(3rd Person PoV)

"Have you heard about this new spa that opened up?" Momo asked.

"Spa? Since when was there a new spa that opened up?" Natsuki asked.

"Since like two days ago, I think," Momo replied.

"Yes, I have heard of it. It's not that far off from the sweets shop that my family runs," Amai said, wistfully.

The other girls sweatdropped at this. They were still not used to having Amai around the friend group especially during lunch time like right now.

"Do you remember what it's called?" Tsumugi asked.

"I believe it's called Spa Avalanche. It has a snow mountain aesthetic which is why it's called that," Amai explained.

"Like, we should totes go there!" Momo declared.

"Like a girls day out?" Lily asked and Momo nodded.

"Totally! It's our final year so let's have some fun and make memories together before we all go off to do our own things after high school!" Momo said.

"I'm not opposed to it," Amai said.

"I guess it will be fun," Lily shrugged.

"Eh, maybe," Natsuki didn't seem so sure.

"What's your opinion, Yume?" Tsumugi turned to look at her who seemed to be not paying attention again.

"Yume!" Tsumugi shouted.

"Huh? Oh sure, I guess?" Yume asked, not knowing what the conversation was about.

"Then it's settled," Tsumugi said.

"Tomorrow, we will go to Spa Avalanche!" Momo cheered.

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(Later)

It was the end of the day and it was Yume's turn to clean the chemistry lab. She usually had a partner to help her but he got sick that day so she's doing it by herself.

She had her earbuds in as she was sweeping the floor with the broom. She dumped the stuff she sweep up into the trash.

Yume wiped her brow and turned to sweep some more when she felt someone touch her shoulder and she fell backwards.

"Oh no! I'm sorry!" Someone cried as Yume took out her earbuds while lying on the floor. She placed them in her pocket before looking at the person who cried out.

It was a girl around Beni's age with orange spiked up hair wrapped in a ponytail.

"Who are you?" Yume asked.

"M-My name is Akane Kaneko. I was sent to help you clean up the chemistry lab. Nice to meet you, Senpai!" The girl bowed quickly.

"Are you a first year?" Yume asked, getting up and the girl nodded.

"Alright then. I'm Yume Hibiki and well, I am almost done with cleaning this place up but I appreciate the extra help," Yume said.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Akane asked.

Yume thought about it and looked around the room.

"Hmmm. I think the tubes need to be organized and the cabinets that hold them need to be cleaned," Yume explained.

"Ok!" Akane gave her an ok sign and walked away.

Yume stared at her before going back to to sweeping the floor.

They were quiet for a couple of minutes before Akane spoke up.

"I-I saw that duel that you and your brother were in against the twins. I thought it was really...cool and inspired me a bit to duel more," she said.

"You duel?" Yume asked and Akane nodded.

"A bit. I'm not very good but I do duel," Akane explained.

"I see. Well if you were interesting in dueling me then I'm going to have to decline it for now because-," Yume started but Akane cut her off.

"Oh no, I didn't mean to challenge you like that! I just thought that you might want to know that you inspired me, that's all...S-Senpai," she said.

"Ah, sorry for assuming," Yume said, turning her head to finally look at the girl.

"N-No problem. Say, I heard that there's some interesting things happening around a spa that just opened up. It's just a rumor but I hear that some of the people that went there have a bit of an awe inspiring experience there and come back everyday," Akane said, trying to break the ice.

"...I see. Is the name of the spa, Spa Avalanche by chance?" Yume asked.

"!"

Akane glanced at her before replying, "Yeah, that's the one. How do you know?"

"My friends were talking about it earlier. They made plans on going there tomorrow," Yume explained.

"C-can I come with? I-I mean, can I tag along? I want to know if the rumors were true or not," Akane asked.

"Hmmm...," if Yume has to be frank, she barely knows this kid so having her tag along with her friends may seem kind of strange.

On the other hand, Yume has a weird feeling that Akane seems familiar so maybe having her tag along could jog her memory.

"Senpai?" Akane asked, feeling worried.

"Sure, why not?" Yume finally decided.

Akane's face grew into a wide grin and she gave the older girl a sharp nod.

"I won't get in the way!" She said.

I'm sure that everything will turn out fine, Yume thought.

(Time skip to tomorrow)

"Yume, what the heck?"

Ok, not a good first impression, Yume thought as Akane peeked out behind her to look at the other girls who were staring at the two.

Yume had picked up Akane by the park where she first dueled in a long time and the two of them had walked over to the spa. The other girls arrived earlier than the two.

When they got there, Tsumugi was the one who first spoke.

"She wanted to tag along so I let her," Yume explained.

"You can't just pick up random people like that and add them to the friend group. Couldn't you have at least let us know beforehand?" Tsumugi asked.

"I forgot," Yume shrugged.

"Now isn't the time to be so head in the clouds, Yume," Tsumugi sighed.

"Well, I do agree with Tsumugi that you could have let us know beforehand but we're here now so we'll deal with the consequences later," Natsuki sighed. She was dragged there by Momo and Lily but even she seemed excited to be there, judging by her ogling the window that displayed what you can do in there.

"We can even show her what we upperclassmen find fun," Amai added on.

"Uh-huh...well, like we'll deal with it later. For now, let's have fun, ok?" Momo asked.

The girls nodded.

They went in and got hit by the whiff of soap scents coming from who knows as soaps were stacked on displays.

A woman with honey blond hair wrapped in a bun greeted them from the front entrance.

"Hi there! First time here?" She asked.

"Yes. So where do we start?" Lily asked.

"Just simply sign in here and do a checklist of what you want to do. Keep in mind that certain things are more expensive than others but I hope that doesn't ruin your experience as here, it's a place to relax," the woman explained.

"We all have money right?" Natsuki asked.

"You're asking us that now?" Tsumugi asked.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure that we do," Lily assured the two.

Turns out, all of the girls brought in money. Even Akane, who came in last minute. That boosted everyone's opinions of her to be more positive.

"Ok, now check in here," the woman handed them all clipboards.

As Yume was writing in hers, she felt like someone was watching her from inside the spa. But when she looked up and looked around, she saw that no one was watching her.

Weird, I could have sworn that someone was watching me, she thought.

"Are you done already?" Amai asked, looking up from her clipboard.

"N-no, not yet," Yume said, shaking her head.

It was probably nothing, she thought as she looked down at her clipboard again.

After a small bit, she was done and gave the clipboard back to the woman.

"Ok, the lockers are just up ahead so leave personal belongings there. Here are the keys for your lockers so make sure not to lose them," the woman said and handed them all keys.

The girls nodded and walked towards the locker room. Yume's locker was between Akane's and Amai's locker.

She placed her phone and bag there before checking a pocket of her bag. Her cards were there, sealed up so the wet air wouldn't damage them.

Yume has been carrying them around in case someone challenges her to a duel again.

"Is that your deck?" Amai peeked over and Yume flinched.

"You brought them here?" Akane asked.

"Just in case," Yume murmured. She then added on, "I don't plan on using them today. Isn't this place supposed to be for relaxing?"

"Yes but I don't blame you for bringing them along. Who knows what will happen," Amai shrugged.

"Why does it sound like something bad is going to happen?" Akane asked, scared.

"Ohoho~! Not to worry, young Kohai. I'm just saying that someone could come up and challenge us to a duel. Just friendly competition," Amai assured her.

"O-oh, I see. Sorry for worrying you like that," Akane told her.

"It's nothing," Amai shook her head.

Yume then closed the locker door and motioned to where everyone else was waiting.

"We should go," she said.

"Ok!" Amai clapped her hands once and walked away, Yume and Akane behind her.

SPLASH!

"Hey, that's hot water! You're going to burn your skin off!" Tsumugi snapped as Lily jumped into the hot pool.

"Relax, Tsumugi. I have done this with hot springs before and nothing has happened to my skin. Besides, isn't it so relaxing?" Lily asked, stretching her arms out.

"Hmmph," Tsumugi puffed out her cheeks and turned away as she felt the water ripple against her.

She looked to see Momo laying on a beach chair with a facial mask and cucumbers on her eyes. She seemed to be at peace.

Somewhere else, Natsuki was getting a manicure from an employee. They were in deep conversation.

"So what was the inspiration for making the spa look like a snow mountain?" Natsuki asked.

"The owner was on a trip when they saw a natural hot spring in a mountain. I forgot exactly what it was but the owner really loves taking trips on mountains. Initially, she wanted to open up a small bathhouse but one thing led to another and she opened up a spa," the employee explained.

"Uh-huh...," Natsuki said, still confused.

That was barely an answer, she thought.

"Oh Takera, I see that you're in the middle of having a manicure done," Amai noted as she walked up to her.

"Yep. And you?" Natsuki asked.

"Well I just got done getting my hair washed so while it dries, I'm also getting a manicure," Amai explained.

She sat down next to Natsuki and an employee showed up.

Amai and Natsuki began to chat, mostly about each other's lives.

"So did you always go to Starry Night High or just this year?" Natsuki asked.

"I came in during second year but I haven't really made any noticeable appearances. Just here and there with the Baking Club," Amai explained.

"I see. Well, I hope you're welcomed in the friend group. Some of us have known each other since middle school so sorry if we seem cold to you," Natsuki apologized.

"No worries but you should really be apologizing to Kaneko although also chewing out Yume for making a last minute decision," Amai said.

"Yeah, I'll find the both of them later. I think I saw Kaneko wandering around the hot tub area. Once my nails are done, I'll go talk to her," Natsuki said.

"You go do that. Speaking of talking to people, where's Yume? I haven't seen her in a while," Amai said.

"Yeah she does that a lot. Yume wanders away a lot with her thoughts drifting off. I suppose that's part of her charm. Yume has always been interesting to me," Natsuki explained.

"Hmm? Interesting to you? How come?" Amai asked.

"Let's see...I guess it's just that you always never seem to know what Yume is thinking or is going to do next. You always get the feeling that even if she's an amateur, just stick around long enough to get surprised by her. At least that's how I feel," Natsuki explained.

"So it's surprising to you to learn that she duels?" Amai asked.

"It was when she and her brother dueled the twins. I wonder just how far my friend will go," Natsuki wondered.

Amai stayed quiet for a couple of seconds before giggling, "I think we have gotten closer, Takara. Can I call you by your first name now?"

"E-eh? Oh sure, I'm surprised that you haven't been doing that already," Natsuki stated.

"Depends on who I'm close to and right now, only you and Yume are the ones that I'm close to the most," Amai said with a smile.

Natsuki blushed at this and looked away.

"Th-thank you. Say, you are right. Where is Yume?" She asked, attempting to change the subject.

Meanwhile, in a hot tub somewhere in the spa, Yume was sitting there and holding onto her knees.

There was a stool nearby with her towel and hat stacked neatly on it.

She couldn't get this weird feeling out of her ever since she stepped foot into the rest of the spa. It was like someone was watching her.

A pervert perhaps? Or someone else? Yume thought and hugged herself.

This was supposed to be a day of relaxation but still. Something feels...off.

"There you are," Akane walked up to her and Yume lowered herself more into the hot tub.

"I was looking all over for you in order to tell you what I found," Akane explained.

"What?" Yume looked confused.

"I was looking for the bathrooms when I accidentally stumbled upon a doorway that leads to a cold and metal hallway. I wasn't quite sure where it leads so I thought I'd come and get you to help me out," Akane explained.

"You want me to help you snoop around?" Yume asked.

"Well, it's fine if you don't want to. I'd thought I'd tell you where I'm going in case it's time to leave," Akane explained.

"Well as your upperclassman and the one who brought you here with us, I suppose I can't let you go by yourself. Wait for me," Yume said and Akane nodded.

She left and Yume got out of the hot tub. She wrapped the towel around her and walked towards the lockers.

She quickly changed into her change of clothes, grabbed her bag, and had closed the locker only to see Tsumugi standing there.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Out for a bit. I'll be back," Yume explained.

"Not without me," Tsumugi shook her head.

"You sure?" Yume asked, tilting her head.

"Yes, I am sure. I overheard Kaneko talking to you about this hallway so I'm going with you to see what that's all about. Also, you have been drifting away lately so I'm concerned on that," Tsumugi crossed her arms.

"Have I?" Yume asked while picking at her nails, a nervous habit she had.

"Yes and I don't think I'm the only one noticing that," Tsumugi huffed.

"Oh," was all Yume said.

I guess I have been making last minute decisions as of late. I should be more careful, she thought.

"Now let's not stood up our underclassmen and go to where this hallway is," Tsumugi turned away and walked off with Yume following her.

They found Akane standing in front of a door. She noticed Yume and Tsumugi and slightly waved.

"Hey, I didn't know that Kaen-Senpai was also coming," Akane spoke up.

"Someone needs to keep an eye on you two," Tsumugi sighed.

"I see...well shall we enter?" Akane asked and pushed open the door before anyone could say anything.

The hallway was surprisingly quiet and, as Akane put it earlier, cold and metal. The three girls entered in and walked through it.

There were a couple of doors on the sides of the hallway but when one of them would try to open them, the doors wouldn't budge and a jiggle of the doorknobs would indicate that they were locked.

"How long is this hallway?" Tsumugi asked.

"I'm not too sure. Let's take a couple of minutes in here before we leave," Akane replied.

Tsumugi murmured under her breath that this was a waste of time when Yume felt a weird presence from a door to her right.

Normally the doors were of dark oak wood and weren't painted and had a brass doorknob. However this door was painted silver and had a white doorknob instead.

Something was beyond this door and Yume went to open it.

The doorknob turned with a click which means that it wasn't locked. Yume pushed the door open to see a blue room with holographic cubes floating around the place. It almost felt...scientific.

Tap.

Yume flinched and nearly fell forward when she felt someone touch her shoulder.

"Ah! Sorry, Yume!" She heard Lily stated and Yume turned around to see the rest of the girls standing there.

"How did you find us?" Yume asked.

"Just by pure luck. We were looking for you guys when Amai stumbled upon the opened door to this metallic hallway and we walked long enough to see you three," Lily explained with Amai nodding to confirm this.

"Like, what did you find?" Momo asked.

"A room. The only unlocked room since the rest of the doors were locked," Yume explained, bluntly.

"That's weird. Why this room specifically? It doesn't seem anything special," Natsuki noted.

Then the room flashed white and the door behind them slammed shut.

Lily and Natsuki tried desperately to pry it open but to no avail.

"Oh no! We're trapped!" Momo wailed.

"What do you girls think you are doing here?" A new voice boomed.

The floor shifted to some stairs and on the stop, stood a slender woman wearing a blue dress with a slit at the end of her left leg, had long flowing brown hair, blue eyeliner and had a gaze that would rival a piercing hawk's eye.

"Wh-who are you?" Akane asked, meekly.

"I am Lotus Aizawa and I am the sister of this spa's owner," the woman stated.

"The owner's sister?" Natsuki gasped.

"Yes and you are trespassing on an area where anyone who isn't confined officials are not permitted here!" Lotus declared.

"We're sorry! We didn't mean to enter here. We didn't know that we weren't supposed to enter here!" Lily cried.

"But you should have known! I despise teenagers for this exact reason. Always getting their noses in where they're not supposed to," Lotus scoffed.

"Miss, we are really sorry for what we have done. We'll accept any punishment that you may have for us," Tsumugi said, trying to be polite.

"Well we have a specific punishment for trespassing in here. Now if you beat me in a duel, I'll forget that you were ever here. And if you lose, then you will be trapped here for all eternity or once you die, which ever comes first," Lotus explained.

"A duel?" Yume asked.

Lotus took a particular interest in her before Tsumugi stepped up.

"I'll duel!" She declared.

"Huh? You will? But like can you really do it?" Momo asked.

"Of course I can! If Yume could it, then so can I!" Tsumugi shouted and grabbed her bag.

"Foolish girl. Very well then, let's put on this wager. Let us duel," Lotus placed on a duel disk and put her deck in it.

"Umm, quick question. Senpai, do you have a duel disk on you right now?" Akane asked.

Lotus snapped her fingers and a duel disk appeared on Tsumugi's arm and she placed her own deck into it.

"I guess not if you were given one," Akane sighed.

"DUEL!"

Tsumugi - 4000 LPS

V.S.

Lotus - 4000 LPS

"I shall begin," Lotus said and drew a card.

"I summon Frog Hero (ATK: 300. DF: 100) in attack position," she started.

A small green frog creature wearing a superhero mask and cape appeared on her field.

"And when normal or special summon, I'm able to special summon a copy of it from my deck onto my field but it's effects are negated," Lotus said.

Another frog appeared.

"Now with these two level 2 monsters, I can create the overlay network and overlay my two monsters! Rise from the swampy areas, Toad Villainess (ATK: 1200. DF: 1000. UN: 2)!" Lotus shouted.

A large beige toad like creature wearing a black crown and wore a purple cape appeared and bellowed loudly.

"That's an XYZ summon! You overlay two or more monsters with the same level to bring a monster with a rank that's the same as the level of the two monsters," Akane explained.

"You sure know a lot of that summoning technique," Natsuki noted.

"Ummm...," before Akane could speak, Lotus spoke up again.

"I set three cards in my face down and end my turn," she said.

"My turn, I draw now!" Tsumugi shouted.

"I summon Flamvell Firedog (ATK: 1900. DF: 200) in attack position," she started.

A dog like creature that had molten lava on it appeared on her field.

"Then during my main phase, I can send Flamvell Baby (ATK: 800. DF: 200.) from my hand to the graveyard to activate its effect. I can select a face up fire monster that I control and have it gain 400 attack points. Clearly there is one face up fire monster that I control so Flamvell Firedog gains that attack boost," Tsumugi explained.

1900 —> 2300 ATK

"Now I'll move onto the battle phase by having my Firedog attack your toad! Go, Molten Fetch!" Tsumugi shouted.

Flames bursted from Flamvell Firedog's mouth and it raced to attack Toad Villainess.

"Trap card, Signal Beam. When an Animal hero or villainess gets attacked in battle, by sending two cards on my field to the graveyard, I can negate that attack and my monster gains attack points equal to the damage I would have taken," Lotus explained.

The attack stopped and Firedog went back to Tsumugi's field.

1200 —> 2300 ATK

"I set this card down and end my turn," Tsumugi said.

"Then it's my turn," Lotus drew a card.

"I activate Toad Villainess' effect. By using one overlay unit, I'm able to bring back a card from my graveyard back onto the field. However, I am not allowed to set any more cards other than one normal summon," she started.

A card appeared on one of her spell/trap zones.

"I can now activate that spell, Hero vs Villain. When I have a Animal Villainess monster on my field, I can summon a level 5 or higher Hero monster on my field and treat it as a normal summon. At the end of the turn though, that monster is destroyed. So I'm choosing to summon Bear Hero (ATK: 2700. DF: 2700)!" Lotus shouted.

A large, brown bear creature wearing a blue superhero mask and cape appeared.

"Now attack, Bear Hero! Honey Swat Paw!" Lotus commanded and her monster ran towards Flamvell Flamedog and swiped at it, destroying it.

4000 —> 3600 LPS

"And when Bear Hero destroys a monster in battle, it can make a second attack. So continue the attack, Swarm Swat!" Lotus commanded.

3600 —> 900 LPS

"A direct attack of 2700 life points lost. And she has one another monster that hasn't attack yet," Natsuki realized.

"Like, Oh no!" Momo wailed.

"Why can't she use her facedown card?" Yume asked.

"Because it's a spell card," Tsumugi murmured.

"Indeed, if you had a trap, I would be even more concerned about it but since you don't, I'll continue with a direct attack from Toad Villainess! Bellow Finisher!" Lotus shouted and her monster let out a massive shout which caused Tsumugi to go flying backwards.

900 —> 0 LPS

WINNER: Lotus

"Tsumugi!" Lily and Natsuki raced towards her side but then something happened.

The holographic cubes from earlier came down and grabbed the three girls before floating up around the room again.

"What the-?!" Yume cried out and Lotus turned to look at her.

"This is your punishment for trespassing. She lost the duel so she gets the punishment alongside those two girls," she explained.

"So that's how we'll spend the rest of eternity in here? By getting trapped inside those cubes?" Amai asked.

"Correct and no one will ever know that you went inside here. As far as anyone is concerned, nobody has realized that you're even in the spa thanks to the power surrounding here," Lotus explained.

"Power?" Akane asked.

"Oops, I spoke too soon. But enough talking, let's get your punishment out and may you rot in this room for all of eternity!" Lotus explained and began to laugh maniacally.

How were they supposed to get out now?

A/N: cliffhanger muahaha! What's this, plot? Finally, rather than character introductions? Ok maybe this chapter may seem filler but I also wanted to flesh out some characters and their interactions with each other.

I have been planning this specific chapter for a while now and hopefully when I get part 2 done, it'll be worth it.

Here's the fan made cards that I gave to Lotus.

Frog Hero. LV2. Attribute: Earth
Reptile/Effect
When normal or special summoned, special summon another Frog Hero from the deck to the field but it's effects are negated.
ATK: 300. DF: 100

Toad Villainess. Rank 2. Attribute: Earth
Reptile/XYZ/Effect
2 Level 2 monsters
You can detach a material from this card, then target a card from your GY and set it on the field. You cannot set any more card except for one normal summon. When there's a field spell on the field, this card is immune to monster effects other than its own.
ATK:1200. DF:1000

Bear Hero. LV7. Attribute: Earth
Beast/Effect
When this card destroys a monster by battle, it can make a second attack this turn. If you draw this card other than during the draw phase, you're able to summon it without a tribute but half its attack points until the end of the turn.
ATK: 2700. DF: 2700

Signal Beam. Regular Trap
When an Animal Hero or Villainess is attacked in battle, by sending two cards on your field to the GY, negate the attack and have your monster gain ATK points equal to the amount of life points you would have lost

Hero V.S. Villain. Regular Spell
When there's a face up Animal Villainess, you can summon a level 5 or higher Animal Hero monster. This is treated as a normal summon. At the end phase, destroy that monster.

Cya in the next one -Flare

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