Kias: Thank you for reviewing! :) That's what Serena pretty much wants to know as well lol… Actually, she would move if she were able to. However, as Chazz said in the previous chapter, all rooms are full (which is why Ben has to hide from Crowler with Jaden, Syrus and Hassleberry). Plus, Serena's grades are not good enough for Ra Yellow or Obelisk Blue, and running away would just anger her parents. Then they'd put her into another school, which is why she realizes she has to deal with 'hell' nonetheless XD. Most probably try to flee (or avoid dueling), and think 'you fanatics are nothing compared to this guy', but refuse to admit it to Ben or someone else. ;)
This chapter takes place during episode 'The Demon' and partially during 'A New Breed Of Hero: Part One'.
I only own my OC's!
It was a warm, November morning. Sun was shining brightly on Duel Academy's campus. Letting out a yawn, I closed the door of my room. I was still a bit tired from last night… It was because of some stupid nightmare I had.
After rubbing my eyes, I looked up at the sky. Thankfully, getting used to Southern Japan's climate was not a problem. It was always warm and sunny here, just the way I liked it.
Ever since Ben moved to Slifer Red dorm, things have definitely been easier. Fanatics thankfully managed to find a pull-out bed for him. Since then, I'd spend some time with my cousin while he wasn't with his friends. Sometimes, the room he and the Trio of Maniacs shared would be empty, so we'd talk there for hours. Then he'd leave with guys to do what he described as… 'Men activities'.
Seeing today was Saturday, I had a whole free day. I decided to look around the forest a bit, in hopes of finding some interesting plants. Except that there was one, small problem…
I accidentally left my herbarium in Ben's room last night. It meant I would have to go inside and get it. Thankfully, that wasn't a problem. Ben said I could always come in whenever I wanted. A small smile appeared on my face as I remembered those words.
Wasting no time, I raced to the door of my cousin's room and quickly opened them without knocking. However, that turned out to be a huge mistake.
As soon as I opened the door, two heads turned around, right towards me. My eyes widened and my heart rate started going like crazy the moment I saw Syrus and the other guy. Both of them were… Naked in some sort of way…
The military guy was in underwear with his vest on, and Syrus was in the middle of putting on his pants with only one leg in.
My face must have been as red as my hair… Actually, I could feel it turning red! This was so embarrassing! I let out a scream and quickly covered my eyes. "GET OUT!" Syrus and the military guy shouted in unison, making me yelp in surprise. They sure were loud…
"Fine, fine!" I exclaimed, taking hands off my eyes and looking away. "Could you just pass me the…" "OUT! NOW!" The military guy roared. Suddenly, I was hit by something right into my face. I let out another yelp and quickly covered it, all while not looking at them… But then I was hit by something else. By now, I couldn't see anything because my face was covered with some sort of clothing.
"OUT!" The guy roared for the third time. I wasted no time, running out and slamming the door (with something still over my face). I quickly took the thing off and ran away from the dorm the fastest I could in panic.
I could see some students coming out of their rooms. They must have heard their shouting and my screaming. However, I paid no attention to them. I ran even further from the dorm.
Once I was in front of the main building, I let out a sigh and sat on the grass. I quickly covered my face while feeling utterly embarrassed. Just leave it to Serena Accardi to walk in on two fanatics while they were dressing up… The worst thing was I couldn't get those details out of my head…
"Serena Accardi, sei una idiota! CHE DUE PALLE?!" I started screaming in Italian while shaking my head in hopes of getting unwanted, detailed pictures of those two being naked out of my head. It wasn't helping…
Looking down, I finally noticed what they had hit me with. It was Jaden's red blazer… My eyes widened to the size of saucers. That meant Jaden or one of those two would go looking for me, which meant I'd have to face one of them after that scene… Did the world hate me that much?!
"WHY? SERENA, WHY DID YOU TAKE BEN'S WORDS SERIOUSLY?!" I screamed in panic, remembering Ben's 'you can come in whenever you want' words. I shouldn't have taken him seriously… Look where that got me! He must have forgot seeing them naked was normal for him since he was a male, so him walking in on them wouldn't have been that bad… I, of course, was a different case.
But, on the other hand, now that I thought of it… They couldn't blame for this. Ben had said I could come in, and, they should have locked the door! Therefore, I didn't care about what those two fanatics would say later.
Finally seeing I had some actual defense against two lunatics, I sighed in relief. However, my eyes widened yet again once they landed on the blazer in my lap. Those idiots… The first thing they had hit me with was a pillow, I felt it back then. However, was throwing their best friend's blazer necessary?! Now what was I going to do with this thing?!
Just as I was thinking about what to do with it, Ben suddenly ran to me. "Cousin, what happened?" He asked in confusion once he sat down, right across me. I couldn't resist it. I smacked the back of his head. "Ow!" He let out a yelp of both pain and surprise. "Sei stupido, that's what happened!" I growled at him.
"That's not the answer I had expected…" He pointed out with a frown. "It's the answer you get." I huffed. "Alexis, Chazz and I heard screaming coming from the room. When we got out to see what was happening, Syrus and Hassleberry were really angry… I couldn't even understand what exactly happened." My cousin rubbed the back of his head, still perplexed.
I sighed. "Since you so graciously told me I could come in whenever I wanted, I took your words seriously," I started with narrowed eyes. His green eyes widened, seeing where this was going. "And tried to get my herbarium from your room. However, I was met by the sight of the naked duo, hit by a pillow, and told to get out." I explained in annoyance.
"Told? They were shouting…" Ben reminded. "Shouted at, whatever floats your boat." I corrected myself unwillingly. His eyes then landed on my lap. "Is that what I think it is…" He started in astonishment. The only thing I could do at that moment was nod. "In case you see Maniac Number One, do tell him his co-maniacs have thrown his blazer at my face." I rolled my eyes.
At that moment, Ben burst in uncontrollable laughter. "And here…" He tried to say while laughing. "I was wondering…" I glared at him in annoyance. "Why in the world Jaden was…" By now, he managed to calm down a bit. "Walking around without his blazer. This is gold!" He cried in amusement while brushing off his tears.
"Your gold, my nightmare." I corrected him coldly. "Now, please," I handed the blazer to my cousin. "Give this back to your friend before I die from embarrassment." "Ah, NO!" Ben suddenly jumped up, away from me.
I looked at him annoyed. "Ben, this isn't time for joking. Just go and give this back to your friend." I repeated icily. "You had been hit by that, not me." He said matter-of-factly. "But you told me I could come in whenever I wanted. It's because of you I was assaulted in the first place!" I reminded impatiently. "It doesn't matter, you were hit nonetheless!"
Finally losing all of my patience, I stood up from the ground. "Just take it!" I shouted. "No, I won't!" He started backing away from me. "Benjamin Accardi, don't you dare leave me with this thing…" I started threateningly. "When you give it back to Jaden, say 'hi' to him for me!" He winked and started running away. "BENJAMIN!" I screamed after him to no avail. He was already gone…
"PERCHÉ?!" I then let out another scream of panic while tugging at my hair with my right hand (the left one was preoccupied with holding the damn blazer after all).
This morning was just crazy! First, I walked in on the fanatic duo, then I got assaulted by a thrown pillow and the third fanatic's clothing, and now Ben refused to help me… What did I do to deserve this?!
One thing was clear. I had no intention of going back to that room. However, since my dearest cousin left me with this thing… That meant I couldn't avoid running into at least one of those maniacs either! My embarrassment was inevitable… Jaden would reasonably go looking for his missing uniform. If he found me, then I'd give it back. If he didn't, I'd give it to Ben… No, I'd shove it into Ben's hands and run away before he could do anything. That seemed like a solid plan…
Letting out a sigh of disbelief, I straightened up. Since I had no chance of getting my herbarium now, I had to drop today's plans. Ben had shown me where other dorms were (with the Obelisk Blue for girls being an exception, since he couldn't go in). I've seen most of the main building… Except for the card shop Ben had told me about.
I honestly thought I had no business there since I couldn't care less about stupid cards… However, since I couldn't go back to my dorm like this, and since I couldn't go to forest, this seemed like an interesting substitute. The sooner I saw what the card shop was like, the sooner I'd have no reason to ever go back in there.
After asking a Ra Yellow student for directions, I made my way through a hallway in the main building. Seeing students inside a huge room made me sure that was the shop, since this was the only place I hadn't seen here so far.
By the time I walked in, I could see a lot of Slifer Red, Ra Yellow, and even Obelisk Blue students talking between themselves. Some of them were looking at cards on shelves. I immediately looked away from them.
My eyes landed on this giant cart in the middle of the shop. There seemed to be question marks on it. That, on the other hand, looked a bit interesting, especially since most of the students were gathered around it… I walked closer to the cart.
It was filled with something wrapped in paper… My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What in the world this was supposed to be, I had no idea. "May I help you?" A female voice asked from my left, making me yelp and jump back in surprise.
Looking up, I could see a stout woman with glasses smiling at me. Once I observed her better, I realized where I had seen her before. She was the woman from the cliff on my first day here! "Oh, well," I straightened up. Honestly, I wished no one asked me a thing, since I didn't really want to talk to people… But I also wanted to know what's up with the cart over there… Dang it!
"Why's everyone gathered around the cart?" I asked curiously. "That's drawbread." The woman smiled. However, all that did was make me stare at her perplexed. "The cart's filled with sandwiches of different kind," She smiled. "The students usually practice their drawing skills here by trying to draw the Golden Eggwich."
The more I was told, the more confused I was. What the heck was Golden Eggwich?! "What's that?" I asked while feeling like an utter idiot. The woman let out a laugh. "It's a sandwich made of a golden egg the Academy's Golden Hen lays only once per day." She explained. "Oh…" I trailed off. That part was clear to me now, even though the golden egg sounded a bit absurd to be honest…
"Who knows, maybe you get the chance to draw it." She then said cheerfully. I stood there for a moment, thinking. Suddenly, I could sense my stomach growling. Made sense since I had no breakfast after what had happened earlier… This Golden Eggwich thing seemed interesting, no matter how absurd it was. And I was so hungry right now…
"Fine, I'll purchase one." I finally said, giving the money to the woman. That was when her brown eyes landed on what I was holding in my hands. "If you don't mind me asking… Why are you holding that?" She asked in surprise. I could feel my face turning red. "I found it, so I'm looking for its owner." I lied, resisting the urge to cover my face with hair. "Oh. I understand." She nodded in understanding.
"Good luck with drawing!" She then winked before walking away. I was looking at her disappearing form for a few moments. She seemed nice for a dueling fanatic… I resisted the urge to facepalm at those thoughts. There was no such thing as nice fanatics!
Suddenly, I could see other students staring at me. My eyes widened once I realized why they were doing that. They must have noticed the blazer in my hand… I quickly covered my red face with hair in hopes of making it look like I wasn't blushing. However, from what I could see, that didn't stop them from looking at me.
"Don't you people have better business to do?!" I finally shouted. That certainly made them get the point, since they quickly turned around and continued doing their previous business. I let a sigh of relief before walking to the cart.
I quickly put the blazer in my right hand (since my left one was feeling numb from holding the thing all the time) and started waving with my left one. My eyes scanned the whole cart. Honestly, there were so many sandwiches in here… How could you draw the Eggwich one?! You would have to be damn lucky… However, I wasn't going to waste all of my money on this thing. One was more than enough, Golden Eggwich or not…
Finally, I decided to try my luck. I looked over the drawbreads before picking up one from the middle. I unwrapped it, not knowing what to expect… When golden light nearly blinded me. I yelped and quickly covered my eyes.
"Look at that!" "She had drawn it!" "How?!" "Why don't I have that luck?!" I could hear voices around me. Taking the left arm off my eyes, I finally got a good look at the thing in my hands. It was a sandwich, but it was shining in golden light… My eyes widened in astonishment. So this was the Golden Eggwich they were talking about…
Seeing I was suddenly in the center of attention, I made a run for it with the sandwich in my left hand and the blazer in my right one. I must have looked like a damn idiot… But I didn't care. I just wanted to get out of there!
Once I was outside, I sat on grass and looked at the sandwich in my hand. Drawing this thing was sheer dumb luck! Seeing my stomach was growling like crazy, I finally decided to take a bite of the Golden Eggwich.
The taste was… Like one would expect from an egg, but there was something added that made it even more delicious than the usual one… A grin appeared on my face. This thing was so good!
Just as I was about to take another bite, a hand landed on my right shoulder. My heart beating like crazy, I let out a scream and tried to jump back while already sitting-the result was hitting my back and head against the ground. However, the sandwich in my hand luckily remained intact.
"Ouch…" I let out a groan since my head and back hurt like crazy. "Are you okay?" I let out another groan at hearing the familiar voice. Sitting up, I looked up to see… Yup, Jaden Yuki staring at me. The person I wanted to see the least today. Actually, it was more of a tie between him, Syrus and the military guy, but the point was clear…
"Why is it," I started in annoyance. "That every time I come across you, I either get a heart attack or some sort of physical damage?" I glared at him. "Oh, sorry about that…" The brown-haired guy rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. His blazer missing was quite noticeable. "Next time, if you do want to talk, make it clear in front of me, not from behind." I spoke up icily.
It was quiet for a few seconds. "Sorry." He said yet again. That was when his eyes landed on my hands. I closed my eyes in panic, waiting for the 'blazer' drama to begin… "Is that Golden Eggwich?!" He suddenly asked. I opened my eyes in surprise.
Here I was, holding a missing part of his uniform, yet he noticed the sandwich first?! I didn't know what else to do except nodding. "That means your draw is good." He grinned. "It was sheer dumb luck." I waved it off nonchalantly.
Finally, the guy noticed what I was holding in my right hand. "Is that…" He started in astonishment. My face must have been as red as my hair… But I did my best to ignore it. "Si." I nodded with a frown before standing up. I handed him the blazer which he took after a few moments. Finally, my hand was free after holding the thing for so long!
"How did it end up with you?" He looked up at me in confusion. "Blame it on your roommates. They thought hitting my face with it was a clever idea." I explained sarcastically. "So that's what the shouting was about…" He concluded, still surprised. I simply nodded, not knowing what to say. "Well, thanks." He finally grinned.
I blinked in surprise while he was putting on the piece of clothing. He took it so casually… Seeing it was quiet, I started playing with the wrap around the sandwich. I didn't know what to say… I usually had a good excuse whenever I was around people, but this guy was obviously an exception to that for some reason…
"I'll just go then…" I finally managed to get something to come out of my mouth. "Why?" Jaden asked perplexed. "Because… Well…" I stammered. "I wanted to take a walk." I finally said while straightening up. "Then I'll come along." He said what I hoped he wouldn't.
However, seeing I had no other excuse on my mind right now, I stayed quiet. We started walking down the path. "Ben mentioned you a few times last year." Jaden spoke up. "He did?" I looked up at him questioningly once I swallowed another bite of the sandwich. That earned me a nod.
"How come you're from Japan if your parents are Italian?" He asked curiously. I frowned for a moment. "Both of them are from Rome. They moved to Japan because of better conditions. It's where they met, and it's where I was born." I said coldly. "Oh."
It was an awkward silence for a moment. "What about your friends?" "What about them?" I gave him a cold look. "Don't you miss them? You said you were forced to come here after all." He pointed out in confusion. I was looking into his chocolate brown eyes for a few moments, not even sure what was so interesting about them to me. They just were…
"I don't miss my friends," I finally looked away. "Because I don't have them."
Before anyone else could say another word, I heard someone shouting. "JADEN!" It was… Oh no. My eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"Well, it was nice talking to you, Yuki," I started while trying to smile politely. "But I've got to go!" I was about to sprint, only for Jaden to grab me by my right arm. "Why? It's just Syrus!" He laughed. Another person I wanted to avoid so badly…
However, it was too late. The short guy ran to where we were. Once he saw me, I was met with a glare on his face. Then his eyes looked from me to Jaden (who finally let go of my arm) back and forth.
"Jay, what are you doing with her?" He asked with a frown. At that moment, the guy's thoughts about me were clear. He didn't like me at all. He had been discreet about it before, but this sentence finally proved it. Not that I cared, since the feeling of dislike was mutual.
"Oh, Serena and I were just talking." Jaden smiled. The frown on Syrus' face became even bigger. "Actually, I was giving him back the blazer you just happened to throw at me an hour ago." I told him with a forced, polite smile. Actually, I wasn't even trying to be polite. My intention was to mock him.
It seemed to work since Syrus' face turned red. "Hassleberry threw it… And it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't barged in!" He shouted. "That wouldn't have happened if you had locked the damn door!" I growled. "Then tell Crowler to give keys to all dorms, since he seems to like you so much!" The short guy retorted.
Wait… My room didn't have a key either… He did have a point about dorms not having keys. However, I didn't care about that part right now. I was annoyed he was bringing Crowler into all of this!
I was about to retort, when Jaden jumped in between us. "Whoa, calm down, both of you!" He exclaimed with hands on each of our shoulders respectively. "Sy," He looked at his buddy. "I'm sure Serena didn't do that on purpose."
The short guy looked at me with a frown, then back at Jaden. However, he didn't say anything else. "Now, why were you looking for me?" The brown-haired guy asked him. "It looks like Zane and Aster Phoenix are dueling tonight!" Syrus exclaimed.
Jaden's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?!" Syrus only nodded. I stayed quiet. I knew about Aster Phoenix, sure, but the 'Zane' guy was unknown to me… "And Crowler managed to find a way for us to watch that duel!" He added excitedly. "That's cool!" Jaden grinned. "Let's go tell the others!" The short guy pulled him by his hand.
However, his friend turned around to look at me instead. "Will you come and watch it too?" He asked with a smile. I eyed him. Why in the world he was still bothering to talk to me, I had no idea… "Probably not." I huffed and turned around.
"See? I told you not to talk to her!" I could hear Syrus telling Jaden while they were walking away. Raising an eyebrow, I turned around...
"Serena!" Someone called me instead. Turning my head, I could see Ben running up to me. As soon as he was in front of me, I smacked him in the back of his head for the second time. "Ow! What was that for?!" He asked in disbelief while holding the part where I had hit him with his right hand.
I narrowed my eyes. "For leaving me with the stupid blazer, certo!" I pointed out the obvious. "But you don't have it anymore." "You still left me with it!" I retorted. Seeing I was still holding the Eggwich in my hand, I decided to finally eat the rest of it. "Is that Golden Eggwich?" Ben was surprised.
"Yeah, so?" I looked at him questioningly. "How many times did you draw?" "I only bought one sandwich." I shrugged, taking another bite. He was staring at me for a few moments. "Impressive." He finally said. "It was sheer dumb luck." I rolled my eyes.
Ben sighed. "Forget that now," He waved it off. "Have you heard of tonight's duel?!" He asked me in excitement. That earned him another eyeroll from me. "Unfortunately, yes." I said simply. "Do you want to come with me and watch it?" My cousin asked me.
I shook my head. "I have better business than watching two people dueling for money because they failed to find something more productive with their lives." I responded sarcastically. "Oh, come on, Serena, please!" Ben looked at me pleadingly. "Why should I?" I gave him a cold look. "So you can see what professional dueling looks like!"
"And I'm just the person dying to see that." My voice was dripping with even more sarcasm. I had no idea why he was so insistent on me watching the stupid duel… "If you watch this one, I swear I'll never make you do it again!" Ben was still pleading with me.
Once I heard those words, my eyes landed on him, away from my nearly finished sandwich. "Promise?" I asked warily. "Promise." He grinned. "Fine." I sighed; certain I'd regret this. Yet, if Aster Phoenix was dueling… He would surely use his real deck, right? I could take a quick peek at what kind of deck it was…
That night, I walked towards the main building with Ben. I was holding the herbarium in my hands tightly (Ben had given it to me, since I didn't dare step into that room again).
We walked into a classroom with a giant monitor. Ben took a random seat in second row. I followed my cousin, sitting on his left. Other students were coming in as well. In fact, the classroom seemed to be fuller every second. Guess everyone was hyped for this duel…
"Hey, Ben." I could suddenly hear Jaden greeting my cousin. "Hey, Jay." My cousin greeted back happily while I was looking through my herbarium. I could hear them doing something like 'hi five'. "You said you wouldn't come, huh?" I knew that question was directed towards me.
Looking up, I could see Jaden sitting down on the seat next to me. He was looking at me in what seemed to be amusement. Opening my mouth, I was about to think of a good response… Only to be cut off. "I convinced her to come." Ben explained smugly from behind me. "That's good." The Slifer student grinned at him. "I agree." My cousin grinned as well. I rolled my eyes at both of the guys next to me.
Suddenly, Chazz, Bastion, Syrus, the military guy and that girl walked in. The black-haired guy and the girl briefly glanced at Ben and Jaden. Their eyes then landed on me for a few seconds. Finally, they sat in a row behind us. Bastion looked at the duo next to me, and simply nodded in my direction indifferently. He joined the other two.
The military guy briefly looked at his friends. Then he gave me a cold look. I returned it with a glare (a good payback for what happened this morning). He folded his arms, but sat in the row behind us without another word.
Finally, Syrus walked to the row where the three of us were sitting. While his eyes were looking at Ben, Jaden and me, I could have sworn he briefly shot me a glare. However, he sat on a seat on Jaden's left quietly. Therefore, I had no time to return the mutual feeling of dislike.
"I can't wait for it to start!" Ben then said excitedly. "You've been saying that since this afternoon." Bastion noted from behind me. "Leave it, Bastion. He's excited after all. I can't believe Crowler actually managed to get the cable!" I could hear the girl commenting in disbelief. "Figures Crowler would do anything to see Aster Phoenix dueling, especially after he had shown up here." Chazz pointed out the obvious.
"Zane too!" Syrus reminded. "Yeah, that as well, even though Phoenix showed up only once." Ben nodded. "He has shown up here twice since the beginning of the year, Benjamin." Chazz spoke up calmly. My cousin's eyes widened, so did the eyes of everyone else. I could sense feeling of dread washing over me. I had no idea how he knew about Aster Phoenix's second visit here, but I hoped I wouldn't get mentioned in process… "Wait, when was the second time?!" Jaden asked the black-haired guy in surprise.
"Rumors say it was a few days ago, when four of you went to discuss your detention with Crowler." He responded with his arms folded, and eyes closed. "Jasmine and Mindy did say something about that a while ago…" The girl's voice said from behind me in realization. "Well what was he doing here?!" Syrus demanded curiously. "I don't know." Chazz shrugged.
I stayed quiet throughout the whole conversation. I was praying they wouldn't mention me… "Cuzo," Ben suddenly looked at me. "What did Crowler want to see you for that day?" "Something unimportant." I waved it off.
Luckily, before he could question it further, screen turned on.
Some sort of dome appeared, with pictures of Aster Phoenix and a guy with neat, dark blue hair known as Zane Truesdale. Truesdale… My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That name sounded familiar for some reason… Wait. Syrus' last name was Truesdale from what I remembered (if I even remembered it correctly)… Were those two related?
"Good evening, dueling fans," A reporter's voice could be heard, making me roll my eyes at the 'fans' part. Word 'fanatics' suited them better… "We are coming to you live from the Kaiba Dome!" The screen then showed a huge dome.
Then it basically zoomed in on the crowd, and what I guessed was the dome's interior.
"THE GAME IS ON!" The reporter shouted, just as smoke appeared inside. Once it disappeared, it revealed Zane Truesdale, and zoomed in on his fans (a bunch of crazy, female fanatics). Some of them were even shouting 'marry me', or something along those lines.
I groaned in annoyance and put hair over my face once I heard that. Just disgusting… Girls were crushing on that guy just because he happened to play cards well?! They were even more stupid than I thought. However, there was a bright side for all Pro duelists… In case they failed miserably in the Pro League, finding a spouse wouldn't be a problem. Judging by what I've seen, every girl would grab the chance to marry one of them!
"What does he have that I don't?!" I could hear Chazz complaining. That earned him a laugh from Jaden and my cousin. 'Crazy female fanatics, and be happy about that, Princeton.' I thought sarcastically. "Let's see… A career, personality, and a good-looking little brother!" Syrus counted all the things.
My eyes slightly widened at the last part. That meant this Zane guy was his older brother… Well, that explained it…
Smoke appeared yet again. Once it cleared, Aster Phoenix appeared as well. Then (to my extreme annoyance) they zoomed in on his female fans who were as crazy about him as Truesdale's fans were about the other guy.
I let out another groan, covering my face with even more red strands. The duel hasn't even started yet, and here I was, already wishing to get out of here…
"Good luck with seeing the duel with all that hair over your face." Jaden suddenly told me. I glared at him in annoyance. It was incredible how oblivious this guy was… Why would I cover my face if I wanted to see the stupid duel?! Ben told me to come, but he never said anything against not watching it there!
"Quiet, it's starting!" Syrus shushed all of us. Just in time too, because Jaden seemed to be thinking of a response to my reaction.
I decided to ignore the two duelists exchanging words, since I didn't come here to listen to their trash talking. Once I saw what Aster Phoenix's deck looked like, I'd simply ignore the rest of the duel. Whoever won, good for them!
Finally, both of them activated their Duel Disks. "Alright, beauty before age!" Aster Phoenix declared, saying his draw was the first one. There was that humility… "I think I'll start by summoning this guy!" He showed the card in his hand…. Elemental Hero Avian?!
That action caused Ben, Syrus, Chazz, Bastion, the girl and the military guy to gasp. My eyes widened in surprise once I saw it. Maybe I hated those cards, but even I knew Elemental Heroes were Jaden's deck, since the two of us have dueled recently… Phoenix was not stupid, he knew that… He and Jaden had dueled before after all!
"Hold on, that's mine!" Jaden said in surprise on my left. Avian was then summoned to the field, showing the exact same number of Defense and Attack Points. Even Zane Truesdale seemed to be surprised.
I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Not that I cared or anything… But why would a professional duelist copy someone's deck like that?! Just stupid!
"Come on, bro, that's not cool! Show some originality!" Jaden complained, making me look at him for a few moments. He was obviously annoyed and offended. Shrugging my shoulders, I looked away. Copycats weren't nice, sure… But that wasn't my problem. It wasn't my deck he was copying, and I didn't care about cards in general.
"Check it out, he's smiling!" Syrus suddenly pointed out. It made me look up. He was right. Zane Truesdale had a smile on his face, unlike his (up until now) calm look. "Wouldn't you? He does have the advantage after all." Bastion stated. "He'd dueled against Jaden's deck before, which means he knows its weaknesses after all." Ben told the short guy. "If it's just like his." The girl reminded.
Seeing I've seen enough of this already, I decided to start looking through my herbarium. I wouldn't be able to stay focused on the duel after all, since those two always either pulled out a Spell or a Trap Card to counter something else. It was happening so fast…
While I was ignoring what was happening around me, something else caught my attention. There was a plant I hadn't seen here before… It was a white and blue flower, which I immediately recognized as Asagao. However, I didn't remember ever collecting it… Weird.
I must have staring at it for quite some time, since I was brought back to reality by loud gasps. "I can't believe Aster just took out my brother…" Syrus was gaping at the screen. Others didn't know what to say. Judging by their reaction, Phoenix winning this was a big deal…
"I take it Zane Truesdale was good, since all of you are making such a fuss out of this?" I whispered to Ben in a bit of confusion. "Serena," He looked at me in disbelief. "He was the best duelist here at the Academy." "Oh…" I trailed off, not knowing what else to say.
That was when screen showed reporters coming up to Aster Phoenix outside the dome. "What an impressive win! What's your secret?" One of them asked. "Like I tell my fans, winning duels is a piece of cake when destiny's got your back!" Aster Phoenix responded.
"Could you tell us more about that deck of yours?" The female reporter wondered. "Well, there's a reason why I've unveiled it today…" The duelist looked directly at the camera. "You see, a while ago, I visited the Duel Academy… And there was a student who totally copied it!" He frowned.
I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Copied? How much of an idiot could this moron be?! "I guess I can't blame him," Aster Phoenix looked away for a few moments. "I mean… Who wouldn't want to be just like me?"
"Qui, imbecille." I smirked, making Ben shush me. However, he didn't take his eyes off the screen.
"So, before this wannabe could take all of the credit, I had no choice but to reveal mine. You see, this student, who shall remain nameless, has sort of a following among hardcore dueling fans… And the last thing I need is some prep school punk taking the credit for all of my hard work!" Aster Phoenix continued acting like an idiot.
I swear, he sounded so full of himself… I did my best not to growl. "That settles it. I officially can't stand this bloke!" I could hear Bastion saying behind me. As much as I didn't like being near them… I had to agree with the British guy.
"Now, whether you like me or not… There's one fact no one out there can dispute…" The pro duelist smiled. "I'm the best!" By now, I didn't bother getting annoyed with the idiot on the screen. I kept looking at the screen blankly.
"And to prove it, I'm challenging this schoolboy…" He then declared. "I won't tell you his name, but it rhymes with Schmaden Schmuki."
I rolled my eyes and put the herbarium against my chest. All the fanatics were the same, just wanting to beat the hell out of someone else… All of them wanted to prove they were the best…
However, I didn't understand why Aster Phoenix challenged Jaden to a duel. It was surprising, and confusing… Just like him challenging me to a duel before was. I still had no idea what that was all about…
"Hear me, Schmaden?" The duelist suddenly called out on the screen. "You know who you are, you card thief! If you think your rip-off deck is so good, then prove it!" He finished dramatically. The screen then turned off.
As soon as that happened, everyone started talking between themselves. In other words, they were pretty much freaking out. That moron coming here was a big deal to them…
However, I didn't give a damn. I gave up on asking Phoenix about that duel we had. I couldn't stand looking at him anymore! Wait… Why was I getting all worked up over a fanatic? It wasn't me he challenged to this duel… Therefore, I had no reason to give a damn about his conflict with Yuki. I'd just leave it at that. Again, whoever won the duel, good for them, since I didn't care!
However, Ben's look of astonishment was amusing to me. He had put Aster Phoenix on such high pedestal, and look at what happened now… "You were saying…" I looked at my cousin with a smirk. "That wasn't nice." Astonishment on his face was soon replaced by anger. "Why Sartorius even knew this guy is beyond me." He added.
Those words reminded me of the time I asked Phoenix about Sartorius… Only to receive a negative answer.
Letting out a sigh, I said 'bye' to Ben and started heading to my room. This was enough worrying for one night. I was close to having a headache!
Third Person's POV
"Then I'd better be on my way to the Duel Academy." Aster Phoenix said. "Yes." Sartorius nodded in approval.
However, just as he was about to leave the room, the young duelist turned around. "What about that girl I had dueled? You've been quiet about her ever since then…" He pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
Sartorius closed his eyes for a few moments. After that duel, he was even closer to his theory coming true. He definitely sensed something, even though it was unprecise…
That meant this could threaten his plans… The easiest way was to try to get rid of her. However, Sartorius knew he couldn't do that. He just couldn't. As long as she stayed out of the way, everything would be fine…
"Forget about her. You have other things on your mind right now." The man responded calmly. Aster Phoenix raised an eyebrow. He still didn't understand what the deal was about the red-haired girl… He never got an explanation for that duel!
However, he left the room without another word.
Serena's POV
When I returned to my room that night, I immediately threw myself at bed. I then took my album and started looking through it. Only thing I wanted was to relax after today's events… However, at least one bright side came out of this. I wouldn't have to go watch another duel, since I fulfilled my promise to Ben!
I kept looking through the album. However, one picture caught my eye. Slowly taking it out, I observed the picture. It was me on my seventh birthday (according to Aunt Maria)…
Suddenly, I could hear something falling on the floor. I quickly stood up… To see some sort of a card lying there. My eyes looked at it, and then at the picture in my hands. The card must have fallen out of the album while I was taking the picture… However, I had never seen this thing before. That's why it surprised me so much…
Raising an eyebrow, I walked closer. Then I took the card off the floor. Once I sat on the bed again, I decided to look at the thing better.
From what I could see, it was a birthday card. It had a lot of blue and pink flowers all over it… I then turned it around. Something was written there! Whoever wrote it, didn't exactly have a neat handwriting.
BUON SETTIMO COMPLEANNO, SERENA!
From your best friend and neighbor, the Future King of Games
I finished reading it in astonishment. This was given to me for my seventh birthday?! What was it doing here then?
Frowning, I tried to remember at least something about my birthday back then. It didn't matter what it was. It didn't matter whether it was how I got the birthday card, someone's name, people in there… I just wanted it to be something!
However… I couldn't remember anything. Absolutely nothing. It was like my mind was completely blank…
I looked down at the card yet again. The person introduced themselves as the 'Future King Of Games'… He was also supposed to be my neighbor, based on what was written here. Yet I saw this for the first time today… What in the world was going on?!
Suddenly, my head started hurting. Letting out a groan, I dropped the card and grabbed my head. Unfortunately, the pain was so strong I couldn't even see where I was. The only thing I knew was that I fell to the floor, and was now lying on my back.
I was running away from someone while laughing. From what I could see, we were in some sort of a garden. It was sunny, and filled with flowers.
"I'm gonna win this time!" The boy behind me shouted in determination. "That's what you said the last time!" I burst into laughter yet again while holding some cards in my hands. I was still trying to run away. However, seeing we had nowhere to go, we were pretty much running around three trees in the garden.
"Well, I'm saying it again!" The boy retorted, trying to sound serious. However, he was failing. I could hear he was trying to hold in laughter. "If I'm going to lose to a girl," He started while I was hiding against a tree.
I took a peek behind me, when someone knocked me to the ground. I let out a yelp in surprise and looked up. The boy was now on top of me. However, I couldn't see his face. "If I'm going to lose to a girl, then let it be with honor and a good duel!" He shouted dramatically.
I rolled my eyes. "You said you wanted to be the 'King of Games'? At this point, you sound more like the 'King of Drama'." I pointed out jokingly. However, that only made both of us burst in laughter.
I tried to sit up while breathing heavily. What I just witnessed… What flashed through my mind like that…
Finally, I managed to get myself in a sitting position. I grabbed the birthday card from the floor. While I was looking at it, I couldn't get those pictures out of my head.
I've been contemplating for a while now what those things were, hallucinations or memories… However, after what just happened, I had to throw out the 'hallucination' theory. There was no way this could be one.
I could remember that chase throughout garden now. It was back in Domino City, when I was about six or seven. I was feeling so happy and excited just playing there… Now, I didn't remember who was with me… But this was definitely a memory. It was something I couldn't recall up until this moment.
Once I managed to sit on my bed, I looked at the album with a frown. After what had happened, it was clear. I couldn't doubt it anymore. I was really forgetting something important. Since I couldn't remember anything else about my life back in Domino City, I knew my memory problem was connected to the time we lived there.
My parents weren't quiet about Domino City for nothing, and they were acting strange at certain moments… They were hiding something from me. So were Aunt Maria and Uncle Luca. I had to find out what…
Well, that's it for this chapter! Not a good day in Serena's neighborhood… XD
In case anyone's interested, here's the meaning of Italian words Serena was saying:
Sei una idiota: you're an idiot;
Che due palle: what the hell;
Sei stupido: you're stupid;
Perché: Why;
Si: yes;
Certo: of course;
Qui: here;
Imbecille: imbecile;
Buon settimo compleanno: Happy seventh birthday.
I hope you liked it and until next time! :)