Marin was still trembling by the time they reached a secluded spot down the hallway  “When did you catch on to my scheme?” Marin stammered her hands trembling and any sense of bravado she had long since decayed.  

“From the start” Yuri said putting a quarter in the half broken vending machine,  the machine was stuck so she had shake it for the can to finally drop.   Two cans of Sepsi Max dropped.  “Here ya go” Yuri said tossing one of the cans to Marin who managed to catch it despite her shaking hands.

“Go ahead and drink it it’s not poison… probably.”   Yuri said taking the first refreshing sip in celebration of her victory.   “Thanks… I guess….” Marin said cracking the cold one open and sucking half the can down with a gulp spilling a hefty amount over her top in the process.

“I'll break it down for you Rin Rin,  I can call you Rin Rin right?”  Yuri smiled inching closer to the scared girl.   “I’m your Thrall why are you asking me…”   Yuri laughed awkwardly slapping Marin on the back and making her almost spill her drink.

“Don’t worry about all that slavery bullshit,  As fars I’m concerned you’re free in all but name,  You can carry on like you have been,  Hell I’ll even buy your food for the month.”   Yuri said wrapping her arm around the girl.

“What’s the catch?  There’s no way you’d treat… trash like me like that without their being some benefit to you”  Yuri’s smiled vanished and she took a few paces away form the girl burn turning around her smile vanished and eyes narrowed.   “What I want from you is simple Rin Rin”  Yuri rushed forward slamming Marin against the wall leaning in close until her mouth was pressed against her ear.

“All I want is your… Undying Loyalty”  Yuri whispered prompting Marin’s cheeks to flush bright red.   

“There’ll come a time we’re I’ll need something from you,  Until than,  Live your life how you see fit sister.”

Yuri started to walk away before grinding to a halt quickly as if she remembered somethng important.  

“Oh yeah how I kicked your ass it was childs play really,  I figured somebody would try to challenge the new girl figuring her for an easy mark,  I also knew that Tier 4 wouldn’t have access to any of the more advanced Merit Duel system,  So the probablity of the duel involving either cards or dice was about 90%.   Knowing that I had some weighted dice prepared and than bided my time.”

“But what… What if I had chosen a card game?”  Marin asked playing with her hair.

“Than I would have just out played you.   By betting 99 of my points it would inflate your ego knowing that you were also using weighted dice and that your victory was assured.   So I lost 5 rounds in a row and than asked for a glass of water, spilling the glass of water was the division I needed to switch the dice.   Than it was as simple as goading you into a winner takes all round… and now we’re here”

Marin burst out laughing as she slid down the wall behind her “So that’s how it is huh?  I thought I was so clever,  the brightest student in Tier 4 destined for greatness and I was to dumb to see that you were the one pulling the strings from the start of the game.. no from before the game started, from our first interaction… You’re something else…  This is the end of my story but maybe you can reach the heights of Tier 1.”   Marin whimpered with tears overflowing from her swollen eyes.

“Don’t feel to bad that ya got played,  I learnt from the very best,   Also you do release if I ascend to Tier 1 you’d be their too right?   A champion needs her Thralls”

“Now that warm ups are done,  Tell me who has the highest Humanity in Tier 4?”  

“Um… Tier 4 has what’s know as Shi Triarchy.  Three elite duelers who each control different districts of Tier 4s territory.  They’re all well on their way to moving up to Tier 3”  Marin said drying her eyes.

“Hmm interesting,  Can I get their names?”  

“In Third Place there’s  Erika Nishitani her territory is the Gymnasium and track fields and her Humanity Is in the early 5000s   In second place there’s Michiru Kanroji who runs the non sports related clubs with a score in the mid 5000s  and there's  Norifumi Sakura with a score in the upper 5000s Norifumi has his own gang called the Testaments and resides in a no go area called the abyss.”

“All of them are dangerous but Sakura is the worst that man is rotten to the bone and you don’t want to get on his bad side transfer… Uh… Master.”     “Just Yuri is fine, and thanks for telling me Rin Rin,  You can back to your friends now”

“You’re welcome Mast… Yuri,  where are you going now?”  The Gyaru demeanor and vulgar bravado had melted away,  Marin had become a shy and flustered girl,  or maybe this was her genuine personality.  

“I’m going to sleep,  all those shocks to the nipples really took it out of me.”  Yuri yawned.  

Meanwhile at disused Classroom 3-H  -  The Caligraphy Club Room.

Three people are in a small room flanked by their personal Thralls.    “Can we cut to the chase I have practice in fifteen minutes”   A muscular girl with dirty blonde hair chided.    “I really don’t care what you two talk about just don’t kill my vibe”   A short boy with red slicked back hair and paint splattered across shirt and face said.

“Since the beginning of our time here the three of us have risen to the top of Tier 4,  towering over the dregs of bottom feeders like Kings,  we all went our separate ways and have lived in harmony but that’s done.   We’re all on the edge of reaching Tier 3.    So I’m declaring' war on the both of you,  Work together or not,  I don’t care either way I’m crushing you beneath my heels.”  

“I knew a day like this would come,  Oh well.”   The paint smeared boy mused not bothering to turn away from his painting.    “If it’s war you want than I’ll oblige,  I’ll tear both your ball sacks open and feed them to you”   The muscular girl said rising from her chair.

“If you’re coming for my sack than I guess I’ll just have to kill you in self defense” The boy said finally putting down his paint brush.     “So The Death Davinci finally shows his true colors”  “Call me that name again and I’ll kill you dead,  Chainsaw”

“True we could throw down right now but that’s so painfully dull,   So I’ll grit my teeth for one week,  on the last day of the month, beneath the full moon.   We’ll paint the walls of the Fourth Compound with blood.   Till than Davinci,  Blade Dancer”

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Volume 1:  Prologue Arc End.

Next Arc:   The Triarchy War Arc