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In modern society, there were few things as valuable to a person's fortune, future, and lifestyle as Duel Monsters.

What may have begun as a popular card game over two decades in the past rapidly rose in popularity upon its adoption and proliferation through one of the richest companies in the world - the investments Kaiba Corp put into popularizing the game propelled it into virtually every facet of life - as a hobby, in business, in academia; entire economies were built and broken on what might have once been lauded as a simple game of cards.

The amount of strategy, preparation, and simple luck that went into the game had, in may peoples' eyes, replaced the hitherto-timeless game of kings as a perfect measure of one's wits - and it was safe to say that everyone; as a hobbyist or in preparation for their future endeavors, was somewhat invested in the game, in virtually every echelon of society.

To Millicent Laurent, her investment in the game was merely an obligation.

Millicent was the heiress to Hibryd Software; a game development company presently seeing a stellar climb in popularity, and one that sought to break into the dueling simulator industry; a lucrative move, given its popularity - but that's always been far from her concern. Millicent has always been infinitely more interested in the earnings of the company than its work - not that she'd ever been particularly involved in the latter to begin with. It was through these earnings that she's been afforded a certain amount of prestige - the latest clothes, the newest devices, and when she introduced herself; she relished in the awed responses of "That Millicent Laurent?"

And, of course, it afforded her a rather nice deck at that. Several, in fact - each populated exclusively by cards glistering in the light; should they ever see it... But, as a result of her by-and-large disinterest with the game, that was seldom the case. On occasion, she would issue a challenge to a peer as a means of keeping sharp - but it was seldom she would lose, given the newfound weight her name had. That weight brought with it an obligation - if she were to indulge in the prestige of being heiress to an up-and-coming business... It would be an obligation of her to be prepared to defend and to stake that prestige against another, in a duel.

Young as she was, she couldn't help but consider the notion childish - but far be it from her to reject it. Millicent hadn't yet graduated from high school - or as she nobly described it, academy. She was in her final year; and she was already hard at work finding an appropriate university; 'hard at work' effectively translating it to pawning the task off to her personal secretaries.

Part of her was looking forward to graduation; to walk onto a new campus and be greeted with reverence rather than watching such reverence grow and blossom around her. And yet; there was a part of her that would miss her academy - as, in her time there, she had established a rather clear reputation for herself. She was very much part of the popular crowd - a clique that, in itself, didn't quite exist until she began to cultivate it - filling it largely with men and women of similar ideologies or prestige within the closed circuit of the high school...

That said; it was largely full of people that commanded some form of respect, but mostly paid respect to her. By her sophomore years she earned the title of class president, and has held it with pride since then. The power it afforded her - as the proverbial queen bee of the school - was great; and its obligations minimal... At least, because she had others to pawn the hard work onto. Typically, it was her secretaries that handled paperwork and whatnot, but... With them occupied with her pursuit of higher education - Millicent was remiss to take care of the menial tasks for the time being.

Today was one of those unfortunate days that left her with _something_to do - and, despite her usual boredom with the work of a class president, this was something she was that she was mildly invested in. Millicent had a keen ear for whispers around the school - listening in for gossip or simply to sate her own ego when she heard herself being discussed... As she often was. And yet, in lieu of hearing the typical admiration and jealousy directed toward her, she found herself... Absent from the current scuttlebutt.

Rather, discussion was eclipsed by a changing of the guard within the school's most popular clubs - none other than the Dueling Club. Its previous club president had been ousted; to her surprise, given the amount of praise they typically received... And, appropriately, it was up to the club president to deal with the necessary forms and paperwork to formalize such a change. Such was her duty for the day - and she had to admit, she was curious to see what this new club president had in store. The Dueling Club was rather popular after all; but the previous president never quite saw eye-to-eye with Millicent. Perhaps the new one would be more agreeable...

Standing before the clubroom's door, Millicent used the glass window as an impromptu mirror; surveying herself before she stepped inward. As usual, she maintained the very image of being... Prim and proper. Her hair was neat as always - an unerringly straight expanse of golden locks falling to her mid back; its bangs and ends cut neat and straight, and held back by a black hairband with a bow hanging upon it. Her uniform, likewise, was crisp and unblemished - composed of a black jacket and skirt; the former bearing white details along the wrists, pockets, and collar, and the latter having a white band around the very hem. Beneath it, she wore a collared shirt and black tie - and admittedly, she found comfort in the uniform; as something of a... Preparatory measure for when she'll properly take a position in Hibryd's ranks. Ideally, she thinks, as chairwoman.

She reaches down to adjust her stockings - simple white thigh-highs that rested just beneath the hem of her skirt - showing just a hint of fair skin between the two garments. When she stood back up, she found her vantage point rising above the head of a passing student - something to which she had become intimately accustomed. She commanded a pronounced vantage over most students; standing at a neat six feet tall - something she found an immense amount of pride in, and even accentuated. It wasn't terribly uncommon for her to tilt her head up just a little; turning her nose up and glowering down upon someone beneath her just a little more, with those vibrant green eyes of hers.

It was a look she was prepared to give the Dueling Club's president, should they confront her with... Sentiments passed down from the past president. The very least she could come to expect was that they would come to a similar agreement of non-interference - but she had her hopes set considerably higher than that.

Millicent rapped on the door twice before entering - doing so with a clipboard tucked under one arm. As she entered, she found herself staring out into a rather familiar scene - the same as the last time she entered the clubroom. The club members had pushed two desks together each; and were currently engaged in a tournament of their own, spread across the room, and yet, sitting at the teacher's desk was an unfamiliar face.

Whereas any of the students in attendance could look at Millicent and say that there wasn't a single hair out of place upon her... The girl Millicent had observed was quite the opposite. Her hair was a dull shade of black - frizzy and kinky, and yet forced into two uneven pigtails from which her hair seemed desperate to escape. The pallor that graced her skin was nothing short of ghastly - and only stood to make the bags under her cold-looking, blue eyes stand out. From her thin lips, two pronounced teeth poked - bearing the clear mark of braces upon them. Her lips moved quickly and almost wordlessly as she muttered to herself, currently in the midst of sifting through a deck.

Tilting her head up a little, Millicent could see that the girl had rather eagerly... Untidied her uniform as soon as class had been dismissed - her jacket unbuttoned and tie unfastened, but not entirely removed. Even her shirt seemed wrinkled as though it'd been through days of use rather than a mere day.

This girl wasn't the only new face in the room, thankfully - as she cast her gaze upon the other students that had been dueling - most now expectantly looking at her - she could only hope that one of them was the new club president.

Millicent clears her throat and smiles. "Good evening; I'm sorry to interrupt your playtime," she begins - that was the right term for it, right? "but I hear your club is under new management. I was hoping I'd get a chance to talk with..." She glances down at her clipboard. "Annie Tempo?"

Looking expectantly to the club members only prompts a few concerned or confused gazes - mostly among each-other. Eventually, one student bothers to point a finger toward Annie...

And Millicent finds herself looking, once more, at the dark-haired girl muttering to herself. Damn it.

The girl collapses the spread of cards she'd been toying with and stacks them back into her deck, setting it down on the desk and looking up to Millicent, offering her a smile the class president could only consider as icy at best. "Oh, good! I was wondering when the illustrious class president would come visit!" Annie chimes. Her voice is cheery - but her tone of voice is rather low and foreboding. "Take a seat, get comfy... Kekeke..." she snickers; prompting Millicent to leer.

"I'll stand, thank you." she begins, looking down to her clipboard. "I won't need to be here long - I'll just need you to sign these papers-"

"Oh!" Annie perks up, catching Millicent off-guard. "But by all means. It's not often we have a celebrity come visit, is it...? It'd be a good sign if my first act as club president was to treat the club to such a fine visitor..."

Millicent's lips purse, and she lays the papers down on the desk. "I'm always around in the academy - it's not hard to catch sight of me." she responds, nonplussed. "But if I've got such bold admirers, I might be inclined to sign an autograph."

"Kekeke-" Annie snickers; her grin spreading wide. "That's a good one! And here I thought you might not have a sense of humor! I could've sworn I heard something like that..."

Tilting her head, Millicent muses "And who have you been listening to?"

"People." Annie responds coyly. "People talk, y'know... If you listen a lot, you hear a lot." Raising her hands, she wiggles her fingers a little. "The class president can't take a joke, the class president doesn't respect anyone but herself and her lackeys, the class president is so high and mighty, someone should take her down a peg..."

While she's unhappy with Annie's words, Millicent's first inclination is to shoot a glare behind her; toward the students dueling. A couple of them turn their attention quickly back to their duels - and already she feels a brewing sense of guilt within them. So they were backbiting her, weren't they? Hmph. "Well, success breeds jealousy. They can say what they want."

"Even if they say you can't duel?"

Millicent's brow furrows. "That's different - in that case, they're verifiably wrong."

"Oooooh?" Annie muses, placing a finger on the papers she'd been handed and dragging them toward her, pretending to look interested. "You must be good, then, but... Who've you beaten? Was it Kasey, the Kaiju Queen of class 3-A? Or Morrison, the Danger Duelist in 1-B..." She looks up to Millicent, giving a crooked smirk. "Or the previous club president? That'd be a good way to assert your dominance..."

Huffing, Millicent shakes her head. "None of the above. But, rest assured, everyone I've played against has met defeat. Tyson, on the baseball team-"

"Tch- the one that still plays unmodified structure decks?"

"Er- Melissa, the head cheerleader..."

"Hah! I saw someone take her on, she had to keep asking her team for help with effects."

"Alright, principal Bolston -"

"Even better - he didn't even know how to synchro summon!" Laughing, Annie tips back in her seat - and even a couple of the club members begin to chuckle in response.

"I'm sorry," Millicent begins, reaching up to brush her hair back a little. "what does this have to do with the paperwork? If I'm unwelcome here due to my... _Perceived_lack of merit, then sign the papers and I'll be out of your hair."

"Oh no! No, it's not that you're unwelcome at all, miss prez - in fact... I wanna give you a chance to prove them wrong! To really... Earn your place here." She brushes the paperwork aside and picks up her deck, placing it in the middle of the table. "I mean, if people are already sayin' that little miss heiress can't duel..."

What a conniving thing this girl is..._Millicent thinks. _If she wanted me to duel her, she could've just said so. I would've said no, of course, so... Hmph. She's forcing me into it. Collecting herself, she turns her nose up. "Then I'll prove them wrong." she reaches over to the back of the nearby chair, pulling it out and taking a seat; throwing one leg over the other. "If you insist." she concludes scornfully.

"O~oh, that's wonderful!" she cheers, clapping a little. She reaches into the breast pocket of her uniform and retrieves something - which she quickly displays as... A coin. It wasn't any currency Millicent had ever seen; though - it bore the impression of an eye upon it, and was a rather brilliant shade of gold. She wasn't sure if it was some sort of enthusiast's item or what. "Sa~ay, while we're at it, why don't we make this a little special...?" she begins, glancing over to the paperwork.

Millicent picks up on her implication quickly. "You want to make that a condition? It only disrupts things if you don't sign it, you know."

"But, I'll only not sign it if I lose. And if you're as good as you say, then it's a foregone conclusion that I will sign it. Unless you mean to suggest..."

"I mean to suggest," Millicent begins, sitting up a little straighter in her seat. "you have a condition dependent on my victory, and not your own. There's no point in having it go one way and one way alone - so there's no point in setting such a condition in the first place."

Annie thrums, looking Millicent up and down with her tired, cold eyes. "True, true... Then, well... I'd imagine if you lost - no; you so much as got a scratch on you... Well, it'd do infinitely more harm to your reputation, wouldn't it? It'd damage that perfect image of the queen bee; confident presiding from her lofty ivory tower... And if it's a foregone conclusion you'll win anyway... Let's say this!" She claps her hands. "If you lose, you step down as class president!"

Millicent's breath catches in her throat. What a sadistic girl... "That's absurd." she states, looking down.

"Of course! Nobody would ever think it'd happen, but... Hm maybe some people would want that? No telling who~o." she says, gravelly but sing-song. "If it sweetens the pot a little - maybe you don't have to sign that paperwork anyway? I'll step down as club president... And save you the work for another day."

Millicent rolls her eyes. "Fine; whatever gets this over quicker." she begins, reaching to her breast pocket to remove her deck - but suddenly finds Annie's hand thrust out to her - with that coin in her palm.

"It's a deal, then... Kekeke..." she rasps. Begrudgingly, Millicent reaches out to shake her hand; the club president's hand being cold and clammy but the coin feeling oddly warm in her palm. It takes herculean effort for Millicent to hold back the look of disgust on her face.

She wipes her hand off on her skirt before she retrieves her deck - the sight of it causing Annie to chuckle.

"Eh? You don't sleeve your cards?" the club president jabs. Her own cards were kept in thin, black sleeves themselves.

Millicent shakes her head. "They're fine as is."

Annie nods knowingly, moving her deck into a proper position. "I see, I see... Little miss heiress doesn't worry about damage because her cards are replaceable..."

"Don't put words in my mouth." Millicent challenges, setting her deck down in position as well. She can hear the grating sound of chairs on the wooden floor as an audience begins to gather for their duel - and while she'd normally appreciate it, now the stares she was getting felt... Oddly predatory. Did they want to see her taken down a notch...? Hmph. She'd show them. "Flip the coin. Let's get this over with."

"Will do, your majesty." Annie coos - showing off the coin. The eye half stares Millicent down as Annie chimes "Heads," and turns it over to reveal an ankh. "or tails?"

With a proud declaration of "Heads." Millicent watches as the coin is flipped - landing in Annie's clammy hand before being turned over and lain upon the back of her opposite hand.

"And it's... Heads!" she cheers - disproportionately excited. "You've got the first move... Don't waste it." Annie reaches down to draw four cards, and Millicent does the same.

"I don't intend to." she says as she draws her last card. With that, the two classmates stare each-other down, and officially start their game with a proud declaration of...

Duel!

Turn 1 - M 4000 | A 4000

Millicent cast a glance down to the cards in her hand - each one glittering in the clubroom's lights. Though her decks were largely impersonal, Millicent preferred cards that at least had some aesthetic appeal to them - and as such, one of the more common decks she carried relied on the Aroma archetype. In her hand was Aromage Bergamot and Jasmine, as well as Dried Winds and Aroma Gardening.

On one hand... Jasmine lets me summon again, after she's out. I could use her to pull Bergamot out, and lead with that. Hah - I could end this in two turns, and I can crush anything she throws at me before she can set anything up. She thinks, beginning to smirk... Before she looks up, and sees a similar smirk on Annie's face. Does she have something? Could she be bluffing...? Ugh, that sadist...

Huffing, she picks up Aroma Gardening and places it on the desk. "I activate Aroma Gardening." she begins, buying time to consider how to play her monsters. "And I'll set a card." Dried Winds comes to rest, face-down, beside her spell - something she's already ready to spring.

If she tries anything funny - I'll have that as a safety net. For now, let's see what she has. She picks up Jasmine, and against her better judgement, declares "I set a monster face-down..." And, with Jasmine set, "I end my turn."

Turn 2 - M 4000 | A 4000

"Kekeke..." Annie snickers as she draws. "I didn't think I'd get this lucky - but I think fate is favoring someone... Too bad it's not you, prez!" she proclaims boldly.

"I'll summon Speedroid Horse Stilts in attack position," she begins, playing the card opposite Millicent's waiting Jasmine. "and with its effect, summon Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke in defense position!" She wheezes a little after her proclamation, then takes a sharp breath.

Seeing the label Tuner on one of the cards made Millicent worry - especially as Annie continued.

"But I'm not done yet! I'll discard these two cards..." She flashes another Speedroid - Double Yoyo - and another... Which makes Millicent tilt her head. It was a Machina Fortress - a really powerful card by the looks of it. She couldn't help but show a little confusion when Annie neatly placed the cards in the graveyard... "so I can summon Machina Fortress from the graveyard."

Wait, what? Millicent has to do a double-take as she watches Annie pull the card from the graveyard and place it, ready to attack, in her last available monster slot - packing her field with two frail monsters and one beefier than anything Millicent had; it had just a sliver more attack than even Bergamot. She was distressed enough about seeing that happen that she almost forgot about Daiko Duke being a tuner... Until Annie reached for them too.

"And I'll just have to give him some company... I'll sacrifice these two cards..." She smoothly scoops up Horse Stilts and Daiko Duke to place them in her graveyard. "And synchro summon Samurai Destroyer in attack position."

Another one... Millicent thinks worriedly. Another monster that surpassed Bergamot; this time by a slightly higher margin. But, more importantly - with two monsters stronger than Jasmine on the field... Millicent looks expectantly toward Annie - who wears a crooked smile.

"And finally, I'llllllll..." she begins, drawing the word out so as to tease the class president. "Set this card." Rather anticlimactically, she places a card face-down in her spell and trap zone; only adding to Millicent's suspense.

Was that it...? She wonders.

"Oh! And of course - Samurai Destroyer attacks your monster."

Damn this girl- Millicent gripes internally, turning Jasmine over. "It's destroyed." she states clinically, trying to retain her composure as she moves it over to her graveyard.

It isn't much later than that before Annie almost cheers "Machina Fortress attacks you directly!" She reaches up and claps her hands once...

And suddenly, the entire room seems to shift around Millicent. She took damage - on the second turn of the duel, she was already down to 1500 life points - and sure, she was surprised, but... She shouldn't be reeling the way she was. Her head felt hazy, and she could feel a heat beginning to pervade her body... She leans forward to draw for her next turn, but something strikes her as... Odd.

Her fingers - thin, delicate things - looked... Big? Bloated, even. Turning her hand over, each of her digits seemed to be oddly thicker; spongier, and... Even her wrist? "What- what's...?" she dazedly murmurs, looking to her other hand, and down to her wrist, where she saw the cuff of her uniform's jacket seem to constrict upon her body...

No - she saw her body swelling out against her uniform.

"Huh?" she squeaks out in an uncharacteristically high pitch, feeling tightness begin to grip her entire body. It began along her arms, thickening up, before she felt her stockings start to pinch her as well. Looking down past her skirt - she could see a definite muffin top of flab forming and growing over the hem of her stocking while the garment stretched so tight as to begin to pale - its white tone fading with as close to her skin as it was. It wasn't just her stockings getting pinched tight - she could feel her underwear biting against her skin as her thighs, hips, and rear swelled out; progressively migrating the garment squarely into the crack of her ass and uncomfortably tight against her crotch. She reached down to hold onto her skirt as her stomach swelled - and she managed to keep it steady while it bowed out into a rotund gut - not just pressing against her skirt but her uniform's jacket as well.

Her upper half wasn't exempt from the alterations either - a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead as she felt her jacket tighten further - the buttons becoming visibly stretched as her chest grew out - and perhaps most surreally, she felt a surge of flesh gather up through her neck and seem to rise up her cheeks - depositing more weight upon them; paving over her angular features with a softer, rounder look.

Gone was her rail-thin frame - now practically bursting out of her uniform. She looked over her shoulder to the other students...

Who seem to be infinitely more invested in the duel.

One of the students motions to Millicent's deck. "Your turn." they add. "Did you not know that...?"

No- of course she knew that, but...

She looks back to the table, then up to Annie. She opens her mouth to say something - but nothing comes out.

"What's the matter? Fat got your tongue...?" she teases. Okay, at least someone was aware. "Kekeke... I guess I never said I ended my turn... So let's do that now. Why don't you draw? I'll explain, while you're getting set up to lose..."

Turn 3 - M 1500 | A 4000

Nervously - with broader, sweatier hands, Millicent draws her next card - not bothering to look it over. "You did something." she finally blurts out. She shifts in her seat a little, and can hear her uniform creak - she can feel her bra pinch in against her chest and stockings against her legs with every subtle movement.

"Of course I did! See, Speedroids pair excellently with Machina Fortress..." she begins, only for Millicent to cut her off.

"You know what I'm talking about. What did you do?" she says - and despite herself, more fear slips into her voice than she'd normally allow.

Annie snickers, looking down to her coin. "Let's say I'm giving people what they want..." she says cryptically. "Does the method matter? You're looking less like the class president and more like the girl who ate the class president, now..." she teases. "But only you or I know that. As far as they're concerned... This is how you've always been."

Millicent bites her lip nervously, looking down to herself. "You're... How...?"

"You won't get a different answer if you ask twice, y'know..." Annie jabs. "Ask any of them. The class president has always been a little on the hefty side. Gets shaken pretty easily, but at least she's honest about how she feels... And her hair..."

"My hair?" Millicent muses, reaching up to feel for her blonde locks... But, what she pulls into her field of view is a light shade of brown.

"Nothing to write home about, kekeke..."

Millicent balks - even the texture feels different. It isn't... Bad, and especially not abhorrent, but it felt a little coarser than her well-pampered locks previously had. Was this just... Some curse Annie had laid upon her? Or was this what the others wanted to happen to her? Or something else entirely...? Suddenly, everything got so confusing...

"It's like I said... Every time you take a hit, your pride is damaged. What do you have pride in more than your looks... And your pride itself? I wonder, with a deck like yours... How many hits can you take, kekekeke..." Annie steeples her hands and looks down at the table, licking her lips a little. "Why don't you take your turn, but... Do me a favor and don't lose just yet, okay...?"

Her turn - her... Turn. Yeah. If she could beat Annie, she was sure this would all go back to normal. That's how these things worked, right? Tentatively, she looks down to the card she'd drawn...

And she sees Aromage Marjoram.

A monster she couldn't summon without a tribute, just like Bergamot beside her.

"I- I end my turn." she admits, looking up expectantly to Annie.

Turn 4 - M 1500 | A 4000

Annie's smile faded quickly - her lips curling into something of a sneer; from out of which her pronounced teeth poked. She made a noise - something like a nasally growl - and drew her first card. "Hnnnnnn..." she whined; leaning back in her seat. "I wanted to play with you a little more before crushing you... Have you given up already, or is your hand just that bad...?"

Millicent gulps a little and looks down at the board before her - she... Doesn't want to give up, but her options seemed limited. In any other duel, her opponent would either have been unprepared for her to pull a simple strategy off, or would have just thrown the game. She didn't have any monsters on the field, but she still had her spell and trap... The problem was triggering them.

"Eeeeh, I don't want to throw the game either... That wouldn't look good for the new club... Or, dare I say, class president? Kekeke..." Millicent wants to protest - but she can't find the words to do so. "I'm not even going to bother with my monsters just yet... Just sit back and enjoy the ride - think about how much happier you'll be as a nobody."

Happier? Why the hell would she be happier? A strained gasp escapes Millicent, and she grit her teeth, watching Annie make her move.

"I'll banish Horse Stilts from my graveyard," she begins, grabbing her deck and flipping through it. "so I can another... Daiko Duke to_the graveyard." After doing so, she shuffles her deck and picks up her hand again - this time, placing down a spell. "I'll activate Cosmic Cyclone. It'll cost 1000 life points, but... I think that's a small price to pay for absolute victory, kekeke!" Casually picking up the spell, on its way to her graveyard, she uses the card to motion to Millicent's set trap. "You've got something _dangerous hidden there, don't you...? Get rid of it."

Damn it-! Millicent gripes. If she could get things right, she'd at least be able to take out one of those _beasts_on Annie's side of the field with Dried Winds, but now... It's gone. "... Alright..." she says, turning the trap over and dropping it in her own graveyard.

"Aww... Was that it, then? In four turns, little miss president is dethroned? How... Pitiful, really..." Annie taunts with faux-lamentation. "But, alas... Maybe you'll make a good toadie when I'm done with you... I'll have Samurai Destroyer attack you directly, and I think you know what that means..." Anticipation builds in Annie's voice...

But, as she does so, Millicent perks up. "W-wait!" she protests, leaning a little closer. "I- I'm not done. You're attacking me, right?"

Annie nods - and despite the protest, she maintains a smile.

A hurried sigh of relief escapes Millicent's lips as points toward her last remaining card. "That means Aroma Gardening activates!" she says, trying to regain a bit of confidence in her tone. "Because my life points are lower, I can summon an Aromage from my deck..."

Quickly, Millicent reaches for her deck, beginning to sift through it. To her dismay, her two strongest cards were in her hand - so Marjoram and Bergamot were a no-go. Higher strategies were lost on her - all she wanted was to get something out on the field, and... Inspiration struck.

"I summon Aromage Rosemary in defense position!" That'll buy me some time. She thinks, shuffling her deck. "And... I'll switch Samurai Destroyer into defense position, with Rosemary's effect. After that - my spell activates again; because I summoned Rosemary - I regain 1000 life points."

The students around her begin to murmur - some of them giving disappointed groans, others giving surprised thrums. Even Annie begins to cackle. "That's it!" she cheers. "We're not done yet - I love it!" She sits back up in her seat - staring up at Millicent; locking eyes with her. "I'm still going to destroy your monster, though. Machina Fortress targets Rosemary... And she doesn't have a chance."

Biting her lip, Millicent moves the blue Aromage to her graveyard; but after taking a moment to compose herself, she smiles. "Maybe she doesn't - but because she was destroyed - that activates the effect of Aromage Marjoram!" Annie tilts her head - watching Millicent eagerly place one of the two remaining cards from her hand down on the field. "I'll summon her in attack position, and I'll regain 500 life points." More boldly than before, she challenges Annie - "Do you have anything else?"

Thrumming, Annie looks over the field... Then shakes her head. "Kekeke... This is going better than I thought. I was worried you'd be down for the count... But it looks like I'm going to have to whittle you down, hm... Be careful, though. You might be in this for a little longer, but... That just means you're vulnerable..."

Annie's words were... True. looking down to herself; more life points didn't exactly improve her situation... So, from now on, she'd have to be even more careful. She could've sworn that she felt a little bolder, but... That might've just been her confidence in avoiding seemingly-certain doom. Her heart was still pounding, though...

"I end my turn." Annie states, steepling her hands again. "I hope you'll make yours just as enjoyable as this one was... Kekeke..."

Turn 5 - M 3000 | A 3000

Okay... Millicent begins, drawing her first card - and already it was rather promising. Aroma Garden - a lynchpin of success with this deck. We're back to an even playing field as far as life points go... But I'll need to get rid of Annie's monsters to do any real damage. Marjoram would really benefit from the Garden - but I don't know if she can do this alone...

Eh- she? Millicent furrowed her brows. She'd never really referred to her cards by way of the actual monsters, before... Before last turn, even. They had always been objects to her - the cards themselves, but... Well, she supposed that nomenclature wasn't entirely inaccurate. Besides - she had more important things to worry about.

_ If I tribute her for Bergamot - with his effect, I can destroy one of Annie's monsters. But... No - before that, I have to clear her graveyard. She's stacking it for some reason, and I don't want to find out why._

Sitting up straight, Millicent begins her play. "Follow closely," she begins, grinning. "I'll play the field spell, Aroma Garden - and activate its effect. Marjoram gains 500 attack - and I gain 500 life points. Because of that - her effect activates; and I get to banish a monster from your graveyard. I don't know why you sent Daiko Duke there - but get rid of it."

Annie leans in, cooing. "Ooh, is that a bit of the proud _heiress_coming back? Well of course, your majesty..." She complies, dropping the card on top of her other banished monster.

"Now, I'll tribute Marjoram - and summon Aromage Bergamot in attack position. Aroma Garden_ing_ gives me 1000 more life points, and because of that... He gains 1000 attack. Even before Aroma Garden's effect - he's stronger than anything you've got!" she proclaims. She eyes Machina Fortress - but, narrowing her eyes, she can see its effect... And doesn't want to trifle with it. "Bergamot attacks Samurai Destroyer - and unless you've been scheming something; your monster is destroyed."

Annie places a hand to her chest in faux-offense. "Scheming something...? I'm positively offended... Kekeke..." She picks up her monster and drops it unceremoniously in the graveyard. "Maybe you're the real schemer here, was this just a turn of fate, or did you have this planned from the beginning? After all, you are a great duelist, aren't you?"

Millicent puffs out her chest. "The best in the academy." she asserts.

"I wonder why you were never involved in this club, then... Either way, are you quite through...?"

Millicent nods. "My turn is over." she asserts - and, as the turns change - she doesn't like the smile spreading across Annie's lips.

Turn 6 - M 4500 | A 3000

"Seems like you're better off than when you began, hm... Well, I don't know if I can do much right now, but... We'll just have to change that." Annie draws, then thrums. "I'll set this monster in defense position." she says, letting her fingers linger upon the monster as it's set... But then, she raises them to tap on Machina Fortress. "And with this one, I'll attack Bergamot."

Millicent tilts her head. "Eh-" she murmurs, looking down. Unless she lost track of something - Bergamot was still under Aroma Garden's effect. It still had 2900 attack to Machina Fortress' 2500. "That means... It- _your_monster is destroyed." Leaning forward, she muses. "Are you sure?"

Annie raises her hands in a light shrug. "And disappointingly, I lose 400 life points. But, alas..." she sighs out. "It's a worthy sacrifice... Because its effect activates. Because it was destroyed by battle, I can destroy whatever I want... So, I'll leave you defenseless. Say goodbye to Bergamot!"

That's it... Millicent thinks. That's why I didn't want to attack it last time. I didn't know she could do it herself - but that's just like her, isn't it? "You'd better have a good plan, because this still worked out in my favor. Because of Aroma Gardening-"

Annie waves her off. "It gives you 1000 life points because _it_was destroyed, yeah yeah.

Millicent furrows her brow. "Because he was destroyed." she asserts.

The club president raises a hand to her lips as she snickers. "Oho, did I hit a sore spot? I didn't know you were that attached to your cards... But I get it... A lot of club members can get passionate about things like that..."

Frankly, Millicent didn't know why she was so upset, but... At this point, she just wanted to get this duel over with. Even with no monsters, she was at a distinct advantage - and outside of that one set card on Annie's field, her opponent didn't have anything to hurt her with either. "Are you done yet?"

Annie nods. "And I'm elated to see what you have planned next, kekeke..."

Turn 7 - M 5500 | A 2600

Millicent draws - and smiles as she sees Dried Winds make a return. She's otherwise out of options - so all she can do is set it. "I'll set this card..." she says calmly. "And that's it for me." She wasn't a fan of leaving herself defenseless for another turn - but, she was confident that she'd built up enough of a buffer that Annie couldn't wipe her out.

Of course, the club president's words haunted her... How did this curse of hers work, anyway? Did her life points have to fall under a certain threshold, or was it dependent on each strike against her...?

Turn 8 - M 5500 | A 2600

"It is...?" Annie muses as she draws. "Well, I guess it's time for me to shine, then... Follow closely, prez... Kekeke..." She taunts. "I'll flip-summon my monster from last turn - Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice. And from my hand - I think Speedroid Horse Stilts will join the fun... Not for long, though."

Millicent tilts her head - until she notices the label of _Tuner_on Red-Eyed Dice. In a smooth motion, Annie scoops up the two cards on her side of the field and dumps them in the graveyard.

"I'll sacrifice these two - and synchro summon a _better_monster. Hi-Speedroid Hagoita!" As the white card is placed on the field, its description looked rather dense - Millicent was worried about what it might entail for her, but- "I'll attack you directly... Try not to lose your nerve, kekeke..."

This time, Millicent had no defense - no monsters, and neither her spell or trap would counter the attack this time, since she was at such an advantage. She braced herself as though for a physical impact... But, what struck her seemed to do so on a deeper level. It was a tangible blow, that seemed to phase through her body and ripple through her flesh, before sinking all the way down to her very core... And it was from there that she felt something clench.

The sensation was unnerving - a tightness in her very center; in her very bones. Once more, her head went hazy - but this time it felt like... Vertigo. Looking up to the ceiling, she could see it rise upward - further away from her, and although the walls remained the same distance from her, they too seemed to pan ever-upward... Or, rather, she seemed to migrate downward.

Beneath her, she could feel the seat almost seem to shrink - but, with nearly-herculean effort, she managed to reach downward to try and grip it - only to land upon her rear. It was clear, by the way the flesh pressed against her palm, that the seat wasn't shrinking - she was growing again... But even that seemed inaccurate, in a sense.

Comparing the height of the desk to her chest, there was a considerably narrower gap between them now - combined with the vertigo she felt, the results were clear... She was shorter; by a magnitude of well over a foot. Annie now glowered down at her - by her panicked estimate, she had to be just shy of five feet tall. She wasn't sure if she'd gained any more weight in this exchange, but... Her mass seems to have redistributed. As she tries to test this, Millicent sits up-

Ping! Tink! Clong!

Several sharp impacts emanate from around her - something striking metal, another striking wood, and a few other things rolling across the floor. The intense pressure surrounding her body seems to have relaxed - but... Even if it provided her with momentary comfort, she began to feel uneasy about the cause even before she looked down.

When she did, she was mortified.

The first thing she noticed was that her jacket's buttons had completely burst off - revealing her undershirt and tie. The latter was cocked to the side - loosened by the broadening of her neck - and the former wasn't faring much better than her jacket. Her panicked sweat and the proximity to her flabby flesh made it easier to see through - and its own buttons were stretched to the very limit on its top half, while those on its bottom half had completely torn away. Her stomach - her belly, eh... Her gut sagged out, falling over her chunky thighs... Which seemed to have been revealed, with her skirt having burst and flopped down over the seat beneath her, and her stockings having developed numerous holes allowing bulging beads of flab to poke through.

Her entire ensemble felt too tight and too lose at the same time - what still clung to her was sized for a woman half her weight but a foot taller than her; and the rest was completely shredded. Through her tight shirt, she could see her bra - but it wasn't in place anymore. Instead, it had snapped and migrated down to just over the shelf of her doughy gut; her breasts now hanging free and pressing against the fabric of her shirt. A deep red flush spread across her face as she realized how visible her nipples were against the fabric.

"Ah- hah- uh-... I... M-muh..." she stammers out, reaching up to wrap her heavy , flabby arms around her chest to cover them.

"Kekeke..." Annie taunts, bringing the tortured class president's attention back to her. "Don't worry, it's just like the rest of the changes... They can't see any more of you than when you were wearing clothes _your_size. You could go nude if you wanted, and they wouldn't mind..."

The thought made Millicent's face flush pink. "No! No, no no no no-" she defends, her voice rising to a squeak, and her head shaking 'no' vigorously... And in the process, causing her hair to whip around frantically. It was by this that she caught sight of it again - and when she was done refusing Annie's suggestion - her refusal, of course, evoking cackling from the sadistic girl - she reached up to clumsily grab at a lock of her hair. It had darkened significantly - it was a dark shade of brown, now; almost black, and... It wasn't just plain now - it was strictly coarse to the touch. Be it her frantic movements or some effect of the curse, it was a little more dishevelled; bearing a few kinks here and there - even a little longer along the bangs, which forced Millicent to blow it or brush it out of her eyes.

"Aww, what's the matter... Millie?" There it was again, that hazy feeling in her head... "I bet _Millicent_could pull a Lady Godiva if she wanted to..."

Mil...lie shook her head, feeling her entire body tremble at the thought. "Never, not in a million years! I-I don't want anybody to see- t-to see me like this!" Her brow furrows for a moment, channeling her fear into rage - she tries to shout, but when she asks "What's wrong with you?" it comes out as a terrified whimper.

Annie snickers again, raising a hand to her chest. "Plenty_of things - but I think the better question to ask is... What's wrong with _them? Who would ever vote such a shrimpy, shrinking violet like you as class president? Maybe your attitude isn't as much of a problem anymore, but your qualifications are definitely subject to doubt... When you get rattled, can anyone even understand you through that st-tut-tutter?"

Millie raises her hands to her cheeks - though she tries to be assertive, she can't help but whine as she protests. "Sh-sh-shut uuuuuup!"

"Kekeke... Look at you now; the way you're shaking in your boots... Someone would think you're a loser; but you've still got the advantage, don't you?" Annie's words give her no more confidence - but they bring her attention back to the game. Annie was right - she was still winning. She could still win. By now, she didn't care about dispelling the rumors that might've swelled around her as class president - her reputation didn't matter. All that mattered was the duel; and things would be back to normal.

"Hnnnnn..." Millie whines, lowering her hands back down to cover her chest. "C-can we get back to the d-duel?"

"At your leisure, class president... I'll end my turn."

Turn 9 - M 3500 | A 2600

Okay... Millie thinks - her heart is pounding and her breaths come hot and heavy. Before she progresses, she needs to calm down. This... Had to be something Annie took into account. This curse was, for lack of a better word, scary - it was a mind game she could use against her. If Millie kept panicking, she'd just make more mistakes.

She shut her eyes and drew her next card, mentally preparing herself to make a move. All I need is a monster to protect me from Hagoita. But... Nothing I own is strong enough to destroy it. My best monsters... Poor Bergamot got destroyed, and I'm so sorry for tossing Marjoram away like that... Both of them are in the graveyard, and I can't just bring them back. I know I don't have anything like that in my deck - but... Dried Winds could take care of Hagoita. All I need to do is summon a monster, and chain Aroma Gardening into Dried Winds. I'll be safe, and... Maybe I can even deal some damage?

_ _

_ Okay._ Millie thinks, having calmed herself down... A little. Her hand still trembled as it held her next card - and anxiety gripped her as she turned it over...

But her heart sank as she saw the blue-green tone of a spell card. Another copy of Aroma Garden composed the entirety of her hand - leaving her with no defense against another hit. Oh no...

"I- I... C-can't do anything else, so I'll end my turn." she whimpers.

"You can't? Kekeke... Don't you have any confidence in yourself? Or your cards? Or has that all just bled away...? Come on, prez, why don't you make things more fun - stand up and shout at me, or call me a dork or a creep or something; you never had any problems doing that before, did you?"

Millie flinches a little - the subtle motion causing not-so-subtle jiggling across her flabby form. "N-no, I... I wouldn't..."

"But you did, didn't you...? You were so high and mighty, so special, and surrounded yourself with the elites of the school that you hand-picked... What a silly notion. You made your own ivory tower just so you can look down on everybody else..." She titters. "And everyone looked down on you for it. And, as much as people loved your reputation... Oh, they hated you..."

Millie shakes her head. "N-no, they... They all thought I was a-awesome - and..."

Annie clicks her tongue. "Your reputation was awesome. But the mean ol' class president herself... That's another story."

As much as she wanted to - Millie couldn't deny that she was a bit of a backbiter. A gossip, and... Well, when people put you on such a pedestal, it was hard to not look down, wasn't it? She tried to justify it that way, but being confronted about it so blatantly made it hard to debate.

While Millie mulled this over, Annie began her turn.

Turn 10 - M 3500 | A 2600

Annie smoothly draws a card from her deck, and with only a glance, places it upon the board. "I'll summon Speedroid Double Yoyo. I've got a plan for this one... I'll use its effect to summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice from my graveyard." She sifts through the growing pile just above her deck and draws the proper card out, placing it beside Double Yoyo.

Millie could recall what Annie used the dice for last time - but, there's no way she could do that again... Right?

"Ah, Hagoita did me well, but I think it's time my _favorite_card took center stage... I'll sacrifice Hagoita and Red-Eyed Dice - it's time to summon... Hi-Speedroid Kendama, kekeke!" Pulling another card from her extra deck, she drops the synchro materials in the graveyard to make way for Kendama. "This is why I love duels like this... You can't hide from damage, as long as I've got this one in play. And everything you've done so far, everything you've destroyed... Just gives me even more ammo!"

Even if she didn't quite understand what Annie meant, the sheer confidence with which she spoke shook Millie - causing her to clutch her solitary card close to her chest in fear as Annie prepared to make her next move.

"I'll show you what I mean - I'll activate Kendama's effect. That means..." She reaches over to her graveyard, and flicks the top card over to her banished pile. "I'll banish Red-Eyed Dice... And hit you for 500 life points."

Even if Annie's finger merely impacted a card - Millie felt the impact on the very tip of her nose - reverberating with enough force to knock her back in her seat, even if it didn't quite hurt. "Ah-" she began; but as a palpable, sickly sensation began to take hold of her nose, the sound grew protracted, warbled and... Nasally. "Aaaah, ahn- annnhh..." It felt like a hand was nudging it, reshaping it and pushing it upward and outward... But... That wouldn't be normal, right? Of course, nothing about this was normal. Not the flab covering her body, not her disorientingly-lower vantage point, and _especially_not the odd feeling plaguing her jaw and teeth either...

Eventually, she was released from whatever force gripped her, causing her head to fall downward quickly. She caught herself before she fell face-first onto the table - taking a rapid inhale from the surprise... And, unwittingly, doing so with a sharp snrrt! "H-huh?" she whimpers, reaching up to her nose - and already it felt different. It wasn't the tiny little button it had been before; rather, it was rounder, a little more pronounced and... Upturned just a tad. However, even if she couldn't feel the difference with her hands, it still felt... Different to breathe through. If she drew in breath just a little too harshly - it'd evoke a soft snort.

She tried to grit her teeth - but something was wrong with them too. Those, she didn't exactly want to run her hands over- "Wanna see, Millie?" Annie taunts - producing a pocket mirror. When Millie looked into it, her nose looked even worse than how it felt, but... More important was what had become of her teeth. She didn't quite have as pronounced buck teeth as Annie did - but her had a distinct overbite, and just baring her teeth a little would reveal matching braces.

"It'sh even worshe than I thought..." she groans; the words prompting her to lisp her way through them. "I-I can't... I..." She starts to pant with the amount of panic that comes to grip her. Taking a deep breath, she whines "I can't... snrrk b-belive thish!"

"Kekekeke! Oh, you sound amazing, Millie! Well, you sound terrible, but you sound _terribly_amazing!" she cheers. "But, if you think that's bad... I'm not done yet! Kendama hasn't even attacked yet - so, I think it'll take its shot now!"

"Nonon- snr-snrt no!" Millie begs, holding her hands over her face - but the attack comes barreling toward her invisibly; washing over her like a wave of tension suddenly locking her body up. She didn't know what to expect - if a mere loss of 500 life points could stand to damage her face like that, she couldn't tell what a loss of 2200 would do. Would she bloat to immobility? Would her clothes just disappear entirely? Warmth pervaded her body - which only exasperated the nervous sweat beading up on her chubby face.

She could feel the heat sink into her, but it seemed to... Level out upon her skin. More than the heat, she also felt a mild... Discomfort - an _itch_begun to pervade her body. In some areas; across her face, across her chest and back... It came and went, but it seemed to burrow in and focus beneath her arms and around her belly and crotch... And _especially_her scalp. When she lowered her hands from her face, she didn't seem... Any bigger - but... There were some evident changes. All this time, her skin maintained the same fair, lightly-tanned tone it had previously possessed - but now, it had faded into a familiar pallor, like she hardly saw the sun.

Millie had to look in the mirror again to find the exceptions to this - which manifested as dark freckles liberally covering her cheeks and the bridge of her broader nose. While she was observing that... She got a look at her hair as well. No longer could it be considered brown - it was an unruly expanse of jet black strands; kinked and knotted and... Even visibly greasy, which made the chubby class president squirm. Though, she supposed her entire _body_must've been similar, with as much as she'd been sweating. And, if the itch on her scalp was indicative of anywhere else...

Experimentally, Millie looked down to her bulging gut - and she could see a dusting of black hair on its lower end. Even a bit of the flesh poking out from her damaged stockings seemed to have a few short hairs dotting it... An unsavory look in her eyes. What only made things worse was how... Familiar all of this was.

Save the color of her eyes, Millie looked like she could be Annie's fatter sister. They had the same tone of skin, same color hair - and, even if it was for different reasons, both of their voices were both rather grating. The thought made Millie shudder - she wanted nothing to do with Annie whatsoever. "I look..." she begins balefully. "Sh-sho... Different..."

"Oh, I'm sure you'd have used a much harsher word ten minutes ago, Millie..." the club president jabs. "Is it because a homely little thing like you would be called out for such a thing, now? Or is it because you're too shy to say what's really on your mind? Kekeke... Or could it even be that you're thinking a little _different_yourself? Could the Millicent of ten minutes ago may as well be a million years ago? Kekeke..." she theorizes.

Millie cowers in her seat, looking between Annie and the cards on the table. "I... I don't know, I... I don't want to sh-shay anything... N-no, I don't wa-want to snrrt t-talk about thingsh like that - can we jusht p-play the game, pleashe?"

Annie nods, chuckling to herself. "Oh, is that all that's on your mind? I hear all sorts of things, I'm a bit of a gossip-hoarder myself, are you sure that doesn't interest you at all? Not a word about the scandalous details of your classmates? Changes in the world of fashion? Nothing like that?"

Millie puffs out her cheeks, shaking her head. "J-jusht end your turn already..."

"How single-minded of you, but I can appreciate the passion... Of course, if you were paying attention to the duel, you'd know I'm not done just yet, kekeke..." She motions to Double Yoyo. "I've got one more attack to make."

She does!? Oh gosh... I-it can't end the game, but I'll just be one hit away from losing... Even if she doesn't, Kendama can take me down next turn if I don't do something! Think, Millie, think... Y-your hand is empty, but your field is loaded. You can do something, just...

_ _

"... N-no, you d-d-don't." she whimpers - earning an inquisitive thrum from Annie. "It'sh... Jusht like lasht time - I-I'm the underd-dog now, so... snrrk... I can shummon another card thanksh to Aroma Gardening!" Her hands tremble as she sifts through her deck, pulling out another Aromage Rosemary. "S-so Jusht like lasht time - I shummon Roshemary, she'll save me!" She shuffles her deck and hurriedly places Rosemary - somewhat cocked, at first, before adjusting her - on the field.

"Oh?" Annie taunts. "Going to stall me again? Just because you set one of them to defense position..."

Millie raises a finger and tilts her head, thrumming. "No, not thish time... I can do thish... Yeah, yeah!" Looking up to Annie, she snorts a little as she prepares to explain herself. "Roshemary activatesh Aroma Gardening, so I gain 1000 life pointsh. Because of that, I finally get the chance to ushe thish!"

Millie flips over Dried Winds - something that makes the students behind her give soft "Ooooh..."s as they work out her plan themselves.

"With Dried Windsh, I can destroy Kendama!" Her voice rises into an excited squeal as she makes this proclamation - and for the first time since Millicent's defeat had been apparent, Annie looks visibly chuffed.

"Hmph - that's a good one..." she admits, moving Kendama to the graveyard. "And I get nothing out of destroying Double Yoyo, so... I cancel my attack. Well done, Millie..." Her smile creeps back onto her face. "Your cards really did you well, huh?"

Millie nods vigorously, then brushes some hair off of her face. "Y-yeah! Thish deck... It'sh shtrong, for shure, but... I guessh it's more important to me than jusht that?"

"An astute observation... And if you win this one, won't it be even more special? The deck that won you your life... Kekeke... Harsh trials make for strong bonds, after all... But, you'll need to beat me first. I've got one monster on the field left - now it's your turn to deal with them!"

Turn 11 - M 1800 | A 2600

Millie wipes a bit of sweat from her hand off on her jacket before drawing her next card - Blessed Winds. It didn't help her out just yet, but... It could stand to help her in a pinch. Of course - she wasn't sure how much leeway she had left to be put in a pinch. Every major move Annie has made has put her at a steep disadvantage; could she even survive another? And that comment about how she couldn't hide from Kendama...

Millie was nervous, but she looked down at Rosemary on the table - the card glittering before her. For the first time, Millie could stand to deal some real damage - only Annie had that privilege prior; all the damage that had been dealt to Millie and Annie herself had been through Annie's own actions. With Rosemary on her side... Maybe she'd earn the initiative?

"Snrrk." Millie begins, lowering Blessed Winds down to the field, face down. "I shet a card. Now, Roshemary helped me lasht turn - now it'sh my time to return the favor. I activate Aroma Garden - she gainsh 500 attack, and I gain 500 life pointsh. Because of that - Dried Winds activates. I don't need to attack to deshtroy Double Yoyo!"

With a soft groan, Annie moves the card from the field to the graveyard - and the students gathered around the duel begin to murmur again.

"I thought she was done for, but..."

"Hey, maybe she's got a chance? Dried Winds is doing some work..."

"Not even the last guy lasted this long against the president, maybe the class president has some skills after all?"

Millie blushed a little as she continued her turn. "Now, that there'sh nothing in the way, I..." Millie looks up to Annie and feels compelled to blurt out "Sh-shorry, but..." Shaking her head, she points toward the club president. "R-ro-roshemary attacksh you d-directly."

"Ooh, that's gotta hurt..."

"Just a little more, and she might win!"

"Hey, the duel ain't over yet..."

Annie raises a hand to her forehead, groaning - but transitioning into a bit of a chuckle. "Uuuugh... I guess I should be glad you've only got weak monsters in your deck, or that could've ended things right here and now..."

Millie sits up a little. "Th-they're not weak! They..." She puffs out her cheeks a little. "I... C-can't force them t-to be shtrong on their own, that's not fair to them... But if I t-try my besht in a duel - if I p-plan and use them the besht ways I can, if I... T-treat them right, we'll win - snrrt- together!"

Annie shakes her head, smirking. "Before this... Wouldn't you have thought that sentiment was... A little childish?"

Looking down to her cards, Millie nods bashfully. "M-maybe, but... I don't think sho now. That'sh all that'sh important." Motioning to the table, Millie concludes. "It'sh your turn."

Turn 12 - M 2300 | A 0300

Almost begrudgingly, Annie replies "I suppose it is... But don't think you've won just yet. I just need to get rid of a few unneeded things..." She reaches over to draw, then smirks.

"Now, I'll start by activating the effect of Horse Stilts in my graveyard, but before I finish that... You haven't forgotten my trap card, have you?" She muses, motioning to her set card - then, she perks up. "Oops! I guess I gave it away, kekeke..." Turning it over, she reveals Karma Cut. "Time for a bit of housecleaning. I'll activate this card - and discard this one." She flashes Pulse Mines from her hand before dropping it in the graveyard. "Because I want that Rosemary gone."

"No!" Millie whimpers. "Roshemary..." She holds one hand over her face, but... Annie is so cruel - I can't let her go out like that. She'll save me, even in the end! "I-I'll activate a t-trap card of my own!" She quickly flips over Blessed Winds, then picks up Rosemary. "I'll send Roshemary to the graveyard - sh-sho you can't get rid of her that eashily! Blesshed Windsh givesh me 500 life pointsh, too!"

"Oh, well... But, what's 500 life points to you, right now? Kekeke... You've got no defenses left, and it'll be awfully hard to pull another Aromage from your deck with my life points so low..."

"B-but you don't have any monshtersh left, do you...?" Millie inquires fretfully.

Snickering, Annie picks up her deck. "Well, I still need to finish what Horse Stilts started. That's banished, and I need another bit of ammo in my graveyard - another Double Yoyo will do." Ammo? N-no, she couldn't mean... After shuffling her deck, Annie places Karma Cut in her graveyard; its effect concluded. "Ah, and now it seems I have an empty playing field... A perfect stage for my perfect card to return! From the graveyard, I activate Kendama's effect - and summon it back to my field.

Millie's entire body tenses - she thought she'd gotten rid of it!

"I told you that you couldn't hide from Kendama, kekeke... Now, let's see if we can't end this... I banish Double Yoyo, and that's another 500 points of damage to you, Millie!"

With another flick of a card from the graveyard to the banished pile, Millie feels another impact - and this time, it demolishes the last remaining holdout of her outfit. The top half of her shirt had done an exemplary job in containing her enlarged, flabbier breasts, but... The impact seemed to cause each button to pop off - some skittering across the desk and others just falling into Millie's lap. Her breasts surged forth - the doughy mounds having far surpassed her natural amount of perkiness and beginning to sag until they rested upon her gut - but that wasn't the intended effect of the curse, this time.

She watched as the heavily- freckled mounds enlarged further - taking up more space upon her chest, and... Oddly, she saw the pert surface of her nipples begin to darken; progressing from a pink pallor to a deeper shade of brown... With her nipples themselves thickening up - seeming to extend further from her chest even if the gravity binding her bosom prompted them to turn downward just a little.

Once more, the red-faced class president squealed and tried to cover her now-exposed flesh - all while Annie continued to cackle. "And we'll end it with this - Kendama attacks you directly!"

Millie couldn't lose like this - she tried to look down at Kendama; she was sure it wasn't strong enough to take her down in one attack, even with that effect... She tried to read its effect more intimately; to find some counter to it, but... The more she focuses, the blurrier everything becomes. The text fades into a greyish amalgam and the card itself gets hazy - the entire desk seems to be bleeding into itself. "U-uh... Snrk... What'sh happening now...?" she gripes. While not exactly finding comfort in the realization, she finds some solace in the fact that none of the students would recognize her nudity... Except Annie, of course, but... Even so, she removes her hands from her breasts to try rubbing her eyes, but that makes it worse.

"Oh? Having trouble there, Annie? Did my attack catch you blindsighted...?" she teases. "Well, that makes two of us... Disappointingly, you're hanging on by just a thread... And my turn is through."

Turn 13 - M 0100 | A 0300

"I am?" she muses, squinting at the vague shape that used to be Annie. "B-by how much? I can't... I can't shee."

Annie gives an inquisitive thrum. "How much? Oh, by just 100 life points. Perhaps I was too excited, I didn't quite calculate properly... But, we can't quite continue if you can't see, can we? Who could tell what cards you're playing, when you're blind as a bat... Kekeke..." Millie can hear some shuffling, and just barely she can see Annie hold something before her. "But I can help... I'm always about giving people what they want, you know..."

Millie reaches out, but her hand brushes past naught but air. "Ah- how can you, um... H-help? Are you... Ish it... Y'know..."

Annie clicks her tongue. "With glasses. You're a bright girl; I think you would've figured that out yourself..." she jabs. "But, as for how to obtain them, let's say you just need to say a magic word..."

Millie gives a soft whine. "... Pleashe?"

"Please what?

"P-puh... Pleashe give me the glasshesh?"

Annie gives a soft tut-tut. "How assertive! Dare I say rude - and don't you want to be better than that?"

A sour look falls over Millie's face. Despite the... Cruel scenario that led her to become like this... Truthfully, she did. If people wanted her taken down a peg for her demeanor and rudeness... If nothing else, this was a fine lesson in how to properly conduct herself. She... Didn't even consider it in a clinical sense, or an exchange of pleasantries for allegiance - if she was... A nicer person, people would be happier. Wasn't that enough...? "M-may I pleashe have the glasshesh?"

"May I please have the glasses... Whom? Kekeke..."

"Hnnnnn... M-may I p-puh-pleashe have the g-glasshesh, Annie!"

"You're getting warmer, but... I think I'm about ready to assume my proper title. Maybe it doesn't matter to you much now, but I know you used to understand that a woman of power needs that to be recognized..."

Red-faced and wincing, Millie finally blurts out "MayIpleashehavetheglasshesh...! P-president Annie?"

With a frustratingly-unsure groan, Annie eventually concludes. "Fiiiine." and deposits the glasses in Millie's sweaty hand. It takes a bit of blind fiddling to properly orient them - but when Millie puts them on...

Her vision is still largely dark. Oh - wait, that's just her hair... Brushing it out of the way, she finds her vision cleared up - and sees Annie holding up the mirror once more. Millie... Hardly recognized her reflection. The messy, dark hair, the befreckled pallor of her skin, the brace-clad teeth she bore, and now the addition of round, thick glasses - big enough to magnify her eyes and accentuate her now-muddy, brown irises... It painted a vivid image of someone she would've looked down upon from her absurdly high horse. A nerd. A dork. A geek. A loser...

And, with only a sliver of life points left, she felt like that might be the case. She... Was roped into this duel because she was... Acting terribly. It was up to her and her deck to absolve herself, but... Did she fail her cards? Even with Annie's manipulation, she couldn't help but place the blame for all of this squarely upon herself. After being taunted by Annie; degraded by her... A loser was exactly what she felt like.

"It's down to the wire now, Millie..." Annie reminds her. "My turn is over... And unless you have a secret weapon packed away in that deck of yours, the game is too~"

Annie was right - it all came down to this. This could very well be her last draw, and... Even if it wasn't, she had no game plan for how to bring down Kendama. I can... Use Dried Winds to put it down, but she can bring it back. I'll need... Rosemary - even Jasmine. With the garden's power, they can finish this right here and now. If I can't knock out Kendama now, then... She can just knock my monster out, and if she gets another...!

Millie can feel herself panting and softly snorting as she mulls over the worst case scenario of the duel. Even the more positive scenarios seemed bleak - as crafty as Annie had been, she might have something waiting in her graveyard yet to be triggered, or some effect she'd been waiting to activate just to crush Millie during her ascent to victory...

But, all these what-ifs only served to scare her further - not get her closer to victory. Fear - and, eh, magic - was what Annie counted on to lead her to victory, more than her cards ever could. Millie looked at her deck, then to the cards on her field, and... Even if she couldn't stop her hands from trembling, or the sweat from rolling down her face, or the pangs of tension and hunger in her gut... She was prepared to draw.

Tentatively, she draws her card - and is greeted to the familiar sight of Aroma Gardening. It joined Aroma Garden in her hand of cards she had no use for, but...

Did she need to play something this turn? Her eyes turn to her graveyard... And a plan starts to form.

"I end my turn..." she drones out; her tone utterly defeated.

_ _

Turn 14 - M 0100 | A 0300

"Music to my ears~" Annie chimes as she draws - not even looking at her card. "I'm not gonna risk you pulling that Aroma Gardening shtick again, so I think Kendama's effect will be enough to tie this duel up with a neat little bow... So, I'll banish Double Yoyo..."

"Snrt." Annie looks from her graveyard to her opponent, and sees the look of despair that had settled upon Millie's face slowly fading - rising into a look of shock. "It... Won't be." she says - almost awed at her own discovery.

"Nono-" Annie chides. "Like I said, I'm not attacking - you can't pull another Aromage out of your deck-"

With her hands shaking, Millie reaches up to push her glasses up by their bridge, turning her attention back to Annie. "I don't need to!" she says - a bit of delight filtering into her voice. "Blesshed Windsh takesh effect!"

Annie furrows her brow. "Eh? You've got nothing to sacrifice... Have I broken you? Are you making up rules as you go along...?"

Millie shakes her head. "I'd never-! Thish... Thish ish real, and... I haven't losht yet! Blesshed Windsh letsh me shuffle a plant monshter from my graveyard to my deck and gain 500 life pointsh... Sho, the damage from Kendama's effect cancelsh out!" She reaches for her graveyard, and picks up Bergamot - delicately sliding him back into the middle of the deck, and shuffling it while Annie glowers.

"So what..." she hisses.

"Sho- that meansh Dried Windsh activatesh too! Kendama goesh to the graveyard-"

Annie leans forward, placing a hand on the table. "And I bring it back, with its effect. You're starting to annoy me..." She wrinkles her nose a little, then looks down at the board. "I don't care - I'll wipe you out next turn. You can't put Kendama down, and even if you _do_bring out a monster, I'll wipe you out with its effect. Kendama attacks directly-"

By now, the trepidation Millie had been carrying had fully shed; the overweight girl almost bounces in her seat - her doughy body wobbling as she does so - as she continues her series of counterplays. "Sho I'll shummon Aromage Bergamot from my deck, and gain 1000 life pointsh! Y-you'll have to destroy him if you want to take me down!"

Millie jumps as she hears someone clap behind her - the noise sudden and startling; but as it continues... And as another person joins them, she settles back into the duel. Was this what it was like when people... Liked her? Wanted to see her succeed instead of fail? She... Could get used to this.

Annie, on the other hand, was less than thrilled. "Uuuuuuugh... I was enjoying myself earlier, but now you're just dragging it out... How much further do you want to fall down the social ladder, anyway...?" she gripes. "I'll turn you into a hideous little troglodyte if that's what you want... Maybe you'll be lucky and have a card made in your image..."

"Sh-shh," Millie rasps. "y-your turn is shtill going... A-and Bergamot's attack ish raished by hish effect! Hish attack ish-"

Annie waves her off. "Doesn't matter, it's enough to defeat me if I continue my attack... I'm calling it off, and ending my turn... Hmph."

Turn 15 - M 1100 | A 0300

This is it. Millie thinks. This is really it, this time... Even with Kendama on the field, even if she has something else... I think... I, uh, maybe... Actually... Really... Did it.

"You... Shaid you'd b-buh-beat me o-on your n-next turn..." Millie stammers out, drawing another card... And delighting at the sight of the kindhearted smile of Aromage Jasmine. "But... There won't be a next turn. My... M-my Aromagesh... Protected me, at the end of this wh-whole duel - and I'll show you!"

Even as weak as she seemed, Millie placed down Jasmine face-up - having appeared on her first turn, and what may very well be her last turn.

"I shummon Aromage Jashmine! Aroma Gardening givesh me 1000 life pointsh - and givesh Bergamot 1000 more attack! But that'sh not all- Aroma Garden givesh Jashmine and Bergamot 500 more attack, and givesh me another 500 life pointsh! And- a-and..." Millie tried to bite her lip, but her overbite prevented it from making contact - so she continues unimpeded. "I'm n-not afraid to l-loshe a little more - I shacrifice 1000 life pointsh to shummon Aromage Marjoram from the graveyard!"

Annie balks - moreso at the decision than the field. Millie was preparing. Millie's glasses had fogged up a little with the amount of heat that was pouring off of her - her entire body looking sweaty; and her dark hair clinging to her neck and forehead. The girl was practically glistening - and having taken damage of her own volition, the curse only made this worse. Her skin regained a bit of color - but... Not as she might have wished; rather, in spotty amounts.

Small red patches began to manifest upon her skin - defined spots of acne sprinkled in alongside her freckles, dotting her cheeks, her nose, and her forehead... Whatever her greasy hair didn't cover, of course. Her complexion was nothing short of a mess - a pallid base made... Ruddier by the blemishes upon it - in some cases hard to discern from one-another. It was hard to tell, just from a glance, whether any given mark was the start of a pimple, a freckle... And even a small mole beside her lower lip, which hadn't been there prior, brought the rest of the ensemble into question.

But, rather than feel bogged down by the recurring haze of the curse setting in - Millie felt great about her turn. This feeling... Wresting victory from the jaws of defeat; it was... Terrifying, in a word - and she could tell that she was easily scared. But, the act of doing so was exhilarating. In her entire life, she'd never felt anything like this - but something told her... This was just a part of dueling. In all her life - using dueling as a measure of one's wit, their status, or using it for business or something silly like that... She understood it now, but she saw something more than that in the game now.

It was... For lack of a better word, fun. Playing, collecting, competing - that was more enjoyable than anything else. More than fashion, or gossip, or being the talk of the town; especially when that talk was centered around her connections more than her merit.

Millie places Marjoram on the field, and pushes up her glasses again, wearing a quivering smile - bearing her brace-clad teeth. "I'm... R-really glad we got to duel, Annie..." she admits. "B-becaushe I don't want people t-to think of me ash the... Mean girl - and with thish... I-I want them to know that I'm the besht duelisht in the school!" She sits up in her seat and points directly at Annie, the sudden motion causing her exposed breasts to wobble. "Bergamot attacksh Kendama directly - a-and th-that endsh the game!"

Annie looks up and gives a low, gravelly wail of defeat, slumping back in her seat; letting her arms fall limply to her sides.

Game!

As Millie sinks back into her own seat, she looks down at her field - with the three Aromages in position before her. She... She knew better than to think that it had a strategic advantage to summon more than just Jasmine for the life points, but... It just felt better to do that - for the flash, and... For the fun of it.

Another baleful sound escapes Annie, but rising over that is the discussion of the other students - some of them applauding, others giving her words of encouragement.

"I thought the president had it for sure - but you sure showed her!"

"I was rooting for you from the start!"

"My heart was pounding during that last turn..."

"I've gotta take you on - I feel like I could learn a lot!"

Was this... Whatever curse had been laid upon her, or was this just how they felt? Millie felt her cheeks heating up again - and she bashfully waved the students off... Especially in light of the fact that she was still pretty much nude. "U-um...! Th-thank... Snrt! Thank you! B-but, um, I... I have to t-take care of... Things..." she admits, looking back to Annie. With mixed cheers and moans of disappointment, the rest of the club disperses - dividing amongst themselves to return to their activities or discuss what had just gone down...

And leaving Millie and Annie alone in their corner of the room. Delicately, Millie begins to gather her cards - and by the time her deck is reassembled, Annie manages to sit forward again, glaring at Millie. Millie nervously averts her eyes - but feels pressed to speak first.

"U-um, you... You p-played... W-we-well." she begins, trying to find a way to broach the subject on her mind... "B-but, um... Your- uh... Whatever you did..."

Annie picks up her coin from the table, turning it over in her hands. "I thought it'd bring you low, president..." she admits with audible venom. "But I suppose I'll have to settle for this instead." She smirks again, looking up and down at Millie. "Or, what - did you think it'll fix itself if you beat me?"

Millie tilts her head, her eyes widening. "It... Won't? B-bu-but... But...!"

Annie begins to snicker, waiting for her to come to the realization herself.

"B-but, doesh that mean nobody's g-gonna ever she me ash being... Y'know, n-n-naked...?" she muses - to Annie's immense disappointment.

Rolling her eyes, she spits "No, that goes away. But you - I mean, you... I don't know how-" She stops herself. "That can't be fixed."

That seemed to be a... Lighter blow to Millie than Annie expected. She pouted a little, and looked down at herself, whimpering. "So... N-no more... Queen bee?"

"Nope." Annie affirms, trying to twist the knife.

"This is just... M-me, now?"

"That's how it works."

Looking behind herself, Millie casts a glance at the other students. "And... P-people are okay with that?"

Annie perks up. Millie seemed to be taking this rather well, all things considered... Looking down to her coin, a snide smile spreads across her face. "Yeah... This is what they think of you. I guess you've got more fans now, but..." She motions toward the students. "They're out a president, now."

Millie whips back toward Annie. "Oh! Yesh, I... I totally forgot about that! But... Eh... That meansh I'm shtill..."

Annie nods, starting to gather her cards up. "And all of them are the same. I wonder what they'd think of you now..."

Millie shudders, looking over to the paperwork - now outdated, seeing as Annie was no longer taking over leadership of the club. "Um... A-ah... H-hey, um..." she begins nervously - only for Annie to finish.

"I... Think I know what you're thinking, Millie... And, I said I give people what they want, didn't I...?" she teases. Rolling her coin over in her fingers, she eventually settles it in her palm - and extends her hand, offering it for a shake. "I never said you're an exception..."

Millie sets her pen down, huffing as she finishes the last signature on the paperwork. Seeing as she'd been used to pawning it off on other people for so long, she had no idea how much writing was actually involved in something that formalized a simple change in position in an extracurricular club. It was weird to see her name and signature on the paper - having actually been penned by her hand.

It was even weirder to slide it across the desk to the class president. "There you go! That should take care of it - I'm... I-I'm shorry if my handwriting ish a little shloppy..." she says bashfully, brushing a bit of unkempt hair out of her face.

"Ohoho, never you mind, dear - believe you me, I've seen leagues worse." the class president responds, placing a hand close to her chest. She looked like the very image of the class president Millicent had embodied - a neatly-pressed and immaculate school uniform, an imposing stature, a lithe figure and a... Classy look. The class president's raven locks were gathered into delicately-primped drills, and a light dusting of makeup graced her sunny, lightly-tanned face. Were it not for their... Previous interactions, she never would've thought the girl standing before her would be Annie-

Rather, Annalise Tempo. In reinventing herself to better assume the position Millie meekly vacated, she attempted to tap into an air of nobility, and thought her full name would lend to that image. The stenciled-on beauty mark might've been a bit much, though...

"I'll file this myself, dear; suffice it to say your position will be formalized promptly. Even before I assumed the... Temporary position, I found the previous president of the dueling club... Hmph- wanting. I'm sure you'll do plenty better on your own merit." Annalise assures. Be it earnest or simple flattery - Millie knew to expect both from the new class president - the new club president felt elated at the praise.

"Gosh... Th-thanksh!" she lisps out, bouncing a little in her seat. She found the relinquishing of her position as class president - among stepping back from some of her more... Vanity activities - to be downright therapeutic; finding an odd amount of relaxation in her new love of dueling and collecting. Some might say she was... Too relaxed, or at least bringing that more laid-back demeanor into facets of her life where it wasn't quite serving her well - her looks being one of them.

In contrast to the club president, her rather flabby body was covered by a plus-sized uniform in a rather disheveled state. Her skirt was wrinkled, her jacket unbuttoned, and her tie undone - even her shirt seemed creased in a way a mere day of being worn couldn't cause... To say nothing of the impressions of sweat upon it - or the undeniably large impressions of her nipples against her shirt. Her hair wasn't much better either - it only fell to her shoulders now, and her bangs had been trimmed back - somewhat unevenly - but it was just as dishevelled as ever. But, as far as she was concerned - when she was in the dueling club, she was home; so she felt no guilt in being a little untidy.

Millie realized that there were... Quite a few things about the curse Annalise had laid upon her that she could fix on her own merit. She could_stand to lose some weight, she _could_shower more, she _could style her hair and gussy herself up like she used to... Or, she could at least do something with her newfound acne problem, which seemed to be even worse now than before. But, admittedly, she found little motivation to do so. There were some that prodded her about her weight, others about her state of dress, and... Many, especially in her prior friend group, that derided her overall style and presentation. They called her a loser and a geek - and she... Really couldn't refute that, and certainly didn't have the nerve to even try and confront them. But, commanding a high rung on the social ladder wasn't a priority for her anymore.

Besides - when it came down to it, she could wipe the floor with any of them in a duel; and that was an infinitely more important quality than 'popularity'.

"Now, I am woefully busy with these new responsibilities, so I haven't much time to visit, but..." She looks behind herself, then leans closer to Millie. "You may have an increase in membership soon. Do you remember Melissa? Word's starting to get around that she's not quite as sweet as she wants people to believe... I think some folks might appreciate a little comeuppance... Kekeke..." She freezes, then clears her throat. "Ah- ohoho~" she corrects herself.

Millie waves her off a little, shaking her head. "Ah- I... I don't pay attention to shtuff like that anymore, but..." She looks down, rubbing her rather scuffed shoe against the ground. "I... I th-think she'd have a lot m-more fun with a bit lessh presshure on her..."

Annalise gives Millie's head a gentle pat - quickly wiping it off on her skirt. "Well, don't worry your pretty little head about it. I'd say 'have fun', but... I know you'll have no trouble doing that now, dear."

With that, the class president scoops up the paperwork and departs from the club room - leaving Millie alone to preside over her club. She reaches into her bag - a fanny pack, for convenience's sake - and pulls out a deckbox as she strides over to an empty desk, plopping down with an audible groan as the chair grinds across the floor as a result of her weight. "Alright! Preshidential bushinessh is done - who wantsh to take me on?"

Several hands raise within the club - and so began another day for Millie. When the day was through - she'd return home; and though her _reputation_as an heiress had changed, her _existence_as one would remain untouched. No longer keen on reaping its benefits without any involvement - she found herself less interested with their prestige and more with their work. Dueling simulators, virtual environments, fully manipulable realities...

The ability to change one's avatar in such a world - to simulate sensation, and even impact the user in reality... Millie couldn't help feel a sense of familiarity.

And with that, a giddy sense of anticipation.