A lot's changed since the tag duel in Ten.

I don't remember what happened after I dealt the finishing blow (since I passed out from the stress) but I woke up to find myself being pampered by Saionji... or rather, mom.

I was resting on her lap, half awake, as she praised me and pet me for what I did.

I didn't really understand in that moment how big of a deal it was until when I went to school the following day.

It was like I had become an overnight sensation.

Everyone I went past seemed to recognise me and talked about me in low whispers like I was some kind of hero in the hallways.

My friends, Rizawa, Fuuka, and Kidou, couldn't believe what they saw on TV and bombarded me with questions about it.

They were very excited about what happened, but it was all a bit too much for me, to be honest...

I appreciate their enthusiasm though.

In addition to my new found fame, my rank jumped from 24th to 10th and Sangria had conquered Ten, driving out the Gran Kaon.

Apparently, Logan went back to America for a month to undergo special training after his humiliating defeat. He left John in charge of the Wing while he was gone.

As for Mika, we've been getting closer as a couple recently. She has a surprising amount of free time, so she's been visiting me more and more recently.

After the tag duel, she did admit that she was jealous when mom kissed me, but once I explained that me and Saionji were family, she let it slide.

Even though I really like Mika and enjoy spending time with her, something else has been bugging me these days.

Recently, I've also started to see mom as a woman.

I decided to move back in with her after patching up our relationship, since her house was nicer than my cruddy apartment.

She's not home often since she has a lot of work to do, but when she is home, we have a bunch of fun together.

Me and mom were trying to make up for lost time, doing the things that we missed doing when I was younger.

And as I spent more time on these mother-son dates with her, I started seeing her... differently.

She wasn't just mom to me anymore... she became someone that I really admired.

Someone that I really liked.

Someone that I... loved.

I know it's wrong to love your mom this way, but... what do I do?

I feel like I'm doing something bad whenever I spend time with her now...

Yet, when I'm with her, I'm the happiest I've ever been.

I don't understand at all...

"Minoru."

Mom gently called out my name, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I even lose my concentration around her... what's gotten into me?

"Huh...?"

"Is everything okay? You haven't been yourself lately."

We were sitting on the couch together, watching a movie.

"Oh... no, everything's been fine."

I lied to mom since I didn't want to worry her about me.

She has more important things to think about now that she has to take care of another Sector.

"How's school been?"

"Terrible. Being famous sucks."

"It does, doesn't it?"

Well, mom was a revered and respected duelist by people all over the planet.

The tag duel in Ten only strengthened her reputation as the strongest Boss in all of East Alba.

Neither Logan nor Mika held a candle to her duelling skills or her intricate planning.

Because of everything she set up beforehand, we were able to obtain victory.

The only thing she didn't predict was me summoning Galaxy Queen and equipping Stoic Challenge to it, but it worked out perfectly for us in the end, so she had no complaints.

In fact, mom was overjoyed when I used that card.

She was really happy that I recognised her as a mother...

"At least no one can call you a pushover. Your rank is the real deal."

"10th isn't that impressive. If I want to be truly respected, I need to be part of the top 5."

"Indeed. Good luck with that. As much as I'd like to believe you can make it, its a ruthless journey to get up there. You might crash and burn on your way up."

"Yeah... it only gets harder to advance the higher you go up."

"Even so, you're my son. I won't allow anything less than you being ranked 2nd. So work hard, okay?"

"Of course. Once I'm ranked 2nd, I'm after your spot next mom."

"I'll be dead before that ever happens."

"Hey..."

Mom laughed, patting me on the shoulder.

"I'm just pulling your leg sweetheart."

"It's not a nice thought, though..."

"Don't worry, I'm still fairly young."

"I'm not sure if you can call being in your mid-30s young..."

"Since when were you so cheeky, young man?"

Mom pouted and gently pinched my cheek.

"Ow... sorry."

"Apology accepted."

Mom smiled gently before kissing where she pinched me.

For some reason, my face started to feel hot.

"There. All better now."

"Jeez mom... I'm not a child anymore..."

"You might as well be to me. I haven't gotten to see you grow up at all... it makes me sad, knowing I missed seeing you as a chubby little baby."

"I was not chubby as a baby."

"Do you want me to pull out the photo book your father kept as proof?"

"...huh? W-wait, that exists?!"

"Why yes. You were quite the adorable child."

"H-hang on, he never told me about this!"

Damn it old man... if there's one thing I didn't want mom to see, its me being a bratty little kid... how embarrassing.

"Oh my. Well don't worry, I've already look through all the images."

"You're kidding me..."

A slightly sad face appeared on mom's face.

When I saw that, I wanted to hug her and tell her I was only joking.

Of course I wouldn't deny mom from looking at photos of me as a child... she never got to see me grow up. It's understandable why she would be interested in them.

"Tsubasa... he really took good care of you, huh?"

Mom looked at me up and down.

"You've become such a refined young man..."

"Mom... what's with all this suddenly...?"

"...I've just missed you, Minoru."

She leaned in and wrapped her arms around me, hugging me.

I was surprised at first, but I also embraced mom tightly too.

"When I look back... all I feel is regret for abandoning both of you back then."

"Mom... it's not your fault. You didn't want to put us in danger... I'm sure dad understands."

When me and mom mended our relationship, she told me the real reason why she left me and dad.

It was because she was going to wage war against all other Wings to build up Sangria and conquer the East of Alba.

And to do so, she was going to have to make lots of enemies.

In order to protect us from being unnecessarily targeted by underhanded duelists, she cut all ties with us.

Because we weren't holding her back, her Wings flourished.

Sangria became a flagship Wing in Alba and one of the top three Wings in the East.

"He may have... but you didn't. This entire time... you thought I hated you. And that..."

Mom paused.

I've never seen her look so weak before...

The mom I knew was always strong and confident.

No matter what was thrown her way, she'd face it with a beautiful smile.

She wasn't arrogant, nor was she cocky.

She merely let her own skills do the talking in order to put down her enemies.

Yet in front of me...

Mom looked like she was filled with guilt over what she did.

"That's... unforgivable. To make my own son think of something so cruel... to make him think I never wanted him... or that I never wanted to give birth to him... I can never forgive myself."

I gulped, unable to respond to the rawness behind every painful word mom spoke.

"But... I forgive you, mom. I know the truth now... I know that you don't really hate me... so please, don't feel so guilty for it. I don't hate you at all, mom! I only love you!"

I panicked, blurting words that I thought made sense in my head while clutching onto mom even tighter than before.

"Minoru... I love you too. I really, really love you, Minoru. You know that, right...?"

"Of course I do, mom! Of course I do..."

I don't know why, but I started to cry.

I wasn't the one showing weakness in this situation, yet I was the one feeling most fragile whilst cradled in her arms.

I could feel mom's hands wipe away my tears.

Then, her lips touching mine.

It was a brief kiss... sweet, but fleeting.

"Sorry for making you cry, Minoru."

"N-no... it's okay... I... I don't even know why I'm being like this either..."

I wiped my own tears away and faced away from mom.

Even though I tried to hide my tears, what I couldn't hide was my desire.

My hand reached out and intertwined with hers.

"Minoru?"

"Can we... just stay like this...? For a little bit..."

I don't know what compelled me to say it... or what made me want to do it...

But in this moment, I just wanted to feel mom's warmth.

I wanted to know she was there.

"Okay. Take as long as you need."

Mom enveloped her hand around mine.

I held onto her hand tightly, not wanting to let go.

My heart beat was going crazy... it wasn't calming down at all.

What's wrong with me...?

Why do I love mom so much...?

...

.....

The next morning, when I walked into the dining room to eat breakfast, I couldn't even look at mom in the eye.

When I tried, I just felt shy and embarrassed, like I was doing something wrong.

As I mindlessly munched on some cornflakes, mom was getting ready for work.

If you can call working on conquering another Sector work, that is...

"Minoru."

"Yeah...?"

"I'd like to introduce you to someone today."

"Oh. A new member of Sangria?"

"Nope. It's actually a Boss of a Wing."

"Eh? Am I meeting some kind of secret rival to Sangria, or something?"

"My, you have such an active imagination. It's not that either."

"Then who is it?"

"It's my fiancé."

I dropped my spoon.

"H-huh...?"

"I'm getting married soon, Minoru! Isn't that exciting?"

The world around me slowly crumbled as I heard mom say those words.

This is... this is a bad dream, right?

This has to be some kind of nightmare, right?!

I pinched myself repeatedly, trying to wake up from this awful nightmare.

However, the more pain I felt from pinching myself, the more I slowly realised this was reality.

"Y-you're... g-getting... married...?"

I tried to not let the fear leak out of my voice, but I couldn't help it.

This news was so shocking to me... I thought mom had no intentions of remarrying after dad's death...

What the hell...? She was dating someone this entire time...?

But, I...

I wanted to... with mom...

"Yes. Since he'll be your new father, I thought it'd be appropriate for you two to get to know each other before the wedding ceremony."

For some reason, the idea of another man sleeping with mom pissed me off.

"Who is it...?"

I tried to hide my hostility, but it leaked out a little bit.

"The Boss of the Claret Wing, Takanori Yuuto."

Takanori, huh...?

"I've never heard of him before."

"Makes sense. He likes to keep his presence low so he can live a peaceful life."

"He wants to live a peaceful life, but he's a Boss of a Wing? What?"

This guy sounds like a dumbass already.

What black magic did he use to make mom fall in love with him?

I won't forgive this bastard if he forced mom into this relationship!

"It may sound counterintuitive, but the Claret Wing actually only has one member. That being Yuu."

She even has a pet name for him... what the hell?

Mom hasn't even given me a nickname... she just calls me Minoru...

"As such, he keeps his activity low and doesn't interfere in anyone's business. By being in a solo Wing, he also avoids the offers a Free Agent gets, which you should be more than familiar with."

"Yeah... before I joined Sangria, I used to receive like ten invites a day due to being the highest ranking Free Agent."

"Exactly. Just like you, he hates that kind of excessive stuff."

Don't compare me to him... I'm sure I'm better than that guy.

"What about his rank?"

"3006th."

"...what?"

I wanted to burst out laughing in this moment, but I didn't want to upset mom, so I laughed at this pathetic loser in my head.

This guy is also awful at duelling! He's worse than me by 2996 places! Seriously, who is this clown?

He looks like an awful partner on all accounts.

"It surprised me too, but Yuu's tanking his rank on purpose. If he showed his real skills, he'd easily rank in the top 5."

"Really? I find that hard to believe when he's sitting in the 3000s...."

"Why don't you have a duel with him and find out for yourself? He's coming over this morning."

"Fine... only because you said so, mom."

And not because I want to obliterate and humiliate this stupid loser in front of mom. Totally not that.

"Speak of the devil, I can see his Duel Runner park outside."

Mom went to greet her soon not to be fiancé.

"Yuu, hey!"

"Yuuri, it's good to see you."

He's also on a first name basis with mom?!

This isn't fair! I'm her child, I should get to call her that!

"Come in, come in. I can't wait for you to meet Minoru."

I'm not. I wish this guy would drop dead right now so I'd never have to see his face.

"Me too. After seeing what he did against Logan, I can't wait to also duel him."

Oh, he wants a duel? I'll give him a damn duel, with these fists!

Then again, if I punched him, mom would probably be sad.

Guess I'll stick to Duel Monsters for now.

Mom returned to the dining room with Takanori in tow.

When I met eyes with him, I was taken back by his appearance.

"...ha?!"

To my surprise, we looked really similar.... like, scarily similar.

If anything, Takanori looked like an older version of me.

"Hey, Minoru. I'm Takanori Yuuto, your mom's fiancé. Wait, that sounds weird..."

"Yeah, you could've worded that much better."

Mom crossed her arms and sighed.

Yes, it looks like she'd tired of him being an idiot! This is my chance to strike!

"You're Takanori, huh?"

I scoffed.

"You don't look all that impressive."

"That's because I'm not."

Takanori shrugged.

Was this guy immune to insults or something?!

"I'm just your average duelist with no extraordinary abilities."

"And he lied as naturally he breathed... you can drop the act, Minoru already knows."

"Oh... he does?"

"I told him beforehand. He couldn't believe that you were one of the strongest duelists in Eight."

"That's a good thing, isn't it? It just means my cover is working."

Watching mom and Takanori chat so casually made my blood boil...

Mom should be talking to me, not him...

"Anyways, I need to head off for a meeting now. You two get along well now, okay?"

"Yes mom..."

"Of course. Good luck today, Yuuri."

I wanted to stab him with a card every time he called mom by her first name.

"You too, Yuu. Love you."

Mom kissed Takanori goodbye.

...that was the last straw.

...no one but me gets to kiss mom like that...

...Takanori Yuuto, I'm going to fucking kill you!

"Love you, Yuuri!"

"Mom, I love you more!"

Saionji chuckled at the two of us before leaving.

When she closed the door, that's when I made my move.

"Takanori."

"Hm?"

"I'm not calling you dad. In fact, I refuse to recognise you as my father! My father is Takamine Tsubasa, not some third rate duelist with a fourth rate deck like you!"

"Oh. Yeah, that's completely fine. I understand."

"...huh?"

I thought that threat would make him back off, but instead he didn't seem to care.

"To be honest, I didn't like my father either growing up, so I completely understand why you wouldn't want to recognise me as yours. It'd feel wrong anyways."

"Wait, that's not supposed to... that's not how it works... h-huh?"

Okay, maybe this Takanori guy isn't that bad...

MINORU WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, HE'S PROBABLY SLEPT WITH MOM BEFORE YOU DID! THIS GUY IS A MENACE TO SOCIETY AND PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE! I HAVE TO KILL HIM AT ALL COSTS!

After reminding myself that Takanori is a horrible human being, I went straight down to business.

"What do you like about my mom anyways?"

"There's lots of reasons—"

"Give me the main one, and be blunt and honest with me."

"...are you sure?"

"Yes. I won't freak out if you say "her big boobs" or something like that."

If he did, I'd get to report to mom that he's a giant pervert only after her body.

That's gonna get her to call off the wedding with him!

Takanori sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Alright. But only because you asked."

"Yes! Tell me, tell me!"

"...I get to call her mommy."

"DAMN IT, YOU HAVE A MOMCON TOO?! WHAT THE HELL, MOM?!"

I had a mental breakdown after realising mom probably dated Takanori because he reminded her of me.

Mom, you know you could just date me, right...? I'd date you, mom... I'd break up with Mika and date you...

I think I can cry at any moment.

"Takanori..."

"Yeah?"

"Can we duel?"

"Sure thing."

Takanori sat across from me and took his deck out.

"For this duel... I'd like to add some conditions."

"And they are?"

"If I win... you have to break up with mom."

Takanori's eyes widened slightly.

"But if you win... you have to break up with mom."

"Uh... Minoru, I don't think that's how it works."

"Fine, what do you want if you win?"

"I don't really need anything, to be honest."

"Then if you win, you get nothing. How does that sound?"

"I mean, sure. If I win, I still get to marry Yuuri regardless."

"And you can't call her that if I win too!"

Takanori held back a sigh and nodded simply.

This guy, he's totally underestimating me! Damn arrogant asshole! Just because I'm younger!

If I could, I'd punch this guy in the face! But I can't, or else mom will get mad at me...

"You're very overprotective about your mother, Minoru."

"Who wouldn't be? My mom is the best mom ever."

"I can't argue with that."

"Duel!"

<[Sangria] Saionji Minoru (8000) vs [Claret] Takanori Yuuto (8000)>

"I'll let you choose. Do you want to go first or second?"

"You can have the first move."

Even though it was risky to let him go first, I felt confident that I could OTK him going second.

"Alright. First, I'll start things off by activating Drytron Alpha Thuban's effect in hand! I tribute another Drytron monster in my hand, which will be Zeta, to special summon it! Then, I add a Ritual monster from deck to my hand! I add Cyber Angel Benten!"

A Drytron deck, huh? This was going to be just as difficult to deal with as mom's deck. He could ritual summon Herald of Ultimateness to negate my plays multiple times.

"Next I activate Drytron Zeta Aldhibah's effect in graveyard! I tribute a Ritual monster, which will be Benten, to special summon it! Then, I add a ritual spell from deck to hand! I add Meteonis Drytron! Then, when Benten is tributed, I can add a Light Fairy monster from deck to hand. I add Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands! Next, I activate the ritual spell Meteonis Drytron! To ritual summon, I tribute Machine monsters from my hand or field whose total ATK equal or exceed the Ritual monster's ATK! I offer Drytron Zeta Aldhibah as cost! Ritual summon, Megalith Phul!"

Wait, a Megalith monster? But I thought he was playing Drytron?

"If Phul is ritual summoned, I can target one ritual monster in the graveyard to make it's level the same as the target, then add that target back to my hand. I choose Benten, making Phul a level 6! (L2 > L6) I activate Meteonis' effect in graveyard! By lowering Alpha's ATK by 1000, (2000 > 1000) I can return it to hand! Now I activate Phul's other effect! I can ritual summon a Megalith Ritual monster from my hand or deck by tributing monsters from my hand or field whose level equal or exceed the level of the Ritual monster! I offer Cyber Angel Benten as cost! Ritual summon, Megalith Ophiel!"

"Benten chain link 1, Ophiel chain link 2. If Ophiel is ritual summoned, I can add a Megalith monster from deck to hand! I add Megalith Och! Benten's effect, I add Soul of Purity and Light to my hand! Then I normal summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands and activate it's effect to add a ritual monster to my hand! I add Amorphactor Pain, the Imagination Dracoverlord!"

Amorphactor Pain...? What's that thing doing here......?!

"Appear, the circuit of generations! The summoning conditions are two monsters with different names. I set Megalith Ophiel and Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in the Link Arrows! Circuit combine! Link summon, Barricadeborg Blocker! I won't use his effect."

It was clear to me now that Takanori's deck wasn't as simple as setting up Herald of Ultimateness for negates and Drytron Meteonis Draconids for disruption. He was aiming for something even grander than that.

But what could that even be?

"Soul of Purity and Light's effect! By banishing two Light monsters in my graveyard, I can special summon it! I overlay level 6 Megalith Phul and Soul of Purity and Light! With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Eternal salvation awaits at the end of this burning abyss. Xyz summon, Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal!"

"B-Beatrice?!"

I was so shocked by her appearance, I uttered her name by accident.

"Just like how Yuuri gave you Galaxy Queen to remember her by, my mom gave me Beatrice when I left for Alba City. Miles may separate us apart, but her love lives on in this card!"

So this is Takanori's mother, huh...?

"I activate Beatrice's effect! By detaching a Xyz material from her, I can send one card from my deck to the graveyard! I send Thunder of Ruler!"

Huh? What the hell is that old school trap doing in his deck too?!

At this point, I was completely bewildered by what his win condition here was. All it looked like was a cobbled mess of cards he put together just so he could summon Beatrice and pass.

"Appear, the circuit of generations! The summoning conditions are two or more Machine monsters. I set Link 2 Barricadeborg Blocker and Drytron Alpha Thuban in the Link Arrows! Circuit combine! Link summon, Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon!"

Okay, he's completely lost me. Is he going to Auroradon combo now? What the hell is actually going on?

"If Auroradon is Link summoned, I can special summon three Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens in defence position! However, they won't be staying for long, since I activate Auroradon's other effect! I tribute three monsters, which will be the three tokens, to return a trap card from my GY to my hand! I add Thunder of Ruler!"

Wait... there was a purpose in sending that with Beatrice?

"I activate the ritual spell Meteonis Drytron! To ritual summon, I tribute Machine monsters from my hand or field whose total ATK equal or exceed the Ritual monster's ATK! I offer Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon as cost! Ritual summon, Megalith Ophiel!"

"If Ophiel is ritual summoned, I can add a Megalith monster from deck to hand! I add Megalith Phul! Ophiel's effect, I can ritual summon a Ritual monster from my hand by tributing monsters from my hand or field whose level equal or exceed the level of the Ritual monster! I offer Megalith Ophiel and Megalith Och as cost! Ritual summon, Amorphactor Pain, the Imagination Dracoverlord!"

My eyes widened as he summoned that.

"Amorphactor Pain's effect! You skip your next main phase 1!"

"What?!"

"That's right. In addition, Pain negates the effects of all face up Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz monsters on the field too!"

This was the worst possible counter to me in both ways possible. By skipping my main phase 1, I wouldn't be able to summon Nightingale to OTK him in the battle phase...

Furthermore, just by having Pain up, he rendered my entire extra deck useless since it negates effects of all Xyz monsters...

Now I was also locked out of my win condition... damn it!

I had no way to out this at all...!

"I set a card face down and end my turn."

I was starting to see what mom meant by him hiding his true strength. As much as I hate to admit it, the creativity of his plays genuinely impressed me.

In some aspects... Takanori's vision was even greater than mom's.

Yuuto:
Hand: 3
LP: 8000
XOOOX
OOXOO

Minoru:
Hand: 5
LP: 8000
OOOOO
OOOOO

How am I going to out this, then...?

"Draw!"

"During your standby phase, my trap card activates! Thunder of Ruler! For this turn, there is no battle phase!"

I froze.

"Amorphactor Pain's effect, you skip your main phase 1!"

Slowly, the loose and lingering puzzle pieces in my head fell into place.

"Thunder of Ruler's effect, there is no battle phase!"

Everything finally clicked for me.

"And since you didn't have a battle phase, you can't enter main phase 2!"

This was Takanori's true win condition.

"That means your turn ends here!"

A turn skip.

"Now sink into the time cleaving claret sword's blood river!"

I slumped to my knees.

"DEVOUR AND RELEASE, DRYTRON SIGMA ERASER!"

You can't win the game if you never got to play to begin with.

"T-turn... end..."

Why didn't I notice it sooner...?

Yuuto:
Hand: 3
LP: 8000
XOOOX
OOOOO

Minoru:
Hand: 6
LP: 8000
OOOOO
OOOOO

"My turn, draw! I activate Alpha's effect in graveyard! I tribute Amorphactor Pain to revive it! Then, I add a Drytron Meteonis Draconids to hand! I activate Beatrice's effect to send Zeta from deck to the graveyard! I activate Zeta's effect to tribute Draconids in my hand to special summon it! Then, I add a Meteonis Drytron to hand! Now I activate the field spell Ritual Sanctuary! By discarding a spell, I can add a ritual spell to my hand. I add another Meteonis Drytron! I overlay level 1 Drytron Alpha Thuban and Drytron Zeta Aldhibah! With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Xyz summon, Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir!"

"If Fafnir is Xyz summoned, I can send one Drytron from my deck to the graveyard! I send Drytron Gamma Eltanin! In addition, when I ritual summon, I can detach Fafnir's materials as monsters required for the ritual summon. Now I activate the ritual spell Meteonis Drytron! To ritual summon, I tribute Machine monsters from my hand or field whose total ATK equal or exceed the Ritual monster's ATK! I offer one of Fafnir's Xyz materials as cost! Ritual summon, Cyber Angel Benten!"

"I activate Gamma's effect in graveyard to tribute Phul from hand to revive it! Then, I can special summon a Drytron with 2000 ATK from my graveyard. Come back, Drytron Alpha Thuban! Once more, I activate the ritual spell Meteonis Drytron! To ritual summon, I tribute Machine monsters from my hand or field whose total ATK equal or exceed the Ritual monster's ATK! I offer Drytron Gamma Eltanin and Drytron Alpha Thuban as cost! The shooting star shatters upon impact, splitting into fragments of sparkling imagination! Ritual summon, Drytron Meteonis Draconids!"

"Ritual Sanctuary's effect! I shuffle any number of spells in my graveyard back into my deck, then special summon a Light Fairy monster whose level equals the number of cards I shuffled back! Since I shuffled back six, I special summon Soul of Purity and Light! Now I overlay level 6 Cyber Angel Benten and Soul of Purity and Light! With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Only the strongest have the right to win this world. Might is right! Weakness is a sin! Xyz summon, Number 24: Dragulas the Vampiric Dragon!"

The number 24 tattoo appeared on Takanori's left cheek in claret red.

"Let's end this."

I've lost.

"Beatrice attacks! (2500) Septimum Gloria!"

"URAAAAAAAAAGH! (8000 > 5500)"

"Dragulas attacks! (2400) Claret Skyscraper!"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! (5500 > 3100)"

"Draconids attacks! (4000) Shooting Star Longinus!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! (3100 > 0)"

I slumped in my seat, completely obliterated by Takanori.

Mom... I wasn't able to protect you...

Now you're going to have to marry him...

I... I have to protect you from him...

At any costs...

"Again."

"What?"

"You heard me... duel me again, Takanori!"

"Might as well."

This guy and his nonchalant attitude... it seriously pisses me off.

This time, I chose to first and set up Ensemblue Robin to bounce his pieces.

However, it was pointless as he ritual summoned both Drytron Meteonis Draconids and Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon to OTK me.

No way...

Does that mean, going first or second, I had no way out...?

Was defeat just inevitable every time...?!

"Again..."

"Minoru, are you sure? You look pale. We should probably stop."

"Shut up, duel me again!"

I went second to try and OTK, but instead Takanori just set up his Turn Skip lock and OTK'd me on the following turn.

"I can't... believe it..."

My cards were scattered all over the table, barely used in all three duels I had against him.

Takanori Yuuto... is a monster...

Someone this powerful... should not exist...

"Well, it's about time for me to leave now. It was fun playing with you, Minoru."

Takanori extended his hand to me for a handshake.

I stared at that hand emptily, my own hands holding my head.

I don't want to... but I have to... for mom...

I begrudgingly reached out and shook Takanori's hand.

Takanori left without saying another word.

The moment I heard the door slam shut, tears left my eyes.

I wasn't sad about the losses.

I wasn't sad about Takanori.

I wasn't sad about the marriage.

I was sad that mom was being taken away from me again.

I swear to god, Takanori Yuuto...

I will get my revenge.