Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Huh? Hoshino, you're going to meet the Hoshino of this world? You're going to meet yourself?"

Hoshino's peculiar logic momentarily left Jonouchi struggling to wrap his head around the idea.

"Wait... Master wants to meet this world's Master? Then who would be my Master when you meet each other?" Musashi, equally perplexed, fixated on a question that wasn't particularly relevant.

"That's right," Hoshino confirmed, analyzing the situation with a calm demeanor despite their stunned reactions. "If the me of this timeline exists, she should be in contact with this timeline's Chaldea. That would make gathering information much easier."

Of course, what Hoshino cared about most right now wasn't the cause of the Duel Monster riots but figuring out how to return to her original Domino City.

What? You're asking why she didn't just focus on returning to her original world? Please—if even the Hoshino from this future hadn't managed to go back, how could she hope for such a thing? The current Hoshino had completely abandoned that hope.

Well... maybe not entirely. Deep down, she still clung to a sliver of optimism. Since worldlines branch into countless variations from even the smallest of influences, perhaps her arrival in Future Domino City could somehow open up a new worldline where she returned to her original one.

"I don't know what this 'Chaldea' is supposed to be," Jonouchi admitted, scratching his head apologetically. "But I really want to help solve this incident with you, Hoshino. It's just... Shizuka and the others are waiting for me to return. I only came here because I heard Duel Monsters were causing trouble in the streets."

So that was it. Jonouchi was playing the role of a protector of Domino City. Despite being just a "rookie," he was safeguarding his family while shouldering the city's safety. Though he still seemed as clueless as ever, the future Jonouchi had undeniably grown into a true man.

Hoshino was touched by Jonouchi's words but quickly realized a key issue. "Speaking of which, what about Yugi and Kaiba? They should still be around, right?" It seemed odd for Jonouchi to be the only one fighting.

"Yugi's been in America for the past few years, and Kaiba's always jetting around the globe. It's pretty rare to see them here these days," Jonouchi explained, his tone tinged with melancholy. The companions who once spent so much time together had been scattered far and wide by the demands of life.

"I see..." Though she hadn't experienced it herself, imagining it left Hoshino with a bitter taste. Those cherished times from the past were now just sealed memories, while growing up meant confronting the realities of life.

"In that case, I won't push you, Jonouchi. Musashi and I will go together."

"No, Hoshino, you probably won't be able to go today," Jonouchi said, glancing at the fading sunlight.

"The academy is located on an island, and due to the current circumstances, the ferry only runs twice daily, in the morning and at noon."

Hoshino followed Jonouchi's gaze to the sky, realizing that she had lost track of time since her arrival. The setting sun confirmed that the last ferry had already departed.

"An island, huh? I guess there's nothing I can do, then," Hoshino sighed lightly. Standing amidst the ruined street, with smoke still rising from the destruction, she couldn't help but feel agitated. But moments like these often called for a pause to regroup—especially since she couldn't use her deck and hadn't eaten all day.

Grrr~

Hoshino's empty stomach made its dissatisfaction loudly known.

"Hahaha!" Jonouchi laughed, the sound hearty and familiar. "Hoshino, you really haven't changed at all. Let me guess—you haven't eaten anything all day again. Perfect timing, though—I'm hungry too. Let's head back and have Shizuka make us something delicious!"

At the mention of food, Musashi's eyes lit up. "Free food, Master! What's there to hesitate about? I didn't eat before coming here either. If there's udon, even better~"

Servants didn't need to eat to sustain themselves, so if Musashi wanted food, there was only one reason—she was craving it. Seeing Musashi's expectant expression, Hoshino sighed. "Looks like someone else has been spoiled by Emiya's cooking."

With Jonouchi's invitation, Hoshino and Musashi decided to stay the night. The Future Domino City was unfamiliar to Hoshino. Forget her old, small apartment—even Kame Game Shop might no longer exist.

Of course, since Jonouchi didn't bring it up, Hoshino refrained from asking too many questions. Knowing about the future wasn't always as wonderful as it seemed—it could often be quite cruel.

On the way, Hoshino fiddled with Jonouchi's new Duel Disk under Musashi's curious gaze. As expected, summoning Servants across timelines wasn't something that could be done easily, even with Jonouchi's upgraded Duel Disk.

In other words, without Musashi's intervention, Hoshino might have been killed by the Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The realization sent a shiver down her spine.

"Master, you don't need to worry too much. I'm here with you, after all," Musashi reassured her, her voice brimming with confidence.

"I do trust your skills, Musashi." But Hoshino knew all too well that this world wasn't one where power alone could solve everything. Without a usable deck, she couldn't help feeling uneasy.

"Wait... let's check the system!" Hoshino suddenly remembered something important. When she'd crossed into the VR game world before, the system (or rather, Da Vinci) had cleverly enabled her to use Heroic Spirits via Install. Maybe Da Vinci had a solution this time too.

[System detected Duelist ID #001, Hoshino Chiyuki. Victory in the Shadow Game achieved. Awarding 1 SSR Summon Ticket.]

[System detected Duelist ID #001, Hoshino Chiyuki. Singularity Repair: Battle City of the Bound Gods—completed. Awarding 300 Saint Quartz. Current total: 310 Saint Quartz.]

"W-what?!" Hoshino gasped in shock. Both the 300 Saint Quartz and the so-called singularity repair left her utterly speechless.

[Limited-time banner: Bonds Beyond Time—All of your current Heroic Spirits are featured. Fight for your future and claim it!]

"As expected, Da Vinci came through," Hoshino muttered.

Looking at the banner featuring all Heroic Spirits, Hoshino instantly understood Da Vinci's plan. If she couldn't summon across timelines, she'd just have to summon them again in this one.

"Who are you trying to fool? Isn't this just a ploy to drain my Quartz?!"

Knowing full well it was a trap to drain her quartz, Hoshino had no choice but to jump in. Without a proper deck—even a low-tier card like Spartacus—how was she supposed to duel?

"Still the same old Hoshino, huh? Even when you're quiet, your expressions say it all," Jonouchi chuckled, watching as Hoshino cycled through a range of emotions—surprise, joy, and frustration—all in rapid succession.

"Alright, let's start with a ten-pull!" With 300 Saint Quartz in her possession, Hoshino felt wealthier than ever before. Yet, without a single usable Heroic Spirit at her disposal, she was also poorer than she'd ever been.

Caught in this contradiction, Hoshino knew there was no time to delay. If some villain suddenly appeared to challenge her to a duel, she'd be nothing more than a sitting duck with no cards in her hand.

And since the banner promised "All of your current Heroic Spirits are featured," it basically guaranteed she'd only pull duplicates of the ones she already had. A sneaky ploy by Da Vinci to activate some hidden pay-to-play mechanic. Truly, it was the height of capitalist genius.

"Well, even if I only pull silver or bronze cards, it's not a total loss!"

Sometimes, though, when you least expect it, hope sneaks up on you. The first roll of the ten-pull shimmered with a golden light, catching Hoshino completely off guard.

"No way... Could it be?!" she gasped, the excitement of pulling her first golden card, Siegfried, during the Duelist Kingdom days flooding back to her.

"Sorry, it's just me again..."

History—or the future—repeated itself. Hoshino's first gold card was, once again, Siegfried.

Siegfried wasn't weak by any means, but holding his familiar card in her hand immediately sapped all her earlier excitement.

—What was so thrilling about pulling duplicates, anyway?

Mechanically continuing her gacha pulls as they walked, Hoshino burned through all 300 of her quartz. By the end, she had restored her deck to a serviceable state, though it was still missing some rare SSRs.

"Whatever. If gold cards are scarce, I'll just rely on silver and bronze cards. We FGO players are built for this!"

Even so, she had one ace left—her SSR summon ticket. It had never failed her before and wouldn't give her a duplicate, no matter the circumstances.

[Would you like to use one SSR-exclusive summon ticket?]

"Confirm!"

Gold light burst forth—a guaranteed, bona fide SSR. This one wouldn't be from Da Vinci's sneaky duplicate-laden banner.

"Come on, come on—my first real SSR of the future!"

Musashi: "Sorry to disappoint you, Master—it's just me~"

Looking bashful, Musashi glanced between Hoshino and the card in her hand. "Master, could you stop staring at the stats like that? Having my power exposed feels kind of embarrassing~"

Since Musashi was one of the rare Heroic Spirits capable of traveling through time, it made sense that she'd appear as Hoshino's SSR in this world. After all, pulling a different Heroic Spirit—one she couldn't bring back to her original timeline—would've been even more awkward.

"Well, yeah, I get that, but… I still feel like my emotions have been toyed with…"

.

..

...

"We're here!"

Jonouchi had matched Hoshino's slow pace as she pulled cards, turning what should've been a 10-minute walk into nearly half an hour.

"This might be a familiar place for the Hoshino of this time, but for you, this should be your first time here."

Indeed, Hoshino had never been to Jonouchi's house before. The modest two-story home wasn't anything remarkable. Simple and unassuming—just like its owner.

"At this time, Shizuka and the others should be cooking. I wonder how surprised they'll be to meet the Hoshino from the past," Jonouchi chuckled as he jogged to the door.

"Shizuka and the others? You mean your parents?" Hoshino guessed. But Jonouchi didn't seem like the type to still live with his parents at his age.

"Coming, coming! Geez, you'll knock the door off its hinges at this rate!"

A soft, mature voice responded to Jonouchi's frantic knocking. The tone was gentle but too youthful to belong to a parent. Oddly familiar, too.

"You're back already? Did you take care of the commotion? You didn't get hurt, did you, Katsuya?"

When the door opened, a stunning, elegant woman greeted them.

"Easy-peasy! …Well, not that easy. Hoshino here was a big help…"

"Mai?! What are you doing here?" Hoshino exclaimed, instantly recognizing Mai Valentine, whose appearance hadn't changed much despite the passing years.

Spotting the unfamiliar girls behind Jonouchi, Mai raised a brow. "What's going on, Katsuya? You went out for a fight and came back with two girls? You've been busy, huh?"

"Haha! It's a long story, Mai. Let's head inside first." Jonouchi rubbed the back of his neck, laughing awkwardly.

"Oniichan, is that you? Are you back?"

A softer voice chimed in from the kitchen as a young woman peeked out. More elegant and beautiful than before, Shizuka's delicate features carried an air of maturity. Her face turned red upon noticing Hoshino and Musashi.

"Oh, I didn't know we had guests! Good evening. Please, make yourselves comfortable~"

In the middle of the dining table—a simple square design—deliciously aromatic dishes were already laid out. The sight made Hoshino's grumbling stomach roar to life again.

"Alright, Katsuya—spill it. What's the story here?" Mai asked, pulling out a chair with casual ease.

"Heh, don't freak out, Mai, but doesn't this one look familiar?" Jonouchi grinned, gesturing to Hoshino before recounting the events that had brought them here.

.

..

...

"What?! This is Hoshino… from ten years ago?!" Mai's shock was tinged with unexpected delight.

Hoshino, meanwhile, could barely keep up. "Wait, Jonouchi, when you mentioned a girlfriend earlier… you meant Mai?!"

(*****)

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