Yuki heard Cyrus groan as he approached the Slifer Red dorms. "This looks more like an outhouse rather than a dorm."
"Aw come on." Yuki said lightly clapping Cyrus' shoulder. "It's not so bad, place has a lot of potential."
"Yeah Cy, lighten up." Jaden chimed in, as the three ascended the stairs to the dorm's second floor. "This place'll make a killer pad for our first year here."
"If you two say so…" Cyrus still looked skeptical, before opening the first door after reaching the second floor.
"I'll catch up with you guys in a bit, I'm gonna go drop my stuff off in my dorm." Yuki gave Jaden and Cyrus a small wave, before opening the door leading to his own dorm, which just happened to be next to Jaden and Cyrus' dorm. Yuki's dorm looked like a small single room apartment. On the far left side of the room were two desks, and opposite the desks was what looked to be a triple bunk bed. "Small space, triple bunks make sense."
Yuki made his way inside, taking note of the small closet and kitchen that was immediately on his right when he walked inside. He set his bag down at the foot of the beds, also noting that all three bunks were empty. "Roomies must be out right now, hope they don't mind me taking the bottom bunk."
Yuki stretched out on the mattress, and pulled out his academy issue pda. The screen flickered to life showing the academy logo: DA in three colors. Red, Blue, and Yellow. From what was explained to him, these devices allowed a student to do more than just contact others. It allowed students to obviously view their homework assignments, set dates for upcoming events, and to an extent kept a record of what students dueled with what type of deck. It also kept track of the duels one had on the island, and rewarded academy currency called Duel Points to the winner, depending on both the decisiveness of the win, and the rank of the opponent according to what dorm they were in.
Yuki pressed the envelope icon on his pda, dialed in some info, and selected video call. The screen went black, and 'please wait' flashed in orange letters for several seconds before someone on the other end answered.
"Hey sis." Yuki smiled at his twin. She looked just like Yuki, dark hair with the same teal highlights, and the same teal colored eyes.
"Hey Yuki." Yumei gave her twin brother a smile, that didn't fool her brother one bit. He knew Yumei was jealous, and was trying to hide it. "How's Duel Academy?"
"I just got here, but it's great." Yuki sat up, and swung his legs over his bunk. "They placed me in Slifer Red though."
Yumei laughed, feeling slightly better at the color of the jacket that Yuki held up for her to see. "Red was never your color Yu."
"Tell me about it." Yuki replied, setting the jacket back on his bed. "And don't feel bad sis, the doctor said that it's only another week. You'll be here before you know it!"
"Yeah…" Yumei sighed softly. "I kinda wish I could have gone to your practical match though. How bad did you freeze up?"
"...enough to let my points drop to half." Yuki admitted, looking away as Yumei laughed again.
"Oh man, you and large crowds Yu."
"Worse than that, my proctor had a Buster Blader on the field." Yumei sucked in air through her teeth at the news.
"And you still won?" Yumei asked, despite the obviousness of the question.
"Two turns later, with Drago Knight." Yuki replied, a sense of pride welling up in him right before a terrified scream came from Jaden and Cyrus' dorm catching both twins attention.
"Yu, what was that?" Yumei asked as her brow knitted together.
"I'm gonna find out. I'll talk to you later sis!" Yuki waved goodbye to his twin sister, before hitting the red button on his pda to end the video call. Seconds later, Yuki had dashed out of his own dorm and into Jaden and Cyrus'. "Guys what-?"
Yuki was met with an angry glare from a large student lying in the top bunk. He had a round face, a large nose, and his hair was styled to resemble that of a koala bear. Yuki let out a similar terrified scream that was mixed in with Jaden and Cyrus'.
"Lemmie break it down for you." The large koala looking boy Chumley Huffington began as his arms crossed. "Students here are divided up into three dorms. Obelisk Blue students are at the top. They're in that dorm mostly because of grades or connections. Ra Yellow students are in the middle. They're talented students with a lot to prove, and a lot of room to grow. Then there's us, Slifer Reds. The red wonders…"
"Red wonders." Jaden parroted, as a smile formed on his face. "That sounds cool."
"As in." Chumley huffed in dismissal. "I wonder how losers like us ever made into the academy in the first place."
Yuki shook his head. "That's a pessimistic way of viewing it. Look, red may not be my favorite color in the world, but being a Slifer isn't so bad. In fact it's probably the best thing that could happen to us."
"Oh yeah?" Chumley asked, his arms still crossed.
"Yeah." Yuki answered. "Think about it, Slifers may be the lowest ranked students at the school-"
"But there's nowhere to go but up from here!" Jaden finished, high-fiving Yuki.
Later on in the day, Yuki was exploring the island on his own wondering if he should continue using his main dragon themed deck, or the one he had made for his older brother to use in Battle City. He was so wrapped up in thought, he didn't realize where he was going until he nearly ran into someone else.
"Oh-sorry about that!" Yuki apologized, taking several steps back from the person he had almost run into. This person stood a head taller than Yuki, had wavy brown hair that parted in the middle, dark green eyes, and was dressed in a blue jacket, white pants, and dark shoes or boots.
"It's fine." The Obelisk said smiling. "Just try to watch where you're going from now on."
"No promises." Yuki chuckled, which earned him a smile from the Obelisk student.
"Say, you're Yuki Hyodou right?" The Obelisk asked curiously. "You run a dragon theme deck don't you?"
"Okay … just how did you know that?" Yuki asked cautiously.
The Obelisk held his hands slightly out in front of him in a placating manner. "Take it easy, I was at the practical exams. I'm a second year here at the academy, my name is Kai."
"Nice to meet you." Yuki shook Kai's hand, finding the older student had a strong grip.
"Say, you have your duel disk on you?" Kai asked, which made Yuki's stomach jolt.
"Uh, y-yeah why?"
Kai smiled, slipping his own duel disk onto his left arm. "How about a friendly duel. I like running dragons the same as you, and I just put together a new deck. Care to be the first one to test it out?"
Yuki felt a sense of unease wash over him. This guy was an Obelisk Blue, they were at the top of the food chain, this guy was in his second year here, and this would be Yuki's first official duel at the academy. On the other hand, this guy did say he wanted to test out a new deck, so that meant he hadn't figured out all the problems with it yet.
"Ah, why not." Yuki said, after a moment. He reached into his bag, and slipped his academy issue duel disc onto his left wrist.
"Just because this is a new deck, don't expect me to go easy on you." Kai said smiling.
"I wouldn't expect you to."
"Duel!"
Yuki-LP 4000
Kai-LP 4000
"I'll go first." Kai announced, and drew a sixth card from the top of his deck. "And I'll place two cards face down, and I'll summon this: Armed Dragon Level 3 in attack mode!"
The holoraphic monster was an orange and brown colored dragon, with and underbite jaw line, boxing glove-like claws, and spikes on its shoulders and trailing up along the center of its chest. Atk-1200 Def-900.
"Okay then, my draw." I need to be careful about those two cards he has face down. But I also can't let him bring out Armed Dragon Level 5. That dragon needs to go. "Okay Kai, two can play this game. I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 4!"
Yuki's monster more resembled a metallic looking phoenix than a dragon. Atk-1600 Def-1000. "But I'm not done there, I'll mirror you, and set two cards face down, and attack you with Horus! Destroy that Armed Dragon!"
Horus let out a stream of black fire from its beak that engulfed Armed Dragon Level 3, and caused the monster do shatter in an explosion of pixels which dropped Kai's Life Points by 400.
Kai-LP 3600.
"Not bad." Kai smiled. "But now you've triggered my trap! Call of the Haunted! Now come back Armed Dragon!"
"Knew it was too easy…" Yuki said, as Armed Dragon came back to Kai's field. "But before my turn ends, since Horus inflicted damage to you, I can tribute him, and summon Horus Level 6!"
The small metallic phoenix dissolved, only for a larger more ferocious looking version of the same monster to rise in its place. Atk-2600 Def-1600.
"Very impressive, but now it's my turn. Draw! And now I'll tribute my Armed Dragon, to summon Armed Dragon Level 5!" Kai's smaller dragon vanished, and was replaced by a far more bulked up and fierce looking dragon. Atk-2400 Def-1700. "Next I activate the spell card Swords of Revealing Light! Now neither of us can attack for the next three turns. And that brings my turn to an end."
"Okay then, my turn." Yuki drew the top card from his deck. "I summon Drago Warrior in attack mode." The familiar bipedal armored dragon appeared on Yuki's field, growling menacingly at Kai. Atk-1600 Def-1400. "Now, Horus attack Armed Dragon!" Yuki declared, making Kai's eyes go wide.
"Hold on, you can't attack! Swords of Revealing light is still up!"
Yuki smirked shaking his head. "It's part of Horus' effect. He's not affected by spell cards my opponent plays! Horus, destroy Armed Dragon!"
Horus' black fire blasted Armed Dragon Level 5 into small pixels the same way Level 3 had been destroyed, with the only difference being the force of the blast.
Kai-LP 3200
"And now, thanks to Horus' effect, I can summon the most powerful variant of Horus! So rise, Horus Level 8!" The strongest form of Horus rose from the ground, flew around both Yuki and Kai before landing behind Yuki. Atk-3000 Def-1800.
"Alright, now it's my turn." Kai drew and smiled. "Now I'll play Card of Sanctity. Now we can each draw until we have 6 cards in our hand."
This isn't good, he's clearly got something sinister in mind…
"Now I'll summon Lord of D." A rather menacing looking man with a dark cape and dragon skull shoulder pauldrons and helmet materialized in front of Kai. Atk-1200 Def-800. "Then I give him the spell card Flute of Summoning Dragon! With this, I can special summon two more dragon monsters! So say hello to another Armed Dragon Level 5, and Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
Yuki's eyes went wide. He only knew of one person on earth who had a Blue eyes, and he'd dueled him before. Yet here he was staring down yet another Blue Eyes.
Armed Dragon Level 5 Atk-2400 Def-1600
Blue Eyes White Dragon Atk-3000 Def-2500
"You still have another turn before you can attack me." Yuki reminded, only for Kai to smirk. "Oh no…"
"Oh yeah, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, and destroy my swords spell card. Now I'm free to attack, but I think I'm gonna do something else instead. I'll send the second Blue Eyes in my hand to the Graveyard, and use Armed Dragon's effect to destroy Horus."
Yuki's eyes went wide. "No! Horus!" The dragon let out a cry of anguish before it exploded.
"And now, Armed Dragon, attack Drago Warrior!" Kai ordered his monster.
"Not happening, I special summon Drago Defender in defense mode! See if Drago Warrior is the only monster on the field, if he's attacked I can summon Drago Defender. At the cost of half of it's defense points, Drago Defender can automatically end the battle phase!"
The bipedal large shielded dragon appeared in front of its partner monster, blocking Armed Dragon's attack with said shield. Atk-1000 Def-2000-1000.
Kai was smiling brightly. "You're good Yuki, I'm surprised someone of your skill is only a Slifer."
"Well you saw my practical duel, I have a thing with crowds." Yuki explained as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "They really put me off."
"Well we'll have to work on that, but for now it's your turn." Kai said, his smile still on his face.
"Right then, my draw. And first off, I'll play this: Harpy's Feather Duster, knocking out your back row!" A large gust of wind shattered Kai's back row, making the face down cards explode in a flurry of pixels. "Then I'll activate my spell card Monster Reborn, bringing back my Horus Level 6! But he's not staying around, because I have the card Level Up! Now I can ignore summoning conditions and special summon Horus Level 8!"
Once again Horus' strongest form rose onto Yuki's side of the field, roaring at Kai's monsters clearly angered at having been destroyed by Armed Dragon. Atk-3000 Def-1800
"Now I'll activate Polymarization, and fuse Drago Warrior and Drago Defender, and summon Drago Knight!" At Yuki's call, the golden armored bipedal dragon rose to stand by Horus. Atk-2900 Def-2800. "And since you were at the practical exam, you know that with each dragon monster in the graveyard, Drago Knight get an additional 300 attack!"
Drago Knight Atk-4700 Def-2800
"Oh this isn't good…" Kai said nervously.
"It gets worse for you." Yuki said, taking another card from his hand. "I have this! Alexandrite Dragon!"
Alexandrite Dragon was a large bipedal dragon with bright jewel like scales all over its body. Atk-2000 Def-100. "Alexandrite Dragon attack Lord of D!"
Yuki's newest dragon let a bright stream of fire out of its mouth, engulfing Lord of D, and making the spellcaster shatter.
Kai-LP 2800
"Now Horus, destroy Armed Dragon!" At Yuki's order, Horus shot its black fire at Kai's dragon, engulfing it and causing the powerful monster to explode.
Kai-LP 2000
Drago Knight Atk-5000 Def 2800
"Now go Drago Knight! Destroy Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Drago Knight leapt high into the air, its blade raised above its head. The golden armored dragon swung its weapon down, splitting the powerful monster in half before exploding in a cloud of pixels.
Kai-LP 0000
Kai smiled, applauding Yuki as their duel disks deactivated. "Impressive, that deck of yours was really well constructed."
Yuki laughed nervously, not noticing before that a large crowd of Obelisk Blue students had gathered around all with awe struck looks on their faces. "A-are you sure that was a new deck? It felt like you've dueled with it before."
"Just constructed it a few days ago." Kai chuckled, shaking Yuki's hand in congratulations. "But that's quite powerful deck you put together. I'll have to duel you with my actual deck sometime."
"Well that's gonna have to wait." A female's voice behind Yuki made him jump in surprise. He wheeled about, and his cheeks flushed with color. A very attractive girl about the same age as him was standing a few paces away. Her hair was a sandy blond in color, her eyes seemed to be a light hazel, and like the majority of the students surrounding them, she had on an Obelisk Blue uniform. "The academy welcome dinner is about to start."
"Uh-oh, I'd better get back to my dorm! It was nice meeting you Kai!" Yuki called, running off in the direction of the Slifer dorm.
"Hey wait!" The attractive girl called after Yuki. "What's your name!?"
"Yuki Hyodou!" He answered, continuing to run towards the dorms. "What's yours!?
"Alexis Rhodes!"