[PDC] Chapter 1

30 Oct, 2026

There was an onslaught of rumours running amok on social media about the wandering spirit of a small child, spotted in the science campus of Fuseda University at night. While the specifics about the identity and origin of the child seemed to mutate as the story changed hands, there was a number of specifics that could be pinned down in each iteration of the story: it was a girl dressing on a red kimono that had long, unkempt white hair tied in two ponytails, and she was around 1 metre tall. They also said that she was capable of granting a wish if one offered a proportional offering to her, in the form of food, toys or a mix of both.

It took no time for occult content creators to whip up videos talking about the Red Girl of Fuseda, asking AI to generate false pictures with a blurry silhouette or to come up with a gruesome backstory for the girl in order to maximise engagement. One of the most popular videos at the moment suggested that the girl was actually an adult student who had been locked up in the bathroom by a classmate she rejected earlier that day; another one explained that she was the neglected daughter of one of the campus gardeners, who had come looking for him but died of a nasty wound infection after tripping on his shears. Over time, the Red Girl of Fuseda became so well-known that some TV broadcasts began to come up with their own stories and falsified evidence of her existence, all attempting to one-up each other and engross their audience ratings.

It was in the face of these preposterous allegations that self-proclaimed paranormal detective Yuna Kuujaku decided to step up and do her own research, clean the name of the Red Girl of Fuseda and help her pass on to the next life.

These were the kinds of thoughts that populated her mind as she sat on an old, worn out office chair that had been left abandoned on the hallways of the history building, forever waiting for the day in which someone would take pity on its soul and take it to a recycling plant but instead being forced to withstand the wild shaking and spinning of an undergraduate student that had no better place to loiter around in after class after being denied a classroom where she could hold club activities in, hinging on some technicality about how every extracurricular club required at least two members to be officially recognised by the vice chancellor. What the higher ups didn't seem to want to grasp was that she would have such a much easier time promoting her club activities —thus attracting new members, which would allow her to hold even more activities— if she had a classroom to meet with them, as that would have given her some sorely-needed legitimacy when defending the rights of cryptids.

As she was pondering over these thoughts, the door next to her open violently, revealing an upset middle-aged man who seemed to be holding back his own anger as he took off his earbuds.

“Ms Kuujaku, please leave this hallway immediately," he requested in a stern tone. "Do you not realise that you are disturbing everyone’s work?”

“I would not be here if you had given me a room for my club, prof!”

The man in question was the dean of the History faculty himself, a chubby man with pronounced eyebags and a black hair that was beginning to grey out. He rubbed the bridge of his nose while sighing.

“Are you bringing this up again? I am not going to acknowledge a club that has a single member. Now scram, I am in a meeting.”

“But other members will come once we have a place to meet up! Plus I am barely making any noises, teach'.”

The frown on his face deepened as Yuna kept talking back to him.

“Quit loitering in the hallways and go back home! Or better yet, head to the tables at the end of the hallway and study. When I was your age, it was people like you that always ended up sobbing and complaining that the exams were too difficult.

“And what is with you calling me ‘teach’? It is 'Professor Daichi', I will let you know.” He pointed to the sign on his door as he complained, which contained his full name and tutoring hours. There was also a poster promoting the Historical Reenactment Club, which was currently recreating the Punic wars and inviting students to attend as audience. “Did your parents teach you no manners?”

Noticing that he was reaching the end of his patience, Yuna decided to consider take the loss with what little grace her soured mood allowed her to, as she reluctantly stood up from the chair and picked up her crossbody bag from the ground to leave. But just as she called the lift in order to leave the building, the doors opened in front of her, revealing one of her English class classmates inside.

"Oh hey, bestie! How's it goin'?"

The girl in question was Inoue Shimabara, a tall and chubby student with short black hair that took custom in wearing loose black dresses to school, which could only be told apart by either the design of their collars or the fabric patches stuck to them. It was a stark contrast to Yuna's long blonde hair tied into two unkempt ponytails, long grey jeans and red male sports jacket with the word "Osiris" embroidered on the back.

Inoue's dress had a white peter pan collar and no patches attached today - it was probably new.

"Oh, Yuna," Inoue acknowledged dully, shifting the weight between her feet.

After a second, Yuna asked, "so... How's it goin'?"

"Oh, it was a question." There was no inflection in her voice. She always seemed to be absent-minded. "It is all good."

Like an afterthought, Inoue added, "how about you?"

The resentment from her recent discussion with Mr Daichi lingered fresh in her mind, but Yuna decided to not bore her classmate with details.

"Good, good. By the by...! Are you interested in joining an exciting club full of adventures and mystery?" She put on her cutest face.

Inoue pursed her lips as her eyes darted all across Yuna's body except her eyes. "I... Am already in a club."

"Wait, really? But the year just started! When did you even have the time to go over all the clubs we have?"

"Well, you see - the thing is that I saw a poster for a literature club and I had to join."

"Literature?" Yuna was caught halfway between bafflement and amusement. "But you are already doing a degree in literature! Do you not get tired of reading so much, bestie?"

"Ah, no." It was rare to see her smile. "This is not a book club, it is a... A writing club. What we do is writing ourselves and giving each other feedback."

"Oh... Yeah. Guess you wanna be a writer, then?"

Inoue hissed the faintest of affirmations, but her sparkling eyes were loud enough for Yuna to understand that there was no point trying to dissuade her — as much as she would have wanted to count with Inoue in her ranks, she felt guilty at the idea of getting between a person and their dream.

Not that it made defeat any less bitter.

"Well, good luck with your club," Yuna said, deflated, before walking away.

"Yuna, wait!" Inoue said at the last second, almost on impulse. Yuna turned around, visibly excited. "I think... I think you should start by trying to do some investigations on your own, get the word out that you are doing this." Inoue brushed the back of her ear, tucking an imaginary lock of hair behind. "The grapevine is the strongest marketing tool at our disposal, so you should exploit it as much as you can." After a momentary pause, Inoue concluded, "I will also keep my eye open for anyone who may be into the paranormal, so I can mention your club to them. You can do it!"

Inoue's encouragement felt bittersweet, but Yuna still managed to force a smile while giving her a thumbs-up as she called the lift again. It was not the outcome she expected, but she appreciated that Inoue tried to be there for her.

And yet, despite everything, it remained a fact that the club would not survive on pure word of mouth and good intentions. After making a detour to grab a hot coffee, Yuna headed to the metro station right next to the north exit of the campus and mindlessly trotted down the stairs with her phone in hand, checking which train she had to ride in order to get to her stop.

Why was it so hard to gather members for the club, anyway? The concept was pretty unique and attractive seen from outside, after all: she was offering people the chance to investigate the numerous urban legends and supernatural rumours that seemed to abound in the city, a unique chance to bring to real life all those lively discussions that had been confined to internet forums and image boards up until that point. She would have been dying to join a club like that herself, which is why she was working so hard to get it off the ground — all for the sake of thrill, adventure and finding like-minded individuals! And yet, despite all her efforts to move to the capital and attend an important university, she still found herself alone in her ambitions and aspirations.

Once Yuna climbed the stairs to leave the station, headed towards a tall building sporting a number of square signs stacked together, announcing all manner of businesses hosted within. But instead of entering the building to access any of them, she walked past into the barren alleyway besides it, hosting an electric post with yellow and black tape, a "one coin" vending machine and a lonely door on the opposite side. Beyond that door awaited a long and narrow corridor, decorated only by a set of stairs, a door with a sign that read "restricted access" and a lift at the deep end, emitting a blueish light through the glass window that made up for the lack of lightbulbs at night. The sheer liminality of the place seemed to push everyone who stepped inside for the first time towards the lift, perhaps seeking to pry their eyes away from the barren walls and the descending stairs heading into a pitch black abyss from where a number of clanking noises seemed to emerge when one least expected it. For someone as seasoned as Yuna however, the noises coming from the pipes had become an integral part of the experience, a constant reminder that the building was actually bustling with life if one dared to so much as peruse the floors above.

Climbing the stairs to the second floor led to a similarly narrow corridor, this time lit by two ceiling lamps that revealed a number of posters announcing what all manner of board games, expansions and related merchandise. The lack of natural sunlight had become a blessing in disguise for the owner, as the posters had managed to retain their popping colours after being hung for years.

And at the end of the hallway lay a single open door leading to a card game shop, to which she unconsciously rushed with brisk step and a renewed energy, eager to take in the smell of old cardboard and air conditioner blasting from the ceilings.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" She shouted as she stepped inside, startling the cashier and making her look for the source of the noise.

Despite the owners' efforts to make the place feel as roomy as possible, truth was that the shop still felt rather narrow and difficult to traverse, as it was filled with tall and long shelves full of card game boxes, accessories and figurines that they proudly displayed for sale. The upside of such a crammed place was that it was very difficult for visitors to pocket anything discreetly, and if they were called out for suspicious activity, the strategic position of the counter allowed the cashier to stand in front of the door before the thief had time to wiggle their way through. The only problem was the lack of air circulation, which highlighted the shortcomings of any hygienically challenged individuals and prompted the shop to establish a hygiene policy.

And so, while foreign tourists lost their minds discussing the figurines from the TV show they could vaguely remember having watched in their childhood and the locals commented on the high prices of the retro accessories available on display with sardonic remarks, Yuna headed straight to the glass counter to peek through its shelves and see if there was any new releases, a soothing balm to her aching heart and an insidious poison to her wallet.

"How's business today, Jono?" Yuna asked to the cashier whilst kneeling onto the floor to check the shelves of the glass counter, trying to see whether they had brought the latest expansion of Druids and Necromancy to the shop.

"Mr Katsuya is not currently available at the shop," explained the cashier behind the counter, trying to hazard a guess as to what it is that Yuna is looking for. "Are you looking for anything in particular, dear customer?"

Surprised by the feminine voice of the cashier, Yuna finally looked over the counter. "Woah, new face!"

The cashier stood behind the counter in an abash pose, her hands holding together in front of her yellow apron. It was rather surprising for Yuna to find someone wearing short, ripped jeans and a heavy metal T-shirt while adopting such an insecure pose at the same time, having always thought of rock fans as bold and shameless.

"Well... Yes, this is my first day," the cashier explained as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, which quickly went back to its previous position. "Are you perhaps acquainted with Mr Katsuya?"

"Yeah, I am the parasite that keeps roaming this shop every day without ever buying anything," Yuna boasted. The cashier had to do a double take mentally of what she just said. "My mom's a close friend of the owner, so I've known him since I was a child," Yuna finally explained, noticing as her joke had not garnered the reaction she was aiming for. "Name's Yuna."

"... I-I see. My name is Yukari Kajiki, and I will be the new cashier at Kamen Gamer starting today," she explained before bowing. "It is a please to meet you, Ms. Yuna."

"Hey, ya can cut it out with the royalties, Yuu."

"So were you looking for something in particular, Yuna?"

"Yeah, I see you have received the latest expansion of DnN at the shop," Yuna said, peeking through the glass again. "Can ya get it for me, bestie?"

Yukari flinched at being addressed so casually by a stranger, but she still complied with the request. "Uhm, may I ask which one is the latest expansion...?" She asked, not really managing to guess just from Yuna's gaze alone.

"How come, you don't know Druids and Necromancy?" Yuna asked, blinking in disbelief. "But ya work in here!"

"W-well, I... Apologise, but Mr Katsuya never said I needed to familiarise myself with the games we sale."

"That won't do, bestie, ya need to be proactive! That way you can do stuff like advising customers on the best products and they would go out the door thinking, 'this the best card game shop in town!'"

As Yukari was about to apologise due to a sense of duty on the job, a middle aged blonde man with a 5 o'clock shadow on his face entered through a door at the deep end of the shop carrying a cardboard box on his shoulder. Quickly catching on to the situation that was unfolding at the front, he hurried to deescalate what he perceived to be a self-entitled customer whilst still carrying the box with him.

"Excuse me," the man said from behind Yuna, "but I would beg you to please treat our employees with res..."

"Jono!?" Yuna turned around as soon as she recognised the voice behind her.

"Wait, Yuna? What the hell are you doing, screaming to the poor girl?"

"I was just telling her that ya guys would sell more if she knew about the game!"

"What game?" He groaned. "Whatever; give her a break, will you? This is literally her first day, and you are already scaring her with demands."

Yuna's face turned sullen, but she reluctantly looked at Yukari, who seemed to be forcing a smile to stay professional. The tautness of her face seemed to signal that she was not used to smiling on command. Would she really do well as a cashier?

"I'm sorry, Yukari," the man said. "I promise that Yuna is a good kid deep down, okay?" He put a hand over Yuna's shoulder, which seemed to mollify her somewhat. "She is just a bit too earnest, I guess."

"Whaddaya mean, deep down? I am a nice girl on the surface too!" Yuna retorted. "But I still think she should learn to play the game."

"See what I mean?" He muttered under his breath, beaming a smile of complicity to the cashier, whose shoulders seemed to lower. "But you know, I actually think she is onto something," he continued after a few moments, putting a hand over his chin as he spoke. "You both moved to Tokyo to attend university, right? And the school year's just begun, so you probably haven't had a chance to meet new friends yet, I presume? So why don't you take the chance to become friends with Yuna? She's a nice kid when she sets her mind to it."

"I don't need to put my mind to it!" She retorted again, putting her hands on her hips as she inched forward and squinted, clearly trying to put on an act.

Yukari frowned again, an awkward feeling washing over her at the idea of being paired with such an excitable person, but unsure as to how she could politely reject the offering without hurting anyone's feelings.

"So why don't you let Yuna teach you how to play the game?"

"Uhm, Mr Katsuya, am I not supposed to be attending the shop? I cannot really leave my post just to play a game."

"Ah, don't worry about that! I am pretty much done with the inventory in the backroom, so I can pick it up from here," he declared, beaming a thumbs-up to her from the other side of the counter. "Hand me the apron and head to the playing tables in the third floor with Yuna."

"B-But, is it okay for me to be playing during my shift?"

"Yukari, a workplace where you cannot take breaks is not a healthy environment." He crossed his arms as she spoke. "If you are to take anything away from this job, it is to leave as soon as your shift ends and to take frequent breaks. Never let the higher-ups bully you into slavery."

She seemed to have unknowingly tapped into some painful memories. She could imagine him working long hours and being tricked by older employees into doing all the nasty and tedious work no one else wanted to do, just like the stories her father used to tell her back home.

This sudden shift in the conversation made it hard for Yukari to come up with more work-related excuses she could leverage to turn down Yuna, so she resigned herself to hand the apron to her boss.

"Wait, wait, wait! She's a newbie, Jono, we need to choose a deck for her."

"Actually, I reckon this could be the perfect moment to have you two test our newest product," the owner declared as he finally left the box he had been holding onto on the floor so he could open it. Inside were a collection of colourful boxes with the logo for the Druids and Necromancy card game proudly displayed at the top, the words '2-player starter pack' written below. "This box contains two decks and an instruction booklet that describes a scripted duel. The idea is that you should be able to pick up on the basic mechanics as you play, without having to read the rules online. Neat, huh?"

The owner handed them the starter pack and two packs of card sleeves before sending her onto the third and topmost floor of the building, with Yuna leading the way.

As in the floor below, there was a single door in a hallway that was otherwise packed with posters and advertisements in equal measure. Unlike the floor below, the room it led to felt much more spacious due to the lack of shelves stacked top-to-bottom, even if most of the floor space was taken by long rows of tables and chairs.

The tables were admittedly cheap-looking but functional, white wooden panels resting on top of silver-painted aluminium legs that looked well taken care of, and the chairs seemed to be in a reasonably good condition. The walls had signs in a number of languages reminding players to be civilised, asking them to refrain from eating and drinking and pointing out that "insufficient hygiene" constituted grounds for expulsion. Yukari had initially joked about the hot and humid Kanto summer upon seeing that particular sign, but the owner quickly recapitulated how it only took him a week to make it a permanent staple of the shop, with a stern expression that only further highlighted the severity of the situation.

There were a few people playing here and there, but it was mostly silent, save for the brief snippets of people announcing which cards they were playing and passing turn.

"Don't worry, it will get more lively on the weekend," Yuna pointed out, failing to realise the word 'lively' had negative connotations within customer-facing positions.

Taking a seat in one of the tables at the deep end of the room, Yuna put the box in between them and opened it up. The first thing they encountered were two folded glossy paper mats greeting them, which they unfurled and placed in front of them. Each paper mat contained two rows divided into five rectangular cells each and four cells surrounding them. Three of the four cells were labelled 'deck', 'graveyard' and 'exile', but the fourth one was blank. They could also see the logo for the game through the two central rows of cells, as well as some abstract gradients decorating the background.

Once the paper mats were taken out, the box revealed a foam casing that held two decks wrapped in plastic, with a card at the top that asked players not to shuffle them before playing for the first time. One of them was labelled as 'sea deck', whereas the other was labelled as 'pirate deck'.

"Which one do you prefer, bestie?" Yuna asked. Without missing a beat, Yukari took the sea deck, which seemed to please Yuna as she took the pirate deck.

"That's the booklet!" Yuna claimed as she tossed aside the foam. It seemed to have been printed in landscape, presumably so that it could sit in between both players and facilitate following the instructions.

Before they began, Yuna took her phone out of her jacket's pocket and placed it in the middle of the table. The cracked screen showed two big counters, each one displaying 8000 life points, along with arrow buttons that showed the plus and minus signs, a button with a star embedded in a circle and a button that said "1/2" on both sides of the screen.

Each of them drew five cards from the top of their decks, and Yukari went first. She set a vessel card called 'Sea Shell' onto the leftmost cell of her back row, and a spirit card called 'Hermit Crab' on the front row, sharing column with the former card. She paid 500 life points for casting Hermit Crab and passed turn.

"My turn. Draw! I set a Salty Bandana on my vessel zone." Yuna placed a vessel card with 0 defence points on the middle of the back row. "And channel the level 2 Novice Buccaneer on top of Salty Bandana!" She paid 1000 life points to place a spirit card on top of the vessel card, just like Yukari did with Hermit Crab. "Battle! Novice Buccaneer attacks!"

In Druids and Necromancy, spirits attacked the opposing player directly, leaving it up to the opponent to choose whether they would block with a spirit of their own. Yukari chose to counteract with Hermit Crab, meaning that both cards would inflict their attack points as damage to the opposing vessel's defence. If a vessel's defence was lower than the inflicted damage, it would be destroyed and sent to the graveyard, along with the spirit card channeled into it, and the vessel's owner would take the difference as damage.

After the battle concluded, Yukari stood at 7000 life points, whereas Yuna had 6500.

"I end my turn," Yuna declared, crossing her arms in satisfaction despite having less life points and sharing an empty board with Yukari.

Yukari nodded and drew for turn. She set a face-down card on the back row and made a hand gesture to Yuna to pass the turn.

"Don't be afraid of getting in character, Yuu!" Yuna said as she drew for turn. "I set Antique Cannon on the vessel zone, and channel the level 3 spirit Master Powder Monkey." Yuna's life points lowered to a round 5000 for a 500 attack spirit.

"I activate Master Powder Monkey's effect!" She announced. Yukari craned her neck to try and see what this effect was. "When it is channeled to a gun-type vessel, I can destroy a vessel card on the field." Yuna made a finger gun with her free hand and pointed it towards the face-down card on Yukari's back row. "Warning shot!"

In response, Yukari swiftly flipped up the face-down card. "The face-down card is Demon's Watch, which enters with two leap counters on it. Whenever it is going to be destroyed, I can remove one leap counter from it instead."

Her deadpan explanation almost made Yuna shiver, an ice water bucket compared to her excited description of her actions. She did not even recite the name of the ability!

"Put the die," Yuna pointed out.

"Huh?"

"When a card has counters, you have to place a die on top to indicate how many it has. In this case you have to put it with the 'one' face up."

Yuna reached out for a solitary die that remained trapped in the foam filler for the 2-player starter pack and placed it on top of Demon's Watch, the 'one' face pointing up.

"In any case — I will attack with Master Powder Monkey!"

"I defend myself with Demon's Watch, and its effect activates." Yukari replied as she took the die away. "I prevent its destruction by removing a second leap counter on it."

"But you still take the damage!" Yuna declared as she lowered Yukari's life points to 6500. "I end my turn."

Yukari drew for turn. "I place a new vessel on the field, Mermaid's Rock!" She placed a vessel card with 2000 defence points. "I also channel the level 6 monster Moby Dick to Rusty Watch for 3000 life points!" Casting such an expensive card was a serious commitment that reduced her life points to 3500, but her efforts were rewarded with a 3000 attack body that dwarfed Master Powder Monkey by a long shot. It was then and there that the script finished, encouraging players to carry on with the duel in their own terms and explaining a few keywords that were used across the deck.

"I guess that makes me into Captain A-ham, yo ho ho!" Yuna declared.

"Ahab."

"Yeah, that."

"In any case... Moby Dick, attack Yuna!"

"Hoho, so you dare attack me with your biggest monster, o ruthless sea, thinking that I am some kind of greenhorn puppy that will turn tail and scram off as soon as a big body is swung against me? I will then have to show you that I am as staunch as I am old, and I swear to the relentless sun up in the sky to take your challenge head on!"

Instead of blocking Yukari's attack with Ancient Cannon, which would probably have been the reasonable move in her position, Yuna decided to spare the life of her Master Powder Monkey and tank the 3000 points of damage as-is, reducing her life points to 2000. Yukari was puzzled by this move, as Master Powder Monkey's effect only triggered when it was summoned, so it was of no use if she sought to take down Moby Dick. If she did nothing on her next turn and kept sparing her spirit card, she would die in one hit; if she gave in to the direness of the situation and used Ancient Cannon as a sacrificial pawn, her bold move would have been in vain.

And yet, Yuna smiled as she drew for turn.

"I tribute Master Powder Monkey on my field to reduce the level of a spirit in my hand by its own. Sharpshooter of the golden arrow, point your bow to the skies beyond and make my message reach the Heavens!"

Yuna moved Master Powder Monkey to the graveyard without a second thought before setting a new card on top of Ancient Cannon.

"Tribute summon - manifest yourself, Archer of the Sailed Away!"

The card depicted a woman with long blue hair, clad in a silver armour, who carried a bow as big as herself on her hands and a quiver chock full of golden arrows. The card was originally a level 6 with a cost of 3000 life points, but tribute summoning had allowed her to subtract Master Powder Monkey's level from its own, allowing her to only pay 1500 life points to cast it. To Yukari, it sounded like Yuna had performed a ritual by offering Monkey's soul to offset the cost.

"I activate Archer's effect: when it is tribute summoned, I halve the attack points of a spirit. And I of course choose Moby Dick. Shot of weakness!"

Even without taking her effect into consideration, Archer of the Sailed Away still had 2500 attack points. Now that she had also reduced Moby Dick's attack, she could destroy Demon's Watch while preserving her own spirit.

"Yukari, I attack with Archer! Triumph of Power!"

There was only one reasonable course of action.

"I block with Moby Dick!"

Yukari's life points went down to 1000, and Demon's Watch –which had no leap counters remaining– was destroyed.

And yet, Moby Dick was not.

"Seems like I underestimated you after all," Yuna claimed with a smirk.

Moby Dick now rested atop Mermaid's Rock, like a ghost that haunted Yukari's side of the field. "Moby Dick's effect. If the vessel it is channeled to is destroyed and I have an empty vessel on the field, I channel it to that vessel." Her lifeless explanation seemed to dampen Yuna's excitement once again, but she remained silent.

Yuna nodded, closing her eyes in satisfaction. "I end my-"

"No, you do not end your turn yet," interrupted a voice from the other end of the room.

Yuna, who had her back against the entrance to the room, could not have reasonably known that there was someone listening as their game unfolded. The man walked towards them and stood on the side of the table, glancing at the cards for a second.

"Yuna, there is no greater disrespect to a fellow duelist than handicapping yourself!"

"Jono? How long have you been here for?"

"Mr Katsuya, should you not be watching over the shop?"

"Eh, there was no one in the shop, so I took a short bathroom break and sneaked in to see if you two were seeing eye to eye." He winked to Yukari in complicity. "But I did not expect Yuna to be throwing the duel just after such a good comeback, though." His voice turned critical, like Yuna was her employee.

"Come on Jono, cut the girl some slack. It is the first time she's playing the game."

"What slack do you want me to cut her? Looking at the board, I think you two are toe-to-toe. If anything, I'd say Yukari had the upper hand, up until you summoned Archer this turn."

"Uhm," Yukari interjecetd. "Could you explain what the problem is here?"

Jonouchi slid Ancient Cannon towards Yukari's side of the field, pointing to its textbox.

"In other words, Yuna had already won. She only had to activate its effect to inflict you 1250 points of damage."

"But that's kind of anti-climactic, man. You are supposed to root for the rookie, right? To start her off with a victory so–"

"A novice duelist is like a block of marble," Jonouchi interrupted again. "Each defeat is a hit from a chisel that will further define their playstyle and enhance their skill. By giving Yukari a vacuous victory, you were depriving her from a change to further shape herself as a player. You must Always swing your mace with all your might."

Yuna still seemed troubled by the prospect of overpowering a complete novice, but she could see some reason in his words. Ever since she was a child, her mother had made her play chess with her every Sunday morning, and not once had she managed to beat her. But after every loss, she would make a point of explaining the moment Yuna had made a misplay, and how that became the catalyst for her defeat. She always felt like her mother was somehow coming on top, each time devising new and more devious traps to box her in, keeping her on her toes at all times.

Yuna turned 15 when she finally managed to beat her mother. It was November 28 in the morning, and they were taking shelter under the tabletop brazier when her mother had brought the board so they could forget about the biting cold in the room. Yuna felt like she was in the zone, losing sight of the room as they moved piece after piece, a franctic battlefield where pieces were falling left, right and centre. While she didn't know at the time it had a name of its own, Yuna had begun to fall down a capture chain with her mother that resulted in her —coincidentally or subsconsciously— aiming at white king. And by the time she realised she had cornered the king, she had to stop, check the board twice, make sure she had not missed anything. It was then that she saw her mother clap from the opposite side of the board for the first time.

"Well done, Yuna. I can no longer teach you any more," she said, wiping joy and sorrow together with the heel of her hand.

"...mom, it was all a... Whachamacallit? A lucky accident. You cannot count that." She never thought she would best her mother; she could not take full ownership of her victory.

"There's no luck in chess, Yuna," her mother replied, crossing her arms. "Luck is when you shuffle a deck or throw dice. But every move in a chessboard is deliberate; you intuitively set up the entire boardstate to stay in control of the chain," she said.

Back in the present, Yuna sighed, conflicted.

"I will get back to the shop now. You girls should get some sleeves and play a second round, but for real this time." He tossed the booklet aside before leaving.

"So, so! Did you enjoy the game?" Yuna asked eagerly as she rested her body on the edge of the table.

Yukari stirred on her chair, unsure as to whether she wanted to encourage Yuna's behaviour by admitting that she found the game entertaining or pretend she didn't care much about it and forget about the whole ordeal. She was about to lean on the latter, but then the memory of the deck her sister had made as a gift stabbed her squarely in the chest. Feigning indifference to a stranger would have been one thing, but she could not blemish her sister's memory like that.

"I guess it was not all that bad," she conceded, trying to come off as indifferent in hopes that Yuna would be put off by her response. But as she stood up, something flat and rigid fell out of her pocket, sliding right below the table where they were standing. She hurried to try and catch it, but Yuna had the faster fingers and caught it.

"Wuzzat, bestie?"

It was one of those transparent card sleeves, displaying a Kitaca travel card that fit snuggly on one side; that much was nothing out of the ordinary. But as Yuna turned it around, she squealed in surprise. "So much for DnN not being all that bad...!"

The back side of the sleeve displayed a DnN foil card called Ariel, Master Papiromancer. She then handed it back to Yukari.

"It is a memento," Yukari muttered, visibly upset at having been caught red-handed. "I have never played the game, but I was given this card by someone."

"A Legend card, no less. Ya sure you weren't given like a full deck to go with it?"

"Well- I was."

"Then why didn't ya learn to play?"

Yukari sighed, her eyes looking beyond those walls. "I don't really care about this game. But the card is a memento," she repeated.

"So anyway," Yuna replied after a few moments. "Ya said ya were a college student, right? What are you studying?"

Yukari sighed. She could not think of a more abrupt change in topic if she tried, but it was perhaps better than an awkward silence, wondering when the topic would come out next. "English literature," she replied. "I'm a first year at Fuseda."

"Really!? Do you know Yui Shimabara, a chubby girl with short, black hair and freckles?"

"I... I haven't really paid much attention to my classmates," she confessed.

"I think she tends to sit on, like, a gap where no one is. She tends to sit apart from everyone. But I cannot resist but stick to her side in the history class...!" That seemed kind of rude. "Why dont'cha try to sit next to her tomorrow and chat her up a bit?"

Yukari felt caught up by the compromise. "Maybe," she excused.