Title: One Up

Rating: T (language, crude humor) if there is a cause for my rating to go up towards the end, I will give a warning a few chapters prior.

A/N: Hey there! First time writing in forever. I wrote on here all the time as a kid, and then stopped once I finished highschool. The best way to describe this is a Chazz/OC-centric fic, focusing on the more highschool and daily life aspects other than dueling. GX is my favourite in the YGO series, but I wish that there was more of….well, everything other than dueling, you know? I just want to have fun with the characters and see what I can do, and I'm always a sucker for teen romance dramas. I'm also trying to just improve my writing in general so constructive criticism is always appreciated. I've had this idea in my head for a while, and it mostly just comes up whenever I need to relax. I've always turned to the made-up scenarios in my head as a form of escapism when dealing with stress in the real world, as I'm sure a lot of us do. I can't imagine who would be interested in reading MY story, but if you are, then thank you, and I hope you enjoy. I noticed that there seems to be a lot of OC fics in this fandom and that makes me super happy, and I feel comfortable writing one with confidence, sorta. As far as the setting goes, this is at the beginning of season 2/their second year, but at a slower pace and not so much focused on….well, JUST dueling. Anyways, moving on.

Chapter One

Doctor Crowler walked along one of the many halls of Duel Academy, as he often does when avoiding work, the one covered in windows. Normally it gave a beautiful view of the island - the healthy trees and sparkling waters made the walks to and from classes calm, giving the school a sense of peacefulness...Peace they desperately needed, after the events of the year prior. On the average day, students would gravitate to the sides of the halls - the windows or the walls - when they spotted Crowler making his rounds and striking fear into the hearts of every Slifer he passed. Today wasn't an average day, and the students did not run away from him as if he were the walking plague, because today, Crowler seemed….happy? What's more, he had a young girl walking beside him, a new student it seemed.

Syrus was one of the students passing by as Crowler accompanied this girl through the halls. 'A new student,' he thought. 'That's normal enough, it is a new year after all… but Crowler never gives kids a personal tour...unless they're super promising…' So she must be good, he thought. He shrugged, and carried on as they left his field of vision. It wasn't any of his business anyways. If she were worth anything in this barrel of freshmen, the whole school would find out eventually.

They walked on, Crowler and the girl, as she struggled to keep up with the long-legged man, his legs running as fast as his mouth as he chatted. She could only nod, doing her best to listen though finding herself distracted and overwhelmed with everything around her. "...And oh! Here we are, my office. I got promoted, you know," the Doctor laughed as opened the door, motioning for her to proceed. "After you!"

The girl smiled, as she had been the entire time, stepping into the office and taking in the scene. "Wow, this looks so nice! You've got lots of sunlight, so maybe you can finally work on your tan," she laughed.

Crowler rolled his eyes, "Oh, ha-ha missy, very funny! You would think being stuck on an island I would...but you cannot even begin to imagine the plethora of paperwork I must do!" his tone was playful, and fun. "Now now, we really should get you settled in. I have your uniform all ready and dry cleaned for you, now - hm…. Where did I put that-" He began to fumble around his office, throwing his hands up in the air and mumbling to himself as he searched. "Ah!" he exclaimed, finally remembering he'd placed it on top of a nearby filing cabinet - from before Duel Academy went "completely digital" slightly taller than himself. The man reached up and pulled down a neatly contained plastic bag and beckoned the girl to come closer to him. "Come, come!" with two hands, he placed it in her arms delicately, as if it were a national treasure. "There you are, you will change at your dorm. I've already arranged for someone to retrieve you - can't be looking too suspicious now, can we?" he smiled.

The girl began to remove her uniform from the plastic bag and was met with disappointment as she noted the blue and white top, and all-blue miniskirt. She grimaced, looking up at the Doctor sheepishly. "Erm… this is Obelisk, isn't it?"

"Why, of course! You match, just like me!" his smile left as soon as it appeared upon noticing her displeasure. "Oh, my… you're not happy? Surely, this wasn't the reaction I anticipated,"

"But I-"

"Obelisk Blue is the highest ranking dorm you can be in! Did you get confused and think it was the lowest?"

"No, I know it's the highest but…" she sighed and looked the man desperately in the eyes. "Uncle, you knoooow my grades weren't that grade. I should start at the bottom…"

"No…." Crowler put his hands to his cheeks, resembling 'The Scream' painting.

"...As a Slifer Red."

Crowler squealed. "Absolutely not!" he shouted. "Now, I won't be having anyone of my blood be a slacker!" His mouth moved, but there were no coherent words after those. Once he finally calmed down, giving his niece a moment to speak, she hesitated before starting again.

"Uncle, come on. It's not fair if I get a boost just 'cause I'm related to the Chancellor. I'm bad. You know I'm bad, but I mean…" she shrugged, "Isn't that why I'm here, to learn and all? I'll work my way up, really, I swear it," as she spoke she placed the unworn Obelisk uniform back into Crowler's now-sunken hands. "If I'm, like, thrown into the best dorm but I duel like shit-"

"Watch your language!"

"Er..right, sorry Uncle. Uhm, if I duel like - really badly - don't you think someone's going to notice? I'll be laughed at and bullied and it'll be SO much more obvious that I'm your niece just getting special privileges that way, right? I don't want to embarrass you and I get that, but… I mean you already told me not to tell anyone we're related, this'll just make it easier to hide," she paused and took a breath, waiting for an answer in the adult's eyes. All she got from him was a sigh.

Crowler turned around slowly and walked over towards his desk, placing the small Obelisk uniform neatly on top of a large stack of paperwork. He stared at the clothing and thought. She was right, and he knew it. "I just want the best for you, darling," he closed his eyes and faced her yet again. "Your parents didn't want you to even come here. You know how they feel about dueling," he began moving back towards the girl, much shorter than himself. "I only wanted to make your stay easier. Please understand that."

"I know that," she said, opening her arms and giving the Doctor a hug. "I'll figure it out, and make you proud. God knows my parents won't be," she laughed, pulling away.

"Oh, don't say that dear! You have me, and I will be here if you need me…." he winced. "Behind closed doors. No one is to know that you are my niece, and I tend to have a bit of a...reputation," he coughed. "With those.. Slackers. Especially Jade-" with clenched teeth and a voice dripping of poison, he stopped himself before he could finish.

The girl scoffed and chuckled, "Yeah, I know, I get it! I get what you're saying. So, uh…. About that red outfit? No fancy presentation for that, or…?"

"Oh, no," Crowler began. "You'll have to find something used from the toolshed," he crossed his arms. "I'd originally arranged for our top female student to give you the good Obelisk tour but, well, seeing as how you won't be staying there now…" he pointed to the door, and nothing more. "Well, time to fend for yourself! Ask around, you're pleasant enough, I'm sure you'll find someone to help you out!"

"Okay… er, what?"

"Bye bye, now! I'll see you soon, call if you need anything!" he gripped her shoulders and turned her around, literally pushing her out of his office and into the savage wilderness that is this school.

Forty-five minutes. That's how long she was lost for, and she'd just bout lost her mind. Not even an hour and she'd already gotten shit for the mere mention of Slifer Red. Hell, she hadn't even gotten into the outfit yet and she was already being ignored or teased. Once she saw a nice-looking person, she'd gone up to them and asked, "Hey, nice to meet you! Can you please tell me where I can find the Slifer Red dorms?"

The boy she'd asked chuckled. "Yeah, it's up your ass and to the left," and laughed, as he walked off.

She groaned. 'Yo fuck this place, I shoulda taken uncle on that Obelisk shit,' her eyes glanced around the halls, feeling the pressure on her feet from all this walking around but not getting to where she needed to be. 'It's not that hard,' she thought, dragging herself to the nearest wall and resting against it. A few minutes went by of her sitting there, unable to drown out the constant noise of chatter and laughter, squeaky footsteps from the students' boots on the clean floor that hadn't been touched at all over the summer. After a while, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Red. She perked up, the face wasn't familiar but the color of his jacket certainly was, and this gave her hope. She scurried over to the red coat, making her way through the crowd with many a "Sorry," "Excuse me!" "I'm sorry," as she forced her way past.

As the red jacket and the person attached to it drew nearer, she picked up her pace. Finally close enough, stepping in front of him, she spoke up. A little too excitedly and a little too quickly, "Hey! I'mnewdoyouknow where I canfindthesliferreddorms?!"

The boy in front of her was visibly startled. "Whoa, slow down, where's the fire?" he laughed heartily. His hair was a two-toned shade of brown, almost ombre. It starts off lighter at the roots and ended in a darker chocolaty color, making the girl wonder if it had been dyed. He was alone, but seemed to be having a great time nonetheless. It was okay to bother him, she thought, as he didn't appear to be in a rush for anything in particular.

She heaved, trying to take in deep breaths. That sprinting along with almost an hour of aimless walking was enough to make her feel more out of shape than ever. "S-sorry… Uh, I wanted to ask if…" another deep breath, and a smile. "If you could show me where the Slifer dorms are? Oh!" she put her hands up, "But, but only if you're headin' there anyways! I'm a freshman you see, and I don't even have a uniform yet and-"

"Hey, hey, relax!" the boy returned her smile and proudly gestured to himself. "A new recruit?! That's awesome! I'll take you there, right now! We gotta get you suited up, show that Slifer Pride, am I right?"

The girl nods, both excited at the prospect of finally finding her dorm, and nervous, because this kid seemed a little too happy to be a low-tier duelist. "Uh...yeah, haha."

"Alright then," he starts, walking in the opposite direction he was originally headed and motioned for you to follow. "This way! I was waitin' for my friend, but, he's taking too long! He'll catch up later. You can meet him too, nice guy. Kinda negative Nancy but I cheer him up pretty fast," he continued talking, switching from his personal life and adventures (stories she'd assumed he's made up), to pointing out important landmarks around the school. "It's easy to get lost here," he said. "But on your little school phone thingy, help's only a click away, there's a map in there buuuut sometimes, the GPS breaks. So, uh. When that happens, it better not be on an empty stomach!" he let out a gasp at the prospect of food and the topic immediately changed. "Speaking of that, we got some great food here. I mean, it's no 'Fancy Ra Yellow' food, hurr-durr, but we get seconds," a lot of emphasis was put on that last word as he really hyped it up to the new girl, looking at her wide-eyed, almost waiting for her reaction to be of equal excitement.

"Er...secoooonds! Yeah, yaaaay!" she giggled and tried her best to be excited. It didn't sound bad, she thought. As long as there was food at all, and lots of it, quality was irrelevant to her. "But what about thirds?" she asked a bit sarcastically, just messing with him a little bit.

"Oh, pfft! Thirds, are only if you're quick - like me. See, this guy Chazz is such a fast guy when it comes to eating. Sometimes, he even eats the seconds!"

A forced gasp, "Not the seconds!"

The boy nodded. "Oh yeah, it's no joke around here when it comes to food, sometimes it's an all-out war. But since you're new and all, eh I guess I can be a nice guy and swipe'em for ya before good ol' Chazzy gets to them."

"Thanks, good to know I won't starve here," she giggled. "Hey, I really appreciate you being so nice to me, by the way. I didn't get much luck back there - they really take this coat color thing seriously, huh?"

The boy shrugged. "I don't think about it too much. We're all here for the same reason, after all. I mean," their destination was now in sight, the girl assumed judging by the number of red-clad kids hanging around. "Everyone's gotta start somewhere, right? Most people aren't perfect right off the bat. Of course some are, but it's pretty cool how everyone gets to go at their own pace and all, right?"

"Yeah," she agrees. "You're right, I totally feel the same."

The boy nods and comes to a halt, the girl hadn't noticed and stopped only moments after him. "Welp, here we are!" he exclaimed "Good ol, Slifer Red! Welcome to your new home. Er...I don't know where the girl clothes are," he glanced away awkwardly "But they should be out in the back.. As for your room, I don't think Crowler cares too much about assigning them to us Slifer's anymore, so uh… just pick a random room that has girls in it! It's brand new so it should be wicked clean!"

The girl cocked her head to the side, "New?"

"That's right," the boy nodded. "See, there weren't as many girls at this school before, so they just sorta threw all you into the Obelisk dorms no matter what your skill level was. Didn't see a point in making a whole dorm for like, two or four girls in Slifer or Ra a year, not even, soooo… yeah! But, by the end of last year a lot of girls started applying more than ever, so they busted their asses building these over the summer."

"Oh that's bitchin'! Well, alrighty then, guess I'll go get myself all set in, and stuff, uhh…" she paused, trying to remember whether or not he'd told her his name yet, but her mind drew a blank. "I'm sorry, I totally forgot your name."

"It's Jaden," he shrugged, stretching his hand out to hers and yanking it into a friendly handshake. "Jaden Yuki, second year Slifer Red at Duel Academy, savior of the world, blah blah blah. What's your name?"

"It's, er…" she paused for a moment. She never liked her first name, it never fit her, she thought. And sharing her surname with the school's Chancellor would be the biggest mistake in her world of small problems. A new school, she thought, a new chance to start over. Be someone new, be different, give off a brand-new impression. "...Y'know what, just call me Bunny. I know, it's kinda weird but, I just love rabbits, so-"

"Hey, not weird at all! I'm not really gonna ask questions about it, you don't need to explain to me. We got all sorts of people here, most of them are gonna be your new friends! You're gonna fit right in.

She giggled, "Can't wait to meet'em."

"Go on and suit up, and welcome to the crew, Bunny! Don't be too long, it's almost lunchtime and I'm sure you're starving."

The two waved each other off and headed in their opposite directions. That interaction with her new friend lightened her mood and gave her more hope for her start at Duel Academy. It was very intimidating being in a new school, with the one close friend she had being her uncle that she was unable to publicly talk to. Her parents didn't want her here and she knew that, so being the best was an absolute must to prove them wrong, to be able to stay, and live her own life. It was a nice change of scenery for her, as she needed to get out of the house and what better way than an isolated island? Part of her was nervous, if something bad should happen, the mainland was hours away. 'So don't let anything bad happen,' she thought, heading to the back of the dorm. The building was small, though it was obvious which side was intended to host the girls' rooms; obviously more up-to-date on the outside, no weather damage to the wooden panelling or roof on the right hand side. In between the old building and the new, was a shorter building that might have connected the two - it had a large window that the other parts did not. The new building faced the old one, making it look like almost a half-square, a two-sided one. It didn't look like much, and there certainly didn't appear to be too many rooms, and she hoped it wouldn't be cramped. Still, if it were, it was only to be even more motivation for her to climb up the ranks as quickly as possible, and out of a small room.

As she arrived behind the girls dorm, she found a tiny makeshift tool shed with an unlocked lock. It was halfway closed, allowing her to spot a glimpse of red from within, so she walked over and proceeded to find her size in shirt, skirt, shoes, and for some reason, gloves. She took two of each in case one were to be ruined, and walked around the building yet again and proceeded to scout out her new home for the next three school years. Once she spotted the right uppermost room, she walked towards it. A few fellow Slifers, boy and girl glanced at her for a moment, spotting the uniforms in her hands, before going back to their own business. They smiled and waved to her and she returned it back to them.

At the foot of the door she knocked once, twice, third, and nothing. She jiggled the doorknob and was relieved for it to be unlocked. Stepping inside, the yellow walls and dusty rose carpeting was a bit of an eyesore, but nothing a few posters and other decor couldn't fix, she thought. This room looked unlived and empty, not a single hint that a human life had been here, and she assumed it to be available. Placing her things on the desk in the corner, she then closed the green curtains for privacy and began to change.

Sorry if this was too descriptive and dragging, I just wanted to try and set up the scene but I don't always write this long. More dialogue when there's more people but I didn't want to be too overwhelming at first.

Constructive criticism welcome, any questions welcome and they will soon be answered. If a concern is the lack of information on my OC, don't worry! More will be shown. I just didn't think a "her hair is _ her eyes are _ she's _" right off the bat was necessary but all that will be revealed I promise :,)