You should focus more on schoolwork and your friends. You're still so young. It'll be quite a while before you have to take any real-world responsibility, alright? Just enjoy life while you can, alright?"

"..." Mitsumi didn't say anything after that, not wanting to anger nor further upset her grandmother.

For a long time, because it was just the two of them, they've faced many issues, which one of the main ones were financial ones. Normally, Mitsumi wouldn't have a problem with her grandmother trying to support them more, but this was her grandmother, as in, her elderly, should-be-retired, grandmother! She shouldn't be working at a job her age! She should just be relaxing! Instead, in order to support the both of them, her grandmother has constantly forced her body to move about and work, especially with additional hours at work!

It made Mitsumi angry with herself even though she knew that her grandmother wouldn't want her blaming herself for something completely out of her control.

Noticing Mitsumi's silent, self-loathing, Miyuki decided to change the subject. "Oh, Mitsumi-chan!~ It's no good looking upset like that! Your expression right now won't attract any cute guy out there! Why, you won't be able to win Yuya-kun's heart like that!"

Almost immediately, Mitsumi's upset attitude vanished with embarrassed, flustered cheeks. "G-Grandma! Don't just-! I-I don't have feelings for Yuya, like that! Besides, everyone knows that Yuzu's clearly got the hots for him! Why they aren't a couple at this point is beyond me..."

"Well, you're all quite young! Around 14 years old, I might add, so you don't necessarily have to have a boyfriend right now, Mitsumi-chan!~" chirped Miyuki. "Hmm...but if not Yuya-kun...then what about Gongenzaka? He may not seem too much in the looks department, but he's certainly honorable and would definitely protect you from any and all harm! Plus, I've seen him walk you home many times!"

"Nope. I don't feel that way towards him," Mitsumi said, raising a palm to stop her. "He's just a good friend to me, that's all. Besides, he's too busy with training and inheriting his dojo, so I doubt a relationship with him will last."

Miyuki tilted her head in confusion. "Oh? Well, I still think he'd be a good match for you. After all, even his father's very supportive towards the two of you!"

"That's...Yeah, it was a big mistake cooking dinner for his family that one time," sighed Mitsumi, sweatdropping.

The one thing Mitsumi referred to happened several months ago, and even Mitsumi was compelled to admit that that whole incident was her own fault. When she and Gongenzaka hung out with each other in his dojo home while his father was sick, Mitsumi offered to cook up a heartwarming dinner for his father. The dinner had foods meant to smooth out Gongenzaka's father's cold, but it also had the...unexpected side-effect of his father falling comically in love with her cooking. In fact, he was so amazed and impressed, he had personally requested her to be Gongenzaka's fiancée, much to the embarrassment of both of them.

Yeah, there was no way Mitsumi was cooking a meal at his dojo ever again after that.

"Hmm...Ohh! I got it! The perfect boyfriend-material for you!" squealed Miyuki. "Shingo Sawatari-kun! He-"

"Not in a million years."

"But, he seems like a charming young man! Plus, he's quite handsome, even if he's a bit too enthusiastic at times," Miyuki complimented.

"HA! Try narcissistic and annoying! And a total spoiled rich guy!" Mitsumi said, her eye twitching in her annoyed expression as she visibly clawed at the air like it was the blight of her life. "Ugh! He's just like one of those snooby duelists I used to duel when I used to be a Junior Pro Duelist! I just KNOW that he likes me because of my looks! He just CANNOT stop complimenting them!" She twirled one of her frontal hair strands and scratched the side of her head frustratedly. "Ugh! And why can't you just let me get a haircut? Maybe then, he'll get off my case..."

"Mitsumi-chan, we already talked about this. No haircut until you're 30!" scolded Miyuki, crossing her arms. "One, we both know that you're likely to cut your hair and sell it for money, which I will not allow! Two, you only live once, and having such soft, silky, long hair is guaranteed to make you very beautiful as you grow older! And three, you've already grown it out for this long, so it would feel like just a waste to cut it all away!"

'I didn't grow it out because I wanted to! My dumbass parents forced me to!' Mitsumi wanted to argue, but kept her mouth shut. Technically, she did still like having long hair, especially due to how silky and smooth it was whenever she ran her fingers through it. However, she found the cons much more bothersome than the pros, such as a lot of uncomfortable, enviable looks at school, Shingo, and two other reasons that she found more important than ever. That her hair gets itchy at times, especially during the hot weather, and that her long hair easily gets tangled and caught up in some object, thus being easily dirtied. Even if she ties it up in different hairstyles.

But, for her grandmother's sake, especially after all she's done for her, she'll endure having long hair.

After finishing her breakfast meal with her grandmother, Mitsumi stood up and removed the empty dishes from the dining table, placing them in the sink and deciding to wash the dishes later. Mitsumi sighed, then asked, "Alright, what sort of dinner would you like tonight?"

Perking up in surprise, Miyuki said, "Mitsumi-chan...are you-?"

"Well, you would have done the extra hours regardless of what I had to say. So, I might as well do everything I can to support you," Mitsumi admitted. "But, you better not push yourself, okay? Try to get as much rest as you can in your breaks!"

Relieved and happy that her granddaughter...reluctantly accepted the outcome of her choice, Miyuki nodded, smiling. "Why, of course. Now, I believe some miso soup will suffice for me..."

Mitsumi shook her head. "Nuh-uh, you can't just have miso soup! I'll add some more meat and vegetables for dinner tonight! No ifs, ands, or buts about it! Alright, let's get started!

Watching her one and only granddaughter cooking and doing a lot of the housework made Miyuki both happy, yet guilty with herself. She only wished she could do much more for her granddaughter, who followed every single one of her orders and chores without so much as a complaint. Yes, she knew that Mitsumi was doing everything she could to assist her and would be doing more by getting a job once she came of age, but Miyuki still wished that she could do more.


Later, that morning before school...

"Oh, come on, Yuzu! You have to admit, my Hippo is one of the cutest Monsters I've got!" said Yuya. "Way cuter than any of your Monsters!"

"Hey! Are you saying that my own Monsters aren't cute?!" protested Yuzu angrily, ready to hit Yuya on the head with her infamous paper fan.

"Well, no! I mean, I haven't seen any of your Monsters that are on the cute level as mine...aaaaaand I'm just making things worse, aren't I?"

"Yuya!" scolded Gongenzaka. "It is rude to simply cast judgement on appearances alone!"

"Thank you, Gongenzaka!" thanked Yuzu before glaring at Yuya. "See? You should be more like Gongenzaka, Yuya! At least he respects that what's inside, counts!"

"...Even if it is true."

"What?!"

"Ha!" laughed Yuya mockingly, ducking his head to dodge a swing of Yuzu's paper fan.

"Waaaaaaaahhhhh!" Suddenly, a male student ran past the three, crying due to a heartbreak he just experienced.

'...Ugh, that's gotta be like, the 4th boy this week. You'd think they'd get a hint and move on, but nooooo!' thought Mitsumi, eyes narrowed in annoyance as she stood near the school entrance, waiting for her friends' arrival.

What happened earlier was that Mitsumi was confessed to by another student...again. As much as she highly disliked it, Mitsumi was actually one of, if not, the most popular girl in school. Good grades, a gorgeous beauty that's bound to become more beautiful in the future, and a sweet and shy personality that only added more to her cuteness gauge in other peoples' eyes.

God, how much she hated that.

Mitsumi never really asked nor intended to be very popular at school, for it brought a lot of...unwanted attention. She completely lost count of the amount of love letters she received and the amount of rejections she's given to many guys throughout her school life. But, what was even worst were the female population's stance on this. Because of her status at school, a lot of girls were unbelievably jealous and tended to bully her a lot.

It truly was troublesome.

Noticing her friends approaching her from a distance, Mitsumi cleared her throat and reverted her expression from annoyed to shy-like and concerned. 'Aaaaand done! Okay! Sweet and shy Mitsumi-chan is a-go!' Mitsumi thought, mentally preparing herself.

"I'm sorry!" called out Mitsumi, trying to wave at the guy who ran off crying. Seeing her "efforts" failing to reach the ears of the student, Mitsumi's arms dropped as she clasped her hands worriedly. "Oh no...I really hope that I didn't hurt his feelings too badly..."

Walking up to Mitsumi, Yuya asked, "...Another one?"

Mitsumi nodded. "I'm...sorry you had to see that. Not the best way to start a morning. B-But, I did try to make sure my rejection wasn't too harsh this time!"

"I'll say," agreed Yuzu. "How many boys was that this week, Mitsumi-chan?"

"Um...I don't really have a habit of keeping track. I'm sorry," apologized Mitsumi before attempting to smile at them. "But, good morning, everyone! How are you?"

"We're okay, I guess," yawned Yuya before his eyes widened. "Oh no! I forgot my lunch! Gaaah! And I was so looking forward to eating the hamburger steak Mom made!"

"Nice going, Yuya," deadpanned Yuzu, annoyed.

"One should never forget their lunch, as it's part of a nutritious meal!" advised Gongenzaka, crossing his arms.

"Um..." Raising her hand, Mitsumi offered, "If you want, I...I can share my lunch with you, Yuya. It just so happened that I cooked hamburger steak today, so-"

"YES!" cheered Yuya, embracing Mitsumi by the waist as he lifted her high in the air, spinning her in the air before placing her back on the ground. 'Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! No wonder a lot of guys crush on you! You're practically a lifesaver! I definitely owe you big time, Mitsumi-chan!"

"Mitsumi-chan, are you sure this is alright?" asked Yuzu. "I mean, I could have shared some of my food and-You know what? I'll share some of my food with you, Mitsumi-chan."

Touched, Gongenzaka declared, "I, the man Gongenzaka, will also happily assist in offering some food to Mitsumi!"

"Yay!" exclaimed Yuya, thinking that if Mitsumi was going to be receiving good, he, too, was also going to be sharing a portion of their food as well.

"You don't get any," deadpanned Yuzu and Gongenzaka, predicting what he was thinking. They both didn't want Yuya to be spoiled, especially since he has nothing to offer back to Mitsumi at the moment. Plus, this way, he might learn his lesson and not make mistakes like leaving his lunch for next time.

"Awwww!" Despite Yuya's complaints, he knew he probably deserved it for not bringing his lunch. "Alright..."

Feeling bad for Yuya, Mitsumi attempted to cheer him up. "Um...If you want, Yuya, I can give you the rest of my lunch. Then, I can just share a bit from Yu-"

"No, Mitsumi," stopped Gongenzaka. "I know you're trying to help, but this is Yuya's punishment. He'll only get a bit of your food."

Mitsumi turned to Yuya, who sighed and nodded his head. "It's alright, Mitsumi. Thanks, but just the offer of you sharing your food is already enough."

"Oh, okay..."


Later, during lunchtime...

Walking up the stairs towards the rooftop, Mitsumi stepped onto the third floor when all of a sudden, three sucker-tipped darts hit her on the cheek.

"Aah!" Startled, she nearly dropped her lunch before removing the darts off her cheek. 'Darts? ...Crap, it's Shingo, isn't it?' she thought, annoyed.

"Oh! If only you had turned your head a bit, I would have hit you in the forehead!" said a familiar voice. "Or, perhaps maybe even the lips would be much more fitting...and romantic?~"

'Just bear with it like you always have, Mitsumi,' the blue-haired girl thought, swallowing her annoyance down with a single gulp before turning with a fake, polite smile on her face. "Ah! Sawatari-san!" said Mitsumi, bowing her head at the approaching, handsome boy, who took back his darts. "How are you?"

"Oh, I've been having a swell day!~" sang Shingo, twirling one of the darts with his fingers. "Did you know that a bunch of girls tried to ask me out on a date once again? They're definitely cute, but..." Cherishing her chin, Shingo raised it so they could see face-to-face. "None of their beauty compares to you, Mitsumi-chan!~"

Mitsumi resisted the urge to bite or break his fingers. "Y-you said that to me before," she stammered, trying to keep up her shy persona.

"Yeah? Well, I just felt like I wanted to say that again, moron!~" Shingo poked Mitsumi's forehead various times, causing her to flinch.

Shingo and his lackeys, who weren't here right now, were another group of bullies that Mitsumi had to constantly deal with everyday, though compared to the female bullies, Shingo and his group felt like a minority to her. In fact, they didn't really feel like bullies most of the time, but they were pretty annoying to her. She didn't know why they liked teasing and bullying her, but she never really hated nor liked them.

Shingo Sawatari, ESPECIALLY, loved teasing her. It was like the whole bully-teases-victim-because-he-has-a-crush-on-her scenario, only in this instance, Shingo really takes it to the extreme, like how he constantly bullies her, to a very light degree, and then compliments her. Honestly, Mitsumi isn't certain if his crush on her is genuine or if he only really likes her for her appearance.

Either way, Mitsumi's never had any sort of warm, romantic feelings towards Shingo in any regard.

"Mitsumi!" called out Gongenzaka, having entered the third floor. Spotting Shingo, he thought that the rich boy was teasing Mitsumi again and pulled her behind him, glaring down at him as his large figure loomed over a now, slightly frightened Shingo. "Have you been bothering Mitsumi again, Sawatari?"

"N-No! That's not it!" protested Mitsumi. "He just came to say hi!"

Shingo nodded frantically. It was one thing to corner Mitsumi alone, but now that her giant, and rather intimidating-looking friend appeared, he was unwilling to try teasing her with him around. Yeah, no way will he win against someone who looked like he could easily pummel him. "Y-yeah! You know what, my friends are calling for me, so I'm just gonna go!"

After Shingo left, Gongenzaka turned to Mitsumi and said, "Are you okay? You're quite fortunate that I was on my way to the rooftop when I spotted both you and Sawatari together. You weren't covering for him again, were you?"

"No, no! He really did say he wanted to say hi!" assured Mitsumi. 'Although he was about to start his usual bullying/flirting routine. Not that anybody needs to know that.'

When both Gongenzaka and Mitsumi arrived on the rooftop, Yuzu and Yuya were already sitting down in their usual spot. Yuya was lying on the ground, all curled up and wrapping his arms around his growling stomach while Yuzu was calmly eating her lunch right next to him.

"Yuzu...! Please feed me...!" complained Yuzu as his stomach grumbled.

"No. You have to wait until Mitsumi-chan gets here."

"Yuya! Yuzu! We're here!" called out Mitsumi, waving to him as she and Gongenzaka walked up to the two.

Wrapping his arms around Mitsumi's waist, Yuya let out tears of joy. "Waaaah! Yes! Thank you, you're a lifesaver, Mitsumi!" Once everyone settled down to eat, Mitsumi handed her lunch over to Yuya, who eagerly opened it. There was rice, other veggies, and the main portion he's been eager to taste; hamburger steak. "Yay! So good! Time to dig in-!"

Mitsumi sweatdropped and patted him on the head before splitting up her food to share with Yuya, though she did manage to give a large portion of her hamburger steak to him, much to his joy. Of course, Yuzu and Gongenzaka shared some portions of their food with Mitsumi and politely declined any of Mitsumi's own lunch portions. For the rest of the lunch break, the four friends chatted amongst themselves as time passed.

Once lunch ended, everyone returned to their classes and resumed the rest of their school day. Of course, after school, Mitsumi, Yuzu, and Yuya would have to attend another school. More specifically, their dueling school, The You Show Duel School in Miami City...


Later, at the You Show Duel School...

"Okay, Mitsumi-chan!~ Today's the day that I'm certain you'll beat me!" declared Yuzu, pointing directly at Mitsumi, who was far across from her in the courtyard of the You Show Duel school area. For today's dueling session, she was paired up against Mitsumi and was more than happy to help one of her best friends improve her dueling skills.

"I-Isn't that the wrong thing to say?" Mitsumi asked, sweatdropping as she scratched her cheek awkwardly. "I-I mean, shouldn't you be encouraging yourself to beat me?"

Yuzu nodded. "True that, true that! But, while I'm not going to hold back on this duel, I'm still going to help you improve your dueling! So...May the best duelist win!"

"R-Right! I also hope you do your best!" said Mitsumi, nodding her head.

Yuya, alongside Gongenzaka and the headmaster, Shuzo, were excitedly watching the duel from behind a large glass window. Shuzo then pressed a button, which activated one of the Field Spells held within the Solid Vision System: Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen.

The entire environment of the courtyard vanished as a new setting magically replaced it in the form of a widespread hallway. Within that hallway, velvet red-like curtains covered the walls as stone-like pillars covered in vines filled with flowers spread across the hallway. At the end of the hallway, near the girls, was a throne befitting of a ruler meant to rule over Valhalla.

Perhaps the winner of this duel would be declared the ruler of the playing field itself?

"Duelists locked in battle!" shouted Shuzo, starting things off.

Yuya called out, "Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their Monsters!"

"They storm through this field!" chanted Yuzu. "Behold! ...Mitsumi-chan!"

"Gah! I'm sorry! I forgot my line!" apologized Mitsumi, sweatdropping. Actually, she knew the lines, but she thought it was pretty stupid to constantly repeat the same chant over and over every time they began an Action Duel. Still, to keep up her facade, she did it anyways. "W-Wait! I remember! B-Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling!"

"That's right, Mitsumi-chan! Now, let's get started!

"ACTION….DUEL!" both female duelists shouted in unison as a flurry of cards above them burst and scattered all over the Action Field.

- DUEL -

Mitsumi - 4000 LP

VS

Yuzu - 4000 LP

"Mitsumi-chan! Now's your chance! Go ahead! I'll let you go first!" offered Yuzu.

"Oh! O-Okay, then!" Looking at the cards before her, Mitsumi wondered what to do before snapping her fingers. "Okay! I set a card facedown and also set a Monster facedown before I end my turn!"

"Mitsumi-chan, trying to lure me into a trap isn't going to work. Your last attempt failed the last time we dueled," reminded Yuzu, mildly annoyed as she drew her card. "I now activate the effect of the Action Field, Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen! With it, once per turn, I can Special Summon any 1 Fairy-Type Monster from my hand, but only if I don't control any Monsters! So, come forth, Mozarta the Melodious Maestra!"

Mozarta the Melodious Maestra spread her harp-like wings wide as she descended down from the heavenly light of the Valhalla Field Spell like an angel. She stood airborne above and near Yuzu, prepared to defend her mistress like a guardian angel would.

Mozarta the Melodious Maestra - (LIGHT/Fairy) - LV8 - (2600/2000)

"Due to her effect, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Melodious Monster from my hand! Come, Aria the Melodious Diva!"

Aria the Melodious Diva - (LIGHT/Fairy) - LV4 - (1600/1200)

"Impressive! She managed to take advantage of the Action Field's additional effect to Special Summon her most powerful ace Monster!" exclaimed Gongenzaka. "Yuzu wasn't lying when she said that she wasn't going to hold back!"

'Yeah, but I kinda feel like this is a bit unfair for Mitsumi," replied Yuya, frowning. "I mean, isn't this basically home-field advantage for Yuzu? This Action Field is specifically meant to give Fairy-Type users like her a clear advantage."

"Yeah...see, about that, Yuzu requested this specific kind of field because she wanted to test Mitsumi-chan and train her hard," explained Shuzo.

"What? But that'll give Mitsumi a clear advantage!" protested Yuya.

"Well, yeah, but it's not like we didn't run this through with Mitsumi-chan, first! She agreed to be thrown in harsh training to help toughen her up! It's all part of Entertainment Dueling after all! Overcoming your weaknesses by strengthening your resolve! That's hard-core fired up!"

In actuality, Mitsumi only agreed to being given disadvantages during a duel because in previous years, she was just used to that sort of training. Plus, a small, nostalgic part of her wished to keep her skills sharpened.

Yuzu, with the help of Aria, leapt high in the air and grabbed ahold of one of the flower vines, climbing her way up the pillar in search for an Action Card.

Mitsumi watched her attempting to search for an Action Card, until she heard Gongenzaka calling out for her. "Mitsumi! What are you doing?! Now's your chance to find an Action Card yourself!"

"Sorry! Won't happen again!" said Mitsumi, knowing Gongenzaka was only scolding her to help her improve and to take advantage of this opportunity. Mitsumi turned and ran down the hallway, looking around frantically for an Action Card to use herself. Mitsumi actually intended on losing the duel on purposely while trying to put a little extra more effort than what her "weak self" would do.

Yuzu finally spotted an Action Card at the top of the pillar she was climbing and snatched it. Clasping her Mozarta's palm gently, Yuzu descended down alongside her ace Monster back to the ground. "With two angelic beauties by my side, I'm ready for battle! But first, I'll activate the Action Card, Heavenly Ray! This destroys one of your Spells or Traps on the field, and you take 500 Points of Damage!"

Mitsumi's facedown card was revealed to be the Trap card, Aquamirror Cycle, a feint that she tried to use to trick Yuzu into not attacking. Such a strategy was prove pointless once Yuzu destroyed it, however. Not to mention, the additional effect of dealing 500 Points of Damage to her in the form of heavenly light shining down onto Mitsumi's position.

Mitsumi - 3500 LP

Yuzu - 4000 LP

"It's time to attack!" announced Yuzu. "Let's take care of your Set Monster, first! Aria, destroy her Monster!"

True to her name, Aria sang out a short aria tune in the form of resonating sound waves towards Mitsumi's Set Monster, who flipped over to revealed to be Gishki Ariel.

Gishki Ariel - (WATER/Spellcaster) - LV4 - (1000/1800)

"Gishki Ariel's Flip effect activates!" said Mitsumi. "Now, I get to add 1 Gishki Monster from my deck to my hand! I-I think I'll choose Gishki Abyss!"

"You could have chosen one of your Ritual Monsters!"called out Yuya, trying to give her some good advice.

"S-Sorry! Maybe next time!"

To counterattack against Aria's attack, Ariel raised her staff as a water-like barrier formed around her, bouncing back the resonating sound waves at both Aria and Yuzu, knocking both of them back due to having higher defense.

Mitsumi - 3500 LP

Yuzu - 3800 LP

"Gh-! Good job, Mitsumi-chan!" praised Yuzu, straightening herself. "You're finally using much more higher defensive Monsters! I actually, genuinely thought you would have used one of your low-leveled Monsters! Nice to see you upping your playing field skills!"

"Y-Yeah! I learned from one of the best!" Once again, Mitsumi was still holding back her skills, but decided that showing a bit more of her strength would be necessary to "show improvement in her skills."

Yuzu placed a hand over her heart. "Awww! That's so sweet to hear that from you! But, flattery won't let you win this duel! Alright. I attack with Mozarta!"

Mozarta raised her baton and fired a laser from the tip of it, blasting away Gishki Ariel's water-like barrier and destroying her.

"Not bad for this round, Mitsumi-chan!" praised Yuzu. "Now, I activate the effect of my Aria! Once per turn, if you didn't receive any Battle Damage from her, then her effects makes it so that you take 800 Points of Damage!"

With nothing protecting her, Mitsumi was exposed to melodic, yet stingy musical waves from Aria, making her slide back as she tried to stand her ground, only to fall on her behind afterwards.

Mitsumi - 2700 LP

Yuzu - 3800 LP

"Alright, I set a card and end my turn! Just try and do a better job during your next turn, alright?"

Mitsumi nodded. "Okay! My turn! I summon to the field Gishki Abyss in Attack Mode!"

Gishki Abyss - (WATER/Fish) - LV2 - (800/500)

"And, when he's summoned, I can add 1 Gishki Monster from my deck to my hand whose Defense Points are 1000 or lower! I choose Gishki Zielgigas!"

"That's a pretty powerful Monster. In fact, he's one of Mitsumi's powerful Ritual Monsters," commented Gongenzaka. "If Mitsumi manages to summon him, Yuzu will have a very difficult time trying to defeat him. In terms of Attack Points, he would easily destroy Mozarta."

"Nice pick, Mitsumi-chan! Let's see what you've got!" praised Yuzu.

"Right! Um...I activate the Ritual Spell, Forbidden Arts of the Gishki!" Mitsumi said. "In my hand, I have Gishki Shadow, whose effect allows me to fulfill the Monster requirement to Ritual Summon Gishki Zielgigas, so I'll sacrifice only him to fulfill the requirements for the Ritual Spell! I Ritual Summon Gishki Zielgigas!"

The large, multi-armed devil-like Ritual Monster appeared in a splash of tormenting water, drenching part of the hallway as he stood firmly in front of Mitsumi. However, his posture and power aura seemed a lot weaker than usual, mainly due to Forbidden Arts of the Gishki's side effect.

Gishki Zielgigas - (WATER/Aqua/Ritual) - LV10 - (1600/0)

"...Wait a minute! Doesn't that Ritual Spell require you to halve the Attack Points of the Monster you Ritual Summoned?" questioned Yuzu, coming to a quick realization.

"Oh...O-Oops...?"

"And technically, doesn't using that Ritual Spell make it so you can't conduct your Battle Phase this turn?"

"U-Um...I end my turn!"

"Mitsumi!"

"I'm sorry! It was the only Ritual Spell I had in my hand! There's no way I had any other Monster that could go up against your Mozarta!"

"Then, switch to the defensive for now! Jeez, even I wouldn't pay such a high-risky card like that!"

"Yikes..." said Yuya eerily. "That's...kinda bad for her, isn't it? Man, I was even rooting for her hard this round!"

Yuzu sighed and shook her head. "Alright, my turn! I sacrifice Aria to Tribute Summon Elegy the Melodious Diva!"

Elegy the Melodious Diva - (LIGHT/Fairy) - LV5 - (2000/2000)

"Now, Elegy! Destroy her Abyss!"

Elegy ran her fingers through her harp-like wing, creating violet-colored musical notes that flew towards Gishki Abyss and destroyed him upon contact.

Mitsumi - 1500 LP

Yuzu - 3800 LP

"Mozarta, now's your chance! Take out Zielgigas!"

Spreading her wings wide, Mozarta unleashed an illuminating wave of light that disintegrated Gishki Zielgigas entirely.

Mitsumi - 500 LP

Yuzu - 3800 LP

"Mitsumi still has a chance of winning though, even if the odds are against her!" encouraged Yuya. "After all, she still has some Life Points left, so next turn, she'll-"

"It's all over!" announced Yuzu. "I activate my Trap, Musical Mayhem! This card deals 800 Points of Damage for every Melodious Monster I control. I control two, so that makes it a total of 1600!"

Despite having low Life Points and having no chance of winning, even if she makes her next move, Mitsumi decided to try a futile attempt anyways. "I-I activate my Action Card, Healing Light! This restores my Life Points by 1000!"

A shining ray of light spotlighted onto Mitsumi's location as sparkles glittered around her, restoring some of her Life Points.

Mitsumi - 1500 LP

Yuzu - 3800 Lp

"Sorry, but that's not enough! Take this!" shouted Yuzu.

Two bolts of lightning merged into one large, powerful lightning bolt that blasted Mitsumi, causing her to cry out in pain as she was flung back and landed on her back, defeated.

Mitsumi - 0 LP

Yuzu - 3800 LP

Winner: Yuzu

The Action Field disappeared soon after Mitsumi's defeat, with Yuzu walking over to her friend and offering her hand. "Well, you weren't half-bad during this duel, so it's good that you're improving! Good job!"

"Ah...no," denied Mitsumi, though she accepted Yuzu's hand and got up. "Compared to you and everyone else, I've still got a ways to go."

In actuality, Mitsumi truly did hold back her true dueling skills as much as she could, though she did put in a bit of effort. Mitsumi pretended to be oblivious and naive as usual for her own personal reasons and to keep up the facade of her being the weakest duelist they knew, which always worked like a charm.

"And that's the end for today's dueling session!" declared Shuzo. "Both of you girls did a fine job today!"

"Awww! I wanted Mitsumi to win! But, I guess Yuzu did a good job, too," pouted Yuya before muttering the last part. "Not as good as me, though."

"I HEARD THAT!" yelled Yuzu, stomping over to the other room as fast as she could.

"Yeep! Gotta go, Principal! Bye!"

Mitsumi and Shuzo watched, sweatdropping as they watched Yuya being chased by Yuzu once again. Exiting the courtyard room, Mitsumi approached Shuzo and informed him, "Oh, Principal? Before I leave, I wanted to inform you that since we have a bit too much chili peppers back at home, Grandma wanted me to give you some tomorrow."

"Oh, well tell your grandmother thank you! Chili peppers are my favorite vegetables! They always keep me all fired up! Too bad Yuzu doesn't like them due to their spiciness," sighed Shuzo; the heated spirit within him depleting from the knowledge that his own daughter doesn't exactly share the same exact firey spirit like him.

"Oh...I'm sorry. I mean, I don't really like spicy food, but I still eat my vegetables, so I can endure a bit of spiciness from chili peppers," assured Mitsumi, patting him on the shoulder. "I'll be sure to drop them tomorrow after school, so have a good day, Principal!"

"Okay! Have a good day to you, too!"

After leaving the school, Mitsumi peered her eyes at the blue skies, which was slowly changing into light colors of the sunset, indicating how late the afternoon was. She had to hurry home so that she could do her chores, such as plucking out more vegetables and fruits from the garden to use for food tomorrow and to deliver to Shuzo. It was bad to do so during the night since she doesn't have a source of light, which was why she had to hurry.

'I wonder what sort of delicious dinner I should cook tomorrow?' thought Mitsumi, humming herself a small tune as she walked down the sidewalk. 'I already had salad planned, so maybe I should make some sort of soup for tomorrow! And maybe I can create some new fruit dessert tonight if I have the time!~'

After reaching home, Mitsumi did her usual routine just as she planned. Finish her chores, bathe, eat dinner, complete all of her homework and spend at least an hour of studying, and then proceeded to do some basic exercises a bit. She liked to keep her body in shape as part of her old habits from the past.

The one thing she didn't do, however, was go to sleep immediately. Up until now, she always ate dinner with her grandmother, but that all changed with her grandmother's additional hours decision. Therefore, if her grandmother was going to arrive home late at night, then the least she could do besides cleaning up the hour and preparing meals is to at least wait for her grandmother. Afterwards, she could help her tired grandmother wash up, probably prepare a snack for her, and then help her to sleep before getting to sleep herself.

Much later, when an exhausted and sore Mizuki unlocked her front door and dragged her tired body inside, she was surprised to see a sleeping Mitsumi lying her head on the table, surrounded by books and papers. It was clear to the elderly woman that her granddaughter must have been waiting for her dear, sweet grandmother, studying and reading while waiting.

Mitsumi was quite stubborn, snd Mizuki knew that she had only herself to blame for that. But at the same time, Mizuki never wanted Mitsumi's stubbornness to come at the expense of her own health. Mitsumi was still quite young, and tomorrow was a school day. As touching as Mitsumi's actions were to wait for her grandmother, Mizuki knew that she had to put a stop to this quickly before it would only worsen.

But, the scolding could come tomorrow. For now, she'll just enjoy the feeling of being absolutely significant in her most treasured person's life.


How about that? A lot of changes compared to the original! And most of these side-content/filler chapters are sure to come right before the anime kicks in! This is just to get to know Mitsumi a lot better! Now that you know her a bit more, it's time to read and review!~ See ya!