Yu-Gi-Oh: I have a Card Printing Skill!

The next day.

Just as she'd promised, Momoyo strolled into Celina and Yumi's dorm at the crack of dawn, like she owned the place. Well, not exactly. Somehow, she'd managed to get her hands on a key. Before Yumi could even process what was happening, she'd yanked him out of bed at 5 a.m. sharp and dragged him outside for a morning run.

By the time the sun was high, Yumi's legs felt like jelly. His weak, underfed body couldn't handle the torture of sprinting laps around the island. In the end, Momoyo had to sling him over her shoulder, carrying him like a sack of rice for the last third of the route.

"Tch. Don't tell me you've been slacking on your training these past two years?" Momoyo huffed, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

Yumi, still dangling limply in her grip, groaned. "Sis… we ran ten laps. It's already ten in the morning!"

"Alright, alright." Momoyo smirked, clearly unfazed. "We'll call it a day. You did good, for someone about to pass out."

Without breaking stride, she hauled him back in the direction of the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm, humming to herself as if she wasn't carrying a whole person like he weighed nothing.

...

"Are you okay? You look terrible." Celina asked, staring at Yumi, who lay sprawled out on the dorm room floor like a corpse.

"Ten laps… around the island…" Yumi muttered, barely able to lift his head. "And then… she dragged me to the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm for a bath."

Celina froze, her expression caught somewhere between amazement and pity. She didn't know whether to be impressed… or to feel sorry for him.

Any other boy at Duel Academy would kill for a chance to set foot inside the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm. It was practically sacred ground, strictly off-limits to guys. There was an incident with Syrus, in which he got caught sneaking toward the dorm after mistakenly picking up that fake love letter meant for Jaden. That fiasco had nearly gotten them expelled if Jaden hadn't beaten Alexis in a duel.

And yet here was Momoyo. She'd hauled Yumi right into enemy territory in broad daylight… and no one batted an eye.

Unbelievable.

It was like Momoyo had the power of a big boss, able to do whatever she pleased without worrying about consequences.

Of course, knowing Yumi, he hadn't done anything suspicious. The poor guy was barely conscious the whole time, probably too busy trying not to die from exhaustion to even think about sneaking a glance at any of the girls.

Celina sighed and crouched beside him. "Yumi… you really have it rough, huh?"

Yumi groaned in agreement, too tired to argue.

...

Later that afternoon, the peaceful silence of Slifer Red was shattered as a truck, looking more like a troop transport, skidded to a stop in front of the dorm.

Moments later, a squad of men in black suits and sunglasses stormed the building, their heavy boots thundering through the hallway as they pounded on doors. The noise startled the still-groggy Professor Lyman Banner, sending him bolting upright in alarm.

"Th-The Academy's Academic Affairs Office...?!" Banner stammered, his face pale. "They only show up for the most serious offenses... Why would they come here?!"

They say life's a stage, and Banner, ever the performer, still kept up his act even when no one was watching.

"Open up!" a voice barked, accompanied by a loud thud on the door.

Half-asleep, Jaden groaned, rubbing his eyes as he staggered out of bed. "What's with all the noise…?" he mumbled, yawning.

"If you don't open this door, we'll blow it down!" came the sharp warning.

That woke him up. "Bl-blow it up?!" Jaden's eyes snapped wide, and in a panic, he flung the door open.

Standing before him was a tall, stone-faced female teacher, flanked by the suited men.

"You're the ringleader, Jaden Yuki?" she demanded coldly.

"Ringleader...? Huh?" Jaden blinked, confused.

"You're coming with us. Now."

Nearby, the squad moved down the hall, banging on another door, this time Yumi's.

"Open up!" the teacher ordered again.

No response.

BANG BANG BANG! The pounding grew louder, drawing curious and fearful eyes from the other Slifer Reds.

Finally, the door clicked open. A disheveled, exhausted Yumi stood there, dark circles under his eyes, looking like he hadn't slept in years.

The teacher narrowed her gaze. "Yumi Uzushi. The second-in-command, right?"

"Heh?" Yumi blinked, still half out of it.

"You're coming too. Now."

The men reached out to grab him, as they had Jaden.

BONK! x7

In an instant, the entire group, including the teacher, collapsed to the floor, each sporting a massive bump on their head. Standing protectively before Yumi were Raye and Roze, eyes sharp, weapons at the ready. A beat later, Winged Kuriboh floated up beside Jaden, cheerfully chirping.

"Whoa! You have Duel Spirit partners too?" Jaden exclaimed, more amazed than alarmed at the sight.

Yumi exhaled, still catching his breath. "We'll talk about it later."

Just then, a crowd of Slifer Reds appeared at the end of the hall, Professor Banner at the front. His eyes widened as he took in the scene, Jaden and Yumi standing over the unconscious officials from the Academic Affairs Office.

...

"Today, Jaden Yuki and his associates trespassed in the restricted Abandoned Dorm, violating Academy rules. This is a grave offense."

Jaden and Yumi stood at the center of a massive chamber, the walls lined with towering monitors. Behind each screen sat the Academy's top brass, including Chancellor Sheppard and a visibly eager Professor Crowler. Dorm mates watched in silence from the sidelines.

"I'm really sorry!" Jaden said quickly, pressing his palms together, bowing his head. "Please, just give me a chance. I'll do whatever you want!"

Honestly, getting expelled wasn't that big a deal to Jaden. What he cared about was that, if kicked out, he wouldn't get to play cards with so many interesting opponents.

Crowler smirked, his grin widening like the Pot of Greed. "Since even a slacker like you is begging so sincerely, I'll be merciful, non? I'll grant you a special chance: a tag-team punishment duel. Sound fair?"

"Eh? Tag-team punishment duel?" Jaden echoed, confused but already perking up at the word duel.

"That's right!" Crowler announced with glee. "You and Syrus Truesdale will represent Slifer Red in a dorm-versus-dorm duel. Win, and you're absolved."

Jaden's eyes lit up. "A dorm duel? That sounds awesome!"

"Uh... big bro... isn't this actually really bad...?" Syrus whispered nervously.

Crowler's grin twisted further. His face looked more and more like the Pot of Greed. "Splendid! And who better for your opponents than Yumi Uzushi and Celina Hiiragi?"

Hearing those names, Syrus went pale. Yumi is the strongest Slifer Red, and Celina is not a pushover either.

This wasn't mercy, it was a death sentence.

Before anyone else could speak, Yumi stepped forward, voice calm but firm. "Objection."

The room fell silent. All eyes turned to him.

"If this is supposed to be a fair chance, why force us to fight our own dorm mates? Are we to choose between our education and our friendships? That hardly sounds like a real opportunity, does it?"

He paused, giving them some time for his words to sink in.

"And let's not forget," Yumi continued smoothly, "only Jaden and I entered the Abandoned Dorm. We heard someone scream and rushed inside. There, we found a masked man trying to abduct Alexis Rhodes."

"H-Huh?" Jaden blinked. Even though he didn't remember it quite that way, he still kept quiet.

"Are you really saying that rescuing a fellow student deserves punishment?"

The chamber grew tense. Crowler's smugness cracked.

The room grew silent. Syrus tried to say something, but both Celina and Chumley covered his mouth. Completely opposite from Momoyo's honesty, Yumi is like a pro at lying.

"Nonsense! There was no abduction!" Crowler snapped. "We have clear evidence that Slifer Reds entered forbidden grounds!"

Yumi's gaze didn't waver. "You have evidence of students entering. But do you have evidence that no one tried to kidnap Alexis? If you're confident, why not summon her here? Let her confirm the truth."

The faculty exchanged looks. Even Crowler bit down hard on his handkerchief, fury leaking through his forced composure.

Yumi was confident in his claim, with Alexis Rhodes's upright character, she wouldn't let someone be kicked out of Duel Academy for saving her. She would definitely agree with what he just said.

And by then, if they still try to kick them out, then there is no reason to fight a rick system that only gives you the choice of losing.

After a long pause, Chancellor Sheppard finally spoke.

"Very well, since part of this was the school's negligence. We will reduce your punishment a little." He said with a calm tone, looking closely at Yumi and Jaden before continuing. "However, since you two did violate a school rule. A punitive tag-duel is still needed." 

He then shifted his gaze toward Crowler, who was doing his best to hide his anger, although it was quite visible by how hard he was biting into his handkerchief.

"So Jaden Yuki and Yumi Uzushi will participate in a duel as a tag team. If you win, you will be acquitted. Lose and you will be expelled!" Crowler said, his voice filled with anger.

...

After that, the group walked out of the tense room, Syrus letting out a sigh of relief, thinking that now he wouldn't be expelled from Duel Academy. But the moment he thought about his big bro going to get kicked out, Syrus began to panic again.

Jaden, as usual, doesn't seem phased by this event. To him, this was simply just another duel he needed to win.

In the anime, Jaden was able to carry a weakling like Syrus to win this punishment duel, even having enough time to teach him to be confident and use Power Bond, a machine-exclusive fusion card with the effect of doubling the fusion monster ATK, but the player will take the fusion monster original ATK as damage in the end of the turn. To pull off a comeback.

Now, with an actually strong duelisk like Yumi dueling with him, what does Jaden have to fear?

Still, this didn't stop Jaden from wanting to having a fun duel with Syrus to lift his spirit up a little.

"Yo, I heard my little bro actually talked back to a room full of council members. Not bad." Momoyo smirked, pulling Yumi into a playful chokehold and pressing his head against her chest.

Her female fans nearby watched with a mix of envy and admiration.

"I don't think that's something to be proud of," Yumi muttered, finally managing to wriggle free.

"Of course it is! Standing up to authority, knocking out the Academy's Academic Affairs Office squad without even dueling? That's legendary."

Yumi sighed. Knowing his sister, it didn't surprise him at all that she handled the Academic Affairs Office the old-fashioned way.

"They tried to butt into another punishment duel, so I swept the floor with them. No big deal." Her smirk widened, clearly enjoying the memory.

Then she leaned in, eyes gleaming. "Speaking of duels, since you've got a punishment match in a day or two, how about I warm you up with one? You still owe me."

Yumi opened his mouth to object, but she easily lifted him again, his face squished against her chest. "Perfect. Let's head to an open field."

Nearby, Alexis watched the close bond between the siblings, a dull ache forming in her chest as she thought of her own brother. Celina, on the other hand, looked amused; her siblings never acted like that. And Syrus felt a twinge of envy; his relationship with his brother had never been that easygoing.

Out on the grass field, the two siblings shuffled each other's decks, eyes locked.

"Two years..." Momoyo said, her smirk sharp as ever. "I've been waiting to kick your ass again, little bro."

Yumi returned the look with quiet resolve. "I'm not the same kid I was two years ago, Sis."

They handed the decks back, stepping onto the open field. The breeze tugged at their red jackets as they faced off.

"Duel!" they shouted in unison.

[Yumi, LP 4000]

[Momoyo, LP 4000]