[@Ryik] Mina, with her parents in tow, made their way to the Ra Yellow dorms and into her dorm room. “[color=662d91][i]Here is my dorm.[/i][/color]” she said, but they did not look pleased. “[b]I thought you would have made it to Obelisk Blue.[/b]” Her father sounded quite disappointed that she was not living with the best. But from what they were told, she had not been winning all of her duels as expected. Her mother made her way towards her bed, “[i]And who is your roommate?[/i]” She asked with an interested tone in her voice. “[color=662d91][i]I live with another girl named Rin, she has a copycat deck and she is quite skilled.[/i][/color]” She didn’t want to mention to her parents that she had lost to her before. Her parents thought that this Rina was quite weak with an equally weak deck. ”[b]And how many wins does she have?[/b]” Her father added, but Mina just shrugged as she didn’t know the answer to that question. “[i]What is your matchup record against this girl?[/i]” Mina’s mother asked. “[color=662d91][i]Ummm…[/i][/color]” She fumbled with her answer. “And this is my room, dad.” Like an angel of mercy, Rin had arrived alongside her father to save Mina from her parents’ probing questions. “Oh! It seems your roommate beat us to it.” “Hi, Mina. Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hākā.” Both of her parents were looking quite unimpressed with Rin. “[b]Hello.[/b]” Both of them said in unison. Rin’s father stepped forward, offering the couple a handshake. “Hi, I’m Rin’s father. Nice to meet you two.” Mr. Hākā looked over at Rin’s father before looking at Mrs. Hākā, “[b]It is nice to meet you Mr?[/b]” The man trailing off to know what his first name was. He retracted his handshake, taking the blatant rejection in stride. “Ren. It embarrasses my daughter that our names are so alike, so please call me Mr. Sato.” “Dad…” Rin looked more embarrassed that he brought it up. You say something about it once in elementary school and he has to let everyone know for the rest of your life. “[b]It is nice to meet you Ren, my name is Ryuji, and this is my wife Lucy.[/b]” Mina’s father pointed over towards his wife sitting at the bed. Mrs. Hākā nodded her head, standing up to be near her husband. “[i]Charmed.[/i]” Mina looked over towards Rin’s father. “[color=662d91][i]Nice to meet you, my name is Mina.[/i][/color]” She seemed more excited to meet him than she was to see her own parents again. “Hello there! My daughter told me all about you. Thanks for taking care of her. I know she can be a handful-” “DAD!” Rin was flushed with embarrassment. Mina shook her head, “[color=662d91][i]She was quite well behaved, it was me that was being quite the handful.[/i][/color]” Mina’s parents were looking at Mina like vultures watching their prey. “[i]And what did you do that was so harmful?[/i]” Her mother said with a raised brow. Rin shook off some of her embarrassment to join in the conversation, looking confused. “What [i]did[/i] you do that was so harmful? I don’t remember anything bad.” “[color=662d91][i]Nothing of course.[/i][/color]” Mina said, trying not to mention how she stormed off into the forest after losing their first duel. “Well, if you’re ever feeling overwhelmed, I’m here for you, Mina.” Mina was touched, though Rin’s father partially ruined the moment by audibly fawning over his daughter. “Awww.” Mina’s father interrupted the sweet moment completely in order to pull aside and speak to his daughter. “[b]Mina, we would like to test your dueling abilities. We do not want to keep wasting OUR money if you are unfit to be a duelist.[/b]” Annoyed by his spurned handshake [i]and[/i] the way they refused to address him by his surname, Rin’s father decided to butt in. “Isn’t that a bit harsh?” Mina’s father looked over his shoulder and sent Mr. Sato a deathly glare. He continued, unperturbed. “I’m sure your daughter will become a fine duelist at the Academy. Even if there’s some uncertainty, isn’t it best to support her aspirations?” Ryuji again kept staring at Mr.Sato, “[b]Mr.Sato, we have spent a lot of time and money trying to train Mina to be the best duelist in the world. Kind words will not make her a better duelist, winning is what will make her the best. The queen of games if you will.[/b]” He said now looking over at Mina. Who was now slowly moving towards the door. “Well, they say you learn more from losing than from winning, and her Academy Days aren’t quite as high-stakes as professional dueling tournaments. Even the doesn’t have a flawless record, and I’m inclined to believe he’s better for it, don’t you?” Ryuji thought for a moment, His large hand starting to rub his chin. “[b]But she has to be ready for those professional games, and she will be useless if she is not ready for the real thing.[/b]” “Useless? Surely more duelists than just Yugi Muto are worthy of respect.” Ryuji thought for a moment of who else would be considered the best of the best. There were a few on his mind that were quite respectable. “[b]Perhaps there are a few that qualify as being worthy of respect.[/b]” “Yeah! I mean, Seto Kaiba’s an obvious one. He practically rules the world nowadays.” Both of Mina’s parents looked quite annoyed when the name Seto Kaiba was brought up. “[b]He is a dumb brat that just got lucky. One day he will be knocked down a peg.[/b]” “Oh? I always thought he was rather unlucky, given how many times he’s challenged the King of Games and lost. Then again, in terms of wealth, he’s probably the luckiest, haha!” Rin’s father laughed obliviously as Mina’s parents seethed in anger. It seemed Kiba’s dueling abilities were not the only reason they were jealous of the young businessman. Ryuji stepped forward, his hand curling up into a fist, but her mother placed a hand on his shoulder. “[i]Perhaps we should not cause any trouble, and have Mina be kicked out of the academy.[/i]” Her mother whispered, rubbing his chest. Mina was looking very embarrassed. Unlike her father, Rin wasn’t oblivious to the Hākā elders’ body language, and so she decided to step in between her father and them, readying her duel disk. “You said you wanted to test Mina? Why don’t we have a tag duel? That way, both of you could test her at the same time.” The two thought for a moment before nodding their heads, “[i]I think that would be a great idea.[/i]” Mina’s mother said. “[b]Yes, I think that would be for the best, but Mina, if you lose, we will remove you from the academy where you will work for us as a secretary. You will never duel again.[/b]” Ryuji said. “Fine. But if I win, then I get to stay and you will stop bothering me with your damn prodding.” Mina said with some defiance in her voice. Rin added her own demands. “If [i]we[/i] win, you’ll apologize for calling your daughter’s efforts useless!” Rin’s father looked concerned. “Honey-” Mina’s father looked unbothered. “[b]Very well. It follows then, that if you lose, you’ll admit they were pointless. Both yours and hers.[/b]” Rin’s father sharply turned to Mina’s and immediately raised his voice. “HEY-” Rin grabbed one of her father’s arms with both of her own. “It’s okay, dad.” Rin’s father, barely keeping to an inside voice, leaned down at eye level to look into Rin’s. “No, it’s not, dearie.” “I… I want to do this.” The man grit his teeth before sighing. He can’t deny his daughter when she asks him while looking so determined. He lowered his voice more, to keep it between him and Rin. “Fine, but are you sure you’re okay with this? Do you want me to duel them instead?” Rin had always struggled with her self-esteem, and if he was being entirely honest, he was probably gonna throw hands if she lost and they bullied her daughter about it. “No, dad. It has to be me. I saw the look they gave me. It’s better if they lost to some nobody Ra Yellow girl.” “You are not nobody.” “I know, dad.” She didn’t, but hearing that should make him happy. Mr. Sato backed off, and Rin turned to Mina’s parents. Let’s duel where me and Mina had our first duel. The Ra Yellow lounge is really spacious.” Both of her parents nodded their heads. Mina was unsure if she would be able to win against her parents. But she could not back out now. “Yes, and by this time a lot of the Ra Yellow students should be there.” She wanted to humiliate them for all the years they had tortured her. They took up opposite ends of the lounge and brandished their duel disks. Mina’s parents had each brought their own, both using a high-end model with a sleek metallic shine [b][u]Mina and Rin vs. Mr. and Mrs. Hākā[/u][/b] Rin, filled with uncharacteristic righteous fury at the way her friends’ parents treat not just their daughter or her but [i]everyone[/i], took the first turn. As she began, she went back to her usually placidity like a tiger crouching in the grass. “I set a monster and a face-down, then end my turn.” Mr. Hākā drew his hand, looking through it with a pompous carelessness on his face. “[b]I play Mezuki in attack mode, then place one card in my back row and end my turn.[/b]” Mina drew her cards placing a face down card in her spell/trap field, along with placing a monster card in face down position. “[color=662d91][i]I end my turn.[/i][/color]” Mina’s mother was glad to have drawn some excellent cards. She started by summoning Zombie Master from her hand in attack mode. After, she used its effect to discard and then special summon Wightprincess, used its effect to send Wightprince from the deck to the grave, then used its effect to send Skull Servant and Lady in Wight from the deck to the grave. She then activated Wightprincess’ effect just to send it to the grave, and then, used the effect of Wightprince, banishing it, Skull Servant, and Lady in Wight from the grave in order to special summon King of the Skull Servants from her deck. Finally, she discarded Wightmare in order to return the banished Skull Servant to the grave, putting King of the Skull Servants at an impressive 3000 attack. She wore a smug smile as she said, “[i]and that will be the end of my turn.[/i]” Mina drew for her turn, readier than she’s ever been to finally wipe that smile off of her mother’s face. She looked over her cards carefully, thinking over her strategy. She began her turn by placing a face-down and activating Vampire’s Domain. She then nodded to Rin, who proceeded to activate her face-down Conscription. The top card was revealed to be Wightbaking, which was special summoned to their field before promptly being tributed for Shadow Vampire. It would activate Wightbaking’s effect for her mother, but it was worth it. Her mother discarded and Mina smirked. She used Shadow Vampire’s effect to special summon Vampire Lord from her deck, then used them both to XYZ summon Crimson Knight Vampire Bram. “[color=662d91][i]Come on out, Crimson Knight Vampire Bram![/i][/color]” Right after it hit the field, she took one of the cards underneath Vampire Bram, putting it in the graveyard to activate its effect. “[color=662d91][i]Now I will remove Vampire Lord as material, so I can summon Armageddon Knight to my side of the field.” Mina felt particularly proud she was able to use their own monsters against them, something she wasn’t able to pull off before. “And for shits and giggles, I’ll use its effect to send Vampire Sorcerer to the graveyard. Finally, I’ll pay 500 LP to summon Vampire Lady to the field. That’s all.[/i][/color]” [16000 LP > 15500 LP] Her father was going next, carefully looking at his cards similarly to what Mina did a few minutes ago. “[i]I place Zombie World on the field.[/i]” But before he could even activate it, Mina activated her face down card. “[color=662d91][i]No so fast, papa, I play Vampire Awakening to place another Vampire Red Baron onto the field.[/i][/color]” Mina said it with a big grin on her face as she put Vampire Awakening into the graveyard, although her father did not look impressed with that particular play. “[i]That does nothing to help you Mina.[/i]” Her father said, playing Foolish Burial to send a card to the graveyard. “[i]I summon Mezuki onto the field, and attack Rin’s face down monster.[/i]” As Mimicking Man-Eater Bug flipped face up, destroying King of the Skull Servants, he scoffed. “[i]Main Phase 2, I banish the Mezuki I had sent to the grave earlier to bring back King of the Skull Servants.[/i]” He had multiple, it would seem. For a moment, Mina had flashbacks to her battle against Haruko. She shook it off. She won that battle, after all, nevermind what came after. Her father ended his turn, passing back around to Rin. Vampire Red Baron goes to the graveyard, and Rin looked at her hand without any visible concern. On one side of the field, there was Crimson Knight Vampire Bram, Vampire Lady, Armageddon Knight, and Mimicking Man-Eater Bug. On the other, King of the Skull Servants, Zombie Master, and Mezuki. “This is too easy.” Mina’s mother gave her a dirty look. “[i]Excuse me!?[/i]” Rin didn’t answer her, instead turning to Mina. “Would you mind-” Mina shook her head, trusting in her friend. “[color=662d91][i]Whatever you think is best.[/i][/color]” Rin gave her a warm smile as she started her turn. “First, I’ll activate Snatch Steal on Zombie Master, then I’ll use his effect to discard a monster and special summon your Wightprincess from the grave. Next, I’ll use Enemy Controller, tributing Armageddon Knight to take control of your King of the Skull Servants.” “[b]Won’t be of much use to you with no Skull Servants in your grave.[/b]” Mina’s father sneered. She admonished the man matter-of-factly. “Wrong. I’ll send it and Zombie Master to the grave to summon Dharc the Dark Charmer. His effect allows me to special summon a monster from your grave to my field, such as the Zombie Master I just used as material. Wouldn’t you know it, he’s not a hard once-per-turn. I’ll use his effect again, summoning Vampire Sorcerer to my field. I’ll switch Mimicking Man-Eater Bug to attack and enter my battle phase. You know how this plays out from here. Go, Zombie Master, destroy Mezuki!” Like a sith lord, he zaps the bipedal horse monster into dust. “Now, the rest, attack directly!” [16000 LP > 10500 LP] The effect of Vampire’s Domain activates on Vampire Sorcerer’s attack, increasing Rin and Mina’s life points. [15500 LP > 17000 LP] “Main Phase 2, I’ll link summon Aussa the Earth Charmer using Mimicking Man-Eater Bug and Dharc. She has a very similar effect, allowing me to special summon one of your earth monsters from the grave, such as that Mezuki. Hand him over.” Both of Mina’s parents frowned. At the end of it, her field was almost completely filled with monsters that didn’t even belong to her. She broke character then, turning to Mina to ask if she wanted Vampire Sorcerer back, but Mina shook her head, insisting she should hold onto them. In addition to Aussa and Vampire Sorcerer, she now had Mezuki, Zombie Master, and Wightprincess. She ended her turn and Mina’s mother drew from her deck with a scowl. Of course, she still had the cards she had gotten from Wightbaking. “[i]I summon Wightprincess, and use her effect to send Wightprince to the grave.[/i]” She repeated her Wightprincess combo, ending on Wightprincess and a 2000 attack King of the Skull Servants. “[i]Now, I’ll be taking my monsters back! Wightprincess, attack Wightprincess.[/i]” They crashed into each other, both returning to Mina’s mother’s grave, and thus raising King of the Skull Servants to 4000 attack. “[i]Look at what you’ve done, dear. You’ve only delayed the inevitable. Now, stop messing with my graveyard! King of the Skull Servants, get rid of Vampire Bram![/i]” Although putting Mezuki back for her husband or Zombie Master to keep Rin from doing the same were good options, Mina’s turn was up next, and it was best to limit her options more than Rin’s. King of the Skull Servants extended a bony hand towards the Vampire, and without making so much as a move, the Vampire gripped its chest, as if its name was written in a death note, before falling over and disintegrating into particles. [17000 LP > 15500 LP] Mina’s mother ended her turn and it was Mina’s turn once more. She gave her father a defiant smile as she began her turn. She knew exactly what to do here. She looked over to Rin for confirmation, and with just a look, she nodded, saying: “[color=662d91][i]whatever you need; it’s all for you.[/i][/color]” Mina returned the smile, before she turned back to her parents and the smile took on a devilish character. “[color=662d91][i]First off, I’ll resummon Crimson Knight Vampire Bram in defense mode with its effect. Then I’ll activate Vampire’s Desire. By sending Rin’s Aussa to the grave, I can special summon any Vampire in my grave. Now, what was that about Vampire Awakening being useless?[/i][/color]” “[b]You…![/b]” “[color=662d91][i]Yes, me. I choose Vampire Red Baron. He has a nifty effect where I can switch control of a Vampire on my side of the field with any monster on yours. Of course, I want to keep my Vampire Lady to attack you with, so why don’t you take Rin’s Vampire Sorcerer instead?[/i][/color]” Like that, the 4000 attack King of the Skull Servants changed fields once again, falling to zero attack in the process. She continued, “[color=662d91][i]Now, with Crimson Knight Vampire Bram and Vampire Lady, I can Link Summon Vampire Sucker, and use its effect to special summon a monster to your side of the field. Let’s go with a regular Skull Servant. Her effect also lets me draw a card when I do so. Now, using King of the Skull Servants and Rin’s Mezuki-[/i][/color]” ”[b]My Mezuki.[/b]” “[color=662d91][i]Pfft, is that my own father being a sore loser?[/i][/color]” The man scowled as the Ra Yellow peanut gallery let out a chorus of ‘oo’s. Mina knew she was walking a fine line here, but you know what? Fuck it! “[color=662d91][i]Using those two, I can XYZ summon Dhampir Vampire Sheridan. I activate his effect, detaching a material to destroy Skull servant, then detaching another material to special summon it to my side of the field. Now, with Skull Servant and Rin’s Zombie Master-[/i][/color]” “[b]Young lady…[/b]” Mina repeated it, just to annoy them. “[color=662d91][i]-RIN’S Zombie Master, I XYZ summon another Dhampir Vampire Sheridan. You wanna know what’s funny? I haven’t even used my normal summon yet! I have two of them for crying out loud![/i][/color]” She began cackling as she paid 500 life points for the effect of Vampire’s Domain. [15500 LP > 15000 LP] "[color=662d91][i]Because of Vampire Sucker, I can even tribute your monsters! I’ll tribute summon Vampire Dragon using Vampire Sorcerer, returning it to my grave, then banish it to normal summon Vampire Grimson without a tribute. My board’s nice and full, now.[/i][/color]” Vampire Sucker - 1600/LINK-2 Vampire Grimson - 2000/1400 Vampire Dragon - 2400/0 Vampire Red Baron - 2400/1000 Dhampir Vampire Sheridan - 2600/1000 Dhampir Vampire Sheridan - 2600/1000 “[color=662d91][i]Dhampir Vampire Sheridan’s not even a hard once-per-turn. If you had another monster, he could have just popped it and even stolen it. Is this really it? Is this what being a perfect duelist means to you two!? Am I living up to your expectations Mom!? Dad!? Are you proud of your useless Ra Yellow daughter!?[/i][/color]” Rin looked to Mina, concerned. They were dueling with an audience, and knowing these two jerks, public humiliation probably wasn’t the best way to get them to change their ways. If Mina’s relationship with her parents became completely irreconcilable, it’d be her fault, wouldn’t it? Still, it was too late to change things, and she couldn’t think of any way of handling her parents that could possibly be as good as this. Mina yelled to her monsters, sounding hysterical with a voice that kept cracking, but she put on a brave face. It wasn’t hard with how angry she felt too. She refused to cry this time. Not in front of Rin. She directed the monsters evenly, three each to her mother and father. “Vampire Sucker, attack!” “[color=662d91][i]Vampire Grimson, attack![/i][/color]” “[color=662d91][i]Vampire Dragon, attack![/i][/color]” "[color=662d91][i]Vampire Red Baron, attack![/i][/color]” “[color=662d91][i]Dhampir Vampire Sheridan, attack![/i][/color]” Even when her parent’s life points hit zero, Mina wasn’t done. “[color=662d91][i]Second Sheridan, attack![/i][/color]” When the hologram didn’t immediately respond, she slammed her duel disk with her fist, demanding it cooperate. “[color=662d91][b]I SAID ATTACK![/b][/color]” Someway, somehow, the second Sheridan moved. Vampire’s Domain kept on activating on each attack. Finally, as the last of Mina’s monster attacked, the duel came to an end. The final score was 28600 LP to -3100 LP, bugged out to show the value past zero. Mina’s duel disk would need to be fixed, it seemed, but that was the last thing on her mind right now. Their lifepoint difference was almost twice the starting value, which was already twice the normal value because it was a tag duel. She had beaten her parents soundly and thoroughly. For the first time in a long time, she felt free. She was breathing heavily from the adrenaline. Her parents were dumbstruck. Scattered clapping from the crowd rose up and died down, too awkward to turn into full-blown applause in the wake of the unfolding family drama. However, Rin wasn’t about to let her embarrassment or apprehension get in the way of her friendship this time. She was the first to run up to Mina, immediately going for a hug. “[color=662d91][i]...Rin?[/i][/color]” “You were incredible, Mina. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re not an amazing duelist.” Mina turned around to face Rin, there was an uncharacteristic smile on her face. Hugging Rin very tightly. “[color=662d91][i]Thank you, I could not have beaten them without your help.[/i][/color]” She noticed her parents were looking strangely pleased with her victory. Mina removed her arms from Rin, looking embarrassed by hugging Rin. But mostly she wanted to talk to her parents. The two of them looked at each other before looking over at Mina. “[b]That was very impressive, we will keep our end of the deal. We will speak again when you have graduated from the academy. You may have the potential of taking over my position as CEO.[/b]” It seemed Mina was not interested in taking the job. “[color=662d91][i]No thanks, you can shove that CEO job up your ass.[/i][/color]” Was Mina’s response. Her parents looked royaly pissed, walking off towards the docks. Part of them was satisfied that Mina proved she was a capable duelist. But they knew she had a long way to go, to be the best.