I do not take ownership of the yu-gi-oh characters that are presented in this story.

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Chapter 1: In the Beginning

The sun beat down upon the red clay of the school's tennis courts. As Tom looked up he didn't see a cloud in the sky. It was an absolutely beautiful day, at least it would be if he wasn't sweating to death on the track.

It was gym class, and Mr. Smith turned a great sport into a death wish. He challenged every single individual of the class to get better, and if they didn't they paid the price, two laps around the track, and on a day like today, no one wanted to screw up. Of course, no one wanted to participate either, making a bad situation worse, even for Tom. He was thin with sort sandy brown hair, and to his good fortune, had a great endurance. Unfortunately that endurance was wearing thin.

His best friend Alex, on the other hand, was having a difficult time coping with the heat and the demands of Mr. Smith. Alex was slightly shorter than Tom, but had a slightly bulky build, and pitch black hair that matched his equally dark brown eyes. Both of them were sweating up a storm, but neither wanted to give in and have to answer to the lash of Mr. Smith's punishment.

Then there was the school bully, Steve, whom was also in their gym class. This young man was rather muscular, and also rather stupid, which came to no surprise to either Alex or Tom. His straight black hair and ice blue eyes gave him an almost gothic look, which only helped to further intimidate classmates. He seemed to have no difficulty in the heat of the day.

All three just also happened to be in the same game of tennis, along with the school's most beautiful girl, who had to be on Steve's team, leaving Alex and Tom together, which is how they preferred it. The girl stood only head shorter than Tom and had short straight brown hair that stopped at her chin, deep brown eyes, and a very slender and attractive body, and to top it all off had the most angelic name, Kiana. Kiana was currently on the tennis team, giving both Tom and Alex an extreme disadvantage having to go against both her and Steve, who was unaffected by the temperature.

"Hey Tommy-boy!" Steve called out in an attempt to intimidate him, "Maybe you should go sit down. You don't look so hot!"

"I wouldn't be talkin' if I were you." Tom shot back. "From this angle, you look like a buck-toothed gorilla."

This instantly got a rise out of Steve as he smashed his racket into the ball, sending it straight for Tom's head. Instinctively, Tom ducked in just enough time to feel Alex's racket sweep right across where his head had been, smashing into the ball and sending it soaring back towards Steve where it bounced in bounds, giving them yet another point.

"Thanks man." Tom said, getting back to his full upright position.
"No problem." Alex answered, "Buck-toothed gorilla?"

"Hey, it was the best I could come up with." Tom replied as he readied himself for yet another test of his endurance, but just as he had gotten into the proper position, Mr. Smith blew hard into his whistle, letting the class know that the hour was over and they were to change immediately and head home.

"Just wait until tomorrow Tommy-boy!" Steve snarled, pointing his massive index finger at Tom, and with that he headed up towards the gym.

"Hey, great game guys!" Kiana smiled. "That's the best work out I've had in a long time on the courts."

"It was our pleasure." Alex replied. "Sorry you had to get teamed up with Steve like that."

"Yea, maybe next time you'll get a better partner." Tom added as the three began to walk up towards the school together.

"I don't mind it. It's just when he goes off on his little tangents about how he's the best duelist in the town that annoy me." Kiana grumbled, slipping on her Duel Disk.

"So, you did win." Tom grinned, removing his from within the depths of his back pack.

"Yup," She grinned, "I beat the snot out of some guy trying to use a Water-attribute deck."

"Water attribute?" Alex questioned, placing his around his wrist as well. "I've never heard of someone using a water attribute deck before."

"I'm not surprised." Tom began, "It's almost unheard of for one to make it to the finals, and those are the only decks that they report."

"He was an exceptional duelist." Kiana replied, "It's just my fairies beat him to the punch."

Alex and Tom hung on her every word as she described the duel from beginning to end. Her hair waving in erratic motions from the continual movement of her arms as she was describing the battle.

With the latest in holo-technology on their wrists, the Duel Disk allowed duelists to have actual battles. Since its creation, physical violence had dropped by 80 nation-wide. The only problem was, that everyone was now resolving disputes with dueling, especially teens.

"But I don't want to bore you, and I need to get home right away, so I'll see you guys tomorrow in gym." Kiana smiled.

"Definitely." Tom nodded, "We wouldn't dream of missing it."

"Great." She chuckled, finally turning to leave the two standing at the entry way to the school.

"Let's go Romeo," Alex said, grabbing Tom by the arm, "we need to get our shit and get home."