Yu-Gi-Oh!: I use an Orichalcos deck

Page 306

"Hmm, the weather was fine this morning." Youji scratched his head. "You go first, I'll wait until the rain subsides a bit."

Before I could finish speaking, Zaizen Aoi had already opened her umbrella and said, "I'll take you to the subway station."

Yuki blinked, unable to believe his ears. Zaizen Aoi was going to share an umbrella with him? How close would they have to be under that small folding umbrella...?

What are you daydreaming about? Zaizen Kui has already stepped into the rain. Look back at him, do you want to get soaked on your way back?

Yuki quickly followed, carefully slipping under the umbrella. The umbrella was indeed small; their shoulders were almost touching. The faint citrus scent emanating from Zaizen Aoi, mixed with the freshness of the rain, filled Yuki's nostrils, making his heart race.

"Move a little closer to the center," said Zaizen Kui, her right shoulder completely soaked.

Yuki obediently took half a step, and now the two were pressed tightly together. He could feel the warmth of Zaizen Aoi's arm through the thin summer school uniform.

As they turned a corner, the rain suddenly intensified. Zaizen Aoi cried out and pulled Yuki under the eaves of a closed shop. In just a few seconds, their sleeves and trouser legs were soaked through.

It seems like it won't stop anytime soon. Caiqian Kui frowned as she looked at the sky. There's a convenience store nearby. Let's go there to take shelter for a while.

Just as she was about to take a step, she suddenly slipped. Yu Ji reacted quickly, catching her by the waist. "Watch out!"

In an instant, the two were face to face, incredibly close. Zaizen Aoi's hand rested on Yuki's chest; she could clearly feel his rapid heartbeat. Raindrops slid down her hair, tiny water droplets clinging to her eyelashes. Yuki had never seen her eyes so closely before—like melted dark chocolate, warm and deep.

"Thank you." Caiqian Kui was the first to come to her senses and quickly distanced herself, but her face was already flushed.

The convenience store was nicely heated, and the two bought hot drinks and sat by the window. Zaizen Aoi sipped her milk tea, while Yuki warmed his hands with his coffee. Outside, the rain continued to pour, leaving winding streaks on the glass.

That Ultra Fusion to Light Inheritance combo today was really amazing. Zaizen Aoi broke the silence, I never expected you to break my field like that.

Yuji smiled and said, "You're the one who taught me to observe how many cards my opponent uses. I saw that you'd already used two Ash Blossoms, so I knew you'd run out of hand traps."

A look of admiration flashed in Zaizen Aoi's eyes. She learned so quickly. She paused, then her voice suddenly lowered. "Actually... I wanted to tell you something today."

"What is it?" Yuji put down his coffee cup.

Zaizen Aoi's fingers unconsciously traced circles on the rim of the cup. "Next month, the Kanto region preliminaries... I'd like to invite you to participate in the doubles competition."

Yuuki's eyes widened. The Kanto preliminary rounds were a fairly large competition; the winners would qualify for the national tournament. Me? But my deck...

"Your deck is very strong," Aoi Zaizen said firmly, "and duos are all about teamwork, I think we... are a good match." The last few words were almost inaudible.

A warm feeling welled up in Yuki's chest. Being recognized by a master like Zaizen Aoi was more precious than any reward. Okay, let's participate together.

Zaizen Aoi smiled, a smile even more refreshing than the rain outside the window. "Starting tomorrow, we'll have special training in doubles teamwork. The rules are very different from singles."

The two chatted about game strategy, and time flew by. As the rain subsided, the city lights began to twinkle. Zaizen Aoi glanced at her phone. "I should go home," she said; "my family will be worried."

Yuki nodded, and the two opened the small umbrella again. The streets in the rain reflected the neon lights, as if they were being soaked in watercolor. This time, Zaizen Aoi took the initiative to move closer to Yuki, and their arms were pressed tightly together.

As Yuki walked towards the subway station, Zaizen Aoi suddenly stopped. "If... if I said I'm a little afraid of the competition, would you laugh at me?"

Yuki looked at her in surprise. Zaizen Aoi's expression rarely showed vulnerability, and her lips trembled slightly.

"How could that be?" You Ji said softly, "Everyone is afraid."

Aoi Zaizen looked down at her shoes. From childhood, every competition she participated in had been built on her father's high expectations. Winning was expected, losing was letting him down. She took a deep breath. This was the first time she was fighting for herself, and ironically... she felt afraid.

Yuji mustered his courage and gently took her hand. This time, he wasn't alone. They would face it together.

Zaizen Aoi's hand trembled slightly in his palm, then she gripped it tightly. Yes, together.

From that day on, their intensive training began. During lunch breaks each day, the two no longer just chatted idly, but studied various doubles match videos and analyzed classic combinations. After school, they went directly to the card shop for practical training, often practicing until the shop owner urged them to leave.

Duo matches are completely different from solo matches. The two players need to share the field and health points, taking turns to perform actions, which requires a very high level of teamwork. At the beginning, they often had operational conflicts or communication failures, but with practice, they gradually found their rhythm.

Remember, the key to a two-player game is resource allocation. As Zaizen Aoi organized the deck, she said, "We must clearly define who will be the main attacker and who will be the support. We can't both of us want to be the main player."

Yuki nodded. "My Ultraman deck is more suitable for mid-to-late game bursts, while your Cyberse deck can control the field in the early game."

Zaizen Aoi smiled with satisfaction. "That's exactly right. You learn very quickly."

The weekend before the tournament, they held their final mock matches. The card shop owner volunteered to be the referee, and other regular customers teamed up to challenge them. After seven matches, Yuki and Caiyi Lin Qiba won six, losing only one due to a rare bad hand.

"The teamwork was good," the boss commented, "but the pressure in a real competition is completely different, so we need to be mentally prepared."

Zaizen Aoi nodded solemnly. On her way home, she was much quieter than usual.

"Nervous?" You Ji asked softly.

Zaizen Aoi bit her lower lip, a little. She'd heard that professional players would be participating this time.

Yuki casually bumped her shoulder and said, "What are you afraid of? We even beat the boss's Shaddoll deck."

Zaizen Aoi was amused by his expression. "Yeah, what's there to be afraid of?" She paused, then added, "Oh, right, my father might come on the day of the competition."

Yuki noticed that her shoulders tensed when she said that. "That's good. Let him see your strength."

He didn't approve of me participating in such a meaningless competition, Zaizen Aoi said in a low voice, and he also disapproved of me... getting too close to boys.

Yuki's heart sank. He should have realized that a prominent family like the Zaizen family (Zaizen Aoi had inadvertently mentioned that her father was a senior executive at a large company) would definitely have strict requirements for their daughter's romantic partners.

So...we...

Zaizen Aoi suddenly stopped and turned to face Yuki, her eyes resolute. "I don't care what he thinks. This is my life, my choice." Her words were forceful, but Yuki could see the struggle in her eyes.

On the day of the competition, the venue was packed with people. As a large regional event, there were not only hundreds of participants, but also many spectators and reporters. Yuki was wearing the dark blue shirt that Zaizen Aoi had picked out for him (she said it was much more formal than his faded T-shirt), and his palms were constantly sweating.

Aoi Zaizen wore a white dress with a light blue cardigan, looking elegant and composed. Only Yuki noticed her constant fidgeting with the edge of her deck—a habit she had when nervous.

"The first round of matchups is out!" someone shouted.

The two squeezed to the front of the notice board, searching for their names. Table 3, Section B...the opponents are...Sato and the Yamaguchi-gumi? Yu Jinian exclaimed, then gasped. Sato Shota? That Sato who's ranked in the top 20 of the professional league?

Zaizen Aoi's expression also changed. Sato Shota, known for using the Dragon Rider deck, was one of the seeded players in this tournament.

It's okay, Zaizen Aoi quickly calmed down. Doubles matches are all about teamwork, individual skill isn't everything.

But Yuki could tell she was putting on a brave face. When he got to the battle table, he noticed that Zaizen Aoi's fingers were ice-cold.

Their opponents were already in position. Shota Sato was a tall, thin young man with a stylish short haircut and an expensive dueling disk on his wrist; his partner, Yamaguchi, was much more low-key, but had sharp eyes.

"Oh?" Sato raised an eyebrow when he saw them. "A student couple? How cute." His tone was condescending and teasing.

Zaizen Aoi raised her chin slightly. "Nice to meet you, senior." Her voice was as cold as ice, but Yuki could hear the tremor in it.

The match began with Sato's team going first. As expected, they established a strong control field with 927, placing two high-attack monsters and three backrow cards on the field in the first turn.

When it was Yuki's and Zaizen Aoi's turn, the pressure was immense. Yuki's hand wasn't ideal, while Zaizen Aoi's judgment was disrupted by Sato's taunts.

"Hurry up, kid," Sato said lazily. "We don't have a whole day."

A bead of sweat appeared on Zaizen Aoi's forehead; a misoperation had rendered her key monster ineffective. Yuki noticed her eyes were slightly red—a rare sight for the usually composed Zaizen Aoi.

"Pause for a moment." Yuki suddenly raised his hand to signal the referee that they needed a minute for a tactical discussion.

The referee nodded in agreement. Yuki pulled Zaizen Aoi a few steps away.

"Listen," he whispered, gripping Zaizen Aoi's shoulders. "Don't listen to what that bastard's saying. You're stronger than anyone else, remember? How did you solo the boss's Zodiac deck last week?"

Zaizen Aoi took a deep breath, her gaze gradually focusing. But the current situation...

"Leave it to me," Yuki said firmly. "You clear the backfield for me, and I'll deal with his monster. Just like we practiced."

Zaizen Aoi gazed at him, the panic in her eyes gradually subsiding. She nodded. Okay.

Back at the battle table, Aoi Zaizen seemed like a completely different person. Her movements were clean and precise, using her whirlwind attack to destroy Sato's crucial trap. Yuki seized the opportunity, activating Ultra Fusion and summoning Ultraman Legend.

Battle phase! Yuki loudly announced, "Ultraman Legend attacks the Dragon Rider Knight - First Spear!"

Sato curled his lip in disdain. "What a waste of effort. My monster has a much stronger attack."

Activate Legend's effect! Yugi counterattacks: When battling a monster with higher attack power, you can banish one Ultraman card from your Graveyard to double the battle damage and destroy that monster! I banish Ultraman Tiga!

A burst of light shattered Sato's ace monster, causing a massive blow to its health.

In the following rounds, the battle became extremely fierce. Sato's group's suppression was gradually dismantled, while Yuki and Zaizen Aoi's teamwork became increasingly seamless. Finally, with the support of Zaizen Aoi's precise trap chain, Yuki's Ultraman Noah launched the final blow, reducing the opponent's health to zero.

Chapter 378 Becoming Aoi Zaizen's Boyfriend

They won... Yuki couldn't believe his eyes. They actually defeated a professional player!

Suddenly, Aoi Zaizen pounced on him and hugged him tightly. "We won!" Her voice trembled with excitement, her body pressed against Yuki, her heart pounding as if it would burst from her chest.

Sato, his face ashen, packed up his deck, uttered a curt "good luck," and hurriedly left. The onlookers gasped in amazement and applause; some even filmed the spectacular battle.

"That was fantastic!" the referee exclaimed. "Your teamwork was absolutely flawless."

Zaizen Aoi then realized she was still holding Yuki, and quickly let go, her cheeks flushed. But her hands remained tightly gripping Yuki's, unwilling to let go.

In the following rounds, they fought with increasing vigor. Zaizen Aoi's father never appeared, which both relieved and slightly disappointed her. Yuki didn't ask many questions, only gently squeezing her hand as encouragement when she occasionally glanced towards the entrance.

In the semifinals, they encountered a real challenge—a pair using the Golden Nation and Teaching decks, a control deck that is the bane of Ultraman decks. The match became a fierce battle, with both sides having very few life points left.

At the crucial moment, Aoi Zaizen's phone suddenly rang. She initially wanted to ignore it, but her expression changed drastically after glancing at the caller ID.

"I...I have to take this," she whispered to You Ji. "It's my father."

In the game "Yinlin Chess Bar - Master IV Wu," Yuuki nodded in agreement to pause. Zaizen Aoi went to a corner to answer the phone, and Yuuki could see her back gradually stiffen. The call was short, but when she returned, her eyes were noticeably dim.

"What's wrong?" You Ji asked in a low voice.

Zaizen Aoi shook her head. "It's nothing. Let's continue."

However, in the following rounds, she was clearly distracted and made several basic mistakes. Her opponent seized the opportunity to counterattack and ultimately won by a narrow margin.

As they left the battle zone, Zaizen Aoi kept her head down. Yuki gently took her hand. "What happened?"

Zaizen Aoi's lips trembled. "Father...he knows about my competition. He said...that I'm wasting my life, hanging out with shady people..." Her voice choked with emotion. "He ordered me to come home immediately."

Yu Ji felt a sharp pain in his chest. "A shady character..." clearly referred to him.

"I'll take you back," he said softly. "It'll be fine once you've explained everything."

Zaizen Aoi shook her head, tears finally streaming down her face. "You don't understand my father... He never accepts explanations."

They silently packed up their decks and left the venue. The setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them. When they reached a park, Zaizen Aoi suddenly stopped.

"I don't want to go back," she whispered, "at least... not now."

Youji nodded and led her to a bench under a cherry blossom tree. The early summer breeze rustled the leaves.

From childhood to adulthood, everything about me has been arranged. Caizen Aoi gazes into the distance, deciding which school to attend, which friends to make, and what talents to learn... Card games are my only act of rebellion, a passion I chose myself.

She turned to Yuji, her tear tracks glistening in the sunset. "Until I met you, I realized life could have so many possibilities. Your passion, your creativity, your way of seeing the world... all fascinate me."

Yuki's heart nearly stopped. Zaizen Aoi had never revealed her feelings so openly before.

"My father said if I continued like this, he would send me to a boarding school in Switzerland," Zaizen Aoi continued, her voice trembling, "but I don't want to lose... everything between us."