Susan: So I know I said early July, but hey, it's still the first half of July, and I've got a good set up in my head for Ch. 15 too.. I hope that you have gone back and read the rewrites, but if you didn't, you'll probably just be a little confused about certain things that I may reference in later chapters. Enjoy the snippet. I think it reached over 2000 words, so it's a medium length chapter for meeee.

Alara: Susan still doesn't own anything Yugioh or Yugioh GX related, and Alara is an OC of my creation. Hence my pen name. If she comes up with any OC's then they are hers, but I don't think that she has yet.

DMG POV

Deflecting Magic was harder than Defense class, and I barely had a moment to think between all of the drills that we were doing. In fact, no one had time to think, since our teacher, Gravekeeper's Spy, felt that it was crucial that we didn't pause in our training. Deflecting magic was different than dispersing it, since it took much more energy to send it back at the attacking monster. It wasn't something that usually happened during duels, but in the past, violent arguments between duel spirits had broken out, and it was important to know how to fight in those situations. In essence, it was a self defense class for spirits.

"Work harder! Are you saying that this is the best you've got? I can't believe that you are duel monsters!" Gravekeeper's Spy roared, startling everyone out of their focus. No one dared to respond, instead just shuffling their feet or coughing. "Well? Get going! I didn't say that you could have a break!"

Immediately we were back to work, all lined up across from tokens that Gravekeeper's Spy had made for us to practice against. The tokens shot weak attacks at us, that any one of the students could easily disperse, but the drill was supposed to teach us how to redirect them towards the monsters who were attacking us. "This is so lame." I heard the duel spirit to my right murmur. He was someone that I knew vaguely, but not well enough for me to remember his name. He had reddish-orange hair, and wore thick, black armor. His sword had multiple blades feathering out from the center.

"Knight of the Red Lotus! You will return after school ends today and complete this drill another 50 times. Anyone else have anything else to say about my drills?" snarled Gravekeeper's Spy, and it was clear that no one was going to speak when the Gravekeeper was in this mood.

Class was slow, the minutes inching past even with the distraction caused by Gravekeeper's Spy's insane ideas of how to teach us. I didn't try to make any friends, mostly because I knew the reputations of the duel spirits, but also because the Gravekeeper never gave us the chance. "Class dismissed," our teacher grunted, and everyone scurried out in order to avoid Gravekeeper's Spy's gaze.

Many of the other students immediately began to compare their teachers as they met up with their friends, something that I had seen happening after each of my previous classes, not that I had met up with anyone, or even thought of it, other than Alara, simply because I had realized that the friends of my roommates, and previous roommates, we not necessarily mine. They were nice enough, kind and fun, but I still had yet to find true friends of my own who weren't Alara. She understood my reasoning for cross-dressing, and deceiving everyone in the school, and had even decided to go as far as keeping my secret. Even if they others had too agreed to help me, it wasn't like they understood.

"Dark Magician Boy!" Alara called, waving wildly as she ran down the hallway.

"Hey Alara. What's up?" I asked as she paused to catch her breath, smiling widely.

"I haven't seen you since the lunch incident! Where'd you disappear to?" She raked her fingers through her hair as we walked towards the Ra dorm for our meal.

"I went home for a while. Guess I needed some time to think. And it's D, always has been, always will. Much shorter than Dark Magician Boy."

"Yeah? You had us all really worried. Is that a good thing or not? Sometimes thinking isn't such a great idea." The blue haired girl didn't look me in the eyes as she spoke, reaching up to touch a checkered band that she had on her right arm.

"I believe that this time it was the right decision." Alara turned to watch me with worried eyes, and I laughed. "Thanks for the concern, but really, I'm fine." The moment I said it, I knew that she didn't believe me. Hell, I couldn't believe myself, so how could I convince anyone else? "How're you?"

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Shura's been a pain, as usual, and Bastion and I have a lunch date tomorrow. I've got absolutely no idea what to do about it, either. We made plans before everything happened, and I thought that I might cancel it because I was looking for you...Now I'm confused, because what if that was just an excuse I made for myself because I didn't actually wanna go, but I do think that I like him."

"Wow...so, I've got two questions and one suggestion. First, what the hell did Shura do this time, and second, where'd he go now? Third, I think you should go on the date, and see what you feel after. You don't have to dive in, just stick your toe in." Alara seemed a bit relieved, whereas before she had been constantly pulling on her blue hair as we walked.

"The bird-brain is probably off stalking Bastion; it seems to have become his favorite past time in the last two days. He made me get him two fat mice in exchange for taking me back to the dorm when I got lost in the forest."

"Bastion?"

"NO! Shura, dummy!" She smacked me with her bookbag in the hip, grinning, and I smirked, happy that I had managed to bring a smile to her previously saddened face.

Alara's POV

I'm not sure if the magician beside to me understand just how much I needed her company. Things had been going from bad to worse for me, at least in the social situations I was placed in. The Blackwings, before my ever-present companions, had seemingly deserted me, save for Shura and Armor Master, who instead of causing me happiness, had instead become more of a tormentor and burden. The circumstances surrounding Bastion and I, while in the beginning had appeared to be well off and leading towards happiness, presently were a continuous source of stress that when coupled with Dark Magician Girl's own boy problems, pretty much made me want to swear off the male gender. They are much more trouble than they seem to be worth currently. Perhaps when they are more mature I will consider dating.

I wasn't getting along with any of the girls in my classes either, finding most to be superficial and annoying. We had very little in common from what I had overheard, and many thought that their value relied on which Obelisk Blue boy that they were dating, which was purely ridiculous. The boys weren't any easier to become friends with, since a lot of them wanted to duel, or talk about the girls across the room. It was as if I were back in junior high again, and those weren't two years that I wanted to repeat. They consisted of perpetual teasing and ridicule because of my ability to see duel spirits, and everyone believe that I was a freak. Of course, the Blackwings often caused commotions when I needed to disappear, and sometimes even acted upon revenge that I may have wished for, but never carried out. It was simply because it wasn't in my personality to do that to someone else, but the Blackwings acted without my commands, and made my tormentors and I even in their eyes.

I had moved away from my old town to escape that past, and was starting with a clean slate, but things just didn't seem to be getting anywhere quickly. Not only had Shura begun to intervene with my personal life from the very beginning, but others could often feel the malice that radiated out at those whom Armor Master believed intended me ill will. Perhaps it was Armor Master's attitude that drove away the other Blackwings, or maybe it was my own weakness to stop the spirit who'd become more of a beast than a guardian.

"Alara? Hey, seriously, you don't have to do what I suggested. Maybe you should cancel if you are that uncertain." Dark Magician Girl smiled softly, eyes seeming to search mine for a reason for my silence.

"I think you might be right. I just have to go through with it and figure things out from there. Thanks, D." The magician grabbed my hand, pulling me through the doors of the Ra dorm's cafeteria. I hadn't even realized that we'd arrived.

"I wonder what's for lunch today, but it smells good, so let's get some!" There was something about D's voice that made me want to just disregard everything before Duel Academy Island, and enjoy the present, but there were certain things one could not forget, even if they were now ancient history.

As the female magician pulled me along, through the line and then to the table with her friends, I watched her. Shura was hovering over Bastion's shoulder, his eyes practically burrowing holes in the back of the Ra yellow, and I could see that Armor Master was following us with his eyes from high above. Will he do it again?

I knew there were things that people had gone through, histories that many wished to erase, but none of that appeared in the faces of the boys that D joked with, even as she spoke to Jim, though the words seemed strained. "And then there was this time that..." It was as if Dark Magician Girl had managed to get past everything that had happened already.

Perhaps it will be good that I have become friends with you. It seems that there are many things I have yet to learn about overcoming the past. Perhaps you can help me control the demon that Armor Master has become.

"Aren't you going to sit down, Alara?" Bastion asked, gesturing to the empty spot across from him.

"Of course. I was just day-dreaming. How have your classes been?" Damn, I wish that I had just been day-dreaming.

Bastion's POV

Alara wasn't acting herself, or at least, what I'd perceived her personality to be. She had withdrawn in the last few days, soon after she had asked me to have a picnic lunch with her and I was beginning to become worried. At first, I believed that she was just getting used to the work load, and that she had a teacher who gave large amounts of homework for one of her elective classes, but now Alara didn't even appear to be mentally present to the world around her.

I'd figured that I was being followed by a Blackwing soon after leaving my dorm room yesterday morning. It didn't take long for me to put it together that it was Shura, but I'd felt an unnerving presence as well, one that didn't belong to the grinning bird. Now I could see Alara was staring at something above me, past where Shura hovered, up to the blank ceiling. It was possible that she was in fact daydreaming, as she said, but a sixth sense told me that there was something there, something that wasn't happy with me.

Once the blue-haired girl had sat down, she was still quiet, though she answered any question directed towards her. Alara didn't eat much, mostly pushing the food around her plate in a dejected manner as I observed her. "What's wrong?" I asked, almost silently.

Alara's eyes flickered up to the ceiling again before she shrugged. "I'm not very hungry right now, I guess. Why? Does something seem wrong?"

"Yes. You don't appear to be very happy, and you keep looking at the ceiling as if you're waiting for something. And I know that you aren't staring at Shura, because he is towards my right." She shifted, as if suddenly uncomfortable under my questioning.

"It's nothing, okay? I'm just thinking, so it's nothing to worry about."

"But Alara-" Our conversation had gained the attention of the rest of the group, and they were all leaning in to hear, but the girl ignored them, instead leaning over the table to touch my cheek briefly with her left hand.

"It's sweet of you to worry, but really, you don't have to worry about me. Just worry about yourself, and school, and everything else guys our age are supposed to be fretting about."

I wasn't sure what to say to that, since her eyes held a small tinge of misery as she spoke. She has obviously worried about whatever is causing her sadness much more than I.

Susan: Thanks for reading yet another chapter. I've got a good idea of what's going to happen in chapter 15, but I'm not sure when it will be ready. It could be ready tomorrow, or in a week, or even two, because I am finally busy and have a life, which I must now get back to. Thanks so much though, and please review if you have the time.

Alara: She really does appreciate it, she's just busy. I appreciate it too, as a pseudo-editor and big fan of this story.