Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Two Senseis?!"

"How is this possible? Am I dreaming?"

"This is... double the joy!"

The bizarre scene before them naturally caused a commotion among the female students.

"Although, looking closely, this Hoshino Sensei seems a little smaller compared to usual~."

Even with Akasha's height-boosting insoles, Hoshino was still shorter than her future self. This left her feeling oddly conflicted—neither like a victory nor a loss.

"This is bad... We've messed up big time..." Realizing the situation was spiraling out of control, Akasha quickly ducked her head, trying to slink away into the crowd.

Of course, before leaving, she grabbed Hoshino's wrist, dragging her along.

"Anyway, let's retreat first, Hoshino-chan! Back to the room to prepare for battle! The enemy's counterattack will definitely be ferocious, and there may even be sacrifices!"

So... is my future self some sort of terrifying monster? Hoshino thought, confused, as Akasha dragged her down the hallway.

That said, if sacrifices were indeed necessary, she secretly hoped Musashi would step up for the role.

Bang!

Akasha slammed the door shut with all her might, transforming it into an imaginary barrier between time and space.

"Yo~ You're back so soon. What's with the terrified expressions?" Musashi greeted them nonchalantly, still lounging on the sofa, having merely swapped her previous snack for a new one.

"We saw... me!" Hoshino blurted, still in shock.

Musashi casually tossed a peanut into the air, catching it in her mouth. "Crunch, crunch~. So what? Isn't meeting yourself the whole reason you came here?"

Hoshino: (._.)?

"Yeah, why am I freaking out like this?" Hoshino realized she had completely fallen into Akasha's panicked rhythm.

But while the thought seemed simple enough, the actual experience of meeting oneself was entirely different. It wasn't something anyone could truly prepare for.

Akasha, still jittery, crossed her arms in righteous indignation. "With so many people around, of course, Hoshino-chan, as the fake, had to escape first! Otherwise, it'd be super awkward!"

"Why are you so quick to call me the fake? I'm also the real Hoshino Chiyuki!"

Knock, knock, knock~

Gentle yet rhythmic knocking came from the door. But to the two hiding behind the sofa, it sounded like the ominous chime of impending doom.

"They're here! What do we do?!" Hoshino, who had just resolved to stay calm, was now trembling behind the sofa with Akasha.

Sure enough, meeting oneself wasn't something ordinary people could handle. Especially when it was your future self—the version of you that held all the answers to the next ten years while you knew nothing. It felt like facing an invisible enemy.

Musashi, on the other hand, looked at the two of them with utter disbelief. "What's wrong with you two? It's just someone knocking at the door."

With a nimble flip, Musashi stood up and dusted off her hands. "If you're both so scared, let me handle this~."

"Musashi?" Hoshino hesitated, remembering Akasha's earlier dramatic talk of sacrifices. Should she stop her?

But Musashi waved dismissively. "Don't worry. I'm not afraid of anything~."

The crisp sound of the lock turning echoed ominously, and the barrier between time and space was breached.

"Ahhh!!!"

Hoshino: "It's over—Musashi-chan has been sacrificed!"

Akasha: "Wahhh! It's all our fault, Musashi!"

"I'm not sacrificed!" Musashi retorted, annoyed. She turned toward the two Hoshinos now standing in the room, one by the door and one still peeking nervously from behind the sofa.

"There really are two Masters. How fascinating! So you're the Master from the future?"

"Musashi? Future?" The Hoshino at the door tilted her head slightly. "I don't remember summoning you yet."

Musashi's cheerful expression turned stormy in an instant. "So cruel! Ten years and you still haven't summoned me?! Master, you don't love me at all!"

Hoshino facepalmed. "You've never been in the banner! How could I summon you? Anyway, if Musashi is here, that confirms my suspicion."

Future Hoshino—Hoshino-Sensei—calmly stepped into the room and locked the door behind her. "Nice job cleaning the room, Akasha-chan. Looks like you actually listened to what I said this morning."

So, the fight you two had wasn't just about last night's injuries—it was also because of this yellow-haired girl's messy room?

No response.

Hoshino-Sensei adjusted her glasses and placed her hands on her hips. "Stop hiding, you two. Your ahoge is sticking out."

"Eep! Hehe~. Hello, Sensei!" Resigned, Akasha forced a nervous smile as she stood up, scratching her head sheepishly.

"And the other one?"

Peeking out from behind the sofa, Hoshino stared at her future self. "This is future me? Surprisingly calm and cool—truly worthy of being me..."

Hoshino-Sensei sighed, meeting her gaze. "And this is me from the past? Surprisingly cute and youthful—truly worthy of being me..."

The awkward first meeting left both Hoshinos oddly captivated by each other.

.

..

...

After recounting her experience since crossing over, Hoshino finally sighed in relief.

"So, you're from ten years ago? It's hard to believe, but..." Hoshino-Sensei gently removed the black-rimmed glasses from Hoshino's face. "With this level of cuteness, it's not something easily faked."

Blushing furiously, Hoshino's heart raced. "This is bad—I'm feeling charmed by myself?! Calm down, Chiyuki! Being moved by your own cuteness is way too narcissistic!"

After removing the glasses, Hoshino-Sensei continued. "But I can say for certain, I've never time-traveled."

Hoshino blinked, puzzled. "Never time-traveled? Not even after collecting the Egyptian God Cards?!" With her personality, there was no way her future self wouldn't have taken advantage of that opportunity.

Hoshino-Sensei gave a wry smile. "I never collected the Egyptian God Cards. I lost to Yugi during the Battle City Finals. And as for using the cards to travel through time, this is the first I'm hearing of it."

"How is that possible? This is completely different from my experience..." Hoshino stared at the calm, serious expression of her future self. It didn't seem like she was joking.

Hoshino-Sensei adjusted her glasses, her tone analytical. "It actually makes sense. Have you ever heard of parallel worlds? Depending on choices made at certain moments, two entirely different futures can arise."

"Ah! So I ended up in the wrong timeline, Sensei?"

"That's right, Chiyuki-chan. You're quite the little scatterbrain, aren't you~."

The two spoke in sync, their identical tones making Akasha and Musashi stare in silent disbelief.

Akasha interjected, "So, that means this version of Hoshino-chan not only collected all the Egyptian God Cards but also defeated Yugi! She's way better than Sensei here!"

Playfully hooking her arm around Hoshino, Akasha stuck her tongue out at Hoshino–Sensei, still clearly holding a grudge from their earlier argument.

Hoshino scratched the back of her head with a sheepish laugh. "I wouldn't say I defeated him exactly... at the time—"

Back then, Yugi could have forced a draw but chose not to.

"If that's the case, then the crucial decision that split the timelines must have been this event?" Hoshino asked thoughtfully.

Hoshino–Sensei waved dismissively, looking incredulous. "No, no, no. What you're describing is something I'd never do. Challenging both Yugi and Kaiba on my own? That's just reckless. The timeline must've diverged long before that."

Hoshino flopped onto the sofa with a groan. "Ugh, it's impossible to figure out where it all went wrong. So many things happen every day—how am I supposed to know the exact moment that changed everything?"

This would definitely be a job for Sherlock Holmes.

Hoshino–Sensei gently patted Hoshino's head, her tone soothing. "Even if we can't figure it out, it's okay. The timelines have already split. What's important now is finding a way to send you back."

"Wow, you're so reliable, future me!" For once, Hoshino felt she could depend on someone other than her Servants. It was strange but comforting to entrust everything to herself—or rather, her future self.

This person might just replace me as the protagonist!

"Master, have you already figured out a way to send her back?" Musashi asked curiously.

"Haha, who do you think I am?" Hoshino–Sensei adjusted her glasses confidently, then sighed with a wry smile.

"I'd love to say I have, but sorry, I don't have any leads. Like I said, this is the first I've heard of the Egyptian God Cards being able to cross time."

Hoshino slumped even further into the sofa. It made sense, though. If the timelines were different, her future self not knowing about this wasn't surprising.

"Does this mean I'll have to use the last resort—collect the Egyptian God Cards again?" It was the only idea Hoshino could come up with, though it would be a hassle. At least she still had the three Wicked God Cards in her possession.

"About that..." Hoshino–Sensei's expression turned awkward. "Unfortunately, that won't work either. The Egyptian God Cards no longer exist in this world."

Hoshino froze, as if struck by lightning. "What do you mean they don't exist anymore? How is that possible?"

"Because Yugi—no, the Pharaoh—he's already..."

BOOM!

A deafening explosion rattled the room, as if a bomb had detonated nearby.

"Ahhh!!"

Screams of terror and despair echoed throughout the dormitory.

Musashi immediately drew her blades, her entire body tensing. "Careful, Master. This is the densest concentration of killing intent I've ever felt."

"Outside!" Akasha stammered, pointing a trembling finger at the window before collapsing to the floor in fright.

A massive black mechanical dragon was barreling straight toward the Obelisk Blue dormitory—its trajectory aimed directly at their room.

"An enemy attack?" Musashi declared, leaping through the shattered window.

"Then let me, Shinmen Musashi, face you! Niten Ichi-ryū—"

The clash between Musashi and the mechanical dragon was over in seconds. With incredible speed, her twin blades slashed into the dragon's metallic head, sparks flying from the impact.

"—Ishana, Daitenshou!!"

Musashi's technique was sharp and precise, cleaving the dragon cleanly in half. Its segmented body crashed heavily to the ground, split in two.

Hoshino let out a sigh of relief. "Musashi really is reliable in critical moments. If it weren't for her, we might've been turned into a Hoshino pancake just now."

"Master, now's not the time to relax," Musashi warned, her gaze fixed on the blackened sky. Her eyes trembled slightly. "In fact, you might want to tense up even more."

Daylight had turned to darkness—the sky completely obscured. The only explanation was...

"A monster swarm? Why is there another monster swarm?!" Despairing cries echoed from outside.

The blackened sky was teeming with Duel Monsters, so densely packed they blotted out the sun. Only now did Hoshino and Musashi understand why the academy called it a "beast wave."

It was a true, unrelenting tide of Duel Monsters, their numbers beyond comprehension.

"What the hell is this?!" Hoshino's jaw dropped at the sight. "I thought the Duel Monster attacks here would only be slightly worse than the ones in Domino City..."

If the incidents in Domino City were like monster brawls, then this was a full-scale war.

To put it in perspective, this was the difference between facing 20 monsters and facing 20,000. Hoshino had no way of counting the swarm.

Hoshino–Sensei clicked her tongue, her brows furrowed. "I knew it. The previous attacks at night were just to mislead us into thinking the monster swarms only happened after dark."

Hoshino felt a chill. "If this is all being orchestrated by Paradox, then..."

"Then he's not pulling any punches. He waited until the academy was at its weakest to launch his final attack. Looks like this is the real deal."

The sheer scale of this assault made it clear: Paradox was ready to sound the final trumpet of war.

Akasha clutched her injured arm, trembling uncontrollably. "Sensei, what's going to happen to us? There's no way we can win this, right?"

"Mm, normally it would be impossible to win." Hoshino–Sensei activated her Duel Disk, glancing at her younger self with a sly smile.

"But Paradox made a miscalculation. Our hope has traveled through time to stand with us!"

(*****)

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