Dream...

Ray, a shy and timid boy, who believed that everyone shares a bond when dueling, stood over a cliff, which hovered over a vast and blue ocean. He stared at the sun on the horizon. He could smell the fresh, salty air from the ocean. Even if it was just a dream, Ray wanted to escalate in it to feel more of the fresh looked slightly feminine. His hair was born with unnatural, wavy blue hair with short bangs. He usually wore a white shirt and baggy shorts when at home, but on school days his attire was a black uniform with a high color. He liked to wear black shoes with air holes and the scale-patterned scarf hidden by his uniform he usually took out when he got home. Another one of his distinctive features was his silver eyes.

Is this what Duel Academy is like?" Ray thought as he breathed in the air. "It's nice. Maybe moving won't be so bad-"

Ray felt something tingling in his head. He felt a disturbance. Something was coming for him. Ray ran from the shore toward the meadow, running with all his might. With every step he took, he could still feel the tingling in his head.

"I have to keep moving. I must get away."

Behind Ray was a shadow chasing him. Ray didn't know what kind of shadow it was that chased him, but he knew, whatever it was, couldn't be good. His legs were tired, his chest hurt, and his face was beating red.

Ray couldn't outrun the shadows. They coiled around him like a cobra, working it's way through the stimulus of his brain, and through his central cortex. The only thing Ray could do, in his last moments of breathing, was scream.

"Nooooooo!"

Reality...

Ray woke up from his nightmare, sweating and showing bloodshot eyes red. Ray checked his pulse, like his dad taught him, by touching his neck with his two fingers. His pulse was moving fast; he was scared. He calmed himself down by singing a song his mother taught him—the same one she sang to his father when she confessed that she loved him.

"My soul is a chorus of singing mermaids My love is hard for you like a gemstone You seem callous to everyone in their eyes, but to me you're benevolent in every way So let us be connected, let us hold each other together, and let us commemorate all that we share."

All of Jay's anxiety flew away. He liked singing that song, but the way his mother did it was better. Jay walked to his desk and pick up his deck holder, opening it and took out his deck. Jay's father was the one who made his deck. It took years to find every card, but he was able to set it up just for him.

Jay liked to spend more time with his mother, than his father, so he knew a little about how to act around women. Despite this, he still loved his dad in every way. His father is a detective and his mother is a gravure idol. Jay still didn't know what his mother found in his father. Besides being thoughtful, he was rude, uncaring, smelly, perverted, and a bit of a jackass

"My cards," Jay thought out loud when he looked through them. "Their not the best cards, but their mine. And one day, I hope I'll get to beat my dad with them."

"Jay, time for breakfast!" Jay's mother called downstairs. " We're having rice ball's and udon; your favorite."

"Okay, I'll be right down!"

OOO

Jay's father was a little eccentric and his mother was a bit of a ditz and a worrywart. Jay's father sat on the other end of the table, newspaper in hands, and was reading through the newspaper as he stuck his fork into his udon and ate the whole thing in one bite. Jay's mother, the worrywart, she was standing besides her husband with plates in hand. She wasn't too sure about Jay.

"Are you sure Jay should go? What if he doesn't like Duel Academy? What if all the other students are mean to him?"

"Junichi, stop babying the boy. He'll be fine. He is our son after all. Besides..." Nuo stroked Junichi's chin, then he pecked her on her left cheek. " When was the last time you and I got some alone time? Oh, is there a cold sore on my lips?"

"I don't see anything."

"Are you sure? You'll have to look closer because it's there."

Nuo made kissing gestures with his lips as Junichi playfully stopped him with her hands. "Nuo, stop it!"

"Come on. I'm feeling a little peckish. Mind if I peck the nape of your neck with my lips."

"Stop it!"

"Dad, you don't need to show me your wild side in front of mom," Jay said as he walked down the stairs. "It's just creepy."

"Yada, yada, yada. You know, if it weren't for me being creepy, Jay, you wouldn't have been born."

" Don't tell me that. It's even creepier."

"So, today your going to try to get into Duel Academy, Jay?"

"Yes Dad."

"I hear that it starts where if you pass you'll leave tomorrow. Like how my father brought me to Japan when I was six. I just want you to know Jay, even if you aren't able to pass today, you're still my son. My noisy, ranting, crazy son that I'll miss."

"Thanks Dad."

"But remember Ray, if you do pass and get anything lower than an A on your report card, I'll fly over to Duel Academy and neuter you with my scalpel. I'll use a syringe with sedatives to make you not feel any pain and carve your neutered parts like a turkey."

"You always know what to say, dad. You always know what to say."

"Just promise me if you study you'll get to bed by midnight," Junichi said.

"I will, Mom. I will."

"And don't take candy from anyone."

"Alright."

"And, if you feel sick, I put some medicine in your bag."

"Okay."

"You have motion sickness so make sure to take one when your on the plane. And-"

"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore!"

"If your not a kid, then why do you still play with dolls?" Jay's dad smirked.

"Their not dolls. Their action figures. Collectible action figures. And when I'm your age, Dad, they'll be worth a fortune."

"Whatever. You better eat up. The exams start in one hour."

" "Ah! Your right!" Jay ate the rice ball's and udon with his bare hands and quickly shoved them down. He then ran for the door. "Bye , mom. Bye to you, dad. I'll be going now-"

" Hold it!"

"What is it now, dad?"

"C'mere and give your father a hug."Jay walked up to his father expecting him to actually hug him, but instead he gave him a garbage bag with stinky garbage. "It's Wednesday. Wednesday is trash day. Make sure to take it out before you leave."

"Yes Dad. Thanks for your concern about the garbage."

"Ah, I'm just kidding you. Here." Jay's dad wrapped his arms around Jay and gave his son a big hug. "But you still have to take the garbage out. Don't forget to kiss your mother, before you go, though."

After a quick kiss on his mother's cheek Jay headed towards the door, grabbed his bag, and was about to head out. However, he was stopped by the sound of his parent's cheering for him from behind. Saying:

"Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!"

"Geez, it's just an exam. Why do parents make a big deal out of everything?"

Jay left his house and ran towards where the exams were going to be taking place. As he was gone Junichi, Nuo's wife, clinged onto his right arm, rubbed her head affectionately against his sleeves, saying, "Are you sure he's going to be alright?"

Don't worry. It will take some time for him to delve everything, but I'm sure he can get a firm grasp of things. Like I said, he is my son."

Junichi smiled listening to her husband's words. She then noticed her wedding ring, rubbed it thinking about him, and saying, "Your right. We haven't been this close since our honeymoon."

"Yeah. It's too bad Jay's birth was an accident. Should've got the condoms at a drug store."

"Well, I'm just staring at my wedding ring thinking about that night. What are you going to do about it?"

"Alright, we'll have one quickly. And no cuddling afterward. Deal."

"Deal."

OOO

The entrance exams already started when Jay got there. The line ended at a desk with two attractive girls in their early twenties and a man wearing a blue suit. Jay waited patiently for his turn to give his attendance. However, he couldn't stop pondering what might happen if he went to Duel Academy.

"Is this place really meant for me? Do I have a chance of being a great duelist? My dad says it's not suppose to be about winning, only about having fun, but if all I do in this academy is lose...what kind of duelist am I?"

"What's with the hold up?" A boy around his age shouted. Your holding up the line!"

"Ah! I'm sorry. I'm going-"

Jay, without thinking, ran straight into another student's back and fell with a thud. When he fell, all the other boys and girls fell with him. They fell over each other like a stack of domino's and they all groaned when they hit the ground. The person Jay bumped into turned his head around and blinked.

"I'm sorry," the person said apologetically. "I must have spaced out. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Jay replied. "What were you spacing out about?"

"Those two hot chicks near the table. I just wanna run up to them and climb them like a monkey."

"Are you sure you should be judging girls just because their cute?"

"Of course. Because... I'm very superficial."

Jay's first thought when seeing the person was he was an idiot. He looked kind of dopy too. He wore a black uniform, just like Jay, with an exception of how his had a pin with a smiley face on it, his hair was dark brown, though he used gel to keep it smooth, and there were bags under his eyes. For some reason Jay thought he could be friends with the dopy looking person.

"My name is Jay. Jay Yusui."

"Nice to meet ya, K."

"It's Jay. I have a J in my name."

"Whatever. My name's Ridley. Ridley Sanada. I'm here to improve my Dueling skills, and maybe get some girls email addresses as well. I'm a lover not a fighter."

"Next please," one of the girls said behind the desk. Ridley heard her, leaped with joy, and ran up to the desk. Jay didn't pay much attention to him, as he was too preoccupied with the boys and girls groaning underneath his feet. That's when he heard them say " Next please" and walked up to the desk.

"Name," the receptionist on the right said.

"Jay Yusui."

"Age," the receptionist on the left said.

"Fifteen. Shouldn't the rest of this be on my koseki? I called for an admittance."

The man, standing behind the desk and wearing a blue uniform, handed out sheets of paper.

"Okay, everyone line up for your tests. The higher you get the better your chances of getting into the academy will be."

"Hurry it up, man," Ridley said to Jay.

"I'm hurrying up," Jay whined. "Don't rush me."

Jay and Ridley both ran up to the desk and were handed test papers. Jay was the first one to look at the test questions:

What card allows you to draw two cards? A: Jar of Greed B: Cup of Ace C: Pot of Greed D: Card of Destruction Yes, because every school exams have these kind of questions! I mean screw giving actual questions that focus on actual subjects like math, science, english, and social studies. No! If you know Duel Monsters, you are the smartest person on the planet!

"Easy peasy." Jay circled in C: Pot of Greed. Cup of Ace allowed a player to draw two cards, but it could very well go to his opponent as well. "Okay, next question."

If the Field Spell Gaia Power is face-up on the field, which of these monsters will gain the field bonus? A: Koijchyoi B: Reborn Zombie C: Solar Flare Dragon D: Warrior of Atlantis

"You'd have to be a complete simpleton not to get this right." Jay circled A: Koijchyoi. He was a Warrior monster, had 1500 ATK, and was inded an Earth monster. In Gaia Power all Earth monsters gained 500 ATK. "Okay, on to the next question."

When you use fusion Dark Magician and Flame Swordsman using Polmerization what monster do you get? A: Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon B: Solar Flare Knight C: Dark Magician Knight D: Chaos Sorcerer

"Dark Magician Knight is the only Fusion Monster on here. "

"Hiya. This test is totally cliche, man."

Jay ignored Ridley's comment and went back to his test. On the very last question there was a picture of what looked like an old lady with purple lipstick and long blond hair.

Bonus Question-no marks added. What gender is the person on this picture, Doctor Crawler?

A: Male B: Female C: Hermaphite

"I-I don't know this one. And uck, I would really hate to grow up to look like him...or her. I don't know. It's hard to tell."

"Time's up! Everyone please hand in your test!" Everyone, including Jay and Ridley, handed their tests in to the teacher. He took out a bobby pin and pinned them together as he held the tests in. "Okay, now it's time we moved onto the next section of the test. Dueling. Each of you will get to use your own decks, or starter decks if you like, and will duel one of our counselors."

One kid, with meshy green hair and small glasses, raised his hand up. "Are we kicked out if we lose?"

"No. Your graded on three factors: your dueling skills, how you function under stress, and how composed you are. And of course winning. You get a higher mark in the end if you win."

"Yeah, that was what I was afraid of." The small student raised his hands behind his head and scratched his head. "Hehe."

"That guy looks like a complete and total wuss," Ridley whispered into Jay's left ear. " I don't think he has a shot in this. What do you think?"

"I really don't know. My father told me never to say bad things about people. Dueling isn't about your attitude, how big you are, or how big you talk. It's mostly about luck and skill."

"Good point. Ooh, look at that."

"What?

"Ebony spandex. You never see that in a girl anymore. Rwrroy."

"Narrow minded, dirty, pervert."

"Let the next phase begin."

The wall behind the teacher opened up behind him. Behind him were duel fields. Different sections were different people could duel. In the fields there were also students wearing a mixture of colors: red, yellow, blue. All the people taking the test were tongue-tied seeing the field, Jay and Ridley included. The teacher however ignored his students and lifted a clipboard to his face.

" Rowley Sanada! Rowley Sanada, will you please step forward?" Nobody responded at first. " Rowley Sanada, please walk forward?"

"I don't know any Rowley Sanada. Do you know anyone by that name, Ridley-oof-"

Ridley pushed Jay to the ground, while on the ground, he stepped over him. Jay was thankful he didn't wear cleats. Ridley walked up to the teacher with the clipboard and smiled at him.

"I'm Rowley Sanada. I'm here for a bitchin' good time."

"Who pushes their friends to the ground? Ridley, or Rowley, or whatever he calls himself is so rude."

" Okay. Your checked off. Takeda. Is there a Takeda Raijūta here?"

I'm right here!" The small boy with green hair said in a voice so low hardly anyone could hear him. " Takeda Raijūta, ready to play."

"Okay. Jackie Lee. Is there a Jackiet Lee here?"

"Here." A tall, handsome boy with his red hair cropped walked up to the teacher. He flicked his hair back trying to show off his manliness. "And handsome if I might add."

"Talk about vanity." Jay thought looking at Jackie Lee; a name that sounded like the actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li mixed together.

"You three are going to be the first one's to try out the test. The rest of you will follow afterward. Let the games commence."