Chapter 2: Love at First Duel

It was a school day again and despite taking forever to get out of bed, Amy had somehow managed to still make it to Domino High on time. As usual, it had been Jack that had to wake her up and he gave his usual complaint about how his sister doesn't sleep, she hibernates. Even now, that comment managed to make Amy smile all things considered. While she still attended school, Jack didn't. He'd graduated due to being eighteen now and he was still considering whether to attend college next or find work. As a result, Jack spent the week either at home or roaming the city looking for duellists while Amy was at school.

Domino High School was a big facility which had everything a school required for learning students such as classrooms, lockers and a library but one feature that made some people enjoy it there was the fact the school had its own swimming pool. The school uniforms consisted of long-sleeved dark blue jackets, collared white shirts underneath and a pair of trousers with matching colour for the schoolboys and pink jackets with a blue ribbon on the chest, collared whites shirt underneath, dark blue pleated miniskirts and stockings for the girls. Amy hated having to dress like this for school every day and preferred her own way of dressing but she put up with it. At least she'd never have to wear the bloody thing again when she turned eighteen and graduated like her brother before her! Amy would never say school was her favourite thing in the world, but she wouldn't say she hated it either. She got on decently with most of the students and excelled well in most classes. Literacy and sports were her best subjects while science and geography could go to hell in her eyes. There was one particular student that Amy was closer to than any other in the school and to her delight; she was still waiting for her as the soon-to-be-duellist arrived.

"Hey Chloe! Great to see you!" Amy called to the blonde teenager standing outside the school.

"Hey Amy, how was your weekend?" Chloe answered back.

The girls clasped hands and patted each other on the back. Chloe Yoshida was also sixteen years old and in Amy's eyes, was the closest thing she had to another sibling. They were close friends, almost like sisters, and had been ever since they'd first started attending Domino High. Chloe was a skinny girl with large brown eyes framed by smart blue spectacles and long blonde hair that reached down to just above her waist. She had one long curling lock that drooped over the right side of her face and several other curls on the sides of her hair. Some might think the two made a strange pair with the more excitable, energetic and hot-headed Amy contrasted to the more shy, meek and introverted Chloe. But the two didn't care, they just knew they were right for each other and couldn't ask for better friends in one another.

"Oh you know, the usual." Amy said with a shrug, "Did a lot of cycling and watched some duellists in action. I watched this one girl duel against a jerk with a dragon deck and the girl kicked his ass! Ha! You should've seen the boy's reaction, he proper made a fool of himself!"

"I always find it so silly that people take a card game like Duel Monsters so seriously." Chloe sniffed, "I mean there's worse things you can lose at, especially if you're in a big sporting event with the whole world watching you. Mind you Duel Monsters tournaments are also like that too but still, I can understand getting mad losing at sports but Duel Monsters? It's just a card game at the end of the day, no biggie!"

"I bet several duellists would crucify you for that." Amy joked, "At least I won't be one of those duellists. Speaking of…"

She reached into her schoolbag and handed Chloe her partially complete duelling deck. The spectacled girl stared in surprise as she held the cards in her hand.

"Oh wow, you've made your first duelling deck." she said, trying to sound excited for her friend but she didn't quite have the enthusiasm for the game that most duellists did, "That's real cool Amy. I sure hope it serves you well."

"I'm sure it will once it's complete." Amy said casually, "Just need one more card for it and then it'll be ready."

Chloe didn't respond. She was instead reading the text on the cards intently as if she was absorbed in some amazing book. The red-haired girl rolled her eyes. If there was one term that described Chloe perfectly, it was "bookworm". Chloe loved to read and her idea of fun was reading just about anything be it books, text on Duel Monsters cards, text on food and drink containers and even signposts. To nobody's surprise, Chloe's favourite room in the whole of Domino High was the library. Amy liked to joke that Chloe should move in one day.

"Hey Chloe, you can read them later, OK? We've gotta get to class." Amy said impatiently.

"Oh, yes! Sorry about that." Chloe said sheepishly as she handed Amy her deck back, "I believe we have literacy and maths this morning and swimming this afternoon. Did you remember your swimsuit?"

"I NEVER forget it." Amy retorted, "I'm never one to miss a swimming lesson."

"Of course." Chloe chuckled.

As she and Amy headed into school, the blonde teen couldn't resist asking her friend something else.

"So uh…how's Jack?" she asked.

Amy just smiled impishly. The question had been innocent enough but Amy knew Chloe all too well…

"He's fine…and still single if you want to know." she teased.

"G-g-great! Th-that's great!" Chloe stammered, blushing redder than a ripe tomato, "W-wait, was that a selfish thing to say? Oh gosh, I don't sound like a jerk, do I?" she babbled frantically.

"Calm down before you make a disaster of yourself." Amy said hastily, "I know what you meant and you wouldn't mean it in that way. I've told you before Chloe if you want my brother so badly, just ask him out already! You know I don't have a problem with you and him together."

"Y-y-you kn-know I w-w-would love to, b-but I just d-don't know how to break it to him." the blonde bookworm mumbled to herself, her face still red with shyness, "I doubt Jack would ever notice me…or even like me for that matter. I must come off as too shy and awkward to him."

"Last I looked, shy and awkward was considered endearing." her friend purred, "And don't say that about yourself, of course my brother will like you. He already DOES like you! He approves of me and you being buddies for starters and you know how Jack is very cautious of who I hang out with. I'm sure he'll like you in that way too, but you'll never know if you don't try. Just ask him out one day and see what he says, OK?"

Chloe sighed unsurely to herself.

"I'll try…is he free this weekend?" she asked.

"Unless something comes up, he should be." Amy said casually, "You can try him then. Just please don't get too upset if he says no. You know he won't say it to be mean or anything."

"I know, I know. Your brother's too nice for that." Chloe acknowledged, "So when's it time for YOU to find your Mr. Right?" she added teasingly.

"Very funny Chloe." Amy muttered sarcastically, "We talked about this already, I'm not seeking anyone out just yet and I'll only do so when I think I've found the right guy. And by that I mean someone who is as nice as my brother is personality wise and doesn't objectify me."

"Well now you're gonna be a duellist, maybe you'll find some hot shot duellist that's exactly your type." Chloe said impishly, "I can see it now: you two engaged in a duel together and after it's over, it's love at first sight and the next cards you play with each other will be Valentine's Cards!"

The two teens burst out laughing. Several students walking to their own classrooms passed by them and exchanged dirty looks. Total weirdos was what they thought but Amy and Chloe were too busy laughing to notice.

"Chloe I swear you think like a romance novel sometimes!" the red-haired girl joked.

"I do read plenty of them." the blonde girl joked back.

There was no more talk to be had as the girls entered their classroom to begin the first lesson of the day. As they sat down for literacy, Amy thought back to what Chloe had suggested. True it did seem a bit too much like a romance novel to even possibly happen, but she had to admit it was a nice thought. What better way to meet the right guy for herself than by duelling them? She didn't think it would ever happen but it was still a nice thought. Hopefully she'd be able to duel against someone who was nice and took losing well. She didn't want to duel against any jerks, though she knew that she'd have to at some point.

Soon the morning was done and it was lunchtime. That was Amy's favourite time of the day as it meant she could watch any duellists in action during that time. Many Duel Monsters players would bring their decks to school and use break and lunchtimes as times to play with one another. Amy wondered if she'd get a chance to duel her first opponent. But she still had an incomplete deck. She still needed one more card to make it whole. Maybe it was best to wait until she had all 40 cards. Chloe was with her and as usual she had a bunch of books with her to read until lunchtime was over.

"Found anyone to duel yet, Amy?" she asked.

"Most of the duellists here are already playing against each other." Amy observed, "I doubt I'll get a shot at it today."

"Do any of them look enticing to you?" Chloe teased.

"I guess some of the boys look OK but they don't look like my type." Amy said with a shrug, "And they're not exactly graceful losers either. I don't want anyone like that."

Chloe scanned the classroom, her spectacled eyes sweeping over one student to another. Was there anyone free for her friend to duel? She then spotted somebody nearby and directed Amy to him.

"What do you think…to THAT one?" she asked, pointing.

Amy followed her friend's direction and saw what she'd spotted. There was a blonde-haired boy sitting at a table duelling another student. Amy observed him. The boy's hair was rather spiky with three curled up tips on either side, almost making him look as if he had a lion's mane attached to his head. He had dark blue eyes that showed a lot of kindness and compassion in them and he looked as if he kept himself in excellent shape. Amy wasn't sure why, but she almost felt…drawn to him. Maybe it was the eyes that did it. This boy seemed to look warm and inviting with his rather relaxed smile and friendly appearance despite the fact he was engaged in a duel. Amy thought for a moment.

"Hmm…I dunno Chloe. He looks like some blonde-haired pretty boy to me." she said uncertainly, "He seems nice enough I guess but he might actually be some arrogant punk who has more money than sense."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover?" Chloe said sternly, "Just try him. Maybe he is a nice guy and you'll have a good game with him."

Amy shrugged. Chloe was right. What was the harm in trying? If the boy wasn't as nice as he seemed, then she could just walk away and never look at him again. Amy approached the boy's table. Several boys and girls were watching as the duel came to an end. The blonde boy was clearly winning. Amy could see his field had several dragon cards in play while his opponent had only a weak monster in defence mode and nothing in his backrow to defend him. The blonde boy could win this duel in his next turn. His opponent studied his hand for a moment before sighing and placing his hand over his deck.

"You win Kazuki. There's nothing I can do." the other boy said.

"Good game all the same. I enjoyed that." Kazuki said kindly.

"Your winning streak remains unbroken!" cheered one of the girls, "You're such an ace at this Kazuki!"

"I bet you could beat Yugi and Kaiba themselves!" cried one of the boys.

"OK, relax everyone. No need to oversell me." Kazuki said casually, "I just play well is all. Would anyone else like to duel me? I think there's time for another game."

"I'll go!" Amy offered.

Several heads turned and looked at her quizzically as if she'd loudly announced that she'd turned into a Kuriboh. Kazuki looked at Amy and his eyes twinkled with interest. He'd never seen her before and he was instantly wowed by how beautiful she looked. He smiled warmly at her.

"By all means, sit down and let's duel." he said softly.

Amy felt herself tingle slightly in her stomach. This boy seemed to have a real air of warmth and friendliness to him, and it all seemed so genuine! Maybe he wasn't some "blonde-haired pretty boy" after all. The red-head sat down opposite Kazuki. The students all muttered amongst themselves.

"Is that girl mad? Kazuki will cream her!"

"I bet that chick has never duelled in her life! She's out of her league!"

"Now guys, we'll have none of that please." Kazuki said firmly, "Let's be nice and supportive in this game. If you're not gonna be nice, you can leave right now, OK?"

That got everyone to shut up. Amy was impressed. Kazuki hadn't even raised his voice and yet he somehow seemed to command a lot of respect from the school just because he was good at what he did. She admired that in him. Anyone who could pull that off was something else entirely.

"So what's your name?" Kazuki asked innocently, "How long have you been duelling for?"

"I'm Amy Spears." Amy introduced, "I'm new at this actually. I only built my first duelling deck yesterday. I've been inspired by my brother to get into Duel Monsters and I'm hoping I can be as awesome as he is! Although my deck's not quite ready yet as I'm one card short of completing it."

Some of the students snickered mockingly.

"What loser challenges Kazuki to a duel with an incomplete deck?!" laughed one of the boys.

"I knew that chick was out of her league!" laughed another.

"HEY!" Kazuki shouted, "What did I just tell you all? If you're gonna be nasty, then you can go. You're not welcome at my table if you're gonna act like that."

The boys recoiled and fell silent. They didn't want to miss watching Kazuki duel so they decided it was best not to push their luck. Kazuki turned back to Amy.

"So what card are you looking for?" he inquired.

"I was hoping to add the Blue-Eyes White Dragon to my deck." Amy replied, "But it's so rare to find…I doubt I'll ever get it."

"Doubt no longer Amy, because you can have this one." Kazuki said with a kind smile on his face.

The blonde boy picked up his schoolbag and pulled out a folder of spare Duel Monster cards he had. Amy stared at the folder in surprise. This boy must have quite a collection if he has a folder of spare cards on him like that! Kazuki flicked through the folder until he finally found what he was looking for. He took out a single card and handed it to Amy. Amy took it. Her jaw dropped. She thought she was going to faint! There in her hands…was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon! This particular copy seemed shinier than usual, suggesting it was a rare variant. Amy thought her heart would stop. She actually had the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon in her hand!

"No fucking way!" Amy exclaimed, "You have it?! And you're just giving it to me like that?!"

"Why not? You wanted it and it'll be more useful to you than me." Kazuki said casually, "I hope it serves you well, Ames."

Amy was so grateful for the kind gesture that she wanted to jump out of the seat and hug Kazuki until his ribs cracked. But she restrained herself. No, don't make it awkward! Keep it cool! Amy slipped the card into her deck and smiled graciously.

"I…I really don't know what to say." she stammered, "Thank you so much! This is one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me."

"Don't sweat it! I like to make people happy." Kazuki said warmly.

The students watching had to admit it was kind of touching that Kazuki just gave his opponent an all-powerful card out of kindness like that. Chloe was grinning from ear-to-ear. Things were going well between them. Maybe Amy had found a new friend, and possibly a boyfriend, in this very moment!

"So whenever you're ready, let's duel." Kazuki declared.

"I'm ready!" Amy declared, "And I'm gonna win!"

"I'm sure you will." Kazuki said supportively, "We'll see what our cards decide in this game."

"Do you say that to all your opponents?" Amy teased.

"Kinda." Kazuki chuckled.

The two duellists set down their decks and began the game. A play mat was spread out on the table with the usual marked areas for the decks to be positioned and the Monster and Spell/Trap card zones for the players to place their cards on. Kazuki had a notepad and pencil with him to keep track of their life points. All eyes were on Amy and Kazuki as they drew their hands and prepared to start. Chloe adjusted her glasses and watched. In her head, she was cheering for Amy. Hopefully her best friend wouldn't lose so heavily to this hot-shot duellist!

"I'll let you start off, Ames." Kazuki offered.

"You're sweet." Amy said with a sly grin, "OK, let's see…"

She drew her sixth card and added it to her hand. Both players started off with a hand of five and drew one card at the start of every turn. Amy studied her hand closely. Her hand contained Ground Attacker Bugroth, Spellbinding Circle, Pot of Greed, Summoned Skull, White Dragon Ritual and Trap Master. Not a bad start. Maybe this duel was going to go her way.

"I'll open up by setting one card face down." Amy exposited as she set a card on the play mat in her Spell/Trap zone, "And then I'll play my Pot of Greed." she added, placing the Spell card in a second Spell/Trap zone area.

"What does it do?" asked a particularly dopey boy in the crowd.

"It lets you draw two cards, stupid! EVERYONE knows that!" snorted one of the girls.

The students watched as Amy drew two extra cards from her deck and added them to her hand. She'd drawn Polymerization and Electric Lizard. She decided to hold on to them for the time being.

"And now I'll play my Ground Attacker Bugroth in Attack Mode." the newbie duellist added, placing the Monster Card down in the centre of her field, "I think that'll do for now."

Kazuki nodded. Amy had a decent opening turn there. A semi-decent monster card and a face-down was enough to have him considering his options. He drew for his Draw Phase and studied the six cards he held in his hand closely. Amy could read the concentration on his face like the very Duel Monster cards they were playing. What move would he make.

"I'll also put a card face-down." Kazuki decided, setting one from his hand, "And then I'll play my Blizzard Dragon in Attack Mode."

He placed down a Monster Card containing an image of an icy blue dragon. Amy could see that Kazuki had started off better than her. His monster was stronger than her's with 1800 attack points compared to her Bugroth's 1500.

"Now I'll have my Blizzard Dragon destroy your Ground Attacker Bugroth." Kazuki announced.

"Not so fast Kazuki!" Amy declared, "I activate my Trap Card!"

The crowd gasped in amazement. A Trap Card! Lucky Amy to have that ready to help her! Chloe stared as Amy flipped the face-down Spellbinding Circle face-up. Then she looked to Amy as she explained its effect.

"Now thanks to Spellbinding Circle, your dragon can't attack or change its battle position. Sorry, but your dragon's a sitting duck."

"Good move Amy." Kazuki applauded, "I really walked into that one! But you're not off the hook that easily. My Blizzard Dragon has a handy effect. Once per turn, I can target one monster you control and stop it from attacking or changing its battle position. And it lasts until my next End Phase so your Bugroth won't have much to do in the meantime."

Amy wasn't worried at all. She hadn't been planning to keep her monster around for long. As Kazuki ended his turn, Amy made her next move. She drew another card and thought carefully about her next play.

"OK, since my monster can't attack or defend me, I'll just simply Tribute Summon my Summoned Skull by using Bugroth as a tribute." she decided as she moved her first monster card to the space marked "Graveyard" on the mat and replaced it with Summoned Skull. It was a powerful skeleton like monster with 2500 attack points. The other students murmured. That was a powerful card! Chloe felt the smile spreading across her face. Amy was doing so well! Could she keep it up?

"And now I'll play a card that my dear brother so kindly gave to me." Amy continued.

The card she'd just drawn was Monster Reborn. She couldn't believe that she was getting a chance to use it in her first duel! If only Jack was watching her now. Monster Reborn allowed her to bring back her Ground Attacker Bugroth that she'd just sacrificed to bring out Summoned Skull. Now she had two monsters against Kazuki's single Blizzard Dragon. This had to mean the duel was her's!

"Now I'll have Summoned Skull destroy your dragon!" Amy declared.

"Sorry Amy, but that's not gonna happen." Kazuki cut in.

He flipped up his face-down card. Some of the students gasped in recognition as they'd seen Kazuki use it before. It was a Trap Card called Dragon's Rebirth. Now Kazuki had activated it, he could banish Blizzard Dragon from play and Special Summon a Dragon monster from his hand or Graveyard. His Graveyard was empty so he picked one from his hand. The card he'd chosen as the Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, a very powerful dragon monster with 2800ATK and 2400DEF points. Amy gasped in horror. Not even her Summoned Skull could deal with that kind of power! Now Kazuki's Trap Card had activated and concluded its effects, a replay occurred with Amy being given the choice to continue her attack or stop. She chose to stop so she wouldn't have her monster destroy itself.

"I guess I'll just end my turn and pass it on to you." she said with a shrug.

She watched as Kazuki drew his next card. As they played, the teen girl knew that she'd found the perfect opponent. Even though Kazuki was playing well and clearly on top of the game here, he seemed so…casual about it. There was no arrogant smile or condescending tone to his voice when he made his moves. He didn't feel the need to brag about himself or big himself up a lot throughout. He was just playing the game and taking what happened in stride no matter what. Amy was starting to feel thankful that Chloe had directed her to him. Kazuki was the perfect first opponent and she couldn't have picked any better herself.

Kazuki's next move saw him play two cards face-down and then play The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave in Defence Mode. With 2000 Defence points, it would make for some decent defence in case Kazuki needed it. Amy couldn't help but feel as if Kazuki might be holding back a little. He didn't seem to use up many cards, as if he might be holding onto his resources for whatever reason. What was his game? She watched as Kazuki ordered his Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon to destroy Ground Attacker Bugroth. He was aiming for what would do more damage to her Life Points than getting rid of the strongest monster on the field. With 1300 Life Points gone, Amy was down to 6700 while Kazuki's Life Points remained untouched. Chloe began to feel nervous. Her friend was done for, she was sure of it!

"It's your play now, Ames." Kazuki offered.

Amy couldn't help but feel somewhat flattered by Kazuki giving her a nickname. She didn't mind it. She even thought "Ames" sounded quite nice for her. Amy placed her hand on her deck and drew her next card. She glanced at it and smiled brightly.

"Aw yes, just what I was hoping for!" she cried happily, "I now play my White Dragon Ritual Spell Card!"

She placed the card down on the mat for everyone to see. The students now knew what she'd drawn. It was clear she had the Ritual Monster she needed to use her Ritual Spell.

"By using Electric Lizard and Trap Master in my hand, I now Ritual Summon Paladin of White Dragon!" Amy declared, placing the blue coloured Monster Card down on the mat, "And I use its effect to Special Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to the field! Once again, thanks so much for that Kazuki!"

The crowd all gasped in amazement as the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon was placed on the mat. Kazuki was in for it now! Very few monsters could stand up to such a powerful card! Chloe's eyes lit up with excitement.

Aw yeah! Go Amy! she cheered in her mind.

"Sadly, Paladin of White Dragon's effect does prevent Blue-Eyes from attacking this turn, but I think that's a necessary sacrifice if it means getting it on the field quick enough." Amy acknowledged, "For now, I'll just have Summoned Skull destroy your other dragon so you have one monster less to deal with."

It was risky given Kazuki had two face-down cards but Amy decided to try it. Luckily, Summoned Skull was able to destroy The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave with no set-backs. However, Kazuki activated his face-down Scapegoat Spell Card in response. As a Quick-Play Spell, he could activate it whenever he chose to no matter who's turn it was. Scapegoat granted him four Sheep Tokens to further protect his Life Points alongside his dragon, essentially giving him five monsters for Amy to get past. After that was done, Amy ended her turn and Kazuki was next to go. She watched as her opponent drew his next card.

"OK, it's now time for me to activate my face-down card." the blonde boy said.

He turned his card over, revealing DNA Surgery. Amy was surprised at that.

"What does that do?" she asked.

"As long as this card is face-up on the field, all monsters become whatever type I choose them to be." he explained, "And I choose Dragon."

That was interesting. Why did Kazuki choose to make a move like that? Amy wasn't sure how that would benefit him in the long run. But the students watching were starting to get excited.

"Aw yeah, he's bringing it out! His best card's coming to the field!" cried one student.

"Amy's so dead now!" cried another.

"Why am I? What are they talking about?" Amy asked frantically, starting to feel worried.

"This is one of my signature strategies with this deck." Kazuki explained, "And you'll see it first-hand. Now all my Sheep Tokens are Dragon-type monsters, I can now use my Polymerization card to Fusion Summon all four of them with Curse of Dragon in my hand in order to bring out my strongest and my personal favourite card I have…"

He placed the cards in his Graveyard and drew out one card from his Extra Deck. He placed it in the centre of the mat. Amy's jaw dropped as she found herself staring at the Five-Headed Dragon. It was a Fusion Monster that could be formed by fusing five Dragon-type Monsters together and it had the highest attack points in all of Duel Monsters with 5000! Even her precious Blue-Eyes White Dragon looked like Baby Dragon by comparison!

"No…fucking…way!" Amy gasped, "How the hell did you get a card that powerful?! Five-Headed Dragon's even rarer than Blue-Eyes!"

"It wasn't easy and it was expensive." Kazuki admitted, "But in the end, I got it and it's been my ace-in-the-hole ever since. Now before I attack, I have one last thing to do. My Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon has an ability that lets me Special Summon a Dragon monster from my Graveyard. And I'll be choosing Curse of Dragon."

He brought the card out of the Graveyard and placed it beside Five-Headed Dragon. Amy knew the game was finished for her. Kazuki had three very powerful dragons on the field and she only had two! She was done for!

"Now I'll have Five-Headed Dragon destroy Blue-Eyes White Dragon, then Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon will destroy Summoned Skull and finally, Curse of Dragon will attack directly." Kazuki directed.

The combined onslaught of Kazuki's dragons left Amy with a measly 2400 Life Points left. The red-haired girl was amazed she had any Life Points left after that turn! Kazuki concluded and Amy was next to go. She didn't even bother drawing her next card. What good would it do her? She only had Polymerization in her hand left and it was useless now Summoned Skull was gone and couldn't be used to Fusion Summon Black Skull Dragon with her Red-Eyes Black Dragon she had yet to draw. Even if she drew her Mirror Force Trap Card, she'd only be delaying the inevitable. Sighing, Amy placed her hand on her deck.

"Looks like you remain undefeated." she said solemnly.

The other students cheered for Kazuki. Chloe just hung her head sadly, disappointed that her friend couldn't win in the end. Kazuki just held out a hand for Amy to shake.

"Great game Ames. I enjoyed that." he said kindly.

"W-what? But you kicked my ass out there! I didn't even shave off a single Life Point! How was that a good game?" Amy protested.

"It's not about whether you can do damage to your opponent, it's also about knowing the right combinations to use with your duelling deck and putting it to the best use possible." Kazuki explained, "I just got lucky in drawing what I needed at the right time. Maybe next time we duel, you'll be luckier than me and draw the right cards you need. Remember, Duel Monsters is as much about luck as it is skill so don't feel too down about how it turned out. The next duel will be different, I assure you." he said, winking.

That made Amy feel much better. Kazuki was right on what he'd said. No duel was ever the same as the last one so maybe next time would be her lucky match. She was amazed that Kazuki had beaten her so easily and yet he was so humble about it. Why couldn't more players be like him in Duel Monsters? They could learn a thing or two from this boy! Amy knew that Kazuki was one boy she could certainly say that she liked. Yes…she liked him a lot! Hopefully they'd get to see each other again during the school-term.

The next time Amy and Kazuki would see each other was sooner than they thought. After lunch was over, Amy's class was due for swimming lessons and they were all outside by the pool in their swimming gear. Amy and Chloe were both dressed in one-piece swimming suits with Amy's coloured blue and Chloe's coloured red. Swimming was one of Amy's favourite lessons. There was something always enjoyable about throwing herself into the water and swimming lengths in the pool back and forth to test herself on how fast she could get to the other side each time. Chloe liked swimming too, though less for exercise and more for fun. Amy dived in and swam as many lengths as possible as the coach timed her and the other students. Of course, she was the fastest of them all and could still swim circles around everyone. After that was finished, Amy and Chloe dried off and got changed back into their school uniforms. Chloe was finished first and heading off to the next class while Amy was still not ready yet. To her annoyance, she couldn't seem to find her hair ties. Her beautiful red hair was loose and flowing down behind her shoulders. Amy searched up and down in the changing rooms but she couldn't seem to find them anywhere.

"That's so strange. They couldn't have just walked out of here." Amy muttered, "Where are those damn ties…"

She walked out the changing room to see if anyone had accidentally knocked them outside. As she did so, she bumped into someone. She heard a loud cough from whoever she bumped into and she rubbed her head.

"Gah, sorry about that! I'm just…"

Her voice trailed off as she soon realized she was talking to Kazuki Shudo again. Kazuki rubbed his stomach. He didn't seem to be too hurt from that.

"It's OK Ames. I was just heading to art class and you stepped out in front of me." he said dismissively, "What's wrong and…"

He found himself staring as she suddenly realized something was different about Amy. He whistled in wonder.

"Gosh…you look so beautiful with your hair down." he whispered.

Amy blushed the same colour as her hair.

"Y-y-y-you th-think so?" she stammered, "Oh I d-d-don't usually have it l-like this, I p-p-prefer it up in ponytails. Uh…th-thanks anyway?" she added meekly.

"No problem. I think it looks gorgeous like that." Kazuki said kindly.

"Oh stop now! You're gonna make my head explode!" Amy yelped, pulling her hair over her face to hide her embarrassment.

Kazuki just laughed. Something about Amy's shyness was endearingly cute to him and also amusing. He coughed awkwardly and composed himself.

"Ugh, anyway, what's up?" he said, shifting back to topic.

"I just can't find my hair-ties anywhere." Amy explained, "I just did swimming earlier and after getting changed, I couldn't find them."

"I can help look if you want." Kazuki offered.

"What? No, no, I couldn't ask that of you! Don't let me make you late for lessons!" the teen duellist stammered.

"I've got time, no worries." the dragon duellist insisted, "I'll help you find your ties."

Amy was dumbfounded. Why was this boy being so nice to her? She was still pretty much a stranger to him, yet he didn't seem to care and wanted to help out. She didn't think she'd ever meet a boy as nice as her brother and yet, impossibly, it seemed she had. Amy and Kazuki headed back into the changing rooms to look again for the hair ties. Amy described the colour so Kazuki knew what to look for. It took a few minutes of searching but eventually, Kazuki spotted them. They were lying crumpled up in a corner where it was easy to miss them. Amy imagined somebody had accidentally caught them with their feet or towels when getting changed and knocked them over there. Amy tied her hair back up into twin ponytails with the ties and smiled graciously.

"Well um…thank you." she said bashfully, "I appreciate the help."

"No problem." Kazuki said brightly, "Though you really should keep it down like that. It really does look pretty like that." he added, winking slyly.

Amy blushed again. Maybe in the future, she'd let it down for him.

"Well uh…s-see you later I guess?" Amy said meekly.

"You too." Kazuki replied.

The two headed on out for their respective lessons. Amy glanced over her shoulder to see Kazuki head on down the corridor towards the art room.

That Kazuki's such a nice guy! And I seriously thought he'd be some blonde-haired pretty boy! she scoffed to herself, He's nothing like that at all! It's like he was born to be nice and has been all his life! I know Jack will be glad to hear I have a new friend like him…

Despite having Kazuki on her mind for the rest of the day, she'd managed to keep focused on her schoolwork all the way up to home time. She and Chloe left together, walking side-by-side away from the crowd as they preferred their own space and not to be caught up in the sea of boys and girls rushing out the door.

"I'd say today went well enough. I did surprisingly better at swimming than I usually do and I literacy was fun as always!" Chloe said cheerfully, "I've also got a new book from the library to try out. I can't wait to read it!"

"You can't wait to read ANYTHING Chloe." Amy teased.

"Sue me, I'm a bookworm at heart. Is that any different to you being a Duel Monsters geek?" Chloe retorted.

"Touché." Amy laughed.

"So how about you? Did you enjoy it today?" Chloe asked.

"It was OK. Swimming was the best part of course." Amy said casually, "Though meeting Kazuki was really nice. That boy is like no boy I've ever met…"

Chloe grinned impishly.

"And you say I think like a romance novel." she teased.

"Don't get any ideas, Chloe!" Amy said firmly, "I just met the guy! What, you think I'm in some corny Disney movie where the girl hooks up with a guy she just met? That's not how real life works, you know!"

"OK, OK, no need to jump down my throat!" Chloe giggled, "Friends are allowed to tease each other, aren't they?"

"Yeah, I know." Amy agreed, "Sorry, I got ahead of myself there. Still, don't start playing matchmaker with us, OK? I still wanna take things as they go. I like Kazuki but whether I like him "that" way, I dunno yet. And I'm certainly not rushing it either! I don't wanna make a fool of myself."

"I understand. It's like me and Jack." Chloe concurred, "I can't stand the thought of embarrassing myself in front of him."

"You'll be fine Chloe." Amy reassured her friend, "I know you won't make a mess of yourself. You'll know when the time is right and you'll be able to ask him out. And I'm confident Jack will be cool with you."

"Aww, you think so?" the blonde girl asked.

"Positive." the red-haired girl replied.

"Thanks Amy. You do know the right things to say, I swear." Chloe said appreciatively.

"Meh, I guess it comes to me at the right time." Amy said with a shrug, "I'll see you tomorrow morning, OK?"

"I'll be there. Have a good evening and tell Jack I said hi." Chloe said with a wave.

The girls headed on their own ways back home. Amy walked down the street to her house, humming to herself and smiling. She was already looking forward to seeing Kazuki again, especially if she can challenge him to a rematch. Hopefully Jack would be OK with him and he wouldn't get any ideas. Amy planned to tell him all about her day at school and meeting Kazuki for the first time. She already imagined that Jack would want to duel him first chance he gets! As Amy walked home, she didn't notice a robed figure standing by a stop sign, making no effort to hide itself. The figure watched her walk by, its eyes glowing yellow. It was one of Hallows's Fiendish Five and Hallows could see through the figure's eyes what it was looking at. He was still sitting in his throne with his cane in his right hand. His left hand was curled around his chin in thought.

"I sense much potential in that girl." he purred, "She seems to radiate with energy…energy that only a Duellist could provide me. I think we should keep a close eye on her and this brother of her's and see how they duel. They could provide me with much sustenance in preparation for Halloween next month…"

His jagged mouth curled into a dark grin of delight. Yes…this girl and her brother were going to be interesting to observe, he was sure of that. Hopefully they'd be as good as the girl's energy suggested.

"Keep up your work for now. We'll deal with her in due time." he ordered the minion whose eyes he could see through, "I'm sure there are plenty of duellists still roaming the streets at this moment."

"Yes Lord Hallows." the figure said in a low, sultry voice.

The robed minion dismissed Amy and left her to continue her way, looking for someone else to target. The other four would be doing the same thing and Hallows would give the same order to them: keep an eye on Amy Spears and her brother. They would be worth chasing down in due time…


Amy didn't win her first duel, but I think she won something even better in the end. Looks like she and Kazuki are hitting things off well. Will things grow between them? Maybe they will. And maybe we'll see how that goes as we set up a "Double Date" next time...

Trivia: Yes, Kazuki Shudo is indeed named after Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh. That was 100% intentional. ;) You better believe it fucking hurt when I created the character, named him after Kazuki and planned this fanfic and then Kazuki Takahashi ended up dead back in July. What was even worse is that I was actually playing Yu-Gi-Oh at the time I heard about his death. Talk about the cruellest of coincidences... X(

As a result, this chapter is dedicated to him. RIP Kazuki Takahashi, you are the true King of Games with how you created one of the greatest games of all...

Now Kazuki's last name. It's a reference to the late Takeshi Shudo, whom was best known for being the original head-writer of the Pokemon anime back in its heyday. Just seems right to name a character after two big-name figures in two massively popular Japanese franchises, am I right?

And yes, sue me. I had to reference the Pot of Greed meme. Can you blame me? XD


Dedicated to Kazuki Takahashi

1961-2022

You taught us all to believe in the Heart of the Cards. To us, you are the true King of Games.