As the proctor's life points hit zero, Ceon simply smiled. He then walked out of the duel arena.

Ceon Kurisaki was a 17-year-old only child, with semi-long black hair and purple eyes. He was the type of person who was rather quiet and kept to himself. His parents were always busy with work, but they did spend their time with him whenever they had the chance. One thing his father always did with him was dueling. Though the elder never lost to his son, Ceon did have fun every time. In his father's eyes, Ceon was a dueling prodigy. Ceon also had the ability to see duel spirits. His deck was similar to Aster Phoenix, with his monsters based around Destiny Heroes. However, while Aster had the advantage of experience, Ceon had the advantage of his deck being a bit more balanced.

He sat back down on the bleachers as he was waiting for the results of his entrance exam. He knew he was going to be accepted into the Academy (seeing how anybody who beat their duel proctor was guaranteed in). The only question now was whether he would be put in the lowest level (Slifer Red), the highest level (Obelisk Blue), or right in the middle (Ra Yellow). Since he finished the duel without taking any damage and having the full 4000 life points, he was feeling really confident he would be in at least Ra Yellow. He also felt he did well on the written test. However, he had his mind only half-focused on his confidence, as he focusing also on a different duel.

A girl about his age was dueling her proctor. She had black hair as well, though it was much longer than Ceon's. She had a somewhat slender figure and red eyes. She summoned a monster he hadn't seen before. It was called Guardian Eatos. The girl then used Eatos in a direct attack to win the duel with 2600 life points left. She left the duel arena in a similar fashion to how Ceon did so after his duel and went up to the bleachers and sat next to Ceon.

Ceon was a little surprised. She was very beautiful to him and he wasn't sure what to say. He was rather shy, especially around pretty girls. He smiled to her. "Nice job on your duel," he said quietly, just loud enough for her to hear. "You did really well."

The girl smiled a bit as well. "Thanks." she replied. "It could have gone a bit better, though. Like, if I went without losing life points, like you did in your duel."

"I just got lucky, I guess," he said, realizing she had watched his duel as well. "Well, this means we are both going to be the Aca-" he started to say before the intercom interrupted him, asking him to report to the Dorm Administration area of the KaibaDome. "Well, I'm off… I'll see you around the Academy… That reminds me. I never did get your name."

"I'm Nanako Tsurugi," the girl said as Ceon ran down to Dorm Administration.

As he ran down, he thought a bit more about which dorm he would be placed. He was hoping for Obelisk, though he wouldn't mind being placed in Ra. He smiled when they gave him his new blue blazer. It was official. He was going to be an Obelisk student of the most prestigious dueling academy in the world, and he was ecstatic. He then heard Nanako's name over the intercom being called down to Dorm Administration. iI wonder what dorm she'll be put in./i he thought to himself. He then saw Doom Lord appear as a spirit. iHow interesting things will be if she ends up in Obelisk Blue…/i he told Ceon.

Ceon started to think Doom Lord must have been psychic, because after less than a minute, Nanako came by and got her new Obelisk Blue uniform. "Congrats on getting Obelisk Blue," he said to her.

"Thanks. Same to you," she replied.

"The helicopters aren't leaving here for the island for another few hours. Care to go for a walk somewhere?" he asked her.

She simply smiled. "Sure, why not," she replied, walking with him out of the KaibaDome towards the local card shop.

He smiled as he walked with her. "I'm glad we're both in the same dorm. We'll be seeing each other much more often."

"Yeah… So, you're from around here?" she asked.

"Yes. I come to this card shop on a regular basis," he replied as they entered. "I'm actually looking for a certain card. With any luck, I'll be able to find it today."

The card shop was a bit bigger than the usual card shop. It took up about the size a regular two-story house. Posters for new packs were strung up all over the bright yellow walls. The shelves were covered with new cards, packs and booster boxes.

"Funny you should mention that. There are actually two cards that I am missing to make my deck perfect," she said. "They're called Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen and Athena. Heard of any of them?"

"Those cards sound familiar…Wait a second. I think I have one of those," he said, looking in his bag to see if he could find the card. "Here it is." He said, showing her the Athena card and giving it to her.

"That's it! How did you find it?" she asked him, a smile on her face

"I got that card in a pack I bought a few weeks ago. I had a feeling I'd meet someone who'd want this card, so I decided to keep a hold of it," he said, smiling. "It's all yours, if you want it."

"Of course. Thank you very much," she said, smiling more.

"It's no problem," he replied. Then, he turned to face the shop owner. "Is it here?" he asked.

"I figured you'd be here looking for it. After all, you've been here every day this week looking for it. You're in luck. The card just came into the store earlier today," the shop owner said, handing a card to Ceon. It was Elemental Hero Prisma.

"Perfect! Thank you so much!" Ceon said, smiling even more.

"It's no trouble. So, tell me, who's the girlfriend?" the owner asked, jokingly.

"She's not my girlfriend, and her name is Nanako Tsurugi. She and I just got accepted into Obelisk Blue at Duel Academy," Ceon said, his face turning a little red at the owner's last comment.

"I'm not surprised you got into Obelisk Blue. After all, you were the one who won our past four shop tournaments," the owner replied.

"Yeah. That also means I won't be around for the next little while. But I'll definitely stop by when I come home for the holidays," Ceon said.

"Can't wait for you to return. Actually, do you still have some time to kill?" the owner asked.

"I've got about an hour or so. Why do you ask?" Ceon asked.

"Well, some of the kids here were wondering and wanted to see you duel one more time before you head out to Duel Academy," the owner said. "Maybe you could duel your new friend here."

Ceon looked to Nanako. "Fine by me, so long as she wants to."

Nanako smiled. "I like the idea."

"Perfect! Your usual dueling table is where is always is," the owner said, as Ceon led Nanako to the table. He placed his deck on the table at the same time she did. "Ready?"

They both said it at the same time. "Let's duel!"