The second chapter, at long last.

Last edited May 8th 2016.

-.-.-.-

Year Two:

‒ One Serpent, Many Dragons ‒

The Gate-Crasher

-.-.-.-

If there was a thing or an event that could mark the beginning of the mess that gradually unfolded during Sho's second year at the Central Academy, then it was probably the entrance ceremony. Rather, it was the introduction of a new teacher and four new students; exchange students from the northern, western, eastern and southern branch of the Duel Academia.

First, there was Professor Cobra, previously stationed at West Academy. A scary guy, if Sho ever saw one.

Then from East Academy, there was Amon Garam, who belonged to the powerful Garam merchant group. He looked friendly at a cursory glance, but so did a whole lot of truly unfriendly people, so Sho knew not to make careless assumptions on that if he could avoid it.

From South Academy came Jim Crocodile Cook, some eccentric who had bandages covering the right part of his face, a crazy hat and a live crocodile as a pet, and from West Academy came Austin O'Brien, who seemed to share the same militaristic outlook on life as their new teacher. Sho made a quiet note to definitely avoid the latter to the extent of his ability, and possibly the former as well, though not so much because Jim Cook looked dangerous but rather because he seemed to like keeping dangerous pets and company.

Finally, there was at the very least supposed to be a fourth representative, this one from North Academy. He appeared to be running late though, given that he wasn't anywhere to be seen. In his absence, there were hushed whispers in the audience and even the awkward shrug from one or two of those on stage. The three transfers ‒ four, if one counted Professor Cobra ‒ received the announcement with little surprise. Amon Garam even cracked a smile at that, exchanging a soft-spoken comment with an equally amused-looking Jim Cook whilst Austin O'Brien ignored them both, no change to his facial expression or posture.

In the case with Professor Cobra, it proved rather difficult to tell whether the man's facial expression changed that much as he turned his head towards the new students and thereby partially away from the audience. Not that Sho was complaining or anything. If anything, then he was fairly relieved to see the other's piercing glare directed elsewhere, even for the duration of just a few moments. Sho would obviously have to get used to it quickly though; if he wanted to remain at the Central Academy, that is. Headmaster Samejima was still smiling after all, and that did not bode well for the rest of them.

Frowning at the empty seat nearest to him, Sho figured that it was probably just his paranoia speaking. After all, even though it had been months since that ordeal with the Society of Light, he had by no means forgotten the part that the headmaster had inadvertently played in Saiou's plot. Obviously.

Much like the representative from North Academy, Judai was also absent, which meant that he would either be late or skip the thing altogether; not such a good start, in Sho's private opinion.

Sneaking a look Professor Daitokuji's way, Sho pondered what to make of his new situation. On one hand, he was rather pleased about having been promoted; that the school and the professors had recognised his growth. On the other hand though, there were plenty of drawbacks or at the very least potential ones from what he had seen so far. Then again‒

The doors to the auditorium swung open, turning heads all around.

In the doorway stood two people, one in red and the other in blue, both of them slightly winded. Sho, along with the rest of them, obviously recognised the former; even slightly breathless, Judai swiftly had a grin plastered on his face and a slight but nevertheless cheerful wave to his audience.

The other latecomer, clad in a blue and white jacket, smiled sheepishly in turn, bowing slightly in greeting. "Johan Andersen, second-year from North Academy. Pardon the delay."

So, this was the representative of North Academy, arriving late and contradicting most of Sho's assumptions. Hell, even Manjoume looked surprised ‒ surprised and disdainful actually. There was little recognition though, and if Manjoume hadn't even heard of the guy before, then it was pretty odd for him to have been selected as an overseas champion.

Practically all eyes remained on Johan Andersen as he, still with a somewhat sheepish smile on his face, hurriedly made his way down the staircase to reach the podium, joining up with the rest of the transfers. Even Sho was looking, but he did tear his eyes away for long enough to level a still smiling Judai with a disapproving look, rather tempted to snipe at him for being late and for drawing unnecessary attention to himself. He refrained from doing so however, because now was not the time. Instead, Sho focused on Professor Cobra's announcement that a Duel would be taking place, a demonstration of some sort. And, just like that, the new professor nominated two duellists to do the honours: Johan Andersen and Yuki Judai.

Frankly, Sho knew better than to be surprised.

-.-.-.-

Relocating everyone to the Duelling Arena took more than a few minutes, but Sho did the sensible thing and stuck close to Judai. The crowds tended to part for him after all, or were at the very least prone to letting him weave through them with relative ease. Besides, even though he was still a Red student and quite easygoing as far as the greater school population was concerned, Judai still commandeered a kind of respect these days, even amongst the people of the Blue Dorm. Of course, it was oftentimes a grudging type of respect; a general idea that staying on his good side or well out of his way was advisable. When Sho had first come to realise this, he had pondered what to make of it. He had ultimately discarded the thought in favour of more immediate matters though. Still, it had remained stubbornly at the back of his mind, especially as he parted from Judai and had to struggle on his own.

"Be careful," he had said. "Don't do anything stupid."

As per usual, Judai had taken Sho's worries in stride, heading down into the arena. By no means less worried, Sho had watched him go, only vaguely aware of Manjoume's grumbles about not having been chosen until the latter made a note about something that had bothered Sho as well: the identity of Judai's opponent.

North Academy was and had always been a highly competitive environment, stemming from an old rivalry between them and Central Academy. Of course, when it came to results, they had ultimately lost to Central Academy, having entered said losing streak around the same time and as a direct result of Sho's brother getting accepted to Central‒ Well, technically speaking, as a direct result of Marufuji 'Kaiser' Ryo, Tenjoin Fubuki, and‒ right, Fujiwara Yusuke, wasn't it? The guy Fubuki was‒

Sho's attention flickered briefly to Fubuki, watching the unfolding spectacle from the outskirts of the Blue crowd. Sho's brother had not made any particular mention of either Fubuki or that Yusuke guy in his earlier correspondence. Then again, why discuss such matters with someone like Sho? Heck, even when Sho had written his brother to inform him of Fubuki's return, he had hardly even commented on the matter. Somewhat peeved, Sho had even brought the matter to Fubuki who, with a slight smile and a shrug, had told him that Kaiser had always had his own way of doing things, whatever the heck that was supposed to mean.

In any case, that didn't change the fact that North Academy was a highly competitive environment that coveted strength over inherent status, unlike what was occasionally the case with the Central Academy. After all, with people like Professor Chronos in charge of the entrance exams, it was really no wonder that blue-bloods with decent skill and potential ended up in Blue whilst commoners with similar potential ended up in Yellow, and the stragglers of either category in Red. Then again, as with most things, there were exceptions that both confirmed and busted the rule, Judai being one of them.

In comparison, the general rule in North Academy was that the strong should be on top and that those inferior should obey them. In other words: The strong ruled the weak.

Manjoume had not been very elaborate about his time over at North Academy; not beyond that he had beat the lot into submission, placing himself at the very top of the student hierarchy. Considering that, it was decidedly strange that a completely unknown second-year student had been selected as its representative. Then again, perhaps it was not all that strange. Manjoume's sudden rise to power and subsequent departure had to have upset the balance quite a bit, leaving behind something like a void wherein someone new could rise to the top. Yes, that was bound to be it.

"The Red's looking good, isn't he, against that Ghost guy?"

Sho startled violently, but managed to prevent the rather undignified shriek that lay close at hand.

"Startled ya, eh?"

It served as a testament to how deep Sho had been in his thoughts for him not to have noticed that Jim Cook and Amon Garam had claimed the two empty seats to his left, the latter giving him a smile and a slight wave as his attention snapped to them. "Sorry about that. Are these seats taken?"

Now they technically were, but Sho shook his head anyway.

"Sorry about startling ya," Jim Cook smiled apologetically his direction before shifting his attention back towards the ongoing duel below. "People usually see me coming."

'That must be because you usually carry around a crocodile on your back', Sho didn't say, because obviously, he had a bit more sense than that. Besides, the fact that said crocodile wasn't currently with its keeper obviously begged the question of its current whereabouts. Actually, Sho found that he would rather not think about it, readily dismissing the forming thought. "No need to apologise; I was the one not paying attention."

Sho shifted his attention back to the ongoing duel, swallowing down what still remained of his earlier embarrassment. He would have been perfectly satisfied, even happy, to leave it at that, without involving himself. After all, Sho already had more than enough connections to relatively high-profile individuals, to his brother and Fubuki and Manjoume and even Ju‒

"That Red guy's really something," Jim Cook finally noted somewhat thoughtfully, his attention still visibly on the events taking place on the arena floor. "Yuki Judai, wasn't it?"

Down below, largely oblivious to the scrutiny, Judai cheerfully launched another attack on one of Johan's monsters. They did seem fairly even otherwise though, which proved worrying to say the very least.

"Not bad, holding his ground against the Great Sage's scion," Amon Garam observed, arms folded across his chest.

Sho couldn't catch himself in time. "Scion?!"

More than a few pairs of eyes shifted to him. Heck, even the duellists down below paused in their movements.

"Scion?" Judai repeated, looking to his sheepish-looking opponent.

Johan Andersen scratched the back of his head, looking if possible even more sheepish. "Well, that's‒"

A beat of silence passed, and then Judai shrugged mildly. "Well, whatever. It's my turn, right?"

Trust someone like Judai to say something like that.

Sho was quietly relieved though, because with Judai's words and actions, attention was now firmly directed back to the Duel and away from Sho, who had already embarrassed himself enough.

-.-.-.-

It was an intense yet at the same time ridiculous duel between two powerful yet at the same time ridiculous people. Grinning, Judai extended his hand. A similarly happy and similarly winded Johan readily shook it. Going by how they only seemed to have eyes for each other, they had probably forgotten all about the fact that they had a sizeable audience.

"Man, that was intense!" Judai laughed, giving the hand a slight squeeze. "Nice bluff, Johan!"

Johan squeezed right back and seemed to be in no hurry to let go. "Thanks, Judai! Congrats."

Even amidst the cheers and applause, Sho could not help but think that they both looked remarkably winded, as though they had run laps or something. Then Professor Cobra took the stage, dragging a decidedly surprised and now disentangled Judai along to display a bracelet, announcing that the year would feature Disclosure Duels such as the one demonstrated.

Disclosure Duels. Duels featuring duellists wearing Dis-Belts, enchanted bracelets intended to measure a duellist's potential, or, in case results indicated that potential proved lacking, grounds for demotion or expulsion. Dis-Duels. Dis-Belts. Dis‒Death? Was it really Death Duels and Death Belts?

"Survival Duels all of a sudden? Geez," someone moaned from the row behind Sho and he could not help but agree with the sentiment, if only inwardly.

Going by the looks of it, this year would be practical rather than theoretical; right up Judai's alley, no doubt, and not so much up Sho's. After all, despite the slacking off and the occasional bouts of truancy, Judai had always been in fairly good shape. Besides, despite an initially quite limited experience, he also had an aptitude for most of the physical activities that made out the curriculum along with classes and duels.

-.-.-.-

Contrary to popular belief, becoming a Knight required more than just exclusive summoning contracts and strategies to put them to good use. Strength, physical as well as mental, was essential.

The original purpose of duels was that of ritualistic sparring; to train knights in the art of summoning and spell casting. It was also a means to settle internal disputes and to establish a hierarchy, a ranking. Of course, in order to join the Duellist Court, simply being able to duel was not enough; the job also required general knowledge about the country and how it worked, among other things. Specialisation tended to come afterwards, with the Duellist King or a Dragon Knight assigning someone to a particular task or position.

With the country having been at peace for so long, it was rare for anyone to ever use their abilities other than in duels; participating in unofficial spars or tourneys was the rule, actual wars the exception.

The key to improving one's capabilities as a duellist lay not only in learning new strategies and in partaking in duels; physical training also mattered. Of course, in terms of potential, then training could only do so much; it could unleash potential that was already there, but it could hardly do much about increasing potential that was never really there in the first place.

Johan Andersen definitely had potential. No, he had more than that. He had an exclusive contract with the Gem Beasts and as such per definition already qualified to enter knighthood. He was after an even bigger prize though; the Rainbow Dragon, a Level 10 Light Dragon.

Honestly, some people had not only talent but also recklessness in excess. Obviously, Sho could do without the recklessness, but would it really kill them to share some of the talent?

-.-.-.-

Johan Andersen was an oddball; a talented oddball but an oddball nonetheless. For one thing, he had apparently decided that the Red Dorm was the place to be in spite of an invitation to stay over at the Blue Dorm.

This year, the number of new Osiris Red students was decidedly low, meaning that Judai now had the room to himself. Manjoume had after all effectively moved into that suite of his after Asuka had at last managed to persuade Fubuki to return to the Blue Dorm.

Sho wasn't as surprised as he was displeased to learn from Professor Daitokuji that Johan had apparently decided to move right in and that he and Judai could be found talking excitedly amongst themselves at almost any point in time during the day, even at night. Really, it wasn't as though Sho was particularly jealous or anything; he was merely a bit wary about just how easily this outsider had managed to weasel himself into Judai's personal space, getting really cosy there like he had somehow earned the right to be there.

Okay, so while Sho was possibly ever so slightly upset about the rapid pace with which he was seemingly getting replaced, he did at the same time consider the fact that this Johan guy didn't know anything about the cult situation, and that was something at least. Besides, fact still remained that Sho had earned his position by Judai's side, and even though they were now in different dorms, that didn't really change anything. Hopefully.

There was also the matter of the Seven Stars to deal with; Don Zaloog and his gang, travelling who-knew-where, and Tania and Misawa doing the same. Misawa could probably count as a part of the Stars by now, Dark Item or no Dark Item. But if so, then Sho himself was even more‒

"Honestly, the nerve of those Academia officials! Putting me in Ra Yellow for not being of noble birth? Those bastards!"

Sho was already regretting accepting the promotion into the Ra Yellow Dorm; his next-door neighbour was simply too loud.

Tyranno Kenzan had only been at Duel Academia for about a day and he was already becoming a menace. Apparently, he wasn't at all happy about being placed in Ra Yellow in spite of scoring well in the entrance exam. In addition, he had apparently decided that the best way to show his discontent was to complain loudly, to skip out on the welcoming ceremony and to announce to his recent followers that he would show them, the people of Academia, what he was truly capable of.

Honestly, the nerve of him, complaining about Ra Yellow when his next-door neighbour had been an Osiris Red for a whole year. But no, Sho wasn't about to complain about that, especially not when he felt one day closer to moving right back there. After all, even if the Yellow Dorm had better food, the Red Dorm had way better company. Besides, with Manjoume once again having washed his hands of being Judai's minder, maybe moving back in wasn't such a bad idea after all?

Of course, from the perspective of becoming a Knight of the Duellist Court, heading back to the Red Dorm would probably prove a fateful decision. On the other hand though, had it not been for Judai, then Sho would've never made it as far as he had, so‒

With a sigh, Sho finally gathered his notes, put out the lights and crawled into bed.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would decide on what to do, after making sure in person.

-.-.-.-

"Okay, look: Sho, I need a favour."

This was not what Sho had been expecting; what he had been secretly been hoping for. One could say that he was pleasantly surprised. At the same time though, he was worried and trying not to let it show. "A favour, Judai?"

Judai's smile turned even more sheepish at that. His expression was mirrored by the oblivious usurper. They had only been officially introduced moments ago, Johan Andersen returning Sho's greeting with all the more enthusiasm and friendliness.

Annoyingly, Johan Andersen had so far proven rather difficult to hate. Actually, it was rather like‒Judai, with a different hair and accent, which was actually a legitimately scary thought. Sho resisted a sudden urge to grimace when Judai grinned at him, commenting that it had been a while since last time.

"Actually, I've been thinking‒"

That somehow didn't bode very well.

-.-.-.-

In hindsight, Sho definitely should've said no.

-.-.-.-