Take it away, Leslie!

Leslie: Hmm?

Oh, you know. Say the disclaimer.

Leslie: Why?

... Oh, nevermind...


Night draped its sleepy blanket across Duel Academy. Trees started whispering, and the small ocean waves whispered back. The darkness brought on an eerie quiescence that is unique to night. With all the nightly sounds, there was still a pounding silence. It was almost like a dream, where you can't actually hear sounds, but your brain supplies it to you. So you were hearing it, but you weren't hearing it at the same time.

Night came too soon for Jaden. He didn't want his first day to end. More than that, he wanted to duel people on his own time! With people he didn't have that class with (and he did like that dueling class)! He wanted to duel Syrus, if only a friendly game without duel disks, but the blue-haired boy refused. Said something on how he (He, Jaden! Who beat everyone in class today!) would lose. He didn't know what to make of that. After all, if Zane, older brother of Syrus, said that the short boy was too weak to be at Duel Academy, where did that place Jaden? The brunet was so very confused…

And he desperately wanted to go on a walk. If only to clear his head, if only to explore a little and see what the island looks like while cloaked in shadows. But Syrus had flat-out rejected that idea, saying it was against the rules. When Jaden complained, Syrus reminded him that the rules were there for a reason. And when Jaden asked what the reason was, Syrus, sounding oh-so like everyone else, told him that if he didn't' know, he couldn't tell him.

It was very frustrating.

So, Jaden waited until Syrus was asleep. Hoping the blunet was a sound sleeper, he inched the door open while praying the hinges wouldn't decide to creak at this time. He crept outside, greeting the cool night breeze with a smile. However, the murmur of two voices drew his attention. He followed the sound, taking light steps, and peered around the corner of the school.

It was a boy and a girl, talking in low, rushed voices. The boy seemed agitated about something, while the girl appeared defiant and stubborn. With the moon shedding buckets of silver light, Jaden was able to see almost every detail of these two people. The guy was quite tall, with a height to rival Zane's. His skin was tan, and his hair was a strange white color. Jaden couldn't see the color of his eyes, but from the way they flashed in the moonlight, he guessed they were blue. He was wearing a black trench coat with something white underneath. He also appeared to be wearing a necklace with two objects on it: a dragon and some type of bird.

The girl was shorter, with dirty blonde hair. She appeared to be wearing a dark blue T-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers. Her back was the Jaden, so he couldn't see her face, but he thought she looked familiar… She had taken a firm stance, almost as if ready for a fight.

Jaden leaned forward a little, trying to hear the voices. He thought he could pick up what they were saying.

"You can't go around at night!" the guy was chastising. "You know this!"

"I'll do what I want," the girl replied. Jaden thought he recognized her voice. Where did he hear it before? "You can't stop me, Light. I don't care if you're the Night Prefect's right hand man."

The boy named Light bristled visibly, but somehow kept his calm. "Kris," he said coolly. "Go back to your dorm room."

It hit him then, why Jaden had thought he recognized the girl. He did! He knew her! "Kris!" he called out, before clapping his jaws shut. Idiot! he told himself. You're not supposed to let people know you're out at night!

The girl whirled around, revealing bi-colored eyes – one green, one blue. Surprise was written on both hers and Light's faces as they stared at Jaden.

"Jaden!?" she shrieked. "What are you doing here!?"

Jaden jumped down the steps of the dorm building. There was no point in hiding behind a wall now. "I should be asking you the same question," he said back. "What of… you know. What of it?"

Kris's eyes flashed, but she took a deep breath. Jaden knew it was difficult to make Kris angry, but when she did, it took a while for her to calm down. Jaden knew, because she had moved to his town last year, and they had become fast friends. "You don't know what's going on here, do you," she said, almost accusingly. "Why are you here?"

Light stepped in, feeling it was his duty to do so. "I know who you are!" he said. "Jaden Yuki! You really should go back to your dorm room. It's not safe at night for you." As if in answer, a wolf's howl pierced through the darkness.

"Shut up, Light," Kris said dismissively. "Go fly back to your Prefect buddy."

Light frowned. "Kris… you'll get in trouble, too," he pointed out. "You know, you should really think about that proposal. About joining the Night Class, instead of continuing with the Day Class. It could give you a lot more freedom, you know."

Kris glared at him. "Light, go away!" She grabbed Jaden's arm and dragged him back to the dorm building, stopping under the eaves where it was shrouded in shadows. "Why are you here?" she hissed. "You shouldn't be here!"

"I should be asking you that!" Jaden whispered back. "What about your secret!?"

Kris glared at him. "You have no idea what's going on here, do you." She said it like a fact, and it really was. Jaden knew it was true not only because people have been telling him that for the past two days, but because he knew she was a bad liar.

"So then tell me," Jaden insisted. "Why isn't anyone telling me?"

She sighed. "If you want the real reason, it's because we aren't allowed to tell. We… we can't. Well, we could, but we'd get in humongous trouble."

"But if you show me," he persisted, "I could figure it out."

"No, Jaden, that's basically telling…"

"Just tell me!"

"No!"

"Please?"

"I can't!"

Two small pops drew their attention away from each other. They snapped their heads towards the sound. What they saw surprised them. Zane and Leslie, emerging from the darkness under the trees. It wasn't all that far away, so the two reached Jaden and Kris soon enough.

Zane crossed his arms. "I think it's time you know," he said.

Light, who was still there, unnoticed, spoke up. "Zane! What are you doing?"

Zane glanced at the white-haired kid. "Light, how nice to… see you." He said it without any pleasantries. "But, I have decided that ignorance is not best for Jaden now."

Leslie raised her hand slightly. "I second that," she said. "Ignorance is not bliss in this case!"

"Jaden," said Zane, facing the brunet squarely. "We… are monsters."

The teenage boy landed silently on the ground outside his window. It was time to do his rounds. The sun had set about an hour ago or so. He wasn't usually this late, but since it was only the second night, he decided he was going to be lenient for once. Only a little.

He was a guy perfectly suited to blend in with the night. He had black hair with large spikes, narrow black eyes, and preferred to wear a long black jacket. The only thing wasn't suited to the night was his skin, pale as the moon. The blood red waxing crescent moon necklace swung on its thick string slightly as he stood up.

He sniffed the air a bit, eyes flashing red as he caught the scent of someone. He frowned. This scent stood out more than the others to him… but he decided to ignore it. It was probably nothing. He occasionally got scents like that that turned out to be nothing.

His feet made no sound as he trod towards the trees. As soon as he entered the shadows, the darkness swallowed him up. He was more or less invisible.

The boy was taking this better than he expected, Zane admitted to himself. Jaden had not screamed, fainted, or run off. His mouth had simply fallen open, eyes gone wide, as he looked from Kris to Light to Zane and Leslie.

"M-monsters?" he finally clarified in a slightly shaky voice. "Like… monsters?"

"Monster is actually a general term," Leslie piped up. "It just means anything that's not human. Or, at least, not completely human." Zane nodded in agreement. Truth be told, he didn't like being referred to as a monster, but being what he was, he might as well be. Not in a negative sense, but in a group sense.

"But… well, I know why Kris looks human," Jaden said, the shakiness of his voice leaving inch by inch. "But why do… what are you guys, anyway?"

Zane glanced sideways at Leslie, who flashed a grin at him. It was time for a little show. He held up his hand and snapped his fingers. A small flame sprouted, flickering bravely on his thumb but not hurting him in the least. Leslie cupped a loose fist to her mouth and blew into it, causing a golden light to glow briefly between her fingers. When she opened her first, a glowing, pure gold butterfly slowly flapped its wings and flew up a little before collapsing into dust.

Jaden was speechless… for about a second. "That was so cool!" he breathed. "What was that?"

"Magic," Zane said simply.

"Are all of you wizards?"

Light snorted. "Heck no," he said.

Zane interrupted Light before he could say anything else. "Duel Academy is a dueling school, yes, but it doubles as a place where creatures learn to act like a human and blend in with humans."

Jaden nodded in understanding. "So where does that place me?" he asked.

"Actually, we don't really know…" Leslie admitted. "The Chancellor had doubts about letting you into this school, so he dueled you himself. You're a strong duelist, there's no doubt about that, but…"

"There's a reason there's a Night Class," Zane continued. "You could say the Night Class is full of… hunters. Which is why it's dangerous for you to be out at night. Many of the Night students hunger for human blood."

Jaden paled visibly. It's not every day you're told you're unknowingly hunted and hungered for. "I… I think I'll go back to my dorm now…"

Light laughed. "Smartest thing I've heard you say," he sniggered. "I have to finish my rounds," he added to Zane. "Lock him in, or something." With that, the white-haired boy dashed for the trees. Zane looked at Jaden and raised an eyebrow.

"I doubt I'll have to lock you in," he said neutrally. "But you should really go." Jaden nodded eagerly and disappeared back to the dorm. When they heard his door shut, he turned his attention back to Kris. "You'd really be better off in the Night Class," he told her.

Kris narrowed her eyes. "I'm staying in the Day Class," she stated firmly. She turned on her heel and, too, headed back towards the Slifer Dorm. Zane let her go. Somewhere in the forest, a wolf howled.

I tried to keep everyone, OCs and anime characters, in character. I tried. They might not be. But remember, some of the anime characters' personalities have been changed to better suit the story and their monster. Though, I've taken some aspects from the manga, if you've read it. But the personalities are mostly the same. And it IS AU.

And also, I'm a little uncertain about how the whole showdown with all the talking and stuff went. Unveilings always tend to be hard... Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed. Cheers!