Hello readers of fan fiction dot net, I am crow and welcome to this story. I'd like to get a little introduction to things outta the way before the chapter starts, just to clear things up about the text. "Quotes" will, of course, be dialogue. 'Apostrophes' will be thoughts, and italics will be dreams/visions/etc. Bold will be original card names, and I'll have a little section at the end of each chapter to outline the original cards revealed in that chapter. However, I will only put cards that have their full effects revealed down there, so if a card doesnt show up, expect more to come.I guess I should put a disclaimer too: crow does not own Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh GX, or Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V. These belong to Kazuki Takahashi and Konami.Thank you for reading, and enjoy!

SUNNY HOURS

ARC 1 - CHAPTER 1

ARRIVAL

The sea breeze sprayed salty water onto the ship's passengers, and overhead, the sun shone brightly. The deck was bustling, filled to the brim with the excited chatter of Duel Academy's newest batch of incoming students, and the kids onboard were gleefully running about, dueling, and just enjoying their time before reaching the island.

Kuro Takeuchi, however, was not one of these kids. While many of the upcoming first years were revelling in the summer air and gleefully conversing with their friends, Kuro Takeuchi was alone.

Not by his choice, of course, he was quick to remind his inner monologue. He just simply had the misfortune of not having very many friends who were also duelists, much less who had made it to the prestigious Duel Academy!

And by "not very many", he obviously meant none.

Kuro Takeuchi had no friends. That wasn't to say he was unlikeable, or repulsive, or anything of that sort. He was just... odd. The weird kid.

The one who people shied away from in elementary and junior high school. The one people made fun of for his obsession with the Duel Monsters card game, even in an era where everyone and their mother played it. The one who spent his class time making up Duel Monsters cards rather than studying. So what if he was one of the 10 winners of Industrial Illusion's Worldwide Deckmaking Competition? So what if he was the owner of a completely unique, one-of-a-kind Duel Monsters deck?

The weird kid.

And yet here he was, years later, on a boat headed towards Duel Academy, THE Duel Academy, funded by Kaibacorp, founded by the champion Seto Kaiba himself.

Kuro cracked a smirk and leaned back against the railing. 'Serves them right.'

However, as cool as he felt getting accepted, that still didn't change one simple fact.

Kuro Takeuchi had no friends.

Kuro Takeuchi was, according to himself, a very average person. His excuse to his mother when she'd question why he never went out, or played with his friends, was that he was just "not that interested".

A more accurate answer would be "not that interesting".

Average. That was a good word. Not attractive, not ugly, just... Average. Or boring. Or uninteresting.

Kuro felt his eye twitching.

And yet, despite his moderately good looks, tolerable personality, and mostly positive outlook on life, people seemed to avoid the boy. Maybe it was the way he always seemed to space out while looking at people, or how he always seemed to get in everyone's way despite his active attempts to stay out of the path, or maybe it was something more simple, like how he never spoke more than a couple sentences before trying to talk about Duel Monsters? Oh, or maybe that time he accidentally called a male teacher "mo-"

"Aaaagh, shut up!" He slammed his fist against the railing.

The deck of the ship went quiet. 'Ah, crap.'

He cleared his throat and gave a light chuckle. "H-Heh, sorry." The talking resumed.

'Or maybe it's the fact that I keep trying to talk to my damn inner monologue...' He mused to himself, running a hand through his hair.

With that pesky inner monologue out of the way, Kuro decided to focus on the important things. Things like a character introduction.

Kuro Takeuchi was, as previously mentioned, a very average boy. 15 years old, standing 5'4", and weighing in at 105 lbs exactly, he wasn't anything that would attract attention. Add to those very average stats medium/short brown hair (with its natural state in a messy bedhead, of course. Nothing would move his hair short of a hurricane), a face often described as "generic", and a tendency to be easily forgotten by anyone not currently speaking to him, it made for a less than eventful life. In fact, the one thing not average about Kuro Takeuchi were his eyes and his name. His piercing blue eyes were a sharp contrast to his otherwise quite dull appearance, and the one thing people remembered about him.

The one thing besides his last name.

For you see, Kuro Takeuchi was the son of a pro. Or rather, the son of an ex-pro, one Ms. Maiko Takeuchi. After a devastating loss in the finals of a championship 3 years before Kuro was born, she shamefully left the pro league and bounced from job to job, boyfriend to boyfriend, apartment to apartment, for several years, eventually finally settling in one place to have Kuro. Who his father was, he never knew. But people would never forget who his mother was.

"Old Maiko's kid? Let's hope he's not the disappointment she was."

Kuro found himself grimacing at his thoughts.

However, Duel Academy was a brand new start. It was a chance to prove himself as more than just his mother's son, a chance to prove that the dueling spirit of Maiko Takeuchi lived on through him. He would be the top of Duel Academy, the best of the best!

And of course, with this in mind, he went and got placed in the worst dorm.

Sighing, he glanced around the boat. The Slifer Red Dorm had been split into two and spread out among the Obelisk Blue and Ra Yellow boats, due to the ship arranged for Slifer falling apart the instant someone touched it. To make things "fair" (much to the ire of Blue's students) the administration decided to spread out the other dorms as well, maintaining a rather even mix of students.

He sighed again, standing up fully and stretching. 'Well, theres still a few good hours before we reach Academy Island. It can't hurt to socialize with my peers a bit before we reach land.'

With a frown, he looked around again noticing that everyone around him was in very clear yellow and blue themed groups. Figuring it might be a bit too early for him to associate with the "higher ranks", he continued scanning the crowd, finally spotting another red jacket across the deck. 'Aha! Target acquired!'

Worming through the crowd (a fairly easy task due to his small stature and lacking presence), he got a clearer view at the Slifer student he was approaching. They turned out to be a girl, not much taller than him, her violet hair in a high ponytail, tied up by a yellow ribbon. Like him, she wore the Slifer Red uniform, although with her's she wore a red skirt below her red jacket. She gazed out over the sea, emotionless.

"Y-Yo!" Kuro tried sounding as natural as possible, coming to a stop next to where she was standing.

His voice cracked.

He mentally slapped himself at first, but thankfully, it seemed like the girl hadn't heard him. He went in for take two, this time starting with a "Hey!"

Nothing. He sighed inwardly. 'Curse my lack of character presence.' He steeled his nerves and reached out to tap the girl on the shoulder.

The girl jumped at his touch and whirled around, eyes frantic. She settled down a bit when they landed on him, her hand on her chest as her breathing slowed. "Don't scare me like that! At least say something first." Kuro scratched the back of his head, a sheepish expression on his face. "S-Sorry.." 'But I did say something. Twice.'

The girl sighed and put her hands on her face, the same steely expression on her face. "Well, can I help you?" Her tone took Kuro a bit by surprise, and he stepped back. "W-Well," he stuttered out, "I just figured it would be good to socialize with someone else from my dorm, and considering you're the only other Slifer on the main deck right now..."

The girl's expression softened immensely as she looked around, seeing the ship's population for herself. "I see, that does make sense." Kuro grinned at her before holding out his hand. "M' n-name's Kuro. Pleased to meet ya." The girl blinked at him a few times before returning the handshake. "I'm Serena."

Kuro frowned a little at her cold response, but decided it was perfectly normal considering the circumstances. After all, he was a total stranger to her.

The girl, Serena, gave him another look before returning to gaze at the sea. He took a spot at the railing next to her, looking out as well. "So, is seagazing a hobby of yours, or what? I feel like it'd get old after a while, but if thats your thing thats cool." The girl glanced at him, a curious expression on her face. "There isn't really much to do on here, is there? After you go through your deck a couple dozen times, it becomes a bit mundane. Besides," she added, pointing into the distance, "the island is in sight."

Kuro shaded his eyes from the sun, squinting at where she was pointing. "Huh, so it is. This went way faster than I expected." He turned to her and gave a light grin. "So, what brings you to Duel Academy?"

Serena raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean by that? I'm here to duel, why else?"

Kuro chuckled lightly. "Pretty simple answer. No ambitions, no aspirations?" Serena thought to herself, before speaking again, "I suppose the reason I'm here is... to find people like me."

Kuro put his hands in his pockets, tilting his head at her. "People like you?" She nodded. "None of my peers really respected dueling. The way I see things, this is my chance to prove my passion, both to myself and to the world." Serena glanced at him again. "And what about you?"

Kuro grinned. "Same for me. Almost exactly, really." The girl laughed at that. "So, what's with the deep question? Kind of odd for someone you just met, don't you think?"

Kuro scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess. W-Well, I jus' always think to m'self that 'dueling brings people together'. So, if I can ask about someone's passion for their dueling," his grin returned, "then that's the first step to making a new friend!"

Serena stared at him, shocked by the forwardness of his answer, before smiling in return. "Yeah, maybe so."

"Attention, students! We have arrived at Duel Academy. Please disembark in an orderly fashion and make your way to your respective dorms."

~GXGXGX~

Serena and Kuro walked together to the location of the Slifer Red male dorms and said their temporary goodbyes as she left for the female dorms.

~GXGXGX~

Kuro walked up the creaky steps, taking just how decrepit the Slifer Red dorms really were. 'I knew there was class discrimination here, but I didn't think it'd be so bad...'

Quickly finding his room, he examined a package outside the door with his name on it, seemingly from Academy administration. Picking it up, he took his first steps into his home for the next 3 years.

And immediately was struck by how... average the room was. He expected some ruined room, falling apart walls, broken windows, but instead what he got was a fairly normal apartment with a bunk bed, a desk, and a moderate closet.

The second thing he noticed was that the room contained another person.

Said person was dressed in a modified version of the Slifer uniform, mostly white with red accents in addition to it clearly being much too long. But the first thing he noticed was the person's hair. Long, blond, and going down to nearly his knees, tied together in a neat ponytail.

The second thing was the persons eyes. An electric blue, different to Kuro's own icy eyes, yet just as striking.

The person in question was lounging on the lower bunk, reading was appeared to be a manga. A moment later, he took notice of Kuro and tossed the book aside carelessly, standing up and walking over to him, a grin present. "Yo, you must be the first year I was told about. Kuro, right?" The boy nodded, startled at how much taller this guy was. As if his other features weren't enough, the man stood easily 6ft. In a sense, he was the exact opposite of Kuro, something the boy took notice of quickly.

The grin on the man's face never wavered. "Sweet, sweet. I'm your roommate, Reido Katsuryoku, 2nd year." The man, Reido, extended his arm to the shorter boy. "But my nickname 'round here is 'Slifer's Zero'."

Kuro shook his hand, blinking in confusion at the nickname. "Zero, huh? Why d'they call you that?" Reido's grin widened. "Eh, probably because that's about how many classes I attend." Kuro blinked again, in shock this time. "W-Wait, y'mean you jus'... don't go to class?"

Reido laughed loudly. "Yeah, someth'n like that. I'd much rather spend time here," he said, flopping back on the bunk before he pointed at Kuro with a serious expression. "I'm a bad role model."

Kuro blinked yet again, not really sure what to think of this. However, before he could formulate a response, he was distracted bt the beeping coming from his package. Reido eyed it curiously. "You know, that package is your Duel Disk. And when it's beeping like that, it's probably important."

Kuro tore open the package to see a message on his Disk's screen, signed administration;

"Attention 1st years,

Please report to the duel arena immediately for your orientation speech.

-Administration"

Reido grinned at the boy again. "Well, you better get moving eh?"

~GXGXGX~

Kuro headed toward the school, meeting up with Serena yet again on the way. They discussed their rooms, and roommates, before arriving at the school building.

~GXGXGX~

It seemed that the straggling Slifers were the last 1st years to arrive, a fact that made much more sense when they realized how close to the school the Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue dorms were.

"It's not fair, why don't they have to walk a whole mile before they reach the school?" Serena muttered to no one in particular.

It seemed "no one in particular" had a response.

"Please, you can not really suggest someone like an Obelisk be placed at the same standards as you Slifer scum," "no one in particular" spat.

Kuro and Serena turned to the voice, which turned out to be a girl in an Obelisk uniform. She had long, waist length, blonde hair, and wore a long skirt with her Obelisk jacket. She also carried herself with authority, something Kuro noticed with dismay.

'Why does everyone have more of a presence than me?'

Serena's thoughts were more vocal. "And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?"

The girl flipped her hair and glared at Serena. "I believe you know exactly what it is I mean. You Slifer's should really learn your place, before you are hit with an, "her eyes narrowed, "unfortunate accident."

The girl flipped her hair again and walked off, leaving the two Slifers with their first bitter taste of Duel Academy.

~GXGXGX~

Kuro and Serena made their way to the stands and listened to the long, boring speech prepared by the headmaster, a rather imposing man named "Headmaster Shikigami".

~GXGXGX~

"...and so I hope all of you students enjoy your first wonderful year at Duel Academy!"

The student body collectively sighed, glad the speech was over. However, their relief was misplaced, as the headmaster spoke up yet again.

"Now, for our finale, a speech from the First Year Student Representative, miss Marie Shirogane!"

The students clapped politely as a girl walked out onto the stage and took the mic the headmaster offered her. Serena and Kuro gasped, recognizing her as the same girl that had harassed them before the speech began. 'Someone like her is representative?'

"Thank you, Headmaster Shikigami. As the proud representative of Obelisk Blue, and by extension the first year class as a whole, I would like to share some sentiments with you all..."

The girl, now known to them as Marie, began her speech. It was just as long, and filled with not-so-subtle Obelisk elitism. Beyond that, Kuro couldn't even remember what was being said (he would later admit to Reido that he has zoned out while listening to it).

"...and I hope that we all can find our place at this lovely academy," she finished, very obviously glaring at the Slifer students as she said it.

The crowd clapped for her, Obelisk Blue much more than the others. With another flip of her hair, Marie Shirogane left the stage.

Serena and Kuro glanced at each other, wondering the same thing.

'Are they all like her?'

~GXGXGX~

Kuro and Serena returned to their dorms as night fell, eager to get some rest after their long first day.

~GXGXGX~

Kuro entered his room dragging his feet, weary from the trek back to the Slifer dorms. Reido watched him come in, an eyebrow raised at the sight. "You know, if that walk makes you this tired, maybe you aren't cut out for this school. Gotta walk it every day, after all." Kuro groaned in response, collapsing against the ladder to the top bunk. Reido sighed, closing his book. "Tell you what. I'll give up the bottom bunk for you, how's thst sound."

Kuro looked up just in time to see Reido grab the edge of the top bunk and swing himself around, landing laying down. He grinned at the younger Slifer.

Kuro collapsed on the bed and promptly passed out.

~GXGXGX~

Serena, on the other hand, didn't have the luxury of an understanding roommate.

Her dorm room was shared with a second year girl named Misako Miyamoto, who seemed to be intent on keeping Serena up all night with her constant complaining. And no matter how many times Serena spoke up, the girl just carried on and on and on.

"...and so, like, it's totally ridiculous, right? Like, why does my no-good brother of all people get to go straight to Obelisk when I'm stuck down here in Slifer? It really just isn't fair, I deserve it waaaaay more than him. He hasn't worked for anything, like ever, and he just always..."

The girl's chattering continued. Serena rubbed her temples, before laying down and pressing her pillows against her ears, hoping to drown out her annoying roommate.

It was going to be a long night.

END CHAPTER 1

Up next: Will Kuro learn to handle the horrifying half-mile from the school to the dorm? Does anything exciting happen in this story? Find out next time, on Overused Joke Z!