Isn't it funny how the people who want quiet are always the loudest trying to get everyone else to shut up?
Disclaimer: Wish I did, but I don't own this. Only the three characters in the next to last part of this chapter are mine.
And So The Story Begins
A fifteen-year old brunette was racing through the streets.
His arms pumped by his sides as the wind whipped his double colored hair into his umber eyes. He spoke to himself as he ran, an almost lazy grin covering his face. "Alright! I got my deck, I got my gear, and I've got about two minutes to get to the Duel Academy entrance exams before they start! Oh well! At least since I'm not a student yet; they can't throw me into detention hall for being late!"
His new red sneakers pounded rhythmically on the paved sidewalk as he weaved expertly through the mass of people. Suddenly a man stepped into his path and all the teen could do was yell, "At your back!" and brace himself for the oncoming impact.
The man turned to see and feel a mass of brown hair run into his chest and fall to the ground. The brunette automatically turned to pick up his duel disk and the cards that had fallen out of the deck slot.
"Sorry," he apologized over his shoulder as he gathered his fallen belongings.
"You're a duelist aren't you?" the man asked in light amusement as he watched the young boy dust off one of his cards. "Yep, I'm just going to try out at the academy," He replied, turning and standing with an expression filled with excitement and confidence. The spiky haired man gave a short chuckle. "You don't say," he said with a knowing smile as he reached down to the side of his belt where a studded leather box hung.
He flipped the lid open without taking his eyes off the brunette. "Yeah," was the only phrase that came to the boy's mind as he rubbed the back of his neck and laughed a little nervously. He glanced up, getting his first good look at the man standing in front of him.
He was wearing a sleeveless form fitting shirt, long navy blue jeans, sharp leather shoes, a metal studded bracelet on each wrist, a choker to match it, and a studded leather deck belt. His purple eyes shone with amusement and he had a mass of spiky, tri colored hair sitting on top of his head.
No way! The King of Games Yugi himself?!
"Hey you're-""Why don't you take this? Something just tells me it belongs with you," the king suggested, holding up a card.
"Huh? Wow! For real?" he breathed, taking the gift and looking at it intensely.
The leather clad man walked past the stunned brunette saying, "Good luck." The young boy's eyes brightened and he turned, "Hey wait! Thank you! I'll…make you proud!" He bowed to his hero's back and grinned as The King of Games gave him a thumb up in reply.
He straightened back up and gazed at his new card in delight. Something strange sounded and he looked around, wondering what had made it. "Ah! Uh-oh! The exams!" He took off running again, putting the Winged Kuriboh in his pocket as he did so. "I can't be the next King of Games, if I'm late to the games!" he exclaimed.
When he finally made it to the Kaiba Corp Dueling Dome, the roads were blocked. Through the back way then, he sighed inwardly, dodging through the foliage. He then proceeded to climb up the railing that was around the parking lot in time to hear a man talking. "Well ladies, that's it. Mark all the no shows, no shows."
"Wait!!!" he cried dramatically.
"I'm no no show!" The brunette struggled up the metal bars. Finally his head peeked over and he grinned triumphantly. "You can count Jaden Yuki as present thank-you!"
DI
A short fifteen-year old blunette was riding in a silver 2007 Ford Focus.
He sat shotgun, tugging at his lazuline bangs nervously. "You'll do fine sweetie, I know you'll make it." His mother encouraged him. The way through Domino City was rather quiet and uneventful. Maybe this was a bad idea. I probably don't have a chance. I was lucky in the first place to even get past the written part of the entry exams…he thought. What little confidence he had held when he woke up this morning was dwindling.
Doubt and dread took its place.
The blunette occupied himself by picking at the long sleeves of his gray shirt and staring out the window. He counted the trees they passed by, the lines painted on the road, people on the street, anything to get his mind off of his worries.
That hope was soon diminished as the Kaiba Corp Duel Dome came into view. The short teen saw the oddly shaped arena out of the windshield less than a mile away, it was impossible to miss. He had been there once before, when his parents had taken him and his brother seven years ago as a birthday surprise. He took in the Blue-Eyes White Dragon head that the Duel Dome was modeled after with apprehension.
Five minutes later, his mother pulled up to the front door. A long line of people snaked around the entrance, he was early. "Good luck baby," she called encouragingly as he jumped out of the car. And then she was gone.
Oh, why'd I even bother coming? He wondered.
The blunette trudged to the end of the line, his silver eyes glancing around nervously at all of the people. He fiddled with his Duel Disk, resisting the urge to toss it down and run away from all of this. Before he knew it, he was at the front of the line, standing in front of the table with two women sitting behind it. "Your name?" one asked. But the blunette was petrified and he couldn't take a step closer to the table or answer. Fear froze his throat and feet. Many people behind him began to grumble before one chose to shove him rather roughly. "Your name?" the woman on the left asked again.
He took in a deep breath before answering shyly, "Sy-Syrus Truesdale."
DI
A fifteen-year old boy with jet-black spiky hair sat watching a rather large group of teenagers dueling four at a time.
To him, they were pathetic. He turned his nose up when yet another idiot lost a duel, losing their chance to get into the Academy for this year.
"These losers have no idea what they're doing!" he growled, rolling his eyes. "Yeah! Most of them have already lost. They're not even worthy of Slifer!" the sapphire-haired country boy to his left proclaimed. The boy nodded in agreement, a sneer creeping its way onto his face. How sad, yet another looses, he sighed inwardly in a very sarcastic fashion.
He looked down at his own uniform; blue with black boots. He couldn't help but let pride shine through his mask of boredom. I'm the highest and best there is.
He glanced backwards to see his fellow students: Obelisks, Ras, and Slifers alike. Still another hour to go before this poor show of 'skills and potential' in dueling was over. His steel gray eyes flitted over the restless crowd. It looks like he wasn't the only one that was impatient to get out.
He leaned back into his chair, blocking out the noise and continued to watch. He stretched his arms out to either side of him, resting them on the backs of the seats right next to him. His 'friends' didn't even notice until he muttered a snide comment under his breath. "What's that Chazz?" asked the rather dull one to his right. "Nothing," he replied in a drawl.
I can't wait until we're finally at the Academy. I'll be away from Slade and Jagger for an entire school year! I'll show them that I, Chazz Princeton, will become the next King of Games and am worthy of the Princeton name!
DI
A fifteen-year old raven-haired boy shuffled his deck while he waited in line to sign in to the Duel Academy entrance exams.
He wasn't nervous in the slightest bit, he was just wondering if he was good enough to get into Obelisk. He cast a short glance around, he hadn't been in line long and only three people stood in front of him now.
The teen had gotten to the Duel Dome early, and obviously he was one of twenty that had thought of doing so. He sighed heavily and turned to the table, he was next. Switching his load to his left arm, he signed his name with his free hand and then proceeded to walk into the Duel Dome.
He took a moment to admire the state of the art technology that was inside before continuing through the entry hall and past the signs that had arrows pointing to his destination.
I wonder what type of deck I'll be up against…he wondered, beginning to shuffle his cards again. He had chosen his earthen deck, one filled with warriors for this battle. Within two minutes he was inside the large Dueling Arena that was set up for group duels.
He took a seat up at the top of the not so crowded areas and waited for his name to be called. While he waited, he ran through all the formulas concerning his deck, going through each one and double-checking his work in his head.
A thoughtful, pondering look crossed his face once in a while when he would reach a mental block, but it would quickly pass.
Another duel ended below him and next thing he knew, he was being requested over the intercom, "Bastion Misawa, please report to field four for your dueling exam." The teen stood, an air of carefully balanced confidence and excitement about him, and began to leave. As soon as he was out in the aisle, someone ran into him.
It appeared that more duelists had arrived.
"Oh sorry! My bad!" the person apologized looking up and stepping away. It was a girl whose hair was the color of caramel with scarlet streaks in blinked in surprise. "No it was my fault; I wasn't watching where I was going," he replied with a smile. Some laughter was heard from behind him and the girl peered over his shoulder with a glare. "You two are getting it!" she growled threateningly. The laughter just increased and when the girl returned her attention back to the teenage boy she muttered another apology, smiled, and scampered around him. Hmmm, that was strange… Ah! My dueling exam! He exclaimed inwardly.
The dark haired boy made his way down the stairs and to dueling field four. The duel prompter that was to be his opponent watched him carefully from behind his large shades. "You're Bastion Misawa?" he inquired. The teen nodded, his slate eyes lighting up ever so slightly with. "I am."
And you my dear fellow are about to be beaten. Watch out Duel Academy, your next top pupil is coming!
DI
A fifteen-year old blonde was wandering through the halls of the Kaiba Corp Duel Dome.
It was a rather large, shining building, and the insides were mostly blue and some form of silver or white. The female's blue boots clicked and clacked on the well-polished floors as she walked. "What's behind door one?" she wondered aloud as she opened up a nearby door by pushing the button beside it. Yet another Duel Monster's shop lay behind it, this one focusing on monsters of the light attribute.
She was half tempted to go inside and check out what they had, but when she caught a glance of the clock she decided against it.
I guess I should go watch my future fellow freshmen duel, she sighed inwardly, turning and closing the door. It took her a while to find her way back to where she was supposed to be, but when she did, she took her place among the Obelisks and older classmates. She yawned in boredom as an unfortunate kid lost his duel.
I wonder when he's getting here… she wondered, thinking about her not-so-close friend. This year would be his last, but his little brother's first. He wouldn't miss his duel would he? She continued to ponder over this for the next couple minutes but was interrupted by someone's voice behind her.
"Alexis Rhodes?" it asked. Turning, she saw it was a woman with a clipboard in her hands. She wore a golden uniform. "Yes?" she replied sweetly. "Oh, I was just taking attendance. Just to let you know, this is your first grade of the year. Thanks for showing up," the redhead responded, checking off her name on a list. The blonde rolled her fawn eyes and twirled back around to watch the duels continue. Every once in a while an interested expression would cross her face whenever someone would play a cool card or win.
I'm going to find my brother and bring him back home and I'll show everyone that the next Queen of Games is going to be me, Alexis Rhodes.
DI
A tall seventeen-year old blunette walked up to the front doors of the Kaiba Corp Duel Dome.
His pace was steady and his head was held high. It was a relatively nice day outside. The sun was shining with impeccably bright heat, the sky was as blue as the teen's uniform, and no one stood in his way as he sauntered up the five steps to get inside.
The hallways were semi-crowded with new and old students of Duel Academy alike. It was raucously loud as friends greeted each other or whenever someone would come running out of the large automatic door a couple yards ahead of him, crying.
He stuck his hands in his pockets and continued his stride with an air of high accomplishment. Everybody avoided stepping in his path and stared when he walked by. It was nice being the top dog; the pride of DA. With people respecting you and even asking for an autograph every so often, how could it get any better than this? Of course, Zane Truesdale didn't let this small amount of fame go to his head like it would with most other people.
He let a small smile cross his face as he stepped through the doors on the top level. He proudly made his way to the spot with the best view to watch the kids who were to be the future of Duel Academy. Some of them didn't look so bad he supposed.
"Oh hey Zane," a surprised female voice greeted him. He replied with a short, "Hello." "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to miss your little brother's entrance duel," Alexis stated, turning back to the field. The Obelisk's cool teal eyes turned at those words. From the looks of things, it appeared that his sibling wasn't doing too well in his match. Although, he could hardly say he was surprised.
He knew from the start that he was Slifer material, if even that. Maybe this year he'd finally learn how to really duel…
DI
Three fifteen-year old best friends took their time trotting through one of the many sets of front doors.
They chatted to each other about the most random of things while making their way to the room with the public duel arena. "I am so psyched!" the blonde of the trio exclaimed, her forest wood eyes sparkling with excitement. Her brunette twin nodded in agreement, looking around in awe.
"Yeah, it's not every day you get the chance to duel in a Kaiba Corp stadium in front of dozens of people…" Their copper-haired companion added in slight apprehension.
Her buddies didn't let her comment and tone slide by. "Hey, don't worry about it Hannah! We all know that you're definitely going to make it into the Academy. You've beaten us loads of times, and considering the fact that we dueled with real decks and not the uncared for ones the prompters use, you've got nothing to fear!" She smiled in gratitude at the kind, encouraging words.
"Yes, and we're going to make it through too, isn't that right Sage?" The brunette stated, turning to her sister.
"Of course!" she replied with a sheepish yet still confident grin.
"Hey, I think we're here," Hannah interrupted a soon to be argument. "With all of the people, the dueling, and the uniforms, I'd hope so. Else we might've walked into an alternate universe," Sage muttered sarcastically. Her twin didn't even process that comment due to her attention being somewhere else. "It's so shiny in here!" She exclaimed. "Yes Emma, this right here is supposedly the shiniest place in the world…or so I've heard……" Hannah's response was soon bubbled over with laughter. Emma turned to shoot a weak glare at her friend but it was soon cut off by her walking into someone.
"Oh sorry! My bad!" she apologized, snapping back into attention and stepping away. The young man she had bumped into blinked before smiling. "No it was my fault; I wasn't watching where I was going." It took a moment for Sage and Hannah to realize that the third member of their trio was no longer walking beside them. They turned at the same time to see Emma apologizing to a guy she had obviously walked right into. The duo burst out laughing. The brunette peered over the boy's shoulder to see her friends in hysterics.
"You two are getting it," she growled threateningly. Their laughter just increased. When she returned her attention back to the teenage boy, she muttered another apology, smiled, and scampered around him. "Thanks for warning me you two…"
The sarcasm was plain as day. "No problem!" Sage's was just as sarcastic but with a lighter tone.
"How about we find ourselves some seats and watch a couple of duels before having our own?" Hannah suggested, already heading over to a group of three. The twins followed her, bickering. This is going to be a long day…
DI
Chancellor Sheppard sat back in his large cushioned armchair.
His eyes were glued to the large television screen on the wall diagonal from him. So many promising young students were to enter into his school this year. From many of the duels he had just watched, he was quick to realize that he and the staff at the prestigious Duel Academy had a lot of work to do in the near future.
With a rather large handful of arrogant, nervous, and lazy duelists coming to live and learn here for over half a year for four years, it was going to be a long journey with each of them. He turned the TV off and set the remote down on his desk; spinning his chair to gaze outside. He began to stroke his beard thoughtfully.
This year was definitely going to be a long, exciting, and troublesome one.
Well, that's the end of my first chapter. Many more are to come out soon enough! I hope it won't take too long and I apologize to anyone who actually decides to read and like this story becuase it might take a little while for my thoughts to begin flowing creatively again.
Please review so I at least know that I have a reason to be writing and publishing this fic. Thanks for reading and if you like this, you should go over to two of my friends' profiles and check out their stories.
Lightest'Ink and FeatherPens!
Bye! 3