Hikaru Amagi LP: 4000
Yamaguchi LP: 4000
"The first turn is mine," Yamaguchi said, drawing a card. He glanced over his hand, then set one monster in Defense Position and placed one card face-down in his back row. "I end my turn."
Surprisingly basic. No tricks. No flashy plays.
Hikaru narrowed his eyes.
Of course. Whatever "new power" Reiji Akaba had given these Integration Department reps, there's no way they'd dare reveal something like Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder in front of the whole academy. And that bizarre "Field" effect he'd seen before? Not present. That ruled out Sacred Beasts—for now.
So what was he hiding?
Hikaru tapped his deck and smiled.
"My turn. Draw!"
"Let's go, Hikaru!"
"Kick their asses for us, Hikaru!"
For once, not a single voice in the crowd heckled him. Even those who found Hikaru arrogant, or just disliked following the mainstream, stood with him now.
Because what the Integration Department had done was indefensible.
Winning duels by skill, by better plays? No one cared. Even if someone dominated with top-tier cards, people just called it skill or luck.
But trying to monopolize new cards for everyone? That was straight-up villainy.
Hikaru gave the crowd a confident nod. He felt good.
Two goals, both achieved: Piss off the bald bastard, and prove Fusion supremacy. Not bad for a guy who dropped into this world by accident.
"I activate the Spell Card—Fusion Deployment!" Hikaru held up a card showing the iconic Flame Swordsman mid-leap.
"I reveal Dark Flare Knight from my Extra Deck! That lets me Special Summon one of its Fusion Materials from my hand, Deck, or GY—so I Special Summon Flame Swordsman!"
"Here it comes—one of Hikaru's thousand ways to summon Flame Swordsman!" a student in the crowd chuckled.
"But monsters summoned by Fusion Deployment can't attack," Yamaguchi called out, his expression smug. He'd done his homework.
"Then how about this?" Hikaru flicked out another card. "Normal Spell—Unexpected Dai!"
"I send Flame Swordsman to the Graveyard to Special Summon… Archfiend's Manifestation!"
A swirl of flames consumed the warrior. From the blackened blaze rose a twisted, horned demon in green robes, dark energy coiling around him.
Archfiend's Manifestation
Level 5 / DARK / Fiend-Type
ATK: 2000
The crowd roared.
Even with his modest stats, Flame Swordsman had become a beloved icon among first-years—especially the Fusion-obsessed ones. Hikaru summoned him constantly, and with such ridiculous variety, he'd practically become a mascot.
The virtual image of Flame Swordsman waved heroically before vanishing.
"You're a star," Black Flame whispered in Hikaru's ear.
"Don't worry," Hikaru grinned. "You'll be famous soon enough too."
"I only exist to serve my master faithfully!"
"Hey, are you throwing shade, Black Flame?!"
Meanwhile, the new demon monster raised a claw and rushed forward, power swirling in his palm.
"Battle Phase! Archfiend's Manifestation attacks your face-down!"
Dark energy exploded as it struck, revealing the hidden monster—Gladiator Beast Andal.
"When Andal is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY, I can Special Summon a Gladiator Beast from my Deck—!"
"Nope." Hikaru raised a hand, tracing a lazy circle in the air.
"What?!"
Yamaguchi looked down at his GY—and his jaw dropped. Andal's effect didn't trigger. The card made a mechanical click-clack sound, like it was being locked down.
"That's the effect of Archfiend's Manifestation!" a student shouted. "When it destroys an Effect Monster by battle—its effect is negated!"
"That's… that's such an old card, right?"
"Wait—how did you not know that? Aren't you supposed to be a Fusion specialist too?"
Yamaguchi's face turned bright red.
He'd been so focused on setting up Andal's effect that he hadn't bothered to check the opponent's monster ability. A rookie mistake. And Archfiend's Manifestation wasn't new—hell, it might've released the same year he enrolled.
Hikaru's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Gladiator Beasts? Interesting.
So he'd swapped out his old Ancient Gear deck?
Makes sense. If Reiji Akaba was focusing on Sacred Beasts, then handing out Gladiator Beast cards would be a nice way to bribe loyalty—powerful enough to feel special, but not too risky.
"If that's your game…" Hikaru checked his hand, smirking. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
Yamaguchi drew.
One of his set cards was Gladiator Beast War Chariot—a trap he could use when a Gladiator Beast was Special Summoned. From there, he could bring out Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, pop Hikaru's field, and take the lead.
He swallowed.
He couldn't lie—he was nervous. Hikaru wasn't just famous. He'd wrecked the Integration Department's reps multiple times, even dragging the entire club's image from "Fusion purity" to "Fusion compromise."
Yamaguchi was about to graduate. He didn't need this.
But Professor Akaba's orders were strict. He expected this kind of interference. That's why he gave them new cards—to bait new students into joining.
See, ever since Hikaru's Fusion Club exploded in popularity, the Integration Department's new member count was a joke. First-year rooms sat empty. Why would anyone run Ancient Gears with bad PR when Hikaru's Fusion builds were cooler, stronger, and more fun?
So they hatched a plan:
Use elite cards—normally reserved for top Integration graduates—to attract recruits. The Gladiator Beasts were supposed to be a reward. Only Reiji's hand-picked soldiers ever got them. Yamaguchi had been terrified to even ask.
But instead of reprimanding him, Reiji had silently handed him the deck.
He clenched his fist.
Hikaru also had Gladiator Beasts. Claimed he understood everything about Fusion. He couldn't just assume this new deck gave him an edge.
He'd have to think beyond that.
"Hikaru!" he called across the field, hand hovering over his card. "Don't you feel it?"
"Feel what?" Hikaru raised a brow.
"Fear."
Hikaru blinked.
"Fear… of Xyz, Synchro, all that insane crap! You're telling me it doesn't scare you even a little?"
"…Huh?"
Yamaguchi's voice rose. "I've been dueling since I was a kid. Entered tournaments. Trained endlessly to master the art of Fusion. I studied every way to draw and fuse monsters… and now they tell us there's something new. Something that makes all that pointless."
"You're seriously not afraid?"
Hikaru tilted his head.
It was a question more students were probably asking themselves than they'd admit.
This world wasn't like his old one. There, card mechanics evolved fast. Players were used to change. You didn't need to like Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, or Link—you could just ignore them.
But here?
Here, dueling was reality. And when your entire worldview gets shattered, fear is natural.
But—
"A Duelist can't fear the new!" Hikaru's voice cut through the air like thunder. "President Kaiba just announced a whole new dimension of Dueling! Everyone rushed here today because we're excited for these new monsters! What's to fear?!"
"Exactly!" Chazz Princeton nodded vigorously. "Duelists are meant to keep climbing! That's what Kaiba always said!"
"But don't you think Synchro and Tuners are just… too weird?" Yamaguchi waved his arms. "It's like they're from another dimension!"
"Fusion is the noblest summoning style there is! We don't need anything else!"
He said it hoping to gain Hikaru's approval—after all, Hikaru was the Fusion extremist of their generation.
But Hikaru just smiled.
"Oh? I don't think so at all."
Yamaguchi froze.
"Besides, senpai," Hikaru continued, "even if you are scared of new summoning styles, that doesn't give you the right to block other students from pursuing them."
"You don't get to hoard cards, gatekeep potential, and call it righteousness."
He held his arms out, Duel Disk glowing.
"Fusion is the noblest summoning method not because it excludes the others—but because it stands proud, regardless of them."
A ripple ran through the crowd.
Hikaru locked eyes with Yamaguchi.
"I'll prove that to you in this duel. So stop making excuses, senpai. You're better than that."