Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :) Hahaha, of course Serena would refuse to hang out with 'dueling fanatics', that's why she's avoiding contact with people at the Academy in general… ;) And thanks, I appreciate those words! :)

The Black Knight: Thank you, I appreciate both your words and advice. :)

Before continuing with the chapter, I just want to make something about my story clear. Yes, this story is set during GX canon. I've put characters on the front page that I did for a reason. Everything I've written in the description there is for a reason. I've even stated that this is my take on the show. It will follow things in it, but with my take and twists on them. It's my story, my rules. Therefore, if you don't like these kinds of stories, you can go and click the 'back' button because this thing is not for you then.

Hope that clears it up.

I only own my OC's!

By the time I was in front of the Slifer Red dorm, Ben was waiting for me there. He was dressed in his Obelisk Blue uniform, which consisted of a long, dark blue blazer with white lines, black pants, grey sneakers, and a grey shirt beneath the blazer. I blinked in surprise. I never heard in which dorm he was… Seeing him in elite dorm was a bit surprising.

"Wait, you've been in Obelisk Blue all this time?" I finally asked when I walked up to my cousin. He rolled his eyes. "Buona sera to you too, cuzz." He replied sarcastically while folding his arms. It was my turn to do an eyeroll. "Buona sera, Benjamin." I finally said, earning a smirk from him.

Suddenly, he lifted up his right hand and started ruffling my hair. "Hey!" I objected and tried to stop him to no avail. His hand kept going through my hair on purpose. "Just because you're the taller one, that doesn't give you right to do this!" I shouted. "Oh, yes it does!" Ben retorted playfully and kept ruffling it even more.

By now, hair was all over my face. "Happy now?" I asked with a glare. "Very." He answered with a smirk. "To answer your previous question, no. I started here as Ra Yellow. I've just been promoted to Obelisk Blue." He then said, with obvious pride in his voice.

"So you're stuck with elite gang?" I asked unimpressed. "Not all of them are such idiots, you know." Ben pointed out. "Like?" I demanded. "Alexis is quite nice, and Zane was good." I raised an eyebrow, obviously not knowing who he was talking about. "Who are…" I started, but then closed my mouth. "You know what? I do not need to know."

That earned me a huff from my cousin. "Suit yourself. Anyway, where have you been?" I looked at him for a moment, wondering whether I should tell him about my encounter with the guy fanatic. Why was I even calling him that? Apart from his obsession with stupid dueling, that Jaden guy actually looked like a nice person… I think the 'obsession' part pretty much explained it. However, I still found it a bit too harsh.

He saved my cards from falling into the ocean, and he apologized to me… The least I could do was not call him rude names. "Has cat got your tongue?" Ben demanded with a raised eyebrow, seeing I was quiet. I bit my lower lip. If him and Jaden were really friends, then my cousin would find out about our encounter anyway. Therefore, I could tell him.

"I was walking around the dorm when the wind blew some cards out my deck," I started. I decided to avoid mentioning strange light I had seen. It would sound pretty weird after all. "So I tried to catch them. Then I ran into your friend Jaden Yuki. He saved my cards and gave them back to me." I said simply.

A smile appeared on Ben's face. "Ah, so you've finally met Jay?" A huge grin appeared on his face. I nodded. "What do you think?" I gave him a perplexed look. "I'm afraid I don't understand." I replied truthfully. "What's your opinion about him?" My cousin elaborated with a smile.

I frowned for a moment. Again, Jaden wasn't so bad if we didn't count his obsession with dueling… But I knew what would happen if I said this. Ben would be happy, and try to introduce me to the rest of his friends. Then they would talk about dueling, and I wouldn't even survive my first night here. I didn't want that.

"He's obsessed with dueling, which can be annoying." I pointed out the truth. Ben let out a sigh. "If you say so." He then smiled. "What do you think about Slifer Red dorm?" "Apart from it looking like an outhouse with a deck, it's fine. I have a whole room to myself." I said simply. "Well, you're the only girl in Slifer Red, that's why." He pointed out.

I raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. An only girl, he said? I had no idea, because West Duel Academy had a lot of girls in Slifer Red there… That's why this was rather surprising. However, again, that meant I wouldn't run into annoying girls…

My eyes widened once I realized what it meant. There weren't girls, sure… But then I'd be stuck with all the guys! Jaden and his little buddy were in Slifer too! "Mamma mia…" I sweat dropped. "What is it?" Ben demanded impatiently. "Apart from the fact I'm stuck with all the guys in the dorm, everything is totally fine!" I responded in annoyance.

"I know a few guys from Slifer Red who are actually nice people," Ben started, making me roll my eyes. Here we go again… "Like Jaden, Syrus and Chazz!" He finished. "Fine." I sighed. That was when his eyes widened. "Speaking of those three… There they are!" He pointed behind my back. WHAT?!

I quickly turned around in panic to see he was indeed right. Jaden, and other two guys from before (the short one and the one in black) were slowly walking towards the Slifer dorm… "Well, thanks Ben, I'll see you later…" I started with a forced smile, already thinking of a way to avoid socializing with those guys. However, Ben suddenly caught me by my right wrist.

"Ben, what are you doing?!" I hissed at him. "Hey Jay, Chazz, Sy!" He shouted over to them. "Let go of me right now." I told my cousin threateningly. However, he only kept smiling, and of course, ignoring me.

Finally, I managed to break free from my cousin's grip. I made a run towards my room. As soon as I was inside, I slammed the door behind me. I then let out a breath and leaned against the door with a smile. That was close… Sun has already set by now. Judging by talking outside my room, I could guess it was time for welcoming dinner.

Suddenly, I could feel my stomach growling. About damn time too, since I was starving…

I followed other Slifer Red students (guys, if we wanted to be more technical) through middle door at the upper floor. They appeared to be bigger than all other ones. I took that moment to look around the place.

It was a rather narrow room with a lot of tables, benches, and yellow walls… Plates were already at the table. I raced to the furthest bench in the bench, right next to a corner. After sitting down, I looked down at one of the plates. They had fried shrimps with rice tonight…

I grinned. Sure, I preferred fried calamari and fried octopus over shrimps, but this wasn't bad either… Especially when you were hungry. I waited a few minutes for everyone to sit inside, kind of expecting for a professor to come in and start his speech. However, there was none of that. Instead, everyone started eating their dinner.

Shrugging my shoulders, I grinned and grabbed my sticks. The sooner we started eating, the better! Just as I was about to grab one shrimp with the sticks, I could see someone walking up to a bench across me. I raised an eyebrow and looked up to see… Jaden. He sat on the bench. "Hey." He greeted with a smile.

I stayed quiet for a few moments, wondering what to say at his greeting. At the same time, I couldn't help feeling annoyed. Who asked him to come and sit here?! I was completely fine by myself! However, I didn't want to end up rude, considering he hadn't even started talking about that subject yet. If he did, then I'd start being angry.

"Hey." I greeted back coldly and put the shrimp in my mouth. It actually tasted quite well… I daresay, even better than West Academy's cooking. I couldn't believe I was saying this, since I really loved food back there…

The brown-haired guy was looking straight at me while taking one shrimp from his plate. "I didn't get to ask you… What do you think of the Duel Academy so far?" He asked once he finished chewing it. I frowned, wondering whether to be brutally honest with the guy, or just say something so he could leave me alone.

Finally, I put my sticks on the plate. "Conditions here are better than at the West Academy." I said neutrally. Jaden looked at my plate. "You're not hungry?" He raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, a huge grin appeared on his face. "In that case, can I take yours too?"

My eyes widened once he tried to take one of shrimps with his sticks. Oh, no, I WASN'T going to let him do so! I swiftly grabbed the plate and put it above my head, far away from Jaden's reach. "Back off." I looked at the guy with a glare. Who did he think he was, randomly taking other people's food without checking to see whether they didn't want it?!

His eyes widened for a few seconds before he started rubbing the back of his head. "Then why aren't you eating? It will be cold!" He pointed out in confusion. "I'm not eating because you decided to come and talk to me. As much as it sounds wrong, I'd rather wait to eat than accidentally choke on something while talking to you." I scowled.

"Alright, fine, no need to get so worked up!" Jaden lifted his hands up (with the right one still holding those sticks). "I won't if your hands go back to your half of table, far away from my plate." I gave him a warning look. He quickly moved them away with a pout. I smirked and put my food back in front of me.

That was when the guy dressed in black walked past Jaden, putting a hand on his right shoulder. His black eyes looked at the guy before landing on me. They then went back to Jaden. "Would you look at that…" He started in amusement with a smirk on his face. "It seems like Ben's cousin put you in place, Slacker!" The black-dressed guy started laughing.

That earned him an eyeroll from Jaden. "Very funny, Chazz." WAIT… My eyes widened in surprise. That guy was… The one my cousin couldn't stop going on and on about?! "Wait, you're Chazz Princeton?!" I blurted out in surprise. Both of the guys looked at me.

"Lady, one small correction. It's The Chazz." He pointed at himself with an even bigger smirk. I raised an eyebrow with my chin resting in my hands. "In other words, you're the guy who shouted at my poor cousin and caused the security to come?" I reminded. "He did step on my foot." The black-dressed guy, now known to me as Chazz, simply said.

I rolled my eyes but stayed quiet. Chazz then looked at Jaden. "Anyway, good luck Slacker." He smirked before smirking at me as well. He then walked away. I raised an eyebrow at his retreating form but said nothing.

"Jay, wait up!" The blue-haired guy suddenly sat on a bench on my left side. I eyed both of them with a raised eyebrow. To be honest, this was beginning to become a bit annoying… Why were they so willing to sit with me?! "Sy, where have you been?" Jaden asked him. "I forgot where I had put my glasses." He explained.

His grey eyes then landed on me. No sooner than that, he whispered something to Jaden who apparently whispered something back as well. They turned back to me with sheepish smiles on their faces. Jaden was trying to straighten his blazer's right sleeve, and the other guy kept looking at me.

"Jay told me who you were…" He trailed off. "I'm Syrus Truesdale!" He then offered me a hand. "Serena Accardi." I said simply and shook it. The short guy eyed me from head to toe. I, on the other hand, took another shrimp with my sticks. "So…" The guy, Syrus started, as if he was looking for a proper way to express himself.

"You're from Italy?" He presumed. I shook my head. "My parents are Italian, but I was born in Domino City." I finally said blankly, while hoping that would make them stop asking more questions. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. "Really?" The short guy asked in surprise.

I simply nodded. "Sweet." Jaden smiled, making me look at him. I had no idea why that was so interesting to him, but I didn't even care. "I see…" The 'Syrus' guy trailed off. "Jay and Ben had just said how you hate Duel Monsters?" He then added.

I resisted the urge to slam the plate on the table right in front of them. I could tolerate those two as long as they didn't mention stupid cards… But now they just had to ruin it. Damn them for asking, and damn Ben for spilling my personal information to the world!

Looking away from my plate, I eyed both of them with a frown. "That's true." I managed to say evenly. But on the inside, I wanted to just get out of the room, which was pretty much impossible because I hadn't even finished my dinner yet!

"Why?" Jaden asked while chewing one shrimp. My blood boiled immediately as I frowned at him. Why, why did those two have to be so damn annoying with asking questions?! "I just do." I said curtly. "But why? There's always a reason." He argued in confusion. "Because." I replied icily and decided to finish my dinner as quickly I could. I couldn't stand being around them anymore, especially if they kept jumping at me with stupid questions!

After about a few minutes, I was done with eating. "Good night." I said and quickly got out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

Once I was inside my room, I decided to lock the door and just get ready for bed. I was lucky to avoid more talking with those two, and I wanted to leave it at that. After getting ready for bed, I soon found myself drifting off to sleep.

"MUM, PLEASE!" I screamed at my mother pleadingly as she took the cards out of my hands and ripped them apart. Right in front of me. "I don't want to hear any of it. We've told you you're not allowed to play with those cards, and you deliberately disobeyed us." Mum said icily. "But I love them! My friends just told me about…" "I don't care what your friends told you, you can't play with them!" She retorted, making me burst in tears. What else would a then 8-year-old child do?

"Serena, look what I got." Ben showed me a few cards. "I don't want them, Ben." I looked at him angrily. "But… Why?" He looked at me in confusion. "I just don't want them! Go play with stupid cards somewhere else!" I pushed the cards away.

I shot up in my bed with a gasp. Looking around the room, I could see sunrays coming through the window. Letting out a sigh, I quickly grabbed a clock from the table to see what time it was. It was nine o'clock…

As much as I wanted to get back to sleep, I couldn't. Not after those memories which sometimes kept coming back as nightmares. Mum literally tore those stupid cards right in front of my eyes… She and Dad didn't stop there. They forbade me from hanging out with anyone who possessed or played them. Seeing everyone at school played the cards, I ended up all alone. I never even knew what was the point of their ban anyway.

Suddenly, my PDA started ringing. I took it from the table with a frown. Apparently, it was Ben. "What do you want?" I asked in annoyance once I answered his call. I was still mad at him for what he did yesterday after all. "Why are you mad?" He frowned. "Because you decided to spill everything about me to strangers, that's why." I growled.

"They're not strangers. Those are my friends." Ben retorted, sounding somewhat hurt. "Yes, but not mine. You had no right to tell them everything about me like that." I said icily. "Now what do you want?" I added, wanting to get over with the conversation. "First duel this year is starting in few minutes. Do you want to come see it?"

I was staring at him in disbelief. Did he really think that I wanted to come and see some random, stupid duelists fighting with stupid cards?! "No." I replied angrily. He let out a sigh. "Serena, we'll only sit there and watch…" "Which part of 'I don't want to come' didn't you understand?!" I growled at my cousin, cutting him off in process.

He was staring at me with what seemed to be mixture of sadness, hurt, and anger. At that moment, I felt bad for being so harsh towards him. I still didn't want to come, but I didn't have to overreact… "Suit yourself." "Ben, wait…" Dead line. I looked at the PDA with a sigh.

I was such an idiot… But there was nothing I could do now. When Ben got mad, he could sulk for more than few days until he decided to forgive me. When the duel finished, I would apologize to him, and wait for him to stop being angry with me. That was the best option I had.

However, I still had to go outside. I had to clear my mind after this harsh wake up. I dressed into my uniform. After few minutes of contemplating, I decided to tie the Deck Box to the belt on my waist. I had no idea why I was even carrying this thing… Maybe only because everyone else did so as well. I had to fit in, even in this hell hole.

I then got out of the room.

Once I walked down the stairs, I decided to look around. No one seemed to be at the dorm… Nor at the beach right next to it. Everyone must have gone to the main building to watch the first duel of the year. Today was Saturday, so having your first duel at that time in the morning made no sense to me… Was dueling more important to those fanatics than actual sleep? They were even crazier than I thought.

However, that meant I would have peace and quiet for some time! A grin appeared on my face at that thought. I started walking down the road towards the main building. Once I was in front of it, I wondered where to go next.

Finally, I decided to go down a random route. I was about to head down there, when I felt a hand on my right shoulder. I quickly spun around and jumped back with a yelp. "Hey, it's just me!" A familiar voice said, making me sigh in annoyance. I looked up.

Jaden was standing right across me with a huge smile on his face. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. How the heck did he always manage to find me wherever I went? Was he stalking me or what?! "No offense, but… Are you stalking me?" I asked with a frown on my face.

"No? Where did you get that idea?" He rubbed the back of his head, giving me a perplexed look. "Then why are you constantly following me wherever I go?" I demanded, not bothering to hide my annoyance. Don't get me wrong, Jaden wouldn't be so bad if he weren't a dueling fanatic… But he was. Also, I was hoping to be alone, not followed by somebody!

"I was going out of the Dueling Arena when I saw you. We didn't talk much yesterday, so I wanted to get the chance to know you better." The brown-haired guy smiled. I raised an eyebrow. Why he was so insistent on getting to know me better was unknown to me… And it wasn't helping. I was supposed to stay away from duelists, not hang out with them!

Look, I appreciated he was optimistic, and positive and all that, but I didn't want to have anything to do with him, or the others! Why did he have to make things even more complicated?! "Why would you want that?" I asked coldly, looking up.

"I've never met anyone who hates Duel Monsters." Jaden admitted sheepishly. "So what about that? You're going to follow me around because I hate something you're obsessed with?" I questioned with a glare. "You seem like a nice person." He shrugged. It looked like he wasn't even bothered by my 'obsession' insult.

An even bigger frown appeared on my face. How could I seem nice to him after what had happened so far? First, I screamed my lungs out at him last year, then I was prepared to literally assault him yesterday, and I wasn't exactly polite last night either… This guy was weird.

"Well, could you please stop?" I demanded. "I'll literally do anything!" I added desperately. Jaden frowned for a moment. But then, a small smirk appeared on his face. "Anything?" He repeated, his chocolate brown eyes showing something I couldn't put my finger on. "Anything!" I exclaimed, lifting up my arms in air.

"Well, if you insist…" He trailed off. "I challenge you to a duel!" He then declared determinedly. Wait, wait… WAIT… I didn't mean that!

I was gaping at him. "You're what?!" "I'm challenging you to a duel. If you win, I'll stop following you. If I win, then nothing. How about that?" Jaden elaborated, his smirk becoming bigger. "Why would I accept that?" I asked in disbelief while looking up.

"I'm offering you a deal, that's why. Besides, I want to see you in action." He smiled, his eyes looking right into mine. There was this mischievous glint to them. Usually, people stayed away from me whenever I wanted to be alone, but this guy was so insistent on following me around…

I stayed quiet for a few seconds, considering my options. If I accepted the duel, I had the chance to finally get him off my back by winning. And it looked like he wasn't going to give up any time soon… Damn him, damn dueling, and damn all other duelists!

"Fine. If it's a duel you want, then you'll get it!" I finally exclaimed before I could even think of what exactly I was saying. I probably should have thought it through… But, right now, the only thing in my mind was doing anything he said. Even if it meant dueling.

The moment I said those words, a smile on Jaden's face turned into a huge grin. "Sweet!" He cheered. "Serena, it's time to get your game on!" He declared, taking out his Duel Disk. I raised an eyebrow while folding my arms. I had no idea what the thing was with the 'get your game on' quote… Nor did I want to know. It would have to wait, considering I didn't have my Duel Disk here with me.

"Well, I'm afraid 'getting my game on', or whatever you've said already, will have to wait. I didn't bring my Duel Disk." I said coldly. The brown-haired guy sweat dropped at my statement. "You don't carry your Duel Disk with you?" He questioned. "No." I replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why would I carry it on my arm like an idiot?" "You can always carry it in a backpack, you know." He pointed out.

I looked at him. "You know, you're right…" I trailed off with a finger on my chin and a thoughtful expression. "But I don't want to!" I then added with a smirk, earning another sweat drop from the guy.

Once I grabbed my Duel Disk, I slammed the door behind me. I then ran downstairs and a bit away from the dorm. Jaden was there, waiting for me. "Are you ready?" He asked excitedly. I eyed him warily. "Just to make this clear. If I win, you'll stop following me?" I repeated. He nodded.

I frowned at him while taking out my deck. I shuffled it a few times and put it in the slot of the Duel Disk. We then backed away so we could get a good distance between each other. I activated my Duel Disk just as Jaden did the same with his own one.

Jaden: 4000 LP

Me: 4000 LP

"My turn!" Jaden drew a sixth card from his deck. "First I'll summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode!" He declared. A giant-looking monster which looked like it was made of clay appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:800/2000) in Defense Mode. I raised an eyebrow at the monster. I've never heard of Elemental Heroes… This one had a lot of Defense Points, that was for sure. "I'll throw down three facedowns and end my turn." The brown-haired guy set down three cards.

I drew a sixth card before looking at what I had in my left hand. I had some kind of idea where to start… "I'll summon Desert Rose in Defense Mode." I said and put the card in its slot. The monster appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:1000/500).

"A Desert Rose? What kind of deck is that?" Jaden rubbed the back of his head in confusion. I sighed in annoyance. Did he really have to be so damn curious?! "If you really have to know, my deck is Deck of Living Nature." I said coldly. I definitely wasn't going to tell him the whole story about my deck technically being only a half of it. Hopefully, this explanation would please him.

The look of confusion on his face was slowly replaced with a grin. "Deck of Living Nature? That sounds awesome!" He exclaimed in excitement. I looked up at him unimpressed. Why, why the heck was he getting all excited over stupid cards? That guy really needed to find something more productive in his life…

"Whatever you say." I replied coldly, not bothering to hide my frown. "I'll set a facedown." I finished my turn.

Jaden drew another card. "I'll summon Elemental Hero Avian in Attack Mode." He put the card on the slot of his disk. A green monster with feathers appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:1000/1000). I eyed the weird thing carefully. The first time I'd seen it, really… "Then I'll activate 'Feather Shot'." The guy lifted up a card.

My eyebrows furrowed in utter confusion. What the heck were all those cards?! And why was I hearing about them just now?! Maybe Ben did tell me about them when he mentioned his friends, but I just had to be a jerk and refuse to listen… Look where that got me!

"Thanks to this, my Elemental Hero Avian can attack as many times as number of monsters on my field!" My eyes widened in surprise. What… WHY didn't I listen to Ben more?!

Then, the 'Avian' monster attacked my rose with its feathers, destroying it. Then it attacked me directly. I let out a growl before checking to see my gear. My points were down to 3000.

Jaden: 4000 LP

Me: 3000 LP

"Because you had destroyed my Desert Rose, I can destroy one card at your side of field…" I trailed off. For a moment, I really wanted to destroy his Avian. However, from my previous experience with misusing this special effect, I decided to go for one of facedowns. "I pick one of the facedowns!" I pointed at the one on Jaden's furthest right.

"I end my turn." He said simply. "Finally." I growled while pulling out another card harshly. "First, I'll use 'Mystical Space Typhoon' to destroy another one of your facedowns." I started, revealing my facedown card. It destroyed the second one of his trap cards.

"Next, I activate 'Graceful Charity'!" I declared, lifting up the card in my right hand. "It allows me to draw three cards, but I have to discard two of them." I drew three, and then discarded two cards from my hand.

I then looked up at the field. "I'll summon Wetland Flycatcher in Attack Mode." A giant, plant with eyes and parts which looked like legs appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:1000/800). "It has the same number of points as Avian." Jaden pointed out. "I know that." I frowned. "Which is why I'll equip it with 'Nitrogen Boost'." I lifted up another card in my hand.

White light appeared around my flycatcher. "Thanks to this card, its points rise to 2000." I couldn't help smirking. "Now attack his hero Avian!" I ordered. The plant was about to attack the monster, when… "I activate 'Mirror Force'!" Jaden shouted, revealing his last facedown. "It destroys all of the monsters in Attack Mode on your side of field." He smiled.

My eyes widened yet again as my monster disappeared. Damn it… He was good. "I'll set a facedown and end my turn." I growled.

Jaden drew another card. Then he looked up at me. "So… You hate Duel Monsters, huh?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you care about that?" I gave him my deadliest glare. "It's just weird to me. Why would you be here if you hated them so much?" He shrugged. "You can blame my parents for being stuck with all of you in this hell hole." I retorted angrily. "Your parents?" The brown-haired guy looked up from his card questioningly. "As much as this sounds wrong… How about more dueling, and less talking?" I glared back.

He looked at me with an expression I couldn't figure out. "I'll summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in Attack Mode." He finally said, putting the card in its slot. A monster which looked like a lady dressed in red appeared (ATK/DEF:1200/800). "Then I'll use 'Polymerization'," He suddenly lifted up a card I had never seen before. Polymerization? What the hell was that thing?!

"To fuse Burstinatrix and Avian into Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" A monster which appeared to be a combination of previous two appeared (ATK/DEF:2100/1200). "Attack her directly!" Jaden then ordered. I glared at both him and the monster just as the latter flew to me.

Thankfully, this wasn't over yet. "I activate 'Call Of the Haunted', and I use it to bring back my Desert Rose in Defense Mode!" I cried. The fox appeared on the field yet again. However, Flame Wingman destroyed it either way. I smirked. Maybe the rose was gone, but my Life Points were safe…

"I'll activate Desert Rose's Special Effect to destroy your Hero Clayman." I declared. The monster disappeared from the field.

However, the Wingman then suddenly flew to me. "You've already attacked me!" I shouted to Jaden. "But his Special Ability activates! When your monster is destroyed, you lose the number of Life Points equal to the Attack Points of the destroyed monster!" He explained with this mischievous look on his face.

WHAT?! I let out a yelp once the monster attacked me. It cost me 1000 Life Points…

Jaden: 4000 LP

Me: 2000 LP

I looked up with a glare. "I end my turn." Jaden finished.

I angrily pulled out another card. No way was I going to lose this duel to him… My eyes landed on the guy before I smirked.

"I'll summon Mountain Wolf in Attack Mode." I declared. The wolf appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:800/1500). "Thanks to its Special Ability, it can attack you directly." I explained its Special Ability. "Go, Mountain Wolf, attack his Life Points!" I then ordered the wolf.

It raced right towards Jaden, and attacked him with its claws.

Jaden: 3200 LP

Me: 2000 LP

I'll set two facedowns." I ended my turn. Jaden drew another card. "I'll summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in Attack Mode." He declared. A monster wearing some sort of dark blue with gold armor appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:1600/1400).

"Now Flame Wingman will attack your Mountain Wolf!" He declared. Flame Wingman started flying to my wolf, but I was ready for this. "I activate 'Defensive Mimicry'!" I cried and lifted my left hand up. One of my facedowns revealed itself.

My Mountain Wolf gained the appearance of Flame Wingman. The real Wingman stopped in confusion, eyeing his lookalike. "What's that?!" Jaden demanded in surprise, his eyes widening. "Thanks to my trap, any of my monsters can gain the appearance of the monster attacking it. Therefore, your own one gets confused and cannot attack it for one turn." I explained smugly.

"Fine," He frowned. "But Sparkman can still attack it!" He pointed out with a smile before ordering his monster to attack my wolf. Except that, again, it wasn't going to work. "I activate 'Fishing Out'!" I declared, revealing my second facedown. "'Fishing Out'?" Jaden rubbed the back of his head perplexed. "Once this card is activated, I can return the targeted monster from the field to my hand. Your monster cannot attack anymore." I explained with a frown.

The wolf disappeared from the field and returned to my hand. "Wow…" The brown-haired guy trailed off. A huge smile appeared all over his face. "Serena, your cards really are something!" He said excitedly. I looked at him strangely. Why was he praising my cards? Duel Monsters were stupid in general... They didn't deserve any praise. "If you say so." I replied coldly. "Are you done with the turn or not?" I then asked a bit impatiently. The brown-haired guy frowned for a moment but nodded.

I drew another card. "I activate 'Pot of Greed'!" I declared, lifting up the card in my hand. "It allows me to draw two more cards from my deck." I drew two, and then looked up at Jaden with a smirk. Finally, one of my favorite cards was here…

"I'll summon Forest Fungus in Attack Mode." The fungus appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:500/800). "Fungus?" Jaden looked at my monster in confusion. "Its Special Effect is to absorb one of your monster's attack points." I started, ignoring him. "What?" His eyes widened.

I smirked. "And I choose Flame Wingman!" I pointed at Jaden's fused monster. The fungus immediately flew to it, and tied its hands around it. Both of them began glowing in green color. "Now, fungus can either absorb them itself, or give them to me… I'll choose the former." I explained. My monster's Attack Points grew to 2600 while the Wingman's fell to zero.

"Forest Fungus, attack Jaden's Sparkman!" I ordered, lifting my right hand. The fungus flew to the Sparkman and strangled it with its small hands. The monster was destroyed as strong wind appeared. When I looked at my gear, I could see Sparkman's destruction definitely cost Jaden some Life Points.

Jaden: 1600 LP

Me: 2000 LP

Suddenly, Jaden started laughing. I couldn't help feeling both confused and annoyed. Everything seemed to be funny to him… "What's so funny?!" I demanded a bit irritated. "This duel is one of the best I've had in a while. It's so fun!" He smiled at me. I could tell it was a genuine one. However, I didn't care about his smile at the moment. His 'fun' comment was getting on my nerves.

"There's nothing fun in this duel. There's nothing fun when it comes to dueling in general." I growled. "Why do you keep saying that?" He looked at me curiously. "Why do I keep saying what?" I glared. "How there's nothing fun in dueling." "Because it's true." I retorted.

Another smile appeared on Jaden's face. "Can't you feel it?" He asked. By now, I was staring at him like he was some sort of a lunatic. Correction, he most probably was. I didn't officially say he was, there was just strong possibility… "I don't know what you're talking about." I finally said with a huff.

"Can't you feel the excitement? We're standing right here, dueling, and giving our best!" He grinned. I stayed quiet for a few moments. I definitely wasn't feeling any excitement… What I wanted was to just finish this stupid duel. There was nothing exciting about dueling to me. It was just a reminder of painful memories…

I shook my head. "I'll set another facedown and end my turn." I replied coldly.

Jaden drew next. "I'll use 'De-Fusion' to defuse Flame Wingman into Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix!" He declared and lifted up the card in his hand. My eyes widened once the two monsters from before appeared on the field again.

Then I realized what this meant. Since Flame Wingman technically wasn't on the field anymore, my fungus would lose those points it absorbed, and those two would have their normal Attack Points… This wasn't good.

The next thing I knew was that Burstinatrix destroyed my fungus. I covered my eyes as smoke appeared and my Life Points dropped to 1500.

Jaden: 1600 LP

Me: 1500 LP

But then, Avian attacked me directly yet again, causing me to let out a yelp. My Life Points dropped, this time to 500.

Jaden: 1600 LP

Me: 500 LP

"I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn." Jaden said, making me growl. I just wanted to get this thing over with, I couldn't stand it anymore… Why did he have to be so damn good at this?!

I was just about to draw another card, when I remembered something. Touching my left wrist, I prayed for the freaking bracelet to give me some sort of luck in drawing the right card… "What are you doing?" Jaden's voice made me look up.

"I'm praying for a good draw." I responded coldly. Finally, I decided to draw. Looking at it for a few seconds, I hoped this would somehow help me win. "I'll summon Mountain Wolf in Attack Mode…" I started.

However, I was suddenly cut off by Jaden. "I activate my trap 'Solemn Judgment'!" He exclaimed, as the facedown revealed itself. "What?!" I gaped. "By paying half of my Life Points, I can negate your summoning." He explained the card's effect.

Jaden: 800 LP

Me: 500 LP

The card disappeared from my hand. Great, just great… My trap card was useless, considering I had no monsters on the field… The card I had drawn was also useless…

"I end my turn." I frowned. "In that case…" Jaden smiled. "Avian, Burstinatrix, attack her directly!" He ordered his monsters. "This wasn't supposed to happen…" I muttered in panic. It was obvious there was no way for me to get out of this one, and I hated it!

Both Burstinatrix and Avian flew to me and attacked me. I covered my head with my arms as my Life Points fell to zero.

Jaden: 800 LP

Me: 0 LP

Slowly looking up, I could see holograms disappearing. I let out a sigh and fell to my knees. It was finally over, I managed to survive the stupid duel… But why was I feeling bad about losing? I should have been happy!

"Hey." Jaden's voice made me look up. He was offering me a hand. I looked at it for a few moments. Then my eyes looked up again, this time right into his brown ones. I slowly took his hand. He helped me up to my feet.

"That's game!" He grinned, and gave me a two-fingered salute with a wink. I raised an eyebrow, but remained quiet. "You know, that was great. I really had a lot of fun!" The brown-haired guy told me cheerfully. "Well, good to know at least one of us had." I replied sarcastically.

Jaden's smile disappeared from his face. "I still can't take you seriously with not having fun during dueling." He admitted. The 'fun' subject made my blood boil. How long would we keep mentioning it?! "Just because it's fun to you, it doesn't mean it should be fun to me as well." I spoke up icily. "In fact, it's brought me more pain than fun." I added angrily before I could stop myself from saying it. But then, I realized what I had said. Damn it, did I really have to overreact and spill my guts?!

"Pain?" Jaden looked at me as if I were crazy. "Forget the last bit. Anyway, you won, so congratulations." I said coldly. "It also means you win the deal." I then reminded.

Before he could say anything, I quickly started walking away. I just wanted to get back to my room and avoid everyone for the rest of the day. Clearing my head with fresh air definitely didn't help… If anything, it made it even worse. I was reminded of both the stupid past memories, and I was also feeling bad about losing a stupid card game.

I looked at the bracelet which was under my left glove. This thing usually brought me luck whenever I dueled… But now it didn't.

Finally, I made it to my room and slammed the door behind me.

Well, that's it for this chapter! Hopefully, it gave a bit of insight on why Serena hates Duel Monsters so much… I hope you liked it and until next time! :)