Chapter Text
Yuyu hadn’t been to wonder hill in quite a while. She didn’t quite feel worthy of it… she’d lost the final round of deluxe. She’d let everyone down… Miss Mirei… all her friends at blackout… everyone she cared about. She’d failed them.
She stood across from Megumi. From one of her best friends. She had to win this. To prove that her time training with the uniformers hadn’t been a waste. To prove that she was finally strong enough.
“You know the rules.” Megumi’s voice roused her from her introspection. “At blackout, we solve disagreements with a cardfight”.
Yuyu grimaced. “I… haven’t really been a member of blackout for a while now…”
Megumi shrugged. “Maybe not, but you’re still our friend.”
Friends. But… Yu-yu had let down each and every one of her friends. First when she lost to Miss Mirei… blackout would’ve been forced to disband if she hadn’t changed her mind and let them keep going. Then, she lost again in the finals of deluxe… she hadn’t been able to beat Raika, to avenge Mirei’s loss, or to prove to him that she, and that her friends, still had value…
She needed this. The uniformers program was the only way she could get strong enough. Strong enough that she wouldn’t let them down again.
“Are you ready?”
Yuyu was once again roused from her introspection by Megumi’s voice.
“Y… yeah. I’m ready.”
“Good. I finally get the chance to knock some sense into you.”
“Stand up, vanguard.”
“Sunrise egg.”
“Sylvan horned beast, Lotte.”
“I’ll go first. Ride Rino and end my turn.”
“My turn. Ride Charris. Attack.”
“No guard. Damage check…” trickstar… “no trigger. Stand and draw. I ride Reiyu. Rino’s skill calls Trickstar. I overdress to Vairina Arcs. Counterblast 1- draw two cards and arcs gains 5000 power. Arcs attacks!”
“Guard.”
“Reiyu attacks!”
“No guard. Damage check… draw trigger. Stand and draw. I ride Lattice. Charis’ skill calls Alpin. Alpin attacks.”
“Guard.”
“Lattice attacks.”
“No guard! My turn. Stand, and… and draw. Ride, chakrabarthi divine dragon nirvana. Reiyu’s skill adds Vairina to my hand. Then…” Yuyu closer her eyes. This part was always the hardest. “I activate masque of hydragrum, to add Nirvana Masques to my hand.” The look of disappointment in Megumi’s eyes stung, but she had to do this. She had to be strong enough. Strong enough to protect them all. “From the drop zone, masque of hydragrum lets me ride- chakrabarthi fell dragon, Nirvana Masques! I… Nirvana Masque’s effect! By eliminating the original Nirvana from the soul, I can deal you one damage! Then its other effect… I discard a card to call trickstar, and add a card with the overdress ability from my drop to my hand. I add Vairina… overdress Vairina onto trickstar, then overdress again to Vairina masques! Now- arcs attacks your vanguard!”
“Guard.”
“Vairina masques attacks the vanguard!”
“No guard.”
“Nirvana Masques attacks. By eliminating Vairina from the original dress, Vairina Masques stands with +10,000 power!”
“Perfect guard!”
“Drive check… first check… second check… no trigger. Vairina Masques attacks.”
“No guard.”
Yuyu had managed to get her up to 4 damage… if she could land a good hit next turn, she’d win. She’d finally prove that all this training had been worth it, that she was strong enough now…
“My turn. Stand and draw. I ride magnolia. Latice calls golidoat. Then, I call friendship fairy. Friendship fairy’s effect places it into the soul and counterblasts 1 to let me ride a grade four magnolia from my hand! Sylvan horned beast emperor Magnolia’s effect calls Magnolia from the soul. I call two Ginosula.”
This was bad… this was one of the strongest boards Yuyu had ever seen Megumi assemble.
“Now… sylvan horned beast emperor magnolia, attacks!”
“Guard! And intercept with Arcs!”
“First check… no trigger. Second check… draw trigger! 10,000 power to the Ginosula on the right. Second check… critical trigger! Ginosula gets another 10,000 power, and my rear guard magnolia gets an extra critical. Ginosula attacks!”
“No guard!”
“My other Ginosula’s attack is increased by 30,000. Now, attack once more!”
“No guard!”
“Magnolia is now at 53,000 power, and two critical. Attack!”
“Perfect guard!”
“Golidoat attacks”
“Guard”
“Alpin attacks!”
“No guard.”
“At the end of my turn, Alpin countercharges, and Golidoat lets me draw a card.”
“I… I stand and draw… by discarding 1, Nirvana calls trickstar and adds Valiente to my hand. I overdress trickstar to Valiente.”
This was bad. Yuyu didn’t have a single card in her hand… if she didn’t win this turn… no. She had to. She had to prove that all that work, everything she’d sacrificed, had been worth it. That she was worth it. Just one good attack… that’s all she needed.
“Vairina Masques attacks!”
“No guard.”
“Nirvana Masques attacks… by… by eliminating trickstar from the original dress, Vairina Masques stands, and since your vanguard is grade three or higher, gets an extra critical.”
“Perfect guard. Drive check… no trigger. Second check… critical trigger! I add the critical to Valiente and the power to Vairina Masques. Valiente attacks!”
“Guard.”
Megumi only had one card left in her hand… this was going to work…
“Vairina Masques attacks!”
“I guard!”
An over trigger… the attack hadn’t hit.
“I… I end my turn…”
“Stand and draw. Sylvan horned beast emperor magnolia… attacks.”
Yuyu didn’t have the cards to guard all of Megumi’s attacks… all that was in her hand was burning flail dragon… and trickstar. That blitz on her last turn, it had depleted her resources enough that… she didn’t have a chance to win.
“No… guard.”
And that was it. Yuyu had lost. All that training, everything she’d been through… and she still lost. She still… wasn’t enough…
“Y’know… those sleeves were never really a good fit for you. I think we should find you something better.”
“I… I lost…”
“Yeah. You did.”
“I… I tried so hard… tried so hard to get stronger… strong enough that… that I could protect you all…”
“Oh… Yuyu…”
Megumi kneeled down to face her friend.
“You were always strong enough.”
“I lost… every time it mattered, I lost…”
“Yuyu… you don’t need to win every time. You don’t need to be the strongest to be worth something”.
“I just wanted to be strong enough to win when it mattered… I… it hurt so much, every time I let someone I cared about down…”
“You never let us down, Yuyu. You were the one who got through to Mirei and convinced her to let blackout keep going. Even if you lost the fight, your heart, and your kindness, it was what saved us all.”
“She’s right you know.”
“M… Miss Mirei! You… you’re here…”
“Of course I am. I’d never pass up a chance to run into you~”
“I’m sorry… I feel like… like I let you all down… losing in the finals… I wasn’t… wasn’t able to avenge you, Miss Mirei…”
“Silly girl. I didn’t need you to avenge me. I was happy enough just witnessing how incredible you were up there on stage. You’re acting like you failed, but you still placed second in one of the biggest vanguard tournaments to date. That’s something you deserve to be proud of, Yuyu.”
“Hm… I… I guess you’re right…”
“Course I am. Now, are enough finally ready to come home?”
Home… Yuyu hadn’t visited daybreak since she’d joined the uniformers.
“Would… would that be ok? Would the people there… still want me there?”
“Of course we will. You’re a part of our team, Yuyu.”
Yuyu smiled. Tears welled in her eyes.
“Then… I’d like that. I’d really, really like that.”