Holy cow, I got so many more reviews on the first chapter then I was expecting, because I wasn't expecting any! Thank you guys so much for the support on the story! I hope this chapter is just as good as the last one. It was a little awkward writing it, but only because I wasn't sure how to begin the chapter.

Now to respond to reviews!

Erik Dokuryuu Cobra: Thanks for the review! I've got a plan for those cards but that's for another chapter.

Martyn (Guest): Well you got ONE of those right... I'll let you see which one when that time comes.

Light (Guest): Mmmaaaaayyyyyyybbbbbeeeeeee :P

Guest (Guest, yeah he didn't specify a name): Thank you!

Valrik (Guest): I may have had that plan, I may have not. I will never reveal my secrets... until it shows up in the story that is.

Please leave reviews, even if it is come suggestive criticism! I am always looking to improve the story and the characters in it, as well as how I write the duels. I have to say that is the hardest part so far, and defiantly takes up the most time. I wrote an upcoming duel already, and it took about an hour and a half just to write out the rough script, excluding character dialogue (including like explaining card effects). Not that you should take pity on me, that duel gets intense and long!

Did that fire you up to read that chapter?

Anyway, enjoy!


One week later, Yuga was standing on the same duel fields all the Union applicants were tested on, a Union school badge pinned on the front of his hoodie. He was standing with several other first year students, all wearing their new badges and facing the same direction, each holding his or her luggage, waiting for the teachers to finish announcing the rules.

"And finally, students are not to partake in duels on campus past 10 pm with their duel pads. This is because quiet hour takes effect then. Now that we are done explaining the rules, we shall go over room assignments. While you are here, you will be staying in the dorm building, which will have its own set of rules. You will have a roommate, or two if you are placed in one of the few larger rooms. We will go over the rules for the dorm later, but for now when we call you, you will come up here with your roommate and get your dorm keys."

Yuga yawned sleepily, holding onto his red gym bag filled with his stuff. Listening to Takada go on about rules was a bit dull. He watched as student after student was called up and told their rooms and received their keys. Since there was four other teachers with Takada, it was going pretty quickly.

"Yuga Suzuki and Shin Kenyo." Professor Takada called.

Yuga stepped up to him, soon to be joined by a guy about a head and a half shorter then him. The boy had on a red hoodie with blue jeans, a white undershirt and was carrying a blue bag. His dark blue hair was covering his green eyes, as he was mostly looking down. When he held out his hand to receive his key, Yuga could see his hand was shaking a little.

"You boys are in room B-208." Takada explained. "I take it you paid attention on the tour and know where the dorm building is?"

Yuga nodded. "Yes Professor."

So they ventured off to go to their room. Yuga noticed that Shin still hadn't really looked up, and was staring at Yuga's feet as he followed behind his new roommate. Yuga decided not to press Shin, and he would talk when he felt comfortable. As they walked, Yuga noticed that several upper classman students were already here, talking amongst themselves as they went to their assigned rooms. Finally, Yuga and Shin approached the big dorm building. It was, unlike most of the other buildings, made of red brick instead of white stone, six stories tall in height.

"Girls are on the left side of the building and boys are on the right." Shin suddenly muttered, as they entered the building's lobby and turning to the right door. "Any boy caught on the girl's side is subject to punishment."

Yuga nodded. "B for 'Boy', make it easier on us, huh?"

They continued in silence up the stairs past the 100 rooms, reaching floor 2 and reaching a door with 'B-208' tacked onto it. Yuga put the key into the lock and turned it, opening the room to reveal a hardwood floor, tan walls, with two beds facing the door on either side of the room, two desks between the beds for working, and two closets, one on the left side and one on the right.

"Which side do you want?" Yuga asked, figuring he'd be nice.

"Oh, uh…" Shin thought for a minute. "In the room me and my brother shared, I would usually take the left side of the room."

Yuga smiled at him. "Make yourself at home." He threw his gym back onto the right bed, walking over and opening it to start unpacking. "It's so exciting to finally be here, isn't it?"

Shin shrugged. "I guess so. Kinda hard to be excited when I was pretty much forced to come here."

Yuga looked over his shoulder at Shin. "You didn't wanna come here on your own?"

Shin looked down at his bag. "Well, not really. I mean I like duel monsters and all that, been into it since my brother helped me build a deck, but attending a school like this? I love dueling, but I am not cut out to be here. My parents don't think that, and pretty much forced me to come here and at least try out. They were thrilled when I got in… somehow. You know how parents can be."

Yuga shook his head. "Actually I don't. I'm an orphan, so…" Yuga turned to Shin, and immediately saw his regretful face. Not wanting Shin to feel bad for bringing it up, Yuga smiled a little too largely and shifted topics. "So your brother helped you build your deck?"

Shin nodded, seeming relieved at the topic shift. "Yeah, my brother loves machine type monsters. He helped me build a deck of his duplicate cards. I mean they are powerful, and he taught me some of the dueling I need to use the deck, but I feel like I am not a good enough duelist to use such an advanced deck."

Yuga smiled. "Well, we are at school to learn how to use our cards, right?"

Shin nodded. "True, but I barely got into this school. I know for sure I failed the written exam, and I barely survived in the duel I had to get in. I don't even know how I managed to make it into the school."

"But you got in, so that counts for something right?" Shin didn't reply, and that's when Yuga got an idea. "Hey, let's duel!"

Shin looked up, surprised. "What, what? Right now?"

Yuga nodded. "Yeah! There's an outside courtyard in the back of the dorms! I'm sure no other students are going to be out right now since everyone is unpacking. We got all day to unload, so let's do a quick practice duel! Trust me, you need this!"

Shin shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I uh…"

XxXxXxX

"Are you sure this is what I need?" Shin muttered, nervously facing Yuga in the courtyard behind the dorms, his silver colored duel pad mounted on his left arm.

"Of course I am!" Yuga replied, smiling. "You just need a confidence booster, and as your roommate, I am obliged to duel you so you can gain some confidence."

"Gee, thanks." Shin sarcastically muttered, activating his duel disk. An electric blue energy blade shot out of it, and Shin drew his five cards. Yuga smiled, activating his blue duel pads red blade and drawing five cards.

"Duel!"

Yuga: 4000 vs Shin: 4000

"You can go first." Yuga told his roommate.

"Okay." Shin nervously said.

"Just remember, this is only a practice duel. It doesn't matter who wins or loses. But even though that's the case, I won't hold back. In a duel, you need to show your best, and I expect you to show me your best to!"

Shin nodded. "I'll try… My turn. I summon my Red Gadget (1300/1500) from my hand." A red monster shaped like a gear appeared on the field, complete with arms and legs. "When he is summoned. I can activate his special ability. He allows me to move a Yellow Gadget from my deck to my hand."

Yuga smiled. "That's awesome!"

"I'll end my turn there." Shin said.

Yuga blinked surprised. "Huh? That's all?"

Shin frowned. "Yeah…"

Yuga blinked again. "Well alright, my turn! I draw! I set the Pendulum Scale using the scale 1 Dragonpulse Magician, and the scale 4 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" The two monsters appeared on either side of Yuga in a blue column of light, flying up into the air. "This allows me to summon monsters at the same time from level 2 to 3! Pendulum Summon, come forth, level 3 Noble Dragon Magician (700/1400), defense mode! Next, I activate the field spell card, Sky Iris! This prevents any monsters in my pendulum zone with either Odd-Eyes or Magician in their name from getting destroyed by my opponent's card effects." Despite being a field spell, the field didn't change at all other than the blue columns of the pendulum monsters looking more defined. "I end my turn by placing one card facedown! Before that, I activate Odd-Eyes's Pendulum effect. By destroying him and placing him face up in the Extra Deck, I can add one Pendulum Monster with 1500 attack points or less from my desk to my hand, and I choose Dragonpit Magician."

Shin sighed. "I guess it's my turn again."

Yuga gave his new roommate a smile. "Don't stress it too much. You got this one." Shin looked away, so Yuga continued to encourage him. "Hey, you got into this school, that's an amazing feat."

Shin looked up at his friend. "But it's like I said before, I barely passed the duel, and I am sure I was the student who got the lowest grade on the written exam."

Yuga shook his head. "This isn't about the grade, and besides that's just a scare rumor. You are here because you are a great duelist deep down, and Takada noticed that. Now come on!"

That seemed to work, as Shin nodded and gave a small smile. "Thanks Yuga." His face then became rather serious. "Alright, my turn! I draw! I summon Yellow Gadget (1200/1200) to the field in attack mode, and with his special ability, I can add a Green Gadget from my desk to my hand. Next, I overlay my level 4 Red Gadget and my level 4 Yellow Gadget!" Shin closed his eyes as the two monsters flew into the black hole looking vortex that appeared on the field. "Gear soldier of the earth, appear on this battle field and lend me your power. Xyz Summon! Rank 4, Gear Gigant X! (2300/1500)" The monster appeared from the vortex. He looked like a solider in blue armor with a silver gear on his back, and green armor on his legs.

"Whoa, that's so cool, Shin!" Yuga said in awe. "I didn't know you knew how to Xyz Summon!"

Shin nodded, though no smile was present. "Yeah, my brother taught me when he gave me the cards to make my deck… Anyway, battle! I attack Noble Dragon Magician with Gear Gigant X!"

The metallic machine flew forward and punched right through Noble Dragon Magician, destroying her instantly. Yuga felt the shockwaves, but didn't flinch too much. "Destroyed Pendulum Monsters go on the extra deck face up!"

"I place two cards face down and end my turn." Shin said, sighing in relief. "I did it!"

Yuga smiled. "I'm glad, you seem more confident now."

Shin nodded. "I only ever Xyz Summoned three times till now. I was able to pull it off and another summon in front of Takada though, that's probably what got me in. He tested me like he tested you…"

Yuga was surprised. "Wait… another summon? Which one? Synchro?"

Shin seemed to ignore this. "Anyway, your turn."

Yuga smiled and drew his card. "Alright, my move! I put the scale 8 Dragonpit Magician into the Pendulum Zone, and using the scale 1 Dragonpulse Magician with him, I Pendulum Summon! Come forth from the extra deck, level 7 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (2500/2000) in attack mode, and level 3 Noble Dragon Magician in attack mode!"

Shin groaned, staring down Yuga's monsters. "I knew he would make this quick of a comeback…"

"Battle phase! I attack Gear Gigant X with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, and thanks to Odd-Eyes' effect, the damage is doubled! (Shin: 4000 - 3600) Next, I attack you directly with Noble Dragon Magician! (Shin: 3600 - 2900) With that, I'll end my turn."

Shin sighed, standing back up from being knocked down. "Can't we just call it your victory here? I mean, it's obvious I am going to lose."

Yuga sighed and shook his head. "That's what I am talking about though. You need to work on your confidence. You made an amazing play earlier and I am sure you're going to make another one."

Shin sighed and drew his card. "Alight then… my move. I set one monster in defense mode and place one card facedown. I end my turn with that."

Yuga nodded. "Not bad, but it's my move now! I draw! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack his set monster!" The set monster was Proto-Cyber Dragon (1100/600), and was instantly destroyed. "Next, Noble Dragon Magician attacks you directly! (Shin: 2900 - 2200) I end my turn."

Shin stared down at his duel pad for a second. He felt that he couldn't win, but there was no use arguing with Yuga, who wasn't going to let him quit till he was down to 0. "My turn. I place a card in defense, and end my turn."

Yuga sighed. "I felt the same way you do now in my duel with Takada. Hopeless, feeling like I wasn't going to win, but you need to forget those feelings of doubt and just keep dueling. After all, you don't know if you are really going to win till you play your last card."

Shin sighed. "I know, but it just seems so hopeless. I'm not a good duelist, never have been, never will be."

Yuga thought back to Takada in their duel. "Well then, if you won't cheer up with my words, then I'll let the cards speak for me! My turn! Odd-Eyes, attack his set monster!" The monster was Green Gadget (1400/600), and was destroyed. "Noble Dragon Magician, direct attack now! (Shin: 2200 - 1500) I end my turn."

Shin slowly drew his next card. "My turn." He looked at his hand for a few seconds, but then something lit up in his eyes, and when he spoke next, he was more confident. "Alright, because I got no monsters on my field, and you got some, I can special summon the level 5 Cyber Dragon! (2100/1600) Next, I activate the card I just drew! The spell card, Power Bond!"

Yuga was stunned. "Power Bond!?"

Shin smirked. "That's right. With this, I can fuse the Cyber Dragon on my field with that one in my hand!"

Another Cyber Dragon joined the one on the field, and they began swirling together into a red and blue vortex. "Two machine dragons, merge together into a new ferocious machine! Fusion Summon! Level 8, Cyber Twin Dragon! (2800/2100) But that's not all, because thanks to Power Bond, his attack points are doubled, at the price of me taking his original attack points as effect damage at the end of my turn! (2800/2100 - 5600/2100)

Yuga looked up at the twin headed machine dragon in shock. So this is how he beat Takada…

Shin smirk only got bigger. "And thanks to his special ability, he gets to attack twice in one turn! So not only will he wipe out your Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, dealing you 3,100 points of damage, but he'll also wipe out your Noble Dragon Magician too, winning me the duel. Now, Cyber Twin Dragon, attack-"

Yuga held out his hand. "Slow down, there! I activate a trap!"

Shin gasped. "No."

Yuga's card lifted itself from the field facedown. "Mirror Force! This activates whenever a monster on your side of the field declares an attack! Your attack is negated and every monster on your side of the field that is face up in attack mode is destroyed!" (A/N: This used to be Traptrix Trap Hole Nightmare, but I have confirmed that it wouldn't work in this situation, therefore I changed it.)

Cyber Twin Dragon roared in pain before exploding, sending shockwaves everywhere. Shin looked down and fell to his knees. "I… I end my turn." And just when I thought I had won…

Yuga saw Shin was depressed. "Hey, it was an amazing move. I didn't know you could fusion summon as well. Just… the execution needed some improvement that's all. My move. I attack directly with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! (Shin: 1500 - 0)"

Yuga Wins

Shin sighed. "I knew that would happen… I told you before Yuga, I'm not a good duelist."

Yuga walked over to Shin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You didn't have that attitude after drawing that Power Bond card. You can't just be confident when you got the powerful cards you need. You need to be confident no matter what you pull. But you did an amazing job during our duel, you just need to work on that confidence and knowing when to play which card when."

Shin nodded sadly. "Thanks Yuga."

Yuga smiled at him. "Let's go unpack! Classes begin tomorrow after all."

XxXxXxX

Professor Takada was sitting in his office, typing on his computer as the sun set behind him. Occasionally, the professor would take a sip out of the mug on his deck before typing more. Eventually, a knock was heard on the door to the office.

"Come in." Takada said.

The door opened, revealing a shorter man wearing a colored blue shirt and tan dress pants. His hair was spiked a little, greying a little, making it look like he had grey stripes in his hair. He walked into the room before speaking in a low voice. "Please excuse my intrusion, sir."

"Not at all, Mr. Himura." Takada said, looking up from his computer at the man. "What can I do for you?"

"I was going over the applications accepted into the school this year." Himura reported. "I am finding it astonishing what I am seeing. So many of our incoming freshman already know some advanced forms of summoning. We have tons who know Xyz and Synchro Summoning already, and even a few Fusion Summoners here and there. Makes my Advanced Summoning Methods class seem pointless, huh?"

Takada shook his head. "Not at all. All the students will benefit greatly from your class. After all, while they could know Xyz Summoning, they might not know Fusion or Synchro."

Himura nodded. "Still, this is the most talented group of students we've ever had at this school. Especially that Yuga Suzuki kid. To be able to do what he does with Pendulum Summoning without any formal teaching."

Takada nodded. "He is a talented one, the potential to be the best in the school if he learns how to tie Pendulum into other summoning methods." He paused for a bit. "He's in your afternoon class. I need you to watch him, Ruka Nagai and Roku Nagai."

Himura paused. "I can understand Yuga, but why the other two?"

"The Nagai twins displayed dueling strategy that currently puts them at the top of their class." Takada explained.

"Against test decks, that isn't saying much." Himura replied.

"It's more of their application of their decks then their performance against the testing decks." Takada noted. "These three could represent this school, even if they are only freshman."

"You think they have that much potential, sir?"

Takada remained quiet, turning his chair and standing up to look at the sun setting out the window. "I don't think… I know they have that much potential."

Himura nodded. "Okay, sir. Excuse me while I take my leave."

Takada heard the footsteps of Himura before he walked out and shut the door behind him. Takada continued looking at the sun for a while before turning back to his computer and going to work once again.

Yuga Suzuki…


"Who are the Roku and Ruka Nagai? How will Yuga fair against them? Find out next time, on YuGiOh Neo!"

Yes, I did just DragonBall Z Narrator this one.