Yu-Gi-Oh!: Kazuki Takahashi/Konami
CFGX: An update of sorts: Originally I made this story a P treon-exclusive. But some time after, I realized that it's pointless if I don't have as many views as I do here. So I decided to post this story here for entertainment purposes only. I'll still have my P treon for my fan art and other projects related or unrelated. The circumstances still apply: don't read this story if you're satisfied with my original Spirit Caller story. Otherwise, enjoy.
P.S.: There will be four additional chapters to come as they're already done.
"To those who made it this far, I assume you would rather see Season 2 after all. Otherwise, please leave right now to avoid a pointless cliffhanger. Also, the storytelling will be way different than what I'm used to. It requires an internal monologue in order for it to make sense. Think 'Stan Lee' or anyone else you think fits this narrative. I hope you enjoy the show..."
Greetings, gathered friends, and welcome to the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! A world where magic and wizards take form in a simple card game, which itself becomes much more.
Many a story were written of many a hero, and the game that inevitably changed their lives. This is one of those stories:
Years after the crowning of the first King of Games, a facility was built to train Duelists in the art of the game. A school where the children make the grade through Dueling. An Academy where, in the grand spectator sport of Duel Monsters, a Pro Duelist is born. Here is where you will see this world through the eyes of Duel Academy's students.
And one among them who earned his place among the Dueling Legends.
But this is not his story…
Chapter 1: Welcome back to Duel Academy
It was the first day back at Duel Academy. There were students already there to meet and greet each other before classes the next day. As for faculty, you could see two on them making tracks across the island.
"Keep up, you Swedish Meatball! They're almost here!"
"I'm French, you imbecile! Pardone moi for not having longer legs! Besides, what's the rush about?!"
"I told you! The freshmen; their boat is arriving as we speak!"
"So, big whoop! Just because you've been promoted to School Chancellor, all of a sudden you care?"
As for those two, you'll be seeing a lot of them. A whole lot of them.
One, as recently mentioned, is Doctor Vellian Crowler. If you don't know who that is…then what are you doing here? Read the original Spirit Caller.
The other who's following close behind, you'd consider him a short and stocky, roly-poly, butterball version of Crowler, with a face that'd land him the titular role in the next Nutcracker play. Serious, imagine cracking walnuts with a jaw like that. By the way, he's the Vice Chancellor, Bonaparte.
Anyway, those two ran as fast as their boots could carry them. Only when the grassy neighboring forest blurred into the cold concrete of the pier, they stopped at the giant boat in front of them.
After Bonaparte caught his breath… "Surely you didn't drag me out here just to greet the new students; so fess up, mousier!"
"Feast your eyes on this!" and 'This' was what Crowler brought out to show to Bonaparte: a magazine.
"…Did I miss the joke?"
"Are you calling Aster Phoenix a joke?!" Crowler, having opened the book to a picture of said person, shoved it right into Bonaparte's point of view, "Not only is this superstar the top-ranked duelist in the entire world, he's joined the freshman class of our very school!"
"There must be a mistake. I mean, a world-class professional going back to school? But why!"
"I don't know! But with a celebrity under my tutelage, I'll be famous! After all, everyone on earth knows Aster Phoenix!"
"Hey, kid! I don't know who you are, but let's duel!" this hazel bright-eyes boy with the mop of chestnut hair is Jaden Yuki. Sporting a solid red jacket, he represents the low-class dorm of Slifer Red. In fact, he's the BMOC of the Slifer Dorm. And he's about to have his first duel in his sophomore year, "Oops, wrong catchphrase. What I meant to say is, Get Your Game On!"
On top of the rocky cliffs above, which the tiny double-decker of the Slifer dormitory sat behind, there were already three witnesses to the duel underway.
One was on the chubby side; a bespectacled woman in her late 40s (to be generous) wearing a pink shirt under denim overalls. She's Dorothy, owner of the best (and only) Duel Monsters Card Shop on Campus, for all your everyday dueling needs!
(Bonus: in her arms was a tubby brown tabby. You could call him Slifer Dorm's mascot, and 'Pharaoh'.)
The other was a boy in Slifer Red, half her size; or anyone's size for that matter. With a mop of wild sky-blue hair and the tiniest spectacles money could buy, you'd know him as Syrus Truesdale.
Lastly, sitting on the edge of the cliff, you may think he's in the 12th grade but no, this is only his second year here! With blue eyes and brown hair ending in spikes, this here's name is Xander Satoshi. But just call him Rock for short. Everyone does.
"Day one and Jaden's already dueling," Dorothy said, "But with who?"
"Beats me," Syrus answered, "But he definitely looks familiar."
"So what's your name, freshman?" Jaden asked his opponent…
A boy his age with blue eyes, short silver hair and an even silver-er suit, "You can call me A.P."
"Alright, '''Ap'; let's throw down!"
A.P./Rita: 4000
Jason/Jaden: 4000
Taking that like a declaration of war, everyone drew their five starting cards.
"Okay! You ready, freshman?"
"Bring it!"
"Wow, Jaden doesn't waste time, does he?" that came from one of two new arrivals, one in the form of a blue-eyed blonde in blue by the name of Alexis Rhodes.
The other was a boy in black; and I mean all black, right down to the eyes an spikey wild hair. That was Chazz Princeton, prefers to go by 'The Chazz'; but that's another story, "Figures Jaden would go after a freshman."
"Actually, that guy challenged him," Syrus corrected 'The Chazz', "He just showed up in our dorm room and was all 'I'm here to throw down with best duelist in the Academy! And from I hear, that's Jaden Yuki!'
"And I made it a tag-team!" Rock grinned with a thumb to himself.
"Now that you mentioned it…" Alexis, along with Chazz, moved closer to the edge, where this new angle revealed the rest of the playing field. It wasn't just Jaden vs. A.P.; they had tag partners.
The one on Jaden's side had a large mop of black hair, gelled up into a giant cowlick, with a grey highlight in the middle.
"I can see Jason, but who's that with that new girl?"
The one partnered with AP, the one mentioned by The Chazz, was a girl with shoulder-length black hair. And that's all we really know about her at this point…
"Now, take a close look," Syrus said, eyes still on the field, "I could swear I seen that guy before."
"Well, let's see what you got, freshman!" Jaden exclaimed.
"You're right!" Alexis admitted; followed by Chazz's, "He does look familiar!"
"Hey, Chazz," Dorothy spoke, "Maybe he graduated from that snooty prep school of yours."
"Good call!" Syrus smiled, now on The Chazz, "He does look rich enough; and stuck-up enough."
"Look, shrimp!" The Chazz snapped in response, "He's nothing like me!"
"Ojama Yellow in DEF mode!" A.P.'s opening move had literally swept The Chazz off his feet; because lo and behold, a pudgy yellow troll in a red speedo was on one knee with its arms crossed over its chest: the signature pose for DEF position (DEF: 1000).
"Told you we're not alike! That's gotta be one of the dumbest moves I've ever seen! I would never start off with a lame card like that!" yet in what would be a spectacle of popping yellow lights, a tiny version of said monster appeared right over The Chazz's shoulder. This is THE Ojama Yellow, Chazz's Duel Spirit.
"You'd save the best for last!" Yellow said through his usual jig and oversized grin, "Right, boss? Right?!"
"Wrong; now beat it, pitstain!"
"I love it when you use my pet name!" and he disappeared back to parts unknown.
"Excuse me?!" Alexis exclaimed in offense.
The most glaring downside to having Duel Spirits is that not everyone has the spiritual awareness to see them, which lead to many a misunderstanding; just like there now is between Alexis and Chazz.
And it was at that moment The Chazz knew, "Oh! Uh…nothing!"
"…Whatevs'," Alexis sighed and turned back to the show already in progress, "Anyway, I wonder what other cards he has in his deck."
"Not much, I bet," Dorothy answered.
"Wait, how'd you know that?" Syrus asked.
"It's simple: he assembled that deck this morning from random cards in the campus card shop."
Flashback…
Here I was dusting up when this new guy came in. And I was like, "Sorry! Store doesn't open 'till next week."
And he was all, "I just need a few cards."
"Oh… I haven't even stocked the shelves yet…"
"Then I'll take whatever's lying around. I can win a Duel with pretty much anything."
So I gave him some of the few packs lying around from last year. A few minutes went by before his deck was done.
"Perfect."
"No offense," I told him, "but you won't last too long in this school if you build your deck like that."
But he seemed to be so sure he could, 'cause he said, "I'll be fine. Besides, this is just a temporary deck; for a little test…"
…End Flashback.
"It's true."
"Gimme a break!" The Chazz exclaimed, eyes down at the new kid, "Who duels with leftover cards?!" the answer came faster that expected, when Alexis swung a finger his way; right under his nose, right under his blind spot.
"It's my turn," Jason drew his sixth card, "I activate the magic card A Hero Lives. By paying half my life-points, I can special-summon an Elemental Hero monster from my deck. So I summon Elemental Hero Lady Heat in DEF mode," the female fire hero appeared (DEF: 1000).
A.P./Rita: 4000
Jason/Jaden: 2000
"Next, I activate the magic card Hero's Bond. When an Elemental Hero monster is already on my side of the field, I can summon 2 more heroes from my hand. So I summon Elemental Hero Woodsman and Elemental Hero Stratos," the wood-limbed hero (DEF: 2000) and the jetpack hero (ATK: 1800) both appeared on the field, "And when Stratos is summoned, I can add another Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand," Jason searched his deck until he found a card to add to his hand before shuffling it, "Next, I summon Elemental Hero Heat in ATK mode," the fire-fisted hero appeared (ATK: 1600-2400), "I end my turn," with that, Lady Heat started hurling a series of fireballs and pelted them at the enemy team.
AP/Rita: 3200
Jason/Jaden: 2000
"It's my turn," Rita drew her sixth card, "I summon Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror," a massive devil of a titan appeared, under a suit of armor made entirely of dirty black bones and wielding a sword of the same material and a long red blade (ATK: 3000), "I activate his special-ability: by removing a monster from my hand from play, I can destroy one card on the field," Heat shattered into a series of dwindling pixels, "I end my turn," the Archfiend Emperor himself as shattered.
"Dumb move," muttered The Chazz, then eying Rock, "Did you drag in just any freshman to make your best bud Jason look good?"
Rock said nothing; but there was a reason he brought in this certain freshman. But we don't need to know what that was yet…
"Alrighty…here goes!" Jaden drew his next card, "It looks like class is in session. So meet your teacher: Elemental Hero Bubbleman in ATK mode!" Bubbleman wore a blue bodysuit under assorted pieces of armor in a lighter shade of blue (ATK: 800), "I place 2 cards face-down and end my—" Suddenly, a ring tone goes off. It seemed to come from…Ap? "What's the deal!?"
"It's cool!" He says, pulling out a… "Just my cell phone!" and by answering… "It's me. Whaddup? …Nah, I'm not busy at all."
"Who whips out a cell phone in the middle of a duel!?" Chazz asked angrily. "That's obnoxious!"
"Yeah, no joke!" Syrus added, "He really is like you, Chazz!"
It's cheeky to be on the phone in the middle of the movie. It's impolite to be on the phone in church. It's insolent to be on the phone in the middle of a funeral. But it's simply just rude to be on the phone while you're in the middle of a Duel with your opponent. Jaden heard of such a thing, even seen it; but to actually be on the receiving end of it? Anyone else in Jaden's shoes would have jumped at AP for doing that. What did Jaden do…?
He decided to let it go.
"Calm down. He's a freshman. You were a crazy kid like him last year, Jaden," like the seasoned veteran Jaden's pretending to be, he sighed in annoyance as he rested a hand over his heart, "Y'know…I didn't think we had reception around here."
"That's right… Yeah, I'm dueling him as we speak... So. any last minute words of advice? …Absolutely, thanks for the call!" and there the call ended.
"Alright! Get your phone off and your game on!" Jaden said, "Because after this…" just like before a set of fireballs made their way to enemy lines.
A.P./Rita: 2200
Jason/Jaden: 2000
"Your turn."
"I had a feeling my Jaden-Senses were tingling," that statement came from none other than one of two new additional arrivals. One's in Obelisk Blue, with short bronze hair with a ponytail that's hidden until you get right behind her. You'd recognize her from her bored expression; but she herself is anything but boring. This here's Aspen Seki.
The second one wore a solid-yellow Academy blazer a size or two too big, while a pair of sapphire blue eyes were hidden behind a pair of thick round lenses. This girl with short blonde hair was Noire Kennedy, "D-did we miss anything?"
"Just round one," Rock said, "But still more on the way."
"It's my turn," A.P. drew his next card.
"So, you're gonna play a good card this time, right?" Jaden hoped.
"…Oh, you mean like this one?!" A.P. flashed for all to see his first card to play, "The spell card Reload! And here's how it works: first I toss all my cards, then I put then in my deck and redraw!" as advised on the card, he combined his deck with his playing hand and shuffled.
"Wait, so your getting a do-over?"
"You said yourself I need better cards. So I figured I'd start over!"
"…I knew that. Way to follow my advice, freshman!" Jaden then snuck in an exasperated, "Being a mentor is hard work…"
Finished shuffling, A.P. reentered his deck and drew his new hand.
"So tell me; what else have you learned from dueling an upperclassman like me?"
"…This: I activate the Sanctuary in the Sky," what came next came with the force of an atomic bomb. The world itself detonated and was obliterated. The light died and welcomed the four duelists into a new world; one made in a sea of clouds under a clear blue sky. What was more eye-catching than the cloud cover was the colossal structure floating on an island; clustered together by several forms of temples worn down by the ages, with the foremost one, neatly stacked with its tall pillars, was the most presentable. What would be its crowning jewel would be the massive pillar that may hold the temples together, with a marble sphere resting on a horned pedestal, like the hilt of a sword save its blade.
"So you uh, played a big building on some clouds, huh? Exactly what I would've done. Glad I could help."
"So I guess you'd knew I'd play this: Warrior of Zera(4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1600)," an emerald warrior, complete with a horned helmet, red scarf and sword in hand, appeared (ATK: 1600), right before being washed over by a column of energy, "But here's a little twist for ya': I sacrifice him to summon (1) Archlord Zerato(8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2300)," new power carried Zera off his feet with the clouds as its shroud. The winds broke apart, burst open by a pair of large, feathery white wings belonging to Zera in his new form: the scarf covering his neck was now pulled over his mouth and nose to form a mask. And his straight sword was now curved with a golden hilt (ATK: 2800), "And here's a little something else you might not've expected: I decided to send my Mystic Shine Ball to the graveyard. And it takes all your monsters with it," light covered the crown jewel of the sanctuary before it was fired down to the battlefield, obliterating each and every monster caught in the oncoming explosions. Nothing was left behind after, "And now Archlord Zerato, attack him directly! Sacred Surge!" by command of his master, the Archlord…floated down to the cloud floor? And…lowered on one knee? And…draped his wings in front of himself (DEF: 2300)?! "I thought I told him to attack… What happened?"
"Your next lesson, Ap: you'd never know what your opponent has up his sleeve!" Jaden waved off to his opened reverse-card, "I activated Bubble Shuffle, which switched both Bubbleman and your monster to DEF mode!"
"And you used Zerato's ability as cover so I wouldn't know!" After sinking in what happened, A.P. smiled (albeit a fake smile), "That's smart!"
Soaking in the praise, Jaden couldn't help but rub on the sweet spot on the back of his head while he gave a wide grin, "Hey, thanks!"
"I guess, since there's nothing else I can do, I'll have to end my turn," A.P. concluded.
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card…
"Yo, Jason!" Jaden caught his partner's attention like a fish on a hook, "Play that face-down I just threw down!" Jason blinked and glanced down at the set card, "It's gonna work. Trust me!"
'Okay…?' "I activate Jaden's reverse-card."
"You got it!" Jaden brought his face-down upright, revealing Miracle Fusion, "With Miracle Fusion, you can fuse monsters from your graveyard to summon an Elemental Hero monster!" in response, Jason fished out his the cards in his graveyard, "So Jason, what will it be today?"
"…I'll banish Heat and Lady Heat from the graveyard to summon Elemental Hero Nova Master," the fire hero in red armor appeared (ATK: 2600), "Next I summon Elemental Hero Ocean in ATK mode," the merman hero appeared (ATK: 1500), "Nova Master, attack," Nova shot himself forward and quickly closed the distance between him and Zerato, delivering a literally fiery fist that destroyed the winged warrior in one punch, "And when Nova Master destroys a monster, I can draw one card," he drew once, "And now Ocean will attack directly!" Ocean bounded over to AP and struck him with his bladed staff.
A.P./Rita: 700
Jason/Jaden: 2000
"I end my turn," Jason concluded.
As the next round closed in, suddenly the wind picked up; but only for a moment, and not enough to notice. But someone had, as it carried over a Duel Spirit belonging to Aspen: a young girl her age whose face was covered by a hood, belonging to a brown hooded overcoat and would always be seen with a wooden staff in hand. Leaning in, she whispered into Aspen's ear, and what she learned piqued her interest with, "Huh. Is that right…"
"It's my turn," Rita drew her next card…
"Hey! You, girl! Eyes up here!" Rita heard that loud and clear and was drawn to the neighboring cliff where Aspen had called her, "If you play Warrior of Zera on a certain card in your hand you'll get something awesome out of it!"
"Hold up! Isn't that card in that other newbie's graveyard?" The Chazz debated, "How's she supposed to use a card that's not hers?"
"…Y'know, Chazz, you really remind me back of how you were back when you're in Obelisk Blue."
The Chazz gave his trademark smug smirk, "That's right. I used to be one of the top-ranked students on Campus. Of course I know what I'm doing."
"Actually, you remind me how you got kicked out of Obelisk Blue," that smugness was smashed like glass at Aspen's retort, topped off with, "You got no class," and that rhetorical slap to the face was what sent Chazz knocked out on the ground. She continued, "In a tag-duel, there's only one graveyard between partners; meaning one player can use any card there, even what their partner sent. The whole 'what's mine is yours' thing."
Rita's thoughts rang with that certain card name as she looked back at her hand, and the idea Aspen gave her soon came together. The problem: the monster she needed wasn't in her hand. But help came when the card she drew was physically added to the equation, and the reality of what she could bring out was then revealed to her, expressed by widened eyes. Now all she had to do was to bring it into reality, "I activate the field-spell Pandemonium," Like a whiteboard, the world itself was wiped from reality, unveiling a new one. The skies were now foggy with a rusty red glow. The duelists were now standing on a large platform made of dirty, dust-encrusted stone. It's centerpiece was the pedestal carrying a torch lit with a toxic green flame, "Next I activate the spell card Monster Reincarnation. By sending one card from my hand to the graveyard, I can add a monster card from the graveyard to my hand," after such card exchange… "Next I summon Warrior of Zera!" the emerald warrior made his return to the field (ATK: 1600). What happened shortly after was the flame on the pedestal suddenly went wild and lively behind him, "And next, when Pandemonium is on the field…" The flames lunged over Zera and devoured him in a cocoon of emerald fire, "Now I can sacrifice Warrior of Zera to special-summon (2) Mazera DeVille(8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2300) from my hand!" a pair of green leathery wings snapped open and freed Zera, who now had a monstrous, demonic form, tail and all, with his armor being groan in as part of him (ATK: 2800), "It says here…" Rita scanned over the card's instructions, "When it's summoned, my opponent has to discard 3 cards from his/her hand."
"Aw man…" groaned Jaden, as both he and Jason discarded from their respective hands, which was basically every card there.
"Next I summon Archfiend Soldier(4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1500) in ATK mode!" the new monster was a slate-colored fiend with large ram-like horns on its head, as well as protecting its shoulders while fastening a flowing green cape behind it (ATK: 2400), "Mazera, attack Elemental Hero Nova Master!" Mazera fired a stream of green fire that overwhelmed even the hero of fire itself and destroyed him, "Archfiend Soldier, attack Elemental Hero Ocean!" the soldier brought its blade down on the merman hero and destroyed him as well.
A.P./Rita: 700
Jason/Jaden: 900
"I end my turn," Rita concluded.
"I'm honestly impressed by that move," A.P. praised Rita with a smile (a genuine one, this time), "Fate really dealt you a good hand in this duel."
"Whoa. It's not about fate," Jaden, putting in his two cents, said, "It's about listening. Take me: I'm always listening to what my cards have to say."
That actually took a moment to process, after which A.P. shot back with, "You really are nuts. You expect me to have a conversation with my cards?"
Yeah! Try using your cell. Maybe send a text message," Jaden looked down at his duel-disk, "Heck, they just might answer!" only Jaden himself could hear a soft coo, a familiar sound belonging to his own spirit, a round lump of brown fur with bright eyes and a pair of wings: the Winged Kuriboh, "Alright! It's my turn…" Jaden brought his hand to his deck, winding up for a draw, "So stand back!" and a new card was added to Jaden's list of options, that now opened a new path to stay in the game; or in fact finish it! "Sweet! I'll play this: The Warrior Returning Alive! Which means that one of my warriors…well, returns…y'know, alive," Jaden already had the monster in mind as he took one out of his graveyard and into his hand, "Next I re-play Elemental Hero Bubbleman!" the armored blue hero returned (DEF: 1200), "When my field's empty, which it just so happens to be, the I get to draw 2 new cards!" and those two new cards were added, but not for long, "I'll throw down 2 face-downs…" two peculiar cards lay on the field, "And that'll do."
Meanwhile…
Someone somewhere was looking over a set of cards ontop the table. They flipped one over…
"Ah, the inverted chariot! The end is near..."
"Remember, freshman," Jaden teased, "Listen to your deck."
"Whatever…" was a word muttered from A.P.'s annoyed lips. And that notion seemed to stay as that new draw stayed in AP's hand.
"Bad card, huh? You might wanna work on that poker face a bit."
"Perhaps... Or maybe I just want you to think it's a bad card. Or could it be I don't want to win?"
For a second, Jaden thought this freshman was joking. But when he took a more careful look at his smirk… "And you call me nuts."
And it just got creepier from there, "When you accepted my challenge, did you ever stop and ask yourself: what do I want? Why did I come here? And most importantly, why did I challenge you? Well, the truth is, I heard you were the best; and I came here to test it."
"C'mon, you can't be serious. Hello! This is Duel Academy, bro. They give us tests in this place every day!" the next thing he knew, he was looking back down at his duel-disk, "But they're never as sweet as this."
"Of course they're not. Because this one's not about grades. It's about destiny."
"What?"
"Maybe this will clear things up! I activate the spell card Snatch Steal! It's an equip-spell; that goes on any monster on your field and brings it over to my field! So now your Bubbleman works for me now!" in a style of teleportation, Bubbleman's was moved from Jaden's field to A.P.'s field, "And next, I sacrifice both Archfiend Soldier and Bubbleman to play this: meet the (3) Vanity's Ruler(8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1600)!" in place of the two sacrifices stood a tall elvish man with looks you'd kill for; with a short bob of green hair. Everything else below his gold-adorned shoulderwear was shrouded in a fine sheet of white lightly billowing in the wind (ATK: 2500), "And since you got no monsters on your field, guess what happens next…" opening his cloak to raise a hand, the ruler fired a blast of white energy that, before anything could be done, travelled across the field and connected, lighting the darkness surrounding the Slifer tag-team and shrouding them in a blinding light.
"Wait! If that attack hits—"
"Then it's over," Aspen finished for Syrus.
'I know you told me to lose, but I guess it's just not in the cards. And now…'
A.P./Rita: 700
Jason/Jaden: 900
No, the score above doesn't lie. Jaden and Jason's life-points hadn't dropped a single point.
"What…?" even A.P. had to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things, "How come their life-points aren't down…?" he then had to observe the field, as Vanity's Ruler's attack was still in play, still firing away his energy blast. Following the stream to the opponent's field, A.P. saw the end of the blast, in a way that it almost seem like it's being deflected. And trying to peer behind the stream… "No way…is that a…force field?!"
Indeed! Standing, or hovering between Vanity's attack and the two Slifers was a lump of shaggy brown hair with tiny angel wings: the Winged Kuriboh! And it had just sacrificed itself to protect them and their life-points, just in time for Vanity's power to tap out and end the attack!
"Thanks, Winged Kuriboh," Jaden sighed.
"Winged Kuriboh?! What-…but how…" A.P. was at a list for words, right until he found one: "How?!"
"I guess…I had this card ready!" and near Jaden, one of his reverse-cards were opened, "Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! Which, if you could tell, summons a Kuriboh."
"But you shouldn't be able to even summon it, or special-summon any kind of monster! My Vanity's Ruler makes sure of that! And there's no way you could've seen that coming; unless…" it took a little extra processing to spit it out, "You could've only summoned it before Vanity was even on the field."
"Well, someone did," and when Jaden raised his duel-disk, that 'someone' had jumped aboard it: a tiny bat with fur as white as snow, aptly named White.
A big fat question mark blew up in AP's head, eyes glued to the bat even when it jumped off the duel-disk and flew all the way over to Jason's shoulder.
"Can someone please tell me what just happened?" The Addled Chazz asked.
"I guess W-white was watching the match like we are," Noire said.
"Not only that," Aspen added, "she saved Jaden from losing just now. She must've been looking at everyone's cards from the skies, and knowing AP's plan, decided to swoop in make her own play. So she activated Jaden's Flute of Summoning Kuriboh in the small window between A.P. taking Bubbleman, and him summon Vanity's Ruler to avoid being barred from it. Yeah, it's sneaky, but whaddaya gonna do."
Meanwhile, A.P.'s simmering blood was now beginning to boil, hidden behind a simple frown. Having had endured one inconvenience after another, his thoughts echoed, 'It's like I'm in a circus act! Here I was trying to see Jaden's moves, but thanks to all this extra baggage I can't even do that! I'm just glad this duel's gonna be over soon...'
"So by the way," Jaden continued, "I can tell you like to talk about fate and destiny and junk. What's all that about?"
"It's simple: everything that happens to out is planned out from the day we were born. Losers are born to be losers, and legends are born to be legends."
"Legends? Aw, c'mon," Jaden rubbed on the sweet spot on the back of hid head, "Hero, perhaps! Or maybe teen idol! I'm a superstar! Who knew?! …Well, I guess I did!"
A.P. sure didn't find that amusing; especially while thinking back to what got him here in the first place…
Flashback…
He was meeting someone at their usual meeting place. And as always, the other guy was fiddling with his card collection, flipping one of them face-up, "When you find this Jaden, he's to defeat you in a duel, understood? It's the only way to see if he's the one we've been looking for! Trust me; it's for the best..."
"But there's gotta be another way," A.P. exclaimed. "I never thrown a duel!"
"Come now, have I ever steered you wrong?"
…End Flashback.
'How could a manager tell his star player to lose…?'
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I activate Pot of Avarice. By shuffling 5 monsters in my graveyard into my deck, I can draw 2 cards."
"He might want to take a head count on his cards," criticized The Chazz, "Because I remember Jason only having four monsters in his graveyard.
"And since me and Jaden share the same graveyard, there's a total of 6 monsters."
"Again, Chazz; No Class," repeated Aspen.
"Hey, that's right!" Jaden understood and fished out his graveyard, "But wait, so how do we do this? Do we put them all in your deck, or…"
Jason, annoyed, sighed, "Put your own cards back in your own deck."
"Oh. Yeah."
After the two reentered their cards, Jason drew his cards, "Next, I summon Silent Swordsman in ATK mode," the dark platform of Pandemonium welcomes its new challenger; wearing a blue plastic mesh overcoat lined with silver linked bands of metal. The helmet covering as much of his unkempt blonde hair as it could actually had its own pair of blades crossed over one another. Held in his right hand was a sword made of pure steel to the very handle itself. And the one feature that trumps the rest: he's three feet tall (ATK: 1000), "Next I equip him with the Buster Rancher magic card!" a colossal crimson space-age cannon came into existence on the field, and hovered down until it rested on Silent Swordsman's shoulder and handle on hand, "When the equipped monster attacks a monster with 2500 or more ATK points, it gains 2500 ATK points!"
"But then…that means…" and A.P. was staring down all those extra points…
Silent Swordsman: (ATK: 3500)
"Silent Swordsman, attack!" the weapon began to charge, with a loud hum being its tell. Time seemed to have dragged by until it was decided it was ready to fire. Upon pulling the trigger, all that energy escaped through the front nozzle of the barrel. Vanity's Ruler could not escape as this power, released in a spray, covered him. After what seemed to be a fade of white, everybody was back on the rocky shoreline of Duel Academy, the only other being the Silent Swordsman and his Buster Rancher. What did that meant?
It meant the duel was over.
A.P./Rita: 0
Jason/Jaden: 900
"That's game!" Jaden did his signature two-finger salute. ut as the two slifers stood tall, A.P. had fallen to his knees while Rita was on her backside. After all of A.P.'s bravado, seeing him like this concerned Jaden, who approached him, "Hey, I hope you weren't rocked too bad."
A.P.'s response… "Nah, I'm fine! Nice game!" very easily brushing off his loss, he stood back up and met the half-a-foot-taller Slifer eye-to-eye.
"Right on! You had some sweet moves!" Jaden praised. "Not bad; for a freshman, that is."
A.P.'s only response was a deadpanned, "…Gee, thanks."
"You just keep on practicing, kid. Maybe you'll be a legend someday; like me! But, that's a long way off. First you have to be so cocky. I mean, I'm great, but you don't see me bragging."
Back on the balcony, they watched as Jaden was still going on with advice...
"What a duel, guys!" Dorothy asked. "And that new student is quite the looker, don't you think?Did anyone catch his name?"
"Uh, A.P.?" was Syrus' answer.
Then they noticed Jaden and A.P. duelist coming up the hill, still talking. "So I guess I'll see you around, Ap!"
As A.P. walked away, he contemplated on Jaden's actions, 'I don't get it...' He thought. 'Sure, this Jaden kid could be a decent duelist, but I don't see why my manager is so obsessed with him. And I still don't understand how joining this school is going to help my career. But I guess Sartorius knows best...'
When he took a glance at the spectators, Dorothy was waving him off, which he responded with a wave of his own; getting in return a, "Don't be a stranger, stranger!"
As A.P. left the area in one direction, Jaden entered the scene from the other, "So, whatcha guys think of my first duel of the year? Pretty sweet, huh? …Well, spill it!"
"You rocked!" Syrus praised, "Way to play, Jay!"
"Anyone who thinks you're a legend isn't the sharpest tack in the box," The Chazz stated.
"Maybe..." Alexis noted, "But he was kinda cute."
"Uh, didn't notice..." Jaden said, "Anyway, I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Ap."
Aspen shrugged, went on her merry way, "Well, I got a good show out of it; guess I'll be leaving."
"U-uh, wait for me," Noire said, catching up with her. As for Rock, he had left without a word.
"Hey, wait... He said his name was A.P..." our four-foot four-eyed friend went into his bookbag and brought out a magazine, opening it to a certain page, "I knew it! He's...Aster Phoenix!" he brought up the book for everyone to see; and wouldn't you know, there was A.P.'s handsome mug printed in full color. Everyone was hit with a dose of Dumbfoundness.
All except for Jaden, "Okay… So he's got a weird name."
"Jaden, think," scolded Alexis, "Aster Phoenix is the #1 duelist in the World League! As in, he's a Pro!"
"You're kidding me!" The Chazz exclaimed, "…I-I mean, of course! You didn't know that?"
"Huh…" 'Huh' as an understatement. A celebrity of the sport personally asking you for a challenge was every little boy's dream come true (second from having your own giant robot), but Jaden isn't every little boy. And in typical Jaden Logic he had just the response for that, "It looks like the Pro just took a schooling from the Student!"
"Uh, Jaden…" Dorothy began as she stood, "I should probably tell you that wasn't Aster's real deck. He put it together this morning."
"He what…? You mean I just dueled a guy…who was using leftover cards?" And like a deflated balloon, that took the wind out of Jaden, and sulked.
But Syrus was right there for him, "Cheer up!"
Added with a touch of Alexis' "At least you won..."
And a dash of The Chazz's chiding, "That's right; you legend, you."
"Oh yeah… You're right!" And that seemed to have gotten Jaden's spirit back up, "And now I have a rematch to look forward to," and to the skies he shouted, "Hey, Aster! This game is still on!"
If you're wondering where Jason went, he's right there, walking down a different path across the cliffside. But to where…?
"Yo, there you are!" an approaching voice called out to the Slifer. When he turned back, he was met with Rock who was just now catching his breath, "Hey, in case you forgot, man, Slifer Dorm's the other way!"
"I wasn't going there," Jason said, before he walked off.
But Rock wasn't done with him and kept up with him, "Hey, you can't blame a man for worrying about his best friend," he then slung his arm over Jason's shoulders, causing the two to stop in their tracks, "Whatever's going on ain't gonna go away if you won't talk about it. So how about it?"
A moment passes before Jason sighed, and removed himself from Rock's arm, "I just need to be alone."
He made that loud and clear with such a tone that Rock could tell he was serious, so he stepped back and allowed Jason to leave, watching him get smaller down the path…
Later...
The day was almost done; as told by the setting sun upon the horizon. Crowler and Bonaparte had spent most of the day greeting the freshman. None of them were Aster, and they were long past on their last legs as they were leaning against each other in a collective lump.
"This doesn't make any sense. He's a no-show… ASTER!"
Soon the sound of intense marching was picked up.
"Au contraire, mon freir. He's right there; 12 o'clock!"
A cluster of students made their way down the ramp, their feet clapping in unison against the metal surface. Leading them was…well, this could only be explained as a regular beefcake; well-toned muscles shown thanks to the mustard-yellow vest he's wearing. His dreadlocks were dangle under the bandanna he wore with a monster's design on it. His khaki-covered legs eventually carried him to the heap of Chancellors, "Can you ladies tell me who's in charge around here?!"
"Ladies?!" exclaimed Crowler, now finding himself towered over by this new arrival.
"You heard me! Who's top in command in these parts!?"
"That would be me. No who are—" suddenly Crowler found himself grabbed by the collar and met face-to-face with the snarling beast of a man.
"I got a bone to pick! You got that?! Well, sunshine?!"
"T-ten-four?"
"I'm the best duelist on the west side of the Rio Grande! So why am I stationed in the Yellow barracks?!"
"That's because-… Well, you see… (feel free to jump in, Bonaparte!)"
"LISTEN! I WANT BLUE!"
"Uh, BONAPARTE!"
"Right…" Finally Bonaparte decided to step in, "What my colleague here is trying to say, is that someone like you of all people would never want to be stuck in the blue dorm."
"YEAH?! WHY'S THAT?!"
"You're too…daring!" was Crowler's answer/dodge, "Yes, yes; that's what it is! A thrill-seeker like you doesn't belong in the Blues."
"Yes. You have way too much charm! And tons of juarve d'vi! And not to mention jenesuave q'oir!"
And just as they hoped, the freshman bought it with a complete 180 on his attitude, "Thanks…I think! You ladies are all right!" scooping back up his knapsack, he lead his group onto the island proper, "FORWARD MARCH! LEFT! LEFT! LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT!"
"Who was that?" Crowler wondered as he watched them march off.
Bonaparte shrugged with a, "Beats me."
Having giving up hope that Aster will come to this school, Crowler sulked, "Well; that settles it: this school is a joke. We need more duelists like Aster Phoenix; not more slackers."
"You're right!"
"Yes, but he stood us up!"
"Who needs him? You and I can have a whole school full of stars!"
"I'm not sure I'm following you."
"…I mean we eliminate the red dorm. Then it's 'au'revouir, slackers' and 'hello, stars'! Get it?" it was then that Bonaparte's master plan had begun weaving in Crowler's head, until he saw the very vision his colleague saw; the two sharing a laugh together that soon escalated into an omen of cackling.
"…It's…not that funny…"
Later…
Jason can be seen in the corner of the Slifer Dorm canteen-area/cafeteria among all the others. And compared to everyone else clamoring and talking to each other, he leaned again the wall with his gaze kept away from the crowd. And it's worrying a certain someone…
"Is it just me?" Syrus asked, spotting Jason from a distant table, "Or is Jason looking…not himself lately?"
"No, it's not," Rock was observing Jason and his dour look on his face, "This is the face he has whenever he's having a bad day; and we've just got here! You know what, I don't think he's managed to get over everything that happened to him last year."
"Oh yeah. Right…" both Syrus and Rock sulked together, slumped over at having to be reminded of all the challenges they had to go through during the last school year. And Jason took the brunt of most of it, resulting in nearly the entire school turned against him.
"I wonder where Jaden is," Syrus was looking around, "I heard we're getting a new headmaster and I figured he'd wanna meet him."
"I wanna know where Chumley is," Rock was wondering himself, "I haven't seen him since we got off the boat."
"Wha'?" confused, Syrus turned to Rock, "You mean you didn't know? He doesn't go here anymore."
"Wait, you mean he dropped out?!" Rock had given him a surprised look…
In which Syrus shook his read in response as he explained himself.
"No! I mean, he graduated! See—"
"Ahem, may I have your attention please!" a new voice made itself clear enough to stop all the idle talk, standing (or sitting) in attention, like they were made to know what's coming up was going to be important; just when someone came out the open entrance from Banner used to stationed. It was time to meet the new headmaster.
Wearing an Academy-issued blazer like all the other students, she wore hers quite well, zipped up and in the solid red color common with everyone else's. Along with short-heeled shoes and a knee-length skirt, she looks like a teacher who really knows how to make an impression, as well as with those bright blue eyes, tiny red lips, and that shiny black hair that spilled down her back and in rivers down her shoulders.
And practically everyone else in the room had the same idea ringing through their heads, as well as you, if you could see her in person: she's hot!
"Now that I'm sure everybody's listening, allow me to introduce myself," the new headmaster prepared with the typical soft-touch-upon-the-breast gesture most sophisticated people do, "For those who don't know me, my name is—"
"Miss Melanie!?"
All heads snapped to the other side of the room, where standing right outside the entrance, was none other that Jaden Yuki; complete with wide eyes and a slack jaw that could've hit the wooden floor, combined to form an expression that's shouting 'How could I not see this coming?!'. That jaw soon came together and morphed into a wide grin showing all whites, an expression that's screaming 'Where have you been all my life?!'. Grabbing the sill on either side he launched himself from the door and sprinted halfway across the room, and made one giant leap across the second half, arms wide open for the new headmaster.
"I can't believe it's you—URK!"
Yet his leap of faith was cut short when the headmaster grabbed a hold of him; literally by the face! And simply put, she was none too pleased with the spectacle.
"You, need to sit down!" and yet she didn't wait for him to do as told. In fact, she too that very split second she grabbed Jaden sat him on the nearest empty seat right nearby; leaving the poor boy disoriented!
With that done, she sighed and regained her composure before continuing, "Now to properly introduce myself…yes, you can call me Miss Melanie. And as you can already guess, yes, I will be Slifer Red's new headmistress. Now, any questions?"
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Archlord Zerato
Stats: [Fairy/Effect] LV8 ATK/2800 DEF/2300
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by offering 1 face-up Warrior of Zera on your side of the field as a Tribute while The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field. If The Sanctuary in the Sky is on your side of the field, discard 1 LIGHT Monster Card from your hand to the Graveyard to destroy all monsters on your opponent''s side of the field.
(2) Mazera DeVille
Stats: [Fiend/Effect] LV8 ATK/2800 DEF/ 2300
Attribute: DARK
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Tributing 1 face-up "Warrior of Zera" on your side of the field while "Pandemonium" is on the field. If "Pandemonium" is on your side of the field when you Special Summon this card, your opponent discards 3 random cards from their hand. If "Pandemonium" is not on your side of the field, this effect is not applied.
Please Read and Review.