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real-life-pine-tree · 8 years ago

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Arc-V Aftermath: The Calm Before the Storm (21/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

"Yugo, would you care to explain what happened during the second set of duels?" Declan asked.

As everyone else headed home, Team Turbo stayed behind in regards to what the Speedroid user did in the first round. Rin, Crow, and Shinji were worried about their friend, who was feeling guilty and ashamed of himself for what he did.

"It's not my fault!" Yugo blurted out. "It's Yuya! That guy ruined the Friendship Cup by winning! If it wasn't for him, the High Council wouldn't have disbanded!"

"Why would you say that?" Declan asked.

"Because they realized Yuya was such a 'perfect Duelist' that they decided to cancel all future Friendship Cups!" Yugo guessed.

"That's what you think happened?" Declan asked. "Didn't Crow or Shinji tell you about Jean-Michel Roget?"

Yugo has never heard of this Roget person in his life, so Crow and Shinji filled him in on what he missed. Jean-Michel Roget was a defected deep cover agent from Duel Academy who became the director of New Domino City's Sector Security not long after arriving in the Synchro Dimension. His assigned goal was to make the city vulnerable for an invasion from the Fusion Dimension, but he betrayed them to fulfill his plan of recreating New Domino into his kingdom with an iron fist, but thanks to the Lancers, it backfired, leading to the Topsiders and Commoners to unite and revolt. During his plan, he had Zuzu captured to watch it unfold, but soon used her as a bargaining chip for betraying Duel Academy and kept her in tow throughout his attempts to escape. He even activated a machine to send New Domino into a void in between dimensions; consequently, he got sucked into one of the wormholes and his current whereabouts remain unknown.

"Wait... So the High Council disbanding wasn't because of Yuya?" Yugo asked.

"It wasn't," Crow answered. "Turns out the High Council disbanding was mostly out of fear for any future betrayals."

Yugo face-palmed as hard as he could because of how guilty he felt for accusing Yuya of not being able to take part in any more Friendship Cups. A threat that he had no idea about until now resulted in a blind and furious accusation because he may not be able to become a professional Turbo Duelist like he and Rin dreamt about.

"I would also like to apologize for what you went through during the Interdimensional War," Declan said. "If our paths had crossed, we could have helped prevent you from getting absorbed by Yuri."

He explained to Yugo how he and Riley reunited with Yusho and were struggling to prevent Leo from fusing the four dimensions. Yuya having difficulty with not giving into Zarc's darkness was a factor to him not meeting the Synchro Duelist in person because Yusho wouldn't have gotten carded and they would have had a chance of reducing the chances of Zarc returning.

"Well I was suffering too!" Yugo explained as he took out his deck and started searching through his Speedroids. "I was struggling to prevent that darkness from taking over- Wait, where’d they go?"

"Where did what go?" Rin asked.

"Skull Marbles and Maliciousmagnet!" Yugo explained. "Those two cards are proof that the darkness was starting to control me!"

Rin skimmed through Yugo's deck as well and was shocked to see those two monsters weren't there. Declan questioned what those two monsters were and learned they appeared during the banana-banged teen's last duel with Yuri and gradually consumed his dueling style for the past several weeks up until this point. Could this be a sign that their disappearance from the revelation of the High Council's disbandment resulted in the darkness starting to fade away?

"This is quite a discovery," Declan said. "While the darkness from Zarc's heart had vanished, there appears to be traces of it inside you and your counterparts."

Traces of Zarc's darkness? How is that possible? In Yugo's case, it was understandable. But even after their absorption and separation, they were still lingering in Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri, with the three not noticing? This might be bad news for all four of them; just when they thought Zarc was dealt with for good, his dark remnants still existed. Was this a warning that Zarc's darker self was resurfacing?

"But...didn't you say Zarc was at peace now?" Yugo asked.

"That is what my father said," Declan answered. "But perhaps this is only a minor side effect from the absorption. Zarc might be gone for good, but you and your counterparts could possibly have random bursts of rage."

Maybe Yugo should inform his counterparts about this later on today. If he experienced this burst of rage during the first round, who knows when this side affect might affect the others. "Thanks for telling me," he said.

"You're welcome," Declan replied. He looked over at Rin. "By the way, Shay told me what had happened during Lulu’s surgery. You might want to clean out your ears."

Rin was confused on what he meant by that. She doesn't recall anything being in her ears; she has seen her reflection in the mirrors multiple times and they were completely empty. Her bafflement quickly turned into alarm as she realized what he was talking about: the Fusion Parasite in her brain. It has been inside her head all this time and she hasn't noticed until now; she feared if Zuzu and Celina still had their Fusion Parasites in their heads too, which was definitely a certainty.

The green-haired girl took out her deck, looking at her two Crystal Bells. "Is... Is that why...?"

Yugo looked over at Rin and placed his hands on hers. "Don't you dare say that," he said. "The Fusion Parasite has nothing to do with how you're currently using Crystal Bell. As long as the bug is absent in your deck, you'll be fine." He touched foreheads with her. "I refuse to let you get brainwashed again."

Rin smiled back at her boyfriend knowing he'll do anything to make sure the Fusion Parasite won't control her anymore. "Thanks Yugo," she said, smiling softly.

Yugo grinned. "There's that adorable smile!" he said.

Rin giggled a bit and gave Yugo a brief yet loving kiss. The two thanked Declan for the talk before heading towards the doors to meet up with the other teams. They, Crow, and Shinji saw Cathy congratulating Lulu for her victory, Yugi meeting Yoko and Yusho—who were both proud of their son for winning the preliminaries—and talking with Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri about how the three teens saw Kaiba not too long ago, and Akiza waiting for Rin to felicitate on Team Turbo's win.

"Since when did you learn how to Fusion Summon?" Akiza asked Rin.

"You saw everything?" Rin asked.

"Of course I did," Akiza answered. "I think you're the first official Turbo Duelist to combine Synchro with Fusion."

Rin had a lot to explain about her integrating Fusion Summoning in her deck, and she knows it was connected to her absence Akiza mentioned on the evening of the Heartland Park Festival. "Well... It's because..."

"Because of how that card works well with RinRin's dueling style," Yugo interrupted, putting his arm around his girlfriend and pulling her close. "She quickly learned that incorporating Fusion into her pure Synchro style would help her get easy wins." He chuckled as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I usually don't win against her, but when I saw her use Fusion for the first time, I had a feeling she became unstoppable."

Well, Yugo wasn't entirely wrong; Rin's main concern was about having to tell Akiza about her abduction and brainwashing that led to her Fusion incorporation. She was kind of glad that he already took care of it. Meanwhile, Cathy had just finished praising her childhood friend on her team's advancement in the tournament.

"That was absolutely incredible!" Cathy had exclaimed, hugging Lulu tightly. "You actually incorporated acting into your dueling!"

"Aw, thanks Cathy," Lulu said, smiling wide.

"Don't be so modest," Cathy said as she separated from the hug. "If your team wins the tournament, this could mark the start of your acting career."

"Not exactly," Lulu admitted. "Mother and father have already planned to have me enrolled into acting school." Her thoughts went back to what Yuto blurted out earlier. "Although..."

Cathy noticed Lulu's expression. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's Yuto," Lulu said. "He said something about medical school."

"Medical school?" Cathy repeated. "Why would he mention that?"

"I think that's what he decided to do," Lulu realized. "Become a doctor."

She explained that he was most likely going to attend medical school after they graduate from Heartland Duel School. She didn't care about the long distance, but her main concern was the two not being able to maintain a relationship if he does go somewhere far away; she was worried she may never see Yuto again.

"Yuto is going to take a completely different path," Lulu explained. "With him being a doctor and me becoming an actress, there's a high chance we won't see each other again."

But Cathy wouldn't let her friend mope. She grabbed Lulu by the shoulders and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Don't you dare say that," she said, speaking in a firm tone. "Yuto Osaku is a commoner, but there's no way you'll ever find a guy who's as kind and cute as he is."

"But-" Lulu started to say.

"But nothing," Cathy insisted. "You love him, don't you?"

"With all my heart," Lulu answered.

"Then you'll figure something out," Cathy said. "You're Lulu Obsidian, the most stubborn person I know. Even I know you wouldn't let something like that interfere with your desires."

Cathy was right about her friend being stubborn, but Lulu was unsure of what she can do. She has seen the movies and knows long-distance relationships rarely work. But she still smiled. "Thanks Cathy."

"There's that smile!" Cathy said, smiling wide as well. "Now do your best tomorrow!"

Not far from where the two girls were, Team Lancer was discussing on how they couldn't believe they didn't make it to the top like Celina said. Speaking of her, she started to feel something in her head, almost like it was clogged.

"Is something wrong?" Sylvio asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm not sure," Celina admitted. "I feel...something inside me."

"Want me to take a look?" Aura asked, taking out her crystal apple.

"If you want to," Celina answered.

Aura used her crystal apple to view what was in Celina's head and saw some kind of bug in between her brain and one of her ears. The indigo-haired girl immediately recognized it as the Fusion Parasite that was implanted in her after Barrett captured her. She became concerned.

"Is something wrong?" Aura asked.

"That thing is still inside my head?!" Celina asked out loud, placing her hand over her ear.

"It's a Fusion Parasite, isn't it?" Sylvio asked.

"It is," Celina answered. "But I tore up the card that was in my deck. Why is it still in my head?!"

"It doesn't appear to be active," Aura pointed out, looking at the image in her crystal apple. "If you're right about the bug giving you trouble, it shouldn't be a concern anymore."

Zuzu ran over to Team Lancer because she overheard Sylvio mention something about a Fusion Parasite being stuck in Celina's head. "What do you mean, there's a Fusion Parasite inside your head?!" the pink-haired girl asked.

Aura held up her crystal apple. "It's inactive, but it's still inside her head," she told Zuzu. "And I sense that you also have the same problem."

Zuzu was stunned to hear this and even a bit worried. Although the cards that controlled the parasites were ripped up, she feared if they will find an alternative to brainwash her and her counterparts. "I better see if there's some way to remove it," she said, gently touching her ear.

Aura wasn't much of a doctor as she used her apple to figure out if they stumble upon someone who knows how to remove the parasites. While that was going on, Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri were pondering on how they and Yugo were able to see Kaiba and not everyone else. Yugi admitted that he had a feeling Declan's past incarnation was the one taking over to give out his apology.

"I recognized the way he spoke," Yugi said. "That was definitely Kaiba speaking."

"So how come my counterparts and I could see him?" Yuri asked.

"I'm not sure," Yugi admitted. "But it might be because Zarc once saw him."

The three Yu-teens realized that he may be right. Maybe they and Yugo seeing Kaiba instead of Declan was Zarc's way of witnessing the public apology. It might have confused the audience like Aichi said, but at least they all knew what was going on.

"Aichi..." Yuya said.

"What about him?" Yuto asked.

"Declan said he's the CEO of the Vanguard Association," Yuya recalled. "But he looks a little young."

"I heard the previous CEO died," Yugi explained. "So with no one else to turn to, Aichi volunteered as the new CEO."

Yuya was nonplussed on what he heard. That explained why Aichi looked rather young to run a corporation. "Poor guy," the tomato-haired teen said. "He must have a lot to deal with. And with that Link Joker virus..."

Yuto put a reassuring hand on his cousin's shoulder. "He said he was able to purify it," he pointed out. "He clearly far more skilled than he appears."

Later that evening, at the Obsidians' house, Yuto and the entire family were still getting themselves adjusted to the new changes to Lulu's schedule. It's the same, but she now needs help with walking because she has difficulty standing, especially when she and her boyfriend are getting ready for bed.

"Careful," Yuto instructed, his hand on Lulu's waist as he guided her towards the bathtub. "I don't want you to slip."

"I'm fine," Lulu said. "You don't have to help." She blushed slightly. "It's kind of embarrassing..."

"It's alright," Yuto said. "You still look beautiful."

It wasn't that; sure, she’s beautiful, but she needs to get into the tub to get undressed, and getting undressed requires privacy. At least it was a good thing she wears dresses all the time because wearing skirts or pants would have taken more time and work in her case.

"Are you sure you don't need help getting undressed?" Yuto asked. "I promise to look away."

"We're only fourteen," Lulu pointed out. "We have plenty of time to see each other naked when we're older."

She does have a fair point; the age of consent in Japan is 16 years old, so they were still considered minors. Yuto helped her get into the bathtub and, respecting her wishes, left her private bathroom to give her some privacy. While that was going on, he figured he would take some time to talk to Shay. He checked his bedroom, the halls, the living room, and all the other rooms in the house before finally finding him in the family dueling room. From the looks of things, he was battling against a simulation to practice for tomorrow.

"Your new card doesn't scare me!" Shay exclaimed. "Go Satellite Cannon Falcon! Attack that mutated wolf!"

Raidraptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon soared to the air to prepare for its attack. With Team Obelisk heading to the semifinals, this simulation was based on his previous duel with Sora, so he was trying to locate a weak spot. So far, he's gathered that Frightfur Wolf can attack multiple times based on how many Fusion materials used to summon it are in the Graveyard and quickly got an idea after checking his monster's effects. By removing an Overlay Unit, he can target and make the opposing monster lose 800 ATK for every Raidraptor in the Graveyard.

"INCORRECT MOVE," the robotic simulation of Sora stated. "ACTIVATING THE TRAP CARD ALBUM OF MEMORIES TO NEGATE THE ATTACK."

Album of Memories is a Continuous Trap card that can negate one attack for every Fluffal monster in the Graveyard. The more Fluffals sent to the Graveyard, the more attacks Simulation Sora can cancel out; in other words, Shay was rendered powerless and can't attack.

"What?!" Shay asked. "Computer, why is that card in the deck?! I told you to program every card Sora has into the simulation!"

"PRECISELY, MASTER SHAY," the simulation informed. "I COLLECTED DATA FROM ALL OF THE FINALISTS THAT TOOK PART IN THE TOURNAMENT. SORA PERSE USED THAT CARD IN HIS DUEL AGAINST AURA SENTIA."

Was this how Sora defeated Aura earlier? Did he dupe her into believing he was on the brink of losing just to use that Fusion monster and Trap card? Regardless, Shay knew he was going to have a challenging time against the light blue-haired Fusion Duelist knowing that there was a reason why Frightfur Wolf improved his deck.

The simulation projected an image of the Sora vs. Aura duel from earlier today. "HE STARTED OFF THE DUEL BY FUSION SUMMONING FRIGHTFUR WOLF USING FIVE FLUFFALS," it explained. "NEAR THE END, HE COMBINED ALBUM OF MEMORIES AND FRIGHTFUR CHIMERA TO DEFEAT HER."

So Sora did found a way to get stronger, Shay thought to himself as he viewed the image. "Computer, calculate any possible weak points in that combo," he ordered.

"VERY WELL," the simulation replied. "BY THE WAY, MASTER YUTO HAS ENTERED THE ROOM."

Shay turned around to see his friend standing not too far away from the dueling room door. "Yuto?" the older heir asked. "What are you doing here?"

"It's about what I said," Yuto explained as he approached his friend.

"You want to become a doctor?" Shay asked.

"Not exactly," Yuto exactly. "I want to use the skills I learned in ObsidianCorp to open my own health clinic."

Shay understood why Yuto wanted to pursue that career as he looked down at his prosthetic leg and thought about how the spinal plates affected his sister. "So you want to attend medical school for education purposes."

Yuto nodded in response. "I refuse to let anyone else suffer from any injuries," he said, placing his hand above his heart. "I feel that path is the right one for me."

"Because your heart is what makes you unique," Shay added.

Yuto knew his heart not only makes him unique, but it also defines him. Thanks to his mom, the Phantom Knights, the Obsidians, and especially Lulu, he has become his own person. One that is chivalrous, brave, loyal, noble, and knightly. One that could be simplified as gentlemanly in the most genuine way. However, his heart could also be his biggest weakness.

"You haven't told Lulu about your plans," Shay realized.

Yuto clutched his chest. "Ishizu showed me a vision weeks ago," he said, his voice cracking with slight sorrow. "She said Lulu and I...would ultimately get married. But my dreams of owning a health clinic..."

It was boiled down to destiny vs. choice as of now. Yuto knows he will marry Lulu, but going to medical school could alter this destined path. If he has to go away, they may never see each other again; the overwhelming thought was becoming too much for him to handle.

At that moment, Lillybot entered the dueling room. "MASTER YUTO, MISTRESS LULU WANTED ME TO TELL YOU THAT SHE IS DONE WITH HER BATH," she informed. "IT IS YOUR TURN TO FRESHEN UP FOR THE EVENING."

"Thank you, Lillybot," Yuto said, still looking a bit sad.

"Don't worry about Lulu," Shay said. "I know she'll support you, much like how you have been supporting her."

Yuto hoped so too, but he was also concerned about telling her his future plans. He thanked Shay for the talk before heading back upstairs to take his shower.

"Lillybot, is Lulu alright?" Yuto asked.

"I AM NOT QUITE SURE," Lillybot answered. "THERE WAS A FOREIGN EMOTION IN HER VOICE, BUT SHE DID NOT SOUND HAPPY." The former nursemaid bot looked at Yuto, her eyes glowing red. "DID YOU DO SOMETHING TO UPSET HER?"

Her tone and glowing red eyes startled Yuto because he did accidentally slip out his desire of going to medical school, but he didn't mean to upset her. He definitely picked a bad day to trigger Lillybot's mama bear instincts.

"I didn't!" Yuto explained. "All I did was-"

"Lillybot, stop spooking him."

Yuto turned his head to see Lulu approaching him and Lillybot from her bedroom door. She had finished getting changed into her pajamas and was letting her hair dry.

Yuto couldn't help but look at his girlfriend's pajamas. Instead of her usual short-sleeved, light yellow nightgown, she was wearing silk light blue lingerie that reached her knees. He simply blushed and headed for Lulu's private bathroom, not saying a word to her.

"What's wrong with him?" Lulu asked Lillybot, whose eyes stopped glowing.

"I AM NOT SURE," Lillybot admitted.

Yuto walked into the bathroom and shut the door to take his shower. He put his glasses on the bathroom counter and took off the clothes he wore for today and put them into a nearby hamper before stepping into the tub and closing the shower curtain. After turning on the nozzle and setting it at a warm temperature, water poured down onto his body and soaked his spiky, eggplant-shaped hair.

As the XYZ teen applied some Thick and Spiky shampoo to his hair, he thought about Lulu. He knew he was destined to marry her, but what about his dreams of owning a health clinic? Would he even have time to also have a happy marriage with a movie actress? He pondered this as he washed his hair, scrubbing out any possible sweat.

He then grabbed a bar of soap to lather it all over his body to get it sudsy, but he still couldn't stop thinking about what his true future really is. Greek tragedies like Oedipus have conveyed the message on how it is impossible to avoid a predetermined fate, but he remembered seeing Kaiba's duel against Ishizu when he was witnessing the different visions of the alternate timeline, which showed that people do have the capability of changing their paths to avoid aligning with the expectations of fulfilling a future event. At this point, Yuto wasn't sure if he should follow what was destined to happen or if he should get his medical degree.

As he continued thinking, he rinsed off the soap suds from his hair and body once he was done using the soap and turned the shower off. He grabbed his towel that was hung resting on top of the hamper to wrap it around his body. He stepped out of the tub and onto the bathmat as water dripped from his locks, limbs, and torso. Using the towel he had, he rubbed all the water off of him before putting it back on his body and walking towards the sink. He took out a hairdryer from the cabinet and plugged it into a nearby electrical socket on the wall to blow dry his hair.

As Yuto made sure his hair was dry and nicely-brushed, he thought about the facts he knew. Does he love Lulu Obsidian? Of course. Would he want to marry her? Absolutely. Was he upset about what happened to her and Shay during the Invasion? Deeply. And what about future generations? Shouldn't he do something to make sure they don't end up scarred as well? Obviously.

Inside the cabinet next to the sink were a pile of folded towels, mats, and facecloths, along with Yuto's pajamas. He buttoned up his long-sleeved, dark blue shirt and slipped on his dark gray pants. He exited the bathroom with Lulu already returning to her bedroom thanks to some assistance from her former nursemaid.

"Oh, hi Yuto," Lulu said, sounding a bit innocent as she had already been laying across her bed. "What do you think of my new pajamas? Mother bought them for me as a reward for making it to the tournament finals."

Yuto blushed at seeing Lulu in her new lingerie Astra got for her daughter. He complimented her that it looked really nice on her. However, he looked away. He really didn't want to talk to Lulu right now.

"What's the matter?" Lulu asked, causing him to look back at her. "You don't like what you see?"

Lulu knows when her boyfriend is upset and she does whatever she can to cheer him up. This time, she decided to flirt with him a little as she sat up and struggled to get off her bed. He spotted her having trouble to stand, so he helped her get on her legs; as rapidly as it happened, she proceeded to unbutton his pajama shirt and caress his dual-colored hair. But Yuto wouldn't give in.

"I'm serious," Yuto insisted. But he couldn't help but moan due to Lulu's fingers in his hair. "I..." He bit his lower lip. "...really need some alone time- MMPH!"

His sentence was never finished as he was caught completely off guard by the sudden yet passionate kiss from Lulu. Before he knew it, she was able to pull him over to the bed while she kept her lips locked onto his. Her legs may not work, but her arms were still functional and this was a good opportunity to continue using them. Just as they were about to engage in a make out session, Yuto felt a slap on his butt, surprising him in the process.

Yuto pushed back for air. "What was that?" he asked, surprised.

"Awww, can't a girl think her boyfriend has such a cute butt?" Lulu pouted.

A startled Yuto has never seen her act like this before. What has gotten into her and why was she doing this? "Lulu, I-"

But the Lyrilusc user quickly shushed him. "Less talking, more snuggling," she said, running a hand through his hair. "We have four years left together. We should spend as much time doing this kind of stuff."

What she said pretty much answered Yuto's questions. She understood what was going on with him since he inadvertently blurted out his future plans during the revealed results from the preliminaries. They were both concerned with not seeing each other again, but Lulu's solution was the most feasible one to date.

"Cathy's right," Lulu said after a few loving kisses. "You're kind and cute. There's no way I'll find another guy as perfect as you."

Yuto did remember hearing Cathy say that on the night of the Kastles' party; his gentlemanly and dorky personality landed him with the most beautiful and strong-willed girl from the entire XYZ Dimension. He also flashbacked to the time when they were getting to know each other and she compared him to a miracle child that was mentioned in one of her mother's songs, which eventually became their song. Then a sudden thought came into his head.

"The song said those angels sprinkled moon dust into the miracle child's hair," Yuto recalled. "Is that why you like mine so much?"

"Probably," Lulu answered, ruffling Yuto's spiky hair. "It feels so soft."

Amid his flustered face, Yuto became more convinced that this song perfectly suited the couple. He knew she adored him from his personality to his gravity-defying hairstyle. With that in his head, he always loved how long and Rapunzel-like her hair is; the dark purple locks spread out on the bed, the few stray strands sticking out, and the tips of her lilac side tails lying on top of her chest. He was tempted to stroke it, but she may not be comfortable with it due to her issues of others touching her hair.

"You have nice hair too," Yuto added. "Can I...?"

"Please don't," Lulu bluntly said. "I spent years learning how to properly maintain long hair. I don't want anyone else touching it."

"Alright," Yuto said. He ended up touching her cheek instead. "But that doesn't make you any less beautiful."

There he goes again with saying that word: beautiful. The single word that started their relationship and it never fails to make Lulu warm and fuzzy inside because she knows he was much better suited for her than Reginald. Yuto doesn't care that she came from an elite background; he loves her looks and personality traits the most and that's what mattered to them.

"Can you...say that word again?" Lulu asked.

Yuto was surprised by the request. "What word?" he asked. "Beautiful?"

Lulu nodded after hearing the word again as a blissful feeling filled up her entire body. "I love hearing that word come from your mouth," she said.

Yuto let out a small, happy sound. "You actually like being called beautiful?" he asked, aware that usually other girls would ultimately get tired of that word.

"Of course," Lulu answered. "That word is proof that you're different from other guys who approach me. They all wanted me because of my wealth, so you loving me because of my beauty is quite refreshing."

Yuto smiled back at her and moved himself onto the bed to hug her from behind, spooning her in the process. He conceived the fact that he shouldn't worry about not seeing her anymore after graduation. With only four years left of school, they should make the best of it and memorable for each other.

The eggplant-haired teen moved his head so his lips were near her ear. "You are so beautiful to me," he quietly sang. "You are so beautiful to me..."

His whispers flowed through Lulu's ears, serenading her with his song, which she loved whenever he does that. "Yuto..." she muttered, her voice in a love-struck haze.

"Can't you see, you're everything I hope for," Yuto continued singing. "You're everything I need. You are so beautiful to me."

Lulu's mouth curved upwards as he continued singing, feeling blessed that the two have fallen in love with each other. Elsewhere, in Team Turbo's garage, the boys were trying to find methods to remove the Fusion Parasite from Rin's head. One idea Crow was doing was using a pair of tweezers to get it out of her ear.

Rin winced in pain. "Hold still, Rin!" Crow said.

"I would, but you just pinched my ear!" Rin exclaimed.

The tweezers dug deep into her ear—much to her discomfort—until it touched something; Crow instantly knew what it was as he gently pulled them out to reveal the Fusion Parasite firmly grasped onto the pincers. His face shined with satisfaction after successfully removing the inactive insect.

"You feeling alright?" Yugo asked Rin as Crow threw out the Fusion Parasite.

Rin took out her deck, looking at her two Crystal Bells. She smiled. "I am now," she said.

"You still want to keep those cards?" Shinji asked.

"Of course," Rin answered. "I see beauty in Crystal Bell, beauty that I want the world to see."

There was no way a dead Fusion Parasite was influencing Rin for using her newfound strategy. She genuinely sees potential in her Fusion monster and is fond of how well it works with her other Windwitches.

Crow let out an amused chuckle. "I always thought you were a tomboy," he told Rin. "But now that I think about it, you're more like that girl who wears shoes made of glass."

Rin knew exactly what he was talking about when she heard "shoes made of glass". She may be motherly, headstrong, and slightly tsundereish, but underneath that persona was someone with a knack for shopping, fashion, and stuff that girls generally like. Deep down, she truly was a Cinderella. Well...except for a few key differences.

"I don't think I'm like Cinderella," Rin said. "I'm not a servant girl."

However, Yugo had an idea. "Actually... Can you hold that thought?" he asked. "I have to go get something."

Yugo headed upstairs towards his room to find what he was looking for. It was a handmade dress so Rin could wear it for the Friendship Cup, but because she was kidnapped by Yuri, that never happened. He spent most of the War looking for her that he almost forgot about the dress until now. He stumbled upon a hidden spot in his room and recalled him hiding it in there; after some searching, he found it and it was still in good condition. It was knee-length with blue from the waist down and on the sides, as well as a white line near the hem with a blue bow on the back of the waist. The inner layer was light mint green with a darker green floral pattern.

Yugo returned to the group and showed the dress to Rin, who was amazed. "Where did you get this?" she asked.

"I made it myself," Yugo explained. "It was for you to wear when we won the Friendship Cup, but since Roget indirectly caused all future Friendship Cups to get canceled, I figured I should give it to you now."

"It's beautiful," Rin said. "Thank you."

Yugo held Rin's hand, intertwining their fingers together. "Just promise me something," he said. "We're gonna win the tournament tomorrow, and when that happens, I want you to wear this dress afterwards. It might not be the Friendship Cup, but we're bound to get a special reward, so I want you to look nice."

Rin stared into Yugo's eyes as she started to see the similarities she had with Cinderella. She may not be a servant girl, but they grew up poor without their parents and find ways to let their true beauty shine through. They even fell in love with handsome princes, even though Yugo was anything but princely.

"Okay Yugo," Rin said. "I promise."

At the Sentia residence, Aura was also removing the Fusion Parasite from Celina's head, but in a different manner from Crow's while mirroring her attempt to help Yuya regain consciousness. Her bedroom was decorated with various occult-like items and measures as if she was performing a ritual.

"Begone wicked insect!" Aura exclaimed, holding a bunch of incense sticks in her hand. "Remove yourself from Celina's mind and release her from your control!"

Celina would tell her teammate that the parasite needed its card for it to control her, but she let her do this healing performance since it is the only method of healing the young girl knows. Shortly thereafter, she was recommended to wear a green and white dress or nightgown; however, she doesn't do dresses.

"Why should I wear that?" Celina asked.

"Duh!" Aura said. "Green is the color of life and growth, while white radiates healing purity." She tossed a dress over to Celina. "So you better put this on right away."

She looked at the dress she was given; it was knee-length with shoulder-length sleeves, green all over with two big, white stripes on the skirt, and had a green bow tied around the waist. It was at least casual enough to wear.

"Fine," Celina said. "I'll put this on."

Celina left the bedroom to get changed into the dress; while it was true that she wore one when she was a child, she eventually grew out of it and switched over to skirts as she got older. With that in mind, a part of her deep down felt like it was going to be weird wearing a dress for the first time in years.

Some time later, Celina returned to Aura's room wearing the green and white dress, only to be greeted by the redhead's squeals. "You look so pretty!" she exclaimed.

"Don't get too excited," Celina said. "It's just for tonight."

"Awww... But imagine how Yuri would react if he saw you in this!" Aura happily cried out.

Celina slightly blushed as she heard Aura say that. Is she still holding onto the prediction of her and Yuri falling for each other or is she already aware? "Why would you bring him up?"

"Because I saw this," Aura answered as she picked up a rose. "Did he give this to you during your date?"

Celina recognized that rose anywhere: it was the Solid Vision rose Yuri materialized and gave to her. How the heck did Aura even find it?

"He did," Celina answered. "He created it out of thin air and..." She started muttering.

"And what?" Aura asked.

"He...put it in my hair," Celina repeated, blushing heavily.

"That's so adorable!" Aura squealed. "I heard boys do that to girls as an indicator that they love them!"

Honestly, Yuri's indicator that he loves Celina was their time at Heartland Park underneath the full moon, where she demonstrated what her marking can do other than be used as a Skill in duels. Since she was new to the whole romance ordeal, she never knew about these indicators and which ones were signs of having a crush on someone. But regardless of her confused feelings, she could still recall their first kiss. His fingers grazing her spine, her fingers tugging on his hair, when he nipped on her lower lip...

"He's an amazing kisser," Celina bluntly said, speaking in a love-struck tone.

That gave Aura an idea. "You should wear this to the tournament finals!" she suggested, gesturing to the green and white dress. "And maybe this as well!" She gave the Solid Vision rose back to Celina.

The indigo-haired girl never thought about wearing the dress tomorrow, but the rose was somewhat a small possibility. As previously mentioned, she outgrew donning them, and when it comes to dresses, they were up in her counterparts' alleys. "I don't know..." she admitted, slightly lifting up the skirt. "I'm not exactly a dress person..."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Aura said. Then her eyes widened. "Besides, that dress might be magic."

"Magic?" Celina asked. "Why-"

Before she could ask, something was slowing crawling and slipping out of her ear. It revealed itself to be the Fusion Parasite that the girls were focused on getting rid of.

"How odd," Aura said. "I thought that insect was inactive."

"What?!" Celina exclaimed. She grabbed a tissue and used it to squish the insect dead and throw it into a nearby garbage can.

Aura was a bit surprised. "That seemed a bit extreme," she commented.

"If that thing was somehow still functioning, it could have took over my mind again!" Celina pointed out.

"Well I hope the other girls are having an easier time getting rid of them," Aura said.

Meanwhile, with Zuzu, she was at the Sakaki residence, getting her parasite removed with some help from Yusho. Since Fusion Parasites were created out of advanced Solid Vision, Yusho thought hacking into the program would get rid of it

"Are you alright?" Yuya asked, squeezing Zuzu's hand.

"I guess," Zuzu answered as Yusho typed away on the computer. She winced in pain. "It hurts a bit."

The computer screen displayed a black screen with a long arrangement of codes that were programmed into the parasite. The sounds of the keys clicking developed a variety of attempts that Yusho was testing out in order to perform a successful hack. There was one program listed on it that basically stated how the Fusion Parasite's card is what was needed to activate and control it; however, the hacking process altered some of its codes, allowing it to gradually wake up and increasing the risk of it brainwashing Zuzu again.

Zuzu let out a pained moan. "Is it-" She winced again. "I-I-I Fusion Summon P-Parasite Q-" She cringed.

"Hang in there, Zuzu!" Yuya exclaimed, his free hand touching her marking on her right cheek. "Fight back!"

Zuzu was trying her hardest to fight back, but the Fusion Parasite kept retaliating by strengthening its influence bit by bit, manipulating her into toxic Fusion Summoning more and more. The harder it got for her to break free from its control, the more frustrated Yuya got with helping his childhood friend out. There was no way she was going to follow Leo's old tactics again. Unaware of what was happening to him, as his frustration and rage grew, tiny traces of darkness from within him detected an off yet familiar feeling, causing the two's minds to merge together. It then sent a portion of itself to travel from Yuya to Zuzu's brain and destroy the insect.

POP!

Zuzu's eyes shot open as smoke came from her ear. "What just happened?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," Yusho answered. "But the parasite appears to have exploded."

"But how?" Zuzu asked. "How did-"

Yuya's eyes widened in surprise, noticing Zuzu's marking was glowing underneath his hand. "Zuzu..." he said. "I think we merged our minds together for a brief moment."

Zuzu's eyes moved to where her marking was and saw a faint pink glow coming through Yuya's hand. "My marking..." she said. "What if that caused the mind merge?"

"I'm not sure," Yuya admitted. "But I sensed Zarc's darkness. It must have destroyed the Fusion Parasite."

The two quickly realized that what Zarc's leftover darkness and Zuzu's marking did must be a secondary ability of the mind merge. Yuya reached up to touch the En Flowers marking again. Sure enough, it glowed, causing them to feel as if they could hear each other's thoughts.

"Zuzu..." Yuya said. "I think this a new ability.”

Zuzu was overcome by hearing Yuya's thoughts. She pressed her forehead against his and started caressing his hair with both hands. She sensed his love, his desires, and even his heartache. She embraced this new feeling, closing her eyes in the process.

Yuya also gave in to this moment, placing his other hand on her waist as he also closed his eyes. With his hand on her marking, he could hear every single one of her thoughts. Could they have discovered a new level of intimacy?

"Are you two alright?" Yusho asked.

Snapping out of the trance, Yuya and Zuzu quickly let go as her marking stopped glowing. "Yeah," Yuya answered, blushing heavily. "We're fine."

Once the two managed to relax after their intimate moment, they both decided to start preparing for tomorrow's semifinals. Zuzu was glad to know she and her counterparts don't have to deal with the Fusion Parasites anymore, but she also wondered how the other girls' markings react to their connections with Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri.

"Do you think the other markings have similar secondary abilities?" Zuzu asked.

"Probably," Yuya answered. "Besides, it's not like it'll have any negative results in the tournament finals."

#Arc V Aftermath #yugioh arc v #Yuya Sakaki #Zuzu Boyle #Yuzu Hiragi #FruitShipping #Yuto (arc v)#Lulu Obsidian #Ruri Kurosaki #FallenAngelShipping #Yugo (arc v)#Rin (arc v)#AppleShipping #Yuri (arc v)#Celina (arc v)#Serena (arc v)#PredatorShipping

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