Yuzu Hīragi

Yuzu Hīragi ( Hīragi Yuzu) is Yūya Sakaki's childhood friend in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime. She gives powerful pep talks. Her father owns You Show Duel School, the Duel school that she and Yūya attend. She is the Standard Dimension counterpart of Ruri (from the Xyz Dimension), Rin (from the Synchro Dimension), and Serena (from the Fusion Dimension).

Appearance
Yuzu has blue eyes and dark pink hair, which she wears tied up in pigtails, clipped down by blue, spherical hair clips. Her hair also features two lighter pink bangs that fall to the side of her face. Yuzu's outfit consists of a sleeveless light-blue and white shirt with a musical note on the right collar, along with a red tie, which she wears with a dark red skirt and dark stockings. Her skirt is lengthened in the dub to cover the bare skin showing on her legs. She notably is not shown wearing the school jacket from Maiami Second Junior High School that other female students wear. She also wears a bracelet with strange abilities. These powers seem to be connected to Yūya and his counterparts, activating whenever Yuzu, Yūya and any of his counterparts are in close proximity. She later switches clothes with Serena, but she retains her bracelet, her spherical hair clips and her Duel Disk.

Personality
Yuzu is shown to have an extremely short temper, often resulting in her actions causing huge consequences. An example of this would be when she smashed her fists down on the Solid Vision technology computer at You Show Duel School out of annoyance of how Yūya was Dueling, which ended up destroying the machine. Yuzu also has a tendency of whacking a paper fan on other people's heads, primarily Yūya and Shūzō, whenever they do something foolish. She is also shown to be quite argumentative, wanting to argue with a spectator who insulted Yūya and his father before his Duel with Strong Ishijima, showing that she can be just as defensive and caring of Yūya and his belief in his father.

Her perception and judgement begin to falter after her successive encounters with Yūto, due to Yūto's resemblance with Yūya, and her lack of knowledge of the subject frustrates her. These worries are put at ease after the encouragement from Yūto and Yūya, returning her resolve to become stronger so she can protect You Show Duel School and her friends.

She harbors feelings for Yūya, as shown that she was blushing when Sora mistook her as his girlfriend and whenever Mieru makes advances towards Yūya. The strongest example so far included when she started to cry when she was worried that Yūya would never awake while he was unconscious for a few days after his encounter with Yūto and Yūgo.

Etymology
The character's name, "Yuzu", means Pomelo, and her surname, "Hīragi" , means Osmanthus heterophyllus. Both names are related to plants and fruits. However, her Deck nor anything about her is based on or is about plants and fruits.

Zuzu is a variation of her Japanese name, while her surname may be based on singer Susan Boyle, as a reference to the Deck she uses.

Abilities
Yuzu is quite athletic and acrobatic. Since her debut she was able to smash the Solid Vision Technology to the point where it malfunction in one punch. When she later refuses to go with Yūri she preforms several backflips and land with ease. She is also shown to be strong enough to shove Yūgo several feet backwards after lying prone, which nearly injured him and damaged his Duel Runner.

Past
According to Yūya, Yuzu was always there for Yūya in his childhood when he was being tormented over his father's disappearance and would comfort him.

Pre-Maiami Championship
Yuzu monitored the Duel between Yūya and Gongenzaka in You Show Duel School. Angered at Yūya for not focusing on the Duel, she pounded on the Solid Vision machine's keyboard, causing it to malfunction. As Yuzu panicked, the machine exploded right in front of her face. After the incident, Yuzu was still upset at Yūya for goofing off. As her father, Shūzō, was excited at Nico Smiley's offer for the newest Solid Vision technology, Yuzu smacked him on the head with a paper fan and criticized him for going against his word for not letting Yūya Duel against Strong Ishijima. When Yūya disappeared, Yuzu wondered where he went. Later, she, Gongenzaka and Shūzō went to the Dueling arena to watch Yūya's Duel against Ishijima. She was shocked when Yūya performed a Pendulum Summon, and even more so when he actually defeated Ishijima.

Afterwards, the You Show Duel School was flooded by applicants, which proved difficult for Yuzu to keep up with, alongside the fact that she was scheduled to Duel Yūya in an exhibition match. Before the Action Duel started, Yūya began acting foolishly, earning him a smack from Yuzu's fan, prompting the ire of Yūya's newfound fans. Realizing that she would be portrayed as the villain, she urged Yūya to exchange insults with her, and Yūya came up with the concept that she was looking for revenge for Ishijima. However, Yūya failed to Pendulum Summon during his turn, so he instead urged Yuzu to attack him, under the impression that the pinch would allow him to Pendulum Summon. Instead, Yuzu's attack went through, winning her the Duel. She examined Yūya's Pendulum Cards afterwards to try and figure out how the Summon worked, but they were unable to do so, and all the applicants save Tatsuya left, despite Yuzu's protests. She introduced Tatsuya to Yūya, and the boy was accepted into the Duel School.

At school the next day, Yuzu frantically tried to wake Yūya (who had been up all night trying to Pendulum Summon again), before their teacher could notice; unfortunately, her efforts were unsuccessful, resulting in Yūya embarrassing himself by trying to claim the answer to the problem he'd been asked was "the right one." Yuzu whacked him over the head with her fan, pointing out that that was never the right answer. After school, Futoshi, Ayu, and Tatsuya all asked to see a Pendulum Summon, but they were interrupted by Shingo, who threw sucker-tipped darts at Yūya (to Yuzu's disapproval.) When Shingo, claiming to be a fan of Yūya, offered the use of the Center Duel Field at LDS, Yuzu was somewhat insulted that the school owned by her family was being passed over, but she went along to LDS regardless. Shingo then asked to see Yūya's Pendulum Cards, and swiped them when they were offered, then he offered to return them to Yūya if he won against him in a Duel, holding Yuzu and the other children hostage on top of a suspension bridge in "Dark Town's Prison Tower."

When Yūya picked up Action Trap Cards that were set in the area, the place where Yuzu and the children were standing was damaged, and Futoshi almost toppled off were it not for Yuzu's intervention. Scared by the heights, Futoshi began crying, prompting Yuzu to try and reassure him, stating that boys shouldn't cry. After Shingo Pendulum Summoned, the Duel began to go badly for Yūya until he was able to reclaim his stolen Pendulum Monsters with "Empty Fishing." At that point, the tower crumbled beneath Yuzu and the others, but she and Ayu were saved by "Stargazer Magician," and she cheered Yūya on as he won the Duel with his own Pendulum Summon. Afterwards, Shingo tried to take the Pendulum Cards by force until he was knocked out by Sora Shiun'in, who proceeded to declare himself Yūya's apprentice. Yuzu was more shocked about the state of Shingo and his friends, until Sora reassured her that he'd simply knocked them unconscious.

As she walked to school with Yūya the next day, Yūya explained that Sora had followed him home and continued to follow him around, Sora proving so by popping up behind them a few seconds later. After Yūya's continual refusal to show Sora a Pendulum Summon, Sora asked Yuzu, whom he thought was Yūya's girlfriend, to help him ask. Yūya and Yuzu denied that they were dating, Yūya claiming he'd never date a "strong, crude girl" like Yuzu. Though somewhat uncomfortable after Sora's statement, Yūya's remarked earned him a swat from Yuzu's fan, and she angrily walked off, muttering furiously that Yūya didn't have to describe it like that. Nevertheless, her anger eventually faded, though Sora continued to interrupt them over the course of the day, putting Yūya in a bad mood. Yuzu managed to snap him out of it, pointing out that he was an entertainer, but Sora was waiting for them at You Show Duel School. His begging Yūya to Duel him and his reaction after being turned down yet again by Yūya earned Yuzu's sympathies. Eventually, Yūya agreed to Duel Sora. During the Duel, Yuzu appreciated Sora's cute-looking monsters, though she was surprised when he Fusion Summoned and she comforted a scared Ayu. After Yūya's "Odd-Eyes" was destroyed, Yuzu sympathized with him, knowing that the card represented both Yūya's courage and his Pendulum Summoning. She was relieved for him when he won the Duel.

One day, Yuzu and Ayu, on their way back to the You Show Duel School with ice cream for everyone, overheard two of Shingo's friends commenting that Shingo was planning on getting revenge on Yūya for humiliating him. She decided to go after him, intent on repaying Yūya for saving her in his Duel with Shingo. When she got to their hangout, she told Ayu to go and tell Yūya what was happening before entering the warehouse. Her interruption caused Shingo to choke on his food, and she angrily yelled at him, shooting various insults and not letting Shingo get a single word in in response. She demanded to Duel Shingo, and he accepted, locking them inside the warehouse. Before they could begin, the warehouse door was thrown open by a mysterious Duelist, who raised his Duel Disk, indicating that he intended to take Yuzu's place in the Duel. She protested, but the Duelist told her that he didn't want to see her hurt anymore. The Duelist Set his entire hand on the first turn, only to have it destroyed by Shingo's new "Monarch" cards. Yuzu realized in shock that she could feel the wind from "Mobius the Mega Monarch" when it used its effect and attacked despite the fact that they weren't in an Action Field. The Duelist used the effects of the Spell Cards in his Graveyard to block the direct attack and then performed an Xyz Summon on the next turn, calling out "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon," then using it to reduce Shingo to 100 Life Points, violently damaging the warehouse with its attack. The Duelist questioned Shingo, then turned to leave, but Shingo attempted to win the Duel, only to be countered by another card from the Duelist's Graveyard, "Phantom Des Spear," which pierced Shingo's jacket. The Duelist removed his mask and revealed himself to be a boy with a face that resembled Yūya so much that Yuzu, Shingo and his gang mistook him for Yūya. She attempted to ask him what he had been doing, but her bracelet suddenly glowed with a harsh magenta light, blinding her. After the glow faded, she found that the Duelist vanished. As Yuzu tried to locate the mysterious Duelist, Yūya ran into the warehouse and asked her what had happened, commenting on the smell of smoke.

The next day, Yuzu attended class at the Duel School with Yūya and her friends, but her thoughts remained preoccupied by what she'd seen the previous night. She asked her father whether their school taught Xyz Summoning, only to get a negative response. Yuzu was somewhat relieved until everyone heard Gongenzaka shouting. Shingo's friends had showed up, claiming that Yūya had hospitalized Shingo. They pointed out that Yuzu had seen it too; she remained silent, unsure of what she'd seen. Himika Akaba, Chairwoman of the Leo Corporation, then arrived, also accusing Yūya. Eventually, she stated that regardless of whether Yūya had attacked Shingo or not, the loss would damage the reputation of LDS and could not go unanswered. Himika then made a bet that the two schools would Duel; if LDS won, they would acquire the You Show Duel School and add Pendulum Summoning to its curriculum. Yūya refused to give into their ideals, though Yuzu still wasn't sure about what she'd seen. She asked Yūya if he'd attacked Shingo and Yūya denied it. Convinced that he was telling the truth, Yuzu agreed to fight with him, and Sora joined them as the three representatives to fight the three elite students from LDS, with Yūya going first against Hokuto Shijima.

After Yūya won his match against Hokuto, Yuzu offered to Duel against Masumi Kōtsu next. Yuzu went in with confidence, knowing that a win would protect the You Show Duel School and Yūya. Masumi pointed out that Yuzu's eyes were clouded and she was hesitating. During the course of the Duel, Yuzu kept seeing Yūya as Yūto, affecting her actions. Even though she got an advantage after her first turn, Masumi rebounded and used the effect of "Gem-Knight Master Diamond" to finish Yuzu off. Yuzu jumped at the opportunity to grab an Action Card, only to find that she was looking at a reflection of it, proving Masumi's analysis of Yuzu's current state of mind. Yuzu was blasted back by "Master Diamond" and lost her Duel. As Yūya tried to wake her up, she saw him as a vague silhouette of Yūto at first. With the score tied at 1-1, Gongenzaka Dueled with with Yaiba Tōdō to determine the You Show Duel School's fate. After the Duel ended in a draw, she watched the tiebreaker Duel between Yūya and Reiji.

After Yūya's win against Reiji, she tried to console Yūya after he realized he was not the only one who could Pendulum Summon. Throughout Shuzo's Duel with Yūya, she was extremely irritated by her father's antics, and after her father lost his Duel to Yūya and pretended to die dramatically (with an equally dramatic response from Yūya), she slapped him with her fan.

While eating lunch at school with Yūya, she was approached by Shingo, who offered her a handkerchief, but she turned his gesture down. She later learned from him that Reiji left the Duel due to an attack on an LDS professor. After school, when Yūya pleaded with her to help him qualify for the Junior Youth Championship, Yuzu reminded him that she had already qualified and thus can't Duel him. After hearing of Yūya's goal to become stronger, she also decided that she should do that as well. She went in search of Sora, whom she found at LDS, and led him to the hangar where Shingo was attacked. Yuzu asked him to train her in Fusion Summoning, troubled over her loss to Masumi. Sora gave her a "Polymerization" card and explained the basics of Fusion Summoning. Sora detected the presence of another person then; Yuzu watched as Sora chased down the person and fought with his Duel Disk, then recognized the third party to be the masked Duelist that Dueled Shingo. Masumi then showed up, believing that the Duelist had attacked Marco, and attempted to Duel him herself, but as Yuzu desperately tried to calm the group down, her bracelet glowed again, transporting the Duelist away. As before, Yūya came running in soon after looking for Yuzu, and explained that he'd got the four Duels he needed to enter the Championship.

Rather than go with Yūya to watch his Duels, Yuzu instead went with Sora, who was seeking to qualify himself. Sora made sure to Fusion Summon in his Duels to demonstrate some of the basics to Yuzu. The two later had a practice Duel, but Yuzu's Fusion Summon failed as she'd forgotten to put her "Schuberta the Melodious Maestra" in her Extra Deck. Sora chided her for not remembering that Fusion Monsters went in the Extra Deck instead of the Main Deck. He noted that she was still thinking about the masked Duelist, and that it was throwing her concentration off. Yuzu confided with Sora of the Duelist's ability to cause physical impacts outside of an Action Duel, and was surprised when her bracelet suddenly began to glow. Unbeknownst to her, this warped the eavesdropping masked Duelist away. Yūya showed up afterwards, as Shūzō had sent him to find her.

Yuzu later returned home and asked her father about her bracelet. Shūzō told her that she'd had it since she was born, an answer that didn't satisfy Yuzu. She left for her room, slumped on her bed and removed the bracelet, telling herself to get her act together. She continued watching Sora's qualification Duels, making sure to pay more attention. She improved to the point of being able to correctly discern his winning move and chant along with his Summon.

As they walked towards the warehouses later, she noted that he could have won earlier, but he replied that he'd held back to show her Fusion Summoning again. Yuzu thought she had Fusion Summoning down, and she was ready to practice her skills in a real match, and Sora accepted. Masumi then showed up again before them, asking where the masked Duelist was, believing Yuzu to be hiding him. Masumi explained that several LDS members had vanished, and blamed Yuzu for letting the Duelist escape. She challenged Yuzu to a Duel, but Sora commented that Yuzu should be able to defeat Masumi easily, as LDS Fusion Summons weren't much of a threat. Masumi took this as an insult and challenged him instead, but her claims of LDS being the strongest attracted the attention of Shun, who ran up and knocked Yuzu aside, scattering her cards. He held out his Duel Disk, challenging Masumi himself; however, before they could Duel, the masked Duelist jumped in to stop Shun, who addressed him as "Yūto". When Shun finally noticed Yuzu, he mistook her for someone called Ruri. Yuzu was taken aback, but before he could go on, Shun was punched in the gut by Yūto, who told him that she wasn't Ruri, before Shun fell unconscious. Yūto picked up "Polymerization" from Yuzu's scattered cards and remarked that Fusion Summoning didn't suit Yuzu. Yūya came running to Yuzu with Hokuto and Yaiba soon after; her bracelet glowed as it did in past incidents, teleporting both Yūto and Shun away. When Yūya asked if she was alright, she expressed confusion over being called "Ruri" and the recurring events that had been happening around her, and started to cry. Yūya helped her gather her Deck and returned it to her, but later picked up her "Polymerization" card, thinking he had overlooked it earlier.

Yuzu returned to the warehouses the next day to search for her missing card, but was disrupted by Sora's call to watch his final qualifying Duel. They made it to Yūya's Duel against Mieru right as he used her "Polymerization" to Fusion Summon; when the Duel ended, Yūya thanked Yuzu for her card as he returned it to her, since it had been an important factor in helping him clinch the match. However, they were interrupted as Mieru jumped onto Yūya, thinking that he was her "fated person", causing her to become angry and chase Yūya with her fan, somehow thinking that it was his fault.

After they left Mieru's Duel School, Yuzu looked at her returned "Fusion" Spell Card and remembered Yūto's comments regarding it. She then saw Masumi up ahead in the streets, heading down an alleyway, and giving her friends the excuse that he was doing something that she'd just remembered, she pursued Masumi, but quickly lost her and instead ran into Yūto, who prevented her from going any further, as Shun was currently Dueling Masumi. Yūto didn't want Yuzu involved, nor to get hurt, but she called him out on letting Shun hurt Masumi regardless, and angrily asked who Yūto and Shun were. Yūto explained the situation: He and Shun were fighting to get back their captured comrades, one of which was Ruri. And while he had indeed initially mistaken Yuzu for Ruri, Yūto explained that Yuzu was not Ruri, as their enemy used Fusion Summoning, which Yuzu had learned happily. Yuzu explained that she had done so to try and protect You Show Duel School. Yūto was quite surprised, and he ended up encouraging her to keep trying to protect her friends, saying that it wasn't wrong, before smiling, causing Yuzu to compare him to Yūya. Before leaving, her told her his name, and explained that Ruri was in fact Shun's younger sister. Yuzu eventually arrived at the place where Masumi and Shun had been Dueling, but by then, only the crows remained.

The next day, Nico Smiley requested that Yuzu come to Gongenzaka Dojo so that she could watch Yūya's final qualification match against Gongenzaka, but without Yūya knowing that they were there. When her father was torn between cheering for Yūya or Gongenzaka, Yuzu had to smack him with her fan to calm him down. During the match, she expressed worry for Yūya and held the opinion that she should have left her "Polymerization" card with him, but fortunately, he was able to Fusion Summon twice using his "Performapal Trump Witch" and defeat Gongenzaka. She congratulated him after the match and again smacked her father to calm him down.

Round 1
At the beginning of the Junior Youth Championship, after some pep-talking by Shuzo, Yuzu was the first to notice that Yūya had snuck off and was in danger of being late. At the tournament venue, she frantically looked for him, but it was to no avail until they ran into Mieru, whose constant comments about Yūya, her "Darling", sent Yuzu into a rage. The kids did their best to hold her back, only calming her when she saw that Mieru had divined Yūya's direction and she seemed to realize where he was. Yūya eventually showed up, much to everyone's relief, as did the barely-qualified Gongenzaka. The six You Show Duelists walked out onto the tournament field after many of the others, and Yūya was asked to make the pledge of fair play, though he initially messed it up, he made a speech about his father and his determination instead. Afterwards, the group used their registration cards to learn who their opponents were and when they'd face one another. Yuzu realized that she was up against Masumi again, while Sora was against Shun, who they'd seen walking in with LDS. Yūya revealed to Yuzu that he'd met Shun and seen him attack the LDS top-team, and Yuzu asked Mausmi why Shun was with them. A confused Masumi explained that Shun had been a part of their group from the very start.

Yuzu Dueled Masumi as the first Duel of the Junior Youth division. Masumi brought out "Master Diamond" immediately. Yuzu countered with "Schuberta", whose anti-Fusion effect overcame "Master Diamond". Masumi Summoned her "true ace", "Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond" with "Brilliant Fusion" and began using Action Cards to overcome the negative effects of "Brilliant Fusion". Yuzu was forced to play defensively in response, ultimately leaving her with 100 Life Points, but with Masumi's own "Crystal Rose" on her field. Using "Crystal Rose" and "Soprano the Melodious Songstress", Yuzu brought out a second Fusion Monster, "Bloom Diva the Melodious Muse". Masumi countered with "Brilliant Spark", but Yuzu dove off the Action Field's bridge to snatch an Action Card before Masumi could use it for the effect, winning her the Duel with "Bloom Diva". Later, Masumi approached Yuzu and gave her "Crystal Rose".

The next day, the group were running late for Gongenzaka's Duel against Gen Ankokuji, when they saw Yūya running off. They went to the Duel without him, and Yuzu called Yūya before the match. Yūya revealed that he was trying to get Gongenzaka's sash back, much to Yuzu's confusion. After seeing Gongenzaka tortured by Ankokuji's claims that Yūya was being assaulted by his friends, Yuzu reassured Gongenzaka that Yūya could take care of himself and would get the sash back. She watched Yūya's Duel against Shingo worriedly, having overheard Shingo's comments and suspecting that he had Pendulum Monsters. Yuzu's worries deepened after Yūya was driven into a corner, but Gongenzaka reassured her that Yūya hadn't given up yet. When Yūya appeared to have been buried in rubble during the Duel, Yuzu was particularly distressed, screaming her friend's name in terror and being equally relieved when he was shown to have escaped. Watching the Duel, she observed that Yūya had evolved in the Duel again, and she and the others cheered when he won. Sora was up next against Shun, and she discussed the situation with Yūya beforehand regarding the mystery of Shun's loyalties. When Yūya explained that "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon" had taken out an entire LDS top team, Yuzu wondered how it had done so with only 100 ATK. She continued to watch the Duel in growing apprehension as Shun's comments reminded her of what he'd said beforehand and as Sora revealed his true sadistic colors. Yuzu was horrified at the outcome, which ended with Sora's loss and hospitalization, rushing down to him with Yūya.

Yuzu discussed the events with Yūya and Gongenzaka that night at the hospital, and Yuzu told them everything that had happened to her, including about Yūto and that he looked like Yūya. They overheard the guards stating that Sora had escaped, and after calling her father, the trio split up to look for Sora, Yuzu searching the main city fruitlessly and calling Yūya. When she arrived in Central Park, her bracelet activated, and she found Yūya in a state of shock before he collapsed.

Round 2
Two days later, she and Yōko Sakaki watched over Yūya while he was still unconscious. She stared at her bracelet, wondering why Yūya hadn't woken up and what had happened to Sora, and then started sobbing, worried that Yūya would never wake up. Yōko reassured her that Yūya would be fine, and that he would wake up even stronger than before. The two were startled when Mieru suddenly appeared in the window and jumped in, declaring that she would save Yūya. They watched as she prepared the room in a ritualistic manner, before noticing that Yūya was wearing gray pajamas. She insisted that they change him into green-and-white plaid pajamas, which they did. They asked her how she knew Yūya was here, and learned that she had abandoned her Championship match to see him. They convinced her that Yūya would recover even faster if she won her match, and she vowed to win it for him, much to their relief.

Despite Mieru's subsequent defeat, Yūya woke up soon after that. Yuzu told him that Futoshi had lost his second-round Duel against Reira, who had used a Synchro Summon to defeat him. Yūya then told her about what he had learned about the four dimensions, and about Yūgo, the so-called "Pawn of Fusion" from the Synchro Dimension that also looked like Yūya. Yuzu recalled that Yūto had told her that Fusion was his enemy and that they had captured Ruri, and he speculated that Yūgo may have been Ruri's captor. She was surprised to see that Yūya had Yūto's "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" card, and asked him why. He responded that Yūto had given it to him after losing his Duel with Yūgo, and that that was the last thing he remembered. When he started asking why Yūto and Yūgo both looked like him, Yuzu commented that Yūto had also told her that Ruri looked like her. They began to wonder if Shun knew about all this, and decided to go and see him.

They met up with Masumi, Hokuto, and Yaiba at Centre Court, and asked if they could speak to Shun directly. Yaiba told them that they wouldn't be able to, and instead suggested that they watch his upcoming match against Isao Kachidoki. They did, and were horrified to see him getting physically assaulted as Isao repeatedly snatched Action Cards away from him, and ultimately defeated him. She found out that she would be Dueling against Mikiyo Naname in the second round, and that Yūya would be Dueling against Isao. When he resolved to Duel against Isao to make him smile, Yuzu supported him. However, she was shocked when Yūya went berserk, Xyz Summoning "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" and using its effect to defeat Isao. When Yūya turned to see his friends, she gave him a concerned stare.

Afterwards, as Yuzu walked out to the arena to Duel Mikiyo Naname, her second-round opponent, she noticed Yūya was in a state of depression and resolved to cheer him up. She was annoyed by Mikiyo's crowd-pleasing style and promised to show everyone a real Entertainment Duel as You Show Duel School's poster girl. After a long, tight match, Yuzu eventually defeated Mikiyo using her "Bloom Diva the Melodious Muse", successfully snapping Yūya out of his daze.

Battle Royale
After her Duel with Mikiyo, Yuzu later watched the announcement of the final 16 participants on TV at You Show. The next day, the participants were informed that instead of single Duels, they would be participating in a Battle Royal around the city. Her first Duel was against Halil in the Iceberg Area of the Action Field, who gave her a Pendulum Monster beforehand because she only had one of the required two, but then managed to take it back during the Duel. While she reached for an Action Card, she ended up sliding off the ice shelf and into Olga, who was Dueling Gongenzaka at the time, resulting in both Duels being combined into a Tag Duel with Yuzu being paired with Gongenzaka. After Gongenzaka was defeated, she proceeded to defeat both Halil and Olga. She offered Gongenzaka two of the four Pendulum Monsters they one, but he only took one because Yuzu was the true winner.

After losing to Dennis and giving him her wagered Pendulum cards, Serena showed up, challenging Dennis whom she mistook as an Xyz remnant. Yuzu tried to stop Serena since they were in the middle of the Championship, but Dennis accepted her challenge. Seeing Serena using Fusion Summon, Yuzu realised that she was not Ruri and witnessing how strong her Fusion Summon is, she concluded that she was from the Fusion Dimension. The Duel ended with Serena's victory, but before she could seal Dennis into a card, the Obelisk Force arrived. Before they could make their move, both Yuzu and Serena were carried away by Tsukikage and Hikage while the Youth Team Dueled the Obelisk Force.

After Serena and Yuzu were saved by Tsukikage and Hikage respectively, they went to the Iceberg Area where Serena revealed her identity and her reason for targeting the Xyz remnant. Hearing this, Yuzu revealed what she knew about the tragedy of the Xyz Dimension, how the Academia Duelists were laughing while turning all Xyz Dimension people into cards as if they are playing a hunting game. Seeing Serena not believing her story, she suggested for Serena to meet Shun, the Xyz remnant she was looking for, to confirm her story. Agreeing with Yuzu's suggestion, the two swapped clothes to avoid the Obelisk Force from capturing Serena. Yuzu, however, had to drag Serena behind a rock to change so Tsukikage wouldn't see them and since the latter didn't understand that privacy was important.

Yuzu and Serena narrowed down Shun's location to the Ancient Ruins area, since he was not in the Volcano, Jungle, and Iceberg areas. After nodding at each other, both girls went their separate ways. After splitting up with Serena, Yuzu quickly encountered three Obelisk Force members. Knowing how important for Serena to learn the truth about what happened to Xyz Dimension, Yuzu decided to Duel the Obelisk Force. Before she could Duel any of them, Yūri came from the top of a building to gave a warning to the Obelisk Force to leave Yuzu to him or else they would end up with the same fate as Olga and Halil, whom he had sealed in cards. Yuzu initially mistook Yūri for Yūya, but he quickly corrected her. Remembering about Yūya's encounter with Yūto and Yūgo, Yuzu thought that Yūri was the latter. Yūri explained that the Professor wanted Yuzu and it his mission to get her. Yuzu refused, making Yūri comment that she was just like Ruri and Rin, revealing that he was the one who kidnapped them under the Professor's order. Yūri then challenged Yuzu to a Duel, which Yuzu had no choice but to accept. After fighting Yūri throughout the night, she made her way to a hiding spot under the ice to hide from him, but Yūri easily located her.

Knowing that Yūri was close to capturing her, Yuzu was about to give up as she pleaded for Yūya to save her, but all of a sudden her bracelet began to glow and Yūri was teleported away from the location. Thinking that Yūya was coming like before, it turned out that it was not Yūya, but Yūgo, who arrived on his Duel Runner. Yūgo then saw Yuzu, who he mistook for Rin. Yūgo then ran over in joy, hugging Yuzu as he told her that he missed her. Yuzu was shocked for a moment until she remembered Yūri mentioning Rin's name. She asked Yūgo if he knew who Rin was and then was surprised to see that he also resembles Yūya. Before Yūgo could answer her question, they were teleported away by Yuzu's bracelet because Yūya was nearby looking for her.

Synchro Arc
Upon arriving in the City, Yuzu is surprised at the fact that she ended up traveling dimension. Upon learning that she had another lookalike in the Synchro Dimension as well, she clarifies and informs Yūgo regarding who the actual kidnapper of Rin was and that Yūto wasn't the one who kidnapped her. They discussed various things including the fact that they have counterpartsfor some unknown reason. When Yūgo decided to use the power of her bracelet to get to Academia, Yuzu describes her helplessness at the fact that she can't control its ability, and then broke down at the mention of Yūya. Yūgo was able to calm her down and then they talked about Rin and the fact that both him and Rin doesn't know about there mother. They were interrupted when the people of the Tops finally noticed them, and they had to flee on Yūgo's Runner. Yūgo explained the competitive society of the City to Yuzu, as well as the history of the Duel King, Jack Atlas, whom he and Rin had idolized and built their Duel Runner for the purpose of Turbo Dueling. A Security member arrived, and Yūgo attempted to outpace him, explaining that their trespass would mean being sent to a Facility if they were caught. The Duel Chaser forced a Turbo Duel, and Yūgo finally asked for Yuzu's name, since he hadn't before. Telling her to hold on tight, as he began the Turbo Duel. After Yūgo defeated the Duel Chaser, the Duel lane was blocked by the Security, but Yūgo successfully escaped them. Yūgo and Yuzu were branded as fugitives in the City for breaking laws.

The next day, Yuzu asked Yūgo about his hometown. He told her that he grew up not knowing what his parents looked like, which prompted Yuzu to recall that she never knew what her mother looked like either. Both of them tried to warn the City residents about Academia's invasion of the other dimensions. Even though Yuzu showed them the cards containing Olga's and Halil's souls, while Yūgo tried to dimension-hop with "Clear Wing" (and failed, much to Yuzu's embarrassment), no one believed them. They were forced to flee when a cafe worker called Security and when Frank and Tanner stole food from the café.