"Sweet Yuki." Jaden smiled, shaking his shoulder lightly by means of congratulations after Crowler had left in a rather hurried fashion. "You're getting a chance to head to Ra."

"Yu?" Yumei asked, waving a hand in front of her twin who suddenly snapped back to attention.

"Y-yeah!" Yuki shook his head a few times. "Sorry, that just… it's kinda sudden you know? I thought it would take longer for me, or anyone to get a promotion match and-"

"The shock of it hit you all at once." Both Kai and Yumei finished, before giving one another curious looks.

"Exactly." Yuki said, before realizing something. "Oh right. Um, Kai this is my twin sister Yumei. Yumei, this is the guy I told you about; this is Kai."

"Oh, you're the one who's been helping Yu with his problem with crowds." Yumei shook Kai's hand as they spoke.

"That's me." Kai smiled. "So Yumei, what kind of deck do you run?"

"Warriors, but we can duel later." Yumei turned her attention back to her twin. "Right now, I have to help Yu prepare for his promotion match."

"I was just going to offer to help as well." Kai said with a small laugh. "We need to upgrade your deck since everyone at the academy pretty much knows what monsters you play now. And they'll have come up with ways to prevent you getting out your stronger monsters."

"In just a week?" Yumei asked, sounding rather impressed.

"You'd be surprised." Yuki said, before motioning to Bastion. "I'm pretty sure Bastion here had come up with around ten ways to beat my deck after my practical exam."

"Twelve actually." Bastion chimed in, smiling in a rather satisfied way.

"And I'm suddenly very glad Kai had me duel other Obelisks." Yuki's comment made everyone laugh. "But Kai is right, I need to upgrade my deck."

"Okay, then the card shop it is!" Jaden smiled, wrapping an arm around Yuki's shoulders.

Yuki's jaw went slack as he looked at the card he had pulled. It was a powerful spellcaster monster, that was related to his Black Magician cards, and one that he had never expected to even see, let alone pull out of a pack.

"Woah…" Yumei was just as surprised as her twin with the monster he had pulled. "Not even Yuri has that card in his deck, and he-"

"Yumei." Yuki cut his twin off, shaking his head which made Kai and Jaden look at the twin with intense curiosity.

"Is there something we should know?" Kai asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a long story." Yumei began.

"Which we'll tell." Yuki finished. "But after the duel okay?"

"Alright, but we'll hold you to that." Jaden replied, that perpetual smile of his back on his face.

The rumor of Yuki's promotion match spread through the academy like wildfire, so by the end of Saturday, everyone on the island knew about it.

"Did you hear Kai's little protege is up for a promotion match?" Alexis' friend Mindy asked Fujin that evening, while the second year Obelisk was making modifications to her deck.

Fujin smiled. "Good. If anyone in Slifer deserves to move up in rank, its Yu."

Mindy raise an eyebrow. "Yu?"

Fujin's eyes widened slightly, and her face tinted with color when she realized her mistake.

The Hyoudou twins, Jaden, and Kai had gone over strategies, constructed and reconstructed both of Yuki's decks so that there was virtually no way Yuki could lose his promotion match on Monday.

"Okay, I still say you should use them Yu." Yumei said pushing three cards towards her brother. Yumei had taken residence in Yuki's dorm room, as there was nobody else in his dorm but him. "Come on, you pulled them years ago, if there was any time to use any of them, now's the time."

"I still can't believe you drew these cards." Kai said, a tone of jealousy in his voice. He was sitting on Yuki's bunk while Yuki and Yumei sat on the floor, and Jaden was sitting on one of the wheeled chairs in the dorm. "I never even found one, how did you pull all three from one pack."

Yuki let out a huff of laughter. "Apparently, I'm naturally lucky. And in the way I write my name." Jaden handed Yuki a pen and a piece of paper, before Yuki began writing. "The character for luck is in it. See?"

"Huh… would you look at that." Kai mused, while a soft smile formed on his face as he examined the piece of paper Yuki handed him. "But your sister's right, you should add at least one of those cards into either of your decks."

"Alright, you two win." Yuki said conceding to his friend and sister.

Monday afternoon came a little too quick for Yuki. Before the Slifer had noticed, classes for the day had ended, and everyone was rushing towards the main dueling arena like people would run to a card shop when a new set of rare cards was released.

"You ready for this Yu?" Yumei asked, placing a hand on her twin's shoulder in a comforting manner. Yuki's foot was rapidly tapping the floor. A small tick Yuki seemed to have whenever he was nervous. The two were the only ones left in the classroom, aside from Jaden who was asleep yet again.

"Yeah." Yuki inhaled deeply, before getting to his feet. "I'm ready."

Yumei smiled before remembering something. "Oh, I forgot. Yuri sent me this. He wanted me to give this to you, since the mailing system here is apparently really flimsy."

Yumei reached into her bag, before handing Yuki a dark blue shirt. Yuki smiled, as he had a look of the custom shirt his elder brother had made for him. Instead of the signature SR on the front of the shirt, it had been replaced by a YH, with the words 'Burn It Down' surrounding the initials.

"Feel better now?" Yumei asked, as Yuki changed into the shirt, before pulling his Slifer Red jacket over it. Though he left the jacket open to show the logo on the shirt his elder brother had sent him.

"Much better." Yuki said, waking Jaden up. "Hey buddy, wake up. Time for the duel."

"Nice shirt." Jaden yawned, smiling at Yuki.

"Gift from my older brother." Yuki replied, as the three walked out of the classroom, where both Kai and Fujin were waiting.

"Nice shirt." Fujin winked at Yuki, making his cheeks flush slightly.

"You ready?" Kai asked, Yuki nodding a second later. The five of them walked together towards the arena, Kai's arm wrapped over Yuki's shoulder. "Just remember what I told you; just focus on your opponent not the duel."

"You can do this Yuki." Fujin said, giving his shoulder an encouraging squeeze, as Jaden ran to find a seat.

In the center of Duel Academy's main arena, a large man with a bald head and a goatee stood next to Crowler and Torimaki. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a promotion duel for first year Slifer Red student Yuki Hyoudou. Should he win today, Yuki will move up from Slifer to Ra Yellow. Allow me to introduce to you his opponent: first year Obelisk Blue Taiyou Torimaki!"

It seemed everyone in Duel Academy was in attendance for this match. News of just how good a duelist Yuki was had quickly made its way around the academy, there was a lot of hype for this duel, even with two days notice. There was a smattering of applause for Torimaki, before Chancellor Sheppard spoke yet again. "Now please put your hands together for Yuki Hyoudou!"

Yumei smiled as the crowd cheered at the mention of her twin's name. She had one more surprise in store for her twin. Something she talked with Chancellor Sheppard about. Seconds after the headmaster of the school announced Yuki's name, came Yumei's surprise.

'BURN IT DOWN!'

Yuki's eyes widened, looking to his sister who only winked as the music started. Yuki smiled after a moment, deciding to take his twins surprise in stride. The Slifer walked into the arena alongside Yumie, to both the music and tremendous applause. The two were flanked on either side by Kai and Fujin.

The cheering of the crowd intensified as Yuki reached the center platform in the middle of the arena. He shook hands with Chancellor Sheppard, as Crowler scowled. He may have been impressed with Yuki's dueling skills, but he did not think that anyone in this academy should enter a duel like this to music. Especially a Slifer.

"Shake hands you two." Sheppard said, after the music had died down. Yumei, Kai, and Fujin had gone to find seats at this point. Yuki and Torimki grasped one another's hands.

"Heard you dueled my sister a few days ago." Yuki said, causing Torimaki to frown. "I guess you asked to be my opponent, because you wanted a shot at my dragons right?"

"Damn right." Torimaki replied with a determined look in his eyes. "I'm gonna show you what a real dragon deck is like."

"Well, you got the right win this time." Yuki said with a small huff of laughter. "But you got into Obelisk with your dragons right? You must be good."

Torimaki blinked in surprise, before giving Yuki an almost unseen nod of approval. "I still have a score to settle with your sister."

"Settle it after this duel." Yuki said, activating his duel disk. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"Duel!"

Yuki-LP 4000

Torimaki-LP 4000

"Since it's my promotion match, I'll draw first." Yuki drew. 'Okay Yuki, just remember what Kai told you: Focus on your opponent.' "Alright, first I'll summon Ruby Dragon in attack mode." A dragon that looked like a red scaled version of Luster Dragon appeared on Yuki's field. Atk-1900 Def-1600. "Next, I play two cards face down, and play the spell Swords of Revealing Light. Now neither of us can attack for 3 turns."

"A good opening move." Bastion said, finding a seat next to Yumei. "I haven't seen Yuki play that monster before."

"It's never been in his deck before." Yumei explained. "We worked on both decks all weekend for this duel."

"Not bad." Torimaki admitted, drawing his sixth card. "But let's see how you handle this. I'll summon Spear Dragon in attack mode." A wyvern-like monster with blue scales, and an elongated beak appeared on Torimaki's field. Atk-1900 Def-0 "Then I'll place a card face down and end my turn."

"That card is probably Sakuretsu Armor." Yumei mused, as she remembered her duel with Torimaki. "Yu is gonna need to watch out for that."

"Yuki'll be fine." Jaden said from the seat above. "There's no way he's gonna lose this. Not with all the work we did."

On the opposite side of the arena, Chazz who was seated next to Raizou was scowling at Yuki. "Crush this Slifer Slacker Torimaki."

"Okay, guess it's my move." Yuki drew, and smiled. "I'll play Pot of Greed, now I get to add another 2 cards to my hand. Then I'll summon the Red Eyes Black Chick in defense mode." A small version of the Red Eyes Black Dragon still inside its egg appeared on Yuki's field. Atk-800 Def-500. "And that's it for my turn."

'What is he thinking. Playing weak monsters like Ruby Dragon and Red Eyes Chick?' Torimaki thought, as he drew his next card. "Alright, let's see you deal with this! I'll discard Thunder Dragon and add two more to my hand. Then I'll fuse them with Pollymarization, and summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!" The large two headed orange scaled dragon appeared on Torimaki's field, after a large bolt of lightning struck the platform the two were dueling on. Atk-2800 Def-2100.

'Okay, well if what Yumei told me was correct, Torimaki's face down card is Sakuretsu Armor. I'm gonna need to knock that out soon.' Yuki thought as he drew his next card, and smirked at what he drew. "Okay, I'll set one card face down, and tribute my Red Eyes Chick, to special summon Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

The crowd gasped in shock, as Yuki had never played that card before. And the fact that he had yet another rare and powerful monster like that in his deck, was a real shocker. The pitch black dragon roared at Torimaki, as it materialized on the field. Atk-2400 Def-2000.

"Oh this is heating up." Alexis said, leaning forward slightly in her seat. "Only one more turn until the swords vanish."

Both Jasmine and Mindy blinked in surprise. "What's with you Lex?"

"Yeah." Mindy piped up. "You've never been this interested in a duel before."

"Okay, my draw." Torimaki smirked evilly as he drew his next card. "And I'll play the spell Mystical Space Typhoon, and destroy your swords."

"Uh-oh…" Yuki winced as his swords were blown away.

"Now my Thunder Dragon attacks your Ruby Dragon!" Torimaki ordered, and his monster reared its duel heads back.

"Not so fast Torimaki, I have a trap! Negate attack, which ends your battle phase!"

Kai nodded, unable to help the smile on his face. "Good move Yuki."

"Good move." Torimaki conceded. "Your turn now."

"Okay then, draw!" Yuki smiled yet again. "Right then, first I'll play my face down card Dust Tornado! And I'll destroy your face down card."

Torimaki winced, as his face down Sakuretsu Armor was destroyed. "Good move."

Chazz scowled. "What's going on? Why is Torimaki complementing that Slifer Slacker?"

"But it was a good move Chazz." Raiou said, which only caused Chazz to scowl all the more.

"Then I'll activate Emblem of a Legendary Warrior, allowing me to add Buster Blader to my hand. Finally I'll activate my own Pollymarization, and fuse my Buster Blader with my Ruby Dragon! Now Rise: Buster Blader the Dragonslayer Swordsman!" The familiar monster rose in place where Ruby Dragon had been. Atk-2800 Def-2500.

"But I'm not done there, as I'm sure you know my monster forces all my opponent's dragons into defense mode, and has piercing damage." Yuki said, as both of Torimaki's dragons folded their wings. "And he gets stronger for every dragon monster my opponent has on his field."

Buster Blader Atk-4800

"This is good." Fujin said, leaning forward in her seat. "With the right card, Yuki can win right now."

"And finally I'll activate the last card in my hand. The Claw of Hermos!"

Everyone in the arena was shocked, including Chancellor Sheppard and Dr. Crowler.

"What?"

"No way!"

"He has that card!?"

Yuki smirked, as he slid the card into his duel disk. "Now I'll fuse Hermos with my Red Eyes, and create my Red Eyes Black Dragon Sword!" A long black sword that had the outline of Yuki's Red Eyes appeared on the field. Atk-2400 Def-2000. "And it gets better, because this monster becomes an equip spell, and I know the perfect monster to give it to. My Buster Blader!"

The warrior monster took the blade, as its attack and defense boosted. Atk-7200 Def 4500.

"Now go Buster Blader, destroy Spear Dragon! Infernal Fire Slash!" Yuki cried, as Buster Blader swung the Red Eyes Sword at the wyvern, and slashed it down the middle. The dragon exploded into a cloud of pixels, but Buster Blader wasn't done there. It swung the blade yet again, this time an arc of fiery energy shot from the blade, and hit Torimaki in the center of the chest.

Torimaki-LP 0000

The crowd exploded into cheers, as 'Burn It Down' played over the speakers. Yuki shook Torimaki's hand yet again, before his sister, Kai, and Fujin approached him. "You're good, come by … well come by the Ra dorm sometime. I'd be happy to take a look at your deck, and help you out if you'd like."

"Maybe I'll take you up on that … after I settle that score with your sister." Torimaki said, walking off.

"What did I tell you huh?" Kai laughed, being the first one to reach the platform. He wrapped an arm about Yuki's shoulders, ruffling his hair. "I'm so proud of you!"

"You did great out there!" Fujin smiled, wrapping Yuki up in one of her rib cracking hugs.

"Oh god… someone help…" Yuki wheezed.

"So about this story you promised." Kai said nudging Yuki's side. He along with Fujin, Yumei, Jaden, Cyrus, Chumley, and Alexis who was being accompanied by Jasmine and Mindy were all hanging out in Yuki's new dorm room. Even Torimaki had decided to join, though more to take Yuki up on his offer.

"Right." Yuki said, pulling out the monster card he had pulled out of the pack a few days ago: Palladium Oracle Mahad. Then taking out his ghost rare Black Magician. "These two cards are tied together, and tied to our family."

Yuki took a deep breath before explaining. "Remember when Professor Banner explained about how the game of Duel Monsters originated in Egypt? Well the Black Magician used to be this card." He pointed to Mahad. "He was one of Pharoah Atem's priests, and the original holder of the Millenium Ring. You see Mahad gave up his life to become the Black Magician, so he could always be by Atem's side."

"Just like this monster's effect." Yumei interjected. "When Mahad is destroyed, you're allowed to summon a Black Magician from your hand, deck, or graveyard."

"So how does this all tie into your family?" Fujin asked, though she was leaning in like everone else in Yuki's dorm.

"Our older brother Yuri." Yuki explained. "See when Mahad died, he placed a part of his spirit inside the Millenium Ring, so that should whoever found it would be able to aid the Pharoah's spirit find peace. The person who had possession of the Ring until all the Millenium Items were lost, was our older brother Yuri. Who was Mahad reincarnated.