In the days that followed, Hikaru Amagi's student life went on undisturbed.
He attended classes as usual—card theory, endgame tactics, alchemy, a bunch of bizarre physical training methods...
But of course, what mattered most outside of class was dueling with other Fusion Club members—a way to "build camaraderie," and more importantly, to gather enough "power" to print new cards.
Dueling wasn't rare at Duel Academy—in the Fusion Club, it happened daily.But after a few days of being in the club, Hikaru started to notice something:
There were serious internal divisions.
He hadn't seen Professor Reiji Akaba, the Fusion Club's supervisor, even once.Most activities were arranged by upperclassmen, and within these events, the discrimination was obvious.
Everyone wore the same symbolic purple uniform, but clearly, some purple was "nobler" than others.
That nobility?Obelisk Blue students.
Whether it was deck testing or these "alternate dimension simulations" (a thing not present in the original show but normal in this world), students from Slifer Red and Ra Yellow weren't allowed to participate. Even upperclassmen from Red and Yellow just accepted this status quo without protest.
First-years who tried to resist were always paired up with overwhelming opponents, stomped into the ground, and humiliated until they gave in.
At Duel Academy, everything was decided through duels.If you lost, you had no right to complain.
Hikaru couldn't help but shake his head.
They were supposed to be Fusion duelists—yet they still clung to their old ways of thinking.
Their purity was far too low.
He didn't really care about stepping in or standing up for others.He hadn't joined the club to play hero—he was here for convenience, and for access to Ancient Gear decks.
That day, as usual, he was in the Fusion Club's dueling hall, watching matches and scouting for opponents.
After several days of experimenting, he'd discovered something:
He could only generate "power" once per day,but the stronger the opponent, the more "power" he gained.
So dueling weaklings was pointless. Even if he won, the power gained was minimal—and wasted his daily opportunity. He needed strong targets.
As he was deep in thought, something caught his eye.
A card lay on the floor in front of him.
Curious, he picked it up and took a glance.
"Ancient Gear Golem??"
A question mark practically popped over his head.While Ancient Gear Golem wasn't the rarest of rare cards in this world, it did have 3000 ATK—on par with Blue-Eyes White Dragon. No one would just casually drop a card like that.
Right as he was thinking that, someone shouted outside:
"Ah! That's Senior Yanagi's Ancient Gear Golem!"
"There's the thief!"
?
Hikaru looked around. Several club members had gathered nearby, glaring at him.He was completely baffled.
"What are you talking about? I just picked it up. If you know who it belongs to, take it and return it to him."
The Obelisk Blue students froze.
That's not how the script was supposed to go.
Most people, upon finding a rare card like this, would try to hide it immediately, not hand it over.
This guy's reaction made no sense—didn't he understand what kind of card this was?
"Isn't it Senior Yanagi's card? If he dropped it, he's probably panicking right now," Hikaru said, completely calm, holding the card out.
He hadn't even considered the possibility that this was a setup.He just imagined how he'd feel if he lost a card and acted accordingly.
"I heard we caught the card thief?"
A tall, upperclassman student approached, a badge on his shoulder marking his seniority. His voice was cold.
"Are you Yanagi-senpai? I just picked this up—"
"Hmph. Typical Ra Yellow. Can't even admit to stealing," Yanagi cut him off before he could finish.
Hikaru tilted his head.
"Want to check the security footage?"
Yanagi paused, coughed lightly, and continued:
"Someone like you isn't even worthy of calling yourself a member of the Fusion Army."
Now Hikaru understood everything.
He glanced over at the other students and replayed the sequence in his head:
"I see. A staged drop. Bait someone into picking it up, accuse them of theft, then kick them out of the club.Hmph… That's a serious crime."
Theft—in the worldview of duelists—was among the gravest sins.Get labeled as a card thief, and your life as a duelist was over.
But Hikaru wasn't afraid.
Yanagi was at least a second-year.Which meant dueling him would yield a strong power return.
"Alright, enough with the theatrics," Hikaru interrupted the performance."If you want me gone, just say it. It's not a big deal.Honestly, being around insects like you disgusts me anyway."
"What did you say?!"
"Tell me I'm wrong!" Hikaru raised his voice."Look at what you're doing—bullying and oppressing other students all day long.You're not even thinking about the noble art of Fusion!Your ideals are impure.How could anyone achieve greatness in Fusion surrounded by insects like you!?"
Eh?
Huh?
The students around him looked like they'd been smacked in the head.They were completely dumbfounded.
They joined the Fusion Club because Fusion Summoning was strong…But this guy? He sounded completely insane.
Hikaru's shouting had drawn more attention.Other students began to gather, curious about the commotion.
Some upperclassmen only needed a glance to understand what was going on.
The old trick.
Yanagi was infamous for this.Whenever a student rubbed him the wrong way, he'd pull this stunt to frame and oust them.
A few upperclassmen from Red and Yellow clenched their fists, glaring at Yanagi in anger.
Some Obelisk Blue students disapproved as well, but Yanagi was still "one of them."As things began to escalate, more Blues began gathering on Yanagi's side, overwhelming the others in numbers.
Seeing this, a few of the Red and Yellow upperclassmen started to back down.But the younger students—the ones who had been bullied the most—only grew louder in support of Hikaru.
Hikaru lifted his left arm, activating his Duel Disk.Standing in front of the few allies he had, he shouted:
"Cut the crap, senpai!
We're Duel Academy students—so let's settle this the Duelist's way!
You and me, right here, right now—a duel!
If you win, I'll leave the Fusion Club. I won't take another step inside it again!"
Yanagi's face darkened.
Being exposed like this in front of everyone had thoroughly humiliated him.But hearing Hikaru's declaration, he smiled darkly and nodded.
"Then, in return—if I win, you'll apologize to me in front of everyone in the Fusion Club.And this card—will be mine. You don't deserve to use it. Deal?"
Withdrawal from the club vs. the card.
One was years of whispers and bullying.The other—a powerful card on loan from the Academy.
Not exactly equivalent—but the public apology made up the difference.Yanagi could accept that.
Though he still muttered darkly:
"Heh. So all that bluster, and in the end, you just want my card."
"You can think whatever you like." Hikaru snorted.Then turned to a nearby Slifer Red student and said:
"Hey—can you contact Professor Crowler for me?Ask him to hold onto this card for now.I want him to be the judge for this duel!"