Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Ah, so this is how the cards should be arranged. Quite ceremonial, actually."

Stroking her chin thoughtfully, Hoshino admired the neatly arranged cards before her. The three Egyptian God cards formed a radiant triangle, mirrored by the three Evil God cards to create a six-pointed star glowing with an eerie light.

"How dare you treat me like this! I just helped you win the duel!"

The Evil God, now bound in her human form, squirmed against the restraints that held her. Tossed unceremoniously onto the bed, she glared at Hoshino, who was busy toying with the cards that symbolized her essence.

Having used the last reserves of dark energy stored in the bracelet to subdue the Evil God, Da Vinci's voice sounded faint, almost distant.

"Hoshino-chan, are you absolutely certain about this?" Da Vinci asked, her tone laden with concern. "If you leave, you may never be able to return to the life you've built here. That includes your friends, your routines, and all the things you've come to cherish in this world..."

Hoshino nodded solemnly, her expression firm. "I've thought about it countless times, especially on those nights when I'm alone. I can't deny how much I've enjoyed living here, but this world... it isn't truly mine. In my world, there are people waiting for me to come back."

She glanced at her Duel Disk, the deck already loaded and ready. A soft smile crossed her face, tinged with bittersweet emotion. "This fleeting, dreamlike experience will become a treasured memory—something I'll carry with me to keep moving forward once I'm back home."

Seeing Hoshino's resolve, Da Vinci sighed softly. "Since you've made your decision, I won't try to stop you. But are you sure you don't want to say goodbye to your friends?"

"If I do that, knowing them, it'll be almost impossible to leave." Despite her words, Hoshino took a moment to jot down a brief note and placed it carefully on the table before continuing her preparations.

"Alright, the process is ready whenever you are," Da Vinci said. Her tone shifted to a brisk, professional cadence. "It's simple—once the pathway opens, it'll feel just like the Spiritron Transfer you used to enter Chaldea in your dreams."

Adjusting the energy flow from the glowing six-pointed star, Da Vinci continued, "Just focus on where you want to go. Strong thoughts of that place will reflect onto the cards, and they'll respond in kind. The collision of these energies will inevitably open the pathway to your miracle."

"Picture where I want to return to, huh..."

Closing her eyes, Hoshino reached out instinctively toward the dazzling star of light and shadow. She concentrated on the image of home—the place she had known for sixteen years, the world she longed to see again.

"The first thing I'll do when I get back," she murmured to herself, "is change my lifestyle—no more being a shut-in."

"The pathway is opening—get ready, Hoshino-chan!" Da Vinci's warning rang out, filled with urgency.

"I'm ready..."

As Hoshino's voice faltered with determination, a sudden, unexpected glow emanated from the Millennium Necklace. Previously dormant, it now shone with a brilliance that rivaled the Egyptian God cards, bathing the room in divine light.

In that instant, Hoshino's vision was filled with a startling image: a man wearing a Duel Disk, standing amidst the ruins of a shattered, post-apocalyptic world. His eyes burned with despair and an unquenchable thirst for vengeance, piercing through the vision like a dagger to her soul.

.

..

...

Meanwhile, the second match of the Battle City tournament carried on without her.

"She's probably just exhausted and wanted to rest a bit longer," her friends speculated, unconcerned. Their focus shifted entirely to the destined duel between Yugi and Kaiba.

The second duel was every bit as intense as the first, lacking none of the drama or precision of Hoshino's climactic battle against Marik.

While there were no overwhelming displays of infinite attack powers, the calculated strategies and the clash between Yugi's Dark Magician and Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon—light against shadow—embodied the essence of a true duel.

In the end, Yugi fused Dark Magician and Buster Blader to summon Dark Paladin. With a decisive move, Dark Paladin Slash, he obliterated Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, securing his victory in the second semifinal match.

The audience erupted into cheers, thoroughly exhilarated. The air buzzed with anticipation for the grand finale, while online discussions exploded into fervent debate.

Successor of the Legendary Fisherman: "Of course, the Duel King will win! Cute equals justice—don't you understand?"

Blonde Beauty Who Sinks Boats with Money: "Obviously, Yugi will win! I'm a professional, and as a former U.S. champion, my insight is unmatched!"

Drunken Uncle: "Who's this supposed 'U.S. champion'? I'm the reigning champion, and even I can tell Yugi's chances are slim!"

Toy Shop Grandpa: "Hohoho, it doesn't matter who wins, as long as the duel is exciting. It's all great for publicity. Please continue supporting Yugi and Hoshino, the faces of Kame Toys~"

My Daughter Is the Cutest: "Who let this shameless advertiser in? Shut up!"

Yet amid all the excitement, the highly anticipated grand finale... never took place.

Without warning, KaibaCorp announced that the tournament was postponed indefinitely. No new date was provided, and the company ignored the avalanche of inquiries and criticism, choosing instead to remain silent.

No one understood the true reason. The abrupt halt, despite the immense hype and the financial losses KaibaCorp would endure, baffled both fans and experts alike.

.

..

...

In the quiet of Hoshino's empty room, Yugi picked up the Egyptian God cards left on the table. His expression was somber as he read the brief note she had written:

[Yugi, consider the God cards my parting gift. They mean a lot to you, after all.]

The note confirmed what Yugi had already suspected.

"Leaving the God cards as a farewell gift—it's just like Hoshino," he murmured softly.

Standing by the window, Yugi gazed out at the endless expanse of sea. His hand brushed the cards before he carefully slid them into his deck.

"I promised we'd face each other in the Battle City finals," he said quietly, his voice resolute. "No matter how long it takes, I'll be here, waiting for you."

(***)

The familiar sensation of dimensional travel enveloped Hoshino. Traveling between worlds—whether to Chaldea, a VR game, or now back to her own—who would've thought they all used the same system for dimensional transit?

Blurry lights and shadows swirled together, forming a deep blue tunnel that stretched endlessly ahead. There was no solid ground beneath her, only the strange, weightless feeling of floating along with the flow. She couldn't turn back to glimpse the place she had just left, nor could she see the destination waiting at the other end. All she could do was close her eyes and silently pray.

"Domino City, huh? I was only there for a little over a month, but it was really fun~." Bathed in the surreal atmosphere of this shifting corridor, Hoshino's thoughts turned nostalgic, memories of her time in that world playing in her mind like a wistful slideshow.

"This isn't some near-death montage!" she protested aloud, snapping herself out of it. If her first few crossings had filled her with tension, she had since grown so accustomed to the process that now it only bored her. Muttering to herself had become her way of passing the time.

"But why does this trip feel so much longer than the last one? I vaguely recall the first time being quicker... Da Vinci, are you there?"

Silence greeted her. It was clear her connection to Chaldea had been severed the moment she entered this space.

Hoshino frowned, trying to piece together her memories. Truthfully, she couldn't remember how long her initial journey had taken. Back then, she'd been too overwhelmed—panicking over the sudden transition and mourning the loss of her complete Servant collection. The details were a blur.

Time dragged on, an unending expanse of light and shadow. Just as Hoshino began to fear she might be trapped in this strange limbo forever, a faint glimmer appeared at the end of the tunnel.

Finally, the light of hope symbolizing her destination flickered into view.

"Finally! We've reached the stop~." Adopting a casual tone, as if she were on a train ride home, Hoshino eagerly strained to see through the approaching light.

Then, without warning, a high-speed object zipped past her.

The moment was so brief she barely registered it, catching only the vaguest impression of a human-like silhouette.

Rubbing her eyes in disbelief, she muttered, "What the heck? Did someone just pass by me? On this dimensional highway? Was that... some kind of train?"

Before she could process the bizarre occurrence, her feet landed on solid ground. The swirling lights and shadows vanished in an instant, replaced by the sights and sounds of the "beautiful world" she'd been expecting.

Except...

"It's... not beautiful at all!"

Smoke rose from a nearby building, its structure visibly damaged, as if moments away from collapsing. Crowds of people scattered in every direction, their panicked shouts filling the air as they fled for their lives.

Hoshino froze, her mind blank as she took in the unfamiliar yet oddly nostalgic surroundings. Chaos unfolded before her, stark and unavoidable.

Then came the monster.

From the smoky wreckage of the building emerged a grotesque, dragon-like creature, its monstrous form towering over the destruction it had caused. Its guttural roars sent waves of terror through the fleeing crowd.

"What is this? A movie? A Godzilla show? Even in those, giant monsters like this are added with CGI in post-production!"

Amid the chaos, a man noticed Hoshino standing stunned in the middle of the street, the duel disk still strapped to her arm catching his eye.

"Hey! Are you a duelist?" he shouted desperately.

Hoshino blinked, snapping back to reality as the man pointed to the duel disk. "If you're a duelist, please fight it!"

"A duelist? Fight that thing?"

Her mind raced, scrambling to make sense of the situation. "So this thing is a Duel Monster, huh? But why is a Duel Monster materializing and destroying buildings?!"

Even though she'd never encountered a creature quite like this, the duel disk and the context were enough to jog her instincts. The creature bore an uncanny resemblance to the holographic projections from duel disks—except this one was unnervingly real.

"If it's a Duel Monster, I just need to summon one to fight it, right?" Hoshino muttered, thinking quickly. Chaos was no stranger to her, and she decided this situation wasn't too different from her rooftop battle with the Evil God atop KaibaCorp Tower.

With a determined grin, she dismissed her doubts. "Don't worry, mister! Leave it to me—Hero of Justice!"

Confidently entering her element, Hoshino struck a dramatic pose and drew a card from her duel disk. Since the monster's strength was unknown, she decided to summon her strongest ally:

"Let's go—Karna!"

Even without Siegfried's specialized anti-dragon abilities, Karna should be more than enough to deal with a dragon.

Why not summon Siegfried directly, you ask?

Well, what if the monster turned out to be some random reptile instead of a dragon? Siegfried might start apologizing again.

...

But nothing happened.

The duel disk remained inactive, the card failing to materialize into the powerful Servant she had summoned countless times before.

"Don't tell me it broke!" she exclaimed, staring at the device in dismay.

"That duel disk model was discontinued years ago," an unfamiliar yet sarcastic voice called out behind her.

Startled, Hoshino spun around to see a tall blond man standing confidently in the middle of the street. His posture exuded arrogance, and his tone dripped with mockery. "Even the KaibaCorp supercomputer that supported it has been decommissioned. Where did you even dig up such an antique?"

Before Hoshino could retort, the man activated his own duel disk—a sleek design unlike any she'd ever seen. Without hesitation, he placed a card into play.

"Go, Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Show that wannabe monster who's boss!"

A massive black dragon roared to life, its sleek, imposing form overshadowing the grotesque beast. With a single command—"Attack with Black Flame!"—the Red-Eyes unleashed a devastating torrent of fire.

The monstrous dragon was obliterated in an instant, reduced to nothing more than ash. Clearly, it hadn't been much of a threat.

Triumphant, the blond man smirked, his eyes narrowing as he turned to Hoshino. "Cutie, wandering the streets with an outdated duel disk is pretty dangerous these days. Lucky for you, you ran into the world's top duelist…"

"Jonouchi! You're Jonouchi, aren't you?!" Hoshino exclaimed, pointing at him in shock.

Though his appearance had matured, the distinctive blond hair, cocky attitude, and unmistakable Red-Eyes Black Dragon confirmed her suspicions.

Jonouchi blinked, caught off guard. "Huh? I didn't think someone like me would still be popular with high school girls!"

(*****)

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