The sun shined high in the sky over Paradise City, bringing another day to the Standard Dimension and its residents. Over at Paradise City Prep School, the building was filled with teachers and students. Inside of a class room, a single male teacher was teaching his students, holding up a book with his left hand as he wrote down on a large blackboard that was large and wide. All the students paid great attention to their teacher as he taught them.
Among the students, seated at the back row were Yuya, Zuzu, Lulu and Rin, all sitting down at their separate tables. Yuya had his outfit slightly changed; while Rin and Lulu had theirs completely changed. In Paradise City Prep School, it was required for males to wear the school jacket, while the girls needed to wear the female outfits.
The only thing Yuya had changed was his white jacket, having replaced it with his old school jacket that he used to wear. He did, however, had his white jacket tucked in his school bag and planned to change once school was over. Zuzu didn't really needed to change her outfit as it was like a modified version of the school uniform; she was even allowed to keep her sheer white sleeveless open jacket.
Lulu and Rin, however, had to completely change their outfits into the school uniforms. They were now wearing sleeveless light-blue and white shirts, red ties, dark red skirts and dark stockings. They even had to change their shoes. Rin was now wearing light green shoes, while Lulu had white high-heeled shoes, exactly like the ones she wore before the Dimensional War began. Another change was Lulu's hair style as she had returned it to a loose bun hairstyle winged-shaped barrette, but she had her old feather-shaped earrings back.
The two had enrolled in Paradise Prep School 2 weeks ago, thanks to the combined efforts of Yusei, Skip and Yoko as they all paid for the girls to enter. Yusei had thought it would be best for them to enter school and act like kids their age and have fun. Rin was overjoyed at going to school as she never went to one back in her home dimension, while Lulu was just simply happy to act like someone her age again.
Yuya was happy to have them in school, while Zuzu didn't share his joy as she preferred them to be as far away from her as possible. The Odd-Eyes Duelist helped them get accustomed to Paradise Prep School, while his childhood friend just tagged along. 2 weeks had passed since they join and Lulu and Rin had become pretty popular for different reasons.
Rin was popular for her tough girl attitude that she showed to bullies or guys that hit on her. But she also became popular for her engineer skills as she was the best student in the computer club. She made sure nobody started trouble, or break the school rules as she once broke up a fight between two students by bashing their heads in. All in all, she was the top girl at computers and the most hardcore student.
Lulu, on the other hand, became popular for different reasons. She became the most beautiful and kind hearted girl of the school, and the number one female that guys wanted to date. Unlike Rin, she didn't break up arguments with her fists, but with words and reason. She even gives help to any struggling student in any way she could, helping solve any problem that they were experiencing. Combine that with her beautiful looks and gentle personality, almost all of the male students wanted her as their girlfriend.
Lulu's popularity would embarrass her at times as she was never this popular in her old school. Rin didn't mind Lulu being the most popular girl in school; she just made sure to be by her sister's side whenever she's asked out by a guy and scare him off. Yuya and Zuzu did mind for two different reasons. For Yuya, it was because a lot of the guys were interested in the girl that he had a crush on. For Zuzu; she just didn't like how Lulu could have so many guys falling for her when she couldn't get one guy's attention.
Despite the "setbacks", Lulu and Rin greatly enjoyed their time in school and looked forward to more school days. Right now, the two were sitting down at their desks, watching and listening to the teacher with their complete focus. Zuzu was looking down at her lap, but unknown to everyone was that she was actually looking through her deck with a look in her eye, as if she was preparing for her greatest challenge.
Yuya was just looking out of the window towards his left side, pressing his left cheek against his hand with his elbow resting on the desk. However, just then, he saw the male student sitting in front of Zuzu turn towards Lulu and give a lovesick look, getting the Odd-Eyes Duelist to frown. But then, Rin took notice of the boy staring at her sister, getting the Witch of the Wind to narrow her eyes.
Rin then cracked her neck to the side, getting the male student to gulp in fear, before he looked back forward. Both Yuya and Rin chuckled at seeing this, while Lulu looked at her sister in confusion as she had heard Rin cracking her neck. The Odd-Eyes Duelist then directed his attention over to his childhood friend and saw Zuzu going through her deck. Yuya raised an eyebrow upon seeing this as Zuzu wasn't one to attempt something like that at school; it was more of his style than hers.
'What's Zuzu doing? She should know that looking through her cards in the middle of class isn't allowed. I get that she's been acting strange the last couple of days, but I didn't think she'd resort to this. And what's with that look in her eye? It looks like she's preparing for something big, but what?' Yuya thought to himself in confusion, before he leaned off of his hand and gave a shrug with his shoulders.
The 14-year-old boy then returned his attention over to the front of the class as he didn't want to get caught slaking off by his teaching like he used to. As he listened to his teacher explain about his lesson, Yuya couldn't help but think about what Yusei was doing right now. 'Lulu said that Skip had called him over to do a check on the new ARC System. I wonder if he's already finished'. The Odd-Eyes Duelist said in his mind as he looked out the window once more, thinking about his teacher.
(Meanwhile at the You Show Duel School)
While the kids were at school, Yusei was in the You Show Duel School's conference room, sitting down on the sofa chair. He was currently looking through his deck with his briefcase resting on the table and fully opened to show the cards inside. He had just finished his checkup on the ARC System half an hour ago and saw that it was in perfect condition.
Skip was currently in the control room, updating some Action Fields from the old ARC System into the new one. Yusei had decided to take this chance to go through his deck and do some changes that he felt like were needed. So far, he hadn't made many changes, but they were something as he wanted to try out some more new cards.
Satellite's Shooting Star held up his right hand, currently holding three cards. The three cards were a Synchro Monster called "Lightning Warrior", a Tuner Monster called "Satellite Synchron" and a Spell called "Synchro Overtake". He gave a small smile at the three cards, before he placed them down on the table next to five sets of decks with his open briefcase behind them.
These five deck sets were full of new cards for his friends that he felt would suit their decks. The first deck set's top card was a Synchro Monster called "Dark Highlander", this deck was for Jack. The second deck set's top card was a Synchro Monster called "Garden Rose Maiden", and this deck was for Akiza.
The third deck set's top card was a Synchro Monster card called "Blackwing – Boreas the Evil Wind", and this deck was for Crow. The fourth deck's top card was a Tuner Monster called "Morphtronic Smartfon", and this was for Leo. The last deck set's top card was a Synchro Monster called "Ancient Sacred Wyvern", and this was for Luna. Yusei had thought about going through his briefcase's cards for any that would suit his friends back home and has made great progress so far.
The 19-year-old male placed his deck down besides the deck for Akiza. "I hope everyone likes the cards that I picked for them. I've thought long and hard for them". Yusei said in slight concern as he thought that his fellow Signers and teammates might not like the cards that he chose for them. Just then, Stardust Trail appeared behind Yusei, looking see-through like a ghost with her eyes still peacefully closed.
'I'm sure your friends will be touched at how thoughtful you were of them, and of the cards you chose'. The Dragon-Type monster told her duelist with a gentle tone, getting the Synchro Duelist to look over his left shoulder towards her. "You really think so?" The Signer asked the Dragon-Type Monster, which she gave an encouraging nod to him. 'I may not have had the chance to meet them yet, but from everything Stardust and the others have told me, I'm certain they'll appreciate it'. Stardust Trail replied to the 19-year-old male, before bringing her right hand up to her mouth and gave a soft giggle.
'Not to mention that Jack Warrior said that your friend Jack would relish the chance to have new cards to use in order to defeat you'. The female monster added with an amused expression, causing Yusei to let out a small chuckle as he tilted his head down a bit. "Yeah, you're probably right about that". Satellite's Shooting Star said in amusement at the thought of Jack getting fired up with his new cards.
Yusei opened his eyes and looked down at the deck of cards that were meant for Jack. He placed his right hand down on it and drew the top 3 cards, before bringing them to his face in order to see what they were. The first card was "Dark Highlander", the second "Hot Red Dragon Archfiend" and "Red Rising Dragon". These 3 powerful cards would easily make Jack's day as they go great with his deck, especially with Red Rising Dragon's ability to bring out Red Dragon Archfiend.
But the card that caught Yusei's attention the most was Hot Red Dragon Archfiend. The former Satellite resident stared at the card intensely at the image, and at how much it resembled Red Dragon Archfiend. This wasn't the only card that bore a great resemblance to the Signer Dragons; he found 5 more dragons. He found Stardust Spark Dragon, Black Rose Moonlight Dragon, Blackfeather Darkrage Dragon, Ancient Pixie Dragon and Power Tool Mecha Dragon, more monsters that greatly resembled the Signer Dragons.
"…What are these cards? And why do they look an incredibly like Stardust and the others?" Yusei questioned with narrowed eyes directed at the Synchro Monster, getting Stardust Trail to tilt her head to the side. 'Are you referring to Stardust and his comrades' Dual Dragon forms?' The Akiza look-alike asked the Stardust Duelist, catching his attention as he looked back at Stardust Trail.
"Dual Dragon forms?" Yusei questioned with a fascinated voice with his lips twitching upwards. 'That is correct. From what Stardust has told me, it's a form of his that has been locked away 10 thousand years ago after the battle with the Earthbound Immortals. It's only recently that Stardust was able to finally unlock that form of his again'. Stardust Trail explained to the bearer of the Crimson Dragon's head, all the while bringing her right hand down to the side. Yusei turned to look back at the Dual Dragon form of Red Dragon Archfiend and gave a small grin. "Interesting. I should try out Stardust Spark Dragon some time". Satellite's Shooting Star said with an eager expression on his face.
Just then, the door to the conference room opened with Skip walking in. The adult man immediately took notice of the decks of cards stacked on the table right next to Yusei's briefcase right in front of the Stardust Duelist. "Hey Yusei, what are you doing over there?" The principal of the You Show Duel School questioned the younger male, getting Yusei to look up towards him, while Stardust Trail disappeared and returned to the Spirit World.
"Oh, Skip. Sorry, I was just going over some cards that I picked for some of my friends". Satellite's Shooting Star answered the older male as he placed the 3 Synchro Monsters back on the deck of cards for Jack. "Really? Are some of your friends coming over?" Skip asked with a curious tone as he walked up and sat down on the sofa chair across Yusei, which the black haired male shook his head in response.
"I'm afraid not. I just decided to pick some new cards for them to pass the time". Satellite's Shooting Star answered the red and orange clothed man, turning his gaze towards his own deck of cards. Skip crossed his arms and nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, I'm certain that since you picked those cards out, they'll be a force to be wracked with". The principal of the Duel School stated with a grin, making Yusei grow a small smile at his words.
However, Yusei's smile then fell as he thought about a situation that concerned both him and Skip regarding someone. He turned to look at the older male with his eyes slightly narrowed. "Skip, can I ask you something?" Yusei questioned the adult male, causing Skip to raise an eyebrow in curiosity at what the Synchro Duelist wanted to question him about. "Sure, what is it?" The principal of You Show Duel School asked the 19-year-old, soon to be 20-year-old man what he wanted to ask him.
Yusei tilted his head down for a moment, thinking about how he should question Skip, before eventually deciding to just be straight forward about it. He lifted his head back up and stared at Skip right in the eye. "Why does Zuzu dislike me, Lulu and Rin?" The bearer of the Crimson Dragon's head questioned the principal of the Duel School, causing Skip to grow an uncertain expression on his face as he broke eye contact.
"To be honest; I don't know why. For as long as I've known my daughter, I've never seen Zuzu like this with anyone ever. I had an eye on why she dislikes Lulu, but not on you and Rin". Skip answered with a shrug, making Yusei narrow his eyes as he had an idea on why Zuzu disliked Lulu. "It's because she likes Yuya, right?" The blue eyed male questioned, but was more of a statement, which Skip nodded to confirm.
"Yeah, Zuzu has liked Yuya ever since they were little kids. Honestly, I figured that they would get together someday, but then you three came along and Yuya grew a crush on Lulu". Skip replied, before he closed his eyes and gave a chuckle of amazement. "Honestly; I never thought that Yuya would ever grow a crush as all he seemed to care about was Dueltaining and proving that Yusho wasn't a coward". He added and took a sigh, along with leaning back across the sofa and looked up at the ceiling above them.
"Things have really started to change ever since you and those two girls came into our lives. Yuya's grown so much in such a short amount of time. Even Gong, Allie and Frederick have grown as Duelists. We've even gotten our rep higher than before with the teachings you and Lulu have provided for us. Not to mention the cards you've given us". Skip said with a grateful smile on his face, before tilting his head down to look at Yusei, who had a small smile.
"It wasn't just us that helped you all reach where you are now. Yuya, Gong and even Zuzu have incredible potential in them. We just helped them bring it out. Even the cards that we've given them were only able to be used as well as they have is because of how they used them. Every card is special, and a Duelist just has to appreciate its power in order how to best use them". The Signer told the older male, getting Skip to give a nod of approval at his words.
"Never have I heard truer words than those. If only Zuzu isn't acting so stubborn, she could have learned so much as well". The principal of the You Show Duel School said in displeasure at how his daughter's behavior has even kept her from accepting help in order to become a better Duelist. "Perhaps, but she could still become a better Duelist without help from us. We'll just have to wait and see for ourselves". Yusei told the older male, before he turned to look at his briefcase at exactly a single card at the top of the many stacks of cards inside.
He reached out and gently took hold of the card with his right hand. Yusei brought the card up and stared at it. It was a Fusion Monster called "Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir", a card that would really work well for Zuzu's deck. "After all, her Melodious deck has just as much potential as her". The Signer added, before flipping the card over to show Bloom Diva to Skip. Upon seeing the Fusion card in Yusei's hand, Skip gasped in disbelief at seeing it.
"A Fusion Monster!?" The principal of the You Show Duel School called out in surprise, getting a nod from Yusei. "Not just any Fusion Monster, a Melodious Fusion Monster". The Signer told the adult man, before placing the card back at where it was before in the briefcase. "Really? Then that means that my beloved little girl can learn Fusion Summoning?" Skip questioned the younger male once more with an excited expression with his hands up. Yusei gave an amused chuckle at the excitement that Skip was filled with, before he gave a nod.
"It's possible. She just needs to learn how to". Yusei answered the older male, making the red and orange haired male cry out in excitement. "Yeeha! We just need to find an experienced Fusion Duelist, and then we'll have all the Extra Deck summoning!" Skip exclaimed in excitement, causing Satellite's Shooting Star to slightly narrow his eyes at him. "You might want to put those ideas on hold for the moment. Lulu is still having "problems" with Fusion Summoning". Yusei reminded the adult male, causing Skip to lose his excitement and replace it with hesitation at the reminder of their top Xyz Duelist's problem.
"Oh yeah, that's right. Just what could have made Lulu react that way whenever she sees a Fusion Summon?" Skip questioned with a concerned expression for the Lyrilusc Duelist. 'Something that would leave a mark on anybody'. Yusei answered inside of his mind, before tilting his head down to think about the vision he saw of Duel Academy's assault on Heartland in the Xyz Dimension.
"Something that's probably best not to think about, or mention at all. Lulu's happy here with Rin and everyone else, its best not to ask her about it. Maybe when she finally gets over her "terror" towards Fusion, we'll focus on making a Fusion class". Satellite's Shooting Star said to Skips, getting the older male to look up at him and give a nod of agreement. Skip then stood up from his sofa, before he walked away and left the room, leaving Yusei alone in the conference room and to his thoughts.
Outside of Paradise City Prep School; Lulu sat alone on a bench in front of the school with a plastic container in hand, eating her lunch for the day as it was recess time for the students. Rin and Zuzu had decided to have their break somewhere else in the school, while Yuya had to take care of something. This left Lulu to have her recess alone until one of her friends comes join her.
The purple-haired beauty looked down at the plastic container in her left hand. She took hold of the top of it with her right hand and pulled it off, revealing the food inside. Inside of the container was a corn burrito, something that Lulu had made for herself this morning. Lulu occasionally had treats from time to time, but her main food was healthy food to stay healthy and keep herself in shape.
She placed the container down on the ground, before gently taking hold of the Corn burrito with her left hand. Lulu held her food up and grabbed hold of it with her right hand, holding it with both hands now. She brought it up to her mouth and took a bite out of the burrito.
The purple haired girl moaned in pleasure with her eyes closed from the corn burrito's taste. 'It's hard to believe that something simple as this tastes so good. I almost forgotten the taste of simple food after Duel Academy invaded my home'. The purple haired girl said inside of her mind, before her face fell upon thinking of her home and the hardships that came from the invasion.
Food and water had become a hard resource to obtain, and they were nothing fancy or that rare. For instants; all they could drink was simple water that they poured from a water tap and for food; it was either soup or from food canes. With circumstances like that; caring about one's diet was the least of the Xyz Dimension's concerns as surviving and not getting hunted down by duelists of the Fusion Dimension was more important. Lulu and members of the Resistance were able to obtain resources for themselves, but had given a large portion of them to the civilians that didn't duel out of fear.
Now though; she was able to eat without concern and take care of her diet. Lulu felt a little guilty that she got to enjoy a simple meal like this again, while her friends back in Heartland were probably struggling to find food for themselves. Yet, despite wither she liked it or not, there was nothing Lulu can do about it as her Duel Disk didn't have dimensional travel technology to go home to Heartland. Only Yusei had the means to travel, but Lulu knew that he wouldn't allow it as she was still a target for Leo Akaba and returning home would only endanger her people even more than now.
Lulu gave a disheartened sigh with her eyes closed. Her mind thinking back to her important people back in Heartland like Saya, Allen, Shay and… Lulu suddenly stopped herself upon thinking of the last person in her mind and shook her head sideways. "Don't think about him, or you'll hurt yourself at what he did". The Mistress of Birds told herself with a low voice, refusing to think about her ex-boyfriend as all that did was bring pain to herself.
Once; she would have thought about that boy with love, trust and hope as he was one of the people who still held the belief that Dueling was meant to bring people together. Now though; after that "incident", thinking about him only hurt Lulu and her heart as he had tossed aside their belief and became exactly like their enemy. Lulu knew that "he" had every reason to be enraged as he was with how his sister was carded, but what he did was still wrong, however. Not only that, but he also shattered her faith in him.
Lulu sniffled a little with a single tear came out of her left eye. She brought up her left hand and wiped the tear off with the index finger. She looked down at the tear on her finger for a few moments, until her face fell. 'Am I…really that pathetic? Yuto's sister was carded, he had every right to be as enraged as he was, but I lost faith in him and ended our relationship. Was my faith in him that weak, or was I just that weak of a person to break up with him?' The purple haired girl questioned inside of her mind, questioning herself if she was wrong to lose faith and break up with her ex-boyfriend.
"Lulu!" A familiar voice called out towards the Mistress of Birds, grabbing her attention as Lulu turned right to see Yuya walking up towards her, holding his own lunch box with his right hand. The tomato hair styled male stopped in his tracks upon seeing the sad expression on his crush's face, but resumed walking towards her. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" The Odd-Eyes Duelist asked in concern, stopping right beside her on the bench.
Lulu gave a forced smile to the boy that had the same face as the one that broke her heart. "It's nothing… Just a bad memory". The Mistress of Birds replied to Yuya with a reassuring voice to calm him down. The Odd-Eyes Duelist still looked concerned for Lulu, despite her words, as he had no idea what she was talking about. Despite their time together for the past month and 3 weeks, there was still so much that he didn't know about her as Lulu avoided talking about her past.
The purple haired girl looked down at the seat on her right, before shifting her gaze back to the tomato hair styled boy. "You're welcome to sit with me, I'd enjoy your company". Lulu told the student of Satellite's Shooting Star with a welcoming smile. Yuya blushed a little at what she said and at the smile she was giving him. Still, he gave a nod towards the Xyz user, before proceeding to sit down next to her on the bench.
Lulu went back to eating her Corn burrito, while Yuya looked down at his lunch box in his hand. He grabbed hold of the lunch box's top and took it off, revealing the friend shrimp inside. The smell of the friend shrimp caught Lulu's attention as she looked over and frowned slightly at the sea food. "Yuya, please tell me that you've eaten something healthy today to make up for the fried shrimp?" The purple haired female polity asked as she looked towards the Odd-Eyes Duelist's face and leaned a little towards it. Yuya blushed a little more at the lack of distance between their faces and felt his nerves grow uneasy.
Back when Lulu, Rin and Yusei had been living with him and his mother; Lulu had found out about what kind of food he had and had expressed her dislike of it. So she had started to make healthy food in a delicious way for him, and her cooking closely equaled his mother's. So, he had started working on keeping a healthy diet, both for his own sake and to appease Lulu, a decision that the Mistress of Birds had wholeheartedly supported.
"Y-Yeah, I had something this morning on the healthy side". Yuya informed the purple haired female with a nervous voice. Lulu grew a gentle smile on her face at hearing Yuya's words and pulled away from him, much to the Odd-Eyes Duelist's relief and somewhat disappointment. "That's reliving to hear. Keeping a healthy diet will eventually pay off when we grow older. Please remember to look out for your health when it comes to food". The Mistress of Birds told the Pendulum user as she turned back to her Corn burrito and continued eating it.
Yuya gave a small sigh, but saw that she was right as thinking about the future was something that needed to be done. The Odd-Eyes Duelist grabbed the chopsticks in the lunch boy and began to enjoy his lunch with Lulu. It was peaceful and quiet, something that Lulu enjoyed as she preferred listening to the sounds of nature instead of the noisy city. Their peaceful lunch together was interrupted, however.
A single boy around Yuya's age came walking up to Lulu, getting the purple haired girl and the Odd-Eyes Duelist to look at him. The unknown male had spiky white hair that defied gravity, clear blue eyes and pale skin. He was wearing the Paradise School jacket over a white shirt with a red tie, dark red long pants and white shoes. This single male had a nervous expression on his face as he stared at Lulu with hopeful eyes.
Having a good idea what this is about; Lulu gave a nervous smile with her eyes closed at the boy. "H-Hi Azul". The Mistress of Birds greeted the male, revealing what his name was. Azul's face seemed to have brightened at Lulu's greeting to him. "Hello Lulu". The blue-eyed male greeted back to the Xyz Duelist, while Yuya narrowed his eyes in suspicion at him.
This male was a classmate of theirs, but that wasn't why Yuya was on guard around him. Azul was one of Lulu's many lovesick boys that wanted to date her. Yuya didn't like them for 2 reasons. 1 being was that they were interested in the girl that he had a crush for and 2; Lulu was actually very nervous around them.
"I-is there something I can help you with?" The purple haired female asked in a nervous manner, inching a little bit closer to Yuya just in case. Azul began stuttering with his voice nervous, before taking in a deep breath and looked at Lulu in the eyes. "The truth is that… I like you! Will you please be my girlfriend!" Azul confessed, shutting his eyes close in mid-speech, before bowing down a little bit towards the purple haired beauty. Lulu sighed in an exhausted voice at the confession, before opening her eyes to look at the white-haired male.
"Azul…I'm really flattered that you feel that way for me, but I can't return your feelings. Because…" The Mistress of Birds began, before stopping herself with an uncertain expression on her face. She couldn't just tell Azul that she had no feelings for him, that would hurt him emotionally and she never wanted to hurt anyone. Lulu knew that emotionally pain when it came to romance was unavoidable, but rejection was the toughest pain there was when it came to this.
Lulu thought of a way to avoid rejecting Azul, but was unable to think of anything. However, she then looked at Yuya besides her through her right eye's corner and suddenly grew an idea to avoid rejecting the blue eyed male. The purple haired girl gave a small gulp, before forcing herself to grow a really convincing, loving smile. She placed her burrito down on her plastic container, before letting go of it completely. Lulu then brought her hands towards Yuya's left arm and wrapped them around the bicep.
Yuya widened his eyes in surprise at this unexpected action, growing a deep blush all the while. "Play along…" Lulu whispered to her friend in a low voice so that Azul wouldn't hear her. She then turned to look back at the white-haired male and give him her best fake, happy expression. "It's because Yuya and I just became boyfriend and girlfriend". The Mistress of Birds said with a bright smile and eyes closed in fake joy. This caused Yuya to grow an even deeper blush, while Azul shot up and looked at both Lulu and the Odd-Eyes Duelist in disbelief.
Lulu reopened her eyes, before turning to look at Yuya. The Odd-Eyes Duelist became silent as the grave upon seeing the pleading look in the purple haired girl's eyes directed at him. At seeing the plea for help, Yuya decided to play along with whatever it was that Lulu had come up with and turned to look at his classmate, before giving a nod. "Y-Yeah. Sorry Azul, but Lulu and I just confessed before you showed up. Sorry, but she's my girlfriend now and off the market". The tomato hair styled boy told the white-haired male, bringing his right hand up and scratched his cheek.
Azul had a look of comical horror on his face with the gangs of his hair shadowing the eyes. Quicker than lightning, he brought his right forearm to his eyes as he began crying waterfalls in anime style. "Ahhhaaa! How could this have happened? How could the love of my life been stolen before right as I had finally worked up the nerve to confess!? Ahahaha!" Azul cried out dramatically as he turned around and began running off back towards the school.
The "couple" watched the white-haired male run away until he eventually disappeared from sight. Yuya had grown a slightly amused face as he turned to look at the female besides him on the bench. "Love of his live, huh? I'm pretty sure that's flattering". The Odd-Eyes Duelist remarked with an amused voice to lighten the mood. It seemed to work as Lulu grew a small, but real smile at what he said. "A little bit, but he shouldn't say something like that so casually as he has only known me for 2 weeks". The Mistress of Birds stated, before she turned to look at Yuya.
She immediately released her grip on Yuya's arm and folded them on her lap. "I'm sorry for getting you caught up in that Yuya, but the only other way to say "no" to him was to reject him. And you know how I feel when it comes to stuff like that". Lulu told the creator of Pendulum Summoning, her voice low and troubled. Yuya grew a frown at she said and nodded in understanding. He had grown to know her enough that Lulu hated pain, especially if it's her doing the inflicting. True, she would never hurt someone psychically, but emotionally was a different story altogether.
"It's alright, don't worry about it. The only downside is that rumors are probably gonna spread out around the school that we're a couple now". Yuya replied to his crush, before shifting his gaze away and scratched the back of his head. Honestly, he wouldn't mind if the whole school find out about him and Lulu, he only just wished that their relationship was a real one and not a fake one created to keep the males away from Lulu.
The Odd-Eyes Duelist opened his mouth to speak again, only to be cut off by Lulu. "That's okay with me. Honestly; I'd rather have a fake boyfriend than a real one if it means avoiding another confession of love". The purple-haired girl said with an soft voice, as if she was alright with the whole fake love. Lulu's words made Yuya widen his eyes in shock at what she said, before turning to look at her once more.
"What would make you say that, Lulu? I mean; don't you want to know what it's like to have a real boyfriend; someone that you could trust and care about that would be yours. Someone that you could perhaps even…love…" The tomato hair styled boy said with great difficulty at that last part. Yet despite his words, Lulu's expression didn't change at all; she just kept looking down at her lap.
"There's no need; because I already know what it's like". The Mistress of Birds revealed to the tomato hair styled boy, causing Yuya to widen his eyes in confusion and a tint of dread as he had a good idea what she meant. "Lulu…what do you mean by that?" The Odd-Eyes Duelist asked his crush, unintentionally leaking the dread that he was experiencing out of his voice.
Lulu detected the dread in Yuya's voice almost instantly; her time battling Duel Academy back in the Xyz Dimension had heightened her senses sharp enough for her to detect even the slightest things, even a person's feelings in their voices.
Lulu's face fell at the question, starting to wish that she had lied earlier to avoid this situation. One of the many things that she hasn't told Yuya about herself was about her ex-boyfriend. She knew about Yuya's feelings for her, so she kept quiet about that part of her past because she knew that it would impact Yuya hard. Yet now, because of her slip up, she had to tell him one of the truths about herself.
No way out of this; Lulu tilted her head up and turned towards the tomato hair styled boy and gave him a sad look. "I mean…that I had a boyfriend…once". The purple-haired female revealed to the Odd-Eyes Duelist, voice low as she spoke.
Yuya let out a small, but sharp gasp and widen his eyes at what Lulu just revealed to him. He felt multiple different emotions all at the same time; shock, disbelief, jealously, envy and concern. The envy and jealously were at the revelation that the girl that he liked was with someone else that wasn't him. Shock and disbelief that there was someone that Lulu had actually dated before as she nowadays seemed to have no interest in relationships. Finally concern; for he had picked up on how she said "once", meaning something had happened that broke her relationship with this mystery person.
"…What happened? You said "once", so that means you and your ex-boyfriend aren't together anymore, right? But why?" Yuya asked with pure concern in his voice at why a relationship with a gentle girl like Lulu would end in a breakup.
At his question, Lulu faced downwards with an uncertain expression. Telling him the truth was a complete no go as it would involve revealing more of herself to him and of the dimensional war, something that she wanted to keep him out of since Lulu didn't want Yuya in danger.
Quickly thinking up of a lie, Lulu turned to look back at Yuya and gave him a sad look. "…Something happened… An "incident" that…" The Mistress of Birds began, only to stop as her heart began to feel like it was shattering upon thinking about that terrible day. She turned her head forward, held up her hands and looked down at them with sadness and regret that she couldn't stop Yuto from what he did.
"…He…did something that was too much for me to handle, it broke all my faith in him. He…had every right to be angry at what happened, but what he did in retribution wasn't right. It was that decision that shook me to the core and decide to break up with him". Lulu concluded with a disheartened voice, placing both hands over her face and let out a moan of sadness.
The Odd-Eyes Duelist was silent as the grave as he stared at the Xyz Duelist in sorrow for her. Her sadness and regret were clear enough for him to tell that this was a sore subject that should be avoided at all times.
For an instant, Lulu felt the urge to question Yuya if her decision was the wrong choice, but stopped herself. Her choice about the whole matter was her problem, and hers alone to deal with.
The Mistress of Birds pulled her hands away from her face, but still had a look of sadness and regret. "…One thing is for certain; things between him and I won't be the same again, much less being in a relationship". Lulu told the Odd-Eyes Duelist with a certain voice. And she meant it as what she had saw that day had scared her so much that she'll never find it in herself to go out with Yuto again.
Yuya, upon hearing those words, felt relieved and glad, but immediately rid himself of those feelings as he shouldn't be feeling like that. Lulu's break up wasn't an ordinary one, it ended in the bad case scenario. He lurched forward a bit, placed his hands on his knees and let out a deep sigh. "I'm…sorry that it ended like that between you two. I honestly have no idea what it's like, so I have no idea what to say to cheer you up". Yuya told the purple haired female with a disheartened voice that he couldn't help her. When it came to Dueling, smiling or cheering someone up, that he can do with no problem. But relationships and breakups, that is out of his expertise.
The Odd-Eyes Duelist's voice finally made the Mistress of Birds turn to look at him and see the troubled expression on his face. Feeing touched that he wanted to help her made Lulu smile a bit. She then brought her right hand towards Yuya's left shoulder and gently laid it there, causing the tomato hair styled boy to look at her. "Don't worry about it; the fact that you wanted to help me is enough. Besides, the decision I made was one that I have to live with". Lulu told her close friend, before giving him one of her sweet smiles that she reserved only for those closest to her.
Ba-dump!
Yuya felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of the beautiful smile, the same one that he saw the day that he met Lulu. His face flushed a little once more, before directing his gaze back down towards his lunchbox to avoid Lulu seeing it. The Mistress of Birds gave a good-hearted giggle at Yuya's shy attitude, before she looked down at the corn burrito in her lunch boy. Just then, a stray thought stopped her from continuing her meal; one that concerned Yuya and Zuzu.
Lulu turned her head to look back at the tomato hair styled male with a concerned expression. "Yuya…I…I'm sorry if this is an invasion of your own personal business, but I wanted to ask what you're gonna do about Zuzu". The purple haired beauty asked the creator of Pendulum Summoning about one of the many problems he has yet to deal with.
The Winged Beast Duelist's words caused Yuya's face to fall slightly at the mention of his childhood friend. He gave out a small sigh as he rested his head against his right hand.
(Play Naruto Shippuden Man of the World)
"Zuzu clearly cares about you more than just a friend, that's one of the reasons she dislikes me so much. You have a crush on me; someone that hasn't known you as long as Zuzu, so it must be eating her inside at how you have feelings for someone that isn't her. What are you going to do about her?" Lulu questioned the Duelist that has helped restore her broken heart, completely worried about how he'll handle the situation with the Standard piece of her original self.
Yuya silently stared down at the ground and kept his hand against his forehead. The Mistress of Birds patiently waited, giving time for her friend to think. After a minute of silence, the Odd-Eyes Duelist opened his mouth to speak. "Zuzu…is important to me. That'll never change no matter what happens in the future. I depended on her a lot. She's been there for me ever since my Dad left to help his friend, giving me emotion support, a shoulder to lean…and to knock some sense into me with that fan of hers". Yuya said with an amused chuckle, getting Lulu to giggle a little as she had witnessed that happen every now and then.
"I owe a lot to her, but…I just don't feel that way for her. Maybe I would have grown feelings for her if things were different, but they're not. I…only like you in that regard and no one else". The Odd-Eyes Duelist told the Mistress of Birds, lifting his hand off of his head and turned to look at Lulu with a small smile. Lulu's cheeks turned a little red at Yuya's words, but did return the smile to him.
"I'll talk to Zuzu about her feelings and mine soon, but I just need to think of the right way to say it and the right words. I will sort things out with her. But honestly, I'm more worried about her attitude to Yusei". Yuya said in concern, tilting his head upon thinking about his childhood friend's behavior around Satellite's Shooting Star. Lulu gave a small sigh at Yuya's words, yet decided to think about it for another time.
"Let's worry about that later for now. I'm certain that Yusei will sort things out with her before too long, let's just continue our lunch". The Mistress of Birds told her friends, giving a gentle pat on his left shoulder, before turning back to her corn burrito. Yuya looked at the purple haired female for a moment, before he shrugged and nodded to her. He then looked back towards his friend shrimp and resumed eating it.
The two teenagers resumed their meal, but then another stray thought entered Lulu's mind. She took the last bite of her burrito, before glancing over to her "boyfriend". "Curious question about Zuzu; where exactly does she pull that fan out of anyway?" The Mistress of Birds asked with a small grin on her face as she had always wondered where the pink-haired girl pulled that paper fan out of. Yuya chuckled whole heartedly at that question since Lulu wasn't the first to ask that.
"Trust me; that is a million-dollar question". The Odd-Eyes Duelist replied to the Xyz Duelist, causing her to grow a mischievous smile. "So…If I can find the answer; I get a million dollars?" Lulu questioned, before she began giggling and Yuya chuckled a bit as he took the last bite of his friend shrimp. "Sure, and if I can't give you that, I'll hand over all my Duel Points to you". Yuya answered the Winged Beast user, taking a place over to his left pants' pocket where his custom-made Duel Disk was.
Duel Points were something Duelists earned through dueling, it was like earning an incoming, but it only worked for pro duelists, or duelists under the age of 18. Yuya, Lulu and Rin have grown a large amount of Duel Points together, while they had no idea how much Zuzu had since she had preferred avoiding letting the two other females watch her Duel. Yusei had Duel Points as well. Under normal circumstances he'd have to become an official pro duelist to use them, but due to his victory over the Sledgehammer, he was allowed to use them in any way he wished.
The school bell suddenly went off, catching the attention of Yuya and Lulu as they looked off towards the building, before looking at one another. "Looks like our recess is up. Come on; let's head back inside". The Pendulum Duelist said to his crush, standing up from the bench and took a few steps forward with the lunchbox in his left hand.
He then turned around and held his right hand out towards Lulu for her to take. The purple-haired female took the hand that Yuya was offering to her with her right hand, while she held the plastic container with the left hand.
Yuya pulled her off of the bench and onto her feet. The two then let go of each other's hands, before they began walking back towards the main building of Paradise City Prep School. What they didn't notice was that Yuya's pendant and Lulu's bracelet let out tiny lights of their colours.
(Music end/ Later after school)
A few short hours, probably 2 and a half has passed since Yuya and Lulu's talk together. Now though, the school had finished for the day. All of the students at the prep school either ran out of the building to head home, or group together to make plans together. Among the students walking out of the school were Yuya, Lulu, Zuzu and Rin, with the Odd-Eyes Duelist back to wearing his own jacket, all of them carrying their bags in different styles, but Yuya had a large anime bump on his head.
Just as he had suspected, word got out that his new "relationship" with Lulu and that caused many of the Mistress of Birds' fan boys to erupt in anime tears. Rin, being too quick to act with her fists instead of head, pounded on Yuya hard for "corrupting" her sister before Lulu could have the chance to explain. She did eventually learn the truth though, but had still given a really hard punch to the Odd-Eyes Duelist. Zuzu, surprisingly, was silent through the whole explanation that Yuya and Lulu provided. She did seem upset though, but didn't blow her top off.
Yuya give a slight hiss as he rubbed the anime bump on his head, before giving an anime one-eyed glare at Rin. "How can you punch so hard like that anyway? Zuzu I can get with her paper fan, but with your own bare hands? How is that possible?" The Pendulum Duelist questioned the Witch of the Wind, before wincing a bit. At his words, Rin grew a proud look on her face. "Simple really. Pushups, sit ups and plenty of juice". The Witch of the Wind answered with a joke, getting Lulu to giggle a little at her sister, while Zuzu just looked away to the side.
"Guys!" A trio of familiar voices called out to the teenagers, catching the attention of Yuya, Lulu, Rin and Zuzu as they looked forward with Yuya's bump somehow gone like it was magic. There, waving at them past the school's front gates were Tate, Ally and Frederick with the three children waving towards them. "There you little pipsqueaks are". Rin remarked with a smile, while Yuya waved his right hand towards his young friends as the four teenagers stopped in front of them.
"What are you doing here anyway? Don't tell me you three ditched school, did you?" Lulu questioned with a growing frown on her face, something that Allie sought to quickly clear the misunderstanding. "No, of course not Lulu! We finished up school early today, so we came over here to see you guys". The young red-haired girl told the older female, waving both of her hands in a peaceful manner. At the end of Allie's sentence, Lulu dropped the frown and gave a gentle smile at the red-haired girl.
"That's good to hear. A proper education is an important thing to earn, even if it is a long way away. No ditching school unless there's a really good reason, understood?" Rin questioned the 3 children with a stern voice and eyes slightly narrowed. "Yes Rin, we got that". Tate replied to the green haired girl, giving a two fingered salute with his right hand. The sight made the Witch of the Wind chuckle a bit, before giving an approved nod at him. "Good. Drill it into your head". Rin told them, turning to look at Yuya and Lulu as she spoke.
"Now, if you'll excuse me; I got some spray paint to buy. I'll see you at home Lulu". The green haired girl informed her sister, before she began walking off in the left direction. Yuya, Allie, Tate, Frederick and even Zuzu watched the Witch of the Wind walk away in confusion at why she was heading off to buy spray paint. Lulu was the only one that had a normal expression on her face as she watched her sister walk away.
Rin's Duel Runner was near completion after working on it for the past few weeks. The only things left were the paint job of the runner and installing the Duel System inside of it. Yusei had the part of installing the Duel System, while Rin took care of the paintjob as she wanted it to have the same colour scheme as her hair. That's why she was going shopping for spray paint so that she can paint it when she gets back to the house.
"Well, looks like I'm free of her "terror" for the day, I'm gonna enjoy it fully". Yuya remarked with a wide grin on his face. He then turned to look at his childhood friend with a bright expression. "Hey Zuzu? Let's have a duel back at You Show. It's been a while since we had one together, so I thought it'd be fun for us to duel again". The Odd-Eyes Duelist said to the pink-haired female. Zuzu turned to look at the tomato hair styled boy and, to his surprise, shook her head sideways at him.
"…I have something to take care of, so I can't duel you Yuya". The pink-haired girl told the Odd-Eyes Duelist; before she turned around and began walking off in the right direction, leaving everyone confused at what her plans are. "That was…unexpected". Yuya remarked with a shrug of his shoulders. Lulu turned to look at her "boyfriend" with a curious expression on her face. "Zuzu uses a Melodious deck, right? Has she made any improvements with that deck since she last dueled?" Lulu asked the tomato hair styled boy, getting him to turn towards her.
"To be honest; I have no idea at all. The last time I saw her duel was before you, Rin and Yusei came into our lives. She doesn't even let me see her deck anymore. So honestly, I've got no clue if she's made any improvements or not". Yuya answered the purple-haired girl with an uncertain look. It was true as Zuzu had kept her deck a mystery from everyone, including Yuya and her father as it seemed like she was hiding something.
Lulu looked down and thought what exactly Zuzu was hiding that involved her deck. She had never taken part of the Synchro or Xyz courses of their Duel School, plus even if she did take them in secret, she would have needed to get some Synchro and Xyz Monsters from Yusei. He kept his suitcase close, so she couldn't have snuck some out either. Still, that didn't account for Fusion Summoning, but Lulu highly doubted that Zuzu could have somehow convinced someone from the Leo Institute to teach her.
The purple-haired female shrugged her shoulders, deciding to just forget about the questions of Zuzu and her deck for the moment. "Oh well. Guess I could just duel you Lulu". Yuya remarked, turning to look at the Mistress of Birds. That caught the attention of Lulu as she turned to look at the Odd-Eyes Duelist, while the three children all grew excited upon hearing this. "Really?! We'll get to see Yuya and Lulu duel each other?" Allie asked in excitement, getting the two teenagers to look down towards her, Tate and Frederick.
Seeing the excitement on their faces brought a small smile to the Mistress of Birds' face, so she gave a nod towards them. "Yes, you will. I don't mind dueling Yuya, I've spent some time off of dueling and I need to get back into top condition". The purple-haired female told the group of children with a promising smile. She was lying a little bit about having slacked off of dueling since she had always played against Rin or Yusei without the Duel Disks, dueling with just their cards on a table.
It wasn't exactly training for real, but it was their only way to duel without retrains and avoid letting the Leo Corporation learn all their tricks right away. Still, she'd duel without worry for the kids to teach them as many strategies as they could learn.
"Yay!" Allie, Tate and Frederick cried out in joy, something that made the two teenagers' smiles grow bigger than before. "Then come on! Let's head on over back to You Show and get this show on the road!" The Odd-Eyes Duelist called out with an eager voice, before pointing his right hand in the same direction that Zuzu took off in. The kids laughed in joy, while Lulu smiled as they began to follow Yuya as he led them to their Duel School.
However, they all stopped suddenly as three darts came flying out of nowhere towards them, or more exact; at Yuya. By instinct, Yuya's right hand shot up and caught all three of them at once. The kids gasped in awe at the Odd-Eyes Duelist, while Lulu looked slightly impressed with Yuya's reflexes. "That came out of nowhere". The tomato hair styled boy stated with a raised eyebrow, before shifting his gaze over to where those darts came from.
Walking towards him and the others was a young male around the same age as Yuya, wearing the male school uniform. He had brown hair with blond curls in his forehead. The male had a surprised expression on his face that Yuya caught the darts, but quickly shifted his expression into a happy one. "Wow, colour me impressed. I didn't know you were that fast to react". The boy remarked as he stopped in front of the group, getting Lulu and the kids to look over at him.
Almost immediately, the Mistress of Birds narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the male before them. He may have had a smile on his face, but there was a look in his eyes that put her on guard. She didn't know what it was, but this guy was after something from them. "Who are you?" Yuya questioned the unknown male, snapping Lulu out of her thoughts as she looked towards the Odd-Eyes Duelist with slight concern.
"Me? Merely one of your biggest fans". The brown-haired male replied to Yuya as he reached out to Yuya's right hand with both of his, before grabbing hold of and held it up. "To be precise; the name's Sylvio Sawatari. It's an honour". The now named Sylvio greeted the Odd-Eyes Duelist, shaking his hand like in a handshake. Despite the warm greeting, Lulu narrowed her eyes at the brown-haired male in suspicion as her instincts were telling her to be on guard.
"…Hi there". Yuya greeted the brown-haired male with a natural voice, before holding the darts out to their owner. "I watched you school the Sledgehammer on TV. You were magnificent out there, just like how Yusei Fudo rocked this city a month ago". Sylvio told the tomato hair styled male, pocketing the darts in his jacket's pocket. "Your new Pendulum Summoning method took my breath away. And those cards you used… Sorry, what do you call them again?" The brown-haired male questioned the Odd-Eyes Duelist with a curious voice, holding up his left hand's index finger.
Yuya raised an eyebrow at what Sylvio said, but decided to humor him. "They're called "Pendulum" cards, Sylvio". He answered the brown-haired male, causing Sylvio's smile to grow an inch taller as he took a step forward. "Is that so? I'd be interested in learning how you acquired them. Only a Duelist of the highest caliber could possibly possess such rare cards". Sylvio said with a calm face as he turned around and held both of his hands out to the sides.
His "flattering" only made Yuya and Lulu narrow their eyes at him. His words gave off the impression that rare cards and those of the higher status in life were meant to be great duelists, but the lessons they learned from Yusei taught them otherwise. It doesn't matter if they were of the higher status in life or if they used rare cards, what truly made a duelist great was how they used their cards and them appreciating the card's power. True there were those that were powerful duelists that don't appreciate a card's power, but they were nothing compared to those who did trust in their cards.
"Seriously; you are a Duelist without a match, just like how Yusei was. But the most amazing thing was that dragon of yours". Sylvio continued, turning back around and flicked his hair with his left hand. Having had enough of this guy's "flattering", Lulu turned to look at the Odd-Eyes Duelist besides her. "Yuya, I think we've wasted enough time here. The kids are still looking forward to watching you duel again". The purple haired female reminded him, getting Yuya to turn towards her and nod in understanding.
Sylvio, having overheard Lulu, gave a smile towards the Odd-Eyes Duelist. "If you're planning to demonstrate your Pendulum Summoning, then I have access to a most, ideal venue". The brown haired male told the Pendulum user, before looking down at the watch around his left wrist.
"An hour from now, you could showcase your talents at the Leo Institute. You'll take center stage on their center court". The brown-haired male informed the Odd-Eyes Duelist, leaning a bit forward towards him with his right hand's index finger up.
Yuya slightly widened his eyes in surprise at what Sylvio said. It did sound too good to be true as the Leo Institute was the greatest Duel School in the world with their home base here in Paradise City, but something didn't add up. Judging by what Sylvio said; he was a student of the world's famous Duel School, but how could he have access to their center field where the students duel. Yuya felt suspicion with this whole thing, before he looked and noticed the LID badge on Sylvio's left collar.
"You're a student of the Leo Institute?" Yuya questioned, shifting his gaze back toward Sylvio's face as the brown haired male nodded. "That's right, and not only that. My father is also expected to be the city's next mayor, so I definitely have influence with the school's higher ups". Sylvio answered, turning around once more and pointed his left hand's index finger up towards the sky, as if he was pointing towards the "higher ups" that he spoke off.
Lulu narrowed her eyes a bit, while Allie, Tate and Frederick were all on board with the idea. "Letting Yuya duel there is an amazing honour!" Tate called out with his hands held up in front to express his excitement. "Can we come along?" Allie asked with her eyes sparkling anime style in excitement. "Pretty please, we'll be your best friends". Frederick pleaded with his hands held up to express his excitement as well. Lulu gave a small smile at the kids' excitement and lack of suspicion as it was a sign that they were happy.
The three kids turned to look at Yuya and pleaded with him. "It shall be a new experience. Plus, I heard the Leo Institute has a great snack bar, we got to check it out!" Frederick exclaimed in excitement that was shared by his friends as Allie and Tate nodded. Yuya and Lulu took a moment to stare at one another, before they nodded. If things did get hairy in a bad way, they'll handle the situation themselves.
"All right guys, we'll go check it out". Lulu told the children as she turned to look back at them, causing them all to cry out in joy. "You're all more than welcome to join us. And now…let us be off". Sylvio told the group as he began leading the way to the Leo Institute. Tate, Frederick and Allie laughed in excitement as they pulled on Yuya's right hand and Lulu's left one as they followed after the LID student. Unknown to them was that Sylvio gave off a devilish grin that was hidden from the You Show Duel School students. "Everything is going according to plan". The brown-haired male stated with a smirk. Yet, what he didn't know was that someone heard his words.
Lulu narrowed her eyes at Sylvio's back. 'I knew that this guy was up to something. The only question is what it is'. The Mistress of Birds thought to herself in suspicion, keeping her thoughts in to find out what it is Sylvio was after.