"It was necessary. From the moment I appeared, I sensed killing intent. Surely some narrow-minded person was jealous of my lord's superb dueling skills. To prevent any accidents, please allow me to escort you, my lord."
"Killing intent..." Hara Shichi glanced at Ai, who had remained silent ever since they arrived, and a bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
"A-Qi." Ai finally spoke.
"Hmm?"
"I think binding Ghost Ogre to a card is an act of stifling her freedom. Why don't we send her back to the rear mountain?" Ai said expressionlessly.
Hara Shichi looked at Ghost Ogre, who was walking beside him, then lowered his head without answering.
"She's just Ghost Ogre. Once I have enough Duel Power, forget Ghost Ogre—Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, Proliferating G, and Infinite Impermanence will all be mine for the taking. You understand what I mean, right?" Ai whispered into Hara Shichi's ear.
"Ahem, ahem. I don't really understand what you're trying to say." Hara Shichi tried to brush it off.
"No, you do!" Ai hugged Hara Shichi from behind, her little hands once again smacking his face. This time, though, she had no physical form and nearly passed right through him.
"You have to choose one today!" Ai said indignantly.
"Why?"
"They overlap! Your character settings overlap!" Ai pounded on Hara Shichi.
Hara Shichi looked at Ghost Ogre, who had a sword at her waist and a serious expression, then looked at Ai, who was clinging to him and making a fuss.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible. What strange nonsense are you talking about?" Hara Shichi denied it.
Sigh, my lord was talking to himself again.
A sorrowful look appeared in Ghost Ogre's red eyes.
According to rumors, there had once been a Duel King whose dueling skills were so strong that he had no friends. So, he imagined an invisible friend, and every time he dueled, he discussed tactics with that friend.
My lord must be the same. How pitiful. I should probably avoid exposing him.
"My lord, please rely on me as much as you wish." Ghost Ogre looked at Hara Shichi pityingly.
"Hm? Oh, right... Wait, Ai, stop messing around..."
Hmm, so my lord's invisible friend was called Ai? I'll remember that.
Ghost Ogre nodded thoughtfully.
Don't Give Away Things You Don't Want!
"Tell me, is it possible that you were just under too much strain, and when your body forcibly made you rest, you had a dream?" Ai asked Hara Shichi, who was sitting in class listening to the lesson.
Perhaps because Ghost Ogre had already returned to the deck, Ai no longer chased after Hara Shichi demanding that he "choose one of the two."
"I don't know. Maybe." Hara Shichi no longer cared much. There was no point dwelling on things he could not understand.
"That must be it." Ai sighed in relief.
"Ai."
"Hmm?"
"What I said this morning was meant for you." Hara Shichi smiled.
"I know that!" Ai's lips curled up slightly.
"And..." Hara Shichi looked at Ai. "When are you going to print Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, Proliferating G, and Infinite Impermanence?"
"So your true intentions are finally showing, huh?" Ai punched Hara Shichi in the back.
"I can't help it. You saw them too, right? Midrash, Nafili, and... Super Magician." Hara Shichi rested one hand against his cheek and spoke softly. "If our next opponent is on that level, we'll lose."
"I know, sigh." Ai began to frown as well. "I don't have enough energy to print cards for you right now. Just maintaining myself is hard enough—I can't even materialize... Ah, I've got it."
"What?" Hara Shichi looked at Ai.
"If we can't win, then pull the plug. As long as we interrupt the duel, we haven't lost!" Ai said seriously.
"I mean, how do we get stronger quickly?" Hara Shichi rubbed his forehead.
"There are no shortcuts in the world. It's better to keep your feet on the ground and take every step properly." Ai sighed. "But if you duel powerful duelists, the Duel Power produced will be greater and stronger."
"Powerful duelists?" Hara Shichi turned his gaze toward Nafili, who was speaking endlessly at the podium. "Should I challenge Professor Nafili?"
"It won't mean anything if you lose! Challenge her later." Ai shook her head. "You need someone fairly strong, but someone you can still beat."
"Is there anyone like that?" Hara Shichi searched through his memories. Did he really know someone like that...? Wait, maybe she was worth trying.
During the lunch break, in the courtyard.
"So, what do you want with me?" The girl with shoulder-length purple hair leaned against the wall. "If you're here to thank me, there's no need. You know it yourselves, right? That night, I was secretly following you two."
"Especially you. I nearly took your deck away. Don't you hold even a little resentment toward me?" Julie pointed at Yukikaze.
"Um..." Yukikaze frowned, then relaxed. "You have a point, but those are two separate matters. I still have to thank you."
"You're an idiot," Julie sneered.
"Wait, I'm not here to thank you." Hara Shichi cut in.
"Huh? Hara Shichi, weren't you here to thank her with me?" Yukikaze asked in surprise.
"In that situation, we had already won the Dark Duel and were preparing to leave. Even if Julie hadn't called Nafili over, we wouldn't have been in danger, right?" Hara Shichi shrugged. "If anything, I hate being followed."
"But you can't put it that way..."
Yukikaze looked troubled, but before she could finish, Julie interrupted, "So you're here to pick a fight?"
"Of course." Hara Shichi put both hands into his pockets. "Didn't you say you wanted revenge last time? How about a duel right now?"
"Tch. You think... just because you have that powerful Xyz card, you can do whatever you want?" Julie gritted her teeth.
"I took leave from afternoon class. I'll be waiting for you at the stadium. Of course, you don't have to come if you're scared." Without waiting for Julie's reply, Hara Shichi turned and left without looking back.
"Um... goodbye, Senior Julie!" Yukikaze hurriedly bid Julie farewell, then chased after Hara Shichi.
Julie watched their retreating backs. Her fair face darkened as she clenched her fist and slammed it into the wall. "Bastard!"
"..."
"Hara Shichi, why did you say something like that just now?" Yukikaze puffed out her cheeks like a little squirrel.
"What did I do just now?" Hara Shichi tilted his head.
"You were obviously provoking Senior Julie," Yukikaze said.
"Didn't she provoke you before?" Hara Shichi asked in confusion. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Don't you understand something that simple?"
"But although Senior Julie did things I really disliked, I don't think she's a bad person. And if you act like this, won't you be no different from her?" Yukikaze said earnestly.
"Exactly, which is why I'm going to duel her." Hara Shichi nodded. "Although Senior Julie isn't bad by nature, think about it carefully. Isn't her behavior pretty awful? Don't we need to help correct her? I want to wake her up through a duel!"
"Is that really it?" Yukikaze asked doubtfully.
"Of course not. It's all for Duel Power." Ai floated in midair and sneered. Come to think of it, Julie was fairly good at dueling, but without Lich King, her Zombie-Type deck with Dragon Undead as its ace was nothing to fear. She was perfect for farming.
"Of course it is. Without provoking her, how would she take the bait?" Hara Shichi said as he took a card from his card case and handed it to Yukikaze. "Oh, right. Here's your Black Hole back."
"Did it come in handy?" Yukikaze asked curiously.
"Yeah." Hara Shichi recalled the duel against "himself" and nodded slightly.
"Then you keep it." Yukikaze looked generous. "I feel like this card will be even more powerful in your hands."
"What are you talking about?" Hara Shichi looked at Yukikaze strangely. "You worked hard to win this as your trophy. Don't just give it to me."
As he spoke, he forcibly stuffed it into Yukikaze's hand.
"All right." Yukikaze stuck out her tongue and put the card away.
"She means well. If she wants you to take it, take it. Why are you being so fussy?" Ai said from the side. "Black Hole can even be used like Raigeki when going second. It's pretty strong."
"I already owe too many people favors. I don't even know how to repay them, so how could I shamelessly take more?" Hara Shichi said softly as he looked at Yukikaze beside him.
"You give her something, she gives you something." Ai waved a hand. "Just give her something. Let me think... Give her the White Rabbit I printed last time."
"Are you serious?" Hara Shichi stared at Ai in surprise, unable to understand why such an adorable little girl could say something so terrifying.
"Then give her a Madolche Messenger. You don't need to run three copies of Madolche Messenger anyway. Or Mille-Feu Cat would work too. Girls will definitely like cute cards like that." Ai thought for a moment.
"Don't give people things you don't need!" Hara Shichi snapped. Still, Ai had a point. At times like this, he needed to return the favor.
"Yukikaze, you don't have many Trap Cards in your deck, right?" Hara Shichi asked.
"Yeah. I don't know why, but I've never been able to print any useful traps." Yukikaze looked troubled.
"Then take this card. If you don't have any disruption going first, it can be inconvenient in a lot of situations." Hara Shichi said as he handed Breakthrough Skill to Yukikaze.
"Wait! What are you doing?!" Ai grabbed Hara Shichi's head and shouted. "That card is useful! It's useful!"
"Don't you need it?" Yukikaze did not reach out to take it. Instead, she asked him.
"I already have Forbidden Chalice in my deck for negation," Hara Shichi said.
"It's not enough! It's nowhere near enough!" Ai yelled into Hara Shichi's ear.
"Then... thank you." Yukikaze accepted the card, and a bright smile appeared on her playful face.
Lockdown
Duelist Academy, stadium.
Since classes were still in session, the stadium, usually packed with people, was now extremely deserted. When Hara Shichi arrived, he saw only Julie standing there alone.
"I didn't think you'd really come." Hara Shichi walked forward.
"Let's make this clear first. We can duel, but I have one condition." Julie took out her deck. "If I win, you'll give me your Tiramisu of the Tiara."
"You really can't stop thinking about my card." Hara Shichi said helplessly.
"Of course! Anyone would obsess over a powerful card like that!" Julie said coldly.
"And if you lose? If we're betting cards, you have to put up something of equal value." Hara Shichi raised an eyebrow.
"If I lose, I'll do whatever you tell me." Julie pressed her reddened lips together and lightly lifted the hem of her skirt, revealing a stretch of soft, fair thigh. "Anything you want."
"Did she take me for some innocent little boy?" Hara Shichi twitched his lips.
"Have you experienced anything?!" Ai opened her blue eyes wide in curiosity.
"No."
"But Tiramisu of the Tiara is a very important card to me. I don't want to use it as a wager," Hara Shichi said. "After all, I can't guarantee that I'll win the duel one hundred percent."
"Hoh, scared?" Julie mocked.
"Yeah, I'm scared." Hara Shichi drew a card from his deck. "If you don't mind, how about using this card as the wager instead?"
"This card is... an Xyz card?!" Julie swallowed. "You actually have another Xyz card?!"
"What do you think? With this card, you might even learn how to Xyz Summon." Hara Shichi waved the card in his hand.
"Wait, you're not trying to fob me off with some worthless monster, are you? Tell me this card's summoning conditions and effect!" Julie knew very well that even among Xyz Monsters, there were differences in strength. Some had harsh requirements and were completely useless.
"Fiend Death God Thanatos. Its summoning condition is two Level 4 DARK monsters. Once per turn, you can detach one Xyz Material from this card to activate its effect. For the rest of this turn, this card is unaffected by the effects of monsters other than itself. This effect can also be activated during your opponent's turn."
"It's not as strong as Tiramisu of the Tiara." Julie frowned.
"It isn't affected by Tiramisu's effect, and its ATK is even higher than Tiramisu's. If you use this card, you might be able to beat me." Hara Shichi shrugged. "And do you really think I'd use another card as powerful as Tiramisu as a wager if I had one?"
"In that case, I accept this duel." Julie stepped back, and a purple Duel Disk appeared on her arm.
"Then... duel!"
"Duel!"
Julie: 4000 LP vs Hara Shichi: 4000 LP
"Beep!" Julie looked at her sounding Duel Disk and curled her lips slightly. "Looks like I'm going first again."
Before you continue