Under the Rain [Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS]

S3-57✩ Everlasting Fragrance

"Continue the duel!"

After declaring that, Mizuno went back to his position a few steps away from Mirai and observed the field. Mirai had 4800 LP, no monster in her Main Monster Zone and Extra Monster Zone but had Aroma Garden in her Field Zone and one set card in her Spell & Trap Zone. Meanwhile, Igarashi had 4000 LP, Melffy Mommy with four Overlay Units and Merry Melffys in his Main Monster Zone, and the Continuous Spell Melffy Staring Contest alongside one set card in his Spell & Trap Zone. Mirai had two cards in hand while Igarashi only had one.

Next, Mizuno looked at Mirai's face. There were no signs of being in pain there unlike ten minutes ago, but he noticed her gaze now looked sharp and her innocent smile had faded. He knew she put on that face because she was taking Igarashi's confession seriously. Seeing it made him smile, although he still sighed quietly in the end. He was thinking about the words she said back then to convince him to let her continue the duel. What message did she wish to convey by dueling Igarashi, and to whom? He couldn't deny that now he was curious to find that out, as well as the outcome of the duel.

"I proceed to Main Phase 2," Igarashi announced before inserting one card from his hand into one of the three unoccupied holographic card slots of his duel disk, "I activate another Continuous Spell, Melffy Hide-and-seek, which would protect my Beast monsters from being destroyed by card effects--for the first time only. With this, I end my turn--"

"Before you do," Mirai firmly interjected, swishing her hand forward, "I flip open my set card, Blessed Winds, and activate its third effect. By paying 1000 LP, I special summon an Aroma monster from my GY. Return to my field now, Aromage Jasmine!"

Now Mirai had 3800 LP and Aromage Jasmine in attack position in her field. "She made the right decision to activate and use it now, because although it has three effects, only one can be activated per turn. Still, she could've done better if she had activated it and special summoned Aromage Jasmine in defense position before Melffy Mommy's attack could hit her." Spectre noted while making sure he kept the last part stay in his mind. He just didn't want to risk upsetting Ryoken more after he saw him frowning at Igarashi when he confessed. Although Ryoken smiled at Mizuno, for Spectre it was clear he was still irritated.

"I see. That's a good move," Igarashi praised her with a quick nod. "However! Since a monster is special summoned to your field, I will activate Merry Melffys' effect. I'll return it to my Extra Deck and swap it with an Xyz monster: Joyous Melffys, in attack position!"

An Xyz portal opened in his field and a new Melffy monster appeared from within the laser beam it shot. Joyous Melffys looked very identical to Merry Melffys, except the Melffys were happily having a fruit feast now. It had 2000 ATK, 500 points higher than its predecessor. Igarashi briefly closed his eyes. "Once again, I announce the end of my turn... but before that, by its own effect, I shall attach Melffy Pinny from my GY to Melffy Mommy. Now with 5 Overlay Units, every time Melffy Mommy becomes an attack target, I may inflict damage to my opponent equal to the attacking monster's ATK. Then, I'm ending my turn for real now. Go ahead, it's your turn, Tsubaki-kun!"

"...Right. I draw!"

Igarashi silently watched Mirai as she looked over the three cards in her hand. If she wanted to pierce his defense and directly attack him, she needed to get past all of his monsters and the various effects that protected them. Just then, he thought about his strategy again and realized that from a beginner's point of view, this situation must be dire enough for them. While maintaining his poker face, he wondered if he was being too harsh on Mirai and glanced at Mizuno to ask for his opinion. As if Mizuno could already tell what was bothering him, he received a deadpan from him as soon as their eyes met, which only confirmed his concern.