The first week was a stressful, surreal blur. Jennifer had never thought there was so much to learn about a card game. The professors were nice and the Head of Osiris Dorms had seemed to take an unusual interest in her. Jennifer's only friends were Hitomi Saotome and Shinju Higurashi. Hitomi was a forth year and Shinju was a seventh year. Hitomi had an older brother named Miroku, a fifth year Obelisk with a certain distain for Osiris Reds.
"I know that somewhere, deep, deep down, he cares about me. He just, doesn't know it yet," Hitomi always said when the topic somehow wandered over to her brother. The trio always left it all after that.
Shinju had a younger brother named Taro and she had left her best friends to come to the Academia. Her long hair was jet black and her eyes were the color of melted gold. She said it was a glitch in her DNA sequence. No one really questioned it, though. Shinju made it look natural and beautiful. It was just "a genetic mutation" that Shinju took hold of and accepted it.
One thing was for sure: Shinju's golden eyes attracted the coal-black eyes of a cocky Obelisk named Nao Manjoume.
"Hey, Jenny-chan, Shinju-chan! Over here!" Hitomi called out to her friend from across the Osiris cafeteria. Both first year Osiris' looked at each other and headed over to Hitomi.
"Mind if I join you?"
The three girls looked up at the speaker and saw a quiet-looking boy with brown hair and brown eyes hidden behind oval glasses.
"Sure," Jennifer said and Hitomi scooted over so he could sit down.
"I'm Jennifer Chase, but call me Jenny. This is Higurashi Shinju and Saotome Hitomi. And you are?"
"I'm Daitoukuji Amnael."
Jennifer held out her hand for him to shake, "Nice to meet you, Amnael."
The weeks passed and Jennifer decided that there was defiantly something wrong with Katashi. He kept disappearing every month about the time of the full moon. He came back the next day beat up to hell. Come November, Jenny decided that she would find out what's wrong and do what she could to help.
It was November 6th, the night of the full moon. Jenny threw on her pale blue fluffy coat and her boots, as the ground was already covered in snow. Putting on a hat, scarf, and mittens to keep away the cold, she crept out of her dormitory just in time to see a lone figure heading for the door. She looked over to the entrance to the boys' dorm and saw three figures following the lone one. She followed them all.
Jenny silently ran after the four figures and followed them to a suit of old samurai armor. Katashi pulled something and the armor moved aside, revealing a passageway. Jenny wasted no time chasing after the foursome. She followed them into a run-down house where the tunnel ended. She could hear voices.
"I told you guys to stay away!"
"Relax, 'Tashi. We'll be fine."
"When I turn, what if I bit one of you? I don't think I could stand it if I hurt one of you."
"'Tashi, it'll be alright. Besides, I thought I saw a certain someone following us. Come out, Chase. We know you're there."
Jenny hissed realizing her cover was blown. "How did you know it was me?"
Yuudai laughed and said, "Chase, no on has hair as red as yours."
Jenny subconsciously moved her hand to her blood red locks and realized he was right. Anyone else at the school had to dye their hair red, hers was natural. With a smile and a slight laugh, Jenny sat down on the beat-up old couch next to Yuudai.
"So, what's wrong with you, Katashi?"
Katashi quickly glanced outside; the moon hadn't risen yet. "I'm a-a-a werewolf." Jenny grimly smiled and nodded. "I thought so." Every single head turned and stared at Jenny. She laughed. "It's painfully obvious. You disappear every full moon and come back the next day beat to bloody hell. I'm surprised that no one else figured it out by now. So, who turned you?"
Katashi turned and clenched his fist. "Pitch-Black Werewolf."
"But, that's impossible. Pitch-Black Werewolf is a Duel Monster. It's not real."
Tadao looked at Jenny. "Listen, Chase. The cards? They're just portraits. The real deal exists. They're just forbidden access to Earth. But, sometimes, one will get loose and come to Earth. Terrible thing for whoever gets in its way."
Suddenly Katashi cried out. Jenny looked out the window. The full moon had risen over the horizon. She returned her attention to Katashi, a horrified expression on her face. Yuudai and Tadao wasted no time in getting to Katashi, loudly trying to convince him to stay in this heart, his human heart.
Jenny, after a moment's hesitation, joined in. The last was Isamu.
But it was too late; Katashi had already turned. As the four remaining duelists ducked, dodged, and avoided his claws, teeth, etc., Jenny was running through her mind possible ways to beat down a werewolf. She vaguely recalled a letter her cousin sent her a few years ago that had a recipe in it. She had never heard of some of the ingredients, so she never took it seriously.
A roar of pain snapped Jenny back into the present. Somehow, the boys had managed to maneuver it so that Katashi scratched himself. This had seemed to lock away Katashi's werewolf side, giving Jenny the chance to remember the recipe. When it clicked, Jenny grinned. She walked up to Katashi and said,
"Katashi, I think I might have something that can help."
"Huh?"
After a few days, Jenny almost gave up trying to find the person she was looking for. But then she spotted Alessia and Chronus.
"Alessia! Chronus!" Jenny called out and waved to the two Italians. Alessia and Chronus turned to see Jenny running towards them.
"Hey, Jennifer. What's up?"
"Please, call me Jenny. It's easier. Anyway. Chronus, how good are you at making potions?"
"Wait a minute," Alessia butted in, "potions as in 'double trouble toil and bubble, fire burn and cauldron bubble'?"
"Well, I guess so. If you mean witches and wizards and stuff."
"I'm good at that," Chronus said.
"Really?"
"Yes. My grandmamma made all sorts of potions. She gave me my own private supply as a going away present."
"You wouldn't happen to have monkshood, extracts of rosemary, and three weeks of your time?"
"I have all that and more. Why?"
"I have a recipe for a potion I'll need every month." Jenny handed him the recipe and a look of confusion spread across his face.
"But, Jenny-san, this is for—"
"My sister. Dreaded thing. Gets it horribly. My cousin sent me this recipe after I told her and I'm afraid I lack the ingredients needed to make it. So, will you help me, Chronus-kun?"
Chronus smiled and nodded. "Sure, Jenny-san. I'd love to help you."
"Thank you!" Jenny hugged the blonde and grinned ear to ear. "Remember, Chronus, I need a vile full of it every month! Thank you!"
And with that, Jenny took off.
Alessia looked over the smaller boy's shoulder and blinked at the paper.
"What was that all about?"
Come the next full moon, Jenny was excited. She had given Katashi the potion at breakfast and so far he was fine. No nausea or headaches or aches or anything. The potion was working. It would have to work harder when the moon actually came out and Katashi would have to fight his werewolf self for a little bit, but the potion would definitely help.
The next day, Katashi approached Jenny.
"Jenny! Thanks for the potion. It really helped."
"Oh, you're welcome! Anything to help, Katashi. You seem much more tame than your friends. I guess its because of your 'condition'. Walk with me?" Jenny said as the two headed off to their next class.
"Sure. Yeah, I guess so."
"I wonder what'll happen in Duel Spirits class today. Oh, and Winter Break is coming up, are you returning home?"
"Yes. My parents want to make sure I'm doing alright. They know of my 'condition' and are afraid no one will accept me. But, they don't know that Yuudai, Tadao, and Isamu know. And now you know. I plan on telling them when I get home. I want them to know that I have friends who accept me despite this little 'problem' of mine."
Jenny noted how serious Katashi looked. "Do you have any brothers or sisters, Katashi?"
"No, my mother was struck barren not too long after I was born. My father was glad a son had been his first and only child. You know, to take over the family business. Neither of my parents are duelists, you know. To be honest, I just came to see if there was a cure."
"What is your family's business?"
"My father owns a computer company. Never really liked it, though. Now that I know this game, I much rather make a life in this world then spend the rest of my life arguing over the phone about silicon prices and the like," Katashi said and glanced at Jenny. Her head was down and her bangs hid her eyes.
"And what of you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Just one. A sister named Rebecca. She's a few years younger than I am. She's mad at me."
"Why?"
"Because. I'm here and she's not. She wrote the headmaster and begged him to let her come, but she couldn't. She probably hates me now. Just before I left, she called me a freak."
"Oh. What do your parents do for a living?"
"Mum doesn't really have a job. She stays at home taking care of me and Rebecca. Dad works as a businessman. Earns a lot of money."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"You know, Jenny, you have a British accent. Weren't you born in Japan?"
"No, actually. I was born in England. London, England, to be precise. I lived there for a while, but Dad got an offer for a better-paying job here in Japan. So, we moved and a couple years later, I'm here."
"Isn't two years more than enough time to have an old accent fade?"
"I was home schooled. Didn't know a word of Japanese for the first three months of my life here."
"Really? What happened? Your Japanese is pretty good now."
"I met my neighbor."
"Who was he?"
"Fukimori Raiden."
Katashi felt his heart stop. Raiden was Tadao's hated younger brother. Katashi was so surprised by the mention of the 'human' hating boy that he almost didn't hear what else Jenny was saying.
"He taught me and Becky Japanese. Everything we know about the language, the culture, everything, he taught us. In secret, of course. Mum would've burst a blood vessel if she'd found out. I guess I never was able to pull off a Japanese accent. Oh well. I least I can carry on an intelligent conversation."
Katashi laughed.
"Oh, we've reached the classroom. Time flies, huh Katashi?"
Blinking, Katashi found himself standing in front of a door with a sign on it that read 'Duel Spirits Class'. Underneath that, in slightly sloppier handwriting, were the words 'Enter At Own Risk'. Jenny rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly.
"Nutter," she muttered as she pushed open the door. Surprisingly, despite the time it took to get there, they weren't late. In fact, the professor hadn't even shown up yet.
"Jen-chan!" Alessia called out as she spotted Jenny. She waved her over as Jenny looked at Katashi.
"Thank-you for walking with me."
"You're wel-"
"Are we going to stand here in the doorway or are we going to take our seats?" a deep voice said from behind the two Osirises. Both Jenny and Katashi turned, startled, to see a man who was about 5 foot 6 and had a belly the size of Cleveland. He was dressed in an Osiris Red outfit and he had a dark blue Cubs hat over his messy blonde hair. His eyes were bright blue and twinkled with laughter.
The two kids immediately took their seats and the man walked to the front of the room.
"I am your professor, Hibiki Hiroki," Professor Hibiki said as he wrote his name on the board. "This is the first time you have stepped into this class. All of you are first years. And this is the only year you will enter this room. Many of you are wondering why now, so close to winter break. Well, I'll tell you why. In the next two weeks, you will learn more about who you are, and what kind of Spirit you have."
The first years looked at each other and Professor Hibiki.
"Now, let me warn you. If you ever hear voices, but nobody's talking to you, you are not going crazy."
Sitalina raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Sitalina?"
"What does it mean, sir, if you do hear voices but nobody's talking to you?"
"We'll discuss that when we get to it. Now, take out your decks. All of you, no exceptions."
Jenny, Alessia, and Amnael all took out their decks.
"Oh, you play a fairy deck?"
Jenny looked at the girl who had spoken. She had short, spiky blonde hair and bright brown eyes.
"Oh, yes. I'm Jenny Chase. And you are?"
"I'm Tashio Aika."
"What kind of deck do you play?"
"Agent. You know, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mars? They're my main plays. They used to belong to my Jii-chan, but he passed away a few years ago. He left me his deck. So, now I play this deck in his memory. What about you? How'd you get your deck?"
Jenny looked at her deck. "I…don't know."
"You don't know?" Aika said, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Once, I went to sleep and woke up and my deck was just…there. On my dresser. I don't know who put it there or even how it got there in the first place."
Aika raised an eyebrow. "You know, that's dangerous. If you don't know jack about the person who used it before you—"
"That's just it!" Jenny said, looking back at Aika, "The cards where brand new. Never been used before. Not even the slightest hint of use."
Now Aika's eyes where wide with shock and she was blinking rapidly, as if trying to grasp what Jenny had just said.
"Miss Chase, Miss Tashio, please pay attention."
Both girls silently agreed to meet at lunch to discuss it some more.
Jenny found the lesson fascinating once she started pay attention. Hibiki-sensei was teaching the class how to access their Duel Spirits; the spirit of a monster depicted on the cards.
"Whether or not a Duel Spirit is good or evil depends on its partner. If a duelist is evil, his or her partner will be evil. If a duelist is good, his or her partner will be good. If a duelist is neither good nor evil, the spirit will be neutral. But, these rules only apply to duelists who chose a side before they meet their partners and stay with that side until they die.
"As we know, this is rare in life. Time can take the kindest, most selfless person on the face of the earth and turn him or her into a heartless, cruel tyrant. Friendships begen and end, and begen again. Alliances are formed and ended, promises are made and broken. People come and go, souls face horrible mutilation and betrayals. Or, in the reverse, people can start out alone, broken, and bitter at the world. They can then meet and slowly form friendships and alliances. And sometimes, they can even find love.
"These occurrences, which are much more realistic, are called the Loyalty Shift. Some duelists go from good to bad or bad to good due to events over which they either had no control or some control. But, the most common one, is from bad or good to natural. These are the most realistic and most common of Loyalty Shifts out there. A normally good person can face heartbreak, betrayal, and abuse but still never go truly bad. They will have no side. The same theory applies for evil. They can face kindness, love, and happiness but still never truly turn good. These duelists are probably the most dangerous of any duelist."
A girl from Obelisk raised her hand. "Why is that professor?"
"They are rogues. Neutral duelists have no alliance to any power or force. These duelists and their partners most often times live alone on the streets, or wander in the wilderness, usually somewhere they don't have to face people very often. But some neutrals have families. Moms and dads, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins and friends, etc. Some neutrals are married and have children and love them very much. Some neutrals are God-fearing people and live wholesome lives. They go to work, earn good money, and have a nice home. In reality, all duelists are the same, the only differences are beliefs.
"You see, evil believes that there really is no such thing as good or bad, just power and those too weak to seek it. Good believes that evil is the product of greed and sin. Neutral, however, believe both good and evil to be playground bullies who are trying to make people submit to them. They believe that it is better to fight with no alliance, that way they have no enemies and they ultimately have more power. Because they see each sides way of thinking, neutral duelists can master strong attacks that good duelists are too noble to use and evil duelists either haven't heard of or don't think its worth the effort. Which is way most neutral duelists, if they feel strongly for their families or a friend, will often times commit Love."
"I thought anyone was capable of love?"
"I am not really talking about the emotion. Love is an ancient magic that anyone can possess. You can say you love a person, but for it to be true, you must be willingly to die for that person should the need ever arise. Love, in its purest, simplest form, can be a force of salvation…or a force of destruction. Many powerful evil duelists have been brought down by a simple act of Love."
Jenny got the strangest sense that Hibiki-sensei was looking directly at her as he said the last couple sentences. Just as suddenly as it appeared, the strange feeling vanished.
"Now, I cannot teach you how to find your partner. A duelist does not choose their partner. Rather, they are chosen by the spirit themselves. Do not expect to gain a partner during this class. I took this class when I was a first year and I was out of school by the time my spirit contacted me."
Jenny softly sighed; her luck would be that she would never find her spirit partner.
If only she knew just how wrong she was…
Next time on Fighting Destiny:
It's finally Winter Break. About time! I needed a break! Mom and Dad are taking me and Becky on a trip to the old dojo on Edo Rock. But wait, who's this? And why does he keep asking me for a crystal? And what does the full moon have to do with all of this? What? Yuudai coming to my rescue? I can take of myself, thank you!
Next time, Heartless Fiend! Ambush Edo Rock. See ya then!
