The Entertainment Duelist closed his eyes as the crowd began to chant his name louder and louder, before his own shout cuts right through. "Draw!" he shouted aloud, dramatically pulling the top card of his deck, creating a large arc with the swing of his arm.
The effect of Upstart Goblin resolved as he drew his card, with his opponent gaining an additional 1000 Life Points, Serena waited with her eyes narrowed for what her opponent's draw would bring.
Serena: 6000LP
The crowd watched with bated breath as the man glanced at the card that he had just drawn for his turn.
And grinned.
"From my hand, I'll summon Performapal Longphone Bull!" The top hat wearing Entertainment Duelist shouted loudly as he played the card that he had drawn off the top of his deck, the bipedal dark blue bull with an antique phone for horns then appeared onto the field.
Performapal Longphone Bull - Earth/Beast/Level 4/Effect: 1600/1200
"A normal summon-!" Serena watched with narrowed eyes, watching as the monster appeared on Sakaki-sensei's side of the field, fitting in beside the other two Spellcasters that he had on board.
"And now, Performapal Longphone Bull's effect!" The Entertainment Duelist declared loudly, waving his cane outwards dramatically. ""When this card is normal or special summoned, I can add one 'Performapal' monster with 1000 or less attack from my deck to my hand!"
"An in archetypal searcher!" Mei exclaimed next to her, loud enough to garner her attention along with some of the others in the crowd. "The attack restriction means that he wouldn't be able to search high attack monsters like Performapal Sky magician, but that 1000 attack range means he can search-"
"I will add Performapal Sky Pupil from my deck to my hand!" The man declared aloud, and the bull's telephone horn started to ring as he then picked it up, and another copy of the ring wielding pupil appeared, before turning into a card and being added into the Entertainment Duelist's hand.
And with that, the end of the duel was essentially sealed.
"I'll switch my other Performapal Sky Pupil to attack position. And now… let's battle!" The man said with a grin, waving his hand outwards in a theatrical motion. "I'll attack your Lunalight Kaleido Chick with my Performapal Sky Magician!" The man declared, giving his orders to his trusted partner.
And the Spellcaster delivered, flapping its pure white wing-cape as it flew high into the air, spreading its arm wide as it wielded its golden rings, and then throwing it towards the target in question, the attack position Lunalight Kaleido Chick on Serena's side of the field.
"Tch! I'll flip up my Trap! The Continuous Trap, Fire Formation - Tensen!" The indigo haired girl declared as they entered the Damage Step, flipping up the set card that she had set directly from her deck using the effect of her XYZ Monster, Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King.
"When this card is activated, I can target one Beast-Warrior Type monster that I control, and have it gain 700 attack until the end of this turn!" She declared aloud, explaining the Continuous Trap's effect on activation.
"I'll target the Kaleido Chick that you're attacking! And increase her attack by 700!" Serena said, waving her hand towards the chosen monster, to which several flaming heads of dragons then proceeded to surround the kaleidoscope winged Lunalight monster.
Lunalight Kaleido Chick - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 1800/800
"And Fire Formation - Tensen also has the continuous effect of giving all my Beast-Warrior monsters an additional 300 points of attack!" She shouted aloud, explaining the Continuous Trap's other effect, one that essentially counteracted the effect of Sakaki-sensei's Wonder Balloons.
A wave of flames then seemed to envelop the entirety of Serena's field, the effect of Fire Formation - Tensen taking effect and giving all of Serena's monsters a boost as they were all Beast-Warriors.
Lunalight Kaleido Chick - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 2100/800
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King - Fire/XYZ/Beast-Warrior/Rank 4/Effect: 2200/1800 OV: 1
Lunalight Kaleido Chick - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 1400/800
But even with all of those boosts, Serena's Kaleido Chick's attack was still lower than that of Sakaki-sensei's Performapal Sky Magician.
The thrown golden rings hits the kaleidoscope winged Beast-Warrior, said monster letting out a cry as she then turned into golden motes of light, sending a huge gust of wind towards its controller. Serena grunted as she held both of her hands in front of her in defence.
And for the first time in the duel, a player had received damage. No matter how measly that amount was.
Serena: 5600LP
The crowd, of course, erupted in screams and shouts. Cheers filled the gymnasium as the crowd of students chanted their teacher's name, encouraging the Entertainment Duelist as he smiled and waved back towards them.
And as much as Serena was annoyed by the man's actions, after the gamble that the man had just pulled, she couldn't help but give her respect. Both for his dueling skills, and his dedication to his act of performance.
"Then I'll activate the effect of Performapal Sky Pupil in my hand!" The top hat wearing man declared aloud as he continued with the Battle Phase, revealing the one and only card that was in his hand.
"I'll return Performapal Sky Magician back to my hand, and special summon it!" And with a swift flick of his hand, the man switched the two cards on his duel disk, the white winged Spellcaster disappearing and trading places with his pupil.
Performapal Sky Pupil - Light/Spellcaster/Level 3/Effect: 800/800
"And then Performapal Sky Magician's effect! As it is removed from the field, I can target one card on the field, and destroy it!" The man declared, and raised then pointed his cane towards his target.
That being of course, the problematic XYZ Monster on Serena's side of the field that could have possibly outed his board.
"I will target your Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King, and destroy it! Closing Performance!" And as the white hat Performapal left the field, it left behind its golden rings, ones that then glowed and shot out green glowing beams of light towards Serena's XYZ Monster.
The flaming tiger spirit behind Tiger King roared as it jumped to intercept the attack, only for the green beam to pierce through the flaming tiger and hitting the Beast-Warrior that it tried to protect, and the destroyed XYZ Monster then turned to motes of light.
The crowd cheered as they saw the gigantic Beast-Warrior getting removed from the field, but Sakaki-sensei wasn't quite done with his turn just yet.
"Then let's continue with the show! I'll attack your other Lunalight Kaleido Chick with my newly summoned Performpal Sky Pupil!" He declared, sending the newly summoned apprentice Spellcaster into battle.
"And then his effect activates! As I control another 'Performapal' monster, the monster that he battles is immediately destroyed before the Damage Step!" And with a wave and a twirl of his golden rings, Performapal Sky Pupil jumped and landed right behind Serena's last monster, before he then leaped back towards his field as the defence position monster was destroyed by his effect without needing to enter the Damage Step of battle.
Now all that is left on Serena's side of her field is her two backrow. The already face-up Fire Formation - Tensen, and an unknown set card.
"So it's probably a bluff huh…" Mei muttered aloud as she saw the last unknown card that was left on Serena's side of the field, being the most knowledgeable person on the indigo haired girl's deck, only second to the duelist in question herself.
"A bluff? What do you mean? Serena does run Traps doesn't she?" She asked, glancing to her side towards the small purple haired girl beside her. "She activated that Lunalight Reincarnation Dance a few turns ago. And she just activated that Fire Formation Continuous Trap."
"She did do that, yes, but think about it." Mei said as she raised a finger. "Lunalight Reincarnation Dance is a Trap that can be activated if a monster that she controls is destroyed by battle or card effect, something that has already happened multiple times already this turn, and yet she hasn't used it."
"Ah!" She exclaimed with wide eyes as she noticed what Mei was implying. "She would have activated that earlier in that case!"
"Yes, she definitely would have." The purple hat wearing girl nodded. "And in the case of Fire Formation - Tensen, she would have already activated it earlier too, most likely at the same Damage Step when the attack position Kaleido Chick was being attacked by Performapal Sky Magician. Not that she runs more than one copy…"
"Because then it would have received enough attack boost to win the battle… so it's neither of those Trap cards. But doesn't she run anything else? Wasn't that one that she sent to the graveyard to summon a monster from deck one?" She asked.
"That one? Lunalight Serenade Dance you mean? That one… doesn't really do much while it's on the field. And if anything she would have rather kept it in hand as a discard…" Because the Continuous Trap that was Serenade Dance had an on field effect that was only relevant if a monster is Fusion Summoned to Serena's side of the field, something that she had advised the indigo haired girl harshly on not to do to keep their cover.
And knowing all this, Mei could deduce that the set card that Serena had set on her field was merely that, a bluff, something that certainly doesn't help the girl in her current position.
Especially with her board empty and without any monsters remaining left on her side of the field, while in contrast, Sakaki Yusho's field is almost filled with them.
Though Performapal Longphone Bull was certainly a decently attacked normal summoned monster, the problematic one is of course the two copies of Performapal Sky Pupil, both whose battle related effect would trigger thanks to the other, essentially making them indestructible by battle.
"Now I'll attack directly with both my other Performapal Sky Pupil, and my Performapal Longphone Bull!" The Entertainment Duelist gave his command with a wave of his cane, and the two performers who hadn't performed in this Battle phase then took off, the phone horned bull charging while carrying the magician in training behind him.
And the two then delivered their direct attacks, their attacks hitting the indigo haired girl… or at least they seemed to. The giant bull ran circles around the girl fast enough to create dust trails behind him, while the first summoned Sky Pupil jumped off of him and flew in the air above her, dropping golden glitters as he flew in the air.
Then they left, and the sound of the duel disk's Life Point counter resounded around the gymnasium.
Serena: 3200LP
The cloud of dust soon cleared and revealed Serena, who had both arms crossed in front of her chest as she simply stood there, a look of utter confusion on her face as if she had expected the attack to be something far more… explosive than what had just happened.
That reaction made her opponent chuckle, something that brought her green glare back full force on the man in question. "Well, that seems to be the best that I could give. I will end my turn. "
And so with that, Sakaki Yusho ended his turn. Managing to establish a board of three monsters while breaking Serena's own. Two relatively oppressive Continuous Spells still remained in his spell and trap zone, while the one card in his hand remained, that being none other than the Performapal Sky Magician that he had returned to his hand.
"... I'll admit it, I probably, no, definitely looked down on this 'Entertainment Dueling' of yours." Serena muttered, looking up towards the top hat wearing man through green eyes, shadowed behind her indigo bangs.
"And I really did put myself in a corner didn't I?" The pony tailed girl said, chuckling to herself in self deprecation, before a determined look shone behind her eyes as she placed her hand on top of her duel disk's deck holder.
"Then it's my turn! I'll draw!" And so Serena shouted aloud, drawing her own card for turn, and getting a second card to her hand. The girl then frowned as she scrunched her brow, thinking the moves that she could possibly play that could put her back into the game.
It took a moment, but the Lunalight Duelist eventually chose what move she would do, her eyes burning bright with determination as she shouted her first move. "I'll activate one of my set cards! The Spell, Luna Light Perfume!"
She declared aloud, activating the Spell card that she had set from the field by flipping it face-up, and allowing the card's holographic projection to shine on the field. "This card lets me special summon back a Lunalight monster from my graveyard!"
"Ah, did you forget about my Magician's Right hand Serena-kun?" Sakaki Yusho asked with a raised eyebrow, gesturing with his cane towards the large hand floating above his field. "While it's face-up, the fist Spell card or effect that resolves while I control a Spellcaster monster is negated!"
And just as the entertainer exclaimed, the giant ring wearing hand above shot out a bolt of lighting from its fingers towards the Spell card that was activated on Serena's field, negating its effect and destroying it.
"Heh, you thought I forgot something as important as that?! I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Fire Formation - Tenki!" Serena declared aloud, activating the second copy of the generic Beast-Warrior searcher that was in her hand, revealing that two of the cards that she had remaining were all Spell cards.
It was essentially the same kind of steps that the girl had done earlier at the start of the duel, the only difference now is that without Peformapal Sky Magician on the field, her opponent no longer has two indiscriminate Spell negations on his side of the field.
"And when Tenki is activated, I can add one Level 4 or lower Beast-Warrior monster from my deck to my hand! I'll add Lunalight White Rabbit from my deck to my hand!" She declared as the Continuous Spell's effect resolved, adding the monster to her hand at the resolution of Tenki's activation.
"And while Tenki is face-up, all Beast-Warriors that I control gain 100 points of attack." She said aloud, noting the continuous effect of Fire Formation - Tenki.
"Then Luna Light Perfume's graveyard effect!" Serena continued, declaring the activation of the Spell's graveyard effect. "I can banish this card from my graveyard, to add a 'Lunalight' monster from my deck to my hand!"
With that said, the indigo haired girl then revealed the card that she would discard for the Spell card's cost. "I'll discard Lunalight Kaleido Chick, to add Lunalight Yellow Marten from my deck to my hand!" And she then proceeded to discard the third and last copy of Lunalight Kaleido Chick from her hand, then added a second copy of Lunalight Yellow Marten to her hand.
"And now I'll normal summon Lunalight White Rabbit!" Serena declared, placing the monster card on her duel blade, and the mallet weidling rabbit eared Beast-Warrior then appeared on her side of the field, hefting her weapon of choice with both of her hands.
Lunalight White Rabbit - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 2/Effect: 800/800
And very briefly, the effects of multiple continuous effects took place right as the monster was summoned. Balloons appeared beside the mallet wielding Beast-Warrior appeared and popped through the effect of Wonder Balloons, but that attack reduction was counteracted by the effect of Fire Formation - Tensen, and in the end, the monster's attack was boosted thanks to Fire Formation - Tenki.
Lunalight White Rabbit - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 2/Effect: 900/800
"White Rabbit's effect! When she's normal summoned, I can target one 'Lunalight' monster in my graveyard except 'White Rabbit', and special summon that monster in defence position!" The ponytailed girl declared loudly.
She then took out a card from her graveyard, and revealed the monster that she would revive with the monster's on summon effect. "I'll special summon back Lunalight Emerald Bird!"
The white rabbit based Lunalight monster then hefted her mallet above her head and slammed it to the ground, then in a flash of light, the emerald winged Beast-Warrior returned back onto the field with a twirl, placing her wings in front of her body in defence position.
Lunalight Emerald Bird - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 1200/1000
Then the effects of the Continuous Spells and the Continuous Trap on the field affected the newly summoned monster, essentially increasing the monster's attack by 100 points.
Lunalight Emerald Bird - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 1300/1000
"Now Emerald Bird's effect! Since she's special summoned, I can send one 'Lunalight' card from my hand to the graveyard to draw one card!" With one card left in her hand, there was of course only one card left that she could use to send for the monster's on summon effect.
"I'll send Lunalight Yellow Marten from my hand to the graveyard and draw one card!" She said, sending the monster from her hand to the graveyard, and drawing the top card of her deck.
Serena briefly looked at the card that she had drawn, before a grin settled on her face. "Lunalight Yellow Marten's effect!" She declared. "If this card is sent to the graveyard by a card effect, I can add one 'Lunalight' Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand!"
She resolved the monster's effect as it was sent to the graveyard, revealing the card that she would add from her deck to her hand. "I'll add another Lunalight Serenade Dance from my deck to my hand!"
And so she added the Continuous Trap card to her hand, though whether or not she had the ability to put it into the graveyard, and also get a discard for the card's effect, that was to be seen.
"And Lunalight White Rabbit's second effect!" Serena then declared, waving her arm forwards towards the mallet carrying Beast-Warrior. "Once per turn, I can target spell or trap cards that you control up to the number of other 'Lunalight' cards that I control and return them to the hand!"
Done with explaining the monster's effect, she then waved her right arm outwards. "Since I control Lunalight Emerald Bird on my field, I can return one spell or trap card that you have! I'll send back your Wonder Balloons!"
And without any responses to chain to her effect, Lunalight White Rabbit hefted her trusty mallet once more, stumbling backwards slightly before slamming it hard down onto the ground, bouncing the face-up Continuous Spell that was targeted.
"And since Wonder Balloons is removed, its continuous effects on the field is removed then." The top hat wearing man said as he took back the Continuous Spell to his hand, and just as he said, a dark purple glow enveloped Serena's monsters as their attack not only returned to normal, but was increased even further.
Lunalight White Rabbit - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 2/Effect: 1200/800
Lunalight Emerald Bird - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 1600/1000
"Now I'll activate the graveyard effect of Lunalight Yellow Marten!" Serena shouted, raising her right hand upwards. "If this card is in my hand or graveyard, I can target one 'Lunalight' card I control except Yellow Marten and return it to the hand, and if I do, special summon this card in defence position, but it's banished when it leaves the field!"
And she then points towards the target that she would return to her hand. "I'll target Lunalight White Rabbit and return her to my hand to summon back Lunalight Yellow Marten!" She shouted, and summoned the bush tailed Lunalight monster onto the field in defence position.
Lunalight Yellow Marten - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 800/2000
And the monster in question then shone with energy as her attack was then boosted by the multiple Continuous cards that Serena controlled on her side of the field.
Lunalight Yellow Marten - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 1100/2000
"And then I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Fire Formation - Tensu!" The indigo haired girl shouted loudly as she slammed the one unknown card that she had drawn with the effect of Lunalight Emerald Bird, the Continuous Spell's holographic projection shining as it appeared on her side of the field.
"While Tensu is face-up on the field, all Beast-Warrior monsters I control gain 100 attack!" Serena shouted as all her monsters then shone, gaining an additional attack boost thanks to the newly activated Continuous Spell.
Lunalight Emerald Bird - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 1700/1000
Lunalight Yellow Marten - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 1200/2000
"And, with Tensu on my side of the field, I can normal summon one Beast-Warrior monster in addition to my normal summon or set!" The ponytailed girl said with a large grin on her face, playing with the one and only monster card on her hand.
"I'll normal summon Lunalight White Rabbit again!" She shouted aloud, placing the monster card onto her duel disk once again, and thus the mallet wielding Beast-Warrior returned onto her side of the field thanks to her additional normal summon.
Lunalight White Rabbit - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 2/Effect: 800/800
Of course, just like the other Beast-Warriors on her side of the field, the white rabbit based Lunalight monster's attack was also boosted by the many continuous effects on her side of the field.
Lunalight White Rabbit - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 2/Effect: 1300/800
"Then White Rabbit's effect! Since it's normal summoned, I get to summon back another 'Lunalight' monster in defence position!" She declared aloud, taking out another card from her graveyard and revealing the monster that she would revive from her graveyard.
"I'll summon back Lunalight Blue Cat!" She shouted aloud, summoning a different Lunalight monster from her graveyard than the other monsters that she already had on her field, now filling her field with four whole different monsters.
Lunalight Blue Cat - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 1600/1200
And then said monster was enveloped by a dark energy, her attack being boosted by Tensen, Tenki, and Tensu, making the Beast-Warrior receive a whole 500 points of attack boost.
Lunalight Blue Cat - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 2100/1200
"Then Blue cat's effect! Since its special summoned, I can target another 'Lunalight' monster that I control except 'Lunalight Blue Cat', and make its attack double its original attack until the end of this turn!" She said, declaring the monster's effect if it was special summoned.
And she then points towards her target, the one and only attack position monster currently on her side of the field. "I'll target Lunalight White Rabbit, and change its attack to double of its original!"
Lunalight White Rabbit - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 2/Effect: 1600/800
But even though she's managed to do all of this, managing to summon up four whole monsters to her field, there was still the large question that has yet to be answered.
"Still…" Mei muttered loudly to herself. "How is she going to break the board?" She said as she stroked her chin, her brows furrowed as she thought aloud and her eyes sweeping over the monsters on Serena's side of the field.
"Could it be… another XYZ Monster?" The black haired girl beside her decided to comment, and Mei turned to look towards Ruri and gave her a look, a frown forming in her face before she turned back to look at the two dueling duelists.
"That's… possible." The girl with the purple hat said with a nod of her head. "No, that's more than likely. She's been saving some DP to buy a new card, and the possibility of it being an XYZ Monster is… definitely high." Though they do share the same large pool of main funds for their basic needs what with their situation, they do still have their personal share of pocket DP, and what each do with them are to their own.
She had seen Serena repeatedly eye a card on the store that they frequently pass by, and sure enough that monster in question would be a good Extra Deck option that would fill up the needs that Serena's current deck lacks.
And that was, of course, spot removal.
"I'll take the Level 4 Lunalight Emerald Bird, and the Level 4 Lunalight Yellow Marten, and overlay them both!" Serena shouted at the top of her lungs as she raised her right hand up towards the sky, and the two monsters in question shone as they turned into dark orbs of light.
"Another XYZ Summon!" Ruri exclaimed with wide eyes.
"So she really does have another XYZ Monster on her Extra Deck…!" Mei followed suit. "So she did manage to get her hands on that card!"
"With these two monsters, I'll construct an overlay network!" The indigo haired girl shouted aloud as she clasped and raised both of her hands, raising it as the two dark purple orbs that were her two monsters rose above and dove towards the galactical vortex that appeared in the middle of the field.
And she then brought her hand down. "XYZ Summon!" She shouted as the field exploded with bright light, and soon receded to reveal her new XYZ Monster. "Appear! Diamond Dire Wolf!"
The XYZ Monster that she had summoned was not one that shared the same type as the rest of her deck, the diamond furred giant wolf let out a howl as it brandished its blades and claws, two dark brown orbs floating around the monster in an orbit as it stood menacingly while it set its sights on the monsters that it would soon face.
Diamond Dire Wolf - Earth/XYZ/Beast/Rank 4/Effect: 2000/1200 OV: 2
"A second XYZ Monster I see. And an entirely different one from the one that you had summoned earlier." Her top hat wearing opponent noted, eyeing the newly summoned XYZ Monster with intrigue and caution.
Words which Serena ignored as she tuned the man out in favour of continuing with her line of play. "And I'll activate its effect!" The ponytailed girl shouted loudly as she waved her right hand outwards.
"Once per turn, I can detach one XYZ Material from this card, then target one Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast-Type monster I control and one other card on the field, and destroy them!" She said, shouting the monster's effect.
"I'll detach one material from Diamond Dire Wolf, to target and destroy both Lunalight Blue Cat and one of your Performapal Sky Pupil!" She shouted, declaring the two targets as the diamond covered wolf howled before it took one of its two floating overlay units as the cost to activate its effect.
Diamond Dire Wolf - Earth/XYZ/Beast/Rank 4/Effect: 2000/1200 OV: 1
And without a card that he could use to stop the effects of Serena's newly summoned XYZ Monster, the diamond wolf howled once more as it spun, shooting razor sharp shards of diamonds towards the two targets, Serena's own Lunalight Blue Cat, and one of the two Performapal Sky Pupil that were on Sakaki Yusho's field.
Now that one of the two Sky Pupils were gone, the danger that her opponent's field represented had plummeted. Now his field was able to be destroyed through battle, meaning that now, she could easily clear the board.
Both were destroyed as the effect resolved, turning into motes of light as they were sent to the graveyard. "And Blue Cat's effect!" The indigo haired girl then declared, once more waving her hand.
"Since it's destroyed by a card effect, I can special summon a 'Lunalight' monster from my deck! I'll summon my last Lunalight Crimson Fox!" She shouted as she took the card straight from her deck and placed it onto her duel blade, the bush tailed crimson coloured Beast-Warrior soon then graced the field in attack position.
Lunalight Crimson Fox - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 1800/600
Said monster then glowed as its attack was then boosted through the multiple continuous effects that Serena had on her field.
Lunalight Crimson Fox - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/Effect: 2300/600
"Now battle!" The girl then said aloud as she moved towards the Battle Phase, motioning her hand forward towards her monsters. "I'll attack Performapal Longphone Bull with Lunalight Crimson Fox!"
Using the newly summoned monster first, the crescent masked Beast-Warrior danced and lashed out against the phone horned bull with a kick, destroying it in combat and dealing damage to her opponent whom took it with a smile as he stood tall with closed eyes, a hand on his cane as his Life Points were reduced from the residual battle damage.
Sakaki Yusho: 4300LP
It was the sequence of attacks that would turn off Performapal Sky Pupil's battle related effect. With Longphone Bull no longer on the field, Sky Pupil's effect was now offline.
And so she had her next target.
"Then I'll attack your Perfomapal Sky Pupil with Lunalight White Rabbit!" Then the next attack came, the mallet wielding rabbit leaping high with its weapon overhead and bringing it down against the one remaining monster on the man's field.
The monster was then of course destroyed, and a gust of wind was created as the solid holograms clashed, to which Sakaki Yusho still took in silence, even as his Life Points was once more reduced.
Sakaki Yusho: 3500LP
And with that attack, her opponent's field now was bare, with only the one Continuous Spell that was The Magician's Right hand left as it floated on top of her opponent's field.
"Diamond Dire Wolf! Attack directly!" She shouted her orders once more, and her new XYZ Monster howled again as it leapt and shot out its diamond fur, the razor sharp shards all shot towards the cane wielding performer as it hit the ground and created a cloud of smoke.
Gasps erupted around the crowd as they saw the attack land, but soon the cloud dissipated to reveal that all of the shards of diamond were shot around the man who still stood tall with a smile, creating a large circle around him, even as the duel disk still registered that the damage had still been received.
Sakaki Yusho: 1500LP
"My, my, that was quite dangerous don't you think Serena-kun? I didn't think that you were one for an act like this." The man said with mirth in his voice as he took his cane to tap on the diamond cage around him, all which started to disappear as soon as his opponent left the Battle Phase.
"Hmph. I just wanted to try out how far solid vision could go, that's all." The ponytailed girl said with a huff, though Mei could see the glint in her eye that showed amusement and satisfaction. "Though I will admit, I had learnt that one from the ridiculous moves that you did in the duel earlier."
"Ridiculous?! Why, Serena-kun, did you not find all of my performance earlier entertaining?! I'm quite hurt." The man said as he placed his hand in front of his heart, as if acting in mock pain to Serena's words.
That one elicited a snort from the girl, and she couldn't help but get the smallest smile out of the man's act. Something that he did not miss as his smile seemed to have gotten wider at seeing her response.
Serena shook her head before the man could say anything, and she then proceeded to end her turn. "I'll end my turn." And she does so with a field of monsters, one XYZ, and two of her own Lunalight monsters, three slots of her spell and trap zone being used for continuous cards which increases her monsters attack, one card left in her hand and that was the known Lunalight Serenade Dance that she had not set.
"And on the End Phase Lunalight White Rabbit's attack returns to normal." She stated as the mallet wielding monster once more shone, her attack points that were doubled through the effect of Lunalight Blue Cat returning to normal, though still boosted through the multiple effects of Fire Formations on her side of the field.
Lunalight White Rabbit - Dark/Beast-Warrior/Level 2/Effect: 1300/800
"Well then, let's see if I can turn the tides once again!" The man said with a chuckle as he raised his cane and twirled it, resting it on its holster before placing his hand over his duel disk to draw a card for turn.
"Then it's my turn! I draw!" The man then dramatically drew the top card of his deck once more, checking the card that he had drawn as the smile never left his face.
Everyone could only watch in anticipation, seeing as how both duelists had essentially entered a 'top deck war' as a certain red haired girl would call it, much to Serena's chagrin, her opponent was still in the running for the game.
If he somehow gets a way to summon that Ace Monster of his onto the field, then he could easily destroy her DIamond Dire Wolf, ridding her of any ways to possibly out that monster, or any possible boards that he could create.
The man closed his eyes as he said his next words, heard by the anxious audience and his opponent.
"I'll end my turn."
And just proceeded straight to ending his turn.
A second passed. And then another. Soon, enough time passed for everyone, more important Serena, to fully digest what the man had just said.
"I-you're ending your turn?" The indigo haired girl asked with brows furrowed and a confused look on her face, her eyes focusing on her cane carrying opponent who solemnly placed a hand over his top hat
"Ah, yes. While it is quite sad, it seems that lightning had not, in fact, struck twice." He said calmly, a smile still on his face as he gave a shrug. "So I ended my turn. The floor is yours now, Serena-kun."
"I-I guess it is… My turn! I draw!" The ponytailed girl shouted, drawing her card for turn and not even bothering with it as she immediately then went off towards the Battle Phase. "And battle!"
With a wave of her hand, she sent out her monsters forwards to battle. "I'll attack you with my monsters!" Serena so declared aloud, and her monsters then leapt to deal with what remained of her opponent's Life Points.
And they all hit, the attacks of Serena's monsters reaching the Entertainment Duelists as he, for one, crossed his hands to deal with the impact of the solid vision, no matter how lowered they were, as his Life Points were reduced to zero.
Sakaki Yusho: 0LP
Silence filled the gymnasium as the cloud of dust that the final attack send dissipated, leaving the standing figure of one Sakaki Yusho, a
"""OOOOOOOOOOO!"""
And so the crowd erupted into cheers, though many of the students that watched the duel finished stayed silent with mouth wide agape as they saw their teacher being defeated by someone who was more or less an unknown.
The two girls who watched from the sidelines could only watch as what was virtually a mob of overeager pre-teens formed a mob around the victor of the duel, the indigo haired girl question startled at the attention that she received, and was quite handily failing at handling being the centre of an attention when it wasn't a duel.
Instead of helping her however, both girls decided to scuttle away, instead moving closer towards the duelists who had lost the duel, though the man in question didn't seem to have minded that he had lost, instead he was looking over Serena who was surrounded by the lot of his students with a gentle smile, happy at the outcome that had happened.
"You seem happy for someone who lost, 'sensei'." And that was something that Mei immediately point out as they appeared near the top hat wearing man, with Sakaki Yusho himself taking a second to pry his eyes away from the scene devolving in front of him to turn towards them, showing his trademark smile.
"Mei!" Ruri shouted aghast at the girl's blatant and blunt question, something that the long black haired girl would come from Serena instead of the girl who stood beside her.
"Ah, Mei-kun correct?" The man asked as soon as he saw the purple hat wearing girl, and as she gave a nod to show that he was correct, he continued. "Well, I wouldn't quite say that I wasn't disappointed that I had lost the duel as you had said, this only meant that there is more that I myself could learn! Much more things that I would need to improve!"
Though hidden by the cap of her hat, they could tell that the purple haired girl raised an eyebrow at the answer that she received. "Really? That's quite the positive look of getting beaten by someone that's less than half your age." She said, ending with a light chuckle.
"Haha! I would like to say that that simply shows how much potential the next generation has!" He proclaimed with a wide grin as he watched Serena essentially explode from afar, throwing away the crowd that was surrounding her.
"Though she could most certainly need some help in regards of keeping her emotions in check." The man added with a chuckle as they saw the girl in question started to agitatedly shout back towards the ones around her.
A long sigh came from Mei as she shook her head, while Ruri could only chuckle light heartedly as she visibly sweatdropped at her friend's unruly behaviour. "Serena certainly has quite the… character."
"That, she certainly is." The man said with a nod of his head as they saw the crowd essentially parting, making way for the ponytailed girl to march her way towards where they were, brows furrowed and lips made to a frown.
She stomped her feet as she stood in front of them, and she made an agitated gesture towards the crowd of boys and girls behind her. "You! Old man! Get a hold of your students already!" She said with clear agitation, and a hint of desperation.
"Haha, why Serena-kun, it's just that they want to show you their awe and respect! I'm quite sure that you're the only one that has managed to defeat me in a duel after all." The man said with a smile.
"Ah, well, beside Shun-kun, Yuto-kun, and Kaito-kun of course. Though that just means that you're somewhere along their level." The man thoughtfully said as he tapped his cane on the ground, said statement made the clamouring of the students that surrounded them go louder.
"Ack! You're making it worse old man!" Serena shouted out loud as her head went back and forth towards the crowd of boys and girls who were slowly making their way closer towards them, or more specifically, towards her.
In fact, they were slowly but surely circling them, more or less preventing any ways of escape barring the path that the indigo girl had cut for herself, and even that too was starting to be filled by bodies.
So to avoid being clamoured by a gang of teenagers, Serena chose to run. "Darn it! I'll remember this old man!" She shouted aloud as she took off, barrelling through the crowd and exiting the gymnasium with all her might.
And with their current object of fascination escaping, the students decided to give chase. Following after the indigo haired girl as the entire class essentially squeezed through the gymnasium's double doors to chase after the victor of the duel.
"Haha! Well it seems that everyone is quite spirited today!" The Entertainment Duelist laughed aloud, a wide smile on his face as he saw the students trickled out from the gymnasium with haste, leaving only the three of them left inside.
"Umm… shouldn't we… stop them? Sakaki-sensei?" Ruri said as she nervously pointed towards the door of the gymnasium, or rather what lies beyond them. Even here they could still hear the shouts of the other students, all of them going after in search of Serena.
She was worried for her friend first and foremost, she knows well how pushy many, well, all of the students of Heartland Academy could be. Most especially the students that the most eccentric teacher of the academy taught.
With how close the World Duel Carnival is and how most likely everyone would enter in hopes of winning the entire tournament, it was a given that they would try to squeeze any sort of information in how to become a better duelist from anyone available.
And it just so happened that they've found an appropriate target. A girl their age who had managed to defeat their very own teacher. It was no wonder that they would want to hear what secret or strategy she had used to win the duel. Either to strengthen themselves, or in preparation if they were to face her in the tournament.
Knowing Serena's temperament, and clearly seeing how the girl doesn't do well with crowds as her first instinct was to escape them, she worried that if the group of students were to somehow catch her then the girl would blow up, figuratively speaking of course.
She just hoped that she would just settle for a duel or two to calm her nerves instead of resolving with violence.
"Ah, let them be." And the teacher whom she had hoped would have intervened simply waved off her concern with a shake of his head and a warm smile. "It's been quite a while since they've seen something this interesting after all. And hopefully this'll help with the tension's that's been on everyone's mind what with the WDC hanging in the horizon."
"Well that's certainly a way to get your mind off of it." Mei said with a small smirk hidden by her hat, shaking her head lightly before she then tapped the taller girl's shoulder. "Well, come on. We should get going before Serena loses all sense of reason and mauls someone." She said as she started to walk leisurely towards the exit.
Ruri sputtered at Mei's insinuation that Serena would harm a student of their school. "B-but Serena wouldn't do that! R-right?" She aloud towards the hat wearing girl, whom only turned and waved a hand.
"Alright then, we're going old man. Thank you for the showing of your Entertainment Dueling. It was… quite enlightening I should say." Was the words that left her mouth as she turned back and walked out of the gymnasium, leaving her behind.
"W-wait! Mei! She wouldn't do that right!?" Ruri shouted as she followed after Mei, stopping as she reached the door to turn around and bow towards the top hat wearing man and turning around to run off once more. "Wait up! Mei!"
The teacher in question could only chuckle lightly as he shook his head with mirth. "Children. They sure are energetic aren't they?" The man said aloud to no one as he smiled, looking off towards the disappearing figure of his last student and her friend.
"I wonder… You were just as energetic and as playful as them weren't you?" The man said wistfully, digging through his pocket to take out a crumpled picture that showed himself, a woman with long blonde hair and golden bangs, and a child with green and crimson hair.
"Yuya…" Sakaki Yusho said the name wistfully as he stared at the photo in his hand with longing, the fingers that held the picture tightening ever so slightly.
"...you know things like that are definitely why the two of them call you an old man."
The boyish voice came from a figure that appeared from the shadows, revealing themselves as they came out from their hiding place and walked near the top hat wearing man, their hood lifted and concealing their features.
But the man was not perturbed nor surprised by the appearance of the mysterious boy, as he merely raised his eyebrow. "Really?" The man asked aloud, caressing his chin. "Do I really act that much like an old man…? I'm just doing what I would normally do…"
"Hmph, then that means that you really are an old man." Said the hooded figure without missing a beat.
"But I haven't even gotten to my forties…" The top hat wearing man trailed off, lamenting the fact that he hasn't even gotten to a certain age threshold.
"..." The cloaked figure gave no reply, though it was clear that the boy had something that he wanted to say for that matter.
"Ah well, that's a matter for another time." The top hat wearing man said with a shake of his head as he changed the topic of the conversation, turning his head to look down towards the boy next to him. "So. Were they the 'friends' that you were looking for?"
"Yes. There's no mistaking them." The hooded figure nodded their head, affirming the man's suspicions as his eyes did not move from the door where the two girls had left earlier.
"There's no doubt about it. They travelled from another dimension as well."
-
"T-thanks…" Serena said as she held both her knees with her hands, huffing for breath as she caught her breath.
"Its-its fine…" Ruri breathed out as she did the same, a bead of sweat falling from the side of her head as exhaustion caught up to the black and purple haired girl who was beside the indigo haired girl.
"I think we're in the clear." Mei said from beside them as she peeked her head from the corner which the three were hiding from, and just as she said so a group of students went and passed them, missing the trio.
"T-that was close…" Ruri said aloud as she slumped as she let out a sigh of relief, something that the ponytailed girl beside her also did the same as the exhaustion from running away from the mob of students had caught up with her as well.
"I thought… all the Heartland Academy students are… supposed to be… normal." Serena said between huffs, taking a long breath every few seconds.
"They… are… most of the time…" Ruri answered back, closing her eyes and taking a moment to take a few calming breaths. "I guess Sakaki-sensei was right…they were just excited to talk to someone that could beat him in a duel."
"Tch… guess I could understand that." Serena grumbled as she looked away, remembering how she herself had pestered and bothered Yuuna over and over for a duel almost daily. "... doesn't stop it from being annoying though."
"That's most certainly true." The black long haired girl said with a nod of her head, before raising her head to look out from the alley they hid in towards the other students who were searching for them. "Everyone's really working hard… to get stronger huh…"
"...Ruri?" Mei called out to the long haired girl as she saw her trail off, her pink eyes glazing over as she seemed to be lost in thought. "Are you alright?"
That snapped the girl off of her train of thought as she visibly jolted and turned towards the purple cap wearing girl. "Ah! No, I'm… fine." Ruri said as she shook her head, plastering a shaky smile on her face.
Mei was silent as she kept her eyes on the black and purple haired girl, whose smile faltered under her gaze and seemingly shrunk. "I… no it's just… it's childish but… you can say that I'm… jealous of them I should say."
"Jealous? You of all people?" Serena asked with a raised eyebrow. "What's there to be jealous about those people?" The ponytailed girl asked as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, leaning against the wall behind her.
"I… everyone's just trying so hard and I… I'm not even doing anything…" Ruri said with a downcast expression, her head angling down as she glanced at her open palms. "Both Onii-sama and Yuto, and you two as well..."
Saying so the girl then raised her head as she looked at the afternoon orange sky above, and continued to let the innermost thoughts that had plagued her heart. "Compared to that I'm…"
"... so you're jealous that they're… trying their best to improve themselves?" Mei said in a low tone of voice, eyebrows furrowed as she pondered on her friend's dilemma, something that she's personally had never happened to her before.
It wasn't a case of slump, nor was it a case of burnout, both something that she, Serena, and even Yuuna had experienced before, something that they managed through by taking breaks or doing something else to refresh their minds.
She for one, fiddles with the duel disk, something that she does in her free time that helps her clear her mind from the stress. It was the first thing that she had done as soon as they managed to find a good place to stay in this dimension.
Serena's, being who she was, rarely ever stops challenging someone, mostly their own small circle, to duels. But there were times where those challenges lulls, and they could find the indigo haired girl glued to her room as she essentially knocks her brain and spends time trying to better her deck.
Yuuna was the same, essentially, as whenever she nears a state of burnout she simply just changes the deck that she uses, something that she could afford to do thanks to that ability of her's.
Though another aspect that both she, Yuuna, and several of the orphanages children also do was to sell cards, or rather Yuuna's excess cards that she doesn't seem to use. Donning the Red Hat persona to sell them, the DP that they got usually going for pocket money or used to help the orphanage.
That wasn't something that she could do here. Clearly. And she doubts that these weren't the same cases that her friend was having.
From what she heard, Ruri wasn't in a state of burnout, nor was she in a slump of some sort. No, her black haired friend was lacking in motivation to improve herself, something that she was jealous of her other classmates.
She… doesn't quite know how to deal with that problem.
For her, there was no lack of motivation for self improvement. Not for an orphan of Academy Island like her, where becoming a duelist of the Academia was one of the only ways for success, where becoming a pro duelist was something that she wished to accomplish. The same goes for Serena.
Yuuna was also the same, though her motivation comes from the love of the game itself, and also the goals that the world had burdened her with.
Something that she and Sister Claire wished to aid her in.
And there certainly was no lack of motivation to improve now that they were stuck in a whole other dimension, with the threat of the Academia's invasion hanging over their heads.
But that wasn't something that Ruri had.
She wasn't a desperate orphan who wished for success in life. She wasn't someone who had a deep love for the card game. And she wasn't someone who had to improve with the threat of a damocles sword hanging over her head, one that would doom an entire world.
She was a normal girl with a loving family, a loving older brother, and a close childhood friend. A social idol that's looked up by other students of this school of her's. Someone who even had natural talent in dueling, and yet had no motivation to further that skill.
Or at least, no explicit motivation, neither driven by internal or external reasons, unlike them.
"... those normal Heartland students, they want to be pro duelists or something along the lines don't they?" She started off, breaking the awkward silence that had befell them. "A dream that you probably don't share with them huh?"
"..." Ruri stayed quiet, neither denying nor accepting her words, but she soon answered. "I… Onii-sama and Yuto always dreamed of being one. A pro duelist that is." The black haired girl said.
"And since they wanted to be duelists… Heartland School was the one school that had the best chance for them to achieve that dream… they applied." the taller girl said, her eyes still glued to her empty hands.
"I… just didn't want to be left behind… I just… didn't want to be left alone…" The girl said, her mouth quivering and her eyes glistening with tears as she spoke the innermost thoughts that she kept in her heart.
She had no desire to become a professional duelist unlike her brother nor her childhood friend. She has no desire to become famous and etch her name in history as a strong duelist.
The reason why she entered the school, the sole reason as to why she has gotten this far, was simply because she didn't wish to be separated from her brother and her friend.
"So? What's wrong with that?"
The one who said that was none other than Serena, breaking the silence that had befallen them again as she huffed and kept her hands crossed. "That kind of reason should be enough right?"
"H-huh?" And what Ruri responded with was a look of confusion, something that made the indigo haired girl scoff.
"I said that that's enough for a motivation right?" The girl said as she turned her head down to look towards Ruri, her ponytail swaying as she did. "You became a duelist so that you could be with that brother of yours and your childhood friend right? And you're jealous of those other students since they actually have, what, a clearer motivation?" She scoffed.
"But I-! My… motivation is… selfish…" Ruri said as she kept her head down, her voice growing more and more weaker.
And the reply made Serena snort. "As if those idiots aren't doing this for selfish reasons." She said, looking out from the alleyway and seeing several of the Heartland students walking around, their numbers slowly dwindling as time passed and never having found their search target.
"They want to be, what? Pro duelists? Like Yuto and Shun yeah? That means that they have to fight one another if they want to do that. They have to win and keep winning against others in their class." The ponytailed girl began.
"If that isn't selfish, then what is?" She asked, and Ruri could only stare.
Though she soon managed to regain her composure, or something along those lines, as she shook her head and argued back. "B-but that's just normal dueling! That's not selfish at all! If anything, I'm even more selfish since I don't want to be a pro duelist and yet-"
"And yet you can even win against them, yeah? Well that just shows you have talent. Or they're bad duelists. Either works honestly." Serena said with a shrug, essentially dismissing Ruri's argument with a lazy wave of her hand.
"Seriously, you're like, one of the strongest duelists that I've dueled against since we came here. Honestly just slightly below that brother and childhood friend of yours." Serena said, giving an off handed compliment.
"Compared to you, those Heartland bunches are like, uh. Super weak!"
"R-really? But I-no, Onii-sama and Yuto are far more…" Ruri trailed off once more as she rapidly shook her head to clean her thoughts. "No! That's not the point!" The long haired girl said as she waved her hands angrily.
"Ah? Right ,we're definitely getting off track huh." Serena mumbled aloud, nodding her head and continued on. "What were we talking about again?" She asked, turning towards Mei in hopes that the girl remembered what they were even arguing about.
The twin tailed girl could only stare at Serena with a deadpan look, before letting out a long tired sigh as she held her head in one hand. "... about Ruri and how she's jealous of others improving themselves."
The indigo haired girl blinked several times at her answer, before her eyes shone with realization. "Oh right, that." Then she tilted her head as a look of confusion took place. "That's enough for a motivation though?"
"B-but it's selfish!" Ruri argued once more. "Everyone's doing their best to be better! Onii-sama… Yuto… even you two! And yet I'm…"
"Yeah, but you can just, you know, try?" Serena said, tilting her head again with further furrowed brows as if she was confused at Ruri for not realising something so obvious. "I mean, you certainly want to, right? Be better that is. That's why we're even having this conversation in the first place."
And once again, Ruri was stunned into silence. The raven haired girl could only look upwards towards Serena's green eyes which looked back with honest confusion. "B-but… I-" She stammered out.
Only to be cut off by the third person in their party, who took their focus as she let out yet another sigh. "You're worried. Because Shun and Yuto are out trying to be a better duelist, training somewhere while you're just here not doing anything like them, correct?"
Her observation hits the mark as the raven haired girl flinched at her words, turning her head away to not meet her gaze. "And you're jealous of the Heartland Students who're actually doing something to better themselves too. And you honestly want to do the same, you just don't know where to start."
"But… Can I really do that?" The girl whispered out quietly, though they managed to hear them. "I'm… not as strong as Onii-sama. I'm not as good as Yuto. I'm not as resourceful as you Mei, and I don't have a… a dueling instinct like Serena. I'm… there's no way that I can be like everyone…"
"Yeah so? Of course you don't have those, you're you." Serena said bluntly, cutting off the long haired girl comparison to them all. "I said it before that you have talent, so use it. I don't care if you think your motivation is selfish or whatever, everyone's is, so just do better than them."
"What Serena is trying to say." Mei interjected, moving her and in front of Ruri and between her and Serena to get the girl's attention. "Is that it's fine to be selfish. You don't want to be left alone by Shun and Yuto, and that's fine. A lot of people do things for a lot of different reasons. And I'm sure those classmates of yours are the same."
Then she turned her head towards her friend. "Right, Serena?" Mei asked with a serene smile, her eyes masked under the cap of her hat.
And the indigo haired girl only stared back as she nodded her head. "Yeah. Sure. A bit wordy though." She said, then turning her head away as she huffed. Clearly quite miffed that she had stolen her thunder, or something along those lines.
Seeing that, Mei turned back towards Ruri, taking her hands into her own and holding them gently. "What you want is normal, perfectly normal really. Not wanting to be left behind by the people you care about is… certainly something that everyone wants."
Because deep down she knew that she feels the same. Not wanting to be left behind by Yuuna, by her big sister, was one of the reasons why she did her best to improve herself in dueling, along with her at the time illusioned goals of being an Academia duelist.
Gods knew how that turned out to be.
"Besides, I'm sure that Shun and Yuto won't leave you behind." She said reassuringly, knowing full well how kind and compassionate the boy that looked eerily similar to Yuri was when it comes to the raven haired girl in front of her, and how her older brother would never leave her out of his sight if he gets the chance.
"...it's normal?" The girl asked with a sniff, tilting her head upwards, locking her pink eyes with her own. "Then… it's fine? For me to think like this… is fine? That I want to be selfish… just to not be left by them is… fine?"
"Of course it is. You're just being an idiot about it." Serena bluntly declared once again, sending her glare their way from the wall that she leaned on. "You don't want them to leave you alone, but since they're getting farther and farther as they get better, you don't know how to catch up to them. If that's the case, then just do whatever and see if it works!"
The two of them could only stare at the ponytailed girl, and once again Mei couldn't hold the sigh that escaped her lips, something that was getting more and more common with how much she had to deal with Serena's antics.
"You know what, if you don't know where to start to get stronger then I'll just make one myself!" The indigo haired girl said as she walked and snatched Ruri's hands from her light grip, yanking the long haired girl up with a pull.
Ruri yelped, her free hand flailing in an attempt to regain balance as she stumbled forward, but she was then pulled again by Serena who begad walking out of the alleyway. "If the whole problem was just not having motivation to get better and not knowing where to start then we'll just have to duel! That's definitely a good way to start!"
"H-huh?!" Ruri let out a sound that defined her confusion as she kept being dragged away.
"From there we'll find which parts are bad for your deck and fix it! Then we'll duel again! And basically repeat until you feel tired and do it again the next day until the tournament starts! It always works for me." Serena rambled on as she pulled Ruri along, exiting the alley.
"W-wait Serena! I'm-"
"And if that doesn't work we'll try something else!" The indigo haired girl said with a grin as she dragged along her interdimensional twin. "I don't know what other thing we could actually do to help other than just duel each other, but we'll figure something out!"
"There she is! She's with Ruri!" Someone shouted loudly, snapping Serena out of her ramblings as she saw a group of Heartland students and one of them pointing towards them.
"Crap! We've got to run!" The ponytailed girl shouted as she tugged Ruri hand, making the raven haired girl yelp yet again as she was dragged along as the two tried their best to escape the army of students chasing after them. More for the sake of the ponytailed girl who didn't want to deal with students pestering her for questions about how she managed to beat their teacher.
So Mei was left alone in the alleyway, forgotten by both her friends and the students that ran and chased after the retreating duo.
She sighed again, shaking her head with a tender smile. She'll have to thank Serena later, she managed to handle Ruri's sudden tumble of emotions quite well, even if in her own blunt way that's similar to just slamming a sledgehammer into a delicate situation.
"At least that's dealt with for now." The hat-wearing girl whispered aloud, quite relieved that her friend's sudden crisis was dealt with, or at the very least averted with Serena's own brand of bluntness, and the girl's own insatiable need for duels.
"I just hope that it all goes well…" She said with a wistful sigh, looking up towards the sky, dark clouds hanging over the horizon.