Legionstone: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! Hopefully her deck will be a surprise…. ;)
Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! I'll be honest, I had those ideas in my head when I was younger, but then I realized it would kind of be like many other stories on this site, so I decided to avoid them. :)
Thank you to those who favorited and followed this story, it means a lot because it gives me more motivation to continue with this idea!
Also, a note; my story will not strictly follow 4Kids' version of the show. I'm borrowing some elements from both the original Japanese version (you'll see some of them in this chapter) and the English dub. The names, as already seen, are the ones from the 4Kids' version.
Anyway, on with the story!
I only own my OC's!
"WHAT?!" I let out a scream in astonishment. Suddenly, Ben started laughing. "Okay, I can see where Serena gets her sense of humor from. This is hilarious!" He burst in uncontrollable laughter by now. At that moment, I wished I could laugh along with him. I wished I thought this was just a bad joke.
However, I knew better. The serious look in Mum's eyes and on Dad's face told me everything I needed to know. Nonetheless, like many of my parents' previous decisions, this one made no sense. Firstly, they knew how much I hated the whole concept of Duel Monsters. Secondly, they knew I would never want this. Thirdly, they would barely let me go alone out of their sight, so why would they send me far away from them?! And fourthly, they were the ones who had forbidden me to even play with Duel Monsters when I was little (not that I liked them or anything)!
"Benjamin, it's not a joke." Uncle Luca spoke up seriously, a frown on his face. My cousin stopped laughing at hearing his father's words. "Wait, you're SERIOUS?!" He shouted, his eyes widening even more with every word he uttered.
By now, my efforts to calm down were utterly useless. In fact, Ben's disbelief just made me even more panicked. I didn't want to go to that stupid academy, and I didn't want to have anything to do with those stupid cards! Did the world really hate me that much for even hating Duel Monsters in the first place?!
"SHE DOESN'T/I DON'T EVEN LIKE DUEL MONSTERS!" Ben and I exclaimed in unison with our jaws dropping to the floor. "We're aware." Dad spoke up calmly with hands in pockets of his suit. "Then what's the point of the whole thing?" I glared.
However, I didn't care. All of the panic I had felt before was slowly turning into anger. It seemed that no matter how old I was, my parents still wanted to control everything in my life, even my future! They knew I didn't want to be a duelist. They knew I loved nature more than anything. Why were they forcing me into something I didn't want?! Parents were supposed to be supportive! Yet my own ones were total opposites of good parents in every way possible…
"The point is going there will be good for you." Mum elaborated firmly. "You mean, good for you?" I corrected her angrily. "No, for you." Dad walked up to me. "Doing something I don't like is good for me?" I growled.
He, Mum and Uncle exchanged glances. His brother then gave him what seemed to be a nod. His amber eyes then landed on me, looking straight into my light blue ones. "As soon as you graduate from the Duel Academy, you'll be allowed to do whatever you want. Until then, you're going there and that's it." He spoke in tone which said 'no arguing'.
"What if I don't want to go? What if I get expelled?" I demanded, my fury rising with every second. "We'll transfer you to another academy. We'll find another school if we have to." Dad shot back. "You're not getting out of this one, Serena." Mum added with that serious look on her face.
My hands slowly started curling into fists while I tried to prevent brimming tears from streaming down my cheeks. This wasn't fair…
Ben looked at me with a frown. His gaze then turned back to my parents. "Uncle… With all due respect, but why are you forcing Serena into something she clearly doesn't want? Weren't you and Aunt Chiara the ones who forbade her to play with those cards when she was little?" He questioned a bit irritated.
"It's for her own good." Mum repeated blankly. "But how…" "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD ABOUT THIS SUBJECT FROM EITHER OF YOU! IS THAT CLEAR?!" Dad finally roared at both Ben and me, making us flinch.
I looked up right into my father's angry eyes. Words couldn't describe how angry I was at both him and Mum… Seeing how I had no chance of winning in this argument, I turned on my heel and ran out of the room.
As soon as I was in my room, I grabbed my herbarium and threw myself at the bed. I opened the herbarium and started looking through it. Yet that didn't help me calm down at all. All I knew was that my parents were basically sending me somewhere against my own will…
The door opened. I looked up to see Ben walking in. He sat on the bed next to me. "How are you feeling?" He asked me with a sympathetic smile. "Awful." I frowned. "Duel Academy has only three years, you know." He tried to look on the bright side. "Which means I'll lose only three years of my life, huh?" I raised an eyebrow at my cousin, daring him to respond to that accusation.
"If you keep looking at the academy like prison, then it will be." Ben sighed. "What are you implying?" I gave him a questioning look. "I really don't know why your parents are hell-bent on sending you there. However, it will be easier for you if you try to find the bright side in all of this." He explained. "Bright side?" I looked at him in disbelief.
He nodded before smiling. "Just think of people you'll be able to meet there. You'll probably be able to explore the Academy's flora and fauna even better." I frowned for a moment. I hadn't thought of it in such way before… He did kind of have a point…
"Where exactly is the Duel Academy?" I asked slowly, looking in his direction. "From what I heard; it's located on an island in the Southern Japan." He looked up at me. "However, Dad just told me you're not going there."
By now, I didn't understand a single thing. "Whoa, wait, wait," I stopped him. "How am I not going there if my parents had just said they're sending me to the Duel Academy?" I asked perplexed. Ben looked at me in realization before he started laughing. "Sorry, I completely forgot you don't know much about the academy."
He then straightened up. "Duel Academy is the main one, it has four subsidiaries. One is called North Academy, and it's located somewhere in the arctic. The South Academy is in between Australia and New Zealand." He stopped for a moment. Wait, there were five of those hell prisons?! I gaped at him.
"The East Academy is somewhere near America, while the West Academy is in Europe, in between Sicily and Sardinia." "Wait, the West Academy is practically in Italy?!" I asked to make sure. "Yes." My cousin nodded. "In fact, your parents are sending you there." He then added.
My eyebrows furrowed. "Wouldn't it be more logical to send me to the main one instead?" I guessed. Ben shrugged his shoulders. "It would be, but they said something about moving back to Italy while you're at the academy." I let out a groan at those words. "Such paranoia…" I commented. "It is weird. Not even Dad wants to talk about this." He looked at me uncertainly.
However, Uncle Luca then started calling Ben to come down. "I've got to go; Mum is waiting for us home at lunch." He said, getting off the bed. I sighed. Just as I was beginning to feel a bit better by talking to Ben about this…
"You know, you can talk to you know who about this." He whispered to me with a reassuring smile, as if he knew what I was thinking at the moment. I simply nodded, not knowing what else to say.
As soon as Ben was out of the room, I sighed and put jasmines on another page of my herbarium. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't stop thinking about what just happened. I couldn't get the idea of going to a dueling school out of my head. Just how was this supposed to be good for me?! I didn't understand a thing, and it annoyed me so much!
However, I took out my phone and dialed the phone number for the second time today. It was ringing for a few seconds. "Yes?" "Hey." I greeted quietly. "Did something happen?" Sartorius asked over the phone, concern in his voice present. "Mind if I come over again? I need a talk with someone rational." I asked a bit bitterly.
"Of course. Sarina is here as well." "See you." I hung up and walked out of the room. While I was walking downstairs, I could see Mum and Dad talking to each other.
However, they looked at me the moment I came down. "Where are you going?" Dad questioned. "I want to talk to my friend." I said coldly. "Well, seeing none of us are able to accompany you, you're not going anywhere." Mum declared firmly. "Why?" I demanded icily. "We have work, that's why." She retorted. I let out a groan, but knew it was better not to argue with them after this. I would find another way out of the house.
"Your aunt is coming here at five o'clock. She'll help you in choosing your deck." Dad added. I let out a laugh in disbelief. "Choosing my deck? I can just pick some random cards!" I pointed out in amusement with a smirk. Mum shook her head. "It doesn't work like that."
I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Since when are you so well-informed about Duel Monsters, Mum?" I questioned. "My sister-in-law happens to design those cards." She reminded. "Chiara, we're late!" Dad suddenly exclaimed, pointing at his watch. Her eyes widened as well. "Then we need to run!" She agreed. "We're locking the door." Dad added, showing the key in his hands. They literally slammed the door behind them.
Letting out a groan, I threw myself at the couch. Whenever no one was able to accompany for whatever reason those two thought it was necessary, they would leave me locked in the house… However, I was used to it by now. I had another way of escaping out of here, and coming back without them noticing.
I raced to my room and opened the window. There was a huge tree branch just outside it, and it was able to hold my weight. I slowly climbed down the tree, but not before making sure to leave the window open.
As soon as I jumped off the tree, I ran down the street.
I knocked on the door of the house. After a few moments, someone opened them. A woman was looking at me from the entrance. She was dressed in red and white ceremonial clothes with sandals. Her long, dark hair was in a ponytail, and she had bangs.
"Serena!" The woman greeted, a huge smile appearing on her face. "Hi Sarina." I smiled back before jumping into a hug. "Sartorius said you had been here, but I wasn't able to make it in time." She said once we pulled away from the hug. "You didn't miss much." I said reassuringly. "Ben was here too, but then he freaked out once he saw the 'Austin Phoenix' guy."
The woman let out a laugh. "It's Aster, dear." She corrected me. "Whatever, you know I'm not good with remembering names of people I don't know." I reminded. "Wait, you know him too?" I then asked curiously.
She shook her head. "Not personally. In fact, I never met him, because he usually comes when I'm not here. However, Sartorius told me a lot about him." She explained. "Oh." I said simply in realization. Sarina then let me in.
"Some tea?" She suggested. "What flavors do you have?" I looked at her curiously. "For now, only Sencha and Kukicha." "Sencha, please." I smiled. "Sarina, could you make some Sencha tea for me too?" Sartorius' voice could be heard from the room in front of us.
The woman rolled her eyes for a moment. "How about 'please', brother dearest?" She asked, pretending to be offended. "Please, Sarina." He added from the room after what seemed to be a sigh. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Sarina let out a chuckle before looking at me. "Go ahead, I'll join you two once I make some tea." I nodded before she walked upstairs.
I walked into the room. "I guess things aren't looking good for you either?" I guessed with a raised eyebrow once I sat in a chair across Sartorius. He looked up at me with a frown, away from his cards. "What makes you think so?" "The sigh you let out after Sarina made that 'please' joke." I elaborated with my arms folded.
"What's bothering you anyway?" I then asked while looking at the cards on the table. "What the cards are telling me." The man said simply, taking one and observing it. "What do they say?" I tried to look at the card in his hand to no avail.
He then showed it to me. I frowned. It seemed to be some sort of black light going in different directions… "Future isn't looking well for me." He explained while pointing at it. "What made you come to that conclusion?" I asked a bit alarmed. "The light in the picture shows uncertainty. Instead of being white, it's black. It going in different directions shows it can happen in any way possible."
I looked up at him in surprise. "You're sure?" I asked, receiving a nod. "It's at times like this I wish your predictions were wrong." I let out a sigh. Sartorius looked up, frowning at me. "It's at times like this I wish I never had this ability." He said grimly. Wait… Did I just hear that?!
My eyes widened. "But why? Getting to know more about future is great!" I pointed out in confusion. "Maybe from what you see. However, for me, this ability is sometimes more of a curse than blessing." The man said. I could hear bitterness in his voice. It surprised me a bit, to be honest. For the time I knew Sartorius, he never said anything bad about his ability to predict the future… However, I never got to hear his general opinion about it, now that I thought of it better. Nonetheless, it was still surprising to me.
"But why?" I asked simply. It looked like he was contemplating whether he should tell me something or not. However, his mouth then formed into a thin, straight line. Maybe I went too far with asking… "Sorry for prying…" I started, only to be cut off. "No, it's alright. Now, if you excuse me…" Sartorius suddenly stood up, walking out of the room.
I watched his disappearing figure in confusion. He never walked out like that… Yet, at the same time, I couldn't help feeling bad. Why did I even bring up that subject in the first place?! I didn't mean to upset him!
"Serena, you're an idiot." I growled to myself. "Don't get so upset over my brother's reaction," Sarina's voice made me look up. She was carrying a tray with three cups of tea. As soon as she put the tray on the table, she offered one cup to me. "He always took it harder than me." She added as I took it in my hands.
I frowned. "What are you talking about?" I raised an eyebrow. The woman sighed and sat into the chair previously occupied by her brother. "Ever since we've been young, Sartorius and I have been harassed by people because of our abilities to see the future. They always shunned us. They were disgusted, and they even made fun of us as we went into adolescence." She started explaining.
My eyes widened in shock. Was that true?! "Really?!" I demanded. Sarina simply nodded. "Eventually, all of the harassment had become so overbearing that we had to leave home. We always had to stick together, which is why we've become so close."
She looked away for a moment. "I've learned not to care about other people," She looked back at me. "However, Sartorius still harbors distrust and resentment towards them in general." "He had never showed it before." I muttered. Honestly, that kind of behavior disgusted me. They were making fun of people just because they were different from the others...
Sarina smiled before getting off her chair and walking up to me. "It's because he doesn't feel that way about you. It's the same case with Aster, Ben, and your aunt and uncle." She put a hand on my shoulder.
"However, seeing into the future isn't always fun." The woman then added. "In which cases?" I looked up at her. "If you predict how long someone's life will last, for example." She frowned. "You have a point there…" I admitted after a few moments of silence. I just couldn't imagine knowing how long I would live, because it felt awful… "So that's why Sartorius is feeling uneasy at the moment? Because of future not looking well for him in that way?" I presumed.
Sarina shook her head. "No, what he predicted was unspecific. What he knows is something bad will happen. However, he doesn't know what, when, or how." She explained gently. "Then that's even worse." I pointed out with a frown. "It doesn't have to mean that."
She then smiled. "Now, why did you want to talk to 'someone rational' as my brother had put it?" I let out a sigh while playing with strands of my red hair. "My parents' goal is to make next three years of my life a living hell, that's why." I said, my voice dripping with more sarcasm with every next word I uttered.
"Why's that?" The woman asked perplexed. That was when Sartorius walked back into the room, pulling a nearby chair to sit by the table where we were. "That's what I'd want to know as well." He agreed with his sister, acting as if nothing had happened before.
I rolled my eyes. "My parents are sending me to a duel academy in Italy, that's why." I grumbled. Both Sarina and Sartorius looked at each other, their eyes widening. They then looked back at me. "That's… So sudden." The former finally said. "They're serious?" The latter questioned, his eyebrows furrowing.
"Unfortunately, they are." I sighed with hands on my chin. "Why did they decide to do that?" Sarina asked a bit cautiously. I kind of expected surprised reactions from them, but I never expected them to be this shocked… If anything, it was a bit weird.
However, I paid no attention to that. "They said how it would be good for me." I explained sulkily. "Even though I don't understand how doing something you obviously hate is good for you…." I then trailed off unimpressed while playing with my red strands.
"They must have some sort of reason." Sartorius quickly said. "And even though it may seem a bit odd, everything they do is because they care about you." Sarina added. I looked up at them in disbelief. "Wait, so you're defending them?!" I asked a bit offended.
"We're not defending anyone." The woman quickly responded. "We just think they must have a good reason for their decision." Her brother agreed after a few moments of silence. "They're your parents after all." He then added. "Overprotective parents." I corrected him in a bit of annoyance.
He shook his head in disbelief. "Maybe they are, but still, there's nothing you can do if their decision is final!" He quickly pointed out. "What exactly did they say?" Sarina added. "They said that once I graduate from the academy, I'm allowed to do whatever I want." I explained, this time folding my arms and straightening up.
"Then you just need to wait. Three years can pass in a blink of an eye." She told me reassuringly. "Ben told me to look at the positive things about this…." I trailed off. "And your cousin's right. If you keep looking only at bad side of this, then it will be even harder." Sartorius looked at me.
"I won't get to see you two or Ben so often anymore. I'll literally be on another continent." I sighed. "We can always stay in touch thanks to phones, remember?" He reminded. "Ben's going to Duel Academy as well, so you wouldn't get to see him at all." Sarina added.
I stayed quiet. "Serena, you're worrying too much." She then said. "Everything will be completely fine if you start looking at it from another side. You have to be brave, and you have to be ready for new things." Sartorius added.
Letting out a sigh, I hugged both of the siblings.
By the time I climbed back into my room, it was five o'clock. Just as I closed the window, I could hear someone opening the door. "Serena!" My aunt's voice could be heard throughout the house. "Aunt Maria, I'm here!" I shouted and ran downstairs.
I found her in the living room. Unlike Ben and Uncle Luca, Aunt Maria had light brown eyes and dark brown hair. Ben was a spiting image of his father in almost every way possible; apart from his nose. He had it just like Aunt. Right now, she was dressed in a long, dark blue dress with short sleeves.
"I haven't seen you for three months!" I grinned and hugged her. "Far too long, dear." Aunt Maria agreed, hugging me back. "So, you're here to help me choose the so-called deck?" I asked once we pulled away from the hug.
She frowned. "I was thinking of that as well," She started while looking through her bag. After about a minute, she took something with her right hand. "However, then I remembered something." I raised an eyebrow at cards she was holding. I couldn't count how many of them were there… But again, I didn't even know how much a normal deck was supposed to have, so that was kind of my problem.
"What's that?" I asked curiously. Aunt Maria led me to the couch before we sat down. "I have a few decks at home, so at first I wanted to give you one until you made your own." She said while shuffling the cards. "But then I realized I had something else." She offered me the cards.
I slowly took them, my eyebrows furrowing. Looking at one card, my eyes widened in slight surprise. There was a picture on the card. A fungus seemed to be in the picture, except that it had eyes. I quickly looked at another card. A flycatcher plant was on it. Once I looked through other cards, one thing was clear. All of them were connected to nature in some sort of way, from the smallest fungus to the largest animal in the world!
"Where did you get this deck?" I asked Aunt Maria in astonishment. "Maximillion Pegasus gave it to me about three years ago after winning them in a tournament. However, I dueled only so I could improve my abilities, so initially I refused to accept the deck. However, he insisted that I accept it, so I could at least give it to someone else."
She then smiled. "So, when your parents told me you were going to West Duel Academy, and I started looking for some old decks, I remembered this one. I've never used it, but it's as if it was literally made for you. You love nature after all." She was right… It was as if it was made for me, because I loved nature more than anything… However, I still wasn't keen on the dueling idea. I was simply admiring the cards.
"There's only one version of this deck, and it's not complete." Aunt added, making me look up. "The other part is with cards concerning unliving nature. When together, those two form the Deck of Nature." I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "However," She then frowned. "I think this half is enough for your first year. Once you prove to me you've become a better duelist, and that you're worthy of this deck, I'll give you the other half."
I sighed. "Aunt Maria, I don't even know how to duel!" I reminded with a frown. "Ben will teach you all of the rules." She said cheerfully. "It's a part of your exam after all." She added. I didn't say anything.
Instead, I kept looking at the cards. It was as if they were staring right into my soul. And I knew that I got myself into something scary and unknown. I didn't know a thing about dueling, which was frightening. However, I was going to listen to Sartorius' and Sarina's advice.
I was going to go out there with my head high, and I wasn't going to be afraid. The Academy lasted for only three years. That was going to pass quick, right?
Well, that's chapter two! Thoughts? I hope you liked it! Until next time!