So, get this. These fools (The administrators who aren't even our Headmaster! And by the way, where exactly is our Headmaster? Did he just disappear or something?) told us Osiris dorm members that we have to duel Edo Phoenix and if we win, we can keep our dorm.

What. The. Hell.

For one, I'd like to note that having third-rate duelists (because that's what most of the Osiris dorm members are, aside from Judai, Manjyoume, and myself) duel a professional is extremely unfair. And completely uncalled for.

Secondly, I'd like to know exactly how many times Phoenix is going to show up in my second year at Duel Academia. Really. This has to be, what, the tenth time already? My god. It's really starting to piss me off, the fact that I have to see him so much all of a sudden.

I mean, really. Isn't he supposed to be booked until he dies or something? For how many times I've seen him, his schedule is starting to make less and less sense to me. But, I guess his schedule isn't really any of my business and it's definitely not my top priority at the moment. I have to help save the dorm.

Which, I really don't know the first thing about doing. I mean, they've already got the thing booked and everyone's already decided, "Oh, Asuka can duel him" despite the fact that she doesn't even live in this dorm. I mean, they could have at least picked someone who lives in Osiris to duel, but no! They have to pick the best female duelist from the Obelisk dorm.

I'm so not pissed that they overlooked the fact that I'm the best duelist living in the Osiris dorm at the moment. Not at all.

Especially not considering I'm not supposed to be living there. Since no one in the Obelisk dorm ever thought I was a hospitable roommate (Except for maybe those perverted boys, but did they really think they'd get a shot at rooming with me? Seriously?) I decided on my own to move out and to the Osiris dorm. Less people, less rooming issues, and I was able to get a dorm to myself.

So the fact that I, even though I'm technically an Obelisk who just happens to live in the Osiris dorm, was overlooked as a duelist against Phoenix because I'm not Asuka who is an Obelisk who does not even live in the Osiris dorm does not piss me off. At all. Not one bit.

Oh, but I'm seething! I can feel the anger burning up within me as I stomp across campus to anywhere – absolutely anywhere but the Osiris dorm. Where I live.

Hamako's there too, with all of them, discussing dueling strategies with Asuka or something. Bastion's probably looking up all of Phoenix's weaknesses – only to find that oh no! he doesn't have any!

It's a waste of my time to be there anyway. Especially when I could be working my efforts toward something else, something more useful to my life than whether or not we have a third dorm at this academy.

…

Okay, so I'm not totally heartless. I want to help them all against Phoenix and Bonaparte and this stupid dorm duel and everything, it's just…there's nothing I can do. They've all planned it out already – no regards taken about what I could do.

I sigh. Maybe I'm just being self-centered.

Oh, who cares! I tell myself. It's not like you're a match for Phoenix anyway.

Oh that asshole! If there was ever a moment where I could punch him in the face, I do so hope that it happens. I just – he deserves it. I don't even get why he's coming back here to duel us "losers" anyway.

I finally reach my destination – despite the fact that I didn't really know I had one to begin with – and lean against the court's walls. I guess I should have known it would be closed at this time of night and that my walking up here was for nothing. But, then again…I didn't exactly plan to come up here. So, that would make my walking pointless anyway, wouldn't it?

Whatever. I'm here now and that's all that matters. Besides, they can't get too mad at me for barging onto the court when it's locked when I'm a star player. Right?

Meh. Who cares? It's almost midnight. No one's coming up here to check anyway.

So, I reach a hand high and take hold of the fencing. As I proceed to do the same with the other hand and lift a foot into the air, I feel a buzz go off in my pocket. My cell phone. It's probably Hamako wondering where the hell I am and yada, yada, yada.

It's a text that reads:

R. I. N.

There's a heart next to my name, making it all the more cheesy. There is only one person who would bother sending me something like that. I roll my eyes, ignoring it. I'd rather hit some balls than text that idiot. But, as I go to put the phone back in my pocket, it vibrates again. I take a look.

Look behind you, silly.

Again, I roll my eyes, a habit I have when it comes to this person. I turn around to face him, not out of obligation, but just to see what he wants, knowing I'll probably end up going back to what I'm trying to do before he finishes his first sentence.

"What?" I ask.

He pops out of the forest – well, out of a bush is more like it. The creep.

"You do realize that one day you're going to end up getting yourself killed or causing someone to go schizophrenic, doing things like that, right?"

"Meh, you shouldn't worry about that too much," Fubuki says, walking towards me with his trademark smile. "I don't."

"Obviously."

"Besides, I heard you stomping around halfway across campus," he says, making it clear that I'm the pretext of his visit. Me. And no one else. That's something refreshing, to say the least. "What's wrong with you, muffin?"

"'Muffin'? Really?" I ask, making a face. Why he insists on calling people by pet names, I'll never know.

"Seriously, Rin," he says, smile wiped off his face, "What's wrong?"

These are the moments that scare me the most about Fubuki. He's normal when he's all hyper and insane and absolutely taking some kind of drug, but when he gets serious, you can't run from him. No matter how successful you may have been in avoiding him when he was acting all crazy, there is nowhere to run from this Fubuki.

I would know from experience.

"…I'd rather not talk about it," I say, avoiding his eyes.

"You know," he says, lifting a pointed finger in the air, "Talking about your feelings is the best way to start making things better."

"Unless you're me," I counter. "In which hitting things would do the job even better."

"It's not healthy to be so violent~"

"…Because you would know everything about being healthy." I roll my eyes and glance back at the court. It's calling my name. "Wanna hit things with me?"

"Sure," he says, laughing.

"Give me two seconds." And then I'm climbing the fence. I've always enjoyed climbing things. I used to climb trees all the time when I was younger. Of course, that's just one of the perks of being a tomboy. When I reach the top, I carefully step over, but I don't bother to climb all the way back down. Instead I simply jump, landing like a cat on my feet.

Fubuki claps as I open the door.

"I'll go grab rackets and some balls."

The task only takes me a few minutes. I grab the two rackets I usually like to use when I don't bring my own, and snag one of the tubs of tennis balls. Back on the court, I toss one of the rackets across the net, and Fubuki catches it. I pop open the small tub and pull out one of the yellow balls.

My serve.

•○•○•

There's a week before the actual duel, so there's still a chance that Judai will show up. And I really hope that he does. With Phoenix as the opponent, there's really no way to tell who'll actually win.

That's why, for the entire week, I go along with Hamako's whims and search for the missing duelist. I can almost feel how hopeless the quest is, but I still have hope. After all, that's the one thing we really need.

Throughout the week, talk of the "Hikari no Kessha" spreads from Manjyoume's mouth to others. At first, it's simply with crazies (or, at least, people I classify as mentally unstable) but then, it starts spreading to the entire Obelisk dorm. In fact, Manjyoume manages to get them to paint the whole dorm – quite literally, I might add – white. The Obelisk blue dorm is white. And all of its inhabitants have bleached their uniforms. Well, aside from Asuka, Fubuki, myself, and others who are apparently "not worthy" to be among the Society's ranks.

The whole scene creeps me out a bit too much. I mean, the first person any of us see wearing white is Manjyoume. Manjyoume who I distinctly remember being one of the haughtiest people I have ever met – in fact, he thinks so highly of himself that last year he picked on the poor souls he didn't think were worthy enough to wear the blue of the elite.

So where does this white come into play? Last I checked he was into blue, blue, blue, and then made a switch to black because – even though he's never admitted it – Judai changed him and the color apparently fits him better.

And now every time I see him, he's preaching about the "Light" like it's some kind of deity. I'm almost certain Manjyoume is an atheist or agnostic or whatever, so it's not in his character to preach about anything – well, anything that isn't dueling. None of what he's doing is in character…and it scares me.

I hate acting like I know him like a close friend would, but I've spent enough time around him to know what his character is and to get a good grip on the way he reacts to things – I mean, I almost beat the kid up last year because he wouldn't shut up. He was so obnoxious back then…not to say that he isn't obnoxious now, but that's getting away from my point.

The only thing scarier than Manjyoume preaching to the light is the fact that he's become some kind of…priest to the students here. They take in his every word as if it's magic that will save them from the bad things in their lives.

I don't figure out how exactly this infection is spreading so quickly until I'm challenged by one of them. He's a second year like me, though I think he's in Ra (it's really hard to tell who's actually where with all of these white suits all over the place) and I think he says his name is Rufus, but I'm personally hoping I just heard that wrong. I mean, who names their kid "Rufus"? I guess I'm not exactly focused on the duel ahead of me. (It's not my fault if I've seen his skills – or lack thereof – in class. I just never remembered his name.)

"Are you serious right now?" I ask him, not exactly in the mood for a five-minute duel. No, I'm not that cocky, but seriously, from what I remember, this kid isn't worth my time.

"The Light never jokes!" he announces. "And it wants to become a part of you, too!"

"Oh god!" I throw up my hands, exasperated. I'm tired of all this talk about how ultimately fantastic the light is. I've heard it all week. It's some warped cult that has the most annoying missionaries I have ever met. "I don't want to hear it."

"Oh, but the Light is asking for you," he says. "You are strong!"

"Can you just shut up so we can get this over with?" I ask, readying my duel disk. It activates and then so does his. Our decks shuffle themselves, then deal out five cards to each of us. "DUEL!" we both shout.

My hand isn't too bad. Mystical Space Typhoon, Negate Attack, Element Valkyrie, Familiar-Possessed – Hiita, and, who else but my best friend Raging Flame Sprite? The instant I glance at the card, his spirit appears beside me and he points to my opponent. This Rufus kid is suddenly surrounded by a strange, ominous aura, an aura that I recognize. It gives me the same headache Manjyoume did the other day, the headache that started with Phoenix.

I try to ignore it as best I can. Mainly because it creeps me out and, well…aside from it giving me a horrible migraine, it just creeps me the fuck out.

"Ladies first," he says. Oh, he'll regret that in no time.

I draw my Blast Magician, deciding to place Element Valkyrie on the field in attack mode. I then play a facedown card – Negate Attack – and end my turn. Simple, but it'll be effective later on.

Rufus then draws, putting on a big show about what he'll do next. He then proceeds to play D.D. Warrior Lady on the field – probably in hopes that I'll attack her and let my field's only monster be removed from play. Not exactly my plan. Rufus places a card facedown and ends his first turn, one which was probably less climactic than mine, since he could have attacked and removed from play my monster himself.

Of course, that play would only be useful if his facedown card is a card that will enhance his odds of winning against me.

I draw, uncovering Solar Flare Dragon. I first decide to use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy his facedown card, which was Mirror Force. I then place Raging Flame Sprite on the field in attack mode. Hey, just because he's only got 100 attack points doesn't mean he's not useful. On cue, he jumps from my side to his place on the field, ready for battle. In doing this, because Raging Flame Sprite is a Fire Attribute, Element Valkyrie's attack points increase by 500, making them 2000.

"Attack his D.D. Warrior Lady, Element Valkyrie!" I command. We all watch as my monster creams his and his life points decrease by 500. Both monsters are taken out of play then. It's a shame, too. Valkyrie could have been really useful…well, maybe in a much more challenging duel. "Attack him directly, Raging Flame Sprite!"

And he does, making Rufus's life points decrease to 3400.

"That was nothing," Rufus tells me. "The Light will protect me!"

"You may think that now," I say as Raging Flame Sprite takes his place back on my side of the field, "But every time Raging Flame Sprite attacks you directly, his attack points increase by 1000." And as I say this, they do. Who says small can't pack a punch? I bet Phoenix does. In fact, if he were here right now, he'd probably tell me that it was stupid to sacrifice my Valkyrie and that I should have simply attacked directly with my Sprite.

I can even hear his voice in my head, "You have a Negate Attack on the field. You don't even need to worry about his D.D. Warrior Lady."

He thinks he knows everything.

It's just to make sure I have a clean shot! I counter in my head.

…

Now is not the time to be thinking of that fool, I tell myself, but really, when is the right time to think about that guy?

Wait – why am I even thinking about him now?

And talking to him in my head?

UGH.

"With that, I end my turn."

Rufus looks smug as he draws his next card. I soon find out that it's Warrior Lady of the Wasteland when he places her on the field.

I can do nothing but stare.

I mean, really? Is that the best he can do? Or is this just a joke to him? He does realize that she's no match for my Flame Sprite, right? Especially considering I have a facedown card on the field that could possibly be – and in fact is! – a trap to counter his attack…

Whatever. The quicker this ends, the better.

"Attack!" Rufus commands, pointing his Warrior Lady in my direction.

"Trap activate!" I yell, and my trap card flips over on the field. Rufus looks stunned, like he forgot about my facedown card. He's probably just been sniffing too much of that "light" he worships so much. It wasn't a bad strategy, though. If he had gotten his way, both our monsters would be destroyed, and by the effect of his Warrior Lady, he would have had another monster on the field. Too bad he didn't calculate it all the way through.

My Negate Attack stops his attack and he ends his turn, placing a facedown card on the field.

I draw one of my most favorite cards (which is probably a lie considering I think of all of my cards as my most favorite) and smile to myself, not bothering to keep up a good poker face. Rufus is about to lose in about two turns anyway. The card I drew is Firewing Pegasus, a beautiful spirit, but not one I can play on the field at the moment. So, I instead continue with my original plan.

"I summon Solar Flare Dragon to the field in attack mode!" I say, placing the card next to Raging Flame Sprite on my duel disk. "Now, attack him directly, Raging Flame Sprite!" The cute fairy-like creature does so and Rufus's attack points are reduced to 2300, while Flame Sprite's attack points increase to 2100. I then command Solar Flare Dragon to attack Rufus's Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, which brings him to a total of 1900 points. Her special ability allows him to special summon an Earth Warrior-Type monster with an attack of 1500 or less in attack mode on his side of the field. He chooses Queen's Knight, who has 1500 attack points exactly. Her strength doesn't matter, though, as she is unable to attack either of my monsters. Raging Flame Sprite is too powerful and Solar Flare Dragon can't be attacked with another Pyro type monster on my side of the field.

I give this duel two more turns – and that's only if Rufus comes up with some kind of tense strategy for me to face.

My turn ends, but with it, Solar Flare Dragon's special ability activates. It inflicts 500 more points of damage to Rufus's life points. 1400.

Okay, so maybe only one turn.

"Draw!" he shouts, doing just that. The card he receives isn't a bad one, not at all. He summons Command Knight on the field in attack mode. Due to its special ability, I can't attack it if Queen's Knight remains on the field. Oh, and all of his Warrior-Type monsters gain 400 attack points. Not that that really helps, but it wasn't too bad a shot. If he had an equip card, he might just be able to take down my Raging Flame Sprite, but from the way he ends his turn, it seems that he doesn't.

…Look at me, getting all involved in my duel. Sometimes I even surprise myself with how much I think about duels.

"My turn!" I draw Black Pendant – not exactly a card I need, but really, what card do I need when I'm about to win? I think up a quick "what should I do with it if this doesn't work" plan, and then continue with my turn. "Attack, Raging Flame Sprite!" He does. And I win the duel.

"You really are strong," Rufus says, staring in awe. I make a face. I don't need any admirers. "Don't you see? The Light is never wrong!"

"Riiight." I turn around and start walking away. I was supposed to meet Hamako minutes ago. My headache has subsided for the most part, but I want to get away from this guy as fast as possible. His aura is killing me.

"The Light will never cease chasing after those who are worthy!"

…What a creep.

•○•○•

By the duel for the Osiris dorm at the end of the week, I have dueled exactly three of the Society of Light freaks, including Señor Rufus. Apparently Hamako is "unworthy" as she claims to be Society-of-Light-repellant. If only her trait would work on me.

I swear these Light freaks don't ever take "no" for an answer. Not even when I just got out of tennis practice and am nowhere near being alert enough for a duel.

Of course, the Society of Light isn't the only weird thing to happen this week. It appears that all of the Ra students have either moved up to Obelisk – or what should really be referred to as the "Light Dorm" now – or are bunking in Osiris. So the head of the Ra dorm apparently came around to the Osiris dorm dressed up in a paper bag to win his students over through his cooking so they would come back to the Ra dorm.

…Or so I heard.

Despite the annoyances of the week, and the fact that we still haven't found Judai anywhere, it goes by fairly quickly. The duel for the dorm is here. And I don't think any of us are really prepared for it.

Hamako and I make cookies the night before, solely as comfort food. (And, secretly, it was our own little just-in-case-we-have-to-move-out-of-the-dorm party. Despite the cockroaches, we'd miss the place.) I take a few of the chocolate chip cookies with me to the dueling arena as entertainment food, but they soon become much more than that.

Edo Phoenix is the first thing I see when I walk into the room, wearing his smug expression as usual. I glare in his direction and he rolls his eyes as a response.

Asshole!

I bite violently into one of the cookies to stop myself from shouting that among other obscenities across the room at the silver-haired priss. I find my glare to be prize-worthy, though, as I only fail to not glare at him when I'm paying absolute attention to the events of the duel.

One of those moments is when Judai comes running into the arena just as the duel is about to start and takes Asuka's place. I almost can't believe my eyes. And I definitely can't believe my ears when the kid starts spouting off things about aliens and whatnot.

I think he's been taking drugs. That would explain why he was gone for so long – he got lost in a druggie daze, walking into the woods because he saw a flying monkey. The flying monkey took him to the "aliens" and he dueled them. Then, when his mind finally went back to normal, he started searching for a way back to school, realizing everyone must be missing him.

That still doesn't explain the fact that he can apparently see his cards again. Not to mention the fact that his deck isn't carrying that weird aura it was before he disappeared… Maybe he did meet some aliens.

…Or maybe I'm the one on crack.

But more importantly, for the second time in a duel with Phoenix, I'm happy with the result.

•○•○•

A/N: I had the worst writer's block with this chapter. This is also the first time I've ever written a duel scene. I hope it wasn't too horrendous. I also hope that Fubuki is in character. I tried my hardest with him. And, if anyone wants to know, I named the Rufus kid after Barma from Pandora Hearts.

The plot will thicken for Rin very soon! Well, it'll start in the chapter after next and then go further into detail once I get started with the Genex Tournament. I still have no idea what's going to happen, though, so don't ask.

Thanks for reading and if you want to pop a review my way giving me some inspiration or ideas, I'll love you forever. Seriously. I need motivation.