Hello!
Thank you for checking out this story that I have created. I am not certain what to say here, other than I hope that you will enjoy it. As you might be able to tell, I have never written a story on this site before. I was so inspired by two stories that I read on this website that I decided to write my own. I would recommend reading the stories "As I Fall" by Ferris Ulf (Yu-Gi-Oh) and "Uncharted Islands" by the-sleepy-dormouse (Yu-Gi-Oh GX), if you have not already.
My primary focus on this story has been to write a Spiritshipping story. The more I write of this story, the more I enjoy writing the other characters as well. Only time will tell where this story goes, as I am not even certain. I have many different avenues that I am considering, and I think I will just let the flow of the story guide me to which avenues end up staying and which ones go. I have tried to be true to the original story and to the personalities of the characters, but I have also edited certain events slightly and added my own small changes and interpretations as well. I hope nothing feels too out of character or too implausible.
I would appreciate feedback on how you all feel about the story and on how to improve my writing.
Revised Summary: Johan is graduating. Judai hasn't been seen or heard of in months. Hoping to uncover any clue as to his location, the gang reunites. But life after Duel Academia is much more complicated and growing up is harder than they expected. Planned spiritshipping JxJ
General Disclaimer for the entirety of the fic:
In this chapter and all future chapters, I do not own any of the characters, cards or content explicitly related to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Franchise that may appear in any capacity.
In this chapter and all future chapters, I do own any of the original characters that are not part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Franchise that may appear in any capacity.
Small Victories
Chapter 1
Johan's POV
Judai's dark brown eyes locked with my emerald eyes. They stared into mine; piercing my very soul and shattering whatever control I had over myself. He stood in the doorway; one hand on the door handle and the other bent at his hip. I sat across the room on my bed; helpless and fully under his spell. He slowly walked from the door to my room over to my bed. He stopped right at the foot of my bed.
The moonlight from my window created a brilliant glow on Judai's skin. I could not look away as Judai began to unbutton his Slifer-red jacket. He slid his arms out of his sleeves and gently tossed his jacket on the carpet floor. His black shirt clung tightly to his torso, highlighting the contours of his lithe body.
He began to climb onto the bed, crawling up towards me like a lion stalking his prey. He crawled over my legs, my waist, my stomach and stopped inches from my face. Unable to control my body's reactions, my spine tingled as he ran his right hand down my shoulders, my back, and finally resting at the small of my back.
His warm body pressed up against me. My whole body shivered as I felt his hot breath in my ear. Gently and tenderly, Judai flicked his tongue in my inner ear. He readjusted himself and sat squarely in my lap. I felt his hands go under my shirt and begin to lift it over my head. I would have been cold if not for the heat radiating off his body.
I wanted to speak, but my mouth was unable to form the words. My mouth felt dry and my tongue felt gigantic. My breath caught as Judai leaned in to my neck and placed a gentle kiss. He slowly placed kisses from the left side of my neck around to the right side. He pulled away, and I was suddenly very aware of the painful feeling in my jeans. Almost as if he could read my mind, Judai's eyes flicked from my neck to my jeans and then to my eyes.
He smirked.
He opened his mouth and said something, but I couldn't hear him. He mouthed words at me again, but still no sound was emitted. I tried to ask him what he was saying, but my mouth was still struggling to function. Judai opened his mouth a third time and all of a sudden, music started playing.
No, not music. A beeping sound.
The sound grew louder and louder. I reached my hand out to Judai's mouth to silence him, but then he faded away from my sight.
I was suddenly alone in the room, and the room started to spin. Faster and faster, my vision began to blur. Then the beeping sound returned. Louder; deafening; ear-splitting. I tried to shut out the sound by placing hands to my ears, but the sound seemed to be coming from everywhere. I doubled over in pain, my ears feeling like they were bleeding. Just as I felt like my head was going to explode, everything faded to black.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
What's that sound? I thought to myself as I unconsciously tried to turn my head away from the sound. Light danced outside my eyelids as I tried to hide from the sound. Why won't it stop? I pulled my pillow over my head, but the sound still would not stop. Giving up on any more sleep, I finally opened my eyes and took the pillow off of my head.
Looking at my clock beside my bed, I was able to see that the time read 07:18, much earlier than I had set my alarm for today. It's definitely not my clock's alarm making that sound. Where is it coming from? I finally forced myself to sit up in my bed. As soon as I pulled my feet out from under the covers and over the side of the bed, the beeping stopped. I looked around my room, confused as to the sudden stop of the sound.
"Good morning Duelists of Arctic Academy!" My hands shot to cover my ears as the voice on the loudspeaker screeched. "This is Principal Ichnose. I apologize for the early announcement, but Graduation Day is always one of the most exciting events of the year. To the graduating class, I hope you are prepared for today's event! Starting at 08:00 sharp, you will start your final examinations! Head to the arena for the Gauntlet! Where you place will determine your final grade. Good luck!"
My ears were left ringing at the end of Principal Ichnose's message.
I still don't think he knows how to work the loudspeaker I thought to myself as I rubbed my fingers in my ears in hopes to ease the ringing. I looked around my room; now nearly empty from a week of packing. My two large, navy blue suitcases were filled to the brim with my clothes sat beside my door. A third suitcase, smaller than the others and a much brighter shade of blue, contained some of my memorabilia from my time here at Arctic Academy. A couple pendants from high examination scores and one inter-academy championship trophy were located inside. My backpack contained my duel disk and some photos I took from my time at Duel Academia.
I keep them with me at all times. There are some group photos of my close friends from Duel Academia: Asuka, Fubuki, Sho, Manjome, Kenzan, Rei, O'Brien, Jim and Karen and, of course, Judai.
It was nearly impossible to get all of us together at the same time to take a group photo. I was able to get everyone together before Duel Academia's graduation night almost three months ago. Asuka, Fubuki, Sho, O'Brien, Manjome, Kenzan, Rei and Jim were easy to get together, and they all wanted to take photos with me as well. Manjome seemed to be the most eager to take group photos. I think he likes us a lot more than he tries to let on. We had all been through a lot in the weeks before that graduation group photo.
Darkness had tried to completely shroud the world in, well, darkness. Everything would have been lost if I hadn't been able to find Judai in Domino and save him from the darkness that was infecting his deck. Once he was able to recognize it was me dueling him and not Trueman, Judai quickly grabbed my hand and led me to the docks. I don't know how Judai knew how to drive a boat, but within a matter of seconds, we were heading off towards Duel Academia. Perhaps it was the urgency of the situation, or maybe there was more to Judai than I knew.
Nonetheless, Judai never took his eyes off the horizon as we got closer and closer to Duel Academia. I wanted to tell him then, in case I never would be able to see him again. But I couldn't form the words in my mouth to tell him.
So I just sat behind him in the boat, rhythmically bouncing up and down as the boat sailed through the waves. The night was cloudy, and the skies threatened to open up at any given moment. We traveled in silence for nearly the entire trip.
Judai seemed to be in another world. We arrived at Duel Academia just in time to watch Fubuki duel Fujiwara. It was so difficult to sit on the sidelines as Fubuki went to extreme lengths to try and save his friend. He was so distraught. So lost at how to save someone so important to him. He even became Darkness again by putting on that mask, but he still was unable to save his friend. I can only imagine how it must have felt for Fubuki to be unable to save his friend.
I never would be able to forgive myself if I ever were to lose Judai. Does he feel the same way about me? He must, right? He traveled through an entire dimension and almost succumbed to his own darkness just to find me.
I shuddered just thinking about what Yubel did while possessing me and the pain that they caused. No, it's still too painful to reminisce about that time. I remember what happened after Fubuki lost his duel. Judai immediately stepped in to duel Fujiwara, but I couldn't just sit there and let him face that evil alone. We dueled together, and even though I lost against Fujiwara, Judai won and was able to save me and save Fujiwara. He then was able to defeat Darkness itself.
He was so strong and so determined, in spite of the overwhelming odds against him. I watched helplessly from the sidelines, as the darkness slowly crept towards us.
It started far away; on the horizon.
But then it grew; reaching the shores of Duel Academia. It engulfed the dock, the Osiris Red dorm, the Ra Yellow dorm, the Obelisk Blue dorms and even the main building.
The darkness continued on its path, finally stopping in a circle surrounding Judai's and Darkness' duel. I was able to drag Fujiwara's unconscious body inside the circle. In doing so, I was also able to avoid being consumed by the darkness and watch Judai as he dueled to save the world.
He shone like a beacon of hope. I wanted so desperately to help him, to duel with him and defeat Darkness at Judai's side. But I was not as brave as Judai. I was scared. Dueling Fujiwara was different. Even if he was possessed, he was still a person. Dueling a person is one thing, but dueling a spirit, or monster, or Death, or whatever Darkness claimed to be was an entirely different thing.
If Judai was scared about facing the physical representation of the end of the world, he didn't show it. He was so mature; so different from when I first met him.
That Judai was the one that I immediately wanted to befriend. That Judai was carefree and playful.
He was happy.
The Judai that dueled Darkness was someone who I would trust with my life. But he no longer acted like himself. He didn't joke, he didn't smile and he no longer laughed. He was so serious and distant.
But he was glad to see me in Domino, right?
Rubi Rubi!
Ruby's spirit form materialized on my bed.
"Huh? What's going on Ruby?" I asked her but I quickly noticed what she was looking at.
07:35
"Oh no! Ruby! Why didn't you tell me sooner?! I'm going to be late for the Gauntlet." I quickly grabbed my deck and my backpack but when I opened my door I was able to smell myself.
Wow, that's ripe. I better shower first.
I looked at the clock again.
07:36.
I can shower and still make it in time, I said to myself more like a wish than a statement of fact.
I threw my deck and backpack on my bed, grabbed a towel and my toiletries and sprinted down the hall. Luckily, everyone else had already left the dorm, so the showers were empty. I need to take the quickest shower of my life if I want to make it to the arena on time. I quickly took off my clothes from the day before, pausing momentarily as I was able to feel dried liquid upon removing my underwear. Getting a distinct scent wafting up from my underwear to my nose, I began to blush and I recalled my dream from the night before.
Rubi! Rubi!
"Ahh! Rubi! What are you doing here? Don't look at me when I'm naked!" She was always good at catching me in compromising situations.
Rubi!
"I know, I know. I'm running late. I'm getting in the shower now."
She seemed to be chuckling at me. But thankfully, she disappeared from my view.
I hopped in the shower. The water was lukewarm as there was not enough time to wait for a hot shower. I quickly shampooed my hair, using my fingers to massage my temple. It was always a relaxing feeling, but I didn't have time this morning to enjoy my shower, let alone be overly thorough. As I let my turquoise hair soak, I squeezed out some body wash into my hand and began to wash the rest of my body. I was extra thorough with my sensitive areas, as I did not want to run the risk of someone being able to smell me. After I finished lathering myself with the body wash, I began the process of washing out the soap and shampoo. Once I was reasonably confident that I had washed out all of the suds, I shut off the shower.
I grabbed my towel from the rack next to the shower, and began to dry myself. I would have to hope that my hair would fully dry during the short trip from my room to the arena. I dried myself as best as I could, wrapped my towel around my waist, sprayed under my armpits with deodorant and antiperspirant, brushed my teeth and rubbed my hair gel in my hair to hopefully keep it from falling in front of my face throughout the day.
I ran back down the hallway to my room. It was slightly eerie that no one else was in the dorm room. Normally, other Arctic Academy students would be in the hallway; telling jokes with their friends, trading Duel Monsters cards, arguing over trivial issues and playing pranks on their next-door neighbors. I can remember many instances in which the two people living next to me fought over the trash bag mountain piled in front of their door.
Now, without anyone else in the building, I felt a bit uneasy. Ever since the duels with Fujiwara and Darkness, being by myself has made me uncomfortable. I have been relying more and more on my family to help, but even they cannot completely replace another person's presence. The Gem Beasts and I are not what some may call a traditional family, but they are all I have and I can more than count on them for anything. We have been through so much together and they have stood with me no matter how dangerous any situation may have been. My family did all they could to reach me through the prison that Yubel had imprisoned me in when my body was possessed. Even though they were not able to reach me alone, they knew Judai would be able to help, or at least maybe he was the only one who could save me.
I shuddered again as I entered my room.
Man, every time I even begin to think about that experience, I feel cold. I could partially feel Yubel's pain and suffering after they took over my body.
The cold sensation returned to my body as I continued to reminisce. I remember that at that time, Yubel was so broken, so twisted and so very hurt. It poured out from their soul and bled into mine. When it was not possible to maintain a barrier between our souls, Yubel's memories became my memories.
I could look through some of their past experiences, generally the more recent ones. I was able to feel Yubel's immense heartache and sense of betrayal as they were sent into space, further and further away from Judai with each passing second.
Yubel's memories then jumped to their return to Earth and the twisted sense of jealousy that they felt as Yubel created a series of schemes to reunite with Judai. I was able to feel their shock at the lack of recognition in Judai's eyes when they first revealed their true self to him after so many years. That shock turned to anger and resentment, especially once they saw that connection that Judai and I had with each other.
I'm certain that the main reason Yubel possessed me was to separate me from Judai so they could try to have him all to themself.
I had made no secret of my attraction to Judai, even in the early stages of our friendship. I did not know at the time, but my attraction to Judai was much deeper than platonic love. Judai was just so captivating. His heart was pure, his positive demeanor was infectious and he would do anything for his friends.
I remember the many stories from Kenzan, Sho and Asuka about Judai's devotion to his friends. They even mentioned how Judai would go out of his way to help strangers in need. My personal favorite was hearing the story about Judai freeing a dueling monkey called SAL. Kenzan, Sho, Fubuki and Asuka seemed to be very aware of my feelings for Judai and even seemed to encourage me to talk to Judai.
Well, not all of them.
Asuka never came out and said it, but I could see on her face that she also had feelings for Judai. Perhaps not as strongly as I did, or maybe she was better at hiding her feelings than I was at concealing mine.
Not that I should have had to conceal them.
I had wanted to tell Judai, and tried my best to find time alone with him to tell him how I truly felt. However, there never really seemed to be a time where we were by ourselves. Judai had many friends at Duel Academia, and they all hung around with him often. I wasn't surprised at Judai's popularity due to his infectious positivity. It practically radiated from him, especially his smile and his laugh.
His laugh.
I haven't heard that laugh in months, haven't seen him truly and happily smile.
My mind wandered to the first time I felt true fear. It was after my duel with Giese Hunt. I had just barely managed to defeat the Duel Spirit poacher, and we both collapsed in utter fatigue. Judai, who had just survived his own taxing duel, was struggling to recover as well. I could feel my energy flowing out of my body, traveling to my wrist band and disappearing. It felt like someone had dehydrated my body.
I struggled to get up and walk over the nearby wall of the facility where Judai was recovering and collapsed again. I was panting, struggling to catch my breath and my vision was fuzzy. I managed to turn my head to look at Judai and I could see fear in his eyes. I'm certain my own eyes had a similar appearance. I don't know if Judai was scared about how fatigued he was, how close to passing out I appeared, or some combination of the two, but the look on Judai's face said what I was thinking to myself: I have no idea if we're getting out of this situation alive.
For the first time, at least since I had met him, Judai looked scared and unsure of himself. His shirt was drenched in sweat, his hair was matted and he was panting nearly as hard as I was. My heart hurt just looking at him. I wanted to pull him in for a hug and never let him go. I wanted to tell him everything would be alright and that I would always be there for him. I wanted to pull his face even with mine and kiss him.
I started to open my mouth, but at that moment, Kenzan, Sho, Asuka, Fubuki, O'Brien and Jim entered the room. They all shouted and ran over to us, pulling us to our feet without warning. My head swam and the blood rushed from my head. I stumbled and almost fell, but thankfully, Fubuki grabbed my arm and prevented me from falling. Sho and Tenzan were frantically trying to focus Judai's attention and give him some water to drink. They were eventually successful and Judai's color, which I had not realized earlier had paled, returned to his face. I released my breath that I had not realized I was holding.
I was relieved that Judai was feeling better, but we were obviously not out of the woods yet. Sho was arguing with O'Brien that we needed to leave the facility, but O'Brien was in the middle of explaining how the way that he, Asuka, Fubuki and Jim came from had locked behind them. Kenzan then stated that the way he and Sho had come from had also shut behind them.
It was then that we all realized that we were being herded like animals to the slaughterhouse. Our only choice appeared to be to travel further into the facility. Fubuki asked if Judai and I felt well enough to walk, to which we both weakly nodded. Sweat was still pouring from my body and my muscles were aching, but I felt I needed to be strong for Judai. I didn't want him to have to worry about me. No matter what we were walking into, I wanted Judai to have as clear a head as possible. I turned around, shook Fubuki's hand off of my shoulder, and began to walk towards the elevator at the back of the room. That was when I noticed that Giese Hunt was no longer in the room. I looked back at Judai and noticed he was looking at me. He managed a small shrug, seemingly hinting to me that worrying about Hunt was not a priority at this time. I gave him a quick nod and continued to shuffle towards the elevator.
Fubuki grabbed my shoulder again and provided support for me as our group all barely managed to fit into the elevator. I wanted to tell Fubuki that I was fine, and didn't need his assistance, but that would've been a lie. As we all stood quietly in the elevator, I couldn't help but notice everyone sniffing. I imagine everyone could smell the sweat from Judai and from me; probably mostly from me. I wanted to make a joke to lighten the mood, but my brain was too tired to even attempt to think of one.
So we traveled up the facility in silence.
My eyes continued to flick from everyone to Judai, who seemed to be staring off into outer space. When my eyes flicked to Asuka, I noticed for the first time that she appeared to be soaking wet. The same could be said of Jim and Fubuki. O'Brien was covered in grease and dried sweat. Kenzan and Sho had many small cut marks covering their arms, legs and faces. We must have looked like a truly sorry sight, but in that moment, I felt as close to having a physical family as I ever had in my life. We weren't a biological family, but we had traveled to Hell and back for each other.
The elevator slowed to a stop and the door opened with a ding.
We stumbled out of the elevator to find Professor Cobra waiting for us. He was standing at the opposite end of the rooftop, duel disk strapped to his wrist. A bolt of lightning flashed behind him, illuminating his hardened glare. Raindrops began to fall; large and cold. The moon was hidden behind the black clouds and the only light was from the few emergency lights surrounding the helipad that had been converted into a duel field. Professor Cobra stepped forward and demanded that Judai duel him.
I began to step forward to tell Cobra that Judai was in no condition to duel, but a hand on my wrist stopped me.
I looked at who had grabbed my hand, and was surprised to see that it was Judai. I immediately began to blush. This was not the first time that Judai had held my hand, but this time felt different than the others. His grip was firm, but gentle. It was not a grip meant to hold me back if I pulled away, but merely to grab my attention. His hands were soft and warm. His eyes locked with mine, telling me that he needed to be the one to put an end to Cobra's schemes. My eyes could not maintain contact with his, and combined with my blushing face and his hand in mine, my body felt weak again.
I faltered and looked away from Judai.
I was thankful that the darkness hid my blush, but when I turned away, I looked right at Fubuki as lightning flashed overhead. Fubuki's eyes widened, at first in fear that maybe something was wrong with me and then in understanding as he put the pieces together from my reaction to my interaction with Judai. I blushed again, and despite the seriousness of the situation, Fubuki's mouth twitched in a small smirk.
As Judai let go of my hand and stepped forward onto the duel field, Fubuki leaned down and whispered in my ear; "Don't worry, Johan. I'm sure Judai will give you a big, sloppy kiss after he beats Cobra." I wanted to say something back to Fubuki, but I actually would be happy if Judai did kiss me after this duel. Instead of saying something snarky back to Fubuki, I stood still, silently watching Judai as he readied his duel disk. Fubuki, whose face was still beside my ear, must have taken my silence for acceptance and whispered again in my ear: "You two will make a cute couple. I know many students that will be very jealous of you, starting with my sister."
His voice was barely registering in my ear, as I was focused solely on supporting Judai in this duel. He was swaying slightly back and forth and the rain appeared to be weighing him down. I could understand his predicament. My clothing, now soaking wet, was weighing heavily on my fatigued body. Lightning continued to flash as the duel progressed. Judai had taken an early lead, but Cobra seemed to be baiting Judai, toying with him.
Kenzan shouted at Judai to stay alert and watch out for traps and I echoed his sentiments. None of us had ever seen Cobra duel before, and we had no idea what his dueling style would be.
It wouldn't take long for us to find out.
I watched in horror as Cobra's monsters began to appear to bite Judai, and it looked like Judai was really in pain. Then I saw the bite marks on Judai's arms. Then I saw Judai scream and grab his arms where the bite marks were. He began to yell about the burning pain he was feeling all over his body. He dropped to his knees and that was when I began to run over to Judai.
Fubuki chased after me, yelling about a trap. I didn't notice as Cobra grabbed a small remote out of his pocket and pressed the button. As I reached the duel field with Fubuki following closely behind, it lit up as lightning exploded around the perimeter. I was immediately electrocuted, flying into Fubuki and knocking him backwards.
I remember the searing pain that took my breath away, but my vision quickly blackened as I passed out from the pain.
I did not know how long I was out, but when I came to, I saw a blurry face staring back at me. It was so bright that I was unable to focus. I couldn't quite make out the features of the face, but I could tell it was yelling at me. The ringing in my ears prevented me from hearing the voice of the person and the feeling of heaviness in my eyelids beckoned me to sleep.
I felt a hand slap my face: once, twice and then a third time.
My vision began to darken again, but was stopped as my body was jolted back and forth. A bright light flashed. My vision began to focus. The blurry face in front of me became clearer and I noticed it was O'Brien. The grease had mostly washed off his body and he was soaked like the rest of us. His brown eyes were wide and I could hear the panic in his voice.
"Johan! Wake Up!" he yelled over and over again.
When I was finally able to open my mouth to tell him that I was okay, I realized that my throat was dry and sore. My tongue hung weakly at the side of my mouth. I tried to speak, but all that came out was a dull groan. O'Brien was still yelling at me. I tried to lift my arm to silence him, but my body wouldn't respond. I opened and closed my mouth and attempted to move my tongue back into my mouth. O'Brien stopped yelling and looked at me. His eyes softened and he spoke at a more normal volume.
"Thank goodness. Johan, can you hear me?"
I tried to nod my head and O'Brien seemed to take that slight motion as a confirmation.
"Ok, good, good. We were afraid…" He looked away from me. "Well, we were… you just… it was pretty serious." He began to talk to someone out of my view. A voice I didn't immediately recognize. As the owner of the voice walked into view, I realized it belonged to the nurse, Ayukawa. She walked closer to my face and looked at the monitor behind me.
"Well Johan, I am so glad to see that you are awake. You are very fortunate to be alive. We all are. Can you speak?"
"Rubi! Rubi! Rubi!"
Huh?
I came out of my memories again. I quickly looked at the clock.
07:56!
"Oh no, oh no, oh no! Rubi, we gotta go! Like now!"
I started to run out of the room when I remembered that I still only had my underwear and socks on. I quickly threw on some faded blue jeans, a lavender-colored silk shirt and my Arctic Academy blue vest. I put on my running shoes, grabbed my backpack and ran out the door. I slammed the door behind me and spirited to the North exit.
Luckily, my dorm was close to the arena. If I ran as fast as I could, I should be able to make it on time. As I exited my dorm and crossed the short distance remaining in-between my dorm and the arena, I noticed how packed the Academy seemed to be. There were hundreds of people I had never seen before. I could only assume that they are parents, friends and loved ones for the other students on campus. I weaved in and out of the growing crowd as I raced towards the duelist entrance at the arena. I headed inside just as the door began to automatically shut behind me.
I headed through the tunnel, excited about graduation but more than a little nervous.
"Johan!"
I turned around at the sound of my name and was stunned at who stood before me.
"What are you doing here?"
Fubuki's POV
One day earlier
"Come on, everyone. We've got to hurry, or we will miss the boat."
I continued my seemingly fruitless struggle to get everyone organized and out the door.
"We want to be there for Johan, correct? We must show him how much we care for him. He came to our graduation, after all."
"Yes, dear brother. We heard you the first dozen times. He does know we're coming, correct?" Asuka mumbled as she walked into the lobby area of Duel Academia's main building.
"Well, not exactly. I didn't have his phone number, and, well, I couldn't get Judai to respond, so… It's going to be a surprise party for Johan. I sent messages to O'Brien and Jim. They're going to meet us there."
"I'm not surprised about Judai. I haven't been able to reach him either. I'd be worried if this type of behavior wasn't the new normal for him." Asuka bitterly replied.
Asuka, Sho, Manjome and I had returned to Duel Academia together to meet Fujiwara, Kenzan and Rei. We all made a plan to travel together to Arctic Academy to go to Johan's graduation. Manjome had previous experience at Arctic Academy and told us that their graduation would most likely be very different than the one we had a few months ago. We had our own type of Graduation Duels, but he told us that Arctic Academy was a different kind of Dueling Institution. Manjome didn't want to ruin the surprise, so we have all been left in the dark.
Now that we were back at Duel Academia, it was becoming a bit of a struggle to get everyone to leave again. This place has a way of sucking you in and I don't even know how I became the person in charge of our little group. None of us were ever in charge back when Judai was with us.
"I wonder where he is now?" I mused aloud to no one in particular.
Asuka had gone back around the corner, checking her phone. She most likely had gone back to reading and responding to emails from the American dueling college where she's going to be studying in the fall.
Rei was trying, and failing to find Pharaoh to bring him along with us. No matter how many times I keep telling her that cats aren't allowed on planes, she will not believe me.
Manjome is waiting with the boat that is going to take us to Domino Airport for our flight to Arctic Academy. Thankfully, Manjome was able to get us not only a direct flight to Arctic Academy, but also a private flight on his own personal airplane. Since graduation, Manjome had gone pro and been relatively successful so far. He's performed well enough to earn some lucrative sponsorships. He's not in the same realm as Edo, but Manjome is still new to the pro scene.
I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw that I had a text from Manjome.
Come on, hurry up. We've got to go. Our flight leaves at 12:00 and we haven't even left here yet. What are you guys doing, kissing every student goodbye?
I quickly sent him back a message.
I'm working on it, dude. You try getting everyone out the door. It's like herding cats. And if you want to kiss, all you have to do is ask. I can spot jealousy a mile away.
Manjome sent back a shrug emoji and I smirked. My attempt at being clever most likely went unnoticed by Manjome. He only had eyes for Asuka, and I'm certain he was thinking of Asuka When he sent that text.
I called out to Asuka, wherever she had walked off to. "Oh, dear sister! Where have you run off to? Your love is growing impatient waiting for us!" I chuckled to myself, knowing that mentioning Manjome would likely bring my sister back to tell me off. Right on cue, Asuka walked around the corner, glaring at me with daggers in my eyes.
"Why must you talk about him like that, Fubuki? You know that I do not love him! And Manjome isn't waiting on me. I'm out here, ready to go!"
Before I could respond, Sho and Kenzan walked into the room. Kenzan had one small bag across his shoulder and Sho was carrying Pharaoh in his arms.
"I found Pharaoh in the kitchens. I'm surprised that Rei wasn't nearby. She always used to have him around her at all times."
Sho put Pharaoh down on the nearby couch and he quickly proceeded to curl up and let out a big yawn.
"Reporting for duty. Apologies for being late, but Cronos decided at the last minute that he wanted to give Rei and I even more homework to do on our vacation."
Kenzan threw down his bag next to Pharaoh and flopped down on the couch as well. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, humming some tune that I didn't recognize. I looked at Kenzan's bag, wondering where all his clothes were and also where this supposed homework that he said he had to do.
Sho must have noticed my stare and probably already had this fight with Kenzan before leaving Kenzan's dorm. He answered my question before I even asked.
"Tenzan says he doesn't need to bring his homework because he can do it all when he gets back. I kept trying to tell him that waiting to do it all the night before is a bad idea, but he wants to enjoy his vacation. I told him he probably could get most of it done on the flights, but he told me that was stupid."
"You're hitting the nail on the head, Sho. How often are you going to get to fly on a private jet, with first class service? We've got to live it up because we may never get to again."
Kenzan continued to sit on the couch with his eyes closed, but his eyebrows were raised in a taunting manner. He seemed to be trying to provoke Sho into another argument and it appeared to be working. Sho balled his fists up and ran over to Tenzan, but he stopped himself before doing anything to him.
Sho let out a deep breath and walked over to the other side of the lobby, pulling out his phone and staring at it. Kenzan opened one eye and looked over at Sho, confused. He looked over at me for an answer, and when I shrugged, he shrugged as well and closed his eyes again.
I did a mental count of who was where.
Asuka was back on her phone, leaning against the wall where Sho had walked over to. Kenzan was on the couch near me, and Manjome was at the boat. O'Brien and Jim were meeting us at Arctic Academy. So that left just Rei and Fujiwara.
"Look who I found!" I heard a voice call out from around the corner. Stepping into view was Rei and following closely behind her was Fujiwara.
He had a somewhat sheepish look on his face and was carrying his suitcase in front of his legs. He stopped after rounding the corner, somewhat shocked to see everyone in the room.
This is going to be an interesting vacation.
I sighed to myself.
Fujiwara wasn't making eye contact with anyone, choosing instead to stare at the coffee table in front of the couch where Kenzan, Pharaoh and now Rei were sitting. If my stomach was a bit uneasy, I could only imagine how Fujiwara must be feeling. Sure, he wasn't exactly himself while under the control of Darkness, but he was still able to remember all of what transpired. He was able to watch as Darkness, in control of his body, defeated me in a duel and sent me to the shadows. He killed me. He truly killed me. We should have known better back when we were first messing around with evil. We should have known. We almost destroyed the world.
I sighed again, slowly walking over from my side of the lobby towards Fujiwara. He was lost in his thoughts, and hadn't yet noticed me.
He looked so sad.
As I moved into his field of vision, he blinked a couple times and lifted his head up to look at me.
He didn't speak.
I didn't speak.
It was still hard to be around him. After Judai defeated Darkness and freed Fujiwara, we all came back from the shadows where we were trapped. I remember waking up on the grass in front of the main building of Duel Academia. The darkness was fading away from the world. The sky was getting lighter. I had managed to stand up and look around.
I saw Judai running over to two bodies laying on the ground. I recognized Johan's turquoise hair as the body laying on top. Judai lifted him up and gave him a tight hug. It was brief, but it conveyed more emotion than I remember Judai expressing since his return from wherever he went with Yubel. Judai pulled away from Johan and looked around. He spotted me and waved me over. As I headed over to them, I noticed the other body in the grass.
My heart dropped and my feet stopped. The body stirred and my suspicions were confirmed.
It was Fujiwara.
He groaned as he lifted his head up, stopping when he saw me staring back at him. His eyes widened in shock and fear. I'm certain my eyes widened as well. I didn't know what to say to him then, and I don't know what to say to him now.
You're not so innocent yourself.
My brain liked to remind me of my involvement in the lead-up to that whole situation.
I was there with Fujiwara. We both summoned the darkness and used it to improve our dueling skill. We both succumbed to it and dueled in the name of Darkness. I shouldn't be feeling this way towards Fujiwara. The hurt and betrayal I feel. It's not fair to Fujiwara, but I cannot help how I am feeling.
We didn't speak after Judai and Darkness' duel. Fujiwara collapsed from exhaustion shortly after we locked eyes. Judai and Johan carried him to the Osiris Red dorm and placed him in Judai's bed. I stayed outside while they cared for Fujiwara. I managed to go out and find Sho, Asuka, Manjome and Kenzan and bring them back to the dorm. Students were reappearing out of thin air all over Duel Academia. In a few hours, all of the students and professors had returned to Duel Academia.
Cronos, Rei and Ryo eventually found us and we all waited outside Judai's room. Johan eventually came outside to tell me that Fujiwara was awake and that he wanted to see me. Johan stepped out from the doorway and I went inside, shutting the door behind me. Judai was laying down on the top bunk, arms crossed behind his head. He lifted his head up and nodded at me as I walked into the room. I nodded back and then focused my attention on Fujiwara. He was under the covers of the bottom bunk, sweat shining on his face. I stopped at the foot of the bed and stared at him.
I didn't know what to say to him. He opened his mouth. I barely heard the words as they came out: "I'm sorry."
His words pulled at my heartstrings. My gaze softened.
"I'm sorry, too."
I looked up at Judai, who was paying more attention to his sock than to anything else. I looked back at Fujiwara, who was pulling off the covers. It was close to summertime, so it was getting pretty hot outside. I continued to stare at him, unsure of what to do. There was a feeling of anxiety welling up inside me, and I didn't know how to express it. I looked at Judai again for some support, but he was now throwing a ball against the ceiling and catching it, completely uninterested in what was going on.
My attention returned to Fujiwara when I noticed he was trying to stand up. He was shaky and looked like he was going to fall, so I quickly moved over to his side and held him. I wrapped my arm around his hip and helped him steady himself. We locked eyes and Fujiwara mumbled out a "Thank you." I quickly looked away. I couldn't be in the room any longer.
I had to leave, right this second!
I let go of Fujiwara and ran outside. I shut the door behind me and leaned against it. I sat down in front of the door and put my head in my lap as I drew my knees in close. No one said anything. Someone walked over to me. I knew it was Asuka when she squatted down next to me and began rubbing her hand on my back, creating little circular patterns just like how our mother used to when we were little.
After a few minutes, I let out a deep exhale and looked up. Asuka was staring at me. Her lips were tightly pressed together, but her eyes were soft. She leaned in for a hug and I pulled her in, causing her to have to quickly adjust her feet to avoid falling. She was unsuccessful, falling forward into my stomach. She stayed still at first and then began to laugh. I let out a small chuckle as she stood up. She put her hand in front of my face and pulled me up as I grabbed it. I looked at everyone standing outside Judai's room with me.
"Uhm, hey, Fubuki."
I was brought back to reality at the sound of Fujiwara's voice. It cracked a tiny bit and he cleared his throat.
"Hey, Fujiwara. You uhm, you look well."
"Yes, I am."
He cleared his throat again.
"So, how are classes?"
"Oh, they're ok."
Cronos had decided that even though Fujiwara had enrolled at Duel Academia five years ago, he was not eligible to graduate like I was. He had missed so much of his time at Duel Academia, being gone three years longer than I was. Cronos offered Fujiwara the chance to go to school for one more year and graduate at the end of this academic year. It was now a few weeks into the new academic year.
I had to be honest, I wasn't sure how Fujiwara was going to do being back at Duel Academia. Even if most students had been through multiple life-threatening events, like our trip to an alternate dimension and the duel ghouls as a result of Professor Cobra and Yubel, those two weren't going to be in the same room with them like Fujiwara was.
"Well, that's uhm, good to hear, Fujiwara." Probably better than could be expected.
I felt a buzzing in my pocket. Manjome was calling me. I didn't want to hear him yelling at me, so I put my phone back in my pocket. I cleared my throat and walked to the middle of the room.
"Alright everyone, let's get going! Manjome's going to pop a blood vessel if we don't hurry up."
Kenzan jumped up from the couch.
"You heard the man, let's get a move on, soldiers! We're burning daylight!"
He ran through the lobby and out the front door, not even waiting for the rest of us. We all gathered ourselves and were beginning to follow him, until I saw that Rei was trying to fit Pharaoh inside her backpack. I decided to try one last attempt to reason with her.
"Come on, Rei. Leave Pharaoh here. He'll be happier here. This is his home."
Rei looked from me, to Pharaoh and then back to me again.
"Fine. You win, Fubuki. Pharaoh, we'll be back in a few days. Will you be okay by yourself until then?"
Pharaoh stared back blankly at Rei. I rolled my eyes and grabbed Rei's arm.
"Let's go, Rei. They're going to leave us behind."
Manjome's POV
"Geez, could they move any slower?"
I wondered aloud as I adjusted myself in my chair. Knowing that getting all of them together and out the door in a timely manner would be nearly impossible, not to mention irritating, I decided to wait on the deck of the boat and work on my suntan. I let Fubuki, Asuka and Sho go and retrieve everyone from Duel Academia. I didn't even really want to be here.
I should be using this time to train, as the Eurasian International Duel Monsters Tournament is only a few weeks away. 32 of the best Duelists from Europe and 32 from Asia will be competing against each other for the title of the best Duelist in the Eurasian Pro Leagues.
I wasn't selected for this tournament, but I was invited to compete in the Rising Stars Tournament that would be held two days before the main tournament. 8 Duelists from Asia and 8 Duelists from Europe who were in their first year of professional dueling would compete for the title of Future Star and would receive an automatic place in the KaibaCorp Grand Championship held next summer.
I will win that spot. No matter what Edo says, I am on his level. He just doesn't know it yet. I could have beaten him then. When he shows up to this tournament, I'll defeat him in front of everyone, for the whole world to see. I'll show him, prove to him that I am finally better than him. I'll-"
"You said it, Boss! Edo won't stand a chance against you!"
Ojama Yellow appeared beside my head.
"No, you dolt! Not Edo. Judai! It's Judai! He's my eternal rival" I swung my fist at the Duel Spirit.
"Boss! Come on, now! You know you are more than rivals with Judai."
I tilted my head and stared at the Duel Spirit.
"What are you talking about, Ojama Yellow?"
It began to fly around my head in a circle, doing some sort of weird dance.
"I'm talking about you and Judai. Boss, don't be silly with us. We're best friends, so I know all your secrets. Did you know you mumble in your sleep, Boss? You're always talking to Judai in your sleep. In fact, the other night, I remember-"
"Ahoy there, captain! You better have sunscreen on or else you're going to burn!"
My attention turned from the small Duel Spirit to the figure running down the steps of the Duel Academia docks. Kenzan.
Still as loud as ever.
"Not as loud as me though, right? Boss?"
"This isn't over" I gritted through my teeth at Ojama Yellow, who quickly disappeared as Kenzan reached our boat. The Dino Duelist threw his bag over his shoulder and jumped from the dock onto the boat.
Still as hyper as ever.
A few moments later, I noticed Sho as he appeared over the horizon and began coming down the steps.
And then I saw her.
Asuka followed closely behind. She was absolutely gorgeous. Her long, blond hair was blowing in the wind and her outfit hugged tightly against her body. I couldn't help but follow her with my eyes as she came closer and closer to me. I could feel my heart beating in my chest and my breath quickened. Every single time that I see her, I get like this.
Come on, Manjome, it's been like, 2 hours since you last saw her. Pull yourself together. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. No, no more being like this. We have decided to remain friends, and that's it. I should count myself lucky that she and I are friends.
"Whatcha starin' at, private?"
"Aagh" I nearly fell out of my chair as Kenzan's face suddenly appeared in front of mine. He turned around to try to see what I was staring at. Asuka had long since stepped on the boat and Sho was trying his best to work up the courage to jump from the dock to the boat. Instead, the person that I was unintentionally staring at was Fujiwara. I hadn't really even noticed him walking down the steps, but Kenzan mistook my spacing out for staring at Fujiwara.
"Yea, it's weird for me too, private. I'm actually surprised that he decided to come with us and even more surprised that Fubuki invited him in the first place. They haven't really talked since your class' graduation."
Kenzan looked off into the distance.
"Fubuki insisted that Rei and I look out for him in case anyone said or did anything to him or he said or did anything to himself."
Kenzan looked back to me, his face quickly morphing into a glare.
"You need to be on your best behavior on this trip. We need to show Fujiwara that he is a member of our group. No matter what has happened, he is a different person now, free from Darkness. We accepted Fubuki back. Hell, we even accepted Yubel after they fused with Judai."
I put up my hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay. Down boy, you'll get no trouble from me. Where's Fubuki and Rei?"
Just as I posed the question, I saw the two of them appear. They headed down the steps and jumped into the boat. I looked at my watch.
10:38.
We won't be making the 12:00 flight. Typical of this group. I huffed to myself. Some things never change.
I grabbed my phone and texted the pilot of my private plane. Well, my private plane as long as my sponsorships last. I saw how fickle not only the fans could be, but also the managers of professional Duelists during my time apprenticing for Edo. I'm certain that my own manager will only stick by me for a certain period of time.
I'll leave him before he leaves me. I finished updating the pilot about rescheduling our flight time just as the boat began to disembark. I readjusted my bathing suit and laid back in my chair, preparing myself to soak up some more sun before flying to Arctic Academy. Thankfully, everyone else had decided to go inside the cabin, leaving me to sunbathe in peace. I closed my eyes, now able to completely relax for a few hours. A warm day, a cool breeze and peace and quiet. What more could a guy ask for? It wasn't long before I was fast asleep, snoring quietly on the second level of the boat.
O'Brien's POV
"Now boarding passengers from Groups 4 and 5 for Flight 1382 from San Francisco to Frankfurt. Please head to the gate and form an orderly line."
I looked down at my ticket. Group 4.
I grabbed my bag, stood up and headed to the already long line of people waiting to get on the flight. Where is he? He's going to miss the flight if he doesn't get here now.
I let out a deep exhale. I wasn't really one for flying, but this was the only way for me to make it to Arctic Academy's graduation on time. It wasn't difficult to request time off from Industrial Illusions because the dueling world has been mostly peaceful in the wake of the defeat of Darkness and Pegasus hasn't needed someone with my skill set recently.
Once I told Pegasus where I was planning to go, his eyes lit up. He told me he was actually planning on sending some letters to my friends and that I could just give the letters to them when I saw them. He said for me to give my best to Johan and for me to formally invite him to Industrial Illusions for some promotional campaign that Pegasus was working on. He began to tell me what the other letters were for, but a call on his phone stopped him and he hurriedly ushered me out of the room.
I wasn't given the full details and all of the envelopes were sealed. Pegasus even included an envelope for Judai, but I imagined that envelope would stay sealed. He hasn't responded to any of my messages in months.
The line wasn't really moving, and some of the people in line were starting to get antsy.
I really wish I didn't have to fly.
I exhaled through my nose and closed my eyes. While I technically worked for Pegasus, I wasn't really considered a full employee. I had been doing contracts for Pegasus for just under a year. He mainly left it up to me to use my own equipment and connections to complete my assignments. I wasn't allowed certain luxuries like the company planes or even small basics like-
"Hey, mate. Would you mind getting a move on? You're holding up the line."
I opened my eyes and started to walk forward, embarrassed to have been holding the line up. It was when I almost bumped into the person in front of me that I realized no one in front of me had moved. I then looked behind me to where the voice had come from and saw Jim Cook standing there with a large grin on his face.
My cheeks burned and I tried to look mad at him.
"Gotcha there, mate. Didn't I? Good to see ya."
He tried to hold his laughter in, but failed. I was still embarrassed with myself, but I did have to agree that he had gotten me.
"Yep, you got me pretty good, Jim. It's really good to see you, too"
I stuck out my hand to shake his. He grabbed mine and we both leaned in for a quick hug. It has been a long time since I last saw Jim. When we came back from the dimension that Yubel was keeping us prisoner in, Jim, Johan and I left Duel Academia on a boat to head to the Domino Airport to fly back to our respective schools.
Jim left to go back to the South Academy and I hadn't seen him since then. We kept in irregular contact through text, but my last text to him before yesterday had been about three months ago. I had updated him about Darkness and how Judai saved the world from destruction. Jim had responded with 'Of course' and a string of emojis that didn't really make much sense to me. I also let him know when Duel Academia's graduation ceremony was being held and that Johan and I were already there and he was invited to come. He told me thanks for the invite, but he was going to be on an important dig and was leaving the next day and wouldn't be able to get away. I told him I would update him if anything else happened, but nothing has really happened in the three months since.
I hadn't heard from Jim in that time either, until yesterday. Jim texted me out of the blue, asking if I was going to Johan's graduation. I told him I was, and he asked how I was getting there. I told him my flight schedule and he told me he was going to buy the same tickets and he would meet me at the gate here in San Francisco. When they called my group for boarding, I had been worried that Jim wasn't going to make it.
I noticed that on his back was a bag, and not a huge crocodile.
"No Karen?"
"Nope, haha. As you can imagine, most airlines don't want a 100 kilogram crocodile on their flights. I've tried many times to get her registered, but it never works. That's why I usually like to take boats on long journeys, but we're a bit short on time, so Karen's got to wait at home."
"Yea, I figured as much." I shrugged my shoulders and turned around, noticing that the line had begun to move. I turned back to Jim.
"Let's get a move on, mate." Jim said as he started to walk past me. I let out a small groan and looked up to the ceiling of the airport. Jim stopped and looked back, concern flashing briefly in his eye before a knowing smile replaced his concern.
"Oh yea, you don't really do flying, right?"
"How could you tell?" I nervously smiled back and Jim laughed.
"Come on, mate. Just two flights until we see everyone."
"Yea, yea, yea. Let's just get to our seats. Don't blame me if I throw up on you." I chuckled to myself as I passed Jim, only halfway joking.
I looked at Jim's face out of the corner of my eye as I walked by, this time a real look of concern. I gave the person at the gate my ticket and passport and headed inside the terminal, followed closely behind by Jim. We got to our seats, sat down and placed our bags on the floor in front of us. Jim had the window seat, and my seat was in the middle. I closed my eyes and laid my head back, trying unsuccessfully to relax my mind and body. I could feel my heart beating a mile a minute and I was bouncing my legs up and down. I inhaled and exhaled as slowly as I could, to no avail. I was stressed out.
I can't do 11 hours of this. There's no way I'll make it.
My mind seemed to be screaming at me to get off the plane. I needed to distract myself. I started to count backwards from 1000.
1000…
999…
998…
997…
"Attention, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Uhh, we are just a few minutes away from being ready to take off. If you would kindly turn your attention to our flight crew, uhh, they are going to go over some safety procedures and then we'll be clear to take off."
I begrudgingly opened my eyes and watched as the flight crew demonstrated how to buckle the seatbelt, where the exits were located, what to do in the event of lost cabin pressure, and how to safely leave the plane in the event of the crash. I looked over at Jim during the explanation about water landings.
"That's not going to happen, right?"
I could feel my voice cracking. Jim looked away from the crew. He turned his gaze to me and his eye widened. I must have looked like I had seen a ghost because Jim seemed to be genuinely concerned about me. He opened his mouth, closed it quickly and then opened it again.
"I don't want to lie to you. It's a possibility…"
My eyes widened and Jim quickly spit out his next sentence.
"But, uh, look, it's- it's a small possibility. It, uh, probably won't happen. I-"
His next words were cut off by the pilot coming back on the loudspeaker.
"Ok, folks, we've been cleared for takeoff. It's uhh… a sunny 81 degrees Fahrenheit or 27 degrees Celsius at the present time in Frankfurt, Germany. Our estimated flight time is 10 hours and 55 minutes. So, uhh, sit back and relax. We'll be off the ground shortly."
The plane began to back up from the terminal gate. My hands quickly grabbed both armrests. I dug my fingernails into the material. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to keep breathing.
The plane continued to slowly drive down the runway.
Then the plane stopped.
I heard a sound ding.
The lights dimmed.
The air conditioning, or air circulation or whatever turned on. My breath caught in my throat.
I couldn't think. I could barely breathe.
The plane began to move. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. We bumped up and down on the runway and my stomach dropped. The plane continued to increase in speed.
And then I felt it. The plane began to lift off the ground.
I gripped so tightly on the armrests that my fingers felt like they were going to break. I crossed my legs. I shut my eyes even more tightly, gritting my teeth together. The plane bumped on some turbulence. I let out a small gasp. I felt the wheels begin to tuck back into the plane. I was sweating at this point. The plane continued to climb higher and higher into the sky. My ears hurt. I managed to force my hand off the armrest long enough to pop my eardrums before quickly grabbing back on to the armrest.
Only my hand didn't touch the armrest. It touched another hand. Surprised, I opened my right eye to see that it was Jim's hand. I looked from his hand to his eye and he smiled.
"It's going to be ok, O'Brien. We're almost at cruising altitude."
I stared back at him, unable to respond.
All of a sudden, the plane dropped as we encountered more turbulence.
I squeezed Jim's hand so tightly he grimaced in pain. I briefly looked down at his hand and then back to his face with an expression that I hoped would convey my apologies. I then closed my eyes again and leaned back against my chair. In all the terror I was experiencing, I hadn't realized that I had leaned forward. After what felt like an eternity of turbulence, the plane seemed to level off.
I felt the plane lean forward.
Then it began to slow down.
I opened my eyes in horror.
We're falling out of the sky!
I turned to Jim and before I could speak, he cut me off.
"We're just reaching the cruising speed. No need to panic."
I tried to avoid panicking and closed my eyes again. I felt the plane's speed become more consistent. There was another ding. Then I heard the pilot's voice on the loudspeaker.
"Okay, folks. We've, uhh, reached out cruising altitude. So, just sit back and relax. Our flight crew will be by shortly with some drinks and refreshments. Thank you again for choosing Alemania Airlines."
I felt Jim try to move his hand and I let go, albeit somewhat reluctantly. I opened my eyes to see Jim grabbing his hand as he began to massage it.
It's always Jim that sees me when I'm most afraid. I complained to myself as I started to think back to our time in one of the alternate dimensions, when Jim was sent to the stars after his duel against Judai. Well, his duel against the Supreme King. I noticed Jim was really massaging his hand. I must have really been squeezing hard.
"Sorry, Jim. Is your hand going to be okay?"
"Yea, it's okay, mate. Just make sure you get your drink with extra ice. I'm pretty sure it's going to bruise."
It took me a second to understand what he was saying, and when I did I grimaced and Jim chuckled softly. I needed something to get my mind off of being 30,000 feet in the air, with the possibility of falling out of the sky at any minute. I knew just the topic that Jim could talk about for hours on end.
"So, Jim. How was your dig?"
Jim smiled widely, and pulled out his phone.
"Glad you asked. So, we were in Peru. And we were on the coast. And we found… look at this." He flipped to a photo of some outline that he later told me was a whale from some many millions of years ago. I sat back, beginning to calm myself as I listened to Jim lecture me about fossils and gush over his findings.
Well, that's the end of the first chapter.
I hope that it was enjoyable. Or, at the very least, tolerable.
I am very excited to continue writing this story and I have so many different ways that I feel I can take it. I would very much enjoy hearing suggestions from you all as well.
I hope to be able to upload this story once every month or every two months. And they will hopefully be around this length.