"Speaking of which, why are the Duel Kings' Decks only being exhibited this afternoon?"
On the way to the exhibition hall, Youmi asked with confusion.
In her memory, this should have been the time when a Ra Yellow student stole Yugi Muto's Deck the night before the display and dueled Jaden.
"Huh? Yuyumi, you didn't know? Yesterday, a huge storm suddenly hit the island, so the transport team couldn't arrive until this morning. That's why the display was delayed to the afternoon… uh, wait."
Jaden, walking ahead with Youmi and Fallen of Albaz, suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned around. "We only have three tickets."
Jaden explained that to visit on the first day of the exhibition, you needed a ticket from Ms. Dorothy's shop.
Since Fallen of Albaz had been acting as Youmi these days and didn't participate in any activities, Jaden and Syrus had gotten the third ticket for him.
"Ah, then I'll skip it. Lil—little sis, you go with Jaden and Syrus. I'll visit tomorrow instead." Fallen of Albaz nearly slipped up, pressing a hand over his still-shut left eye. "My eye hurts a bit. Take some photos for me."
Saying so, he handed Youmi the Branded cards he had been safekeeping for her, then waved and turned to leave.
"Youmi-kun."
Just as he took his first step, someone with a very peculiar accent called out Youmi's name.
"Here!" ×2
Both Fallen of Albaz—who had been posing as Youmi, and Youmi, still unused to her temporary identity—reflexively answered at the same time, leaving Professor Crowler downright baffled.
"Hmm? And who might this be…?"
He pointed at the unfamiliar Youmi.
"Ah, Professor Crowler, this is my younger sister, Yuyumi. Our names sound a bit similar, haha…"
Fallen of Albaz quickly stepped forward to block Crowler's view. "Isn't the school doing those… uh… 'family education visit' programs? And since I got a little hurt earlier, my family asked my sister to come check on me."
They had rehearsed this excuse beforehand, so Fallen of Albaz delivered it smoothly.
"Oh, I see, no problem." Professor Crowler nodded. "Principal Sheppard said that even though your monthly test score wasn't very high due to being defeated by Zane Truesdale, you'll be given a chance to duel Jaden Yuki—who has been doing well even in Punishment Duels—to decide who will represent the school in the upcoming inter-branch friendly match. So now you… and you as well, Jaden—come with me to the principal's office."
Jaden looked shocked, pointing at himself and still holding his ticket. "Eh? Right now? But I was just about to go inside—"
"I'll arrange a special evening viewing privilege for you as the exhibition supervisor. Now come along."
Without waiting for objections, Professor Crowler grabbed both of them and marched toward the principal's office.
Youmi exchanged a look with Syrus, who was also left speechless. "Uh… so the two of us just go in now?"
Syrus pushed up his glasses with an awkward smile. "Let's go in first. I mean, Youmi and Jaden aren't going to have to stare at the backs of people's heads like we will. With my height, I'll be lucky if I can even see their shoulders…"
"True enough."
As the exhibition doors opened, Youmi and Syrus entered with the large crowd.
The moment she stepped inside, a voice only she could hear echoed.
"Oooh so we finally meet face to face"
It lasted only an instant—almost like an auditory hallucination—but Youmi recognized it well. After all, she had used that same voice for days and had formed a bond with its original owner.
Savoring the sound and recalling the person belonging to it, Youmi whispered to herself, "I didn't expect our first meeting to be like this~ how interesting… my partner?"
As she responded, cries erupted inside the hall.
"The Duel Kings' Decks are gone!"
"There's a thief!"
Youmi had known this would happen long in advance, so she wasn't shocked. Despite that, when the crowd dispersed, revealing the empty display case with both Decks missing, she felt a pang of doubt.
Given Lady Labrynth of the Silver Castle's personality, she wouldn't just let someone like Dimitri steal her. If anything, she probably ran off on her own.
….
Later that night, Fallen of Albaz, Jaden, Bastion, and other top students were assigned the task of searching the campus for the thief.
According to what Fallen relayed, Duel Academy had entirely shut down all connections to the outside world until the culprit was found.
Youmi rested her chin on her hand as she listened to the summary. "I see… I have a pretty good idea who stole them, but I don't know where he is now."
At that moment, her phone rang—caller ID: Bastion Misawa.
Youmi tossed the phone to Fallen of Albaz—after all, she was still stuck in Dragonmaid form and needed him to handle these matters.
"Hello? Mizuki, what's up?"
An irritated voice snapped back through the phone. "It's Bas. Tion. Mis. Awa! Youmi, I've found the Deck thief. It's Dimitri from Ra Yellow. I'm about to duel him in the exhibition hall. Get here quickly."
"Huh? You found the thief? Alright, I'm on my way."
Fallen of Albaz hung up and turned to Youmi. "Mizuka Misawa is about to duel the thief. We should head there. This concerns your advancement, boss. We'd better go now."
Youmi nodded. "Alright. Go get Jaden. I'll head to the hall first."
Hours after her last visit, Youmi re-entered the exhibition hall. Both Bastion and Dimitri—cosplaying as Yugi Muto—noticed her arrival.
Dimitri declared, "Hmph! I don't know who you are, but now that we have a witness… Taro Misawa, I will defeat you with the greatest Deck in history and prove I am the superior Duelist!"
Bastion, Duel Disk already equipped, tried to reason with him. "Dimitri, you're making a serious mistake. Power gained from using someone else's Deck doesn't make you strong. Return the Deck now and accept leniency before the school punishes you! And my name is Bastion Misawa!"
Stuffing the stolen Deck into his Duel Disk, Dimitri barked, "Silence, Taro! What would someone already on the verge of Obelisk Blue know about my struggle? Today I'll defeat you! Right here and now!"
...
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