Yuzu and Julia sat underneath the humid sun during their downtime between college courses. Both of them had grown up together as close friends. It was even to the point where Julia followed Yuzu into college despite having no desire to get a degree. Everything had been on course for a standard graduation. Yuzu wanted to be an Engineer, and Julia was on course to get her physical education degree, but that was all shaky now.

  Both of their grades were starting to slip. Yuzu’s parents blamed Julia for being a bad influence, but in truth, it was Yuzu who was bringing them down. Not with drugs or alcohol, but an all-consuming addiction to a simple card game: Yu-gi-oh!. Yuzu was infatuated with it. She had only been playing for two years, but it was all she ever thought about. Julia, wanting to support her friend, also got waist-deep into the game. She enjoyed it but not nearly as much as Yuzu did, however, she did find it to be a nice distraction from her college studies as she never really cared too much for her education. She was simply going through the motions.

  “God damn, it’s fucking atrocious out here,” Huffed Julia. She fanned herself with her hand desperately but ultimately found it to be a worthless endeavor that only served to exhaust her.

  Yuzu scrolled through her phone aimlessly, only taking a break to mop the sweat off her forehead. “I know, but all the cool spots are being taken up by people working on school projects. Even the library’s packed!”

  Julia belched a low groan of misery. “My next class isn’t for another hour. I don’t think I’m gonna make it. I don’t even have the cash to get something cold!”

  “I won 80 bucks at my last locals. We could get something with that,” Suggested Yuzu in a rather dismissive tone.

  There was a short pause. Julia squinted while the gears in her head turned. Something about what her friend said didn’t add up. Suddenly the problem came to her all at once causing her to snap her head back to look at Yuzu with both confusion and shock. “Wait, It’s been exams all this month. When the hell did you have time to play at a local tournament.”

  A small, guilty grunt escaped Yuzu’s lips. She had been caught red-handed. “Don’t worry about it. Do you want to get something to eat or not?” she pulled out her wallet and waved it in front of Julia lazily.

  Julia gawked at her friend. She had changed a lot since college. Yuzu’s raven black hair used to be neat and pristine. Now it was ruffled and shaggy, with bright yellow highlights splashed throughout the top of her head. The underside of her hair was completely purple to compliment her yellow highlights and violet eyes. The high-cut denim leotard she was wearing with a yellow choker would have made her mother feint, and it didn’t help that she decided to top it off with some short shorts that her grandmother would have seen as an assault on their family honor. Julia was supposed to be the delinquent of the two but standing next to Yuzu she now felt modest. Her dyed blond roots felt like nothing now. Her simple white beater and jeans made her feel lacking in fashion, and now to top it off Yuzu apparently had more money than her. It ground her gears as it felt like Yuzu was becoming an entirely different person from the one she grew up with, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak up about it. A part of her liked the person she was becoming even if she knew it wasn’t for the best.

  Julia snatched her wallet and lightly smacked her on the head with it. “I’m in, but I’m picking the spot!”

  A short walk later they found themselves in a Chick-fil-A waiting in an unusually long line.

  “Damn this place is packed, maybe we should go somewhere else,” Julia Groaned.

  Yuzu leaned on her shoulder, scrolling through her phone to pass the time. “Nope, you said you wanted Chick-fil-A so that’s what we’re getting, just have some patience, J.”

  “It’s not like we have that much time, Y’know. My next class is in like thirty-five minutes.”

  Yuzu prodded her friend’s cheek, still dismissively staring at her phone. “Relax, I know you don’t actually care about your classes. So what’s the rush?”

  “What about your classes then? If your mom found out you weren’t taking them seriously you’d be a dead woman.”

  “It’s fiiine, I have everything under control,” Yuzu playfully bumped Julia out of the line with her hips. “You’re becoming such a worry wart lately? Is everything ok? Is something stressing you out?”

  Not wanting to look ‘soft’ for worrying about another grown woman, Julia crossed her arms and shook her head. “N-Nah, I just think all the cramming I’ve been doing is catching up to me.” For once Julia was thankful for the heat, it just saved her from being caught with the most obvious cold sweat of all time.

  Yuzu tilted her head with a mix of curiosity and concern. “Why don’t we go back to the apartment and take the day off. I don’t have anything important in my classes today.”

  Julia wanted to call her out for skipping, but the last handful of conversations told her that it would be a pointless endeavor. Mix that in with her own disinterest in maintaining the facade of a decent student was all but wilted. “Fuck it, that sounds like a vibe. I really didn’t want to go to my next class anyway.”

  “Cool! Anyways check this out.” Yuzu pulled her friend in close to get a good look at her phone.

  “What is it?”

  On the screen was a photo of a Yu-gi-oh! Card. The card text was completely in Japanese, with ‘sample’ written in bold white print across the card art. The monster was a metal-clad knight that almost looked like a robot to Julia, but her eyes widened as they focused in on the sword it was holding. She’d recognize its unique shape and flaming orange aura anywhere.

  “Wait! Is that a new Flame swordsman?” She was now leaning in of her own accord.

  Yuzu nodded her head with an excited smile and a glint in her eyes. “Yep, Metal Flame Swordsman! He came out in the OCG not too long ago. We still have to wait for it to be released in the West though.”

  “What’s its effect?”

  “You summon it with Max Metalmorph using a high-level warrior monster. It will let you draw any other card that mentions Metalmorph, but you can also just use it as a burn against special summons.”

  “Shit! That ain’t bad. How long does it take for cards to release on our turf?”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Shouldn’t be more than a couple of months. You’re just gonna have to keep your eyes peeled.”

  Julia shrugged and shook her head. “On second thought it Doesn’t really matter, it’s not like I can afford to burn money on packs anyway. That’s why I’ve stuck to playing the same deck for the past six months.”

  Yuzu rolled her eyes and gave Julia a playful elbow. ’Come on, you know I’m not gonna leave you hanging like that. I’m sure that once the pack has been out in the wild I’ll be able to snag a couple of copies. They shouldn’t be that expensive… I hope.”

  Julia raised an eyebrow as they moved up the line. “What’s that supposed to mean? Just how expensive can these cards get?”

  The young duelist scratched her cheek nervously, “Right, you were able to put together your deck with my help. Let’s just say things can get a little… inflated.”

  A snarky voice rang out from behind. “That’s only a problem if you’re broke and unmotivated!” Both girls turned around with a flabbergasted and offended look on their faces.

  They traced the culprit back to a woman with a smug grin a couple of line spots behind them. She had Long, straight, brown hair and bright, blue eyes that overflowed with haughty pride. She wore a long coat that was blindingly white, with rows of neon blue belts clamping down her baggy sleeves. The black turtleneck and leather pants made Yuzu sweat just by looking at her. She couldn’t fathom how this woman was wearing all of that in this heat. Even Yuzu had enough sense to leave her favorite blue coat at home today, and people teased her for being melded to the thing.

  “Why don’t you mind your damn business?” Julia spat, her face twisted with anger. She was tough, but her skin was paper thin when it came to insults.

  “Dueling is my business, Sweetheart. I guess a couple of amateurs could never fathom that, dueling and not being broke.” She ran her hand through her pristine hair. Her sharp nails were the same vibrant blue as her belts. Yuzu thought they looked tacky, like the claws of a child’s imaginary monster.

  Yuzu couldn’t hold herself back from biting this woman’s low-effort bait. She decided to spare her the respect people like her tended to desperately want. “Great, so you’re one of those people: A rich girl who can spend all her parent’s money on the best cards and then shits on everyone who plays on a budget. I’m sure they looove you at the tournaments.”

  “Damn right they do, because I came up from nothing and did anything I needed to gather up the cards necessary to be the best. If you’re worried about the price of cards, then you’re not really a duelist.”

  Julia stepped out of the line and approached the haughty woman with steam practically flowing off the top of her head. “What’s your problem lady? You’re talking a whole lot of crap over a damn card game! You must be the type of bitch who’s never had her ass beat before!” She hemmed up the arrogant wench, getting face to face with an unrestrained snarl.

  The woman gave a soft chuckle and a sly smirk. “You’re right, I’ve never been beat a day in my life-,” Suddenly her left hand was gripping Julia’s crushing grip strong enough to make her wince. The next thing Julia knew her razor-sharp nails were just centimeters away from her eyes. “-Because everyone who’s tried to lay a finger on me has gone into medical bankruptcy without fail. Now I know assuming makes an ass out of me, but if you can’t afford one measly card then you definitely can’t afford the emergency room I’m about to put you in.”

  A quick swipe from Yuzu broke up the death grips they had on each other. She leered at both of them like a disappointed principal and pushed them away from each other. Despite being shorter than both of them Yuzu was still able to muster up enough force to send the stranger stumbling while maintaining enough control to only lightly push Julia back. “Now I Know you two are not about to kill each other over a children’s card game! That would be the dumbest news segment I have ever heard.”

  “Sorry Yuz, you know how I am.” Julia stuffed her hands into her pockets, a tactic she had adopted to try and keep her temper under control in these types of situations.

  “Yeah, I know,” Yuzu shot the smug stranger a death glare, watching her dust herself off unnecessarily, “and you. What in god’s name is wrong with you? Do you hate casuals that much?”

  “Of course not, I hate posers who dream big with no grit. In other words, I hate people like you.” She pointed at Yuzu like a witch branding an unsuspecting commoner with a curse. “I saw you scrolling through the regional tournament listings. What? Got big dreams of winning? Don’t kid yourself, stick to the locals, brat.”

  The young duelist recoiled at the accusations. “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to? hag!” The outburst was quick and loud. Julia jumped in her skin as the usually quiet Yuzu became passionate. “You act like you know me and I don’t appreciate that!” She took a step back; she hated those claws pointed in her direction. “You really need to just get back in line because I’m being so patient with you right now!”

  Julia was shocked to see such a stalwart rebuttal from her friend. To her knowledge Yuzu had never been much of a fighter. “Yuz?”

  “No!” Yuzu exclaimed, not wanting to be reined in. “Because she’s the type of duelist that really grinds my gears. If you think you’re so good, then why don’t you swing by the Local card shop tomorrow for a couple of sets?”

  The stranger raised an eyebrow and let out an arrogant scoff. “Are you really trying to challenge a renowned duelist like myself?”

  “Are you really gonna back down from an amateur after doing all that self-glazing?”

  The arrogant duelist stared at Yuzu in silence. The young upstart could hear the gears in her head turning.

  “Fine,” said the arrogant stranger. “The nearest shop is what, the Barian Spire? Be there at 12 or else.” The haughty woman whipped out her phone and snapped a picture of Yuzu before she could even realize what happened. She turned her phone around to display a rather unflattering picture of the poor girl. “If you flake, You’ll have a regional goddess destroying any chance you have of starting a career.” A devilish grin reached across her face stretching from ear to ear.

  “Oh! Don’t worry. I’ll be there!” She smiled smugly and crossed her arms. “I’ll take you down a peg. I’ll be doing a service to the whole community.”

  The eccentric duelist leaned over Yuzu with her wicked grin. It felt like there was real fire brewing behind those ocean-blue eyes. “What’s your name? Brat.”

  “Yuzu. And I’m no brat, I could legally drink you under the table, skank.” Yuzu didn’t want to back down, no matter how badly her deranged face was creeping her out.

  “Name’s Zoe, and you better not forget it, broky.”

  Yuzu froze. She recognized the name, but she didn’t want to give an inch. She had been arguing with Zoe Kister. She was infamous for tearing up the regional scene in the most ridiculous outfits that always obscured her identity. She would cosplay as one of the many monsters from her brutal Blue Eyes deck. She probably would have had a lot more fans if she wasn’t so insufferable. The only people who actually liked her were infatuated with her appearance (and more truthfully, her body) than anything else. She was top class in their state, and she was one of the many reasons they had a reputation for being a clown fest.

  A new voice cut through all the commotion. “Ahem!” It was the cashier of the Chick-fil-A. While they were bickering, the entire line had moved past them, leaving them alone on the floor. “Are you guys going to order something or not?”

  Zoe was quick to pull herself together, adjusting her coat and trying to suppress the crazed look glued to her face. “Oh! Sorry ma’am.” She was quick to take the opportunity to cut past the duo as a last-minute show of dominance.

  The pair silently took the show of disrespect sitting down. They didn’t want to stir up any more trouble. The wait for their food was awkward, full of stares and small taunts that drew in the attention of nearby diners. It was only when Zoe was leaving with her order did she finally stop to speak again. “See you tomorrow, little Yuzu.”

  Before Yuzu could respond, Julia leaned over her, aggressively silencing her with one hand and waving Zoe off with another. “Shove off, bitch! We’ll be there so quit your instigating.”

  Zoe scoffed at the blunt call out and left with an exaggerated sway. She was simply incapable of letting someone get the better of her in any facet of life, and that made her amazingly petty.

  “What an annoying bitch. I hope she spills her order on that stupid white coat she’s wearing,” snarled Julia as she leaned back into her chair.

  Yuzu nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’ve never met such a crazy elitist before. It’s people like that who drive out new players.”

  “Then you better kick her ass tomorrow,” Julia asserted. She gave Yuzu a smile, showing that she had Julia’s full confidence.

  Yuzu wasn’t so sure, however. Zoe was good, really good, and she didn’t know if she had what it took to really compete at that level.