Anonymous Review 1 (Tsukiyami): No, Chazz never wins Jaylin's heart. He's in denial at the moment. Jaylin will have someone, but it won't be for a long time.
Anonymous Review 2 (Riley): It's Jaylin, and I prefer her to be called that. While she is the female version of Jaden, she still has a different character and backstory from Jaden Yuki.
Anyways, I'm glad you enjoy the story. I've always loved the story and characters of Yugioh more than the card game. I've wanted this version to be different in a sense where it was like season 0 of Yugioh, more character and story driven. I also wanted Duel Academy to feel like a real school. While it is more Americanized, it probably is better that way, since I've never been to Japan and would do better with an Americanized Japanese school. This gives you a feel of something more dark and serious than the corny stuff from the anime.
I will pair Jaylin up with Jesse, though that won't be for a long time and there's someone else she dates for a time before she starts hitting it off with Jesse.
Anonymous Review 3 (Dannie): From what I can gather, I don't think this type of story is something of your taste. This one's main target audience is for those that are into the Yu-Gi-Oh Shadow Games from the mangas. The ones where you could play any sort of game, which seem innocent at first glance, but as the game continues, it starts going into more dangerous territory. Yes, there are also times when the shadow games felt questionable (if you thought the dance shadow game was questionable, Yami played a shadow game against his teacher, which required finishing a jigsaw puzzle, the penalty game being giving her a bad facial makeover. That was probably the least dangerous Shadow Game Yami played against anyone).
Now, I don't know if you've read the manga, but Jaylin Yuki is based off of her male manga counterpart with some mary-sue stereotypes. That's probably why she feels self inserted and that I'm trying to make her look cooler. I never intended on making Jaylin look cooler as much as I tried to make her her own character and not feel like a Jaden Yuki with boobies. As for the conflict, it is surrounded by Nightshroud, but keep in mind that this is a main conflict that will take up four books. This is the first one. There is an individual conflict for this first one and it's mainly Jaylin's friends struggling against something they're not familiar with. So yeah, the main conflict of the starting book is surrounded by Jaylin's friends, not Jaylin herself. There is Nightshroud and his hoopla, but it's part of the overall conflict of the first book.
My suggestion, check out To the Unknown 1 and 2, it's more based off of the anime and the card games. I would also look into Psychid's Yu-Gi-Oh EXELIXI. It's more close to the anime and the card games, despite it being more of a Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's fan fiction.
P.S. As for the amount of years Duel Academy had in Yu-Gi-Oh GX. I am aware that it was a mistake of mine and I'm still keeping the four years despite that. I've said my reasons why, so there's no point in beating a dead horse.
I apologize this chapter took a little longer than usual for me to write out. I was busy on a project all December for a Christmas fan fiction and picture for two different Hetalia Christmas events. Anyways, I'm back now and ready to write another chapter. Review please!
"So, looks like it's official, we'll all celebrate National Foundation Day together," Alexis decided, who was sitting in the Obelisk Blue cafeteria with Carl, Ronda, Syrus, Atticus, Zane and Jaylin.
"Awesome! It's just too bad Bastion can't be here. Then again, he's got family. I'm surprised you don't have plans with yours, Ronda," Jaylin mentioned, hearing her friend sigh.
"It's gonna be a bit crowded. I love my family, but the holidays are always much and I've already had my Christmas and New Years with them. I'm going to take it easy this February," Ronda decided.
"Great idea! I'm also going to invite a few friends here. Both to help us, while keeping watch for Nightshroud, and I REALLY want you to meet them."
"That's awesome, Jaylin! I know you've told us a bit about them," Alexis mentioned.
"Yeah, though try not to act tough around Shon, at least if you're female. He's very sexist."
"By sexist you mean..." Ronda wondered.
"He sees women as sex objects," Zane clarified, then gave Jaylin a look. "I'm surprised you grew up with him."
"He wasn't always like that. He has a very rough family and a lot of the reasons why he acts this way is because of it. Not saying it makes him right, but I can understand him and... he and the twins were the only ones that understood me when I was at the orphanage and throughout my childhood. In a way... I felt I wasn't left out."
"Did you not have any friends when you were at the orphanage?" Syrus asked pitifully.
"Yes and no. I had friends, but they weren't the type I'd tell all my secrets to or anything. They were more like my Facebook friends. Not that I don't care about them, but there's a huge difference between friends you hang out with and friends you'd go to their house and eat with."
"I see. It'll be interesting to see them. Also, I just realized that, despite this Shon character being sexist, his three closest friends are female," Zane smirked.
"Yes, because being close friends with three girls is totally a reason for a guy to not be sexist," Jaylin said sarcastically. "And me being raised by a single dad with the help of two other dudes is a reason for me to be a tomboy."
"She's got a point," Ronda chuckled as everyone else laughed after her.
As expected, all schools were out in National Foundation Day. Jaylin and her friends decided to celebrate together at Duel Academy, especially since hardly anyone would be at the school anyway. So, the gang had much of the school grounds to themselves, outside the classrooms, which were closed.
When it came to the schools having days off, much of the needed faculty of the school like the janitors, a few teachers that needed to catch up on grading, cooks, and so on still lingered in the school. Though, sometimes the students will go out to Domino City during the holidays, even rent a hotel for the night. It really depended on the events. Though, days when school was to be out for more than a day, students often went to Domino City or signed up for activities that were only available during those days of there being no school. Though, it required money to participate in those events.
For Jaylin and her friends, they were to celebrate the holiday on the island. Yugi was somewhere in America, so he couldn't celebrate with Jaylin, already having to take a week off for Christmas. Zane and Syrus didn't have any plans, especially since their parents were working during this time. Alexis didn't seem interested in seeing her parents, claiming they have better things to do. Carl wanted to use this time to catch up on her work and spend time with her friends, since she already had her time with her family over Christmas and New Years.
Shon, Katal and Kathle appeared on the island with smiles. Jaylin was excited when they arrived. Much to everyone's surprise, the first place the trio wanted to see was the Abandoned Dorm. They had taken a good look at it the last time they were visiting the island, but wanted to see it again.
"Why do you want to see it?" Zane asked curiously.
"Quick update, I guess. Mainly to see if anything's changed," Kathle shrugged.
"It must be boring here. How much time has passed since Nightshroud has last attacked?" Shon asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"I think a few months ago," Jaylin replied as Shon let out an annoyed sigh.
"You should come back. There's more shit going on in Domino."
"You'd be bored, but I'm not. I'm not the dropout of the group," Jaylin smirked as Shon gave her a smirk.
"What do you mean by more shit. Is there more paranormal stuff that happens in Domino City?" Alexis asked.
"More crime, actually. Shon likes the thrill of the fight. The paranormal being involved would make him more excited," Jaylin explained.
"Were any of you in Domino City last summer?" Shon asked.
"I was. It was freaky. Our house was destroyed and everything, or at least half of it was. Our parents also turned into these freaky monsters by this psycho woman with the freaky green symbol thing on her forhead," Syrus explained as Jaylin used every ounce of strength to hide her blush.
"Yeah, I heard about Domino City turning into a war zone of monsters and chaos. Did you guys know what happened, because nobody would tell me anything," Alexis questioned.
"The Orichalcose happened. It usually shows the darker personality of the one, who uses it. It's really freaky when you see so many people use it," Katal explained.
"Have you used it?" Carl asked the gang.
"Jaylin has," Shon said, then showing a smirk. "Moral of the story, don't EVER let Jay be your worst enemy."
"Wow, that makes me feel so much better!" Jaylin snapped in an annoyed voice.
"What? At least I got you to snap out of it."
"Well, Dad did anyways."
"What was Jaylin like?" Alexis asked curiously.
"You don't wanna know!" The trio said together.
"Anyways, how about we all go inside the Obelisk Blue Cafe and have a bite to eat?" Jaylin offered, changing the subject.
"You know it! Let's get started!" Alexis grinned as everyone joined along to go inside the Obelisk Blue Cafeteria, especially since it had more space for everyone to claim a bigger table and eat.
Everyone talked and laughed, while eating their meal. There were a fewer people in the cafeteria, nobody even wore their school uniforms. Speaking of which, neither did Jaylin and her friends. Alexis wore a pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt with the top of it being buttoned, but not all the way. Zane wore a black unbuttoned vest over a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, black pants and black boots. Syrus wore a long-sleeved stripped blue and white shirt with khaki pants. Ronda wore black jeans and a red short-sleeved hoody over a black long-sleeved shirt. Ronda wore a black blouse, a blue skirt over black tights and blue Ugg boots. Jaylin wore a pink vest over a gray long-sleeved shirt, a matching pink skirt over black tights and boots. Shon wore dark dirty jeans and a black hoody fully zipped. Katal wore a green skirt over black tights, a tan shirt with green sparkles and green tennis shoes. Kathle wore black jeans, a red and black striped shirt and brown boots.
Suddenly, Jaylin's froze and blinked at the same time. Ronda started feeling somewhat nervous and unsure, like she was trying to figure out something. Chazz, who was sitting at a far table, seemed to be nervous and unsure as well. The twins were the first to spot Jaylin's change in facial expression.
"You feel something?" Katal asked as Jaylin nodded.
"Sorta-" Jaylin replied before...
"Alexis, that couldn't possibly be you, could it?" A young man asked, who looked like some sort of rich pretty boy in a white tux with brown hair and wore glasses.
"Who is that?" Ronda asked.
"Someone I'd like to forget existed," Alexis replied, then glared angrily at the man. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I came here to mend our relationship, to start over where we-" the man asked before being interrupted.
"Thanks, but I'm already in a relationship, so you can leave me alone."
"I see. Can I at least offer a friendship then?"
"After stealing my mother's scarf and selling it to pay your damn debts that you refuse to play on your own!? You used me and I'm not going to let you take advantage of me again! You're lucky my brother isn't here to kick your ass back to Tokyo City."
"That is too bad. It seems I have no choice..." the man said, a smirk slowly appearing upon his lips. Jaylin's eyes furrowed, then her eyes glowed gold. "Time for a game."
"Stand your ground, Alexis. This guy has a Shadow Charm," Jaylin warned as Alexis stood up as she felt the darkness surround her like a fog.
The students in the cafeteria all turned out of curiosity before Chazz stood up on a chair and shouted, "RUN! IT'S NIGHTSHROUD!" Everyone panicked and knew to run out of the cafeteria, Chazz leading them out.
"Smart man," Shon smirked.
"Working for Nightshroud or do you have a little lucky charm in your hands?" Alexis questioned as the man took out the second half of the pendent that Atticus had around his neck when Nightshroud possessed him.
"I made quite the deal with him when arriving here. Unfortunately, you were with your family during Christmas," the man smirked.
"Who is this asshole?" Jaylin asked.
"Pierre, an old boyfriend of mine," Alexis replied.
"F***, I hate drama," Shon muttered in annoyance.
"Quite right. My apologies for my rudeness. Perhaps a little game can distract the tension," Pierre apologized in a mocking fashion. He looked directly at Alexis. "You may invite your friends, only three, if they wish to volunteer."
"One against three? This should be interesting," Jaylin smirked, then eyed Alexis. "Lex, I think it's time you see what my buds can do. Let them volunteer!"
"Are you sure?" Alexis asked as Jaylin smirked, nodding.
"Co'mon, we wanna join the fun!" Kathle pleaded as Alexis sighed, then smiled a little.
"It's up to you."
"YES!" Kathle cried in joy.
"Teaming with Blondie and the Olsen twins. It must be Christmas again," Shon smirked as Alexis flinched a bit with the idea of being called Blondie.
Pierre smirked demonically before releasing a huge dark wave that was so strong, it broke tables, chairs and the glass of the windows. There were noticeable cracks on the walls.
"Someone is not gonna be happy when he sees this," Jaylin muttered.
"If there's one good game I love, it's card games. A good game of Blackjack will do," Pierre decided.
"That's not fair! I don't know how to play it and you KNOW I suck at it!" Alexis shouted.
"Being why I allowed you to choose three other volunteers. I don't like to play my favorite game without being challenged. Here's the trick though, if all of you lose, then you will suffer a penalty game. If one of you loses, I will claim you as my possession."
"Ugh!" Alexis grunted in frustration.
"You're already challenged, so you can't say, 'no.' Let's begin," Pierre said.
The table everyone sat in was cleared, aside from Pierre, Alexis, the twins and Shon. Pierre passes three cards to himself and the other four, two face-up and one face-down. Alexis stared at the cards in front of her. One card was a 3 of Diamonds and the other a Jack of Hearts. Tension built up, trying to remember what value Jack was. It was 10, right? Or was it 9? She looked at the others and they seemed more confident.
"I will let this lovely young lady go first," Pierre said almost flirtatiously, but mockingly, at Katal.
"Hit," Katal said, turning over the third card, which showed a 7 of Diamonds. Her other two cards were a 6 of Spades and 4 of Clubs.
"Ace is 1 or 11?" Kathle asked.
"1, of course," Pierre replied.
"Then, I choose Doubling Down," Kathle decided, placing her card sideways, which showed a King of Hearts. Her other two cards were an Ace of Spades and 8 of Hearts.
"Split," Shon declared, splitting his 5 of Clubs and 5 of Spades on two different sides. Then, he turned over his face-down card, which was a King of Clubs and moved it under the 5 of Spades.
"Your turn," Pierre smirked as Alexis felt the sweat building on her forehead.
"Hit," Alexis said, turning her third card, which was a King of Spades.
"Bust! You never were good at this game," Pierre said as Alexis gasped at the black energy that shaped into cuffs, holding her wrists in place before feeling them yanking her from her chair, landing on the floor. She gasped at where these cuffs of black energy were connecting to, which was Pierre's wrist.
"What the..." Alexis gasped.
"I told you. You lose, and I claim you as my possession," Pierre said, which made Alexis both annoyed and angry.
"You filthy dog!"
"Oh, don't be sad, you'll be joined with your friends very soon. Until then, you'll be spending some time with me and forever, once your friends lose."
"So, that's the penalty game. We become your sex slaves. If you weren't evil, I'd be asking to borrow that Shadow Charm," Shon smirked, rubbing his chin at the thought.
"Oh gee, thanks a lot, Shon!" Alexis snapped as Shon shrugged.
Pierre looked at his cards, which the two face-up cards were an Ace of Hearts and 6 of Clubs. He smirked, "hit." He flipped over the face-down card, which showed a 3 of Spades. "Not bad."
"Surrender," Katal said as dark energy cuffs appeared around her wrists and she was yanked to Pierre's other wrist.
"Oh, how wonderful, now I have two wonderful damsels to claim as my own," Pierre said with excitement in his eyes, then his leg was kicked by Alexis.
"Why don't you leave her alone, Pierre!?" Alexis shouted angrily.
Pierre yanked Alexis by her wrists, then kissed her forcefully. She made some muffling sounds before the kiss was broke, leaving a devious smirk behind those lips as Pierre replied, "I don't believe you're in the position to be making any threats."
"As sexy as Blondie is, it's my turn!" Shon shouted, drawing his next card. "hit!" He flipped over the next card, which was a 8 of Diamonds. The pile with the 5 of Spades was pushed aside.
"That pile was a bust. If you bust your second pile, I win, unless your other Dixie Chick wins," Pierre smirked as he drew his next card, which was a Jack of Spades. He smirked manically. "You have absolutely no chance. Mine is 20, which is higher than 19." Kathle saw dark energy cuffing her wrists and yanking her toward her sister. "Unless, Shon is it, you make it to 21, you're already at a loss. I certainly hope these two are entertaining."
"Stop this! Leave them alone!" Alexis shouted angrily, trying to yank against the dark energy cuffs.
"Hold still, you bitch!" Pierre shouted yanking at the dark energy cuff as Alexis found herself hitting the tile floor, feeling the pain in her head as it hit.
Shon drew his next card, which was a Queen of Spades. That made his total to be 15. Being that Pierre already stated that he was to Stand, Shon drew his last card, taking a deep breath. The next card he drew was a 6 of Hearts.
"That's 21. I win," Shon smirked as the dark energy disappeared from Pierre's wrists, which connected to the girls. "Now, time for your penalty game." Shon, in one speeding second, his fist was against Pierre's face and Pierre was on the floor with his face smeared with blood. Shon yanked the other half of the Shadow Charm Pendent from Pierre's neck before kicking him in the gut.
"I can't thank you enough," Alexis thanked.
"It wasn't as exciting as I thought it'd be," Shon shrugged before a dark fog began engulfing the entire cafe and Pierre stood up, blood smeared on his face with a demonic smile and laugh. "I'm up for surprises."
"Nightshroud, is that you?" Jaylin glared.
"You guessed right. Unfortunately, this one was the most useless of them all, but I decided to make him somewhat useful," Nightshroud replied.
"Why are you just letting us take your Shadow Charms?" Jaylin demanded.
"So curious. You are right, I am handing you those charms, but not for you, young Jaylin. Think of it as a slow process. It's easy to say that we will fill this entire world with darkness, but the process to get to that goal requires planning. There is a secret to those Shadow Charms that even you, young lady, are not aware of. Even Queen Jezerel herself is blind to the hidden secrets. Perhaps, because she never used them during her reign. Her father knew, though. Aknamkanon knew as well, that's why he asked the gods to take away half of Atem's true power, the power that he gave to your father."
"Wait, what are you talking about? What power and how do you know it's Jaylin's father that has it?" Ronda asked.
"It's not that hard to tell when he comes to this island for visits. I saw the duo training beside the volcano. I actually never expected the turn of events of both Jezerel's and Atem's incarnations to turn from best friends to father and daughter."
"Wait, you never told us your father came for a visit," Ronda said as Jaylin kept her glare at Nightshroud.
"Don't trust your friends? What a pity. Though, not so different from Jezerel. She had trust issues too."
"What do you know about me!?" Jaylin shouted, her eyes changing to gold.
"As much as Jezerel. You and her are no different from each other. Sure, you might have different parents and backstory, but your personalities are the same. It's no different with Yugi versus Atem. That's how incarnation works. Think of it like cloning. Even twins have similar personalities, despite looking and acting different.
"But anyways, I must be off. I'm always keeping tabs on you," Nightshroud smirked before shooting off into the sky, which broke a hole in the ceiling.
"How did he..." Jaylin whispered, her eyebrows furrowing as her friends slowly approached her. "He must have a spy here."
"A spy?" Alexis asked.
"There's no other way he could've known my father was here," Jaylin glared, then kicked the nearest table, which flipped over in the air before landing and the side breaking into shards. "DAMNIT!" She took a deep breath, then left the cafeteria.
The group stood in silence as Ronda rubbed her arm nervously.
"She doesn't trust us?" Alexis whispered.
"Don't take it personally. She's only known you for about five months and it's part of her personality," Kathle assured.
"But still. Her father came... a few times even... and she never even asked us to meet him," Alexis pointed out. She didn't feel angry and she kinda knew Jaylin didn't trust anyone, but it still... hurt.
"I'm sure you met him, but just didn't know it was her father. Jaylin works like that, you know?" Shon said as everyone rose their eyebrows, except Zane and Syrus.
"As I said, don't take it personally. She's not a big open-upper. It isn't that she suspects you of doing something against her, but... she just wants to be sure she knows you before telling you personal things and with an adopted father, that's already hitting high waters. The fact she's telling you that she's adopted is already proof enough that she is letting you in a bit on her personal life."
Alexis sighed, then replied, "I suppose."
"We should let the Chancellor know about this," Zane informed. Everyone agreed and left the Obelisk Blue Cafeteria.
