Chapter 2

Four years had passed. A now eleven year-old Yuya grinned brightly as she stood on top of a balance beam, dressed in a red and black shirt and brown shorts. She maintained her balance as she held out one arm while the other was neatly folded against her chest. From the corner of her eye she could see Yaza dressed in pink shirt and red shorts, staring up at her with a raised brow.

"Yuya, I thought you invited me over so we could practice dueling, not posing." he muttered with his cheek resting on the palm of his hand.

Yuya giggled in response before jumping off the balance beam and successfully landed on her two feet.

"Posing is just as important as dueling for a duetainer. I'm thinking of maybe trying some acts that involve balancing atop my monsters. So I need good balance if I want to wow audiences with my act. But you're right, I did ask you here so we can practice dueling." she said as she slipped her red duel disk on her arm.

Yaza rolled his blue eyes as he got ready to duel. For over the past four years, he had been helping his best friend to train to become dueltainers. They poured over an assortment of ideas, even drawing inspiration from Yusho Sakaki's performances. He smiled as he watch the girl happily announce her summoning of her monster, Performapal Hip Hippo. Over the years, he noticed how he found himself increasingly drawn to her laughter and smile. He found it quite strange, he even noticed the strange tugging in his heart whenever he was around the girl. He once had been confused by these strange feelings, but now he happily welcomed them whenever they came, considering them proof as his strong bond with Yuya.

The eleven year-old was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed the sly grin form on his friend's face. Before he could even react, he watched as the green and red-haired girl immediately hopped onto the hippo's back. Yaza's mouth hung open whilst watching the girl wink at him before making her hippo take off. Once it finally registered in his mind what happened, he grumbled as he chased after her.

"Yuya, this isn't dueling!" he shouted as he continued to pursue her.

But as the two friends continued to play around, something amiss was taking place in another dimension. An eleven year-old boy with purple hair held back with a yellow bandanna and green eyes was running as fast as he could. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see the professors chasing after him. He clenched his teeth in frustration, losing faith in the idea of out running them. Unfortunately, his fears had came true when he found himself cornered against two walls. Refusing to go down without a fight, he put on his red duel disk and activated it.

"Stephen, clearly you're being foolish about this. Now put away the duel disk and return to your room." one of the professors said.

"Like heck I will!" Stephen snarled, fishing his deck out of his white shorts and placing them inside the device on his arm, "I don't understand why I'm being locked up. Unlike Yuri, I didn't try to kill someone. So no, I will not return to my room!"

Anger flared through the young boy as he summoned his monster, Moonlight Blue Cat from his deck. Intensity filled his eyes as he watched the three professors summon their own monsters, Ancient Gear Soldiers. He couldn't help but scowl at their attempt to stop him. With his eyes narrowed ever so slightly, he initiated the attack. He was almost tempted to laugh as he easily subdued two of his opponents, thrilled to once again showcase his skills. Yet at the same time, it left him annoyed.

"They can clearly see I have superior skills thanks to those special classes. Yet why am I the one forbidden to assist with the invasion?" he thought whilst unconsciously clutching the front of his red shirt, "It's not fair! They're still sending Yuri and that psychopath nearly killed someone!"

For a brief moment, a frown flickered across the boy's face. His mind filled with the image of a purple and pink haired girl smiling brightly as she won her duel. He still couldn't understand what happened to her; he considered her current state a huge contrast to when he first met her. Unfortunately he knew he would never get the answer. Not only was he forbidden to speak to her, but she was now locked away in her room, viewed as the school's deadly monster. Knowing he needed to focus on the duel at hand, Stephen shook his head with determination painted on his face.

He opened his mouth to announce his next action, but suddenly found himself interrupted by a voice shouting "I summon DD Cerberus!"

Curious to who the newcomer was, the eleven year-old spun around to greeted with the sigh of a silver-haired young teen with purple eyes and red glasses standing up on the wall. He couldn't help but raise a brow at the teen's attire which consisted of a blue sweater with white diamonds and white pants. He knew the teen's appearance didn't match up with those of the students, leaving him to wonder where he came from. His curiosity was shattered when he saw the teen lean over the wall and hold out his hand.

"Quickly, take my hand!' the teen urged.

Stephen bit his lip, taking a quick glance back to the professors being held off by DD Cerberus. Knowing this was his only chance of escape, he leap up and grabbed ahold of the teen's hand, causing the silver bracelet with a single purple gem around his wrist to gleam in the sunlight. He grunted as he held on tight, his white boots scrapping along the wall. Within seconds, he was successfully pulled the top of the wall.

"Thanks for the help, now let's get out of here!" Stephen stated before taking off running.

"Wait, where exactly is here?" the teen called out as he ran after him.

But the purple-headed boy wasn't concerned with the teen's confusion. He knew the only way onto the island was through boat, so he was hoping the teen's mysterious appearance meant there was a boat he could escape to. So without a word, he made his way for the docks as fast as he could. It only took him a few minutes to arrive at his destination. But much to his disappointment and frustration, there was no boat in sight. With an audible snarl, Stephen spun around to the silver-haired teen standing behind him.

"You! How did you get to this place? I know you're not a student from Academia and you clearly didn't arrive here by boat. So how did you come here?" he demanded.

Before the teen even got a chance to answer, a stern voice spoke up "Reiji does not need to answer your questions, Stephen. Because you both will be returned where you belong."

Stephen's breath hitched with his hands unconsciously clenching. Slowly he turned to face a bald-headed man with pale-blue eyes and wearing a long purple coat.

"Father?! Why are you-" Reiji began to ask, still confused by the events unfolding.

Upon hearing the teen's word, the purple-headed boy interrupted by exclaiming "Father?! Professor Leo Akaba is your father?!"

Leo Akaba sighed in annoyance, having both to deal with Stephen's attempted escape and Reiji's arrival frustrated him to no ends. One he never wanted to leave the safety of the island, the other he wanted to never to stumble upon the hand. Without a word, he signaled for his Obelisk Forces to seize the two. His eyes narrowed as he watched the two boys struggle as they were grabbed by the men in blue uniforms. His pale-blue eyes stared down at the eleven year-old brought before him. A part of him hated seeing the boy hatefully glaring up at him; it was an expression he despised seeing on his face.

"Let him go, you can't force him to stay here!" the silver-haired teen shouted angrily, snapping the older man out of his thoughts.

He inhaled deeply whilst producing a small device that looked like a watch.

"Stephen is of no concern to you, Reiji." Akaba stated in a stern tone as he handed the device to one of the uniformed men, "It is crucial he remains on this island, no matter how much he wishes to aid Academia. He is too important to risk losing. It's something you cannot possibly understand."

He remained silent as he continued to watch his son struggle as the device was placed around his son's wrist. He did his best to block out his son's angry yells as he disappeared in a flash of blue light. With his son gone, he was left to turn his attention toward Stephen. Once again, he found himself frustrated to be greeted with an angry glare from the boy. Without a word, he singled for the soldiers to follow him. He refused to allow the child another attempt at escape, so he wanted to ensure this by personally escorting the boy back to his room.

Silence filled the air as they traversed the currently empty halls of Academia, the silence only occasionally broken by Stephen's grunts as he struggled to get out of the two men's grip. They continued walking until he heard someone call for him. The professor turned to see another Obelisk Blue soldier approaching him. He narrowed his eyes, based on the soldier's nervous posture he could tell the soldier had no good news to share.

"Sir, we have a problem.' the solider spoke up, confirming the man's suspicions, "It's time to deliver her food, but everyone's too frightened to approach her. Even though she's been stripped of her duel disk, everyone still considers her too dangerous to approach."

"In other words, it's the monster's feeding time and no one wants to do it." Akaba sighed in frustration, "Just this once I will escort the food deliverer, both to show the monster has been rendered helpless and to punish the monster should she act up again. As much as I hate the idea, have Stephen brought along as well. I refuse to let him out of my sights until he is returned to his room."

Stephen's eyes widened in shock. He easily knew who the professor was referring to. This would be the first time in years he would encounter her face to face. A part of him was nervous, but he quickly shoved that part deep within himself. He refused to allow anyone to see any hint of fear on his face, especially to the one that was the source of his fears. Taking in a deep breath, his green eyes scanned the hallways as he was led by his arms. It wasn't long till he saw two guards standing in front of a door with an Academia student trembling with a tray of food in their hands.

His heart pounded as he watched Leo Akaba command the two soldiers to open the door. Making sure his face remained emotionless as possible, he remained silent as he was led inside the room behind the older man. Once inside, his face slightly slackened in shock. Before him, sitting on top of a bed was an eleven year-old girl with purple and pink hair, wearing a purple button-up shirt and white pants. He examined the the girl's face, stunned by her current reaction. He had imagined her to be distressed and full of rage. Instead he could only see a small sadistic smirk painted on her face and her purple eyes glinting in mischievousness.

"Oh, well isn't this a surprise. Both the professor and his favorite student paying me a visit. I didn't know a monster such as myself was worthy of such things." the girl said in a taunting tone.

Her smile grew a bit larger hen she noticed the disgusted look she received from the professor.

"Yuri, what's up with you?" Stephen voiced his opinion, "You were locked in here because you almost killed a student. I would have expected you to be mournful or at least angry about your situation, anything but joyful. How can be so happy and accepting of this?"

Yuri let out a giggle in response, amusement dripping off of it with a hint of sadism.

"So the poor teacher's pet doesn't understand, my what a shock." she replied in a sarcastic tone before immediately shifting to a deep and deadly one, "Haven't you heard, apparently I'm a monster. So I figured I might as well fulfill the audience's expectation of me. They see me as a monster, so a monster I shall be."

Much to the boy's disappointment, his body immediately trembled in fear from the girl's voice. He clenched his teeth when he noticed the girl grin sadistically at him with excited eyes, delighted by the boy's fear. For a few brief seconds, he swore he could have seen Yuri's purple eyes flash and take on a more reptilian appearance. Upon staring at those eyes, he hissed pain yet unable to clasp his hands against his head due to the guards still restraining his arms. For a few brief seconds, he saw the image of a monstrous looking man laughing with yellow reptilian-like eyes.

By the time his senses returned, he was suddenly greeted with the sight of Yuri being restrained as she was glaring at the professor. He blinked his green eyes in confusion, wondering what happened in those few seconds that his mind had slipped away.

"This is exactly why I wanted you nowhere near him! He can only be protected so much from the influence, I will not have him succumb like you have!" Leo Akaba snarled.

The purple and pinked hair girl couldn't help but scoff "Of course as soon as the professor's precious student experiences anything, the monster of the academy is immediately at fault. I don't know what you're babbling on about, but I will remind you that it was you that created this monster, not I. Because after all, we both know what you think of me. Yet still can't help but wonder why you seem to despise me so much."

Stephen opened his mouth, wishing to voice his confusion once more. Unfortunately he found himself silenced by Leo Akaba leaving the room and urging for the guards to bring him along. Before he was taken out of the room, he glanced back at Yuri who was still restrained as the third guard to prepared to feed her. Purple made contact with green, both showing anger toward the other with a hint of regret.

Back with Yuya, she laughed as she sat down on the ground. She had lost the duel, but she didn't mind. All the mattered to her was that she had created a fun filled experience. Glancing over to Yaza, she cracked a grin as he collapsed on the ground breathless.

"Can't believe... you made me... chase after your freaking... hippo." Yaza said, pausing to inhale deeply in an attempt to catch his breath.

"I know right, I think he'll make a great opening act. People would love seeing me start the show with him. Though I still need some work. I wish I had managed to summon Odd-Eyes Dragon during the duel, he would have been the greatest part of the act." she said as she pulled the card out of her deck.

Her heart fluttered as she stared at the card in her hand. She always felt a strange connection to the card, chalking it up to perhaps her being fond of it since she had it since she was a baby. Glancing over at Yaza, her smile grew slightly when she noticed the boy starring fondly at the card as well. She liked how he shared her joy and interest in Odd-Eyes Dragon, always feeling a strange tug at her very being at the thought of it. She remained silent as Yaza stood up and told her he would go fetch some water bottles.

Though the moment the boy left the room, she heard a voice say "Your deck could use some work if you want to bring out Odd-Eyes."

Twisting her body around, she found herself staring at a familiar figure of light.

"So you saw the whole duel? Well I guess you can help me work the kinks out of my deck." Yuya replied whilst rubbing the back of her neck bashfully.

Ever since her encounter in the park, the young girl had continued seeing the strange woman appear before her multiple times. She was confused as to why she seemed to be the only one that ever acknowledged her existence until her mother one day had came to the conclusion she was communicating with an imaginary friend. The eleven year-old never felt satisfied with that explanation, but accepted it nonetheless when she was unable to come up with an answer as to why she could only see the woman made of light.

Without a word, the glowing woman took the deck out of Yuya's duel disk and spread out the cards on the floor.
Yuya watched in amazement as the figure started organizing the cards in two separate piles, one for cards that should be kept and the other for cards to be taken out. Within a few minutes, she saw her cards were now sorted into two neat piles.

"There, that should make summoning Odd-Eyes Dragon easier. One suggestion I make is to tribute your Performapal Hip Hippo, its monster effect always it to act as a two monster tributes rather than one." the figure suggested.

"Wow, this will help out a ton!" the green and red-haired girl exclaimed as she picked up her new deck, "How can I ever thank you for helping me?"

The figure smiled as she pressed one of her hands against the eleven year-old's cheek and continued "Just keep that joyful spirit of yours. Never let that light go out, Yuya."

As soon as those last few words left the figure's mouth, Yuya immediately heard Yaza call out for her. Turning to face him, she saw the pink-haired boy approaching her with two water bottles in his hand. Allowing her red eyes to glance to her side, she could see the figure was already gone. She sighed with a small smile on her face, wondering if perhaps her mother's theory of the figure just being an imaginary friend had some merit to it. Turning back to her friend, she accepted the water bottle before laying her Odd-Eyes Dragon on top of her new deck.