7. Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V A New Story of Pendulum (Standard Arc)

Chapter 5 Toying Around

"Woah!" Yuya jolted awake as his body slipped right off the mattress. With a thud, he landed face-first on the floorboards. Groaning, he rubbed his head, already feeling the sting.

A familiar, teasing voice drifted through the room. "Falling out of your bed again, Yuya?"

Yuya tilted his head up. Floating casually above him was the purple, human-like figure who had been with him ever since the dimensions split apart—Yubel. The Duel Monster's smirk made it clear he was enjoying Yuya's pain.

"Excuse me, Yubel, it's not my fault I fell off," Yuya muttered.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Yubel replied with heavy sarcasm.

Yuya let out a defeated sigh, grabbed his pendant from the bedside table, and stood up. Holding the gem tightly, his expression softened. "Being a Champion is still just a dream... but Pendulum Summon isn't. I really did it. As long as I have Pendulum Summon... I can duel and make even more people smile. Just like Dad."

With that motivation in his chest, Yuya headed out of the room, Yubel trailing behind. His thoughts wandered back to yesterday's encounter.

"That kid... Shuinin Sora. What was his deal?" Yuya murmured. "He just showed up out of nowhere, wiped out Sawatari's goons, and then suddenly decided he wanted to be my apprentice."

Yubel folded his arms, his single eye narrowing. "I don't know, but his uniform... it looks familiar. Like the Obelisk Blue uniforms from Academia."

"Oh yeah, you were with Judai back then, weren't you?" Yuya chuckled. Thanks to Yubel, he'd learned about the duelist Yuki Judai and his era, and why Fusion Summons had become such a core part of Standard Dimension dueling.

A bark pulled Yuya out of his thoughts. He turned to see En, his loyal dog, bounding toward him, with Core the cat padding right behind.

"Hey, En!" Yuya knelt to scoop him up, laughing when the dog licked his cheek. "Wow, you've grown so much. Back when Yuni first brought you home, you could fit in the palm of my hand."

En barked happily, tail wagging. Yuya set him down and turned to the cat. "Good morning, Core."

Sliding down the pole into the dining room, Yuya caught his mother's voice: "I knew you were hungry. Eat as much as you like."

"Morning, Mom! Did you pick another—" Yuya's words froze as his eyes landed on a very unwelcome sight. "Ah! Teacher!"

There, calmly seated at the table with a fork in hand, was none other than Sora.

Yuya's jaw dropped, then tightened. "Why are you here!?"

Yoko looked up from her cooking. "He was wandering in front of our house. And whenever I see someone who looks hungry, I can't just ignore them." She set a steaming plate of pancakes in front of her son.

"You're not allowed to pick up humans!" Yuya barked.

"But isn't he your apprentice?" Yoko asked innocently.

"He's not!" Yuya slammed a fist on the table, glaring.

"What?" Sora blinked.

"Don't 'what?' me! First you sneak into my house, and now you're eating breakfast!?"

Sora grinned between bites. "Relax. Your sister's pancakes are amazing."

"Sister?" Yoko raised an eyebrow, baffled.

"Oh—you're not his sister?" Sora quickly backpedaled. "My mistake. You look so young and beautiful, I just assumed—"

The words "young and beautiful" echoed in Yoko's head. She blushed, hands pressed to her cheeks. "Oh my! You're so honest! If you like them that much, have some more." She promptly took Yuya's pancakes and slid them over to Sora.