Returning to his own dimension, Yumi dismounted his D-Wheel and casually tossed the key into the air. Dark Law emerged from his shadow, snatching it mid-fall before pulling the futuristic bike down into darkness, where it vanished completely.
The entire trip to that other dimension had been a waste of time.
Still, at least he confirmed one thing: obtaining the God Cards wasn't as simple as he'd initially assumed.
On the bright side, the four duelists he OTK'd dropped a significant amount of Spirit Energy upon defeat. They weren't random nobodies; each of them ranked among the top duelists of that dimension.
They weren't weak. Yumi was just too strong.
He sighed lightly and headed toward his room to check on Celina. She still hadn't woken up yet, but according to Nurse Dragonmaid's report, her condition was stable and steadily improving.
That was enough for now. As he turned to leave, something else caught his attention.
"Who are you?" Yumi asked flatly.
Standing a short distance away was a small girl with long dark gray hair, dressed in a black gothic lolita outfit. She looked neat, composed, and entirely out of place.
"I'm Alice," she said, giving a small bow and a polite smile. "Slifer Red's new transfer student."
Yumi's expression didn't change.
In fact, he looked about as interested as the black-and-white photo of himself hanging in the corner of the cafeteria, now with three freshly placed incense sticks and a plate of fruit offerings beneath it.
He glanced down at his phone, reading the message from his teacher.
[Midori]: No, there aren't any new transfer students to Slifer Red.
Yumi put the phone away.
He walked over to an empty seat. A red curtain descended from above, draping over the chair and pooling around it like liquid fabric. The seat transformed into something closer to a throne than a chair.
He sat down on it, one leg crossed over the other.
His eyes flared crimson as dark miasma slowly seeped out from his body.
"Your little trick, won't work on me." Yumi said calmly.
Behind him, the Tyrant Neptune manifested, its massive form looming silently as its golden eyes locked onto the girl.
For the first time, Alice panicked.
She turned and tried to run, but Yumi's shadow stretched unnaturally across the floor. A second pair of golden eyes opened within it as Dark Law rose up, blocking her path.
Left with no escape nor options, she turned back toward Yumi, fear now clearly visible on her face.
"W-What do you want from me?" she asked shakily. "I haven't done anything!"
"Tell me why you're here," Yumi replied evenly.
Despite how villainous he looked at the moment, he genuinely didn't care. People already mistook him for a Hidden Boss. Might as well lean into it.
The girl hesitated, then spoke.
Her name was Alice, a doll spirit. She had been placed within the Academy, and she had observed duelists, watching over them day by day. She explained how many duelists, mostly Obelisk Blue, would lose a duel, then vent their frustration by blaming their cards.
Some even tearing them apart and discarding them like trash.
"As I watched those heartless duelists," she said softly, pulling out a card, "a wicked card spirit entered me."
She held up the Doll Chimera card for him to see.
"Since then, I began to hate duelists… and tried to drag their souls into despair."
Yumi listened without interrupting.
He didn't remember her. GX had too many unimportant one-off characters to keep track of, and she clearly hadn't been important enough to stick.
Still, he didn't look annoyed.
"You're wrong," Yumi said simply.
The dark aura around him began to fade.
"Those people aren't duelists. They're weaklings pretending to be ones." As his spirits back down deciding not intimidate her anymore.
"True duelists don't blame their cards when they lose. They admit their weakness and learn how to improve." He paused briefly. "Those who are willing to do something like that to their own cards aren't true duelists."
The biggest example of this is President Kaiba.
Although he has lost for the Nth time to duelists with a "Yu-" prefix at the beginning of their name. Yet not once did he ever blame his cards for his losses; at most, he only insulted his opponents' cards, mostly the Kuribohs.
He just accepted his defeat like a real man, learn and grew from it.
That's a true duelist.
Someone who, no matter how many setbacks and defeats, could still get back up and continue to duel for what they believe in.
"Besides," Yumi continued, "hating all duelists indiscriminately is stupid. Some love their cards openly. Others show it differently. Hating everyone won't fix anything; it just makes you look weak and pathetic."
Yumi wasn't the type to give speeches. But this Doll Spirit hadn't actually harmed anyone yet, and beating her into submission felt unnecessary. So he decided to borrow a page from his Aibo's book, and surprisingly, his words worked.
"I… I understand," Alice murmured, lowering her head. "It was because of my weak heart that I allowed the Doll Chimera's spirit to manipulate me..."
"There's nothing wrong with being weak," Yumi said. "What matters is whether you're willing to stand back up and improve."
She looked up and smiled.
"Thank you. I'll remember that."
Her body glowed softly before dissolving into white particles.
...
A few more days passed, and Celina finally woke up from her long nap.
"Damn… looks like I really owe you one," she muttered tiredly, staring up at the underside of the wooden bunk above her.
Her body felt heavy. Somewhat painful and completely drained. Tubes were still attached to her hand, feeding nutrients from an IV bag into her system.
Yumi sat on the desk beside the bed instead of using the chair like a normal person, arms loosely crossed.
"We're friends," he said simply. "This is completely normal."
Celina let out a quiet hum in response but didn't say anything else.
The events of that day were still too fresh.
She knew she could've won that duel. She had the cards. She had the opening. Instead, confusion crept in, hesitation followed, and everything collapsed from there. It wasn't that she lacked strength; it was that she lost her footing at the worst possible moment.
And Rio's words from before the duel still wouldn't leave her mind.
As much as she hated admitting it, she had feelings for the pink-haired menace sitting beside her. The guy who showed up, cleaned up her mess, and somehow made everything worse and better at the same time.
The problem was… Celina had no idea what to do with feelings like that.
She'd never been good at this kind of thing.
As the tomboy of her family, she didn't really have a soft side like her other siblings.
Zuzu was short-tempered and tsundere, sure, but she still had that gentle, girly core she could fall back on.
Rin was free-spirited, optimistic, social to a fault, and had zero hesitation calling people out when they deserved it.
Lulu was polite, kind, and graceful, almost painfully feminine compared to the rest of them.
As for herself?
Celina had no social skills. She didn't see anything strange about staying alone in a room with a boy, or even sharing a bed if circumstances demanded it. She solved most of her problems through dueling. If that didn't work, violence usually did.
From her own perspective, she was terrible girlfriend material.
She told herself that Rio would be better for him. Rio was open, honest, expressive, head over heels in a way Celina couldn't even begin to match. Letting Rio have Yumi made sense.
And yet... Every time, without thinking, she somehow ended up standing in Rio's way.
She wanted to tell Yumi how she felt.
She was also terrified.
Terrified of being brushed off. Of being friendzoned. Worse, of saying something that would fracture whatever strange, comfortable relationship they already had into something awkward and irreversible.
While she was spiraling quietly in her own head, Yumi watched her for a moment.
Then he spoke. "Who did this to you?"
The question snapped her back to reality.
She tilted her head and looked at him. "It was me. I was exhausted after the duel in the rain and didn't watch my step. I… accidentally fell."
The lie came out stiff and awkward. Even she didn't believe it.
"I see," Yumi said after a brief pause. "Just… be more careful next time. Okay?"
He didn't call her out on it. He didn't push. He knew exactly why she was lying, and also knew she didn't want him to confront Rio, although he already knew she had been brainwashed again.
"I will," Celina replied quietly, turning her head away and breaking eye contact.
Seeing that she didn't want to continue the conversation, Yumi understood.
He didn't know what she was thinking.
Still, an irritating sense of guilt settled in his chest, tight and unwelcome.
Suddenly, Winged Kuriboh LV 4 darted toward the window, its white wings beating as its tiny hands smacked repeatedly against the glass.
Yumi glanced over. "What's the matter, Winged Kuriboh?"
He slid the window open.
The brown furball immediately flew inside, hovering in front of him and chirping urgently.
"Kuri! Kuri-kuri! Kuri-kuri!"
Celina: "???"
To a normal person, this would've just sounded like excited squeaking. Maybe they'd smile, nod, and comment on how cute it was. But since the one currently listening has the "Yu-" prefix in his name, can print cards, and has strange (color) hair.
"I see," Yumi said calmly. "Lead the way." He actually understood what his Winged Kuriboh LV 4 just said.
Celina: "!!?"
Winged Kuriboh didn't wait. It zipped forward through the open window, flapping urgently.
Yumi followed without hesitation, hopping out after it. Celina just stared at the window where Yumi just jumped through before deciding that he would be fine.
She turned slowly, tucking herself with the blanket that carried a strange, familiar scent that seemed to ease her mind. While Celina put herself back to sleep, sitting on the top bunk of the bed, Raye and Roze were busy playing their handheld game devices.
Running after his Kuriboh, Yumi saw a first-year Ra Yellow student.
The boy was male, brown-haired, and had strange blue markings spreading across his back, clear signs that he was being possessed by yet another Earthbound Immortal.
Hearing Yumi's footsteps, the junior turned around slowly.
He smiled.
It was the kind of smile that tried very hard to look confident and succeeded mostly at looking unsettling. His sclera were completely black, giving his eyes a hollow, unnatural look.
"Well, well," the boy said, voice dripping with smug amusement. "Isn't this a surprise? I didn't expect to see you again so soon, senior."
Yumi stopped a few steps away and stared at him.
He didn't say anything. Encouraged by the silence, the junior's grin widened.
"What's the matter?" he continued. "Surprised by my new power?"
Yumi tilted his head slightly to the side, studying the boy for a second longer than necessary.
"…Who are you again?"
There was a momentary pause, followed by another; the silence stretched long enough to become uncomfortable.
The Ra Yellow student's face twitched before flushing red with anger.
"What kind of a senior are you!?" he snapped. "You OTK'd me, and you can't even bother to remember my name!?"
He jabbed an accusing finger at Yumi, clearly offended on a personal level.
"Do you know how little that narrows it down?" Yumi replied in a deadpan tone.
He genuinely didn't bother remembering names unless they belonged to people he was close to, or characters that were actually part of the Yu-Gi-Oh main cast.
Expecting him to remember every opponent he had beaten was like asking someone to list the names and flavors of every meal they'd ever eaten.
"It's Daigo Sorano!" the brainwashed Ra Yellow student shouted.
For just a brief moment, the anger in his voice felt real enough that even the possessing Earthbound Immortal reacted to it, the blue markings pulsing faintly.
Yumi paused.
The name did sound somewhat familiar.
Unfortunately, that didn't help.
"Never heard of him," Yumi said honestly. "Must not be important enough for me to remember."
"That's it!" Daigo yelled. "Let's settle this, Slifer!"
He raised his Duel Disk and activated it with a sharp motion.
Yumi sighed and lifted his own in response.
"Should've started with this, Diego."
"It's Daigo!!"
"DUEL!"
[Yumi, LP 4000]
[Daigo, LP 4000]
"I'll go first! Draw!"
Daigo yanked a card from the top of his deck with far more force than necessary. His eyes dropped to his hand as the irritation from earlier still lingered on his face.
"Spell Card, Graceful Charity," he said quickly. "I draw three cards and discard two."
He drew, barely pausing to glance at the new cards before tossing two into the Graveyard.
"I set two cards face-down," he continued, placing them with sharp movements, "and I Normal Summon Masked Dragon!"
A red-scaled dragon covered in white armor-like scales appeared in front of him, flapping its wings as it let out a short roar.
[Masked Dragon, 1400 ATK]
"And next," Daigo added, sounding more confident now, "I activate my Continuous Spell, Burden of the Mighty."
A heavy pressure settled over the field as the spell took effect.
"Each face-up monster you control loses 100 ATK for every Level it has."
He folded his arms, clearly satisfied with himself.
"Turn end."
"Draw." Yumi drew, his gaze shifted to his hand, and realizing...
"Wrong deck..."
The current deck he was playing was something he cooked up just to mess with Yubel.
But since he hasn't gotten a proper chance to test this deck out with a real opponent, he might as well test it on this volunteer punching bag.
"I activate the Field Spell, Kyoutou Waterfront!"
The ground beneath them rumbled as tall buildings rapidly rose around them, forming a cityscape. At the center stood a massive tower that looked suspiciously like a lighthouse, complete with a yellow roof.
A faint mechanical hum echoed through the air.
"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell, The Kaiju Files."
A large, floating file cabinet-like construct appeared beside Yumi's side of the field, its surface glowing faintly.
"I tribute your Masked Dragon," Yumi continued evenly, "and Special Summon Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju to your field."
Daigo: "!!?"
"Wait? What!?"
The Ra Yellow student just saw his Masked Dragon vanish in a flash of light, replaced by a towering, molten beast. Lava-like flames seeped from cracks across its massive body as it let out a low, rumbling growl.
[Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju, 3000 ATK]
"When a card is sent from the field to the Graveyard," Yumi said casually, "Kyoutou Waterfront gains one Kaiju Counter."
One of the lights on the central tower flickered on.
[Kyoutou Waterfront - 1 Kaiju Counter]
"And since a Kaiju was Summoned," Yumi added, "The Kaiju Files also gains a counter."
The file got a bit larger.
[The Kaiju Files - 1 Kaiju Counter]
"And because you now control a Kaiju monster," Yumi continued, "I can Special Summon Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju from my hand to my side of the field."
Water burst upward behind Yumi as a massive turtle emerged, its four large fins spreading wide as it settled onto the field.
[Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju, 2200 -> 1400 ATK]
[The Kaiju Files - 2 Kaiju Counter]
"I set two cards," Yumi finished, placing them behind Gameciel. "Turn end."
Although confused and more than a little flabbergasted by the strange play his senior had just pulled off, Daigo wasn't about to complain when his opponent casually handed him a free 3000 ATK monster.
"My turn. Draw!"
Daigo drew a card, confidence slowly creeping back onto his face, but before he could even properly look at his hand.
"Continuous Trap, Remove Brainwashing."
Yumi flipped one of his face-down cards without hesitation.
"Return control of all monsters on the field to their original owners."
Daigo froze.
The massive flame dinosaur on his side of the field paused, then casually swaggered to Yumi's side, stomping it foots loudly on the ground.
[Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju, 3000 -> 2200 ATK]