AN: Recently I found an old video game of mine called Yu-Gi-Oh GX Duel Academy for Gameboy Advanced. It reminded me of when I was younger and played the card game. So... enjoy!
Chapter Start
Duel Monsters, a card game created over a decade ago by Industrial Illusions and KaibaCorp. In that time, Duel Monsters had become immensely popular, so much that it became an internationally recognized and participated game.
Maximillion Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters and president of Industrial Illusions, even received the Nobel Peace Prize on account of the fact that Duel Monsters decreased homicide rates on an international scale, mostly due to how most criminals had adopted the use of Duel Monsters to commit their crimes...
It truly baffled criminal psychologists and police alike.
Duel Monsters popularity continued to rise, putting what would be a simple card game up very high in influence. Many conflicts were now solved through the use of the game, which lead countries to pour funds into creating schools for the sheer sake of training children to master the game.
Duel Academy, unofficially called Central Academy, was an example of such. Located on an island off the coast of southern Japan, the school, along with four main subsidiary schools, were created and funded by Seto Kaiba, founder, CEO, and majority shareholder of KaibaCorp. It was extremely prestigious, on par with Ivy League schools in the United States, and similar to such schools, it was a private school with exclusive admission. Only the rich and most prospective duelists could get in, the cream of the crop.
Which was why Okita felt a bit nervous. Like the majority of the students present, he was seventeen years old. He stood at 5'7" with fair skin, a slender build with short slightly spiky yet flattened white hair and royal purple eyes wearing a simple black shirt, dark blue pants, and black shoes. To top it all off, he wore his dorm jacket unbuttoned and a deck holster on his left hip.
Okita was by no means a terrible duelist, otherwise he wouldn't find himself where he was at the moment, yet he did recognize his own limits, that he wasn't invincible. Glancing around, the white haired man saw a plethora of his fellow students around him, the majority wearing blue or yellow, and a few red jackets as well.
Duel Academy was broken into four dormitories: Obelisk Blue - the elite duelists who had the privilege of wealthy parents or well connections, Ra Yellow - the dorm where the students who achieved excellent scores in their Duel Academy Entrance Exams, moved up from or down a tier, reside, and lastly was Slifer Red, the dorm he was in. Save for a select few, it was categorized as being the weakest Duelists among the dorms, having very weak decks and poor strategies which called them to lose most of the time, many were ridiculed because of this and picked on by some of the higher tier students, sometimes dropping out all together.
All in all, it was mostly a matter of wealth that decided dorm assignments.
"Welcome, my duelist elite." a deep voice boomed, causing Okita to snap from his stupor. The giant monitor screen in the center of the room displayed the head of the school, Principal Samejima, a bald middle-aged man with a goatee-beard combination of greying hairs. "You all made it here by opening our narrow gate with your skill. Please enjoy your studies, and dream of becoming the future King of Games. I wish you all good luck with your four years at Duel Academy, study hard and excel! You are now all dismissed, please begin to make your way to your respective dorms, orientation will be at 7:00 tonight!" And with that, the screen cut to black, leaving the newly-minted students to murmur in excitement.
"Tch, might as well explore campus first..." Okita mumbled, knowing fully well that most of the students would flood through the school entrance to get to their dorms. In light of this, he began to make his way in the opposite direction as other students were.
-From Humble Beginnings-
"I have absolute no clue where I'm going..." Okita deflated as he muttered to himself, wandering aimlessly around the empty school halls. 'Maybe I should've gone with the rest of the group..' he thought.
"Ngh! Come on! We've got more boxes to bring in!"
"Hai, Tome-san!" Okita was surprised when he rounded the corner and saw two women carrying cardboard boxes of a comical size. The first of the two was a robust woman that stood at 5'5" with black-brown hair held in a braided ponytail, warm chocolate brown eyes, and a pair of spectacles. She wore a salmon-colored shirt with teal suspenders that connected to navy blue suspender pants, teal socks, and dark shoes.
The second woman was slightly shorter, standing at 5'4" with a more youthful appearance. She had brown hair held in a low ponytail and light brown doe-like eyes. She wore a similar outfit to the first woman, the only difference being that she wore a skirt. Another crucial difference between the two was the first woman seemed to be having no problem holding the box, but the second woman seemed to be straining a little.
"Ano... do you two need any help?" Okita called out, slightly startling the two women.
"Oh! I didn't think any students would be out this far until after the orientation." the first woman exclaimed, causing Okita to shrug his shoulders.
"I figured the courtyard would be crowded with the rest of the students all filing out at the same time." Okita stated, causing the woman to let out a hearty laugh. "So... do you need any help?"
"Sure! If you're willing to lend a hand with these boxes then who am I to deny." the woman said. "My name is Tome, but you can call me Tome-san! I run the school's card shop! And this is Saeko-chan, she's my assistant and employee at the shop!"
"Nice to meet you two. My name is Okita Yamamoto." Okita said, bowing to the two women.
"Same to you as well, Okita-kun." the second woman, Saeko, said, giving a small bow to the best of her ability. Unfortunately, this caused her to loosen her grip on the cardboard box, fumbling around as she tried to hold onto the box and accidentally pushing it forward towards Okita.
"I got it!" Okita exclaimed, catching the box. Simultaneously, Saeko tripped over her own feet, falling forward and tackling the white haired boy to the ground, somehow pulling down his pants and underwear in the process.
"Muuuuuuuuuuu!"
"Not again, Saeko-chan!"
"Urrghhh... What the - h-how did you pull my pants down?! I'm wearing a belt!"
"I-I'm sorry!"
"You'd be surprised how many times this has happened."
"And the underwear too!" Okita comically exclaimed, his and Saeko's face flushed in embarrassment as she held both his lower garment at his knees with her B-cup breasts pressing against the "lil' soldier downstairs standing at attention". 'S-Soft...' What made the situation even worse, however, was that despite the article of clothing acting as a barrier between their bare skin, Okita could feel that she was going commando. "C-Could you please get off me?" he asked, the brunette woman quickly pushing off of him and standing up, her face going beet red as her eyes trailed downward.
"Humph! Pretty impressive tool there lad!" Tome teased, Okita flailing around on the ground as he tried to pull up his pants.
"U-Uhh..." Okita stuttered, standing up holding onto the cardboard box. "W-Which way to the card shop?"
"Down this hallway, to the right and it's straightforward from there-" "Thanks bye!" Okita took off like a speeding bullet, leaving a comical dust cloud in his wake.
"D-Dammit, Saeko! Y-You've done it again!" Saeko mumbled.
"No you haven't... This is the first time you pulled the underwear down as well~" Tome stated in a sing-song voice.
-From Humble Beginnings-
"Thank you again for your help!" Tome exclaimed, placing the last box on the counter.
"Oh, i-it was nothing, really..." Okita said, waving his hand dismissively as the woman opened up one of the boxes.
"Here, let me give you something for your troubles." Tome said, scavenging through the box as she spoke.
"Y-You don't need to do that." Okita commented.
"No, I insist! Especially 'cause of, well, you know..." Tome retorted, her eyes drifting mischievously towards Saeko.
"Y-Yeah..." Saeko mumbled, poking her index fingers together, her gaze unable to stay trained on Okita for more than a second without blushing.
"Here! Usually we have a few extra packs that Saeko and I split between ourselves, but you've earned it!" Tome stated, pulling out a simple dark green rectangular card pack.
"A-Arigatou, Tome-san." Okita replied, taking the card pack and bowing. "I should probably head to my dorm then, ja mata!" he exclaimed, waving as he walked away.
"Nice kid, what do you think Saeko?"
"U-Umm... I - well... he's... cute."
"What was that last part?"
"I-I mean-"
"Do I hear wedding bells~?"
"Tome-saaaaann!"
-From Humble Beginnings-
"Ah geez, that was... something." Okita mumbled, walking down a worn-out dirt path. Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue had paved paths to their dorms, but not Slifer Red. The dorm itself was small, similar to a motel in appearance. "At least it has an oceanfront view..."
"Konnichiwa, student-san!" a new voice called out. Okita looked up to find a tall man waving towards him. He stood at 6'0" with a lanky build, black hair tied in a ponytail, closed eyes and a pair of square-lensed glasses wearing a white button up shirt, black pants, a belt, and a necktie. Strangely enough, the man held a light brown cat in his arms.
"Oh! Hi there! I'm-" "Okita Yamamoto, you're the last student in Slifer Red that hasn't shown up yet, the others have all been assigned their rooms." the man said as Okita came closer. "I am Professor Daitokuji, head professor of the Slifer Red dorm and alchemy class teacher."
"Okay, nice to meet you, Daitokuji-sensei." Okita said.
"Likewise, Okita-san. Your bag is the last one by the stairs and your room number is 201, at the very end at the top." Daitokuji stated.
"Arigatou, sensei. See you at orientation then!" Okita exclaimed, grabbing a large duffle bag and making his way up the stairs.
-From Humble Beginnings-
"So this is room 201..." Okita mumbled, dropping his bag on the floor with a loud thud. Apparently, he lucked out. Everyone else had been paired up to share rooms, all except for him. He had the entire room to himself, unless there were transfer students or other circumstances.
Besides those conditions, he would be bunking solo for now...
"Sweet!" Okita exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. The room itself was pretty bland, consisting of only a carpeted floor, a bunk bed in the corner, a wooden desk that looked like it had seen better days with a matching chair, a digital alarm clock, and a desk lamp. But that was something he could fix up with his own decorations. Right now, Okita just wanted to relax. He pulled off his jacket before flopping down onto the bed with a sigh.
"Oh right..." Okita mumbled, reaching into his jacket's pocket and pulling out his reward for helping Tome-san and Saeko. "The first card pack of the year... I wonder..." his voice trailed off as he pinched the plastic fold at the top with both index and thumb fingers. In one swift motion, he tore at the seal, exposing the brown side of five cards. Okita quickly discarded the wrapping and flipped the five cards over, fanning them out so as to see what he got.
"Let's see... Dark Blade, I could use that... Black Pendant, maybe... Ojama Trio, nah... Rush Recklessly, got one of those already... and - what the...?"
-From Humble Beginnings-
"What is this?!"
"The other dorms all got huge banquets! And our dorm leader isn't even human!" Okita clasped his hands together and silently muttered 'itadakimasu' before reaching for his chopsticks.
"Is that a cat?!" one of the students cried out as Professor Daitokuji walked in.
"I'm Daitokuji, your dorm leader..." Professor Daitokuji started. Okita tuned out the rest, focusing solely on eating his simple meal. He apparently wasn't the only one, a strange kid with Kuriboh hair devouring his food with gusto. "Judai Yuki, Okita Yamamoto-" Said white haired boy perked up at the mention of his name, only to find Professor Daitokuji looming over him and Kuriboh hair boy.
"Yes, sensei?" Okita questioned.
"I don't sweat the small stuff, but do refrain from rude mannerisms." Professor Daitokuji stated. "Well, everyone, I look forward to seeing you all around! Now you can begin to eat!"
"Itadakimasu!"
-From Humble Beginnings-
"There we go..." Okita muttered, shuffling his newly edited deck. The white haired duelist had quickly finished his dinner and made his way back up to his room, changing out of his uniform and into his sleepwear, which consisted of a simple light blue low-cut kimono held together by a dark blue obi.
After careful consideration, out of the five new cards he received, only Dark Blade made its way into his deck. It was the only card that he could actually see fitting into his dueling style, and he already had a Rush Recklessly.
Still, the white haired boy stared at the fifth card he received. Of all the cards that existed in the world, this was not one he expected to get. First of all, it was extremely recognizable in the dueling community, a card that was very rare and very popular, only two were officially made, the original... and the one that was on display in Domino City.
"Then how did you show up in the cards I received?" Okita questioned, eyes narrowed, analyzing the card for any forgery, any signs of it being a fake. "Damn... If this is a fake, it's a pretty damn good one." he mumbled, placing the card on the desk right next to his deck facedown with the other four. "Classes begin tomorrow... Might as well get some sleep." Okita said to himself, laying on top of the bottom bunk with one arm propping his head up with the pillow. Soon enough, the white haired young man was lulled asleep by the serene sound of the ocean.
In the middle of the night, unbeknownst to the unconscious Okita, certain cards began to glow...
"You... What are you doing here?!"
"Mou, you sound like you don't want me here~"
"You're damn right I don't! I'm already pissed that I've got to share with the six power rangers!"
"Hey! I resent that!"
"We all do!"
"Shut up! Why are you here?!"
"The same reason why you're here, and why they're here~"
"That's what concerns me."
-From Humble Beginnings-
'Ah man... class seems a bit boring...' Okita thought, his eyes scanning the classroom dully. The class consisted of three sections, one for each dorm, the Obelisk Blue section being the only coed one.
"-Duel Monsters can be grouped into Normal Monster cards, Fusion Monster cards, Ritual Monster cards, Effect Monster cards, Trap cards, and Spell cards. Trap cards can be divided into Normal Traps, Counter Traps, and Continuous Traps. Spell cards can be separated into Normal Spells, Continuous Spells, Equip Spells, Quick-Play Spells, Ritual Spells, and Field Spells." a blond Obelisk Blue girl stated.
"Perfect! Well done, Asuka-san!" the duel theory professor, who just so coincidentally happened to be the head professor of the male Obelisk Blue dorm, Dr. Cronos, praised. "Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from one of my Obelisk Blues."
"Yes, Dr. Cronos." the blond woman, presumably Asuka, said before sitting down.
"Hmm... Now, who should we question next?" Dr. Cronos mumbled, his eyes falling on a certain light blue haired Slifer Red. "You, Sho Marufuji!" Said blue haired boy shakily stood up. "Explain to the class what a Field Spell is, please."
"Umm... a Field Spell is, uhh, it's the-" Sho stuttered.
"Field Spell cards can be activated during your Main Phase and have the ability to change the entire state of the duel for both duelists. Most cards boost attack or or defence, or both, for Monster cards with specific Attributes or Types, but there are some that focus on things other than just that, such as recycling cards, weakening your opponent's monsters, searching monsters or swarming the field, or even preventing the Field from being swarmed. There are some ones that apply effects only to your side of the Field." Okita stated, sighing in exasperation when he noticed the flabbergasted stares of the entire class. "Not bad for a Slifer Red, huh... Professor?" he questioned, eliciting a few chuckles from his fellow Slifer Red students and causing Dr. Cronos bitting down on his handkerchief attempting to contain his anger.
'That's it! I will not tolerate being mocked by that slacker at my school for another second! I'll see to it that he's taken down!' Dr. Cronos mentally exclaimed.
"Hey, teach? You okay there? You look like you're about to blow up..." the Kuriboh hair boy stated lightheartedly.
-From Humble Beginnings-
"Hi everyone! My name is Ayukawa Emi! And I'll be your P.E. instructor for this semester!" the head of the female Obelisk Blue dorm, who just so happened to teach P.E., exclaimed. She was a beautiful young woman with auburn hair, dark brown eyes, and light skin. Like everyone else, she was wearing the Duel Academy gym uniform, though hers accentuate her generous bust. "You ready to sweat?!" a collective groan from nearly all her students didn't seem to phase her in the slightest on the outside. "Now here's the plan! I want you all to run five laps around the field, and then do twenty push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks! First person to complete all of this will receive a special reward~"
The collective groans swiftly turned into war cries as the men began to sprint as fast as they could, each one of them with a nosebleed and a perverse grin on their faces.
"Idiots..." Okita muttered, running at a slower, more reserved stride, something that did not go unnoticed by Ayukawa. His strategy quickly payed off when all the other guys began to slow down after the third lap, their energy wasted on sprinting to get the 'special reward', Okita taking the lead after the fourth lap. By the time he finished his final lap, most of the other guys were barely starting their fourth.
"Congratulations, Okita-kun, on being the first to finish running!" Ayukawa exclaimed.
"Arigatou, Ayukawa-sensei!" Okita exclaimed, dropping down to the ground as he began his push-ups.
"Say... you look like you're more used to this kind of routine, did you happen to play a sport beforehand?" Ayukawa questioned.
"I was captain of the kendo club at my school. I had to be in good physical condition." Okita stated, grunting as he went through twenty push-ups, moving to sit on the ground and stretch out his aching body for a few seconds before moving on to sit-ups.
"Kendo you say? Then you wouldn't mind a friendly kendo shiai some time then?" Ayukawa asked.
"Sounds... good!" Okita grunted, finishing his fifth sit-up. "It'd be a good idea for me to test my skills again, I think I might be going rusty."
The other boys eventually joined them by the time Okita finished his fifteenth sit-up. And by the time the last boy joined up, which was a tie between Judai and Sho, Okita was nearly finished with his jumping jacks.
"Seventeen... eighteen... nineteen... twenty!" Okita muttered, his hands dropping to his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
"Well done, Okita-kun!" Ayukawa exclaimed, the majority of the other boys glaring at the white haired duelist as his face was flushed red from the praise and from lack of air. "The special prize is... you don't have to participate for the rest of class! You get a freebie for today!"
"Ari... gatou... sensei..." Okita said in between breaths.
"If you want to, there are bokkens and a small gym that isn't in use." Ayukawa suggested, pulling out a key ring and handing it to the white haired young man. "This key should unlock the doors right across from the boys' locker room, and the small gym is right around the corner on the right."
"Hai, Ayukawa-sensei!"
-From Humble Beginnings-
"A man can have anything, if he is willing to fight..."
"*Thwap* *Clack* *Shwop*!" the sound of wood striking against wood was the only sound other than Okita's breaths that filled the room. The white haired young man was sweating profusely, so much that he had discarded his jacket from overheating.
"On the day you were conceived, came a solemn vow..."
The sound of Okita's bokken slamming against the wooden dummy increased in speed, his breathing doing the same as he pushed his limits.
"You will have nothing..."
Tears began to form in Okita's eyes from the fact he was unblinking.
"Your privilege is the dirt..."
A concerned pair of eyes silently watched the young man brutally strike, unable to bring herself to speak.
"In the darkness... only ambition will guide me..." Okita mumbled, his speed slowly but surely increasing in his strikes.
"The Oaths you swear... The promises I make...
Is yours... Is mine... alone..."
"Your freedom, would be the battles you wage..."
"My birthright, the losses I suffer..."
"Your entitlement... My entitlement..."
"The pain you endure..."
Okita collapsed onto his back, his bare chest heaving up and down as he coughed up phlegm, his vision a bit blurry from the lack of oxygen in his lungs.
"And when darkness finds you..."
For a brief second, Okita thought he saw something in the corner of his vision. Blinking, he found both Ayukawa, Judai, and Sho standing over him with concerned looks.
"You will face it... Alone."
"Okita-kun?" Ayukawa called out.
"S... Sensei?" Okita questioned.
"Class ended about five minutes ago." Ayukawa stated. "Are you okay to go to class?"
"Yeah... just... out of... breath..." Okita replied.
"Okay. Judai-kun, Sho-kun, please ensure that Okita-kun gets to class as well." Ayukawa said she stood up and gave a small bow before leaving.
"Come on, bro..." Judai said, putting one of Okita's arms over his shoulder. "Sho! Help me over here!"
"Hai, aniki!" Sho exclaimed, draping the white haired boy's other arm over his shoulder.
"Where..." Okita mumbled.
"I know just what'll cheer ya up! But first we gotta change!"
-From Humble Beginnings-
"Tell me again how this will cheer me up? Or why I even need cheering up for that matter?" Okita asked, his Slifer Red jacket draped over his shoulder as the trio walked down the dirt path.
"Aniki! W-We're supposed to be in class right now!" Sho exclaimed nervously. Judai's idea somehow consisted of the trio sneaking all the way back to their dorm rooms to retrieve their duel disks and decks, leading them to the situation they were in now.
"A good duel can always cheer up a person! Trust me!" Judai replied, giving a one-eyed smile and thumbs up. "So how about it?"
"Hmm... I guess so."
"Alright!"
"However!" Okita exclaimed, pointing directly at Sho. "I want to duel you first."
"W-What?!"
"Deal!"
"WHAT?!"
"So long as I get to duel you afterwards!"
"Fine. Let's do this."
"N-Now hold on just a minute-"
"Too late! Ready for this?"
"I - uhh... I guess so..."
"DUEL!/Duel..."
Chapter End