Kagurazaka.
A Yellow Dorm student from the original story—after losing to Slifer Red's Syrus Truesdale, he couldn't stomach the "humiliation" and ended up stealing Yugi Muto's deck from a display exhibit to challenge Jaden Yuki for a rematch. And lost again.
Then, in true Kagurazaka fashion, he copied Jaden too, switched to a HERO deck, and kept on dueling. He was a bizarre one, no doubt.
His biggest strength wasn't creativity, or strategy, or raw dueling instinct. It was his perfect recall. Once he got his hands on a deck, he could mimic its playstyle almost flawlessly, analyzing duels with near-machine precision.
And more than that—while he wasn't the top student of Yellow Dorm, he could even pilot a deck as complex as Yugi Muto's without bricking once. As if the cards recognized him.
He wasn't high-ceiling. But his floor? Insanely high.
Being a student of Yellow Dorm, Hikaru Amagi had obviously met Kagurazaka before. Truth be told, they were already kinda familiar with each other.
Same as ever, Kagurazaka was dressed like he'd just walked off Duelist Kingdom. Red scarf, spiky hair styled like the King of Games himself, school uniform in yellow and white—but full of energy, that was for sure.
A lot of students had jumped ship to the Fusion Division for better cards, but Kagurazaka clearly hadn't needed to. After all, in the original story, he was the one who wielded Ancient Gear Golem—he had no reason to mooch off a bunch of half-baked fusions.
Kagurazaka, huh? Thinking about it… yeah, this matchup made sense.
Someone like him, who could maximize any card's potential, would only grow stronger with a deck full of legendary Duelist King monsters.
And besides—
Hikaru recalled something important.
This world had never held a public display of Yugi's deck. Instead, they'd run events centered on interdimensional phenomena. So Kagurazaka never had the chance to steal anything.
Which meant…
He probably never copied Jaden's HERO deck, either.
So what was his current deck, then?
"Both players, prepare!" the instructor raised his hand.
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
"Hahaha, Hikaru Amagi!" Kagurazaka laughed loudly. "I've long wanted to duel you!"
...You could've just told me that anytime, you know?
Hikaru didn't mind. Dueling a strong opponent meant Super Polymerization could harvest better energy—yield stronger results. After half a year of testing, he'd learned that dueling different playstyles led to different cards. Aside from nightmares like El Shaddoll Winda, most new fusions took only three or four days to identify and extract.
Kagurazaka was definitely one of the Academy's standout duelists. If he'd asked Hikaru to duel, Hikaru wouldn't have turned him down.
"My turn—draw!" Kagurazaka shouted, yanking a card from his deck, then grinned and thrust it forward.
"Equip Spell—Future Fusion!"
??
Hikaru blinked.
Dr. Vellian Crowler had only recently salvaged Time Fusion and Fusion Recycling Plant for him. The version of Future Fusion used here shouldn't even be available yet.
So seeing that card?
Yeah, that was a surprise.
"Shocked, aren't you, Hikaru Amagi?" Kagurazaka burst into laughter. "This is the power I seek—the pinnacle of Fusion! My Future Fusion goes beyond yours!"
"You little bastard…" Hikaru couldn't help but rub his temple. "Don't tell me you're running my—"
"I activate Future Fusion's effect! I declare a Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, and send its required Fusion Materials from my Deck to the Grave!"
"I choose Labyrinth Tank from my Extra Deck, sending Giga-Tech Wolf and Cannon Soldier from my Deck to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon it—and equip this card!"
"Fusion Summon—Labyrinth Tank!"
BZZT—a classic, red-colored battle tank rose up from the ground, taking position directly in front of Hikaru.
He slapped his own face.
Paper-built abomination.
Labyrinth Tank. Level 7. DARK Attribute. Machine-Type. ATK 2400.
"You see now, Hikaru?" Kagurazaka spread his arms. "Your Future Fusion needs two turns to work. Mine fuses immediately! That's the real future!"
Up in the stands, Chazz Princeton walked over and greeted the others.
"So Kagurazaka's running Hikaru's deck today?" he asked casually, not at all surprised.
"Yeah," Bastion Misawa nodded with a sigh. "He's so talented… and yet. But hold on, doesn't Hikaru's deck have a ton of unique fusion spells? How's Kagurazaka even replicating it?"
"He probably mashed in cards borrowed from Fusion Division students," Alexis Rhodes said, sharp-eyed. "Even though Hikaru focuses on fusion, he's always been respectful toward other playstyles. Rituals, Xyz—he doesn't belittle them. According to Aster, he even gets along with duelists from other dimensions."
"And the only ones he really dislikes are a few irrational upperclassmen from the Fusion Division."
"You've been paying close attention, Alexis," Bastion said, impressed.
They were all curious about the prize—"a monster that once stood before the Gods"—but each had their own deck and playstyle. None of them had entered the tournament, so they were just here to support Hikaru.
After getting locked up with him by Professor Banner, their friendship had leveled up big time.
"If it's Hikaru vs. Hikaru, this oughta be fun," Jaden Yuki grinned, leaning over the railing.
"Yo, Hikaru! You got this!"
"I will!" Kagurazaka turned around and shouted back.
"Uh…" Jaden slowly lowered his hand. "…Wait. You're not—"
"Set two cards face-down! Your turn, Hikaru Amagi!" Kagurazaka declared, ending his turn.
Hikaru rubbed his forehead.
This was the first duel where he felt something that wasn't hot-bloodedness, anger, joy, pain, or frustration.
It was a… weird, shapeless emotion. Abstract. Wordless.
"…Whatever. My turn—draw." He glanced at his hand.
"Quick-Play Spell—Fusion Recycling Plant! Banish fusion materials from your Graveyard—Fusion Summon!"
"Fusion Summon—Labyrinth Tank!"
A blue battle tank crawled out onto Hikaru's field and, upon seeing its red counterpart across from it, began honking in confused, almost offended beeps.
Yo boss, what's goin' on today?
"You're too naive, Hikaru Amagi!" Kagurazaka flipped his face-down. "Trap Card—Bottomless Trap Hole! When your opponent summons a monster with 1500 or more ATK: destroy and banish it!"
BOOM!
The freshly summoned tank didn't even get a chance to roll forward. The ground beneath it gave way, and it plummeted with a crash, exploding into sparks and metal shards before vanishing completely.
"…That doesn't sound like a card Hikaru would run," Bastion muttered, beads of sweat forming on his brow. "Feels… unfused."
"What now, Hikaru Amagi? Got any more tricks?"
Hikaru raised a brow slightly.
"…Fine. Continuous Spell—Brilliant Fusion."