I've had this story in my head for a while, and I haven't gotten the time around to start planning for the set until after the Spring Semester 2020 is over.

Full Summary: In the world of Duel Monsters, a young man has helped to usher a new age of millennia by improving and introducing new summoning mechanics since the events of the shadow games. Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz. These types of summoning methods have shaped the current world where Duel Monsters have integrated into nearly every nook and cranny of society. However, the adventures for this young man have only just begun in this era of card games…

The characters that I'll be focusing on during the Academia Arc (Season 1) will be Yamamoto Daiji, Saotome Rei (Blair Flannigan), Tenjoin Asuka (Alexis Rhodes), Marufuji Sho (Syrus Truesdale), Marufuji "Kaiser" Ryo (Zane Truesdale), and Misawa Daichi (Bastion Misawa). The characters of 5Ds and ZEXAL will make an appearance but only mentioned at certain intervals in the first book. Also, I'll be only using the Japanese names for the characters along with the proper use of honorifics in their interactions.

Intended pairings: Yamamoto Daiji x Saotome Rei x Tenjoin Asuka x Aki Izayoi (Akiza Izinski) x Dark Magician Girl (Duel Spirit) x Yubel

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters as they are all made and copyrighted by Takahashi Kazuki, Shonen Jump, and Konami.

(Unknown POV)

Domino City…

…a city in the small country of Japan that was built on the foundation of games. The various buildings that were seen throughout the city span to tall heights and the streets are busied with cars and people heading to their respective workplaces. However, one would notice the number of unusual things that exist in the busied streets, such as the various creatures that battle against one another. The explanation for this phenomenon is simple, "Duel Monsters."

It started as an ordinary children's card game that was created by Pegasus J. Crawford in the United States of America. It became quite popular in the community for its "Dungeons and Dragons" inspired theme, and not much later, it was heightened to national levels like chess or Japanese shogi.

However, this card game soon caught the attention of KaibaCorp's CEO, Kaiba Seto, who then set to work on creating lifelike holograms through solid vision in collaboration with Industrial Illusions after a… particular experience against another duelist.

Five years passed since 1999, to where Duel Monsters have reached the heights of becoming integrated into societal matters; including politics and businesses in their respective countries. Through the rising popularity of Duel Monsters, have also led to the proposition of "Duel Academies," which not only educate students at their beginning year of high school but to also prepare them for the possibility of becoming a professional duelist in the Pro League.

Along with Duel Monsters, the advancement of technology continues to transcend into the reality of where VR was not only invented before the 2000s, but artificial intelligence was successful in improving the current lifestyle for the citizens to where Domino City has been renamed to Neo Domino City. The one responsible for these advancements is no other than Kaiba Seto himself, who's an investment into advancing humanity has made KaibaCorp into a global sensation, and he even owns a private space station for God's sake!

However, despite the popular Duel Monsters game becoming part of the status quo in society along with the advancement of VR technology, the cons have also revealed itself by attracting various shady organizations that involve underground dueling or dueling mercenaries.

These problems have brought chaos to legal manners, but that's only putting it mildly at best. The real dangers are the occult and dark magic that has surrounded these games since the Egyptian times, which would've ended the world in destruction if it weren't for the actions of the heroes of light that oppose this darkness in the mortal realm.

In the end, the heroes repel the darkness from the mortal realm and save the world from an impending eternity of darkness from enemies of the old. Those events happened not too long ago in the decade that span since then, but the mystical threats can still be waiting for an opportunity to once again resurface into the world…

…

…

…

…but of course, I'm getting ahead of myself. The story does hold weight despite the superstition that surrounds it, but not many people had the chance of witnessing the end of times as we know it, and sure as hell hadn't seen the numerous s*storm moments in the adventures I've had with Yugi-san and the others nor under Kaiba-sama's tutelage, or even while living under the custody of the creator of Duel Monsters himself.

For now, let's start with the current story at hand here.

On a spring day, a mysterious youth such as myself is currently on his way to the Duel Academia's entrance exam. Along with myself, I'm driving a close friend whose academic prowess has allowed her to enter high school early at the age of 12.

Also, the discoveries in Duel Monsters of which I've made in collaboration with others has pushed the boundaries of the game, especially after Ritual and Fusion Summoning mechanics gaining prominence in a year since the end of the Ceremonial Duel between Yugi-san and the nameless pharaoh, along with the introduction of the Synchro Summoning mechanic a year and a half after that.

Then… Xyz Summoning was introduced by none other than myself last year, in collaboration with the people from the growing Heartland District. But sooner or later, a new summoning mechanic is currently in development… one of which I'll name… Pendulum Summoning.

-Neo Domino City, Year 200X-

In the streets of Neo Domino City, a red high-tech "motorcycle" is currently driven at an unusually fast speed that would most likely get the attention of those on the watch for crazy drivers. The motorcycle drove through each intersection with careful precision along with avoiding any of the pedestrians passing by, showing that the driver is an expert on what he's doing on the road.

The motorcycle is currently carrying two people, a young man who's at the age of 16 driving it and a 12-year-old girl who'll be turning a year older in a few months sitting behind him.

The 16-year-old boy is named Yamamoto Daiji. His messy dark brown hair and sky-blue eyes are currently obscured by his red helmet and visor, but the lower part of his handsome face can still be seen. The attire he wears consists of a red t-shirt underneath a dark-grey trench coat, blue jeans with a belt, and orange sneakers with white and grey trimmings. Around his neck is a strange pendulum necklace that is blue, along with a metal decoration in the form of wings.

Right now, he's concentrating on the road with an amazing amount of focus, to where one might believe him to be possessing a sixth sense with all of the precision, quick judgment, and badassery of driving a motorcycle in such a hazardous manner. Even after riding with him for all this time, the girl behind him could never really get used to this and clutch on his back for security.

Saotome Rei… like with Yamamoto, she also wears a helmet with a visor; but underneath is her long Rapunzel-like black hair that somehow manages to compresses itself in the cramp protective headwear, along with her brown eyes hidden behind the dark tinted visor. Her attire consists of clothing that a girl normally wouldn't wear, but by her admission for today's entrance exam, she intends to keep her true gender secret right before revealing herself in the duel. She wears a light blue jacket that covers up her growing B-cup, dark-grey pants, and white shoes. Around her right wrist is a bracelet given to her from Yamamoto as a gift, appearing as a deep dark-blue gemstone with a multitude of colors that spiral inward like a galaxy.

Now, why are these two are speeding through the city? If it wasn't obvious, they're on their way to the Duel Academia's Entrance Exam building and are planning to arrive at just ten minutes before their scheduled duel with an important proctor.

The reason why? They just hate having to wait a while longer.

At this moment, both of their visors then display an incoming call and looking at the Caller I.D., it's from Pegasus J. Crawford. Yamamoto answers it without hesitation.

Appearing on-screen is a rather youthful-looking man with platinum-white hair reaching past his shoulders. His left eye seems to be obscured by his hair, but his brown eye is visible while giving a kind expression on his face. From what could be seen for his attire, is an old-style white dress shirt with a red business suit.

The man on the screen was no more than Pegasus J. Crawford himself, who's the creator of the popular Duel Monsters card game.

Of course, to Yamamoto, the man would always be referred to as…

"[Dad… it's been a while hasn't it.]" Yamamoto warmly greeted the man in English.

"[Of course, my boy, it has been a while since your last visit back home. How are things going for you in Japan?]" The man warmly greeted back to his son, who's currently studying abroad from home.

"[Oh, things have been going well since then, after the discovery, I made while studying under Mr. Kaiba, Duel Monsters have evolved quite well since then. The Synchro and Xyz Summoning mechanic have been positively received when released to the public after the focus of improving the Ritual and Fusion Summoning mechanics, and many changes were added to the banlist along with Card Erratas as well.]" Yamamoto explains of the events since the new summoning methods continues to heighten the prospects of the game.

"[That's good to hear my boy! You have accomplished a lot since then, and I couldn't be prouder of you.]" Pegasus said as he congratulates his son, but his tone soon turns a bit somber. "[If only… she was here to see you, then things would be perfect.]"

At the mentioned of "she," Pegasus's was referring to his late lover who would've been his wife if it weren't for her untimely death caused by an illness. Upon hearing such melancholic words, Yamamoto's expression quickly turns sorrow, along with Rei as well since the girl is hearing the conversation between father and son.

He would often hear of her from his time being raised by Pegasus and knew that the woman holds a special place within his father's heart, and despite not knowing her or had even met her in person, Yamamoto would always consider Cyndia as his mother, just as he accepted Pegasus as his father not too long after his adoption.

Even to this day, Pegasus still mourn for his late lover, and that love had soon twisted his actions into committing horrible things deeds after his visit to Egypt in search of knowledge that would allow him to see her again.

Yamamoto himself acknowledges his father's extreme actions despite his young age and mindset, especially when the events of the Duelist Kingdom came to mind.

While these actions have included and are not limited to having any accommodations for the contestants (such as a place to sleep, having no food or water available, and even letting disqualified row themselves back to the mainland) and no monitoring any form of misdemeanor amongst the contestants in case of potential bodily harm or earning their star chips fairly, but also hiring those four player killers to eliminate the contestants so he wouldn't have to pay the ultimate winner the cash prize.

And yet… despite all of these life-threatening and rather petty actions that Pegasus was willing to do to others, Yamamoto never once tries to stop or persuade his father away out of his own filial loyalty for the man.

Hell, the fact that he's willing to go along with his father's plan and actively help him would make him guilty by association. So, at the very least, Yamamoto took it upon himself to make sure that no one (aside from the well-being of the player killers) on the island was in bodily danger; directing at least ten of their hired bodyguards to cover around the island as to make sure things wouldn't get out of hand, to set up surveillance cameras, and even a couple of vending machines that would give a limited amount free rations for the contestants at certain intervals of the day (so that way, no one could take out a whole bunch of them for misuse).

While he was somewhat successful in the mitigation of the dangers, there were still problems that arise from time to time, and from there, Yamamoto soon learns about the mystical aspects that would surround the card game as he witnesses the duel between a duelist named Muto Yugi and the Ventriloquist of the Dead.

He couldn't really explain it, but after witnessing the Penalty Game that "Yugi" inflicted onto the player killer, he knew that the Ventriloquist was under some sort of an illusion and this golden-eye symbol that appear on "Yugi's" forehead didn't go unnoticed as well.

What further intrigued him is the serious demeanor of the Duelist to shift to a more innocent expression. These events fuel the flames of curiosity and would lead him into meeting the Duelist's group by the time where "Yugi" defeated the Player Killer of Darkness.

But that would be a story for another time, and to shorten it down, Pegasus ends up having to face a consequence for his schemes in the Duelist Kingdom.

Such a consequence that Yamamoto might not have expected was the event where the Millennium Eye that Pegasus had in place of his original left eye was gouged out by "Bakura", who then quickly disappear after committing the deed, causing the man to faint and slowly bleeding to death.

Acting swiftly, Yamamoto applied his young prodigious mind to the life-threatening situation by applying emergency first-aid. The boy did as best as he could to prevent the blood loss of his unconscious father from getting worst until their guards and professional doctors came to bring the body to a stable condition.

After a few days in a coma, Pegasus awoke, and the first he did was to reconcile with his son for having the boy endure his selfish actions, but the boy didn't need to forgive his father as he cited his support for the man as filial gratitude for adopting him.

A week later, the boy wanted permission from his father to study abroad in Japan when witnessing the duel between his father and Muto Yugi, as he was intrigued by the latter's strength of character and the bond he shares with his friends, to even seeing Kaiba's ingenuity for the invention of the Duel Disk prototype and ruthlessness to win and save his little brother despite the risk to his own life.

To shorten it, Pegasus complied with his son's wishes and wanted the boy to grow further and hope that he'll experience new things in another country.

Since then, Yamamoto would fondly reminisce from time to time since the 10 years away from home, but still, find the time to come and visit his father after making plenty of breakthroughs despite his young age.

"[…perhaps… still, it's great that you're calling me at the moment. Things have been hectic with the advancements of the Duel Monsters game, and I would've called you some time ago if my work hadn't kept me busy along with my friends.]" Yamamoto stated, but Pegasus understood what his son meant after all.

Ones' focus on his career should also be balance out with the time for others, and Pegasus knew that more than anyone considering the stress that came with his own career.

"[I understand my boy, but if you don't mind, could I also speak to your friend riding with you?]"

"[Rei? Sure, thing dad.]" The screen of Pegasus that's displayed on Yamamoto's visor greyed out and is then shifted to color onto Rei's visor.

Switching to the Japanese language, Pegasus spoke to Rei with great fluency in the standard Tokyo dialect. "Hello Rei-chan, I see that my son has been treating you well?"

Smiling, Rei replies with youthful enthusiasm, but at the same time, uses a polite feminine manner of talking. "Of course, Pegasus-sama, Yamamoto has been very kind to me for the last three years, and since then, the roads he opened up has got me fascinated in the Duel Field."

Knowing how Yamamoto helps advanced Duel Monsters and technology for an estimated 30 years ahead of their current time, Pegasus can only chuckle of the compliments that Rei is giving to his son. "Haha… so I can take that as an absolute yes then?"

Rei nodded and was going to be a bit surprised by what the flamboyant American CEO is about the say next.

"So then… should I expect to call you my daughter-in-law once you become of age for my son in a few months then~" The man smirked, and that little joke quickly broke Rei in a blushing stuttering mess.

"Na-Na-Na-NANI!? Atashi no… uh… well…" While Rei tries to composed herself, Yamamoto spoke up by turning to the caller function from Rei back right to him.

This time, however, he's speaking to his father in Japanese with a stern expression. "Otō-san can you not tease Rei-chan about that? While I don't mind the idea of dating her when she comes of age, we are way too young to even start thinking about "marriage." Rei starts to relax after hearing Yamamoto defended her from his father's joke, and while she can also understand English as well, it's nice for the young man she liked to speak in her native tongue on her behalf.

"Besides… Rei-chan isn't the only girl who's caught my interest." Yamamoto finished with a small, reminisce smile.

For Rei, however, upon hearing what Yamamoto meant about not being the "only girl" causes her face to quickly redden again and this time, she clutched onto Yamamoto's waist so hard that he could feel a bit of the pressure.

"Yamamoto no Baka…" She whispers while feeling a really bad form of womanly inferiority muddling her mind.

"Oh, Gomen'nasai Rei." Yamamoto apologizes as he knew what was going on in Rei's mind when mentioning the other girls who had become his close friends a while back.

A silence strays around the two for a minute until Rei softens her grip around his waist, showing that she accepts her friend's apology.

"Thank you," Yamamoto said as he then turns his attention back to his father. "[Sorry about that pops, a bit of a one-sided issue for my friend. I wish to ask you of your opinion of the new summoning mechanic I've been developing lately.]"

"[Ah the one where you've been working for six months since the debut of Xyz Summoning, is that correct?]" Yamamoto nodded, hoping to hear what his father would approve of this new method of summoning.

"[If that's the case, I would say that it's quite an interesting new way of Extra Deck Summoning in the format my boy. Ever since you help improve both the Ritual and Fusion Summoning mechanics many years ago, plus the introduction of Synchro and Xyz Summoning afterward has certainly brought Duel Monsters to a whole new level. So, I really can't say more than to congratulate you for making another discovery.]" Pegasus said without a doubt in his voice.

"[Hmm… you are too kind. But in my analysis of this new method of summoning, I believe the duels would only make things more hectic from here on out.]" Yamamoto explained, as he weighs the pros and cons of how these new cards would affect the current playing style.

Before the advancement of the Fusion Monsters, there were already cards that have "break" the game to begin with, where a deck can function well without the need of an archetype in the current time. Cards like "Cold Wave, Confiscation, Change of Heart, Delinquent Duo, Forceful Sentry, Harpies' Feather Duster, and Painful Choice" are such examples as they can be used in any deck in general without the drawback of needing specific requirements or cost. Hell, since the rarity of only three copies of Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000 ATK beatstick) being available for Kaiba's use only, other players would pay over a 100 USD just for a Level 4 monster with 1900 ATK in order to get the advantage for a surprising beatdown tactic.

When the cards start gaining notable support for an archetype along with the Fusion Summoning mechanic improving during the year 2000, some of the "broken" cards became Forbidden to be used in official tournaments, while most of the others became Limited (one copy), and few of them rarely Semi-Limited. While the banlist does change around every two or three months, the cards with the most beneficial effects will never be taken off of the Forbidden section without other "broken" cards to take the attention.

Of course, the limitations of the banlist have little effect once the Synchro Summoning mechanic became available, unleashing quite a number of broken combos from the deck that start to rely much heavily on it. And again, despite mitigating the combos through the banlist, Duelists still find numerous creative ways to make their practical plays, and adding the Xyz Summoning mechanic into the mix has already made things more chaotic in duels last year.

"[I do agree with your assessment my boy, but the game will always grow and change into newer forms, each that would either benefit or not benefit the duelists. Even if you hadn't come up with the summoning method at first, surely someone else would have brought up the idea someday to me, and I probably would agree to it.]" Yamamoto nodded at his father's words.

"[Perhaps, but I've probably been overthinking this a bit with how VR has been affecting everyday life, along with the other technological advancements I've helped furthered with KaibaCorp. If anything, I'm actually excited about how this new summoning is going to be playing out in Duel Monsters, especially the number of duelists I would face against in the future.]"

"[And I would as well my boy, so if anything, else, my opinion on the new summoning mechanic isn't just the only thing of what you want to say?]"

"[There's still one more thing… have you started making those new support card ideas I've sent to you a while ago into official ones?]"

"[Hmm… let's see… I think that's… around here somewhere]" Pegasus said as look through the files on his computer.

"[Ah! Here they are.] Pegasus says as he brought up the digital folder on-screen.

When he clicks on the folder to open, it reveals numerous new cards that Yamamoto sent to him in a rough draft. Rei was quite surprised at how many there were in the folder, but then again, this is Yamamoto to speak of.

"[The amount of card ideas you sent to me has left me amazed, especially the ones for both Yugi and Kaiba-boy's usual cards.]"

"[Heh heh, if you ask me, Mr. Kaiba would probably buy as many stocks as possible from Industrial Illusions in exchange for an early helping to the new support cards for his precious Blue-Eyes White Dragon.]" Yamamoto said in amusement.

Rei also laughs a bit as well, as again, befriending Yamamoto three years ago has led her into meeting all sorts of new people, especially when it comes to meeting Muto Yugi of all people, along with his friends like Jonouchi Katsuya, Mazaki Anzu, Honda Hiroto, Bakura Ryou, Otogi Ryuji, and Mai Kujaku. Of course, she didn't really count on also meeting Kaiba Seto, the CEO of KaibaCorp, who's also a very influential businessman and gamer in Duel Monsters.

The fact that she learns that Yamamoto was being personally tutelage by the man is all the more jarring, considering how the young man she knew who can still have a friendly and lighthearted nature with having to deal with an intense and strict man as a teacher.

If Rei were to described Kaiba Seto, then she would gladly say that he was the image of a ruthless and cold successful businessman, willing to cut corners and push himself beyond the boundaries to get ahead in life and prove his superiority. but does have a very, very, hidden side of him who's also kind and respectful to those who've proven worthy to him.

She could still remember that particular moment three years ago, around a month after meeting Yamamoto and getting involved in his activities to research further on the newfound energy that was discovered in Duel Monsters. After Yamamoto got to know her better and was impressed by her intelligence, he recommends her in a work-study program at KaibaCorp, despite her young age.

When she accepts the recommendation by him (along with her parents' permission), that was when Rei has met the CEO of KaibaCorp. From there on, her once usual routine became filled with wonder and experience many new things that heighten her perspective in many events. It's safe to say, that she certainly didn't regret her decision to take up Yamamoto's recommendation.

Fast forward to three years later, her dueling skills have been improved to the point of being Pro League worthy and could've chosen to graduate with a high school education altogether, but she decided to attend Duel Academia to finished her education as a normal girl and to meet the one person she wishes to duel in order to settle a personal goal.

So right now? She's riding along with Yamamoto to the building where the Duel Academia's Entrance Exams were taking place, while he's wrapping things up with his adopted father.

"[Anyway, I suppose it'll be at least half an hour before the time of Rei-chan and I's schedule duel in the Entrance Exams. I hope to talk to you later about the next summoning mechanic, and among other things as well. So, this is farewell pops.]" Pegasus nodded.

"[I bid you farewell as well my son, and say high to Kaiba-boy for me by the time you get the Entrance Exam as well.]"

"[Alright pops, logging out.]" The screen that displays Pegasus has been cut off, leaving only the two people riding the motorcycle.

"Well that was a pleasant conversation with tou-san, so how do you feel about the scheduled duel we'll be having at the Entrance Exam Rei?"

"If you ask me, it wouldn't be that hard considering the duels we've been experiencing for the last few years. In fact, it'll be a breeze for you more than me." Rei explained, and Yamamoto nodded to her.

"I see… in that case, would you like a duel before we get to the Entrance Exam? It'll be a while before our schedule duel with the proctor after all."

Rei immediately smiled at the suggestion. "Heh heh, I thought you had never asked. So, we're doing it on the Duel Lane then?"

"Oh yes, and it'll help get us to our destination right on schedule after our duel." Yamamoto said as he presses a button on his "motorcycle", or in this case, his D-Wheel.

On the small screen plaster on the D-Wheel, it flashes up with the logo; Riding Duel commence. Yamamoto then shifted his motorcycle into a lane where the signs are popping up to announce that a "Riding Duel" is about to happen, and any vehicles that are occupying it automatically move out of the way. The lane of which Yamamoto is driving on starts to extend itself upwards and connect into another lane with huge half-cylinder-like walls to prevent Riding Duelist from accidentally falling out of the rails.

"Alright Rei, are you ready for this?"

"Ready as you'll ever be Yamamoto!"

"Okay then, let's get this started!" He activates the autopilot function of his motorcycle, along by pressing another button that opens up a compartment on both sides near the feet area. He places his feet into those compartments, and they mechanically secure themselves onto each foot.

Then… Yamamoto jumps off of his D-Wheel and high into the air. He performs a backflipped and two glowing wheels popped out on both heels while he lands back onto the lane. These are called D-Skates, a motorized form of skates capable of participating in Riding Duels. The wheels rapidly move forward until it matches the current speed of his D-Wheel with only Rei riding on it while it's on autopilot.

"Field Spell, Speed World Neo… Set on!" They both shouted.

By the sound of their voices, an electronic voice spoke from the motorcycle. "Duel Mode! Autopilot Pilot on Standby" appears on the screen, causing the entire area around them to appear in a bluish hue.

"DUEL!"

Yamamoto Daiji vs Saotome Rei

Their visors are then linked to the Crystal Cloud Network, allowing them to use the virtual version of their decks without needing the physical cards for the duel as well as a lack for their Duel Disks, as the network scans their brainwaves that identifies them to the correct digital record of their cards. Appearing through their visors are many selections of deck recipes they made over the years, each with many different labels such as "HERO Fusion Beatdown" or "Synchron Swarm/Control."

"For this duel, do you want to go with the semi-old school decks Rei?" She nodded, and they both pick their respective decks for this mock duel before their schedule one.

"To see who goes first, let's do a coin toss Rei. The one who calls it correctly gets to take the first turn!"

"Fine by me, I pick heads!" She nodded in reply.

Yamamoto in turn, pick tails, and their visors show an image of coin being toss in the air before landing on the ground.

The results: TAILS.

Turn 1: Yamamoto Daiji, LP: 8000, Hand: 6

"Looks like I go first." Yamamoto proclaims as he sped ahead of Rei. "Watashi no turn, draw!" The card images of his hand show on his visor, and he slightly smirked at the starting hand. In it was King of the Swamp, Summoner's Art, Card of Sanctity, Trade-In, Divine Dragon Ragnarok, and Lord of D.

"Let's start things off with a Spell Card. I activate Summoner's Art!" He pressed on the spell card and it dematerialized from the screen of his visor.

"With this spell, I can add a Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from my deck to my hand!" Displaying on his screen shows the Normal Monsters that are currently in his deck, and his eyes took a moment on this one Dragon-Type Monster card.

"I'll add Rabidragon to my hand!"

"Next, I activate King of the Swamp's effect. By discarding it to the graveyard, I add a Polymerization straight to my hand from the deck!" The Spell Card appears in his digital hand.

"With these cards in my hand, the field is set. I activate Trade-In, discarding my Level 8 Rabidragon to draw two more cards." He looked at the cards he drew, having the means to Fusion Summon now.

"I activate Polymerization, and fuse together, Lord of D. and Divine Dragon Ragnarok in my hand!" When he announces that, Yamamoto turns around to face Rei while the direction of his D-Skates continues their speed backward.

Rei, on the other hand, took this opportunity to activate an effect in her hand. "Chain! I discard Maxx "C", so for every monster that you Special Summon, I draw one card."

The two monsters appeared side-by-side and nodded to one another before being suck into a whirlpool of colors and light until they're no longer seen. Yamamoto spread his arms. "The sorcerer who summons the dragons and the dragon who brings forth a last devastating event… combine to form the summoner of dragons!" He then palms them together. "YŪGŌ SHŌKAN!"

Appear! Level 7! DRAGON DJINN - KING DRAGOON!

Dragon Djinn - King Dragoon (DARK, Dragon / Fusion / Effect, LV 7, ATK 2400 / DEF 1100)

The Fusion Monster appears in front of Rei with a serious expression and to the right side of Yamamoto. He had the upper body of Lord of D. and the lower half of Divine Dragon Ragnarok and stood at a very impressive height. Rei draws a card due to Maxx "C's" effect.

"And if you were to think my turn ends there, then you're mistaken. I set two cards in the backrow and activate Card of Sanctity." A Spell Card appears to show two men happily trying to collect gold coins raining from above.

"This allows the two of us to draw until we have six cards in our hand, but unfortunately for you Rei, your hand is already full." He said as he drew a full hand.

"I activate King Dragoon's effect! Once per turn, I can special summon one Dragon-Type monster from my hand, so I'll bring out Luster Dragon #2!"

Luster Dragon #2 (WIND, Dragon / Normal, LV 6, ATK 2400 / DEF 1400)

King Dragoon played his dragon-decorated flute, and call out the dragon next to Yamamoto's further left monster zone. Appearing on the field is a large dragon with scales that shine like emeralds, with the actual crystals jagged out from its hind legs. It roars upon introduction, and took to the air, flying around for a bit before coming straight towards its master. Yamamoto dodges the incoming charge, as, despite the gentle and beautiful appearance of the emerald dragon, it's quite aggressive and prefers to be independent.

Due to Maxx "C", Rei draws another card.

"Lastly, I have yet to conduct a Normal Summon, so I'll bring out #2's lesser, Luster Dragon."

Luster Dragon (WIND, Dragon / Normal, LV 4, ATK 1900 / DEF 1600)

Appearing next to the large green dragon, is a slightly shorter dragon covered completely in sapphire, with wings free of the flaps that would allow it to fly. Its overall appearance is rather fearsome than it's superior but is a very gentle being deep down despite its high ATK. It doesn't roar at all upon introduction and prefers to stand next to Yamamoto while placing its head near him for the latter to briefly pet it.

"Card set. Turn End." Yamamoto said as he places a third face-down in his Main Phase 2, and end his turn.

Turn 2: Saotome Rei, LP: 8000, Hand: 8

"Atashi no turn, draw!" Rei looked at the cards in her hand. In it was Mirror Force, Magician's Valkyria, Broken Blocker, Terraforming, Bottomless Trap Hole, Berry Magician Girl, Pot of Desires, and Shard of Greed.

'Hmm… not a bad selection, but maybe I should go on the defense for a bit.' Looking over her starting hand, she'll try to make it work as best as possible.

"I'll only set a monster, and I'll activate the Spell Card Terraforming. This will allow me to add a Field Spell from my deck to my hand, and I'll be adding Secret Village of the Spellcasters. Next, I'll activate Pot of Desires, by banishing the top ten cards of my deck, I can draw two more." Rei looks over the ten cards that were banished for the spell's cost and was glad that most of the important cards weren't among them.

"Then, I'll play the Field Spell right now." The highspeed duel lane that surrounded them has now change into a dirt road, with the scenery around them being a lush forest with various houses built in an unspecified medieval period.

"Thanks to this field spell, you're not allowed to use any spell cards if I'm the only one who controls Spellcasters on the field. Now, I'll activate the Permanent Spell Card, Shard of Greed. How this Spell Card will work comes later, so I'll set four cards in my backrow. Turn End." During her End Phase, Yamamoto immediately act.

"Not so fast. At your End Phase, I activate the Trap Card, Heavy Storm Duster." Rei widens her eyes at that particular card.

"With this card, I can destroy up to two Spell/Trap Cards on the field, but in exchange, I cannot conduct my Battle Phase the turn I activate this card. But it wouldn't matter since it's not my turn, and I'll destroy target your Field Spell and the card on your far right!" Two streams of air vortexes shot out of the trap card. One of them surrounds the entire field, destroying the houses and fauna in the process, returning the two back on the familiar highway duel lane. The other hit Rei's backrow card on the far right, revealing it to be Mirror Force.

"Damn it!" Rei cursed, as she lost two of her cards.

"You should already realize that with the amount of cards removals available to the public, Trap Cards like Mirror Force would rarely activate successfully." Yamamoto calmly critiqued, as he still kept his back facing the road without looking at it.

Turn 3: Yamamoto Daiji, LP: 8000, Hand: 4

"Watashi no turn, draw! I activate my King Dragoon's effect, allowing me to special summon Diamond Dragon from my hand."

Diamond Dragon (LIGHT, Dragon / Normal, LV 7, ATK 2100 / DEF 2800)

King Dragoon played his flute again, and this time, a new dragon appears next to the tall hybrid. It's slightly taller than Luster Dragon but slightly shorter than Luster Dragon #2. It has a long, slender body that radiates with diamond for scales, and three golden crystal-like horns on its head. Like with #2, it flew around the track lane.

Rei immediately activates one of her face-downs. "Chain! I activate the trap card, Pitfall of Naraka!"

"Sorry about that Rei, but I counter your trap with my own, Dark Bribe! This negates your Trap Card, but in exchange, you can draw a card." Yamamoto countered with a Counter Trap, with the card showing a grinning man from the Feudal era of Japan sneaking in a bundle of gold coins in the sleeve of an unseen man of high position.

"You're really trying to push my limits in this duel, aren't you?" Rei asks as she drew her card.

"Considering the many opponents, you're going to face who have played this game far longer than you have, it's only rational to get as much experience as you can."

Afterward, the diamond dragon flew down in front of Yamamoto, bowing its head to show its gratitude towards him from saving its life. The young man pets the dragon and the latter moves back to its zone placement.

"Now, I believe that the danger of your backrow seems to be mitigated, so I'll commence my Battle Phase. King Dragoon, attack Rei's set monster." He commanded, and the hybrid obeyed by breathing out an energy stream at the set monster.

Magician's Valkyria (LIGHT, Spellcaster / Effect, LV 4, ATK 1600 / DEF 1800)

The set monster is revealed to be a young woman with long brown hair, blue eyes, and rosy blushes on her cheeks. She wears a rather revealing blue sorceress outfit with red sashes, exposing a good amount of fair skin from her shoulders, arms, and legs. She wears a pointed hat of a similar color scheme and holds a hooked magician's rod with three green jewels embedded in it. This monster is Magician's Valkyria, and she gets destroyed from the attack caused by King Dragoon.

Rei was shaken a bit from King Dragoon's attack, but she endured. "Trap activates, Broken Blocker! If a monster I control was destroyed in defense mode, I special summon two more copies of the destroyed monster from deck." Appearing on Rei's side of the field are two more copies of Magician's Valkyria in a defensive position.

"Hmm… it seems to be a good thing you only had one valkyria in your hand a turn ago, allowing you to be safe from my onslaught by using their effects for an attack lockdown." Yamamoto turns around, and this time, his eyes are narrow. "But do you really think I wouldn't see that coming?" Rei immediately felt dread from this.

"Trap activates, Giant Pitfall!"

Rei gasped. "No way!"

"Sorry Rei, but my Trap Card will destroy your magicians when they're both Special Summon at the same time."

A hole appears from underneath the two Magician's Valkyria, and the two of them scream in terror as they fell into the abyss.

"Now that you don't have any monsters to protect you, the rest of my three dragons can attack you directly, starting with Diamond Dragon."

'I guess I really don't have much of a choice now…' Rei activates her last face-down. "Trap activates, Damage Diet! For the rest of this turn, any battle damage I'll take will be cut in half!"

She yelps as the flechette of sharp diamonds coming out of Diamond Dragon's mouth made contact.

Saotome Rei, LP: 8000 → 6950

"I still got both Luster Dragon and Luster Dragon #2 to work with, so you're going to take a lot of damage this turn. Go, Luster Dragon, attack her directly."

The sapphire dragon obeys and shot forward to the girl. It reared its fist back and threw it at her. Rei grunt at the attack and the D-Wheel slightly wobbled.

Saotome Rei, LP: 6950 → 6000

"Now my last dragon will attack, #2 have your go at her." The green dragon grunted in slight annoyance but will obey its controller by shooting a light-colored breath ray at the girl.

This time, Rei screams at the blast towards her.

Saotome Rei, LP: 6000 → 4800

"While the idea of using Magician's Valkyria's effect to prevent an attack would've kept you safe for a bit, I'll still find a way around it. Card set, turn end."

Turn 4: Saotome Rei, LP: 4800, Hand: 4

"Ugh… Atashi no turn, draw." Rei said in a tired tone. The fact that her life points have been withered down to being half of what it was proves that Yamamoto was still in a different league than her and anyone he had ever faced against prior to meeting her. Even with her young age, she starts to feel fatigued from the damage she took the last turn despite going through numerous other duels with Yamamoto before.

'While I can prove to be a strong contender for Yamamoto, it doesn't mean I'm quite at the level he is currently. But I can't just let it end here and now after having a life point difference.' She steels her resolve, and move forward in her duel against him with the right cards in her hand.

"First off, my Shard of Greed gains one Greed Counter on it when I drew a card during my Draw Phase." Materializing in thin air, another broken eye shard of the infamous Pot of Greed appears next to the current one, completed with two eyes now.

"Your King Dragoon may prevent me from "targeting" your Dragon-Type Monsters from card effects, but it can't prevent me from destroying all of them simultaneously! So, to start it off, I normal summon Berry Magician Girl to the field!"

Berry Magician Girl (EARTH, Spellcaster / Effect, LV 1, ATK 400 / DEF 400)

Appearing to the side of her is an infantile magician girl with dark eyes and pinkish hair sucking on a pacifier. She wore a pink witch's hat-like hoodie and matching overalls with a blue full-body suit underneath, holds a short magician's rod in her right hand, and has fairy wings.

"When she is Normal Summon to the field, I can add one "Magician Girl" from my hand straight to my deck." She said as her visor shows all of the monsters' with "Magician Girl" in their name, and click on the selected card. "The one I'm adding is my Black Magician Girl! Next, I activate the spell card, Magical Dimension! If I were to control a Spellcaster-Type monster on the field, I can tribute a monster to Special Summon a Spellcaster-Type Monster from my hand. So, can you guess who I'm about to summon Yamamoto?"

"As if I wouldn't already know the answer to that Rei."

Rei smile, and brought forth the intended the Spellcaster. "I tribute my Berry Magician Girl to Special Summon, Black Magician Girl!"

Black Magician Girl (DARK, Spellcaster / Effect, LV 6, ATK 2000 / DEF 1600)

Appearing before Yamamoto is a monster, he's all too familiar of; Black Magician Girl appears as a beautiful young woman with blonde hair that reaches past shoulder-length, has bright blue eyes, and wears a light-blue pointed magician's hat with pink lines decorated across the cylinder part. She wore a purple choker with a red gem in front of it around her neck and a revealing light-blue dress with a Hexagram pendant located in the middle. The dress she wore doesn't hide her voluptuous curves and high D-cup breasts at all; added with an off-the-shoulder neckline and pink transparent-like sashes on her back like a short cape and along with her short skirt. Her clear and creamy legs are tone and long and wear light-blue boots with red gems on the front sides. She wears light-blue sleeves on both arms and holds a curved magician rod with her right hand.

Seeing the female monster appear in a dazzling fashion, Yamamoto merely smiles at the magician and gave a finger salute to greet her. For Black Magician Girl, a wider smile appears on her rosy cheek face as she saw the familiar young man in front of her. Her expression then turns a bit sultry, and return his gesture with a flirtatious "naughtier" one; consisting of a finger gun near her face while giving a winky-kissy face, and placing her other arm to underneath her large breasts to push them upward to make them more prominent to excite Yamamoto. When Rei saw the entire "greeting" between the two, her left eye twitches a lot along with her teeth gritted in envy.

'Just a few more months… a few more months… a few more months' She mentally chanted, and immediately commence her next move.

"Anyway…" She started off with a rough edge in her tone, to which both Yamamoto and Black Magician Girl noticed and stop what they're doing.

Rei cleared her throat and is able to speak calmly. "…Magical Dimension would allow me to destroy one of your monsters on the field, but I can't due to King Dragoon's effect, so I'll activate the Spell Card, Black Burning. Allowing me to destroy all monsters on your side of the field when I control a "Black Magician Girl" monster!" Black Magician Girl brought her rod outward while her whole body gains a yellow aura. The tip of her rod cackle in black and yellow lightning. It then releases a black shockwave at all of Yamamoto's dragons, destroying them instantly.

"Now with all them out of the way, I can attack you directly with my Black Magician Girl. Go! Black Burning!"

With an apologetic expression on her face, Black Magician Girl obey and brought her rod forward, blasting a pink ball of energy at Yamamoto. He doesn't make an effort to dodge the blast at all and didn't even change his expression as well.

Yamamoto Daiji, LP: 8000 → 6000

"Card set. Turn End." Rei finished. 'Hopefully, Yamamoto wouldn't have a card effect to destroy my only set card on his next turn.'

Turn 5: Yamamoto Daiji, LP: 6000, Hand: 3

"Watashi no turn, draw." He took a moment to access the situation before him. He only has three cards in his hand, no monsters on the field, and only one face-down in the backrow while Rei's hand is empty with only one monster with 2000 ATK on the field, a single set card in the backrow, and a Shard of Greed activated.

'We both come down to this, so now, the real duel is about to start.' Yamamoto's eyes widen as he starts bringing out the big guns.

"I activate my only face-down card, Call of the Haunted! Allowing me to resurrect a deceased monster from my Graveyard." A darkish-purple portal appears in front of the holographic Trap Card, and a roar can be heard something is about to rise out of it.

"For this one, I'll resurrect the monster I discarded at the beginning of this duel. Come forth, Rabidragon!" At his declaration, the dragon swoops out of the portal before it stops right above the young man.

Rabidragon (LIGHT, Dragon / Normal, LV 8, ATK 2950 / DEF 2900)

Appearing is a monster that looks like a hybrid between a rabbit and a dragon, with its head, arms, and feet resembling that of the former while the wings, tail, and spikes across its back and tail indicating the latter's nature. This dragon nearly equals the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in ATK strength, lagging in only 50 ATK.

"Of course, it won't be staying on the field. Because I activate Advance Draw, by tributing a Level 8 monster to draw two cards." When he said those words, the dragon growl in the indignation of being resurrected only for it to be used as fuel for something else, but it complies and flew into a shining light above and disappear into it.

"I'll also follow up by activating Magic Planter, sending my now useless permanent Trap Card to the Graveyard to draw two more cards." Looking over his hand, he now has the resources to turn this duel around.

"I Normal Summon Assault Wyvern, come forth!"

Assault Wyvern (LIGHT, Dragon / Effect, LV 4, ATK 1800 / DEF 1000)

Materializing out of the sky shows a large black dragon with green scales that span throughout its body like armor. Its limbs, wings, and tail are blade-like, with two large spikes expanding out of its shoulders. Its yellow eyes fiercely glow while having two silver-like tusks from its mouth, and six green gems that are embedded in its forehead, wings, and spikes glowing brightly.

"Now then, I attack your Black Magician Girl with Assault Wyvern. Go forth, and slice her apart!" The dragon roar as it flew into the loop, before heading straight into the magician with ferocious speed.

"Black Magician Girl has 200 more ATK than Assault Wyvern, so how are you going to deal with that?" Rei asks in a rhetorical sense because she knew Yamamoto to be better than to blindly attack an opposing monster with higher ATK.

"The answer is simple, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, Shrink! I target one monster on the field and halve their original ATK!" The Spell Card causes Black Magician Girl to shrink down in size, along with her being lower by 1000.

Black Magician Girl (ATK 2000 → 1000)

Nodding to the shrunken magician, who in turn, nod to show that she accepts her defeat. The bladed dragon continues its charge and pierces through her, causing Black Magician Girl to be destroyed into millions of digital polygons.

Saotome Rei, LP: 4800 → 4000

"Since Assault Wyvern successfully destroys a monster in battle, I can activate its effect. By tributing it, I can special summon a Dragon-Type monster from my hand or Graveyard, except for itself." Yamamoto grabbed the selected card in his hand and swung forward.

"I Special Summon, Krystal Dragon!"

Krystal Dragon (LIGHT, Dragon / Effect, LV 6, ATK 2500 / DEF 1000)

The bladed dragon's entire body glowed in bright light, and taking its place is a larger dragon made entirely out of crystals.

"Krystal Dragon, attack Rei directly!"

The crystalline-looking dragon swung its large wings back, and then forward, sending a huge barrage of sharp blue crystals from its body at Rei.

"Trap Activate, Defense Draw!" A shield of blue hard light cover around Rei, preventing the crystal barrage from hitting her as it recoils off of it.

"Thanks to this card, all battle damage from your attack will be reduced to 0 and I can draw a card."

"That may be so, but Krystal Dragon's effect activates when it battled this turn during my Battle Step. I can add a Level 8 Dragon-Type monster from my deck to my hand. So, for this one…" He trailed off as he looked over the selection of Level 8 monsters in his deck. "I'll be adding this card to my hand." He said as the Monster Card pop up on both of their visors.

Rei widens her eyes at the card before it gets conceal in her opponents' hand. 'Of course, he has those cards.'

"Card set, turn end."

Turn 6: Saotome Rei, LP: 4000, Hand: 2

"Atashi no turn, draw! Now my Shard of Greed gains another shard counter, making it a total of two counters since I activate this card." The upper half of the pot now gains the bottom jaw, making its appearance whole.

"Since this card has two shard counters, I can send this face-up card to the Graveyard to draw two cards." Two shadowy hands pop out of the pot of greed, holding two cards as to visually show Rei drawing them from the top of her deck, before being destroyed into a million of digital polygons.

Looking through her hand, it still isn't much, but it'll do for this turn. "I activate Monster Reincarnation, by discarding one card from my hand, I can add one monster to my hand back from my Graveyard. I choose my Berry Magician Girl." She said as the card shows on their visors for both Duelists to see before it's added to Rei's hand.

"I Normal Summon Berry Magician Girl to the field, and activate her effect. This time, I add Apple Magician Girl from my deck to my hand. Card set, turn end."

Turn 7: Yamamoto Daiji, LP: 6000, Hand: 3

"Watashi no turn, draw." The moment that he drew his card, an "ALARM" icon pops up on visors of both Duelists. The screen shows that it's already been 20 minutes since they had started their mock duel, meaning that the deadline for their schedule duel is getting closer.

"Huh, it looks like time sure flies when you're having fun…" Seeing this, both Yamamoto and Rei realizes that it's time to wrap this duel up soon.

"…but even so, a duel isn't over till the last card is played. Rei, while I'm well aware of what those magician girls can do with their effects, we're both on a time limit now. So here I come!" At this declaration, Rei ready herself as Yamamoto begins his onslaught.

"Go, Krystal Dragon! Attack Berry Magician Girl with your barrage!" Swing back its wings, the crystalline dragon swung them forward again to unleash the barrage of sharp crystals.

"Berry Magician Girl's effect activates! Once per turn, if she is targeted for an attack or card effect by my opponent, I switch her battle position."

Berry Magician Girl (Position: ATK → DEF)

"And if I do, I can Special Summon a "Magician Girl" monster from my deck to the field. So, I pick Choco Magician Girl!" Waving her rod, Berry Magician Girl brought out the intended monster in a flash of light.

Choco Magician Girl (WATER, Spellcaster / Effect, LV 4, ATK 1600 / DEF 1000)

Appearing from the dazzling light shows another attractive female magician with red eyes and teal-colored hair. She has long elf-like ears and wears a navy-blue, pointy magician hat with pink lines that run across it with a winged heart symbol in the middle of the front end. Her outfit is much skimpier than the Black Magician Girl, as it only consists of a navy-blue high collar crop top that only barely covers up her D-cup breasts, thus exposing her flat toned stomach with only a notable cleavage window in the middle of the crop top and fake bat wings attach from behind. She wears a miniskirt of the same navy-blue color, with a large pink belt around it tighten with a heart-shaped buckle. Below her skirt, she wears black see-through tights to cover up her long legs with navy-blue high heels connected to the skirt with a garter belt. Her accessories show two golden armbands strapped near her shoulders, her gloves are of the same color scheme as her hat and holds a very short wand of similar semblance to the "Magician Girls'" rods.

As she took to the field, Choco Magician Girl smiles wider when she took notice of Yamamoto a far from her, and like with Black Magician Girl, she gave her own flirty gesture by grabbing her large, compressed breasts and fondle them while giving the same winky-kissy face.

'Okay… the moment with Black Magician Girl is one thing, as I can understand why they're close. But if it comes to nearly all of them greeting him like this upon being summoned in a private duel between us… then Yamamoto is really going to get hurt!'

Looking over from Choco Magician Girl's "greeting" to Rei's near-enraged expression, Yamamoto wisely continues his turn.

"Since your Choco Magician Girl has been summoned during the Battle Phase, a reply occurs, which I'll use by attacking her instead of Berry Magician Girl!"

The crystalline dragon starts to repeat the same form of action, but Rei counters this.

"Choco Magician Girl's effect activates!" The magician waves her wand and shot a burst of energy to the ground next to her. "Since you target this card for an attack, I can resurrect a Spellcaster-Type monster from my Graveyard. Come back to the living, Black Magician Girl!"

The portal that represents the Graveyard open up and rising out of it was the Black Magician Girl, who then struck a pose for her eventual return. "With that done, I can redirect your monster's attack to Black Magician Girl, but then your Krystal Dragon's current ATK becomes halved!"

Choco Magician Girl shot a blue magical beam from her wand at the crystalline dragon, causing it to become weaker as its reflective outer body gets noticeably cracked.

Krystal Dragon (ATK 2500 → 1250)

Afterward, it continues with its attack and shot the crystal barrage at Black Magician Girl, who easily dodges all of the shards with ease, and then shot a pink magical beam from her rod at the crystalline dragon, destroying it in battle.

Yamamoto Daiji, LP 6000 → 5250

"Krystal Dragon may have been destroyed, but its effect still goes off as I can add another Level 8 Dragon-Type monster from my deck to my hand. I picked a second copy of the card I added with Krystal Dragon from my last turn." He said as the second copy is now added to his hand, and Rei can already figure out what he's going to do.

"My onslaught doesn't stop there. Trap activates, Call of the Haunted! Using this second copy of my trap, I can resurrect the fallen Assault Wyvern." The dark portal opens up and swooping out of it was the fearsome bladed dragon.

"Since your Magician Girls had already used their once per turn effects, they can now get destroy in battle. Go forth, and take down that infantile magician!" On his command, the bladed dragon flew at extreme speeds and took down Berry Magician Girl with lethal precision. The infantile magician only squeals a bit before she was disintegrated into digital polygons.

"Now its effect activates, I can tribute it to Special Summon another Dragon-Type monster from my hand or Graveyard except for itself. I bring out my second Krystal Dragon to the field from my hand!"

The bladed dragon disappeared in a blinding light, and in its place is the second copy of the crystalline dragon. It roars as it's eager for a battle against the opponent of its controller.

"Go! Shred away Choco Magician Girl with your barrage of crystals!" The crystalline dragon obeyed and shot forth its attack. The blue magician girl tries to defend herself against the raining crystals but gets destroyed into digital polygons.

Saotome Rei, LP 4000 → 3100

"Now Krystal Dragon's effect activates, allowing me to add the third and final copy to my hand." Seeing that Yamamoto has all three copies of that Monster Card in his hand, Rei is going to be in a bit of a pickle if he were to summon its most powerful form.

And with the time being limited to where their schedule duel is going to start soon is going to make Yamamoto swiftly get the conditions to summon it.

"I activate my second Magic Planter, sending now used up Call of the Haunted to the Graveyard to draw two cards. Next, my second Trade-In, discarding the Level 8 Chaos Soldier to draw two more cards." Looking over his hand, he now has the right materials to bring it out.

"The field is now set. I place two cards face-down in my backrow and activate Card Destruction. Forcing us to discard out an entire hand and draw the same number of cards we had respectively discarded." Yamamoto drew three new cards while Rei drew two cards.

"Here it comes Rei, I activate my face-down Spell Card, Dragon's Mirror! Allowing me to Fusion Summon a Dragon-Type Fusion Monster by banishing monsters on my field or in my Graveyard as Fusion Material." His expression became much more serious. "So… I'll banish all three copies of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my grave, to bring out its ultimate form!"

The dark portal that represents the Graveyard appears, and flying out it was three white dragons heading into another portal that appears right above them with a net-like pattern, all while glowing with a whirlpool of colors and light and merge together right before going in it. Yamamoto spread his arms. "The three white dragons with the eyes of blue… each standing powerful with all of its pride… combine to form your ultimate form!" He then palms them together. "YŪGŌ SHŌKAN!"

"Come forth! Level 12! BLUE-EYES ULTIMATE DRAGON!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (LIGHT, Dragon / Fusion, LV 12, ATK 4500 / DEF 3800)

True to its name, the monster appears as a gigantic bluish-white dragon with deep blue eyes that can pierce through your very soul. It stands tall and proud to all those who awe at its might, with only a few people who manage to escape unscathed from its awesome power. But instead of a single head, it possesses three of them, each with an I sigil marking their foreheads.

As it took to the field, it lets out a mighty roar for all those to fear its power. Upon seeing this huge majestic dragon appear before her very eyes, Rei can understand why someone like Kaiba Seto would own a card like this, especially when it came to the original Blue-Eyes White Dragon card.

There were originally four printed copies of Blue-Eyes White Dragon in existence during the early days of the Duel Monsters game, as the reason why was because the Monster Card was too powerful at the time, being the only monster with the original ATK of 3000 and can be summoned to the field without needing special requirements like Yugi's "Chaos Soldier" and Katsuya's "Black Daemon's Dragon." Now, there are only three copies since the fourth one was ripped to pieces by Kaiba himself after winning it from Yugi's grandfather to ensure that no one else could use the Monster Card against him.

For Yamamoto to even own three more of this rare Monster Card and Kaiba not being enraged of this speaks tantamount of the respect that the CEO must have held for his student as she can attest to being a witness of the time where he gave Yamamoto his blessing to allow him to utilize the Blue-Eyes White Dragons in his deck after being defeated in a duel.

Yes… she can never deny such a scene since the day that Yamamoto himself has beaten the Kaiba Seto in a duel!

In fact, one of the reasons why she grew to like the young man so much was how honorable he can be as a Duelist. Yamamoto didn't even need Kaiba's permission to own a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in his deck as he could've asked his father to print more of it in secret, along with the fact that being the son and heir to the creator of Duel Monsters himself would allow him to overrule Kaiba's own influence as the CEO of the largest gaming industry of Japan, regardless of whatever possible fall out could happen between them.

Now, while Yamamoto is not above using whatever tactics available to him within the duel itself (such as using any strategy that doesn't overly rely on brute force like stacking his deck with high ATK monsters) or with owning one-of-a-kind cards, he would never surprise his opponents in duels with never before seen cards when there are high stakes and is even appalled of the idea of using his father's influence to get whatever he wants like some spoiled child, especially if it's those "type of hypocrites" accusing him of doing it.

He wanted to show his own worth as a Duelist by defeating his mentor in a fair duel out of his own pride as a Duelist along with fulfilling his own ambitions, and from what she heard from him before that event, knew of Kaiba's obsession with the Blue-Eyes card runs deeper than just an egotistical entitlement.

This honorable nature, combined with his natural high intelligence, compassion, courtesy, courage, diligence, kindness, love, perseverance, respect, and truthfulness have ensured Rei's own infatuation for the young man evolving into a genuine love for him. Having to personally bond with this handsome young man for three years had only hammered in the nail, to where her previous crush on the image of this one Duelist who she witnesses in the Junior Pro League all those years ago has all but faded away into mere puppy love that she's all too aware of in the current time and is all too embarrassed about it to the point of keeping that little detail to herself.

"Be prepare Rei, for this dragon will be proving instrumental in the conclusion of this duel. Card set, turn end."

Turn 8: Saotome Rei, LP: 3100, Hand: 3

"Atashi no turn, draw!" She took a brief look at the dragon, before looking at Yamamoto directly.

"Whatever you'll be planning with this dragon, I'll find a way to overcome it. I activate my set Spell Card, Magical Stone Excavation. I can discard two cards from my hand, and add one Spell Card to my hand from the grave. So, I'll take back the one I use to destroy your Gem Dragons and King Dragoon, Black Burning Attack! And I'll activate it right away, allowing me to destroy your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Black Magician Girl gain the yellow aura once again, and she waved her rod to let loose the devastating shockwave at the ultimate white dragon.

"Then I'll activate my face-down, Dark Sacrifice! If you activate a card or effect that would destroy a card(s) on the field, I can negate the effect, and then send 1 Level 3 or lower DARK monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. So, I'll send my Bacon Saver to the grave to protect the ultimate dragon from your effect!" As the shockwave was coming near, a cartoonish black pig appears in front of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and shield it from being destroyed.

Rei let out a small tongue click in frustration. "You may have protected it, but I still have many tricks up my sleeve. I activate Card of Demise, allowing me to draw until I have five cards in my hand. By the 5th Standby Phase since this card's activation, I must send my entire hand to the Graveyard regardless. I set three face-downs, turn end."

Turn 9: Yamamoto Daiji, LP: 5250, Hand: 3

"Watashi no turn, draw!"

"Since you drew a card during the Draw Phase, I chained the trap, Drop Off. This forces you to discard the card you just drew from the deck." Feeling slightly miffed by the trap, Yamamoto is forced to discard the Resurrection of the Dead Spell Card.

"You may have gotten rid of my Spell Card; it won't slow me down in this duel." Looking over the top left corner of his visor shows that it's been 3 minutes and 45 seconds since the alarm rang.

"I'll attack your Black Magician Girl with Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Go! Ultimate Burst Stream of Destruction!" At his command, the three heads of the ultimate white dragon charged up their breath ray and shot the combined destructive beam at the lone magician girl on Rei's side.

"Trap Activate, Waboku! For the rest of this turn, my monsters cannot be destroyed by battle and I take no battle damage." Three women in blue cloaks appear in front of Black Magician Girl and created a yellow energy shield around them to defend against the blue destructive beam from Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.

"You're going to run out of defenses soon Rei. I activate my set card, Bad Luck Bomb. I can target 1 face-up monster you control; first I'll take damage equal to half its ATK, then I can inflict damage to you, equal to the damage I just took. Your only monster is Black Magician Girl, so we'll both lose 1000 LP." A bomb suddenly appears in the hands of Black Magician Girl, who panicked at the lit explosive and she tosses it away. The bomb exploded, causing the two Duelists to lose LP.

Yamamoto Daiji, LP 5250 → 4250

Saotome Rei, LP 3100 → 2100

"Turn End."

Turn 10: Saotome Rei, LP: 2100, Hand: 3

"Atashi no turn, draw!" As Rei drew her card, she gave a small smile upon what she had gotten.

"It's been a fun duel Yamamoto, but now it must come to an end, as the card I drew will help me win this."

"A bold declaration you're making Rei, but I welcome your attempt to take me down with whatever means you have in this duel."

"In that case, I'll start off by activating my last set card, Reckless Greed. I can draw two cards, have to skip two of my next Draw Phases. Next, I activate my Spell Card, The Eye of Timaeus! This allows me Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck by targeting 1 "Black Magician" monster I control; using it as the Fusion Material for the requirements of that monster."

The hologram of the Spell Card appears, and out came the dragon is known as Timaeus, being an older, large quadrupedal teal-colored dragon with blue eyes and a small scar running vertically over the right one.

"Legendary Dragon of Timaeus… combine with the Black Magician's apprentice to become a stronger form." She palms her hands together. "YŪGŌ SHŌKAN!"

"Appear! Level 7! DRAGON KNIGHT BLACK MAGICIAN GIRL!"

Dragon Knight Black Magician Girl (DARK, Dragon / Fusion / Effect, LV 7, ATK 2600 / DEF 1700)

Timaeus land on the field and Black Magician Girl flew into the air to sit on its back. She then gains a new appearance as her magician's clothing is replaced with knights' armor that only leaves her midriff and thighs exposed and her magician's rod is replaced with a double-edged sword.

"Now, I activate the Equip Spell Card, Megamorph. This will double the equipped monster's ATK if my LP is lower than my opponent, and I'm giving it to Dragon Knight Black Magician Girl!" Both Timaeus and Black Magician Girl gain a purple aura and grew larger than the ultimate dragon.

Dragon Knight Black Magician Girl (ATK 2600 → 5200)

"To help ensure my victory, I activate my monster's effect. By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy one face-up card on the field, and aiming for your ultimate dragon!" Both Timaeus and Black Magician Girl charge up their breath ray and magical blast respectively, but Yamamoto put a stop to it.

"Chain! I activate my Effect Veiler's effect. By sending it from my hand to the grave, I can target 1 effect monster you control during the Main Phase and negate its effect for the rest of this turn." A transparent spirit of the Spellcaster came forward and went inside of both Timaeus and Black Magician Girl, causing their energy attack to fail.

"Then, I'll just commence my attack on your ultimate dragon. Attack!" Dragon Knight Black Magician Girl replayed their earlier energy attack, and this time is for the intention of attacking the ultimate dragon head-on.

"Even if you're successful in destroying my dragon, I'll only take 700 damage," Yamamoto said. "…unless of course, you're going to activate a card effect in your hand."

"You're right about that. I'll activate my own Quick-Play Spell Card, Gravity Lash! For the rest of this turn, your ultimate dragon loses ATK equal to its DEF." Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon roar in discomfort as it gets enveloped in a green electrical aura.

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (ATK 4500 → 700)

"With the ATK difference between our two monsters, this will wipe out all of your LP. It looks like this is my win, Yamamoto!" The dragon knight rider and the teal-colored dragon shot their combined energy beams at the weakened ultimate dragon.

"Not so fast, I activate my Bacon Savor in the Graveyard! By banishing this card during either of our Battle Step when a monster is attacking, I can negate that attack." The black cartoonish pig appears and ran towards the attack from Dragon Knight Black Magician Girl. It spat out its entire skeleton at the combined energy beam to prevent it from destroying the ultimate dragon.

Despite the failed attack, Rei only gave a small smile. 'Got you.'

"I expected you to do something like that Yamamoto, and it's now the right time to activate this last card in my hand. I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, Double or Nothing!" Yamamoto's eyes widen slightly.

"When a monster's attack is negated, I can target that monster; it can make a second attack during this Battle Phase, and if it does, its ATK is doubled during the Damage Step only!" The dragon knight rider and her dragon charge up their attack once again, and this time, its being power up further from a bunch of raining gold coins from a large casino machine above it, as it successfully got the crown symbol in all three slots.

Dragon Knight Black Magician Girl (ATK 5200 → 10400)

Yamamoto in turn, only whisper Rei's name as her monster let loose their more powerful combined energy attack. 'You have grown so much since our meeting three years ago.'

As the attack hits the ultimate dragon, the impact caused a huge plume of smoke that covered Yamamoto's side of the field. While it looks like she had beaten him, it doesn't mean the end of the duel unless the player's LP is dropped to 0 in this case.

Once the smoke cleared out, Rei was a bit shocked that the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon is still standing! Especially since it's being coated in a golden aura of light.

"While you may have exhausted my cards on the field and Graveyard, you still haven't counted on the one card in my hand." He revealed the only card in his hand, which is Honest.

"Honest's effect activates, when a LIGHT monster I control battles during the Damage Step, I can send this card from my hand to the Graveyard, allowing my monster to gain ATK equal to the ATK of my opponent's monster it is battling until the end of this turn."

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (ATK 700 → 11000)

"Go, retaliate with Hyper Ultimate Burst Stream of Destruction!" The ultimate dragon fired back with its own combined Burst Stream of Destruction, with the power-up from Honest making the normally bluish-white beam becoming golden-white. Dragon Knight Black Magician Girl only briefly gazes at the life-ending attacking heading towards her and Timaeus, and they both bow graciously when being enveloped by it.

Saotome Rei, LP 2100 → 1400

"You have done well Rei, and I can guarantee that you'll pass the scheduled exam with flying colors," Yamamoto said with sincerity, causing Rei to smile warmly from his praise.

"Turn End."

Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (ATK 11000 → 4500)

Turn 11: Yamamoto Daiji, LP: 4250, Hand: 1

"Draw…" He said as he looked at the card he drew. "Just to make sure that you still have one more trick up your sleeve, I activate my final Spell Card, Soul Release." All of the cards in Rei's Graveyard pop up on his visor, and he banished Black Magician Girl, Apple Magician Girl, Berry Magician Girl, Choco Magician Girl, and Clear Kuriboh.

"With the time limit being only 5 minutes left till our schedule duel, let's end this shall we?" Rei nod in agreement and Yamamoto direct his ultimate dragon for a final attack. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, end this with Ultimate Burst Stream of Destruction." The ultimate dragon complies and shot forth its combined beam at Rei, who only closes her eyes peacefully when being enveloped by the blast, depleting her LP completely.

Saotome Rei, LP 1400 → 0

WINNER: Yamamoto Daiji

The bluish hue around them dissipated as the original colors of the world return to normal, and Yamamoto turns around to face the other direction while Rei is right behind him on his D-Wheel. He jumps high into the air to create a backflip and graciously landed back onto his D-Wheel with Rei hugging him from behind. He deactivated his D-Skates, and place them back into the slots on the sides of his D-Wheel. The D-Skates dismantle itself into the slots, with the servos locking itself up with a mechanical sound, and Yamamoto places his feet back on the pedals of his D-Wheel.

"Well then, it seems like we have quite the experience of the duel before our upcoming schedule one did, we?" He asked, to which Rei giggle in return.

"Are you kidding me, I don't think who I'll have to deal with is going to match up to this."

"Heh heh, you're right about that one Rei, but the proctor who I'll be dueling against is going to be someone who's going to challenge my dueling skills to the greater degree." Yamamoto's eyes narrow a bit when he mentioned who he's going to be up against in the exam building, and Rei already knows who that "proctor" is going to be once they get there.

"But besides that, are you ready on making our grand entrance in the exam building?" He asked with a glint in his eye.

Rei, on the other hand, was feeling a bit nervous about what he proposed before they left on his D-Wheel to the Entrance Exams.

Basically… he plans to drive off from a high position and land straight into the exam building, which is stated to be taken in an open roof stadium this year.

So, Rei asks herself if she was crazy into trying this stunt with the young man she has cherished since their meeting all those years ago?

Well… the answer is going to be yes.

"Ready as I'll ever be…" She said as she gripped onto Yamamoto's waistline tighter than ever.

"Hold on tight then, since the drop off is coming up in three…" He counts down as he hit the pedal of the D-Wheel to gain speed, hitting up to 50 miles per hour.

"Two…" Yamamoto kept on speeding and is now hitting 80 miles per hour.

"One!" Now up to 100 miles per hour, he drove the D-Wheel onto the left circular wall and went straight out of the duel lane. As the two flew out of the lane and into the air, it didn't take another second until gravity did its work and the two were now falling. Yamamoto remains calm while Rei was internally screaming on the inside!

'Please don't let me die… please don't let me die…'

"Here we go, Air Mode activate!" He shouted, pushing the button to activate another function of the D-Wheel.

The D-Wheel started to change its appearance a bit with both wheels immediately turning horizontal and the metal part glowing in white light, and two solid hard light wings form on the sides of the futuristic motorcycle.

No longer falling to their deaths, the two are now slowly hovering through the air and is currently heading to the large stadium that's in front of them.

Noticing that the two are not plummeting to their deaths after Yamamoto drove them off the lane, Rei let out a loud sigh of relief and loosen her grip from the young man. "Ahh… Next time, let's just drive to a place with any crazy stunts like this Yamamoto."

"Heh… sorry if I really scared you like this. But I did promise the one I'm scheduled to duel against to arrive in style."

"Hah… I can see why. I just hope it'll be using the air mode of this D-Wheel you invented during the six months after you help introduced the Xyz Summoning mechanic in collaboration with the people of Heartland. Not driving off a high ledge and activate it while falling."

"Perhaps, but sometimes I feel a bit daring to try these stunts unless if it's something that's really important. So, I apologized again for bringing you into this." He said as they're near the stadium.

Rei only sighs a bit, but she accepted Yamamoto's apology nevertheless. "It's fine… but there's anything that'll bother me, is the fact that you seem so brave to pursue that type of relationship that's so popular for men to fantasize." She lightly quipped.

Yamamoto cough a bit at what Rei was suggesting… but nevertheless, accept what he plans to do. "Well I don't deny your claim Rei, but my heart really isn't entitled to just one girl or even one being that's not part of this plane of existence." He said while giving a longing look to nowhere.

For Rei, she knew what he meant by that and while a part of her didn't really want him to be shared amongst others, she can't deny how he had affected those around him and is willing to try and accept Yamamoto's pursue that sort of relationship if it means to be with him.

She embraces Yamamoto further by leaning her head on his back and closed her eyes. "Yamamoto… I do want to be with you in spite of this. But… can you at least take into consideration my opinions of who you'll want to join as well?" She asked, and Yamamoto doesn't hesitate to answer her.

"Of course, Rei. I would never force you to go along with this, and you have the choice to leave anytime you wish. While I'm not above having our relationship is more than what it is when you come of age, but your feelings on the matter are also important as well." Yamamoto declares with his utmost sincerity and continues looking forward to the future with a serious expression.

As she heard those words of comfort and sincerity, a smile starts to form on her face, but she said nothing as the two knew enough of their devotion to understanding one another without needing further words. They quietly enjoy each other's company as they flew to their destination in time for their schedule duels.

For regards on this late update, I was enjoying my summer break for a while before getting into writing this chapter. I'm aiming to get into this animation program in college and need to create a good portfolio, so the update on this story will be a slow one.

Now then, the setting of the Yu-Gi-Oh timeline currently takes place in GX, but the timeline is much shorter than in either of the anime or manga continuity, with "Domino City" has already been renamed to "Neo Domino City" and the D-Wheels already been invented for the use of Riding Duels (Turbo Duels). The cards being used in duels will go by their Japanese names unless if it's way too long.

Furthermore, the continuity I'm following in this story is from the conclusion of the Dark Side of Dimensions, since the movie doesn't really focus on any previous events besides the Ceremonial Duel between Yugi and Atem, but even most of the details of it weren't shown besides Yugi using Gold Sarcophagus (anime) to negate Atem's resurrection of Slifer the Sky Dragon from Monster Reborn. Also, it's taking place in the possible timeline to where Yugi has become a successful game creator of Spherium and Spherium II and the real-life version of the cards used by the filler characters, antagonists, and villains are available for use in the public.

Now, writing romance isn't really my strong suit and I'm not a very experienced writer to make the conversations flow better, but I'll try to improve on that as the story goes on. I enjoy reading the duels, but when it comes to writing it, it's hard for me to come up with them since I already know how it goes.

Lastly, shout-out to Yung Warrior's "State of the Meta," Starlight's Poet's "Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V: Pendulum's Fifth Swing," HaretaSora's "Duelist of Numbers," and scififan599's "Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Hidden Memories" and "Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V: The Fifth Circuit" for the inspiration for this story's creation.

Preview of the next chapter:

"Not even once had I came close to winning against him in all of our duels. At best, the furthest thing I ever gotten in our duels were depleting his LP down to 3000, but by that point is where I immediately lost."

"Appear! Level 10! Antique Gear Chaos Giant!"

"While his Antique Gear monsters are strong, they also have weaknesses as no archetype is perfect and it all comes down to whatever cards you got to overcome it and the chances of probability."

"No offense to your position or skills, but this isn't close to what I've experienced beforehand."

"Are you kidding me? He's going up against one of the best Duelists in Japan? This duel is going to be shorter than I thought."

"You may have beaten me once boy, but don't think it's going to be the same as before."

"It's time for a New Summoning!"

NEXT TIME: Chapter 2: The Entrance Exam (Part 1)