Author's Note: Sibling battle ahoy!

Chapter Fourteen: Sibling Rivalry

A month had already passed since that day of the duel review. Mizuki had been surprisingly elated by her defeat, declaring that it meant she still had farther she could go. She was also delighted when she went out on her very first date with Sanzo.

Aya walked out of the classroom and saw Mizuki standing next to a tree, looking up at one of the branch's where the grinning Sanzo sat. They were chatting idly, so Aya turned away and walked in the opposite direction. "Some people have all the luck. Like Mizuki and like…Enzeru."

When her older brother had been accepted into the Duel Prep School associated with Duelist Academy both she and Kane had been jealous. Especially since they hadn't made it in at the time. Then when Enzeru graduated with top grades from the Prep School and automatically became an Obelisk Blue it bothered them. 'He's always been better than us, but now that we're here with him it seems to reach us more.'

She had been trying harder to improve herself since she came to the school, especially after she lost so badly to Sanzo. She knew that Kane was also trying to get better, but he didn't seem to take it as seriously as she did. "That idiot will never improve at this rate."

"Who's an idiot? Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Aya sighed and attempted to ignore Kane once again. Her brother was walking just a few feet behind her, heading for the Osiris Red dorms.

Shiro placed a hand on his roommate's shoulder and grinned like an idiot. "Don't worry about it man, your sister is just clinically insensitive. It's best not to take anything people like that say seriously."

Seconds later he was holding his head in pain, a big lump rising from the top where Aya had hit him. "Now who's talking like someone isn't there? Idiot!"

She stormed away, and Shiro lifted his head to look at Kane. "Say Kane…I think your sister has a crush on me or something."

Kane stared at his friend blankly. "You…you're joking, right?"

"She seems to hate me, and we both know that whenever that's the case there's love involved. Poor girl though…surely she knows I'm interested in Mizuki." This time it was Kane's responsibility to smack his friend upside the head to knock some sense into him.

"Stupid! That stuff only happens in manga and anime, not in real life. Sheesh, this is why you're never going to actually have any success with a girl." In response Shiro raised one hand and pointed his finger straight to the sky.

"Yes, but I Shiro Akugi won't rest until I have met with success! Although I have fallen to the depths of the darkest pits of loneliness I will rise again like a phoenix from the ashes! And when the ladies see me they will cheer my name, then I'll be the one with buttons and a fan club!" Kane saw an image of it in his mind, with Shiro flying into the sky laughing, and then he burst into flames.

"You do that Shiro. I like the phoenix idea, it sounds like a good thing." Shiro eyed Kane curiously, as the other Osiris Red appeared to be grinning in an almost evil manner.

"You're thinking of something entirely different than what I am, aren't you?" Kane shook his head vehemently, so Shiro backed off, looking satisfied.

The two of them trekked up the hill which would lead them towards the Osiris Red dorm. It was the farthest away from everything, and by far the least impressive. But at the very least it had a nice view of the ocean.

Kane and Shiro walked in silence for a minute, until finally Kane grew bored. "So…what are we going to do today? I've got no plans now that classes are over for the day. You gonna make another failed attempt at pranking Sanzo?"

Shiro's left eye started twitching instantly at the mention of that name. It was a sore spot for him, as not only had the guy gotten the girl he was after with very little effort but he had so far avoided every attempt Shiro had made at pranking him. And all of it without seeming to notice what was happening. "I'll get that jerk soon….but no. Not today, gotta figure out a new plan. I was thinking of dying my hair blonde today, what do you think?"

"That sounds so amazingly boring that I think I'd rather hang out with Tobias than do that. Any other thoughts?" Shiro scowled and slung his backpack off his shoulder and deposited it on the ground. Then he reached in and whipped out his duel disk.

"Fine then! I'll go and kick Sanzo's ass in a duel right here and now!" He posed dramatically, right hand thrust up in the sky just like before, duel disk gripped tightly. He stood that way for several seconds, and then his arms flopped back down and his head drooped.

"He'd kick my ass wouldn't he? Ahhh….damn it! I'm the best duelist in Osiris Red and still I can't touch that jerk. At least I'm improving; you've been stuck in the same spot since the beginning of the semester." He sighed and returned his duel disk to his backpack.

Kane grimaced, feeling the weight of his duel disk on his back. It wasn't much, but somehow it felt heavier than it had seconds ago. 'He's right, and so was Aya. I've been stuck in the same spot as a duelist since I got here. I'm not improving at all and everyone is passing me up.'

In his mind's eye he saw himself standing at the bottom of a hill while Shiro and Tobias marched up towards the top, where Enzeru, Mizuki, Sanzo, and Harrison were all waiting. 'Even Aya is improving, soon she'll meet up with those guys at the top and I'll be left alone at the bottom. Forever in red….'

Unable to contain himself he unbuttoned his Osiris Red uniform top and tossed it onto the ground, remaining standing there in the issued black t-shirt. "I'm tired of being at the bottom Shiro. I'm tired of everyone surpassing me, especially my brother and sister! And I'm not going to take it anymore!"

He spun around and pointed his finger across the island towards where the Obelisk Blue dorms lay. "I've made up my mind! Today I'm going to prove myself by going out there and defeating Enzeru in a duel!"

Shiro grabbed Kane's hand and shifted the direction, making it point towards Ra Yellow. "Yeah, let's start easier okay buddy? Why not challenge your sister first? And before you do that, how about we work on fixing your deck up?"

Kane remained standing there, pointing out at the Ra Yellow dorm. Shiro sighed and grabbed his friend's shirt and started dragging him along back to the Osiris Red dorm. "Come on buddy, I'm gonna help you not make a fool out of yourself. Once we're done with you there's no way you'll lose to your sister!"

Kane remained fixed in position.

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The door to room 213 of the Ra Yellow girl's dorm burst open all of a sudden and Kane stood there, his finger pointing directly at his sister. "Aya! I challenge you to a duel to prove who has improved more since coming here!"

The three girls in the room blinked, taking a second to register what he just happened. Once they had Kane registered what had happened as well. Janice and Mizuki were currently in the middle of changing into their regular clothes. "PERVERT!"

Kane was suddenly pummeled by random flying objects, and finally struck by a chair and sent flying out of the door. He hit the stairs and rolled down, finally coming to a stop at Shiro's feet. "See, told you it was a dumb idea."

Kane leapt to his feet and put his finger right in his roommate's face. "It was your freaking idea in the first place!"

"Yeah, that's why I said it was a dumb idea. Never thought you'd listen to me…."

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Aya, Janice, and Mizuki were walking through the forest in the normal clothes, chatting idly with each other as they headed to their secret destination. Suddenly some dropped down in front of them, hanging upside down from a branch. It was none other than Kane. They screamed at the sudden intrusion.

"Aya! I challenge you to a duel to prove who has improved more since coming here!" Once his challenge was issued he noticed that all three girls seemed rather upset. Perhaps it was because he had just scared the living daylights out of them.

As one their raised their clenched fists, brows twitching in irritation. Kane sweatdropped, knowing what was coming next. "IDIOT!"

Three combined punches were enough to send Kane sailing. He soared through the trees and finally stopped, entagled in a branch and unable to move. Several minutes later Shiro stood under the tree and stared up at Kane's disabled form. "You okay?"

"This is seriously your fault. 'Jump them from a tree, it'll work I swear'. Bah! You suck Shiro!"

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The three girls finally relaxed in their secret destination. Thanks to the fact that the island they were on had once been volcanic there were plenty of these places scattered. It was a nice little hot spring that they came to in order to unwind and have girl talk where they couldn't be interrupted.

So there they sat, shoulder deep in the water, chatting idly just as before. Something was amiss though, as bubbles were rising from the water a few feet away. The girls moved forward slightly to see what it was, and instantly Kane exploded from the water, his clothes soaking wet as he pointed his finger at his sister. "Aya! I challenge you to a duel to prove who has improved more since coming here!"

He blinked, stopped, looked at them, and knew his demise was imminent. Seconds later he was sent flying through the air, right up and over the little rock ledge that was next to the hot springs. He landed with a mighty splash in the hot spring on the other side.

Kane came up out of the water, spluttering, only to find Kane sitting at the edge of the water as if waiting for him. Kane swam to the edge and glared up at the grinning Shiro. "So when you said 'surprise them when they walk by the hot spring by bursting up out of it' what you really meant was 'wait for them to be in the hot spring so you can get your ass kicked' right?"

Shiro rubbed the back of his head, laughing lightly. "Why do you keep listening to me? Seriously man, it boggles my mind."

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"Okay, I've got a great plan this time! It's bound to succeed!" Kane looked over at Shiro, his black eye standing out prominently. He was busy toweling himself off and hoping he hadn't caught a cold.

"Not this time, there's no way I'm going to listen to you again. Now let's do it my way. I'll just send her a message over the personal organizer as a duel challenge. Let me see yours for a second." There was a deep silence that filled the room in response.

Kane sighed and glared at Shiro out of the corner of his eye. "You don't know where your personal organizer is, do you?"

"Organized chaos man, organized chaos. You can't possibly expect me to know where everything is every second, can you?" Kane closed his eyes and wished to all the gods in existence that when he opened them Shiro would be replaced by someone who used his brain more often.

Slowly but surely he opened his eyes. What he saw was Shiro rifling through his drawers, desperately seeking the personal organizer. Kane's hopes had been dashed against the rocks of the universe. "Never mind, I'll just go steal Tobias' for a second."

"Where's yours?" In response Kane just glared at Shiro. It took him a minute, but finally Shiro remembered and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Oh yeah! I broke it didn't I? Sorry about that!"

"Sometimes I hate you."

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Shiro, Mizuki, and Janice sat in the bleachers, looking down at the two siblings as they faced off. They both seemed equally determined to prove that they had improved more during their stay at Duelist Academy than their sibling. "Let's duel!" (ALP: 4000, KLP: 4000)

Aya took the first turn, drawing one card. She assessed her hand and started off fast. "Fire Storm Teutonic(1400/1300) in attack mode. And when he's summoned I can summon a teutonic from my hand with two thousand or less defense."

She grabbed another of her cards and threw it out onto the field. Joining the simple knight whose banner showed raining flames was a larger knight whose banner was pure white with an exploding star across the center. "Starburst Teutonic(2200/1800) is summoned!"

Then she took one card from her hand and slid it into her duel disk. "I set one card face down and end my turn."

Kane snapped up a card and then slammed it down. "Templar Axewielder(1700/1400)! I have it attack Fire Storm Teutonic!"

"Trap card activates! Seal of Ice! This trap encases your monster and seals it away, keeping you from accessing it for attack, defense, sacrifice, or anything else until you increase its attack points." The black knight holding an axe was suddenly covered up by ice, keeping it stuck in place.

He grimaced and tucked two more cards into his duel disk. "I may not be able to attack, but that's just fine with me. I set two cards face down and end my turn."

Now it was Aya's turn to move, and she seemed oddly determined considering she had seen her brother play and faced him. "I know that I can beat you Kane, but I'm not going to play nice like usual. I'm going to use all my strength against you, and that will show you how much you need to improve!"

"Yeah, talk all you want. The only person who'll be winning this duel is me, so bring it on!" Their three friends watched quietly from the stands, not quite sure who to root for. They knew how important this duel was to both siblings, so it would feel bad to root for one over the other.

Aya picked up one of her cards and slipped it into her graveyard. "This monster in my hand can substitute its sacrifice for a discard from my hand. I discard this magic card to act as the tribute for Flash Teutonic(2100/1600)!"

Her newest monster blinked into existence on the field, its own banner a blank black banner. On closer inspection it seemed to have a single white dot with a circle around it in the center. "Fire Storm Teutonic, risk the first attack!"

Kane smirked and pointed to his first face down card, which flipped over. "Magic Arm Shield, grab me Starburst Teutonic to block it!"

A little shield appeared on his field and sent a mechanical arm out. It hooked onto the knight and dragged it over so that it was right in front of the charging knight. It swung its sword once and the attacking monster was blown apart. "Heh, that went well." (ALP: 3200)

Aya gritted her teeth, unable to admit that Kane's play had been a good one. Since he now controlled her strongest monster until the end phase there was little she could do except conclude her turn. "Lucky play. One card face down and that's it."

Kane grinned back at her in response, and held up his drawn card. "You want lucky? Try this one out! Magic card activate, Power of Prayer! I increase one Templar's attack by 400 times its level for the turn!"

The ice around Templar Axewielder shattered as its attack power soared up to thirty-three hundred and it was surrounded by a fiery aura. "Those extra attack points will come in handy for beating you down this turn. And to help out with the process I equip him with Spirit Slayer!"

The axe vanished and was replaced by a sword with a slit down the middle that had a blue aura surrounding it. "Spirit Slayer increases my monster's attack by five hundred, and when it battles a monster the target loses five hundred attack points. So get ready, because he's coming after Starburst Teutonic!"

"Actually Kane, you just helped me out! Activate quick-play magic card, Mirage Magic! This negates your attack and increases my life points by the total attack points of your monster!" A rainbow barrier blocked the strike, and the axewielder jumped away in frustration. (ALP: 7000)

Kane punched a hand into his other hand, looking irritated that his attack had failed and managed to boost Aya's life points drastically. "I set one card face down. Now I end my turn, and my monster loses all its attack points. It stays at five hundred thanks to Spirit Slayer though."

Aya drew and placed her new card onto the field. "Lightning Teutonic(1600/1200) in attack mode." Her newest monster was just as identical as the rest, except his banner was a red one with a lightning bolt as the image.

"Lightning Teutonic will attack Templar Axewielder!" The knight aimed its sword at the templar and released a bolt of lightning. As soon as it did the effect of Spirit Slayer kicked in and its attack fell to eleven hundred.

Kane dipped his head in despair as the attack came hurtling towards him. And then, without warning, the Templar slashed the lightning with his sword and sent it arcing back towards the Teutonic. "Heh, whoops. Looks like your monster lost that battle."

Aya and their miniature audience gasped as the lightning slammed into Lightning Teutonic and he blew up. Not only that but Aya's life points started to fall. "What the heck? It was eleven hundred against five hundred!" (ALP: 5900)

"Not exactly. When I ended my turn I guess I forgot to mention that my Templar's attack is only reduced until the next time I draw a card. So when you attacked I just activated my set Jar of Greed to draw one card. So its attack was set back to the original plus the Spirit Slayer bonus. And so it won that battle." He smirked, impressed by his own play.

The blonde girl stared at her brother, unable to believe that he had made such a clever move and tricked her. 'Is this really my brother, who would always make the worst moves and almost never won his duels? Is he really the same duelist as before?'

With little else that she could do Aya did what seemed best. "End turn!"

Kane drew, and looked over his three cards. He eyed two of them in particular, looking suddenly devious. "Ooo, I've got a sweet move here. For starters I summon Templar Centurion(1700/900) in attack mode."

This knight looked identical as the other black armored knight, only its weapon appeared to be a large shield with spikes connected to each corner of it. "Now, that may not seem that great, but here's the sweet deal. I play Synchronic Ability!"

A line of line floated between the two monsters, and Templar Centurion raised its right hand. Suddenly a Spirit Slayer formed in its grip, and its attack power rose to equal Templar Axewielder's. "Check that out!"

Shiro scratched the top of his head, staring at the field curiously. "I thought he said he played Synchronic Ability, not another Spirit Slayer. What's the deal?"

Mizuki leaned forward, looking intrigued by the move. "Synchronic Ability is a great card for these types of decks. It lets one monster share its effect, including equipped effects, with one other monster in play. So Kane just gave his Templar Centurion a Spirit Slayer effect."

Kane grinned like an idiot and pointed a finger at Flash Teutonic. "Templar Centurion, bring that monster down!"

His monster charged the field and as it came forwards the Flash Teutonic's attack points fell rapidly to sixteen hundred, making it no match for the twenty-two hundred attack power Templar. It was defeated in one stroke. "Yeah! Now effect time!" (ALP: 5300)

Starburst Teutonic sagged, its armor cracking. It also seemed to be losing attack points at a fairly steady pace until it was down to sixteen hundred just like Flash Teutonic had been before dying. Before Shiro could ask Mizuki was answering. "When Templar Centurion deals life point damage an equal amount of damage is dealt to one monster in play, reducing that monster's attack or defense. So since Aya took six hundred damage so did her remaining monster."

Templar Axewielder leapt into the air and came crashing down on the weakened monster. As he did so those remaining attack points were reduced even further as Spirit Slayer sucked away its strength. "Yeah! More damage for me!" (ALP: 4200)

When it became obvious that Kane had no intention of doing anything else, Aya drew to start her turn. She was in a bad position with no field and only two cards in hand. "Okay, it's time for the come back. Crescent Teutonic(1700/1000) comes out!"

Like her other monsters it was just a simple knight, and like all the other monsters its only difference came in the image on the banner attached to its back. This one had an image of a crescent moon on the banner. "This monster can be sacrificed to special summon two level four or lower monsters from my deck to my field!"

The knight vanished, and then two bigger knights with banners of a full moon appeared. "Together I've summoned out two Moonlight Teutonics(1900/900 X2)!"

She flipped over her other card, looking completely focused. "I play Storm the Fortress! I pay eight hundred life points to combine my warrior's attacks together for one attack that is equal to both their attack strengths." (ALP: 3400)

The two monsters locked blades and gave Templar Axewielder a focused look. "Attack together with thirty-eight hundred attack points against Templar Axewielder! Even with the reduction of five hundred points it can still win!"

As one the monsters rushed Templar Axewielder, who hefted his Spirit Slayer. He knew that he was going to die, but he was willing to meet it without fear. "Hey, you just made my job easier. Activate trap card, Skull Dice!"

Aya's eyes went as wide as they could as she realized what that meant. "No…based on the roll of a die my monsters will have their attack points divided. The only way they won't lose is with a one."

"That's right! Dice Roll!" A red die was thrown against the ground by an impish looking devil. All five people in the room watched the die with baited breath, and then suddenly Kane let out a cheer as it stopped. The number of dots that it showed was clearly six.

The two attacking monster's attack power shrank to a tiny five hundred and fifty, and the Axewielder lashed out with his equipped weapon. A single swing took the heads off both attacking knights. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" (ALP: 1750)

Aya grimaced and stared at her empty field. "I…can't do anything. End turn."

Kane drew, looking absolutely elated. Even the three duelists watching couldn't believe what they saw. Kane had been smacking his Ra Yellow sister around the entire duel, he had been playing much better than she had, and now had every advantage a person could have in a duel. Field advantage, hand advantage, and life point advantage. "This is it; I'm going to prove myself right now! Templar Axewielder, direct attack!"

It attacked Aya, stabbing at her with the Spirit Slayer. The instant it touched her skin a bright light burst out of her graveyard and the monster was hurled backwards and away from her. "I'm not going to lose to my Osiris Red brother."

"What the…how did you stop me?" In response Aya held a hand over her cemetery and six cards slid out of it. She held them up for him to see.

"I used the effect of Sanctity of the Buried to remove five of the eleven cards from my grave to negate your attack. That means I've got five left, enough to negate one more attack." Kane scuffed a foot against the ground, irritated that his win had been stopped in its tracks like that.

"That doesn't make any sense! You never played the card, so how the heck did it go to the grave?" Aya grinned and held up one of the five cards she was removing. Kane saw it, and knew just what had happened.

Aya picked up one of her cards and slipped it into her graveyard. "This monster in my hand can substitute its sacrifice for a discard from my hand. I discard this magic card to act as the tribute for Flash Teutonic(2100/1600)!"

"Damn…so that's it. You discarded it when you summoned Flash Teutonic. Well, I can handle that. Templar Centurion, attack her directly!" It made to attack her, but was blocked by another burst of light from her grave.

Kane smirked as Aya took the ten total cards and slipped them into her back pocket, having them removed from play. "Well, that's all the attacks you can negate with that card. So I just set this one card face down and end my turn."

Aya drew one card, and then released the breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Coins From Heaven lets each player draw until they hold six cards. So get to drawing."

She drew six cards while Kane drew five. Aya scanned her hand, and then let out a deep breath. "Kane, you've played great so far, and I'll admit you've improved more than I have while we're here. But even though that's the case, I'm still going to win."

"Yeah? Let's see how you can manage that when I've still got full life points and these two badass monsters in play." He didn't mention his set card, which he knew could be a doozy when used properly.

"Yeah, that's right. I'll start by playing Bonds of Brothers at a cost of one thousand life points! I'll use it to special summon the two remaining Crescent Teutonics(1700/1000 X2) from my deck!" Monsters identical to what she had summoned before rode out, looking ready for battle. (ALP: 750)

She snapped her fingers and both monsters faded away. "I sacrifice both of them two special summon a total of four level four or lower monsters from my deck. I'll summon the one remaining Moonlight Teutonic(1900/900) in my deck, as well as three Blitz Teutonics(1900/0 X3)!"

Kane held his ground, still not convinced despite the growing army in front of him. "It's still not going to beat my monsters!"

"I don't have to beat them, when I can just destroy them. I activate Lightning Vortex, discarding one card from my hand to destroy all face-up monsters on your field!" Kane threw up an arm as the two monsters were destroyed by streaks of lightning, the particles flying at his eyes.

"Now, just in case that set card is going to stop me, I'll activate Cyclone from my hand to destroy it!" Kane's hopes were dashed completely as his last remaining chance, his Hyper Refresh magic card, was destroyed. It would have saved him this turn.

"All of my monsters attack you directly!" The four powerful knights ganged up on Kane and each one took a slash at him with their swords. He held himself up despite the attacks, waiting until after the holograms had faded to relax his body. (KLP: 0)

Aya walked across the field and held her hand out to her brother, who gladly took it. "Congratulations Kane, even though I won the duel, you won the challenge. You've improved much more than I have. I guess I just have to work harder."

"Even though I lost, somehow I still feel good about it. And hey, maybe next time I'll win." The two siblings shared a laugh, and their friends came to join them, patting them on the back and congratulating them.

Kane was happy and willing to look to the future. He wasn't as far at the bottom of the hill as he had first thought. The journey had started and sooner or later he'd catch up to the rest of his friends and join them at the top of the hill. "Next time for sure. And if not that time, then the time after that."

Shiro heard his words and looked over at a smiling and laughing Mizuki. "Yeah…if not the next time, then the time after that. I won't quit either."

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Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed that. Next is some more funny stuff.

Next Time: Life continues as normal for everyone. But enough time has passed, and a dangerous plot of Shiro's is at last prepped and ready to go. The target is in his sights, now all he needs to do is keep his focus and it just might work!

See it all in, Aim to Please! Shiro's Plot for Love!