Characters / Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V: Pendulum's Fifth Swing

This is a list of characters who appear in the story Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V: Pendulum's Fifth Swing. Be aware that there will be spoilers for the canon series, and there will be unmarked spoilers ahead for the story!

For the original canon characters, click here.

Main Characters

You Show Duel School (Standard Dimension)

Zarc

Zarc

Archetype: Supreme King

Ladies and gents, iiit's SHOWTIME!

The Big Bad for Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, and final antagonist the Lancers face near the end of the Fusion Dimension arc.

Originally, he was much like Yuya and wanted to bring smiles to the crowd, but when the crowd cheered for him when he accidentally wounded his opponent, he began to perform violent duels, eventually becoming more ruthless. At the height of his career after winning the championship, Zarc fused himself with the Four Dimension Dragons and went on a rampage, destroying much of the Original Dimension before he was eventually stopped by Ray Akaba, whose efforts resulted in Zarc, and the Original Dimension, being split into four different dimensions. Zarc's soul was inherited by his Standard counterpart: Yuya Sakaki.

In Pendulum's Fifth Swing, Zarc is found by Yuya and Yuzu in the Maiami City Park, remembering nothing except his name and his occupation: a duelist. After dueling Yuya in an attempt to regain his memory, and becoming enthralled by Entertainment Dueling, Zarc enrolls at You Show Duel School, studying Pendulum Summoning with Yuya and unlocking their secrets much earlier.

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• The Ace: As Reiji rightfully speculates, Zarc is (one of) the true founders of Pendulum Summoning. Not only that, but his exceptional skill makes him arguably the strongest duelist in the whole series. His only limitation is his desire to duel like Yuya, which causes him to hold back. And when he does decide to take you seriously, you better pray he holds back by even a little.
• Achilles' Heel: Of two different variants.
  • It's been stated that Zarc is an incredible duelist, with Reiji admitting that he is far stronger than he is. However, Zarc purposely invokes the trope on himself by wanting to perform Entertainment Dueling, which has duelists playing to provide entertainment and bring smiles to both the audience and the opponents. This, in turn, limits Zarc's otherwise aggressive and brutal play style.
  • The En and Creation Agent archetypes used by Ray are this to his Supreme King deck, particularly the Creation Agent Tamers. In terms of design, they're pretty much the Bracelet Girls dressed up as magicians, their attire being a mix of the dragons and their owners. And each has an effect that limits their respective dragon.^note CAT - Starving Venom Fusion Magician, for example, can negate the activation of both sides' monster effects if either the SKSD version of the original Starving Venom dragon is out on the field
• Action Dad: Technically speaking, he is the Yu boys' father, as they were all born from him when Ray Akaba defeated him and split the Original Dimension apart. That being said, however, Zarc fills the role of the Big Brother Mentor better.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In canon, there is little to suggest that Zarc knew Ray before she sacrificed herself to stop him, and Ray specifically left her fragments with Zarc's fragments as a means of both preventing his resurrection and pacifying the individual fragments. Here, it's heavily implied that Zarc was close to her before he went postal and that even with Identity Amnesia, they instinctually recognize each other. Even their original monsters get along, demonstrated when Zarc's SDSK monsters act antagonistic to Ray's En Magicians, while Yuya's Odd-Eyes and Ray's Odd-Eyes Pendulum Magician greet each other like old friends.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: Zarc wasn't even mentioned until near the end of the series. He makes his first official debut in the first chapter, which is set sometime after Yuya has figured out how to perform Pendulum Summoning after defeating Strong Ishijima, but before Sawatari's appearance proper.
• Adaptational Heroism: In canon, Zarc was the final antagonist the Lancers faced in the series and the Superpowered Evil Side to all four of the Dragon Boys. Here, he appears as himself under Amnesiacs are Innocent and is one of the main protagonists. Thanks to said amnesia, Zarc's villainous persona during his time as the Demon Duelist is not present. Rather, he acts like a more mature version of Yuya, albeit struggling with his apparent desire to viciously harm his opponents.
• Amnesiacs are Innocent: Zarc has no memory of his time as the "Demon Duelist" or as "Supreme King Z-ARC", and largely acts like a Cool Big Bro to both the You Show trio and Yuya. While he does suffer flashes of his past and has recurring nightmares, they bring him angst overall, as he is unable to reconcile these Blood Knight memories with his current demeanor.
• Ambiguous Situation: The purpose of the Bracelet Girls is to keep Supreme King Z-ARC from resurrecting while also pacifying his fragments. Not only is Zarc somehow alive and whole, albeit without any memories of his past as the Demon Duelist, but he's also unaffected by the power of the bracelets, as he can be in close proximity to his fragments while the Bracelet Girls are nearby without the bracelets reacting accordingly. In one instance, when Zarc first meets Yuto in Scale 04 with Yuzu present, only Yuto is transported away when Yuya approaches.
• Amnesiac Hero: For unexplained reasons, Zarc remembers nothing about his past as the Demon Duelist. He does, however, dream about his defeat at the hands of Ray Akaba. As a result of his amnesia, Zarc is far more likable than he was in the anime.
• Big Brother Mentor: Zarc fills this role for Yuya, helping him discover Pendulum's potential and possible abilities much earlier than in canon.
• Black Knight: At some point after Scale 10, Zarc received new Pendulum cards in the form of the "Supreme King Royal Knight" archetype. As the name implies, they're all armored knights clad in black armor with the green markings associated with the "Supreme King" archetype.
• Blood Knight: Subverted. Zarc tries his best not to get excited at the prospect of fighting strong duelists, since doing so usually makes his Blood Lust rise to the surface.
• Blood Lust: Played for Drama. Zarc's desire for violent duels, as pushed upon him by the crowd, has not faded away, even with his amnesia. It has been immensely pushed to the back of his mind, but there are a few occasions when Zarc realizes he takes joy in the prospect of seriously hurting someone, much to his horror. Much of his characterization is focused on trying to push away from his penchant for violence, in favor of Entertainment Dueling. More specifically, Yuya's Entertainment Dueling, which is bringing smiles to the audience and being as reckless as possible.
• Character Catchphrase: Has two. His primary one is: "Ladies and gents, iiit's showtime!" A more minor one is somewhat based on Yuya's: "The fun...has yet to begin!"
• Dark and Troubled Past: His origins prior to arriving in Standard without any memories. In the Original Dimension, he was once a promising young duelist with the intent of bringing happiness to the audience, but when he accidentally injured his opponent in a duel, the crowd wanted more. With each victory, Zarc began to fear what would happen if he lost and became obsessed with winning, becoming more and more vicious until he finally went Ax-Crazy and became Supreme King Z-ARC, going on a rampage and destroying the Original Dimension, as well as crushing any duelist that stood in his way until Ray challenged him.
• Dark Is Not Evil: The Supreme King deck's strongest cards are corrupt versions of the Four Dimension Dragons, and all of the cards are DARK Attribute. Zarc, however, is far from evil. At least in this story, anyway.
• Even Evil Can Be Loved: Even at the height of his Blood Lust and the amount of destruction he caused in the Original Dimension as Supreme King Z-ARC, Ray's tearful apology before his defeat shows that she still cares about him to the point of regret to failing to save him in their current lives.
• Everyone Has Standards: He makes it clear that he looks down on Duelists who use connections to get what they want, or even using potentially life-threatening tactics to get an advantage in a Duel (regardless if the said tactic wasn't technically illegal). Sawatari finds this out the hard way when he uses an Action Card to inflict 500 LP damage to Yuya riding on Supreme King Servant Dragon Clear Wing in the form of a small comet, which went through them and hit the tower where Yuzu, Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya is stuck on, leading to Yuya changing course to save them from danger and the event stall him long enough to where his turn automatically ends due to a time-limit, preventing the Finishing Move for Yuya and Zarc. This act of endangerment enrages Zarc to where he tricks Kakimoto by provoking the latter into attacking Clear Wing as a Deliberate Injury Gambit so his Synchro Dragon's effect can deal a One-Hit Kill that would not only cause Sawatari and his tag partner lose but could also likely get killed by the solid mass-induced fire if hadn't been for Yuya saving them. Later on, in the duel between Hokuto and Yuya during the "LDS vs You Show" Arc, Zarc had to restrain himself from flying into a murderous rage when Hokuto deliberately timed his monster's effect to bounce Yuya's Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon off the field while the latter was riding on it in the air in an attempt to get an Action Card.
• Easily Forgiven: Even though he could've nearly killed Sawatari and Kakimoto in the Tag Duel in Scale 02, Yuya, Yuzu, Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya don't hold it against him for his Rage Breaking Point towards the LDS students. It's also justified considering what Sawatari pulled prior to and during the Tag Duel in the first place.
• Fatal Flaw: Some of Zarc's original Demon Duelist persona still exists, taking joy in the prospect of hurting his opponents (regardless of whether his opponent is an asshole or not). Thanks to his current state and his want to duel as Yuya does, he tries desperately to avoid becoming the monster he unknowingly was in the Original Dimension.
• Fearless Fool: Comes with being an Entertainment Duelist. Subverted, however, when it comes to his past or his Fatal Flaw, as he dreads the fact that he takes joy in hurting his opponents.
• Foil:
  • To his fragment, Yuya Sasaki. Yuya has confidence issues, especially in regards to his status as the founder and pioneer of Pendulum Summoning, and wants nothing more than to bring smiles to his audience. Zarc is confident in his skills, but enjoys the idea of hurting others in a duel, much to his horror, and yearns to duel in a way that brings smiles to both his opponent and to the crowd. Their respective journeys as an Entertainment Duelist are diametric opposites, with Yuya learning to become more confident and to resolve issues without losing his ideals while Zarc learns to temper his Blood Lust and overcome obstacles without losing himself to it.
  • He is also one to his past self. As the Demon Duelist, Zarc was slowly driven into madness from his obsession of making his audience happy by being brutal to his opponents and is all too happy to become a Physical God so he could never lose and enjoys hurting others. In the current time, Zarc has reverted back to his original personality after losing his memories and is horrified when he nearly harms someone in a duel to the point where he would limit himself as a Duelist by adhering to Entertainment Dueling.
• Freak Out: When Yami Marik wipes out his whole field and goes in for a direct attack, Zarc starts to panic and thinks he's going to die if he loses. This causes him to relapse into his Demon Duelist persona.
• Friend to All Children: Best shown in his interactions with Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya.
• Good Is Not Soft: Just because he's no longer the Demon Duelist with his memories gone, that doesn't mean Zarc is a pushover. It's best shown when Sawatari tries to intimidate Zarc into backing off by threatening to call his father, leading to Zarc calling out Sawatari's attitude and how pathetic and weak the latter really is as a Duelist for having to constantly rely on his father's connections to get what he wants.
• Heroic BSoD: Suffers this during the Tag Duel between him, Yuya, Sawatari, and Kakimoto. When he realizes that he is about to seriously injure, or worse kill Sawatari, he's so in shock and in utter horror that he can barely put any effort into his turns (which have further put himself and Yuya at a disadvantage). Thankfully, Yuya's comeback and skills, as well as the trust displayed by his Entermate monsters, help Zarc get back into his funk.
• Heroic Second Wind: A darker variant. In Scale 16, Zarc's opponent manages to remove all his monsters from the field and leave him wide-open, which results in Zarc having a Freak Out from the idea of suffering his first-ever loss since awakening in Standard. He bounces back after the attack hits him...except he's reverted back to his mindset as the Demon Duelist, upon which he decides to forgo whatever handicaps he put on himself and busts out with card effects he was known for using in the anime.
• I'm Crying, but I Don't Know Why: When he had another nightmare of his past with a remorseful Ray in it, he woke up only to find himself crying for unknown reasons.
• Mortality Phobia: Zarc equates losing a duel to death, which according to Word of God stems from his time in the Original Dimension, wondering what would happen if he ever lost a duel. The subsequent Freak Out causes him to revert to his Demon Duelist persona.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Does Demon Duelist sound like a friendly title to you?
• Nice Guy: Since he no longer remembers his past as the Demon Duelist, he plays this straight and is more focused on You Show's ideology of Entertainment Dueling.
• Oh, Crap!: One of the few times Zarc reacts with legitimate fear is during Scale 16. For good reason, since his opponent has The Winged Dragon of Ra at their command.
• Person of Mass Destruction: He was called the Demon Duelist for a reason. Him becoming "Supreme King Z-ARC" has him practically embody the trope.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: When relapsing back into his Demon Duelist self, Zarc's eyes turn red.
• Scars Are Forever: Not him, but whenever Zarc is about to initiate a Pendulum Summon, the large pendulum that appears above has a notable crack on it.
• Sword/Shield Contrast: In a symbolic sense, Zarc's new Pendulum Cards in Scale 13 are Supreme King Royal Armament Sword and Shield respectively, showcasing the balance between his Blood Lust and Entertainment Dueling Style.
• Synchronization: Zarc is capable of doing this with the Dragon Boys, as evident in Scale 10 when he and Yuya enact a Ritual Summon. Scale 16 has him demonstrate his own variation of his fragments own ability to sync with each other in the form of Resonance Mode, in which Zarc forcibly connects to his fragments and takes their skills and abilities for his own, which Word of God describes as him trying to forcibly restore himself back into "Supreme King Z-ARC".
• Tranquil Fury: How Zarc acts in Scale 16 while in his Demon Duelist persona. He's calm and very calculated and only raises his voice when summoning a monster or declaring an attack, but the sheer viciousness his monsters inflict upon Yami Marik makes it quite clear that he intends to utterly destroy him.
• Unexplained Recovery: Given that Ray separated Zarc into the Dragon Boys, his being in Standard raises several questions.
• Unstoppable Rage: Anger him at your own risk. Just don't expect to survive, unless your name is Ray Akaba. Yami Marik found this out the hard way.
• Walking Spoiler: His very existence spoils much of the mysteries surrounding Yuya's Berserk Mode, the Four Dimension Dragons, and the meaning behind the "We will become one" Madness Mantra Yuya and his counterparts spew whenever the dragons are out on the field together.
• Wham Line: Twofold in Scale 16.
  • In contrast to You Show, who don't recognize The Winged Dragon of Ra, its Attribute, and Type, Zarc immediately does and identifies it as being one of the Egyptian God Cards, even though he's currently suffering from amnesia. This helps Yami Marik identify him as someone who also hails from the Original Dimension.
  • Yami Marik starts gloating about how he's won, only for Zarc to show off his Heroic Second Wind. Except...
    Zarc: —how annoying. You act high and mighty...but insects will always be insects.
• Willfully Weak: According to Reiji, Zarc's adherence to the You Show Duel School's Entertainment Dueling has limited the full power of his dueling skills. This is, of course, invoked and enforced by Zarc himself so he steers away from his violent urges. Near the end of Scale 16, he stops holding back and mops the floor with Yami Marik.

Yuya Sakaki

Yuya Sakaki

Archetype: Entermate, Odd-Eyes

The fun has just begun!

The Hero of Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, and Zarc's reincarnation in the Standard Dimension. The son of Yusho Sakaki, the pioneer of the Entertainment Duel style, Yuya was practically raised by the idea of bringing smiles to the crowd and his opponents. When he was a child, however, Yusho disappeared on the day he was to defend his title against Strong Ishijima, effectively ruining his career and causing people to ridicule Yuya.

When he has the chance to defend his father's name and take on Strong Ishijima in an official match, he accepts and unveils the new Summoning Method known as Pendulum Summoning.

Sometime after this, Yuya encounters an amnesiac teen in a park who has the exact same face as his. Unknown to Yuya, this person was the person he was born from when Ray used the En Cards and separated the Supreme King Z-ARC.

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• The Ace: Alongside Zarc, he's one of the best duelists at You Show Duel School.
• Adaptational Badass: In the anime proper, Yuya didn't know how to perform Xyz Summoning until after Yuto was absorbed into him or Synchro until reaching the Synchro Dimension. During the feud with LDS, thanks to Zarc, Yuya is already learning other summoning methods, having already learned how to perform Synchro by the time LDS comes knocking at their door and is stated to be in the process of learning Xyz Summoning.
• All the Other Reindeer: Because of Yusho's disappearance, Yuya was constantly mocked by the other children. Sawatari invokes the trope, but this turns out to be one of the ways to set him off.
• All-Loving Hero: His style as an Entertainment Duelist signifies this well, as he wants to bring smiles not just to the audience, but also to his opponents.
• Archaic Weapon for an Advanced Age: In Scale 10, Yuya unintentionally follows Yuzu's example and, thanks to his pendant, creates a Ritual Monster in the middle of the Tag Duel. It's also the first-ever Ritual-Pendulum Monster.
• Alternate Self: Is one to his Dimensional Counterparts, and to Zarc. Exaggerated given that he's one of Zarc's fragments.
• Apocalypse Maiden: He's one of Zarc's four fragments, and close proximity with the other three is dangerous as it means they could potentially reform Supreme King Z-ARC. However, Yuya's status comes into question in this story, since Zarc is whole and present.
• Badass Adorable: His joyful personality, plus his adorable-looking Entermate monsters, help solidify this trope for him, especially when you consider that his ace monster is a dragon.
• Big Brother Instinct: He cares deeply for the ankle-biter trio, and when Sawatari uses them as leverage, he was seriously risking setting off more than one angry dragon.
• Big Damn Heroes: In Scale 02, he saves Sawatari and Kakimoto from Zarc's attack, which would have seriously injured them. While he doesn't like Sawatari, especially after the crap he pulled this chapter, but he doesn't hate Sawatari enough that he'd want the guy to be seriously injured.
• Character Catchphrase: Has two. "Ladies and gentlemen!" and "The fun has just begun!"
• Character Development: Thanks to Zarc's presence and the fact that he's not the only one who has Pendulum cards, Yuya's problems early in the anime involving other people Pendulum Summoning are absent. While he is disheartened by Sawatari's usage of Pendulum, he does understand Zarc's point that, eventually, Pendulum Summoning will become widespread and be used by others. And as the creator of Pendulum Summoning, he has to unlock all of its mysteries. Evidence of his development is in Scale 09, where instead of becoming disheartened, he's shocked and concerned that Ray has Pendulum Cards, effectively making the duel much harder for them.
• Childhood Friends: He's been friends with Yuzu and Gongenzaka since he was a kid.
• Coat Cape: He wears his school uniform over his shoulders, not too differently from how Yami Yugi wore the Domino City High School's blazer. How it never falls off his shoulders is a mystery.
• Cool Big Bro: He's one to the You Show kids, along with Zarc. See Big Brother Instinct up above.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Some of Yuya's monsters, such as Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Odd-Eyes Skate Streamer, are DARK Monsters, but Yuya himself is hardly an evil person. This even applies to his dragon, as Zarc mentions it likes to make a show whenever it shows up, and in contrast to its Evil Counterpart, it greets Ray happily and treats her Odd-Eyes Pendulum Magician like an old friend.
• Demoted to Extra: Downplayed, Yuya is a deutertagonist in this fanfiction however he has less plot importance when it comes to the Myth Arc because Zarc is the only one who has Awakened and forced others to awaken with him.
• Deuteragonist: Since Zarc's the main character this time around, Yuya's forced to share the spotlight. Not that he minds.
• Distaff Counterpart: It could be serving as a bit of foreshadowing, but Yuya's new Synchro Monster "Odd-Eyes Skate Streamer"'s appearance invokes the Clear Wing archetype, possessing white, black, and green bits of armor in its design.
• Disappeared Dad: For reasons unknown to Yuya, Yusho Sakaki disappeared on the day he was meant to defend his title from Strong Ishijima. Yuya's been worried about him ever since.
• Dragon Rider: He likes to ride on dragons during an Action Duel. He even rides on top of SKSD Clear Wing and Starving Venom during the Tag Duels against Sawatari and Reiji respectively.
• Famed In-Story: In the Standard Dimension, he defeated Strong Ishijima, the reigning Maiami City Champion, and created Pendulum Summoning. Yuya's also dead set on living up to his newfound reputation as the pioneer of Pendulum Summoning.
• Fun Personified: Yuya lives to bring smiles to everyone and does it in the hammiest, funniest way possible.
• Evil Doppelgänger: Inverted.
  • Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon can be seen like this, being the original dragon, to the darker and much more violent Supreme King Servant Dragon Odd-Eyes. It also turns out to be a case of Other Me Annoys Me, as whenever Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and SKSD Odd-Eyes are on the same field, they're incredibly hostile to each other.
  • Entermate King Odd-Eyes Dragon is one to Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon, even possessing similar effects.
• Heir to the Dojo: In a sense. Yusho Sakaki founded You Show Duel School, which was meant to teach others the value of Entertainment Dueling. Along with Zarc, Yuya is one of the strongest students in the school.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Initially. Because Pendulum Cards were exclusive to Yuya alone before Zarc came into the picture and hastened the creation of Pendulum cards, everyone believed that Yuya was a cheater.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: In Scale 01, Yuya is initially angry and frustrated that Zarc had Pendulum Cards when he thought only he had them at the time, and later felt ashamed when he remembered that Zarc had amnesia.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Gongenzaka, like in canon. Also with Zarc this time around, especially since the two treat each other as partners.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Averted this time around. Thanks to Character Development, Yuya doesn't suffer confidence issues whenever he sees someone else using Pendulum Summoning or has Pendulum Characters. On the contrary, he wants to continue exploring the possibilities Pendulum has to offer, as is his responsibility as the creator of Pendulum Summoning.
• Idiot Hero: While nowhere near as present in the anime, we would still like to remind people that it took two hundred duels for Yuya to remember that, in order to execute a proper Pendulum Summoning, he needed to set them in the Pendulum Zones, which are physically located at the edges of the board on his Duel Disk.
• Large Ham: Wouldn't be Yuya without his theatrics. Kind of a requirement if you want to be a Dueltainer.
• Le Parkour: Befitting his motif as a circus performer, Yuya often runs around Action Fields in search of Action Cards. He's surprisingly winded in Scale 09 from how much he's been running around, though this is possibly attributed to the fact that Acrobatic Circus is stated to be the most difficult Action Field players can possibly fight in.
• The Load: Invoked in Scale 02. Yuya's first Turn in the duel was subpar and felt that he only ended up giving them a disadvantage. He also feels that Zarc's been carrying them throughout the whole duel when he sees how far he's managed to push Sawatari and Kakimoto by reducing their Life Points, even showing off his SKSD Clear Wing. Zarc thankfully pulls him out of his funk and nearly manages to defeat Sawatari when he snaps out of it.
• Loser Son of Loser Dad: Given the circumstances surrounding his father's disappearance, not many people treat Yuya with respect. Reiji, however, subverts this and treats Yuya with great respect and duels him to his full ability because of the fact.
• Mistaken Identity: Averted. Unlike last time, there are several factors in play that don't cause Yuya to be confused for Yuto, such as Gongenzaka being present with Yuya while Yuzu and Zarc were with Yuto, as well as Zarc stating that Yuto's style of dueling is vastly different from Yuya's own.
• Morality Pet: Yuya isn't aware of it, and neither is Zarc, but the latter witnessing Yuya's Entertainment Dueling is what primarily leads to Zarc being the person we see in the story, as it closely matches the dueling Zarc wanted in the Original Dimension before the crowd started demanding more violent duels from him.
• Nice Guy: By far one of the nicest characters in the series.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: He has red eyes naturally. It's only when they start glowing that you should consider forfeiting and running for your life.
• Took a Level in Badass: See Adaptational Badass up above. He takes another level of badass in the Tag Duel against Reiji and Ray Akaba, one being his In-Universe rival and the other the only person to have ever defeated the Demon Duelist.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: He wants to prove that he's worthy of being the son of Yusho Sakaki, who all but created the occupation of Dueltainer, and wants to prove that his father was no coward.

Yuzu Hiiragi

Yuzu Hiiragi

Archetype: Melodious

The daughter of Shuzo Hiiragi, the current owner of You Show Duel School. She is the Standard Dimension fragment of Ray Akaba.

She has been friends with Yuya Sakaki since childhood and has been one of his greatest sources of support. Alongside Yuya, she discovers an amnesiac Zarc in the park, and per her father's suggestion, takes him under their care.

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• Action Girl: Granted she's only dueled once on-screen, but she's undergone Adaptational Badass and, as later revealed in Scale 14, she has been studying karate. Despite that, she still gets kidnapped by someone after Yuya's Pendulum cards. After Gongenzaka manages to release her from being captive in Scale 15, Yuzu manages to kick the living shit out of Houjou's lackeys.
• Adaptational Badass: In the anime, Yuzu only knew how to perform Fusion Summoning, which she learned from Sora. Here, thanks to Zarc's training with Yuya and feeling that she was being left behind, wanted to grow stronger. The result was Ritual Summoning, which has been used by only two other characters in the anime.
• Alternate Self: Is one to her Dimensional Counterparts, as well as Ray. Exaggerated in that she's one of Ray's fragments.
• Archaic Weapon for an Advanced Age: Yuzu is one of the few people in the Standard Dimension to use Ritual Summoning, as according to Himika Akaba, Ritual had begun to decline once Xyz, Synchro, and Fusion were introduced.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She can be a very kind and caring girl but harm those she cares for and you'll be on the receiving end of her paper fan. However, that's the nicest thing she'll do in retaliation as Scale 14 reveals that not only she knows Karate, but also inflict a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on the Rare Hunters who kidnapped her in Scale 15. It says a lot that Gongenzaka gave an abridged version of what she did to them to which both Yuya and Sawatari pale in horror at the implications, to where Yuzu lightheartedly states that the former is exaggerating by explaining that she only broke a couple of bones.
• Can't Catch Up: How she felt as she watched Yuya and Zarc study Pendulum Summoning. She especially felt that Yuya no longer needed to rely on her and was learning to stand on his own, but she didn't want to have to rely on him, either, hence leading to her Adaptational Badass moment above.
• Damsel in Distress: Gets kidnapped by an unknown party, presumably the Rare Hunters, in an attempt to have Yuya hand over his Pendulum cards.
• Girly Bruiser: She's a cute girl, but not only can Yuzu hold her own in a duel, but also in physical combat as she delivered a brutal No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on the Rare Hunters who're keeping her captive. Serena would've been proud of this.
• Identical Stranger: Averted. Much like the case with Zarc and Yuya, no one from LDS mistakes Yuzu for Ray because Ray is older than Yuzu, though they do notice that she has a great resemblance to her. Ray's even described as being an older-looking Yuzu, meaning in terms of looks, Yuzu is closer to Ray than the other three Bracelet Girls.
• Out-of-Character Alert: Near the end of the tag duel against Barrett and Serena, Yuzu goes from worrying about her bringing Zarc down after a bad play to becoming aggressive and more confident. Zarc is initially surprised by this, but brushes it off and thinks she's got her groove back. As it turns out, that may or may not have been Yuzu in the driver seat...
• Shout-Out: Her Ritual Monster, "Requiem Diva of the Salieri Symphony," is obviously a shout out to Antonio Salieri, much like her Mozarta Prodigy is one to Wolfgang Mozart, though the ghostly orchestra that appears when she summons her Ritual Summons Requiem Diva brings to mind the Avenger-class Servant from the Lostbelt.
• Synchronization: Briefly underwent this during the tag duel between the Akaba siblings, Yuya and Zarc, as she noted she felt as though she were in Ray's place a few times. In Scale 13, Yuzu inexplicably synchronizes with Rin, despite the two being in different dimensions. Word of God hints that Ray has something to do with it.
• Worthy Opponent: How Yaiba sees her midway through their duel. This, in turn, also leads to her respecting the LDS students as duelists as well.

Leo Corporation (Standard Dimension)

Ray Akaba

Ray Akaba

Archetype: En, Creation Agent

Apologies

A major character from Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, and the one who defeated Zarc at the height of his power.

The daughter of Leo Akaba prior to the Original Dimension being split apart and a talented duelist. Her career was ultimately cut short, however, when Zarc, twisted by the crowd's selfish want for violent duels and fearing the prospect of losing, became the "Demon Duelist" who ravaged her home. In an attempt to stop him, Ray used the power of the En cards, which resulted in not just Zarc and the Original Dimension being split into four, but also her as well.

In Pendulum's Fifth Swing, like Zarc, Ray has somehow survived, remained whole, and forgotten much about her past. Himika, upon learning that she was also a child of Leo, took her in. She has since become a powerful duelist at LDS, becoming the top student of the Expert Class, and according to Yaiba, she is undefeated. The only person who ever forced her into a draw is her step/half-brother Reiji.

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• The Ace: Ray calls herself the top student of the Expert Class at LDS. According to Tatsuya, it's also the same course that creates pro duelists and is notoriously difficult, with each student handpicked by either Himika or her son Reiji. She's also a skilled duelist, to the point where the closest Reiji can get with her is a DRAW. The Tag Duel in Scale 09 and 10 shows just how skilled she is, backing Yuya and Zarc into a corner.
• Action Girl: She's the best duelist of her gender in the Leo Duel School's Expert Class and pretty much in the Standard Dimension, and the only one who is equal to Zarc in Dueling.
• Action Mom: Technically speaking, she is the Bracelet Girl's mother, as they were all born from her when she defeated Zarc and split the Original Dimension apart. That being said, however, Ray fills the role of Cool Big Sis better.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In canon, there is little to suggest that Ray knew Zarc before she sacrificed herself to stop him, and Ray specifically left her fragments with Zarc's fragments as a means of both preventing his resurrection and pacifying the individual fragments. Here, it's heavily implied that she was close to Zarc before he went postal and that even with Identity Amnesia, they instinctually recognize each other. Even their original monsters get along, demonstrated when Zarc's SDSK monsters act antagonistic to Ray's En Magicians, while Yuya's Odd-Eyes and Ray's Odd-Eyes Pendulum Magician greet each other like old friends.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: Like with Zarc, she was only mentioned near the end of the series. Here, she made her first appearance at the end of Scale 2, and was founded by Himika many years prior to the start of the fic.
• Always Someone Better: It says a lot that even her younger half-brother, Reiji of all people admits that she is this to him as a Duelist, to the point where the furthest he had ever gotten in a duel was a DRAW.
• Amnesiac Hero: Like Zarc, Ray lacks much of her own memories, though unlike him, she remembers her father, and even Zarc to a certain extent.
• Apologetic Attacker: Ray has a habit of apologizing when she's about to do a major move.
• Archnemesis Dad: While Ray is implied to have a few memories of Leo, enough to know that he is her father, she is wholly willing to stand against him with Himika and Reiji.
• Badass Bookworm: She's just as intelligent and business savvy as her younger half-brother, and is a powerful Duelist who surpasses him greatly.
• Brutal Honesty: According to Himika, Ray never minced her words and would always make it clear whenever someone had done something displeasing to her.
• Character Catchphrase: "Apologies" appears to be one, as she says it quite often during a duel when countering or about to make a major move.
• Cool Big Sis: She has this effect on both her younger adoptive step/half-brother Reiji and adoptive sister Reira. It even extends outside her family as many, if not, all of the up-and-coming LDS students sees her like this, especially with the LDS' trio; Masumi is considered a sister to Ray, and Yaiba sees her as an example of what all up-and-coming students of the LDS should aspire to be.
• Distaff Counterpart: All of Ray's Creation Agent Tamer monsters, appearance-wise, all look like Ray's dimensional fragments and match the dragons' respective owners. For example, Ray's Odd-Eyes Pendulum Magician is more or less Yuzu dressed similar to Yusho Sakaki and is wearing Yuya's goggles. Ray's En Angels also appear to be counterparts to the archetypes used by her fragments, as En Angel — Hana and En Angel — Tsuki are both treated as a Melodious and Lunalight monster respectively.
• Flashback Nightmare: Both she and Zarc's most prominent memory is their encounter while the latter was Supreme King Dragon Zarc. Whereas Zarc remembers the moment when Ray defeated him and split him up, Ray remembers defeating him and asking him to forgive her.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: She's the light-hearted and outgoing sibling to Reiji's cheerless and stoic sibling, but it's downplayed since they're both hardworking and intelligent.
• Freak Out: The moment she sees Zarc lapsing back into his Demon Duelist mindset, she begs for him to stop what he's doing and come back to his senses. She has good reasons to be afraid.
• Good Is Not Soft: She may be a Cool Big Sis, but she can duel anyone with deadly efficiency as shown in Scale 09 and 10.
• Happily Adopted: While it took some growth on Himika's part when they first met, Ray is close to her adopted stepfamily.
• Hate at First Sight: Zarc's Evil Counterpart SKSD dragons, the moment they see her and her En Magicians, immediately show the same animosity they do for the original Dimensional Dragons wielded by Zarc's fragments. This does not apply to the Dimensional Dragons, however, as in contrast, Odd-Eyes is very happy to see her and greets her Creation Agent Tamer — Odd-Eyes Pendulum Magician like it was an old friend.
• Hot-Blooded: This description of Ray by Himika sums it up:
  She was headstrong with the need to prove herself. She never minced words and always made it clear whenever someone had done something displeasing to her. She practically wore her heart on her sleeve, and continued to walk forward without ever looking back.
• Invincible Hero: Prior to her Tag Duel with Reiji against Zarc and Yuya, she had never lost a duel according to Yaiba.
• Lady of War: She's cool-tempered, graceful, and a supportive big sister figure who's an extremely powerful Duelist who surpasses her younger step/half-brother.
• Like a Daughter to Me: Ray may not have been Himika's biological daughter, but after growing to care for her, the latter sees her like this.
• Man of Kryptonite: Her En Deck is seemingly designed to counter Zarc's Supreme King Deck. The effects of her Creation Agent Tamer magicians — all of whom are magicians designed to look like the Bracelet girls with some of the dragon's appearance mixed in — are to purposely counter the Dimensional Dragons' own effects. Given how the Bracelet girls' existence was to ensure that the Yu boys would never interact and risk Supreme King Z-ARC from being revived, this is likely intentional.
• Master of All: Her En Deck is capable of utilizing all known summoning methods, excluding Ritual.
• Morality Chain: She serves as this to both her adopted stepmother and half-brother. This, in turn, allows both Himika and Reiji to become much more adjustable in the current story.
• My Greatest Failure: Even though she doesn't remember the full details, her failure to save Zarc is the one regret she held to this day.
• Out Of Body Experience: Not her, but Yuzu experiences this when the duel begins. The further it drags on, Yuzu feels like she's half in her body and half in Ray's, implied to be a reaction of Ray summoning En Angel — Hana, which, according to its card effects, is treated like a Melodious monster, the same archetype used by Yuzu.
• Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Goggles in this case, but Ray wears a pair of these upon being founded by Himika and continues to wear them around her neck in the current time. Time will only tell if they would serve a greater purpose.
• Rags to Riches: In a way, she was this in both her past and current life. In the Original Dimension, her father was a respected scientist who became well-known after his invention Action Duels, which pioneered a new era for Dueling. In the Standard Dimension, she's adopted into the Akaba family, whose running one of the most successful gaming corporations, for her blood-relation to the now-missing CEO, Leo Akaba.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: In terms of play style, Ray is the blue oni to Reiji's red oni. In the Tag Duel against Yuya and Zarc, she stands completely still and doesn't move at all, instead of having her monsters capture the Action Cards and bring them to her or allowing the environment to send them her way, whereas Reiji rushes around the stage in search of Action Cards.
• Rule of Three: Much like the Arc Number from VRAINS, Ray invokes this during the time where Himika found her a few years prior to the fic. (1) She remembers her name, (2) she knows that Leo Akaba is her father, and (3) there's someone that she needs to save.
• Scars Are Forever: Like with Zarc, the large pendulum that appears whenever she initiates a Pendulum Summon, has a notable crack on it as well.
• The Stoic: Despite her hot-blooded nature, she can very calm and calculating at times, which is best shown in her Tag Duel with Reiji against Zarc and Yuya.
• Trauma Button: She really doesn't take it well when she sees Zarc becoming the Demon Duelist. Word of God even states that her Freak Out in Scale 16 is due to her duel with Zarc back in the Original Dimension, which apparently left her with some serious mental scars.
• Tyke-Bomb: Subverted. She was originally adopted by Himika to be molded into the ultimate Dueling weapon against Leo, but overtime, Ray's presence in the family change Himika for the better.
• Unexplained Recovery: Much like the situation with Zarc, Ray is whole when she's found by Himika, and so far there's no explanation as to why this is, despite the fact that Yuzu and her other dimension counterparts still exist.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: She takes this further than Reiji, as despite being founded alone outside of the Leo Corporation building prior to the fic, Ray shows remarkable maturity despite her young age, to where Himika describes her adoptive daughter as someone who continues to walk forward without looking back.

Reiji Akaba

Reiji Akaba

Archetype: D/D, D/D/D

The son of Leo Akaba and current President of the Leo Corporation, as well as the younger half-brother of Ray Akaba.

A talented duelist at a very young age, Reiji's life was forever changed when his father mysteriously disappeared. When he discovered a strange device in his lab, he was transported to the Fusion Dimension and encountered Celina and his father, who had seemingly cast his son aside for the sake of his ambitions for dimensional conquest.

Determined to stop his father, Reiji and his mother introduced the other Summoning Methods to the Standard Dimension and began building a program meant to train duelists for live combat, in the hopes that they would serve to defend their home from the Fusion Dimension. At some point in time, Reiji discovered Ray and learned that they were related, albeit half-siblings, leading him to have a more hopeful outlook in the upcoming war against Academia.

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• The Ace: Of the Leo Corporation, though it's later revealed that his skills pale in comparison to his adoptive step/half-sister. The closest Reiji has ever gotten to defeating her is through a DRAW.
• Adaptation Expansion: Compare to canon, Reiji only duels twice on-screen (Yuya and Barrett) in the first season due to his seiyuu's busy schedule. The fic, however, showcases him participating in more duels such as Kurosaki in Scale 11.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • He's notably much closer to his younger adopted sister Reira compare to canon, to the point where he was disappointed that she wasn't present during the Tag Duel with Ray against Zarc and Yuya during Scale 9 and 10. His red scarf is also a gift given to him from Reira, and he felt slightly miffed by the fact it got dirtied in his Duel against Kurosaki in Scale 11. Furthermore, he tends to spoil Reira at times, along with their older adoptive sister, Ray.
  • In regards to Ray, he never really knew his older half-sister at all since she doesn't exist as her own person after being split into the four Bracelet Girls in canon. In the fic, Ray is still a whole being as a result of an Unexplained Recovery, and she was adopted into the Akaba Family after being found outside of the Leo Corporation building, leading to the two to develop a strong sibling bond, where they trust and anticipate each other moves in the Tag Duel against Zarc and Yuya during the "LDS vs You Show" Arc. Also, he would spoil his older adoptive step/half-sister at times, along with their younger adoptive sister, Reira.
  • In canon, he and Zarc are enemies since the latter is the final Big Bad who would destroy the four Dimensions. Since the fic is about Zarc learning to become an Entertainment Duelist in order to steer away from his violent urges and become a stronger Duelist in spite of the potential weaknesses that come to his playing style, Reiji respects the young man and sees him as an ally.
  • His relationship with Yuya starts off more positive compared to canon since the former's dubious and pragmatic nature is lessen from Ray's influence in his life and the latter's confidence issues in regards to Pendulum Summoning is long gone after being motivated to explore it more with Zarc's help, leading them to have a Friendly Rivalry. However, time would only tell in regards to Yuya discovering the true purpose of the Maiami Championship.
• Adaptational Heroism: Downplayed. He's still a very calculating and pragmatic individual, but his morally-dubious nature is portrayed as positive from having his older adoptive step/half-sister as the Morality Chain in his life.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed as he's still a Pragmatic Hero from canon, but he's less cynical and more openly kind to the others and is known to have a habit of spoiling his siblings, according to Himika. One such example of this is shown in Scale 05, where not only does he had his D/D/D Pendulum monsters fully made, along with a new Duel Disk, but also had Ray's En Deck completed as a top priority along with her own Duel Disk as well, while Reira's Pendulum cards are going to take some time.
• Adaptational Wimp: Zigzagged. He's still a powerful and very skilled Duelist from canon, but with Duelists like his older adoptive step/half-sister and Zarc existing on the same side, it's been expressed numerous times by his mother and himself that he pales in comparison to them. That being said, he does get more upgrades to his D/D/D Deck as shown in his Duel against Kurosaki.
• Archnemesis Dad: The second he learned that his father was planning on invading other dimensions, he considered Leo Akaba to be an enemy that he must defeat in order to protect his home.
• Awesome by Analysis: When they go through the footage on Sawatari's Duel Disk and witness his battle against Yuto, Reiji begins to piece together things that don't come up until much later in the anime, such as the existence of doppelgängers of Yuya Sakaki, each with their own dragon based on their home dimension. He even correctly assumes that Zarc is the true founder of Pendulum Summoning, on account of him possessing a deck chock-full of Pendulum Cards, its powerful effects, and the fact that he has Evil Counterpart dragons to the Dimensional Dragons. Not to mention the fact that Zarc's Pendulum Summoning emits more energy than Yuya Sakaki, the supposed creator of the summoning method.
• Badass Bookworm: Let's see here. He became the President of what's more or less the Alternate Universe counterpart to the Kaiba Corporation at age 16, became a Professional Duelist at age 15, and he happens to know every Summoning Method in Standard, including the newly developed Pendulum Summoning. Need we say more?
• Bash Brothers: Well, bash siblings more like. He and Ray face off against Yuya and Zarc in a Tag Duel in Scale 09, and they back the two into a corner with surprising ease.
• Big Good: He's easily the most heroic character in the story, what with his intentions of fighting back against his warlord of a dad with his half-sister, all the while training others in the hopes they will be ready to defend Standard when the time comes. His other morally-dubious actions are played in a more positive light as well.
• The Chessmaster: He's been preparing for Academia's inevitable invasion for the last three years. Among those preparations were introducing Xyz, Synchro, and Fusion; Summoning Methods that were otherwise unknown to Standard. The various branches of Leo Duel School are also little more than a front to train duelists as soldiers for lack of a better word, honing their skills so they can be ready for the upcoming war.
• Cynicism Catalyst: Learning about his father's plans to dominate the other dimensions, especially when he was a kid, didn't do Reiji many favors. That said, compared to the anime, he's slightly better and perhaps a bit more hopeful, thanks to the presence of Ray.
• Dark Is Not Evil: His deck is composed of DARK Fiend-type monsters, one of which is named "Hell Armageddon." That said, he's still one of the good guys.
• Didn't See That Coming: During the end of the Tag Duel in Scale 10, he was fully expecting to see a newfound potential of Pendulum Summoning when he noticed Yuya's pendant glow — a phenomenon similar to when he first unveiled Pendulum Summoning to the world. What he was not expecting was that Yuya turned Entermate Sky Magician, a copy of Yusho Sakaki's ace monster into a Pendulum Monster.
• Elemental Powers: Many of Reiji's D/D/D monsters all possess different attributes and abilities pertaining to those attributes. Some of their names even reflect their attributes, like D/D/D Flame King Temujin — a FIRE Attribute monster.
• Everyone Has Standards: While he has no problems with Duelists who use pragmatic methods as they'll going to be fighting in an upcoming Dimensional War, it still leaves a certain bad taste in his mouth at times. Despite being The Man Behind the Man to Sawatari stealing Yuya's Stargazer and Timegazer Magicians and forcing the latter to duel in order to study the methods of Pendulum Summoning, Reiji does acknowledge Sawatari's overall behavior (such as his tactic of endangering Yuzu and You Show Trio to take advantage of a Loophole Abuse, all while remaining smug about it when being called out) as leaving much to be desired. During the Duel between Hokuto and Yuya, the former deliberately timed his monster's effect to bounce the latter's Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon off the field while the latter was currently in the air to prevent him from getting an Action Card, to which those on the You Show side calls this out as an attempted murder; leading to Himika sternly pointing out that the Action Duels are already informed to the Duelists of the risk of death, which is even explained at the beginning of the manuals beforehand, and upon "agreement" from both parties to step into it, they consent to the assumption of risk, leading to the You Show side of having had no choice but to begrudgingly accept this, but the narration shows that Reiji does share their sentiments.
• Evil Overlord: Not him, but all of his monsters are represented as being demonic, terrifying kings. The first one he shows off to Yuya and Zarc in their Tag Duel is Flame King Temujin.
• Flawed Prototype: Averted. Thanks to Zarc's presence, Reiji and the Leo Corporation had two people to gather Pendulum Summoning on. As a result, while they haven't been tested in the field, the Pendulum Cards that they developed won't glitch out as they did in the anime when he first used them.
• Foil:
  • To Yuya. Both are great duelists in their own right, but whereas Yuya is cheerful and fun personified, Reiji is very meticulous and straight-forward. He also treats every duel seriously, while Yuya considers each duel as a performance.
  • To Zarc. Both are powerful duelists, and both have a connection to Leo Akaba (even though Zarc isn't aware of it at present). Reiji is a foil to Zarc in ways similar to Yuya, like how Zarc treats a duel as a performance, but he also struggles with the fact that a part of him wants to violently crush his opponent. Reiji duels with the purpose of defeating his opponent in the most efficient manner possible. In regards to his father Leo, the senior Akaba doesn't consider Reiji much of a threat and would prefer not to fight him, whereas Zarc is an enemy that MUST be annihilated at all costs, resorting to trying to kill his fragments to prevent his revival.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: He's the cheerless and stoic sibling to Ray's light-hearted and outgoing sibling, but it's downplayed since they're both hardworking and intelligent.
• Good Is Not Soft: He may be one of the heroes, but mercy is the last thing you should expect from this man.
• Hero-Worshipper: He outright states to Yuya during their Tag Duel in Scale 09 that he greatly respects and even idolizes Yusho Sakaki, referring to him as the pioneer of Action Duels and creating the art of Entertainment Dueling. It's also because of this respect that Reiji duels Yuya and Zarc with everything he's got, aside from the fact that he wants to test their limits.
• I Gave My Word: If You Show defeated the LDS representatives, then the Leo Corporation would support it financially. Not only does Reiji give his word, but he also goes above and beyond by offering the state-of-the-art Real Solid Vision system, plus sending in applications for new students.
• Impossibly Cool Clothes: His scarf's just as attached to his body as Yuya's Coat Cape is.
• Improbable Age: He became a professional duelist at age 15, and a year later, he took over the Leo Corporation, which is more or less an Expy of Kaiba Corp. Seto would be impressed.
• I Work Alone: Downplayed. While he can cooperate with others and can duel very well with his older half-sister in Scale 09 and 10, Reiji states to Ray that he duels better alone.
• The Leader: Of the Leo Corporation and the Lancers that will eventually be founded when it comes time to fight Academia.
• Long-Lost Relative: Reiji didn't even know he had another sibling until Ray mysteriously showed up in his life.
• The Man Behind the Man: He orchestrated Sawatari's duel with Yuya in order to test the power of Pendulum Summoning for himself. Zarc getting involved and providing more data than expected was a plus.
• Master of All: His D/D/D Deck revolves around every summoning method under the sun, perhaps barring Ritual Summoning.
• Momma's Boy: The reason he wanted to confront his father was because of how upset he made Himika. Of course, he didn't expect to learn that Leo left to seemingly pursue dimensional conquest.
• Noble Demon: His D/D/D monsters are considered to be Evil Overlord monsters, and he's done a few questionable things, but make no mistake. He is firmly on the side of good and willing to fight Academia alongside the rest of the Lancers.
• Pet the Dog: He is one of the few people outside of those in You Show who doesn't disrespect Yusho Sakaki and even praises him, and going along with that respect, he treats his duel with Yusho's son seriously, which embarrasses Yuya. He and Himika both also have a fondness for the school, offering to fund You Show should they win. Reiji most likely plans to fund You Show anyway, even if Yuya and Zarc lose the Tag Duel.
• Scarf of Asskicking: He wears a scarf, and he's one of the best duelists in Standard. On a more heartwarming note, his scarf is a gift from Reira, and he was slightly miffed that it got dirtied in his duel against Kurosaki in Scale 11.
• Sins of Our Fathers: Discussed and ultimately subverted in Scale 11, with Kurosaki (understandably) being against the trusting the word from the son of a man who waged an unprovoked war against his home. While Reiji acknowledges this, he also states that his blood relation to Leo doesn't define who he is, but knowing that simple words wouldn't enough to persuade him, Reiji made a wager by declaring a duel, since one's actions in battle speak louder than words and that he can decide what kind of person Reiji is. If Reiji loses, he surrenders to Kurosaki, but if he wins, then Kurosaki and Shun comes back with him to the Leo Corporation. Afterward, where Kurosaki is defeated despite using the power of Fusion Summoning, he concludes that Reiji isn't connected to Academia, but will be wary of him.
• The Stoic: While he shows a bit more emotion, on account of his interactions with his sister and mother, he's still quiet and reserved.
• Theme Naming: His D/D/D Monsters refer to conquerors and The End of the World as We Know It scenarios. For example, one of his monsters is called "D/D/D Wave Oblivion King Caesar Ragnarok."
• Took a Level in Kindness: If his words concerning Reira in Scale 09 are to be taken at face value, he shares a much closer bond to his adopted sister than in the anime, no doubt because of Ray.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Was one of the sweetest kids around until his dad disappeared and found out he was going to start an interdimensional war.
• When He Smiles: He has a beautiful smile underneath his no-nonsense and aloof demeanor and will often display it to his sisters.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Like Kaiba, he should be in high school, but he's a wealthy intellectual and influences a major corporation, not to mention the Undying Loyalty of his subordinates.
• Worthy Opponent: He considers Yuya Sakaki to be one, on account of him being the son of his idol.

Supporting Characters

You Show Duel School (Standard Dimension)

Noboru Gongenzaka

Noboru Gongenzaka

Archetype: Superheavy Samurai

A practitioner of the "Steadfast" Dueling style, Gongenzaka isn't a student of You Show Duel School but is a close friend to Yuya Sakaki and Yuzu Hiiragi, having been a childhood friend to them both.

Alongside the other You Show students, Gongenzaka attempts to help Zarc regain his memory by taking him to various schools that have information on archetypes, specifically looking for anything relating to his Supreme King deck.

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• Acrofatic: Subverted. He's not so much fat as he is muscular.
• Adaptational Badass: Gongenzaka learned Xyz Summon from Shun at some point after the LDS vs. You Show arc, which he uses to great effect during his duel against a Rare Hunter.
• Adapted Out: Gongenzaka's role in the feud between LDS and You Show is absent, instead, he's forced on the sidelines as Yuzu takes his place in dueling Yaiba. Zarc stops him from attempting to help his friends as it is a You Show Duel School matter. Gongenzaka concedes to the point and does not intervene.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He may look like a gentle giant, but if you piss him off or hurt any of his friends, then you will understand what it means to take on Steadfast Dueling.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Are we certain he isn't related to a few certain bushy-eyebrow sporting youthful maniacs?
• Blush Sticker: Always seems to have a blush on him wherever he goes, but it does not detract from his manliness whatsoever.
• Bully Hunter: He defended Yuya from anyone who attempted to torment him because of his Disappeared Dad status.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: His Steadfast Dueling has him stand perfectly still, and his burly physique goes a long way in helping him defend against his opponents as he can take hits from his opponent like they're nothing, having managed to withstand a direct assault from Zarc in a duel without flinching whatsoever.
• Childhood Friend: He's one to Yuya and Yuzu.
• Demoted to Extra: Compared to the anime, Gongenzaka doesn't get much screentime as the fanfic instead focuses on Zarc and his relationship with the Arc-V cast. His role in the LDS vs. You Show arc was also Adapted Out. That being said, he does get slightly more prominence in the Rare Hunters mini-arc, where he duels against a Rare Hunter while the others go after the ringleader.
• Does Not Like Magic: At first glance, his deck is very similar to Joey's before the Duelist Kingdom arc, as he has no Spell or Trap cards. This makes it seem risky, but his deck's effects actually revolve around not having any Spells or Traps in the Graveyard in order to work. This is the primary reason why he does not use any Action Cards.
• Foil: To Yuya. Yuya's dueling revolves around him racing about an Action Field and using Action Cards to his advantage, and his monsters, while in the Pendulum Zone, are treated as Spell Cards. Gongenzaka's Steadfast Dueling has him stand in one place, and his deck does not have a single Trap or Spell in its arsenal. Also, whereas Yuya is a Stepford Smiler, Gongenzaka is very open about his emotions.
• Gentle Giant: He's beefy and easily one of the tallest people in the series, and he's one of the nicest guys around, assuming you don't hurt his friends.
• Graceful Loser: In an offscreen duel with Zarc, he takes his loss very well and even commends his dueling.
• Heir to the Dojo: His father is the master of his school, and he uses his school's Steadfast Dueling style with pride.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Yuya, having been close friends since they were children.
• Impossibly Cool Clothes: His geta are made of out freaking metal and he can use them as weapons!
• Large Ham: He most certainly is, considering his quirk of referring to himself as "the man, Gongenzaka."
• Last-Name Basis: He's never called by his first name, Noboru, except perhaps by his father.
• Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: He treats his opponent with respect and values honor, almost like a samurai. Fitting, given his deck, is called "Superheavy Samurai."
• Made of Iron: He's one of the toughest sons of bitches you'll ever find, considering he tanks blows from attacks in Action Duels, which makes the attacks performed by monsters very real.
• Martial Arts Headband: He wears a red one around his head, though it's possible it was the sash from his childhood.
• Mechanical Lifeforms: All of his Superheavy Samurai monsters are Machine-type monsters.
• Nice Guy: He's incredibly loyal to his friends and is respectful to anyone, even his own foes.
• Out of Focus: For the You Show vs LDS Arc, where he stands aside and allows Zarc and the others to deal with Leo Duel School, considering that he is an outsider and his friends want to deal with this themselves.
• Shout-Out: Gongenzaka's Xyz Monster, Superheavy Samurai Kami Izanagi, is modeled after Izanagi-no-Okami.
• Sixth Ranger: He's not an official member of You Show Duel School, but he's a very close friend to the school owner's daughter and the founder's son.
• Third-Person Person: He refers to himself in this manner, though he also adds "the man" or "the manly" in front of his name when he does so.
• True Companions: With Yuya, Yuzu, and later, Zarc.
• Younger Than They Look: He's around the same age as Yuya and Yuzu, but one can be forgiven for thinking he's older because of how beefy he is.

Sora Shiunin

Sora Shiunin

Archetype: Furnimal, Edge Imp, Death-Toy

A mysterious duelist who applied for Leo Duel School, only to later choose You Show after witnessing Zarc and Yuya duel against Sawatari and Kakimoto. Despite his apparent young age, he is arguably one of the best Fusion Duelists in the Standard Dimension.

In reality, however, Sora Shiunin is a top tier duelist from Academia, sent to scout out the Standard Dimension's defenses and gather data. He is currently gathering intelligence on Action Duels and Pendulum Summoning.

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• Adaptation Expansion: Sora's presence in Standard wasn't exactly explained, aside from the possibility that, like Dennis, he was sent there to find Yuzu. The fic explains that he's sent to Standard as part of a reconnaissance mission, with the original plan being to infiltrate Leo Duel School.
• Anti-Villain: The only people he ever shows true malicious intent towards are those of the Xyz Dimension, as he grows excited at the prospect of hunting down the stragglers who came to Standard. Aside from that, he's otherwise shown to be carefree and happy-go-lucky, even developing a fondness and appreciation for the students of You Show. It's also noted he's begun to genuinely smile more often, all signs of his impending Heel–Face Turn.
• A Taste of Defeat: According to Sora, his very first and terrifying one is caused by Yuri and his Starving Venom Fusion Dragon.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: It's subtle, but despite Sora's initial plans for using Zarc and Yuya to gather info on Pendulum Summoning and Action Duels, he's slowly begun to care about the people at You Show, even becoming slightly distraught at the idea that they have to be carded before he tries to justify that they will be happy with a new utopia.
• Badass Adorable: He looks like he's slightly older than the You Show trio but younger than Yuya and the others. And he's top of his class at Academia. Not exactly, someone, you want to mess with.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: As shown near the end of his Duel against Zarc in Scale 03. Throughout the Duel, Sora was confident in his Dueling skills and rather impressed on how Zarc is able to constantly counter his every move but is also off-put by the latter's adherence to the You Show Duel School's Entertainment Duel Style, and hopes to push Zarc to the brink in order to draw out his Blood Lust after getting serious, all while believing Virtue Is Weakness. It's only until Zarc gains a Heroic Second Wind and brought out Supreme King Servant Dragon Starving Venom is where Sora immediately lost whatever confidence and/or arrogance against the former.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Because of the hellish training he had to go through at Academia to reach where he is now, Sora never had any opportunities to bond with his fellow duelists. The first people he's ever had any real positive interactions with are the students of You Show Duel School.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Yuzu and Yuya lampshade this in Scale 03, where Sora shows off his dueling skills against Zarc. His monsters look cute and fluffy at first...until he fuses them and busts out with the Frightfur abominations that serve as his aces. He may be a child, but he's also a soldier.
• The Chessmaster: He reveals himself to be one in his duel against Masumi, a Duelist in the Fusion Course at LDS. He had previously intended to enter the course and studied up on the students in it, including Masumi. He knew that her best strategy was using her ace monster and her deadliest trap in order to claim victories, even one turn kills, so he purposely chose not to attack throughout the duel and continuously egged her on to bring out more and more Fusion Monsters while summoning some of his own before destroying all of them with an Action Magic, followed by a Trap that deals damage to both players, depending on how many Fusion Monsters were destroyed the turn was activated. Even if Masumi activated her Brilliant Spark, which would have finished Sora off, Sora's Trap would finish first.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: It's especially noticeable when Sora is capable of making huge leaps into the air despite his age.
• Child Soldier: He's perhaps the youngest duelist at Academia, being barely visibly older than the ankle-biter trio and younger than Yuya, who is only 15.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: He's subjected to one off-screen, which was so bad it not only resulted in You Show burning to the ground, but also landed Sora in the hospital.
• Cute and Psycho: Kid looks like he couldn't possibly hurt a fly, but the prospect of hunting down Xyz Duelists from Heartland gets his blood pumping. There's something seriously wrong with him.
• Deliberately Cute Child: This is part of his ruse while in Standard, though the ruse is what ultimately has him become attached to the You Show students.
• Didn't Think This Through: Played for Laughs. After his one-sided duel against Masumi in Scale 07, he started to regret his decision to end their duel in a DRAW to where she constantly hounds after him for a rematch in Scale 12.
• Eldritch Abomination: All of his monsters are straight-up Nightmare Fuel, but Frightfur Mad Chimera looks like a stuffed-toy version of something straight out of a horror movie.
• Fantastic Racism: Like many in Academia, he takes great joy in hunting down anyone who isn't from Fusion. When he learns that there could be duelists from the Xyz Dimension hiding in Standard, he becomes positively giddy at the thought of getting to hunt them down.
• For the Evulz: There was literally no other reason for him or anyone else in Academia to hunt down the Xyz Duelists, except for "the thrill of the hunt."
• Friendless Background: Sora never had a single friend until he came to Standard.
• Hidden Depths: At first, it seems like he's just using the You Show crew to gather intel on Standard's defenses, but as the story goes on, he becomes rather attached to them. At some point, he even begins to see dueling with Yuya and Zarc differently. Initially, dueling was just a tool for him and Academia, but his interactions with You Show have him smiling more often and realizing that there's more to dueling than just using it as a tool for war.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: At present, the heart of gold is starting to shine through the jerkass, though he hasn't had a chance to portray it all that much.
• Killer Rabbit: His Fluffal monsters are harmless and look like they couldn't hurt a fly...until he uses them in Fusion Summoning and busts out with the Frightfur monstrosities. They make the rabbit that killed Gawain look adorable.
• Lack of Empathy: He genuinely doesn't see anything wrong with hunting down innocent people or starting a war with another dimension, or that they will be sacrificing lots of people in order to make their utopia a reality. However, his interactions with the You Show students have started to bring out his more human side.
• Le Parkour: Given the extensive training he went through in Academia, despite his young age he could damn well put an athlete to shame.
  Shuzo: What in the world?! How'd he jump that high?! Does Sora have springs in his shoes?!
  Zarc: (thinking) No! That had nothing to do with springs! That was pure leg power! How in the hell...?!
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Sora may act like a ditzy, cute kid, but underneath that facade is a duelist who's willing to beat his opponent into the ground.
• Oh, Crap!: Sora was pretty confident he could beat Zarc in Scale 03. And then he busts out SKSD Starving Venom, promptly reminding Sora of his first-ever loss against Yuri, which was implied to be a Curb-Stomp Battle.
• Oral Fixation: A sign of when he gets serious is when he bites down on his lollipops.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: At first, he acts the same way he did in his duel against Yuya in the anime when facing off against Zarc, except taking him seriously when he saw him in action in Scale 03. But as the duel progresses, Sora sheds his childish demeanor and shows off skills that are well beyond anything a duelist in Standard should be capable of.
• Our Demons Are Different: His Frightfur monsters are the twisted abominations made from fusing the Edge Imp monsters, hellish looking implements, with the cute and adorable Fluffals.
• Pride: A major flaw is his ego. A good way to piss him off is to make light of his skills. That said, chances are pride didn't mean a damned thing when he dueled Yuri.
• Sanity Slippage: Downplayed. It's nowhere near as bad as when he duels Kurosaki in the anime for the first time, but as he's being pushed back, Sora shows off his Academia personality to Zarc near the end of the duel in Scale 03.
• Slasher Smile: Develops one in his duel with Zarc in the third chapter as he gets pushed back and decides to get serious and show exactly why he's top of his class.
• Smug Smiler: Always seems to sport one, and only loses it when things don't go his way or when he gets fired up.
• Sociopathic Soldier: Well, Duelist in any case, though this does entail actively harming his opponents and destroying their city. He believes Fusion Duelists to be far superior to Xyz Duelists and targets them just for fun.
• Sweet Tooth: You can probably count the number of times Sora isn't seen with something sweet in his mouth on one hand.
• The Thing That Would Not Leave: He manages to worm his way into Yuya's house by mistaking his mother for his sister, and he's been freeloading ever since. Even when Zarc kicks his ass in order to get him off his and Yuya's backs, he still likes to hang around You Show, even though a major reason why he joined was to study Pendulum.
• Trauma Button: He has one in the form of Starving Venom Fusion Dragon and upon seeing Zarc's summoning of Supreme King Servant Dragon Starving Venom in their Duel in Scale 03 causes him to quiver in fear.
• Tyke Bomb: The training he underwent in the Fusion Dimension molded him into this.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He fully believes in Leo Akaba's plans to unite the four dimensions and merge them together to create a utopia, thinking that it will ultimately make everyone happy. He's even willing to sacrifice the lives of everyone who's been carded to make it happen, though he hesitates when he realized that he may have to one day card the guys at You Show.

Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya

A group of children who study Duel Monsters at You Show Duel School. Ayu and Futoshi have been students for a period of time, with Tatsuya being a more recent addition to the group. They refer to Yuya as "Yuya-nii-chan" and Zarc "Zarc-nii-chan" respectively.

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• Character Tic: Futoshi's "I'm getting the shivers~" gag.
• Damsel in Distress: In Scale 02, they're taken hostage by Sawatari during their field trip at LDS to prevent Yuya from running.

Katsuya "Joey" Jonouchi

Katsuya "Joey" Jonouchi

Archetype: Red-Eyes

Hope I'll be able to keep up with ya!

A Duelist from the United States who arrives at You Show Duel School, following being sent an application by Reiji Akaba after the "LDS vs You Show" Arc.

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• Affectionate Nickname: His friends back in the U.S. calls him "Joey".
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Zigzagged in the fic since Joey was born in a stable household with his parents after they moved to the States due to his father's job, whereas in the original series, Jononuchi's parents were divorced and he had to grow up in poverty with his neglectful, alcoholic father who's implied to be abusive, constantly taking up part-time jobs to pay off his father's gambling debts, and became a Delinquent during middle school. However, Scale 14 reveals that Joey still has numerous run-ins and fights against an unknown number of gangs/criminals with people such as Bandit Keith being such an example.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: Compare to his depiction as a Japanese Delinquent Working-Class Hero in the original manga, this version of Jonouchi is reimagined as a Japanese-American New Transfer Student.
• Adaptational Badass: While Joey wasn't a horrible duelist per se, he's rather capable in this fic and even employs a deck that revolves around his Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
• Adaptational Intelligence: Downplayed, but Word of God states that this isn't idiot Joey, but a smart one (well... as smart as Joey can get).
• Adaptational Name Change: Downplayed. His full name is still Katsuya Jonouchi, but his nickname "Joey" is derived from his Dub Name Change of the second anime series adaptation, "Joey Wheeler".
• Adaptational Nationality: Downplayed since Joey is still of Japanese ethnicity, but he was born in Brooklyn, New York before joining the You Show Duel School in Scale 13.
• Brooklyn Rage: He's Japanese, but was more or less raised in the United States, more specifically in Brooklyn, hence his accent.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Except for Lord of the Red, all of Joey's monsters are DARK attribute monsters and black dragons.
• Didn't Think This Through: He may be a better Duelist in this version, but can be prone to making a decision that may or may not cost him every now and again.
• Famed In-Story: Though he only made it to the semi-finals, Jonouchi is still well-known by a few characters as one of the finalists from the Duelist Kingdom.
• Foil: One of Joey's ace monsters, "Red-Eyes Shining Dragon" is more or less the "Red-Eyes" counterpart of "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon." While both have similar effects, "Red-Eyes Shining Dragon" requires banishing three "Red-Eyes" monsters with different names, the latter requires the player to tribute "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" to summon. "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon can also negate a card or effect targeting it while "Red-Eyes Shining Dragon" negates any card or effect that's activated during the battle phase.
• Gratuitous Japanese: He has no problem speaking Japanese when interacting with the ARC-V cast despite being born in the U.S. Justified since his parents were native Japanese speakers.
• It's Personal: He definitely has a notable grudge against the Rare Hunters if his uncharacteristic anger is of any indication.
• Legacy Character: One of the cast members from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series, though whether he's the real deal or an Alternate Self to existing past series characters in ARC-V like Jack or Crow is up in the air.
• New Transfer Student: To the You Show Duel School at the end of Scale 13.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: While normally lively and outgoing, Joey becomes uncharacteristically angry when dealing with the rare hunter in Scale 14. It's implied he's dealt with them in the past and had a card stolen from him.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Not him, but rather his monsters. They're called "Red-Eyes" for a reason.

Shuzo Hiiragi

Shuzo Hiiragi

Archetype: Guts

HOT-BLOODED!

The current principal of You Show Duel School, filling in after Yusho's mysterious disappearance. He is the father of Yuzu Hiiragi and was once called the Gymnast Duelist.

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• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: He usually tends to come off like this when he's not acting seriously.
• Bumbling Dad: In his usual goofy self. As the principal of You Show, however, he's anything but.
• Character Catchphrase: "HOT-BLOODED!"
• Doting Parent: He cares immensely about his daughter, Yuzu.
• Eccentric Mentor: He has a few odd quirks, and he's the principal of You Show.
• Fiery Redhead: Certainly fits with his Hot-Blooded attitude. His shirt even has a flame design on it.
• Good Parents: He's done his damnedest to ensure that Yuzu can have a happy life. He would even go so far as to change her diapers while in the middle of a duel.
• Lovable Jock: His monsters are sports-themed, and he's one of the nicest guys you can find.
• Mistaken for Cheating: When he sees Ray for the first time, he thinks that his wife must have had an affair with Leo Akaba at some point before chastising himself for thinking that.
• Papa Wolf: To his students. When LDS comes knocking at his front door and requests they give Yuya and Zarc over to them so they will have Pendulum Summoning in their repertoire, despite Himika also stating that they are already developing Pendulum Cards, Shuzo adamantly refuses. On a more humorous note, he was initially against having Zarc in his house because he didn't want to have a potential perverted incident waiting to happen.
• Rags to Riches: After winning the wager against the Leo Duel School in Scale 10, the You Show Duel School is currently being financially supported by the former, to where Shuzo starts using the checks sent to him by expanding the campus through renovation and sent out job opportunities for instructors as well.
• Red Baron: Himika calls him the Gymnast Duelist. The nickname also fits, given the sports theme of his monsters.

Yusho Sakaki

Yusho Sakaki

The founder of You Show Duel School and father to Yuya Sakaki. He was the leading pioneer of Action Duels and even referred to as the father of Entertainment Dueling.

Three years before the start of the series, Yusho Sakaki disappeared on the day he was to defend his title from Strong Ishijima and has been labeled a coward ever since. However, there is more to his disappearance than people realize, with only Reiji Akaba knowing the truth behind it.

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• The Ace: He was not called the father of Entertainment Dueling for nothing. Even Reiji, one of the best duelists Standard has to offer, reveres him and his skills. It's also why Reiji initially intended for him to be the leader of the Lancers.
• Action Dad: He may be an Entertainment Duelist, but that does not mean this man can't kick ass.
• Be Yourself: Offered such advice to his son, telling Yuya to just be himself instead of imitating another.
• Big Good: He shares this role alongside Reiji, but he's received little focus as of yet.
• Broken Pedestal: His reputation went to shit when he disappeared, with many people referring to Yusho Sakaki as a coward even now. This has affected even Yuya, who's desperate to prove that his father is not a coward.
• Character Catchphrase: Turns out Yuya's own catchphrase is a Borrowed Catch Phrase, as "The fun has only just begun!" was originally his.
• Chekhov M.I.A.: He's been missing for three years, but he's been mentioned a few times and it's implied he might have been kidnapped. In reality, however, he's been dimension-hopping and is currently in the Fusion Dimension.
• Dirty Coward: Everyone in Standard, barring a few people, refer to him as a coward for running out on the Championship match between him and Ishijima three years ago.
• Disappeared Dad: He's this to Yuya, having vanished three years before the start of the story.
• Foil: He's one to Zarc, especially far more so than in the anime. Zarc was once feared as the Demon Duelist that ravaged the original Dimension and became obsessed with winning after the crowd pushed for more violent duels, whereas his present-day self, who remembers nothing about his past, desperately wants to become a Dueltainer after seeing Yuya's Entertainment Dueling. Yusho is a confidant man who's highly criticized since his disappearance, and if Yuya is to be believed, he was laughed at during some of his performances, but nonetheless remains adamant about bringing smiles to everyone.
• Friend to All Children: He absolutely adores children.
• In the Blood: Yuya inherited the ideals of bringing smiles to everyone through dueling from Yusho.
• Mythology Gag: All of his cards are seemingly designed to be a Mythology Gag to Yami Yugi. This is most prominent with his Sky Magician being his response to Yami Yugi's Dark Magician, but he also has "Binding Swords of Impact" (Swords of Revealing Light), "Miracle Silk Hat" (Magical Hats), and to a lesser extent, "Magician's Right Hand" and "Magician's Left Hand" are named after Glory of the King's Hand and Glory of the King's Opposite Hand.
• Nice Guy: If there's a bad bone in this man, it's impossible to see.
• Passing the Torch: Zigzagged. Yusho was aware that Yuya wouldn't be able to fulfill his dream of making everyone happy with dueling, but he never pushed the issue.
• The Paragon: Yusho Sakaki was the leading pioneer for the Action Duels that are held today.
• Punny Name: Yusho sounds an awful lot like you show, the name of the Duel School he founded, and it hints at his otherwise flashy dueling style.
• Spirited Competitor: He was really happy when his acrobatic style was catching on and decided to polish his abilities in order to become an example to the newest generations.
• Stage Magician: He and Sky Magician certainly give this vibe, and it doesn't hurt that his deck is based around this motif.
• "Stop Having Fun" Guys: Invoked an inverted version. How, exactly, had Yuya's mom fall in love with Yusho? He butted in her duel because she was using it to settle fights, and then saved her friend so she could have fun dueling.
• Technical Pacifist: Like Yuya, his go-to method to stop conflict is to talk things out but if he's forced to he'll resort to violence.
• World's Strongest Man: He was seen like this in Standard, to the point that Strong Ishijima didn't feel as if he had won his title as Maiami City Champion unless he won it fair-and-square by defeating Yusho.
• Worthy Opponent: Was seen as this by former Maiami City Champion Strong Ishijima, who challenged Yuya in the hopes that he might lure out Yusho so that they could settle their unfinished business.

Leo Corporation (Standard Dimension)

Himika Akaba

Himika Akaba

The Chairwoman of Leo Duel School, and an executive member of the Leo Corporation, as well as the wife of Leo Akaba. She is the mother of Reiji Akaba, who is currently the president of the Leo Corporation.

Initially, she had a very good relationship with her husband until he mysteriously vanished. Upon discovering the existence of other dimensions from Reiji, and that Leo was going to engage in interdimensional conquest, she and her son both made preparations to stop him by creating training facilities in the guise of duel schools.

At some point, before the story begins, Himika found Ray Akaba, who happened to be another child of Leo Akaba. Initially raising her with the purpose of becoming a weapon, she later came to care for her new daughter greatly.

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• Adaptational Heroism: In canon, after discovering Leo had abandoned her and Reiji in his quest of Dimensional Conquest, she became a rather heartless individual, the only person she truly cared for being Reiji. Even her adopted daughter, Reira, she only took in due to their background of coming from a war-torn country leaving them an Empty Shell she could mold into a copy of Reiji for the war. Here, thanks to adopting Ray and growing to care for her, she likewise warmed up to Reira and treated her better, and is more openly caring for others outside of her family, her intention behind getting Yuya and Zarc less being about controlling Pendulum Summoning, and more to make sure they are actually ready for when Academia inevitably invades.
• Amicable Exes: Definitely not. The second she found out that Leo was planning to conquer dimensions, she more or less gave him an unofficial divorce and wants to bring him down.
• Benevolent Boss: She may be ruthless when it comes to corporate business and other schools, but she is very caring towards her subordinates.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Tends to come off like this, as she's ruthless in dealing with other Duel Schools. When it comes to her subordinates and children, however, she's another person.
• Freudian Excuse: The only reason Himika turned out the way she did was that Leo vanished and decided to become a warmonger, though she has no idea behind the actual reason why he wants to conquer the other dimensions.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She may be abrasive, but she's a kind woman to those in her employ, and she loves her children. It's also implied that, unlike in the anime, she also cares about Reira if only thanks to Ray's presence.
• Xanatos Gambit: Her reason for initiating the feud between LDS and You Show this time around. If You Show wins, Yuya and Zarc are strong enough to defend themselves and protect the Standard Dimension for when Leo begins his invasion. If LDS wins, then she, Reiji, and Ray can personally oversee their training. Either way, no matter who wins, the Pendulum users will be ready.

Leo Duel School

Shingo Sawatari

Shingo Sawatari

Archetype: Darts [Former], Monarch

The son of Furio Sawatari, the Mayor of Maiami City and a collector of rare cards. He was initially the Starter Villain in the anime before becoming one of the central characters later on in the story.

Sawatari targets Yuya in order to obtain his Pendulum Cards, but his plans spiral out of control with the unexpected appearance of Zarc. His defeat at their hands, and Zarc's words to him about relying on his father lead him on the path of becoming a much better duelist comparable to his manga counterpart.

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• Adaptational Intelligence: Unlike in the anime pre-Maiami Championship, where he focused more on cards with damaging effects and high ATK with the added caveat of being rare, Sawatari better understands the effects and applications of his cards. Word of God states he's closer to his manga counterpart, which Scale 15 demonstrates by having him continuing to use the Monarch archetype instead of changing it after his defeat at Yuto's hands.
• Anti-Magic: The Monarch archetype, particularly the variants of Mobius, specializes in destroying Spell/Trap Cards. Unlike in the anime, he doesn't change his deck and continues to use it.
• Archaic Weapon for an Advanced Age: Although not to the same degree as Yuzu who learned Ritual Summoning, Sawatari has begun using cards that haven't been seen since the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series, such as the Waboku Trap Card.
• Butt-Monkey: Poor Sawatari. Even Zarc gets in on the action. He seems to be moving away from this as of Scale 15.
• Character Development: Perhaps even more so than his anime counterpart. His defeat at the hands of both Zarc and Yuya, and the scathing realization that he had been relying on his father all this time, leads him to actually taking his training seriously and add Common Monster cards to his deck. Despite his loss against Yuto, he doesn't seem all that concerned by it and looks more determined to get stronger, even refusing his father's suggestions that he fights back against Yuya. Not that his refusal stops LDS from picking a fight with You Show.
• Combat Pragmatist: He's not above stealing cards before a Duel to use them, took children as hostages, and would use tactics that could endanger them in order to avoid a Finishing Move by stalling his opponents to reach a time-limit on their turn. Deconstructed as he did all of this with Zarc as an opponent, leading Sawatari into nearly getting severely injured in return.
• Everyone Has Standards: While Sawatari admits that what he did to Yuya and Zarc was pretty shitty, even he can't stand the Rare Hunters. He gets his rare cards by either trading cards or buying them off of their owners, which was how he earned his three stooges' loyalties. The Rare Hunters, on the other hand, will go to extreme lengths to the point of violence to obtain rare and valuable Duel Monster cards. Sawatari went to the lengths of kidnapping someone to get the Pendulum cards only one time and that was because he had the backing of the Leo Corporation. The Rare Hunters do this repeatedly.
• Man of Kryptonite: Although he has yet to utilize his second deck against either Yuya or Zarc, his second deck is focused on destroying Spell and Trap Cards and could be used to prevent Extra Deck Summonings, making the Monarch Archetype a good counter to the Pendulum Cards.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: While getting upset or angry by defensive plays or unexpected moves is nothing new in dueling, Sawatari gets really pissed off at his opponent in Scale 15 when he uses illegal cards.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Was on the receiving end of one that sparked his Character Development. When Sawatari attempts to use his father as a means to get Zarc to back off, he's rebuked and states that he's relying on his father to get what he wants.
• Would Hurt a Child: He had no problems with holding Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya hostage in an attempt to steal Yuya's Pendulum monsters in Scale 02, and even play dirty by having Yuya to protect them so the latter's turn would automatically end due to a time limit in duels to prevent players from stalling. Unfortunately for him, this ends up enraging Zarc, and he would have lost the duel and gotten gravely injured had it not been for Yuya.

Reira Akaba

Reira Akaba

Archetype: C/C, C/C/C

The adopted daughter of Himika Akaba and younger sister to Reiji and Ray. She is the top student in Leo Duel School's Youth Class, and despite her young age, she is a member of the Lancers.

Reira was born in a wartorn country and, at some point, she lost her parents. She was found by Himika, who later discovered she had an incredible talent for dueling. She has since been trained to the point where she is perhaps on par with her older siblings.

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• Abled in the Adaptation: She doesn't seem to have the mental illness plaguing her mind compare to canon.
• The Ace: She's the top student in the LDS' Youth Class and is stated to be a duelist on par with her older adoptive siblings.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • It's especially noticeable in regards to her adoptive family, as she's much closer to them in the fic since Ray still exists as her own person despite being split apart into the Bracelet Girls, who in turn, provide a positive influence on both Reiji and Himika in their war against Leo.
  • In canon, she had never met Yuto in person, since the latter had already been fused into Yuya prior to the Maiami Championship.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Inverted. She's far from the Emotionless Girl in the anime, as Reira has a far healthier and loving upbringing after being found by the Akabas.
• Adaptational Badass: Granted, she was already a badass Child Soldier in the anime, where it's best shown as she OTKs three Security guards in the span of a single Attack Phase and easily hold her own in 3-to-1 duels against Elite Mooks; yet she'll stop after being exhausted along with being plagued with PTSD. In this fic, she seems to no longer have the mental illness that plagues her anime counterpart as a result of a better and warmer upbringing and was even able to force Yuto to end their duel in a DRAW during Scale 12.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: She was doesn't make an appearance till the Maiami Championship in canon. Here, Reira was mentioned as early in Scale 03 and makes a full appearance in Scale 12.
• Adaptational Personality Change: As a result of Himika's Adaptational Heroism from Ray's presence in the family, Reira wasn't raised as the Emotionless Girl Tyke Bomb within the anime. Instead, she's much more of a Shrinking Violet with a sense of her own identity due to having a warmer relation to the Akabas and seemingly lacks the PTSD of her anime counterpart.
• Ambiguous Gender: Averted. Unlike with the anime where Reira's true gender was revealed near the end of ARC-V, she's already known as the top female student in the LDS' Youth Class.
• Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: Her C/C/C Photo-Grapher Ver.C, which is an Xyz monster, can't be destroyed by other Xyz Monsters.
• Archaic Weapon for an Advanced Age: Reira is the third character in the fanfic to utilize Ritual Summoning in the Standard Dimension, where it has begun to decline. According to Ray in Scale 12, Reira is also a master of the art of Ritual.
• Badass Adorable: The adorable part is much more prominent in the fic where she lacks most of her negative personality traits compare to the canon anime. She is around the same age as Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya, and she happens to be an Akaba (even if adopted). This, of course, means that she can kick some serious ass in a duel. Yuto learns this firsthand in their duel.
• Body Motifs: Mainly eyes. Her C/C archetype partially revolves around this and cameras, as evidence with C/C Closed Eye and Critical Eye.
• Camera Fiend:
  • A rather literal example with her deck, or at least those that are Fiend-type monsters.
  • Ray notes Reira herself is one, being a budding junior photographer.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Her C/C deck is mainly comprised of DARK monsters, and she is one of the good guys.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Reira was born in a country ravaged by war, and she lost her parents. She was found and adopted by Himika Akaba, who initially intended to use her as a dueling soldier until Ray came into her care, which led to Reira's happier, albeit shy disposition in the story.
• Elemental Powers: While Reira seems to favor using her LIGHT Attribute C/C monsters' effects to summon from the Extra Deck, part of her deck's strategy revolves around copying the Level and Attribute of her opponents' monsters before using them as Materials.
• Family Theme Naming: Reira, like Reiji and Leo, have the kanji of zero (零) in their names.
• Happily Adopted: Possibly thanks to Ray's unintended influence on Himika, Reira was not raised to become a dueling soldier and refers to her older siblings by "Big Bro" and "Big Sis."
• In the Hood: Averted. Unlike in the anime, Reira does not wear her hood over her head.
• Just a Kid: Shun and Yuto are initially flabbergasted by the fact that Reira, a child, would get involved in an interdimensional war and make their displeasure known. It takes Yuto dueling Reira to convince them she is more than capable of handling herself.
• Meaningful Name: Her ace card, D/C/D Paradox Time Devil Karna represents her original and current behaviors perfectly.
  • Originally, Reira was adopted by Himika due to being an Empty Shell, so that she could be molded into a perfect copy of Reiji. While her monster is formed using both D/D/D and C/C/C monsters, the combined form represents how despite having been influenced heavily by Reiji, Reira is still her own individual.
  • Karna was the name of the "Hero of Charity" from the Mahabharata. Karna held Undying Loyalty to the Kauravas even after learning he was of royal blood like the Pandavas and coming to learn Duryodhana's deeds was wrong. Reira adores her adoptive siblings and most of her actions, including her reasoning for joining the Lancers, is so she can be helpful to them rather than be left on the sidelines, as a means of thanking them for all they've done for her.
• Nervous Wreck: Not as bad as in the anime, but Reira often stutters when she speaks to people. She drops the nervous part entirely when she becomes serious in a duel.
• Parental Abandonment: Not entirely willing, as Reira's parents are all but stated to have died.
• Rags to Riches: She was originally a girl living in a war-torn country until being adopted into the wealthy and successful Akaba family.
• Shrinking Violet: She's notably shy and can stutter her words when socializing with others. That being said, she's much better off as this compare to her anime counterpart.
• Spoiled Sweet: She may have been adopted into a better and privileged life, but Reira is a very sweet and kind girl despite her previous trauma.
• Taking You with Me: One of the effects of D/C/D Paradox Time Devil Karna. By tributing it, Reira can deal effect damage to her opponent so long as she destroys one of her opponent's monsters. She damn near won her duel with Yuto this way by destroying Dark Revolution Fuse-Xyz Dragoon.

Masumi Kotsu

Masumi Kotsu

Archetype: Gem-Knight

A student at Leo Duel School, as well as the top student of the Advanced Fusion Course.

She, alongside Yaiba and Hokuto, is chosen to act as representatives for the feud between LDS and You Show. Her opponent is Sora Shiunin.

---

• Action Girl: One of the best female students at LDS, and is the top student of the Advanced Fusion Course. That said, she doesn't hold a candle to Ray.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Her rivalry with Yuzu from canon is changed to Sora instead in this fic, albeit one-sided in this case.
• Always Someone Better: Make no mistake, Masumi is a good duelist in her own right, but as Reiji, Ray, and Himika all point out, while she is an expert in Fusion Summoning, Sora was practically born to use it since he lived in a dimension whose only unique summoning method was Fusion Summoning. Even Zarc (who duel Sora firsthand, but doesn't know his true origins) correctly surmised that Masumi's duel against Sora was practically a joke to the latter before it even began.
• Ambiguously Brown: Has dark skin, and could pass for being of Egyptian heritage.
• Berserk Button: Sora's attitude becomes one for her, as is dismissing her own skills by referring to her as "lackluster" by her comparing one's skills to gems. His refusal to take her seriously pisses her off to no end, which he uses to his favor.
• Break the Haughty: Her one-sided duel against Sora becomes this when the latter easily saw through her usual strategy and could've beaten her instead of ending the duel in a DRAW.
• Brutal Honesty: Has absolutely no filter, not even towards her own allies. She even calls Hokuto the weakest out of the LDS trio, after he had just gotten his ass handed to him by Yuya.
• Crippling Overspecialization: As Sora notes after ending their duel in a DRAW, she usually relies on an OTK strategy involving her Gem-Knight Master Diamond and Brilliant Spark, thus allowing the former to plan the whole duel to end in his favor.
• Cruel Mercy: The fact that Sora could have easily defeated her in their one-to-one duel, but instead, end it in a DRAW in his favor is one to her pride as a Duelist.
• Deadpan Snarker: She holds Hokuto's loss over his head, all the while keeping a neutral expression.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Most of her monsters all have the EARTH Attribute.
• Graceful Loser: Initially subverted. She's in disbelief when Sora defeats her, then realizes that he had been playing her by bushing her Berserk Button and have her bust out with one Fusion Monster after another so he could force the duel into a DRAW^note Sora's Trap, Fusion Chaos, deals 800 damage for every Fusion Monster destroyed the turn it's activated. The ending of Scale 07 implies that her defeat has her strive to become even better.
• Gemstone Assault: Her deck is composed of Gem-Knight monsters, which reference real-life gemstones.
• Hoist by Her Own Petard: She becomes increasingly angry with Sora's refusal to take her seriously, which he uses to his advantage. By pushing her Berserk Button, Masumi brings out three Fusion Monsters while he has two out before activating an Action Spell in conjunction with a Trap, the former destroying all monsters on the field while the Trap deals 800 damage to both players for each Fusion Monster destroyed the turn it's activated. As both Reiji and Ray note, Masumi didn't stand a chance against someone from the Fusion Dimension.
• Hot-Blooded: She can get riled easily and tends to eagerly show off her hand in a duel.
• Hot for Teacher: According to Ray, Masumi has this for Professor Marco.
• Insult Backfire:
  Masumi: "After all, I am a diamond that's been refined. You, on the other hand, are just muddy and lackluster."
  Sora: "I don't know much about gemstones, but I hear they're pretty fragile~"
• Lady of War: Not to the same extent as Ray, her senpai, but she definitely counts. She's a calm and cool Ojou (when her opponent isn't Sora), and her monsters have a regal bearing. It also helps that her Gem-Knight Lady monsters have an elegant appearance to them.
• Meaningful Name: "Masumi" means beauty and purity, and she's described as being quite the beauty.
• Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: She's the strongest Fusion Duelist of the LDS and probably in the Standard Dimension, but as noted by Reiji, Ray, Himika, and Zarc, she's nowhere near Sora's level.
• Not So Stoic: She acts very calmly, but Sora's refusal to take her seriously pisses her off to no end.
• The Ojou: Implied. Her father owns a jewelry store, attends one of the best duel schools in the world, and her deck gives off an air of nobility.
• Oh, Crap!: She loses her cool when Sora reveals that, when he went to Leo Duel School to sign up, he intended to enroll in the Fusion Course and studied up on the possible competition. Masumi was one of the people he looked up and knew her OTK strategy involving her Gem-Knight Master Diamond and Brilliant Spark, using both to his advantage to end the Duel into a DRAW.
• Precocious Crush: On her Fusion Summoning teacher Marco, considering he's likely in his twenties at earliest and she's fourteen. Ray finds this aspect of Masumi endearing.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: She has red eyes naturally, and she's one of the best students in LDS, second only to Ray, who is in the Expert Class.
• Signature Move: Her Gem-Knight Master Diamond is (one of) her aces. Her preferred OTK combo is her Brilliant Spark Trap Card, which deals her opponent damage equal to a Gem-Knight monster that was just destroyed.
• Skilled, but Naive: Granted, she is the top Fusion Duelist in LDS, and her OTK strategy with one of her ace monsters and Trap card is enough for Sora to acknowledge, but as shown in her duel against the Academia student, she's no match against him.
• The Smurfette Principle: The only female among the LDS trio, similar to Yuzu with Yuya and Gongenzaka.
• Trying Not to Cry: She tries so much to not show any tears from her humiliating "defeat", as her confidence as a Duelist was severely wounded.
• Two Guys and a Girl: With Hokuto and Yaiba.
• Worthy Opponent: She didn't think much of Sora until after their duel, where she learns that he could have beaten her anytime he wanted and purposely ended the duel in a DRAW. Sora, in turn, admits that she was pretty good for an amateur in Fusion, and would happily accept a rematch anytime.

Hokuto Shijima

Hokuto Shijima

Archetype: Sacred

A student of the Advanced Xyz Course at Leo Duel School, and friends with Masumi Kotsu and Yaiba Todo.

Alongside Masumi and Yaiba, he's chosen as LDS's representative in the feud against You Show. His opponent was Yuya Sakaki.

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• Adaptational Badass: In canon, his winning streak was 40 Duels whereas in the fic is 95. Furthermore, per the advice of Kurosaki, Hokuto is probably switching to the tellarknight Archetype.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the canon anime, he and Shun were enemies due to the latter blindly carding random Dueling Professors' from the LDS in order to draw out Reiji Akaba to kidnapped him for ransom against Leo Akaba. In Pendulum's Fifth Swing, Shun continues with his initial plan after finding out from Yuto that LDS doesn't have a connection with Academia and cooperate with Reiji after judging the latter's character in a duel; thus he ends up as a teacher to Hokuto who acknowledges his potential in Xyz summoning with the latter respecting the man in return.
• Always Someone Better: He is the best Xyz Duelist of the LDS and probably in the Standard Dimension, but compare to the Duelists of the Xyz Dimension, his skill is equivalent to an amateur, which is something that both Yuto and Shun surmised.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Duelist more like, but he thinks himself quite highly as he duels Yuya, all the while constantly flaunting his superiority as an Xyz-user to Yuya, who is learning about it.
• Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: His deck is filled with Constellars, monsters whose based on the constellations, and he wears a star-decorative crown and holds a 95 winning streak prior to his fall from grace.
• Broken Win/Loss Streak: Yuya beats him in their duel, as well as end his 95 winning streak.
• Combat Pragmatist: Shows shades of this in his duel with Yuya, purposely waiting to use one of his monster's effects until Yuya is over a gap between a platform and a foothold, putting Yuya at great risk of being hurt just so he could make getting an Action Card harder for his opponent.
• Corner of Woe: Does it when Masumi calls him a scrub and the weakest of the three chosen representatives.
• Didn't Think This Through: Something that's lampshaded and criticizes by Masumi, Yuto, and Shun. While Hokuto's swarm tactics of bringing out three Xyz monsters in a single turn was impressive, he doesn't plan ahead in case his opponent has a way to counter his monsters' effects.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Being told off that he's the weakest of the LDS trio is enough to put him in the Corner of Woe, and he thinks himself one of the best Xyz users in LDS.
• Insufferable Genius: He's described as being one of the best Xyz-users that Standard has to offer, but he's overly arrogant and quite cruel if his duel with Yuya was any indication.
• Jerkass: Though not at Sawatari's level, he deliberately times his attacks and effects so it will hamper Yuya's ability to snag action cards, and throughout the Tag Duel with Reiji and Ray, he's quite dismissive. He's also pissed that they managed to win.
• Light Is Not Good: Inverted. He uses the Constellar archetype, which is composed of LIGHT Attribute monsters, and he's far from the friendliest person at the Leo Duel School. That being said, he's still an ally who's going to be needed in the upcoming war against Academia.
• Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: While he's definitely LDS' best Xyz user and probably one of the best in the Standard Dimension (he did win 95 consecutive duels after all), but when it comes to the duelists of the Xyz Dimension, he's practically an amateur. It says a lot with Shun himself criticizing Hokuto's dueling skills after OTKing the latter in their duel in a very blunt manner and that he's, by far, the worst Xyz duelist he had ever seen. Reconstruction of course, as Shun was nevertheless impressed by Hokuto Xyz summoning three monsters in a single turn, and the only problem that the boy has was not planning ahead. Furthermore, Hokuto was also the only Xyz duelist in the course that Shun would even offer advice to, stating that he wasn't a complete amateur and was definitely a cut above the other students.
• Skilled, but Naive: He's considered the top Xyz duelist of LDS and is not too shabby when it comes to Xyz summoning three monsters in a single turn, but as Yuto puts it, Hokuto's knowledge of the Constellar archetype is very subpar and could name 30 different other duelists who also uses the same archetype from his native dimension raging of such poor utilization.
• Smug Smiler: His usual expression, but not unearned since he is a good duelist.
• Sore Loser: At the end of the feud, he clearly hasn't gotten over his loss against Yuya, and the narration states that he's more than likely to try and challenge him again.
• Star Power: His monsters are all based around the constellations and stars.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Shares this dynamic with Yaiba and Masumi.

Yaiba Todo

Yaiba Todo

Archetype: X-Saber

A student at Leo Duel School, and currently enrolled in the Advanced Synchro Course.

Alongside Hokuto and Masumi, he's chosen as LDS's representative in the feud against You Show. His opponent was Yuzu Hiiragi.

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• Adaptational Badass: In canon, Yaiba only knew Synchro Summoning under his belt. In the fic, because of Ray's presence, he felt that he needed to become even stronger and learned Xyz Summoning in secret.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Much like with Masumi's rivalry with Yuzu changing towards Sora instead, his rivalry with Gongenzaka from the canon anime is shifted towards Yuzu instead since the former didn't participate in the three-way duel between the Leo Duel School and You Show Duel School.
• Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: His deck is filled with X-Sabers, monsters whose primary weapons are all swords, and he looks like a rambunctious Kid Samurai.
• Barbarian Long Hair: Fits his Kid Samurai look.
• Cute Little Fangs: Has one popping out at the corner of his lips.
• Kid Samurai: He's a little older, but he certainly looks like one. He even carries around with him a training kendo sword with him, which he uses to kick up a gust of wind and snag himself Action Cards.
• Meaningful Name: "Todo" means "sword", and "Yaiba" means "blade" or "edge (of a knife)". His preferred deck is the X-Saber archetype.
• Messy Hair: Fitting for a guy who has a Kid Samurai look going on for him.
• Pride: He certainly has a high opinion of himself, but he's not so arrogant to belittle people who prove they have skill.
• Shout-Out: His new ace monster, XXX-Saber Hannibal, resembles the Caligula Aragami.
• Two Guys and a Girl: With Matsumi and Hokuto.
• Unusual Eyebrows: Of the Fiery variety.
• Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: Uses one to kick up gusts of wind in order to catch Action Cards.
• Worthy Opponent: He considers Yuzu one after she unveils her Ritual Monster. He responds in kind by showing her his new ace monster, XXX-Saber Hannibal.

Resistance (Xyz Dimension)

Yuto

Yuto

Archetype: Phantom Knights

One of Zarc's fragments, and Yuya's counterpart in the Xyz Dimension.

Initially a kind-hearted duelist like Yuya, his life was uprooted when Academia arrived and laid waste to Heartland, carding anyone they encountered. Worse, in the middle of it all, his best friend's sister was kidnapped. In order to find her, both he and Shun left for the Standard Dimension to gather intelligence.

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• Achilles' Heel: As Shun points out, while Dark Requiem Xyz Dragon — an upgraded version of Dark Rebellion — is a powerful monster, it can only use its effects if Dark Rebellion is one of its Xyz Materials. If Yuto summons it outside of using Dark Rebellion, it may as well just be a Normal Monster with Overlay Units it can't use.
• Adaptational Badass: He was already an incredibly skilled duelist in the anime, but aside from being fused with Yuya, Yuto has only play Xyz monsters. Scale 12 reveals that after joining up with LDS alongside with Shun, Yuto not only has access to his own Pendulum monsters but a Fusion monster as well.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: His Dark Requiem Xyz Dragon only appears during the Xyz Dimension arc in the anime, but he summons it in his duel against Reira Akaba in Scale 12.
• Alternate Self: He's one to Yuya and their dimensional counterparts, as well as one of the fragments of Zarc.
• Always Someone Better: According to Shun, both Kaito and Tsukumo are this to Yuto and himself in Scale 12.
• Apocalypse Maiden: He's one of the fragments of Zarc, and being in close proximity with his other three counterparts is dangerous because it risks reforming Supreme King Z-ARC. This comes into question, however, as Zarc is present and whole in the story, albeit without any memories of his past.
• Badass Longcoat: Sports a rather spiffy one, and it has short sleeves.
• Black Knight: Sawatari mockingly calls him a "knight in shining armor," and his Phantom Knights deck all feature ghostly knight figures or at least pieces of a knight's armor.
• Casting a Shadow: The Phantom Knights deck is composed primarily of DARK Attribute monsters.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Was once a citizen of Heartland and had a similar disposition as Yuya until the Fusion Dimension invaded the Xyz Dimension. He's not as bright and cheery as he once was, and he's desperately searching for one of his friends.
• Dark Is Not Evil: He's dressed in dark clothing, and his ace monster is Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. He's a very gentle person and would rather not fight if it was possible.
• Defiant to the End: Gives one when he was about to be defeated by Reira in Scale 12, and manages to end the Duel in a DRAW.
  Even though I no longer have fun dueling, I haven't lost my pride as a Duelist!
• Didn't See That Coming: As shown in his duel against Reira in Scale 12, despite his experience, Yuto can still be caught off guard by the younger Abaka's CC and CCC deck.
• Experienced Protagonist: Yuto is already an incredibly skilled duelist prior to the story, with tons of experience in the life-and-death scenarios against Academia. It's best shown as he manages to end the duel between him and Reira in a DRAW after she manages to corner him.
• Failure Gambit: His strategy when using the Afterlife archetype. Since the monsters are destroyed if he has any other monster besides Afterlife monsters on his field, Yuto capitalizes on their destruction by using their effects from the Graveyard to his advantage. Case in point, his duel with Reira in Scale 12.
• Foil: To Yuya, naturally. Yuya is how Yuto was in the past, cheerful and wanting to duel for the sake of bringing smiles to everyone with his Entertainment Dueling. Yuto, however, lost such innocence when Academia arrived and destroyed his home, leading him to see Dueling not as an enjoyable past time, but a tool for battle.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Shun. The two are best friends after all, and they've been searching for Shun's sister Ruri, who was apparently kidnapped by Academia for reasons unknown to them.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Something that he kept to himself, stating how he wishes to duel for fun and entertain the crowd like the old days, but Academia's attack on the Xyz Dimension left him embittered with his current methods of dueling to win in order to survive and crush the oppressive forces.
• Lethal Joke Character: In the Xyz Dimension, Dark Rebellion's effect wouldn't do much since it only works on monsters with a Level of 5 or higher. When Academia showed up, that's when the Xyz Dragon began to show just how dangerous it could become.
• Love at First Sight: He fell in love with Shun's sister, Ruri, the second he met her. It's also why he's looking for her.
• Mind Screw: Averted. Thanks to Zarc pointing out the difference in their dueling and Gongenzaka being present with Yuya the whole time while they were looking for Yuzu, not to mention Yuto stating that he isn't Yuya, his presence doesn't throw Yuzu off and mess her up.
• Mistaken Identity: Averted. There are several factors in which Yuto isn't as easily mistaken for Yuya, one of which being Yuto himself stating that he is not Yuya to Yuzu in their first meeting.
• New Transfer Student: As of Scale 12, he's currently enrolled as a student in the LDS' Xyz summoning course. It's played with, however, as Yuto has zero need for any studying, but is enrolled as a cover story for his working with Reiji, and even then functions more as an unofficial instructor much like Shun.
• Nice Guy: Even though he's become serious and brooding, he's still a kind and gentle soul at heart.
• Pragmatic Hero: As much as he dislikes the summoning method thanks to it being used to ravage their home, Yuto is willing to acknowledge that any advantages their Xyz monsters have over Academia may eventually be circumvented, leaving them at a severe disadvantage. As such, he convinces Shun they need to adapt to other summoning methods, even if that includes Fusion. He proves his willingness by Fusion Summoning in Scale 12.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers one to Sawatari like in the anime, but instead of saying that Sawatari doesn't have an 'edge', he instead points out that Sawatari's 'blade' is dull and is being driven by petty revenge.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the blue oni to Shun's red oni. Between the two of them, he's easily the most level-headed and is the one keeping Shun from doing something stupid.
• Revenge: Kind-hearted he may be, but he still possesses burning anger at Academia for destroying his home and taking away his friend. It's nowhere near Shun's own burning desire for revenge, but it's there.
• Shock and Awe: Thunder is part of Dark Rebellion's attacks, with its primary means of assault whenever it attacks being "Rebellious Lightning Disobey."
• The Stoic: His current demeanor after Heartland was destroyed by Academia.
• Single Tear: Not him, but when Yuto encounters Zarc for the first time, Dark Rebellion sheds a tear, much to his confusion.
• This Is Unforgivable!: In a bad dream in Scale 04, Yuto pleads for the destruction to stop. He eventually reaches his breaking point and sets Dark Rebellion on Academia.
• True Companions: The whole reason Yuto and Shun are in the Standard Dimension is to gather information on Ruri's whereabouts.
• Worthy Opponent: Sees Reira as this after their duel in Scale 12, with the former in turn acknowledging his strength as well.

Shun Kurosaki

Shun Kurosaki

Archetype: Raid Raptors

A duelist originating from the Xyz Dimension, and a member of the Heartland Resistance movement.

Once a promising duelist, everything changed when Academia invaded the Xyz Dimension, laying waste to the city and carding everyone in sight. Shun became enraged by this transgression and has since developed an intense hatred towards anyone who utilizes Fusion.

---

• Achilles' Heel: Something that was shown in his duel against Reiji in Scale 11, as the latter explains the cons that come with Xyz monsters being vulnerable to the effects of other Xyz monsters.
• Adaptational Badass: It says a lot when it's revealed that he utilizes Fusion Summoning in Scale 11, whereas he would rather suffer than to use the hated summoning mechanic that causes him so much grief in canon. Furthermore, in Scale 12, he also has access to his own Pendulum Monsters, compares to canon where he humorously only given one Pendulum card and justifiably refused it in his upcoming duel against Sora.
• Adaptational Heroism: Thanks to Yuto convincing him that LDS and Academia aren't connected earlier than in canon, he abandons his attacking of LDS officials and discards his idea of kidnapping Reiji. When he meets Reiji later, he doesn't immediately see Reiji as like Leo and is more willing to let Reiji's actions speak for themselves.
• Anti-Hero: He's an ally in the battle against Academia, but he's also willing to attack anyone who he thinks is an enemy or has the information he needs. Yuto is quick to tell him off, stating that they can't afford to draw attention to themselves in Standard.
• All for Nothing: After his defeat by Reiji in Scale 11 and concluding that he isn't connected to Academia, Kurosaki lampshades this since he's now at a dead-end of finding his sister.
• Always Someone Better: As great as a Duelist he is, Shun admits that his skills don't hold a candle to his rival, Kaito or Tsukumo in Scale 12.
• Badass Longcoat: He wears a bluish-purple coat, and it helps set his image of a rebel.
• Batman Gambit: Subverted in the fic. Unlike in the anime, where he attacks the LDS in order to lure out Reiji, Yuto's intelligence gathering about Leo Duel School and the LDS' lack of connection with Academia through his duel with Sawatari has him stop his assault prematurely.
• Big Brother Instinct: Academia already made an enemy out of Shun when they destroyed his home and threatened the children there. Then they took his sister, which really made him mad.
• Big Brother Mentor: He's one to the children of Heartland, to the point that, aside from looking after his sister, one of the reasons he joined the Resistance was to protect the children.
• Chick Magnet: According to Yuto, Shun is this to some of the female students of the LDS.
• Cool Teacher: He's seen as this by nearly all of the students attending the Xyz summoning course. It overlaps with Badass Teacher given his experience from fighting with the Resistance against the Duel Academia invaders.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Like Yuto, Shun was a very cheerful person until Heartland was destroyed by Academia. And ever since, he's become dark, brooding, and more than willing to do some unsavory things if it means he can get an edge over his opponent.
• Dark Is Not Evil: He's dressed in dark clothing, and while he's hard to work with, he's still one of the heroes.
• Expy: His clothing, drive to protect his sister, and willingness to resort to some underhanded methods bring to mind Kaiba from the Duelist Kingdom arc, where Kaiba donned a Badass Longcoat and did quite a few things that were underhanded to get his little brother back.
• Freudian Excuse: His willingness to do some very underhanded means is all in order to find his sister, and to avenge his fallen comrades. It also helps that, whereas the anime deconstructed the trope, Yuto in the fic helps keep him grounded.
• Friend to All Children: He's this to the kids in Heartland. They were also the reason why he joined the Resistance in the first place.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Averted. Yuto's intelligence-gathering has him end his assault on LDS prematurely before it can start.
• I Gave My Word: He made a wager with Reiji that if Reiji beat him, he and Yuto would join LDS to aid for Academia's inevitable attack on Standard. Since Reiji defeated him, Shun honored his word, but still demanded he and Yuto be given access to LDS' resources and be kept in the loop as to what was going on.
• It's Personal: During the invasion of Heartland, Shun watched his closest friends get carded at the hands of an Academia soldier referred to as the "Beastborg Duelist;" none other than Barrett. Out of all Academia duelists, Shun wants to defeat Barrett the most for Revenge.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his abrasive attitude, he really does mean well.
• La Résistance: He's part of one along with Yuto.
• New Transfer Student: Originally planned to infiltrate the LDS by enrolling in the Xyz summoning course as a student due to his age, but was elevated to a teacher instead by Himika after their alliance due to his skills.
• Pragmatic Hero: Despite his reservations and overwhelming hatred for it, Shun is willing to use Fusion Summoning if it means he can find and save Ruri.
• Revenge: More than Yuto. When the Fusion Dimension invaded, destroyed his home, and took his sister, all Shun could think about was destroying every last Fusion Duelist who stood before him.
• True Companions: No matter what it takes, he will never leave a friend behind. This is why he left for the Standard Dimension; in order to find information about Ruri.
• Shout-Out: His Fusion monster, "Raid Raptors — Ra Armatus, is the Ra Ash Aragami in all but name.
• Young and in Charge: As of Scale 12, he's the current teacher of the LDS' Xyz summoning course.

Ruri Kurosaki

Ruri Kurosaki

One of Ray's fragments, and Yuzu's counterpart in the Xyz Dimension.

Ruri is Shun Kurosaki's younger sister as well as Yuto's Childhood Friend. After Academia invaded her hometown Ruri just like her brother and Yuto joined the Heartland Resistance movement to take down Academia and during the aftermath of the attack she got kidnapped by Academia and this made her brother and Yuto target Academia and travel to Standard to gather intelligence.

---

• Action Girl: She is a capable duelist and a well-trained soldier of the Resistance army.
• Alternate Self: She's one to Yuzu and their dimensional counterparts, as well as one of the fragments of Ray.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: She has nice earrings and jewelry when Yuri kidnaps her, despite having lived in a war zone for an undetermined amount of time.
• Cynicism Catalyst: Her disappearance is what drives Kurosaki's crusade against Academia, which he mistakenly believes includes LDS.
• Feather Motif: Ruri wears feather-shaped earrings and a feather-shaped bracelet, which not only gives her a connection to her brother's bird motif but is also a hint of her deck eventually representing the bird kanji chou of the Kachou Fuugetsu principle. And indeed, her deck, Lyrical Luscinia, is based on the said genus of singing birds, and they use feathers to attack.
• The Heart: Ruri was this to both Yuto and Kurosaki and her disappearance takes a major toll on the two of them.
• Nice Girl: Just like Yuzu and Yuto, Ruri is kind and caring who is eager to help those in distress.
• Proper Lady: Ruri is kind, proper, and graceful, and is the only counterpart with no violent tendencies.

Antagonists

Rare Hunters (Standard Dimension)

A group of card hunters who hunt down anyone who they believe to be in possession of a rare or unique card worth getting their hands on. They were first mentioned in Scale 10 and made their official debut in Scale 14. They are the main antagonists of the Rare Hunter mini-arc.

In general

• Cheaters Never Prosper: They're not above using mass-produced copies of existing cards, marking them in invisible ink so they know exactly what they're about to draw, or using illegally made cards. The hunter in Scale 14 uses a Machina deck turns the tide in his duel with an illegal card that restores his Life Points by summoning monsters from both his Graveyard and deck.
• Foreshadowing: When the rare hunter dueling Joey uses "Machina Overhaul," Joey notes how absurdly broken the card is and wonders if it's even remotely legal to use. Come after the duel, he discovers it's an illegally made card.
• It's Personal: Joey really has it out for these guys. The second he runs into one in Scale 14, he gets very angry real quick. It's implied that Joey lost to a rare hunter prior to transferring to You Show and lost a card in the process.
• Knight of Cerebus: Word of God states that the moment they make an appearance in the story, the events of the mini-arc are going to be akin to the original horror aspects of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga.
• Mythology Gag: The group itself is this to the rare hunters who appeared in the second anime series of Yu-Gi-Oh! In Scale 10, Reiji even mentions a hunter who used illegally-made copies of Exodia, who defeated Joey and dueled against Yugi in the Battle City arc.
• Purposely Overpowered: Not only do they steal rare, one-of-a-kind cards and have made illegal copies, but they also created cards that are quite overpowered with little to no drawbacks.
• Revisiting the Roots: Their presence in the mini-arc is a call-back to the well-known horror genre of the original manga, where the stakes are played quite deadly, but not to the point of the Death-T Arc.
• Rule of Three: The mini-arc is only three chapters long, but will reveal very important things and will challenge Zarc's stance against violent dueling.

Takeda Houjou

Takeda Houjou

Archetype: Formula Athlete (F.A.)

A third-year student at Yuya and Yuzu's school who is a member of the Rare Hunters. He is responsible for kidnapping Yuzu Hiiragi in a bid to obtain Yuya's Pendulum cards.

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• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He is the class president in his class, and he acts respectably towards others. That is all an act and drops any and all pretense of politeness when his true nature is exposed.
• Cool Car: His F.A. deck in a nutshell, though he only uses Whip Crosser, which is a Cool Bike and not an actual car.
• Evil Counterpart: He's this to Sawatari post-Character Development. With the exception of his previous stunt in kidnapping the Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya and nearly killing them when attempting to prevent Zarc and Yuya from winning, Sawatari obtains rare cards by trading and buying them off of their owners. Houjou will go to any length to get rare cards, including threatening and resorting to violence.
• Foil: Relating to the above Evil Counterpart, Houjou comes from a mundane background who wanted some form of "excitement" in his life before the leader of the Rare Hunters offered him a place in his organization. By contrast, Sawatari is the son of Maiami City's mayor and has basically been handed everything he could have ever wanted on a silver platter until he decides to stop relying on his father to obtain what he wants with his own merits.

Rare Hunter Leader (Unmarked Spoilers)

Yami Marik

Archetype: Ra

It's just like the old saying. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

The leader of the Rare Hunters. Following the failures of his subordinates, he decides to take Yuya and Zarc's Pendulum cards with his own plan and kidnaps Shuzo Hiiragi.

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• Adaptational Badass: Although he was no slouch in the original series, he's far more formidable here in that he now has access to cards that support The Winged Dragon of Ra, such as Ancient Chant and Sun God Unification.
• Ambiguous Situation: Yami Marik doesn't explain how he came back or how he found himself in Standard. Muddling things even further is his possession of The Winged Dragon of Ra and everyone's reaction to it. The students and principal of You Show don't recognize it, but Zarc does in spite of his amnesia, which makes Yami Marik believe they're from the same world.
• Back from the Dead: Implied, based on his words to Zarc in Scale 16.
• Big Bad: Of the Rare Hunters mini-arc.
• Demonic Possession: He's somehow taken control of Standard's iteration of Marik Ishtar and is currently using him to enact his plans to steal Yuya and Zarc's Pendulum cards.
• The Dreaded: The Winged Dragon of Ra is this to Zarc, who immediately recognizes it and its reputation as one of the three most powerful cards in Duel Monsters.
• Legacy Character: Subverted. If his dialogue is any indication, he is the original Yami Marik and not an alternate iteration of the character.
• Light Is Not Good: In the hands of someone like Yami Marik, The Winged Dragon of Ra, a DIVINE attribute monster, is an absolute terror to face.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • The Winged Dragon of Ra elicits this reaction, albeit to various degrees. For everyone from You Show who don't recognize it, it possessing an attribute and type they've never heard of and its effects in wracking up ludicrous Life Points makes them realize it's incredibly dangerous. For Zarc, who knows what it is, he knows what it's capable of and rightly fears it.
  • He finds himself flabbergasted and terrified when Zarc inexplicably turns the tables but also find a way to win the duel. He freaks out when he sees hallucinations of Supreme King Z-ARC and another dragon covered in blue flames with yellow eyes. The latter somehow terrifies him even more.
• Pyromaniac: Multiple times throughout the duel in Scale 16 has him cause serious damage to Zarc and their surroundings with the heat generated by The Winged Dragon of Ra. At one point, his monster causes the water in the shark tank below them to evaporate and turns the sharks inside into lumps of charcoal. He's also crazed and dangerous.
• Physical God: Not him, but his monster, The Winged Dragon of Ra. And for good reason.
• Revenge: He hasn't forgotten about his loss at the hands of Atem, which he intends to rectify by challenging the pharaoh after defeating Zarc.

Academia (Fusion Dimension)

Leo Akaba

Leo Akaba

The Sole Survivor of the Original Dimension, founder of the Leo Corporation, and Head Professor of the Fusion Dimension's Academia, Leo is obsessed with completing the Arc Area Project, intended to both reunite the dimensions into one and to bring back his daughter Ray. To accomplish this, he has militarized Academia and launched a campaign of interdimensional conquest.

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• All for Nothing: One of his objectives with the Arc Area Project is to gather the Bracelet Girls, then use them to revive his daughter Ray. Unbeknownst to Leo at present, Ray is present in the Standard Dimension, albeit with amnesia, and she views him as an enemy.
• Archnemesis Dad: With Zarc serving as the Main Protagonist here, Leo is able to take center stage as the Main Antagonist, and is this to both his son Reiji and to his daughter Ray, the two working together to undermine his attempts at interdimensional conquest.
• Bald of Evil: Not a lick of hair on that chrome dome of his, and he's seemingly taken Zarc's place as the Big Bad of Pendulum's Fifth Swing.
• Dramatic Irony: Half of his entire motivation behind his campaign is the kidnapping of the Bracelet Girls in the hopes of merging them back into Ray, already having captured the Xyz Fragment Ruri and the Synchro Fragment Rin. However, his daughter is not only already alive in Standard, she considers him an Archnemesis Dad and is working to stop him.
• I Was Quite the Looker: While he's no Silver Fox, he was rather handsome for his age. Then he decided to implant a bit of metal into his head for whatever reason and developed throbbing veins.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: While he fancies himself a Well-Intentioned Extremist, his actions are purely selfish. He refuses to accept the Original Dimension is gone and considers the current dimensions to be nothing more than a mistake, and is perfectly willing to launch an interdimensional war, traumatizing numerous people and uplifting Ray's fragments from their lives in the process, under the rationale it will be worth it once the Arc Area Project is complete. He also refuses to see any of Zarc or Ray's fragments as their own individuals, and is perfectly content trying to kill Zarc's fragments just to stop his rebirth, and just as content with ruining the lives of Ray's Fragments and their loved ones just to undo his daughters own Heroic Sacrifice.
• Orcus on His Throne: Leo is largely content to simply order his forces to do his dirty work rather than leave Academia himself. He placed Academia's general in charge of the Xyz campaign and tasked Yuri with hunting down the fragments of Ray, whereas he meanwhile just sat on his ass observing the Arc Area Reactor.
• Parental Favoritism: He absolutely adores his daughter Ray, and is willing to launch an interdimensional campaign just for the vague hope of bringing her back to life. Meanwhile, he completely neglects his younger son Reiji and wife Himika under the rationale that his relationship with them is another "mistake" as a result of the Original Dimension's destruction, and while he does care for Reiji to an extent, is perfectly willing to terminate him should Reiji stand in his way. While Reiji equally detests Leo, Ray's feelings towards Leo aren't even close to his for her. She sees him as an Archnemesis Dad like Reiji does and is working to undermine his goals rather than support him.
• Pragmatic Villainy: While he absolutely detests Zarc and would rather see his fragments killed, he is willing to acknowledge the potential use in Yuri as one of his soldiers. He, therefore, takes Yuri under his wing and enables his more sociopathic traits for the sake of completing the Arc Area Project.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: By separating Serena from Yuri and then kidnapping Ruri and Rin, he manages to undermine Ray's intent behind putting her fragments close to Zarc's fragments: hers would pacify his and make sure he doesn't meet with one another. Instead, Leo's actions allowed Yuto, Yuri, and Yugo the opportunity to meet, and made Yuri into a second Z-ARC.

Yuri

Yuri

Archetype: Predator Plant

One of Zarc's fragments, and Yuya's counterpart in the Fusion Dimension.

Arguably the strongest duelist in the Fusion Dimension, barring the Professor himself, Yuri is feared by many for his vicious style of dueling.

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• The Ace: Of Academia, and rightfully so, given his track record.
• Apocalypse Maiden: He's one of the four fragments of Zarc, and close proximity with his three counterparts is dangerous because it has the risk of them reforming Supreme King Z-ARC. This status has come under question with Zarc's apparent survival and being fully whole, albeit lacking any memories.
• Ax-Crazy: Not exactly the sanest of individuals.
• Blood Knight: He's arguably the closest to Zarc's original personality in this regard during his days as the Demon Duelist. If he finds someone he considers annoying or worthy pray, he'll hunt them down and tear them apart, piece by piece.
• The Dragon: For all intents and purposes, Yuri is Leo Akaba's right-hand man, being higher ranked than the other students at Academia and answering directly to him.
• The Dreaded: Sora, and likely many others in Academia, are downright scared of this guy, and for good reason. This status even applies to his ace monster, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, as when Sora and Barrett both see Zarc's Supreme King Starving Venom, they promptly panic and fear for the worst.
• The Heavy: While Leo is the main antagonist, he's primarily an Orcus on His Throne. Yuri meanwhile is responsible for setting the events of the main series in motion whilst following the Professor's orders. His kidnapping of Rin and Ruri is what leads to Yugo and Yuto's meeting, which in turn brought the two of them to Standard. With Yuto came Shun, and the two of them attacking LDS led to Reiji finalizing his forces against Leo, and with Yugo came the knowledge that Synchro wasn't Standard's enemy.
• Sadist: He takes great pleasure in brutally beating down his enemies. In the story, when Sora sees Zarc bust out SKSD Starving Venom, he has a flashback of dueling Yuri, where the latter utterly destroys him with a grin on his face.
• The Sociopath: Yuri embodies most of Zarc's more negative aspects, including his Blood Lust and sadism. As a result of Leo's enabling him, Yuri cares little for anything aside from indulging his own impulses, whether they be by intimidating his fellow Academia students into submission, hunting down Ray's fragments, or punishing any traitors to Academia he comes across.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: He used to be a relatively normal kid, finding enjoyment in dueling but many others being put off by his skill and ferocity. Once Leo Akaba took him under his wing however, he began to embrace the darker impulses of being one of Z-ARC's fragments, and turned into a full-blown sadist, relishing in the terror he caused his victims.

Serena

Serena

Archetype: Moonlight

A student of Academia, and one of Ray's fragments.

Much of Serena's history is unknown, other than that she began to believe in Leo Akaba's words of creating a utopia and encountered a young Reiji in the past. However, due to Leo's plans to revive his daughter Ray, he kept her isolated in Academia in order to prevent any complications. This resulted in Serena growing frustrated, believing that Leo did not believe in her abilities, and desperately wants to prove herself.

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• Almighty Janitor: Despite Serena being a capable duelist, she is implied to belong to the Slifer Dorm — the lowest-ranking dorm in Academia, though this could be subverted since Academia in Arc-V has turned into a Military Academy.
• Blood Knight: Due to her desire to prove herself to the Professor, she looks for a challenge anywhere she can find it.
• Butt-Monkey: The poor girl can never catch a break.
• Cat Girl: A couple of her Ace Monsters have this design, such as Lunalight Cat Dancer.
• Character Development: In regards to her dueling style. Ordinarily, she would just summon her ace Fusion Monster Cat Dancer and go on the assault without taking into account her opponent's defenses or finding ways to protect her monster. Under Barrett's tutelage, she's been slowly moving past this mentality by the time Zarc and Yuzu encounter them, though she's still hot-headed.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Her hair, eye, and outfit colors are all drawn from the Polymerization spell card. Fitting, given that she's from the Fusion Dimension.
• Cute Bruiser: She's certainly easy on the eyes, but damn if she can't beat the crap out of you since her deck specializes in brute force. It doesn't help the fact that some of her best monsters can't be destroyed by battle or by an effect.
• Dark Action Girl: At present, Serena is an enemy to Standard, and she is quite eager to take down as many duelists as she can to prove herself to Leo.
• Evil Doppelgänger: To Yuzu and Ray. She's dead set on proving herself to the Professor and wants to join the front lines, including carding anyone who is defeated at her hands.
• Gilded Cage: The whole reason behind her desire to prove herself to Leo. Given how valuable she is to the Arc Area Project, and that Leo needs her alive in order to bring Ray back (which is a moot point, since she's alive and well in Standard), Leo isolated her in Academia and refused to send her out on the front lines.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Worse than Yuzu. While the latter is normally calm and collected, she can get pretty angry whenever she's presented with idiocy. Serena? She'll start swinging whenever someone looks down on her or belittles her skills in battle.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: She is tiny compared to her mentor Barrett.
• I Just Want to Be Free: Despite her talent, the Professor keeps her cooped up in Academia and refuses to let her go out on the front lines. She hates this and takes every opportunity she can to sneak out and prove her abilities to him.
• Lunacy: The OCG name of her Lunalight archetype, Moonlight, represents the moon kanji getsu of the Kachou Fuugetsu principle.
• Meaningful Name: Her name is either derived from Selene, the Greek Goddess of the Moon, or from Mare Serenitatis ("Sea of Serenity"), which is a lunar mare located to the east of Mare Imbrium on the moon.
• Modesty Shorts: Is wearing what looks like black biking shorts under a red skirt.
• Mythology Gag: Her red jacket signifies that she belongs to Slifer, the lowest-ranked dorm in Academia, not to mention her Duel Disk vaguely resembles the Academy-issue Duel Disk from GX. Add that to the yellow ribbon in her hair, and she may as well be Arc-V's answer to Rei.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: Being raised in Fusion, this is her primary attribute. She's always very serious in her dueling and hates it when her opponents are weak or aren't taking the duel seriously.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: It was her existence that clued Leo off that Ray was alive in some form, and started the Arc Area Project.
• "Well Done, Daughter!" Gal: Because of the Gilded Cage circumstances up above, she wants to prove her skills and abilities to Leo in order to join the front lines. Made extra literal by the fact that, as the Fusion fragment of Ray, Leo is technically her dad.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: She fully believes in Leo's talk about creating a utopia by conquering the other dimensions, and sees carding people as a necessary sacrifice as a step towards that goal. Sadly, she has no idea that her comrades have taken to those ideals a bit too far and card people who don't even play Duel Monsters.

Barrett

Barrett

Archetype: Beastborg

A veteran duel soldier before Leo Akaba arrived in the Fusion Dimension and Serena's bodyguard.

Following an incident that costed not only the lives of his comrades but also his eye, he was hospitalized and was personally nursed back to health by Leo himself, even becoming the closest thing the Professor has to a friend in Academia. Since then, Barrett has become one of his closest confidants.

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• Ascended Extra: He's given a bit more focus in Pendulum's Fifth Swing. He's a close friend to Leo in the Fusion Dimension, enough so that Leo personally assigns him a mission to investigate the odd Fusion Summon reading in Standard, and rather than simply being Serena's bodyguard like in canon, he is explicitly her mentor, implying Leo trusts him enough to keep watch over her. He also has a personal history with Shun.
• Bodyguarding a Badass: Barrett is no slouch, but Serena can easily hold her own in a fight. Even so, because of her importance to the Arc Area Project, he protects her all the same.
• The Captain: He's one to Obelisk Force.
• Cyborg: Not him, but his Fusion Monster Beastborg Panther Predator.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: A non-romantic example. So far, he is the only person Leo Akaba holds a bond with that is not one between subordinate and boss.
• Eye Scream: A mission in the past led to him losing his eye — as well as his comrades. He was nursed back to health by Leo personally.
• Honor Before Reason: He's a war veteran, and his deck also seems to imply this. He's also fully aware that Academia's actions in the Xyz Dimension have been anything but righteous.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Serena isn't tiny by any means, but Barrett is massive.
• Little Bit Beastly: Among his repertoire of monsters is Panther Warrior, which he uses to summon his ace monster.
• Noble Demon: He's aware that Academia's actions haven't been as righteous as his comrades make it out to be and he truly respects his opponents. He does not have any respect towards Yuri, however, seeing as how ruthless the kid can be.
• Old Soldier: It's unclear how long Barrett has been fighting for Academia, but he's been at it long enough that he's got a few war scars and has a reputation in the Xyz Dimension. This is even reflected by his deck, which is primarily military-themed.
• Scars Are Forever: Has a cross-shaped scar on his chest and a big burn scar around his left eye.
• Shout-Out: He looks like a rugged Jeremiah Gottwold.
• Spell My Name With An S: Officially his name is spelled "Barrett", though the fic spells it "Berrett".
• Undying Loyalty: On account of I Owe You My Life. While being an Academia soldier already made him loyal to Leo, it was the man personally nursing Barrett back to health that he decided to follow the Professor to hell if he so asked.

Other Characters

Standard Dimension

Marik Ishtar

Marik Ishtar

One of the participants from the Duelist Kingdom tournament, who defeated Joey in the semi-finals. He was originally believed to be the leader of the Rare Hunters prior to the reveal in Scale 16.

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• Ambiguously Brown: He has dark skin, which can be explained due to him being raised in Egypt for most of his life.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He initially presents himself as being humble and casual towards Sora and Shuzo, only to later brutalize the former during their duel, and acts Affably Evil towards Zarc and the others, though that affable persona quickly flies out the window as soon as the duel begins. In actuality, that's all Yami Marik, who is possessing Marik for his own ends.
• Face–Heel Turn: According to Joey, he entered the Duelist Kingdom tournament in order to help his sister Ishizu. At some point, his goals turned towards darker ventures and became the leader of the Rare Hunters. Or that's what Joey thinks, not aware that Marik is currently being used as a meat seat at the moment by Yami Marik.
• Hijacked by Ganon: Word of God states this is the case, as he is currently being used by Yami Marik.
• Legacy Character: Alongside Joey, he's from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series and confirmed to be a native to Standard.
• Walking Spoiler: Certain revelations in Scale 16 make it very hard to discuss his actual role in the "Rare Hunters" mini-arc without spoiling too much.

Xyz Dimension

Tsukumo

A duelist mentioned by Shun in Scale 12.

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• Always Someone Better: When Ray questions Shun about his and Yuto's skills in a duel, although the former admits they're more than capable, neither of them can hold a candle to Tsukumo and Kaito.
• The Ghost: They've yet to make an appearance in the story.

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