元気のシャワー (an energy shower of joy)
Rated M
A romantic drama based on the 2004 Studio Gallop anime series "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX" and a "Promise of a Lifetime".
A/N: Judai Yuki, Kaiser Ryo and even Duel Academia isn't featured in the prologue.
Feel free to skip ahead if you don't need any introduction and wanna see the MC's.
Please enjoy!
Chapter 1
The Dragon of Domino
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A young, black-haired girl with a half zipped up sweater coat and nice black leggings sat in the back seat behind the driver, her head perched on the headrest.
Akira felt both a mixture of nervousness and fatigue, having to wake up early today, and deal with meeting a man she's been a fan of since she was a little girl. She would have to adjust to a school's scheduling again if things go well, so at the very least, she thought she was off to a good start with her getting back to actually waking up in the morning like a normal person.
The pale-haired driver offered to buy her some breakfast on the ride there but she turned it down. The car they were in was very old-fashioned; a junker basically, though it was kept maintained and uncluttered. The two colleagues conversed about their friends, and of what they've been up to. She overheard some bits about how a friend of theirs joined the armed forces, and how another is a recurring semi-finalist in duel tournaments, and is participating in west division pro league invitationals.
Anzu wore a yellow crop top and pink short-shorts. She was one of those fashionable types, with a lot of confidence in her look. Given her career as a successful choreographer and professional dancer, having an attractive allure to both men and women, as well as stage presence is naturally optimal for her.
The pleasant boy with white, unkempt hair politely nodded at her in the rear-view mirror. "Morning."
She had dozed off almost a minute after getting into the car.
"Hi!" Akira simpered, feeling on guard. She was a bit of a mess this morning, so she felt a bit embarrassed. He didn't seem to pay much attention though. Akira didn't know much about him, only that he was a friend of Mazaki's. He was quite the looker, but he's dressed very modestly in comparison to his friend. "Thanks for driving us this early," Akira said, giving her eye a small rub with her sleeve.
Bakura beamed brightly. "No no, it's my pleasure." He had a gentle angel-like disposition, with a voice as soft as a feather's.
Akira covered her mouth and let out a yawn.
"Didn't get much sleep, did you?" Mazaki said.
She frowned and moodily turned towards the window. Akira isn't used to getting up this early. Her sleeping late sure didn't help, but those old habits are too hard to kill. A window reflection made Akira ashamed, but she's cute in the eyes of most everyone. There's only one person who might disagree. Herself. The same could be said for just about every girl at her vulnerable age.
For some reason, her pushy senpai had picked her to baby solely out of impulse. The two met at Akira's workplace when Anzu spotted her dueling in the outside eating tables after her shift was finished at a fast food chain. Anzu had apparently been visiting while on leave from work in America, and once worked as a waitress there. Mazaki wanted to see how some of her colleagues were doing. A ton of Akira's close co-workers had a lot of trust in Anzu. Even after she left their work, they still remember her fondly.
Akira didn't register to get on the school waitlist beforehand, she wasn't even originally planning on enrolling in the first place. But Anzu Mazaki claimed she could pull some strings for her. The former waitress seemed to take an interest in the girl after seeing some untapped potential.
The idea of getting into that highly recognized school with a free pass was too tempting to pass up.
Although, Mazaki made it very clear that she wasn't a fan of Akira's ulterior motives during a duel.
"Seeing a young duelist like you really brings me back to my high school days," Anzu reminisced. This girl was pretty full of herself, "I used to be pretty popular when I was your age, you know. Had so many guys ask me out. Bakura here can vouch!"
He smiled softly, keeping his eyes on the road. "Right, right."
"Wow, so you were a duelist before becoming a dancer, Mazaki-san?" Akira asked.
"Eh?" She blinked. "Um, on the side yeah…"
"When you think about it, your track record is pretty spotless," Bakura said. "I mean technically, you did compete and win against the likes of Jonouchi-kun and Kujaku-san."
Akira recognized those big names and exclaimed, "You went one-on-one against them and won?!" Anzu just went way up on the admiration scale. She is a lot more experienced with the game than she lets on.
Her senpai gave an uneasy thumbs up and spoke in some half-broken english, "No prablem!"
"Here we are," Bakura announced.
The high tower loomed ahead, with a plate-like penthouse over on top that was shaped like the prototype duel discs never released to the general public. The sight of it was breathtaking. The magnificent KaibaCorp tower, headquarters to one of the most powerful conglomerates in the entire world.
Duel Academia is in the southern region of Japan, and a pretty hard institution to get into for your average schmuck, especially if you don't have the proper background. This might be her one shot at getting in.
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As soon as they entered the building through the front door, they were met by a man with a mustache and sunglasses who lead them to an elevator, introducing himself as their escort. Anzu accompanied her while Bakura stayed behind in the back parking lot, wishing her luck.
They went 30 floors up to the Chairman's office, going through a brief hallway section until coming to a brown, open door as any business with an open door policy should have.
In this medium-sized private office, there was a huge window that overlooked the entire city landscape. The only things of note in this room was the flat-screen television attached to the walls, a couch, a plant as tall as a full-grown boy, and a closed laptop laying flat on a grey desk.
A man sat in a black leather chair.
Seto Kaiba.
He was quite stern in appearance, and as handsome as a man could get.
Anzu reminded him, "You still owe me a favor for bringing you for a fun night out rather than being cooped up in that office of yours. You have always been such a workaholic."
"I never asked for that," He denied adamantly.
Listening in, Akira could tell Anzu was pretty familiar with him, even teasing him a bit while introducing Akira. Akira may not know either of them personally, but she could read that there's a lot of history between these two.
Anzu winked at Akira. "You should see this guy dance, he isn't actually half-bad!"
"Enough," The CEO told Anzu. "Akira, that's how you prefer being called correct?"
"Yes sir, just Akira will do." Most people can say their last name with pride, but she gets made fun of for her weird last name both for its out the ordinary meaning and its rather odd pronunciation, so much to the point that she even started to hate it. The day she gets married is the day she can finally be rid of it.
Akira felt like this man was looking right through her. His piercing eyes studied her, and it was almost as if he was carefully examining the fine print of a contract. At first taken aback, the young girl tried to put on a strong, defiant expression, and looked him right in his cool, blue eyes. At job interviews, it's important to keep eye contact, and it sure damn felt like she was going through one right now. He briefly went back to look over some stapled paperwork detailing her profile.
"Something wrong? You haven't said much since coming in here." Kaiba wanted a bit more from the girl herself before coming to a decision.
"Nothing! Nothing at all." Akira moved her hands as if she was blocking him from ogling. 'Nothing' is what she brought to the table, as far as he was concerned.
Having to meet one of your childhood idols got Akira a bit nervous. He's one of the reasons she realized her love for dueling. To be in his presence was almost overbearing, especially when his focus is completely on her, and her alone.
"A bit on the shy side, but isn't she adorable?" Anzu smiled.
The man didn't seem impressed.
"Your deck, would you mind if I take a quick look?"
She immediately took it out from her leg strap. A common thing people to believe is, to get a good grip on a person's true nature, one should simply look at what's in their deck. Of course, dueling them is an even better way.
His disinterest soon turned into intrigue once the young girl brought out her deck. She set her deck on the table for him to look at. He went through them, being careful not to bend or disrespect the cards. There was a gleam in his eye, and for a small moment the girl could have sworn she saw a flicker of amusement on his usual stoic face.
"Why did you decide on a dragon deck specifically?"
"When I was just a kid, I always thought they were super cool...!" She realized she might have given a pretty pathetic answer, and yet, Kaiba didn't seem to see that as an unreasonable answer.
"Good stuff, you might get a free pass," Anzu whispered in her ear. "Kaiba-kun has a soft spot for dragons."
"Cloudian Smoke Ball?" Kaiba grimaced.
"Oh, um. That's a card I've had since childhood." She knew it would kind of disrupt the theme of the deck, but she kept it in anyway. In fact, a lot of cards in her deck are just purely out of sentiment, rather than out of some coherent structure or gaining some tactical edge, as the majority of duelists would.
"Hm." A man as methodical as he is, probably didn't understand. He returned her deck, placing it on the table. "I've come to a decision. You may enroll into Duel Academia."
"Oh! Thank you sir!" Akira exclaimed brightly.
"On one condition."
He took out a silver suitcase from behind his desk and set it on the table, opening it up for her to see. Inside it, there were fat bundles of cash, all lined up neatly in rows.
Anzu's mouth gaped half open. "What the...?"
"That's ¥500,000 in total," Kaiba smirked. "I want you to have it to pay for tuition fees, course reading materials, and any outstanding debts you might owe presently."
Akira felt just as shocked as she was suspicious. A man like him would gain nothing from this. Even if the costs of enrolling is a high price, it's not an amount as crazy as that. There had be some kind of catch.
"In return, you'll be working for me. I don't like to give special treatment though, so you have to pay me every penny back, with interest. And you will also have to meet a monthly quota so I know you're not wasting my time. At the end of your second year, I'm expecting double of what you've been given." ¥500,000 is entrusted to Akira, meaning she owes him a staggering total of ¥1,000,000.
"That's insane!" Anzu objected immediately.
"Take it or leave it. I don't think the girl is in any position to bargain given her situation. I'm not a selfless man that gives out free handouts, see. My world doesn't revolve around you. I am a businessman first, which means that I only make deals that are a sure benefit to my company."
Mazaki put a hand on her hip. "This is how you show your gratitude? Outright blackmailing my kouhai? Money barely has a thing to do with dueling, Kaiba."
"I already told you, I never asked you to take me out 'clubbing'." He said coldly, not taking his eyes off of Akira. "Besides, we're conducting business. If I'm going to do her this favor, then she has to prove she's worth my resources and time. Are you passionate about duel monsters, Akira-san?"
"Of course," She said.
"Enough to the point where you'd give anything to be one of the best?"
With not even a second of hesitation, she answered, "Everything."
Akira was in over her head for sure but, she felt a surge of hunger wash over her. Like this was the crossroads between greatness and mediocrity. The doubts in her mind were mostly fading after realizing a master duelist like Anzu Mazaki had seen potential in her.
"You heard her loud and clear, Mazaki. We'll be doing a quick criminal record check. We'll be needing details on your bank account. After all, you're on KaibaCorp payroll now." For a moment, Anzu gave a look of unease. "Fill out the paperwork my associate Isono will provide for you. Any final words before we part?"
The student body is comprised of three dorms, each segregated according to their skill, so they say. "If possible sir, I'd like to get into Osiris Red," Akira said.
Kaiba raised a brow. "For what? If you're not aiming for the top of the class, there's no point in being here."
"I want to work my way by starting at the very bottom. No shortcuts involved." A half-truth, but still better than an outright lie. Those that start out like that tend to believe they hit their skill ceiling and are at the top of their game, and delude themselves all up until pro leagues where they flop miserably in front of the world.
He seemed like he took that as an acceptable answer. "Fine."
"I have one last request, Kaiba-san. A little thing to revise on our contract." Akira smirked. "If you want your all the money back, then you have to beat me in a duel for it."
"Hooh..." The little girl actually wanted to play hard ball.
Kaiba seemed surprised, but his pride disallowed him from shutting down such an absurd idea.
"Done," He agreed. "I'll be checking in on you now and then to make sure you're holding up your end of the bargain. Don't go and disappoint me." He grinned as if he was enjoying himself, "To demonstrate your talents, you, like every other student, will have to pass a written exam and duel a proctor, and you won't just be going against your average examiner. You'll be facing an opponent of my choosing. If you lose your entry examination duel or fail to make deadlines, you become my property."
She returned his firm handshake to let him know she meant business. In a sense, this might be part of the test to see what she does in the face of adversity. A lot was riding on this. Akira felt a tingle in her veins, and her stomach fluttered as if it were full of butterflies. From this point forward, it'll be a fight for her life.
Hopefully she passed his little evaluation with flying colors. But here she was only talking the talk. When the time comes, Akira will have to back up those words with action.
When you make a deal with the devil, they say there's no way out.
But, I can think of at least one...
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A whole day's passed since the deal had been finalized.
Duel Academia rents out a venue for entry examinations, but since Akira was part of the late batch, she would have to take hers on the island itself since there aren't any teachers or examiners left in the mainland. Plus, classes have been in session for about a week now, so she needed to get caught up from being behind on school work. Despite not saying it outright, it seemed like Kaiba had some faith in her. Call it a businessman's intuition. If it's any consolation, Kaiba ensured Mazaki he would have a hand in giving her cute kouhai some advice when it comes to making a profit.
Anzu tried to get an explanation out of him on the phone. All he could say was that there was a status quo at the school he wanted rid of and having an insider acting as his creature would be good for keeping tabs on a few select individuals. Kaiba has always been a discreet guy. His decisions continue to baffle Anzu, even to this day. Mazaki was uncertain a girl like Akira was capable of such a feat. A pre-teen Kaiba may have proven an accomplished businessman, but he's considered a genius.
Anzu once again had her old friend Bakura drive the young girl to the helipad where she would be transported to the academy. She helped carry her bags, but she took the lighter load. Bakura carried the majority on his back, and was struggling to pull all that luggage on his own. But luckily for him, they were intercepted by a few KC employees and they took some things off his hands after nearly falling over with a fish tank in his hands.
Anzu, Akira, and Bakura followed some men in suits up to a helipad. On the metal bridge, the rolling of all her heavy luggages made the entire base of the construct shake. It was still bright out, but it was getting a bit cloudy. Akira actually preferred this kind of weather.
The men loaded Akira's things onto the chopper while they waited.
"So you really need to bring all that with you?" Bakura asked. There was nearly ten packages of luggage, not to mention a fish tank that contained her pet named Ray. It took all three of them and two round trips to load all that into the car. The cute guy put his hand on his back as if he had back problems.
"Of course. All a girl's essential necessities are in there."
"Even those action figure things?" Anzu asked.
"Yes!"
Bakura noticed the KaibaCorp logo plastered on the chopper's tail. "To think he's having her work for him...that Kaiba is still as ruthless as ever. Even in the face of a teenaged girl, he refuses to let up," He said, almost sounding bitter.
If she doesn't face adversity on her own, then she shouldn't be considered worthy to even be in Duel Academia. Akira believed that is what Seto Kaiba was trying to tell her. Anzu didn't want to be held responsible for causing her kouhai to go in debt. An ordinary girl like her with such a harsh stipulation was unfair. Anzu offered her help, but Akira turned it down, citing that the prettiest of diamonds are made under pressure.
Anzu told them, "Don't worry, I chewed him out for it." Akira already knew, she said she could hear Anzu barking a lecture at him even two rooms away while she had her school ID picture taken. "Really. He can be so unbelievable."
"Has he always been that... dramatic?" Akira asked.
"He may not look like it, but Kaiba's just a kid deep down," She said. "He can get really over the top when he's into it. The guy is extremely competitive, even when it comes to things outside the realm of duel monsters."
"Really?" Akira has seen him get really theatrical during pro duels aired on TV, but she figured he was just trying to give viewers at home a show.
"I see it like this. Kaiba-kun is sort of like a flip effect card, you need to get in close and risk making mistakes to reveal what he's really like."
"Mazaki-san! That is so deep!" Akira said, eyes glistening with admiration. "You're a dancer, a duelist… and a poet too!"
"Heh heh." Anzu rubbed her upper lip, feeling quite proud of that analogy. "I know this is a strange thing to ask but, while I'm gone, it'll be up to you to keep Kaiba company. He's a lonely soul, that guy."
Akira could relate to him and admired him, but she barely knew him enough to warrant a visit. "I'll do my best, I guess?" From the way they spoke earlier, he really didn't seem to be the warm, outgoing type either.
"Attagirl!"
"Oh, before you go- I've a farewell gift." Bakura gently presented her with a spell card.
"Hey w-wait, I wanna help too!" Anzu went through her purse in a jiffy.
"Whoa, are you sure about this?" Akira didn't want to rob him of such a rare card.
"I used to be big on games once upon a time, but life doesn't always pan out the way one expects. I've had a fair share of painful memories associated with duel monsters, so I don't play often. Felt a bit of a waste if my card won't see any action with me as its owner, so I figured it could be of some use to you," Bakura said.
"Thank you so much." The card's artwork was beautiful, but at the same time sort of eerie. A blonde girl, half-angel, and half-demon... To just go and give it away seemed a bit strange, so Akira couldn't help but wonder more about it. "Do you have regrets about duel monsters, Bakura-kun?"
He shook his head. "While I have do have some contrition looking back, it does bring up some memories that are precious to me as well." The boy looked out to the sky's horizon for a moment with a mixed look of nostalgia and misgivings.
Akira hoped she wouldn't have any regrets as he did when all was said and done. "Then I take it you're not a big fan of games in general."
"Oh no no, I love games! But If I had to choose, I tend to enjoy role-playing tabletops most."
Most duelists never step out their comfort zone to ever try something like that. "I'll have to try it sometime."
"You should!" He implored her enthusiastically. "In a game, especially for this type, it really is like a completely different side of you comes out."
"Ta-da! Check this out!" Anzu interrupted. "I don't play much, so I think this little guy will be happy to get a new owner. Here, take this with you. Shining Friendship! One of the most powerful cards in duel monsters."
Akira looked at its attack strength. "Uh, thanks..."
"Maybe at Burger World you were the best duelist, but at Duel Academia, you'll be a little fish in a big pond." The majority of students come from an age group collectively referred to as Generation X. In a way, they're a spoiled generation full of egos that talk a lot of trash. But no one can deny their raw talent at the game. "In an environment like that, you'll need the right attitude and mindset so you stick out above the rest!" Anzu told her. "Let's see your war face."
"My what?"
"To show your tenacity and confidence! In a duel, you need to intimidate your opponent, right?" Anzu insisted further, "Go on and try it! It's good to practice!"
Taken aback, Akira decided to indulge her, gritting her teeth like some feral dog. "Rrr!?"
Bakura giggled.
"That's the ticket, Akira-chan! You have to be tough to survive out there!" Anzu praised her. "Oi! Bakura, set a good example too."
"Eh?" The boy then attempted to look intimidating as well, trying to do a menacing scowl, but instead he looked more like he was shivering from cold, shaking his fists with fury.
"C'mon! You can do better than that!" Mazaki chided him.
"Grr. I'm steaming mad." He ranted halfheartedly.
"We're tight on our schedule!" Isono called Akira from the helipad. "Miss, it's time to be boarded!"
"Better be getting a move on." Akira bowed her head. "Thanks for everything, you guys."
Anzu shouted after her, "All my friends are busy and gone now, but the memory of them still give me strength! Put yourself over there! Make sure you make friends that will stick by you through thick and thin! And be in touch!"
"I'll try!" She waved goodbye and followed Isono into the cockpit of the KC helicopter.
As the blades began to pick up speed and propel them into the air, for some reason Bakura was reminded of a tale told by his late father. An old chinese legend of the koi jumping up a waterfall. It's through determination and perseverance that the small carp evolves into a legendary dragon. He's looking forward to seeing her growth.
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Next: King of Heroes
~Table of Contents~
Chapter 1: "Dragon of Domino"
Chapter 2: "King of Heroes"
Chapter 3: T B D
Chapter 4: T B D
Chapter 5: T B D
Chapter 6: T B D
Chapter 7: T B D
Chapter 8: T B D
A/N: Yeah, I know...
This is one strange place to be putting a table of contents.
It had to be done though. Thank you so much for reading!