I update because I care. Isn't that nifty?
I apologize for not having updated in so long. Truly, I am. This chapter was particularly difficult to write, mostly because there is no duel (sorry), so I had to fill it entirely with dialogue. That can be hard some times.
On top of that, between getting back to school, my big brother's wedding, getting a job as a 4 AM janitor (...fun...?), making some new decks, and having to complete a full semester's worth of work for three classes in half the time (that's just the way summer semester at BYU-I works, I'm afraid), I haven't exactly had much time for this. Combined with my writers block, and you can basically see why there was a lull lasting for more than a month. But regardless, on with the chapter, and the many answers and mysteries it unfolds!
Special Disclaim: The band mentioned in this chapter is ficticious, created by myself. The titles of their songs and any lyrics I use are also ficticious, of my own creation. At least, I'm pretty sure. With so many songs and such out there today, you never know when you may end up using someone else's band name or a song title or something like that. I mean, I've got two hugely different songs by the same title by different people with different lyrics and...yeah, you get the picture, so I'll shut up now.
The Way of the Dreamer
Chapter Twelve-The Game
With a repeated flick of the wrist, music sliced through the air around the island of Duelist Academy, somehow overpowering the hundreds of cheers from the students clumped together in a large pack in front of the stage where the band known as Millennium Seven finished up another song.
Grabbing his microphone, the lead singer, Takai, more so howled than spoke, "You guys having a good time?"
The answer came in the form of even louder shouts as the students jumped up and down, begging for more. Only an hour had passed, and the night was still young after all.
"Alright, this next song is a slow song, so guys you better grab yourselves a girl fast. And remember, one of the rules about partner dancing here at Duelist Academy: no ugly girls!" Takai said, his voice suddenly less wild as he brushed some hair out of his face.
The crowd laughed lightly as his joke as teenage boys looked around in an attempt to find partners, while others "inconspicuously" made their way to the tables of food. After all, if you weren't dancing, food was the only really good excuse.
"Alright, this song is called Guardian of My Heart, and it's about that friend of yours who wants to be more, but doesn't know how to say. The friend who stands up for you and is an open mind when you're frustrated. Here we go." the rock star explained, moving his fingers to rest over the strings of the electric guitar.
Hanging his head, Kazuki stared into the cup of juice in his hand, the rotating motions of his wrist causing the liquid to swirl slowly, keeping with the pace of the music as the notes began to flow over the island. Dancing was not exactly something he had ever had time or opportunity to practice. Well, no, that wasn't true. He simply had ignored going to dances back in his home down when they were held by his school. The way he put it was "I have too much pride to look and act like a decapitated chicken on hot coals." As such, he just sat and chugged one glass of punch after another, every now and then grabbing some form of sweets from the table three feet behind him.
"Hey, why aren't you dancing?" a voice to his left inquired at the same time that a hand clapped down on his shoulder, startling Kazuki so much that juice flew out of his cup and onto the table, as well as splashing his shirt a bit. Looking to his side, Kazuki was surprised that it was Katsuya Seikai standing barely a foot away from where he sat, his features light and encouraging, yet serious, like a parent making an inquiry of their child.
Returning his gaze to what remained of his beverage, Kazuki didn't answer with words. After all, how could a guy like Old Man Seikai understand?
Apparently more than Kazuki was willing to give him credit for, as he closed his eyes and nodded knowingly. After a few seconds he leaned forward a bit and spoke again, his voice almost sage-like. "It's not that big a deal kid. Just go up to a girl and ask her. Just make sure that you're a man of honor when you do it, and not just some loser punk trying to get in with as many girls as he can. Be sincere, and the girls will love you." Kazuki did not respond.
Sighing, Katsuya stood up to his full height and gave Kazuki a scrutinizing look. "Fine, let me show you."
Pivoting on his heal, he approached the mob of students, quickly picked out a girl with flaming red hair, and extended his arm while giving a formal bow. Blushing, the girl raised a hand to her mouth and giggled lightly before taking the offered arm, and the two quickly joined into the rhythm of the dance.
His eye twitching slightly in annoyance, Kazuki turned away from the sight, staring out to the ocean, and the seemingly endless horizon, littered with glimmering stars and a glowing silver moon hanging high.
'He makes it look so easy. He must be proud of himself, acting so cool and mature like that.' he said to himself. 'I think I'll just keep doing my own thing. I'm not the "hanging out" type of guy.'
"My falling soul finally lands, It's beside myself that I stand. If only they understood, Into me they can't intrude, Cause I'm united in solitude!"
Surprising himself, Kazuki realized that he had found himself following along with the band as they performed the chorus of the new song they had started playing, United in Solitude. Although what he did could hardly be considered singing, since Kazuki had by no stretch of the imagination a talented or trained voice, plus he had more so been muttering the words.
At the same time, he noticed, he had also been tapping his fingers on the table lightly, keeping with the rhythm of the song. It was true that he couldn't sing very well, if at all, but he had a fantastic natural sense of rhythm.
"Wandering the world, I'm disregarded, I'm all alone, left behind and forgotten. Wandering around I'm lost in myself, I fall to my knees, no longer strong enough. It's just me against the tide,
But I wont run and I wont hide," Kazuki continued as the acoustic tune sped up, joined in by a sudden burst of sound from the other instruments as it returned to the chorus.
As the song continued, the Osiris Red slowly turned his head to the other side, slowly sweeping the entire field of students. Surprisingly, he found that many faces he recognized, remembering them from the numerous duels throughout the day. Torisuna Miyato, the strong-willed Ra Yellow who had made a bold statement about the philosophies and nature of dueling. Tokimi Mikamoto, the duelist who had caused quite a tremor with a massive fleet a monsters each with nearly twenty-thousand attack points.
Frowning slightly, Kazuki noticed a small flock of girls crowding around a rather flustered Yue Ryusen, the young genius who had himself created a powerful ice deck which I2 had printed for him. Kazuki himself was unsure if he found the sight of the powerful duelist teetering back and forth as the girls pressed in from different angles, or if he was annoyed that the girls could be that shallow.
Shaking his head and turning his eyes downward a bit, Kazuki caught the last repeat of the chorus. ""My falling soul finally lands, It's beside myself that I stand. If only they understood, Into me they can't intrude, Cause I'm united in solitude!"
Standing in the doorway which led outside from the arena, Eizan found himself facing the CEO of Industrial Illusions and the creator of Duel Monsters, Maximilian Pegasus, his face alight with some amusing thought. Eizan simply stared back, his face soft and kind as ever, though he had no specific physical feature standing out.
"Well Eizan, that was quite the duel." the billionaire broke the silence, his grin growing wider as he did. At the same time his tone sounded so casual and jocular that it even a complete stranger would be able to tell that he was getting at something.
"Indeed it was." the teacher agreed. "They were all spectacular, that they were. The students here are as good as I've ever seen. And you made an impressive choice of opponents for Katsu and myself. We weren't expecting those three, that we were not."
"You're too kind. Truly." Pegasus retorted, eyes closed and head bowing in mock modesty, purposely inflating any sense of flattery he allowed in his words. Then, lifting his eyes his lips twisted just a bit, adding a slight feral edge to his next words. "Yes, far too kind. Especially your students."
"Getting to the matter at hand already?" Eizan questioned. Pegasus just kept on smiling. Turning to look down at the field by the cliff's edge where the dance was taking place, he smiled. "You saw so yourself. He's an amazing duelist with incredible potential, not like that should be any surprise, that it should not. After all, that's why you pulled that little stunt in there."
Gasping and moving his hand to rest against his chest, Pegasus twisted his face up into a look of absolute shock and betrayal. "Eizan my good man, I'm hurt. You would accuse me of trying to go behind our deal just because I wanted to see with my own eyes what the boy could do? How can you do that to me? We've known each other a total of one month, and suddenly you're all paranoid of my ever action! That's just not fair!"
Chuckling lightly at Pegasus' overly dramatic monologue, Eizan once again fixed the businessman with his eyes. "I have done what you asked me to, that I have. You've had your fun now, so if you please be so kind as to complete the deal."
Shaking his head sagely, Pegasus reached into the side pocket of his red suit coat and pulled out an envelope, which he handed off to the professor, who accepted it with a small bow. It was lightweight, but whatever was in the package was stiffer than paper.
"I assume I'll receive the needed data soon?" Pegasus asked, taking the nod of Eizan's head as an answer in the affirmative.
"You know, I really would have done it either way." the coy tycoon said as an afterthought to their brief exchange. "But for me, life would be so boring if it were all so simple as calling someone up, asking a favor, and they do it. I enjoy seeing people work for something, because it lets me measure how badly they want it and how much they will do in order to achieve it. Not only that, but I like to know who I am entrusting such valuables to. Plus, it gave me an excuse to throw a party!"
Laughing aloud, Eizan nodded in agreement with what the other man had said. "Yes, I really must applaud you for throwing this part in. It makes the whole event seem less suspicious, though I don't think anyone would have even suspected someone if we didn't have this."
"Oh, I don't know." Pegasus shot back in a skeptic voice. "After all, Kaiba-boy would have thought it strange if I didn't do something to jazz it up with a bit of culture. Plus, you have some enemies who aren't exactly mindless."
"I guess you are eccentric enough that if you didn't do something extra, it would seem out of the ordinary, that you are. Of course, had we gone with the original terms, it would have been significantly more out of place, and you wouldn't have had your chance to see him in action, that it would." Eizan consented.
"But most importantly," Pegasus said, suddenly very serious, drawing Eizan's eyes from the dance to the businessman's face, which was pointed towards the student. Slowly the I2 president turned to face the teacher, a grave look on his face, shattered seconds later as he split into a huge smile. "I wanted to throw a party!"
Eizan laughed.
Two days later, Kazuki found himself on the way to class, a bit blurry-eyed. Monday's were always like this. No matter how much sleep he got or how early he awoke, he was still groggy until well after sunrise. Sadly, the first rays of light had just pierced through the gray sky about thirty minutes earlier.
Coming up on a corner, he closed his eyes and craned his neck back as another large yawn escaped his lips.
SMACK!
Bouncing back, Kazuki was stunned for a moment from the impact he had just suffered, having ran into something in his moment of blindness.
Rubbing his nose and forehead, he groaned as he realized that he had run into the wall itself. He'd misjudged the turn around the corner, and so his entire body had run up against the concrete surface. Surprisingly it hurt quite a bit, even though he'd been moving at a rather slow pace, even for just walking.
"Ow." he muttered, continuing to massage the sore on his forehead. After a minute more he shifted the weight of his backpack a bit and was about to take the final step forwards before he could turn the corner when unexpectedly, a young man in a Ra Yellow blazer came barreling down the hall, a look of panic on his face as he approached Kazuki from behind.
"Excuse me!" he shouted, though it wasn't enough warning and he stumbled for a moment as he clipped Kazuki on the side before resuming his full-blown run. Unfortunately for Kazuki, this had the side effect of running him back into the wall, this time crashing the left side of his head and shoulder against the hard surface before he rebounded again. "Ow!"
Rubbing his shoulder, Kazuki was about to ask what had happened, but was cut off as a pack of seven or eight older classmen, all in yellow and blue jackets with...pink? Kazuki was unable to register if there truly was a third color somehow mixed into the normal schemes before the one at the front caught him with his flaying arms, once again shoving him forwards into the wall. "Ow!"
Before he could regain his sense, Kazuki was startled as another of the older students passed him, running headlong into Kazuki's backpack, but was barely hindered. Kazuki on the other hand, was caught off guard, the nature of the impact forcing his whole body to start spinning out of control, pulling him away from the wall...and into the mob of charging students, each one passing by without noticing the younger Osiris Red spinning helplessly, barely keeping on his feet.
Once they had all passed, it took Kazuki several seconds to get himself to stop, though the dizziness remained. Holding his head, slouching down to the side slightly and stumbling a few ill-oriented steps, Kazuki tried to bring himself back to his senses.
Breathing in deeply, he picked his head up just in time to see a short Obelisk Blue run straight into him, knocking him back and onto the ground. The Obelisk Blue was also thrown back, but kept his footing and quickly returned to his chase.
"Guys, keep him alive long enough for me to have a few swings at him!" he shouted as he leapt over the downed Osiris Red.
Alone on the floor, Kazuki could think of only one thing to say. "OW!"
"Class, I have what I hope will be a surprise and a pleasure for you today, that I do." Eizan smiled as he pushed a button on the podium and the massive screen rolled down from the ceiling. "I am going to assume that you were at the Festival this weekend, and so you got to see the deck used by Yue Ryusen. For those of you who do not know, Yue created the cards for his deck himself and they were submitted to Industrial Illusions, who were so impressed that they printed him an exclusive copy of the deck and gave him the rights to the royalties for those cards. They will be entering mass production in about two years, that they will."
The students nodded, most of them already familiar with this fact. After all, Yue was the second ranked duelist in the school, right after Rangiku Mitsuhoshi, so it wasn't hard to find someone who could give information about him.
"Well, I have spoken with him, and he has agreed to allow us a look at his original ice deck to see how he constructed it, that he has. He has, of course, created many new cards since, but he didn't feel comfortable revealing so many of his current creations. Still, what we have to work with here is rather impressive still, that it is."
Upon hearing this news, an excited clamor rushed throughout the room. It was a known fact Yue had used a water deck through much of the previous year, until the assignment that would result in the printing of his custom deck. By that time he'd already risen so fast through the ranks that he didn't need very many duels before he earned himself a place amongst the top students of the school. Because of this, not much was known about his cards.
Clicking with the computer mouse, Eizan brought up a chart which displayed three enlarged card images spanned across two columns, each with it's stats and text written clearly next to it. Giving the class a moment to read, he asked, "Can anyone determine one strength we can already see in the deck?"
After a few seconds the question sunk in and hands went up. Pointing to a Ra Yellow in the middle row on the far left, Eizan awaited the answer.
"Well, he balances a few themes, from what I can tell, rather than giving his entire focus to one very specific strategy. It seems he uses rush, effect lock-down, and the occasional effect for destroying cards on the field -particularly magic and trap cards- to open up for a frontal assault. Also, he has effects to act as a contingency plan, not necessarily holding to a specific theme, but allowing him to make up for shortcomings when his normal tactics are on standby. In doing this, he has versatility to adapt to just about any given situation, makes it hard to disrupt his moves, and then break through enemy defenses easily."
"Very well spoken, Jin." Eizan declared as the Ra Yellow took his seat again. "That's very much so the answer to this question, that it is. First, we have his Ice Lancer (1700/1200). This is an interesting monster, since it allows you to sacrifice one face down card on your field to instantly special summon it from either the deck or graveyard. This correlates with what Jin told us about traces of rush elements, that it does. With seventeen hundred attack points, it's a fairly solid attacker, and is excellent when you can pull it from your deck so easily. Plus, it's a useful effect, since there are many ways of utilizing it. There are a number of cards which activate when they go to the cemetery, which would be the normal strategy. Or, if you have a card in your hand that you can't use, or don't intend to use any time soon, you can just quickly set it down, send it to the graveyard, summon a monster, and thin your deck a bit, that you can."
"However, Jin did miss an important theme in this deck. It's most powerful when face down cards are involved. Normally a foolish strategy to target, since there are only so many times you can expect your opponent will summon a monster in defense mode. And if you target face down magic and trap cards, there's generally an overbearing chance that they will be chained in response to an attempt to destroy them."
"But," Eizan continued, pausing for dramatic effect while allowing what he had just said to sink in. "This in and of itself is an advantage, that it is. It would be impractical for a player to have a deck that counters a deck which targets face down cards, since it is the expectation amongst duelists that such an attempt will often be countered in some way, that it is. Jin said that combining a few different strategies, Yue made his deck hard to disrupt. That is mostly true. Not only is it hard to interfere with the strategy of the ice deck, but it's extremely difficult to even hold it back, because it is relentless."
Moving the mouse over a bit, Eizan highlighted the final two lines of text on the card before continuing. "He gave Ice Lancer a powerful effect in the event that he runs up against face down monsters. When it destroys a face down monster, he can deal that monsters defense points as direct damage to the opponents life points, that it can."
"That can't be a fair effect!" a voice interjected, and everyone twisted their head towards the front, where an Osiris Red girl half a dozen seats or so to Kazuki's right was. "I mean, that means that thing could deal all kinds of damage, and it's so cheap."
"Ah, but there are a few counterbalances to that very argument, that there are." Eizan countered. "First off, Ice Lancer only has seventeen hundred attack points. Most monsters played in defense mode will either be set out of desperation, and so will have moderate or few defense points, meaning the damage is quite possibly less than a trample effect would be. At the same time, other monsters played in defense mode will have a defense around two thousand, which is too great for Ice Lancer to beat on his own. Thirdly, some would argue that Ice Lancer's rush effect makes the other effect unfair. However, sacrificing a face down card is actually much harder than discarding a card from your hand or paying life points, and we have all seen those types of card costs unleash extremely deadly effects. Finally, the monster must be face down, meaning if Ice Lancer is summoned mid-duel, there wont be much chance to go after such monsters."
Hanging her head, the girl who had objected became rather quiet, beaten on this subject.
Smiling, Eizan nodded at her. "It was a reasonable objection, Tenya, that it was." Turning back to the screen, he said, "However, I just got off topic. Card Creation is Professor Kita's class. Moving on..."
An hour later, the class was on their way out the door when Kazuki felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he was greeted by Eizan's kind face. "You will be coming tonight to start work, correct?"
"Yeah, of course." Kazuki nodded, remembering the deal he had been offered.
"Excellent, that is." Eizan smiled. "Very well, please be in my office by seven o'clock." Nodding again, Kazuki turned back towards the door and exited, leaving Eizan alone in the large room.
"Not much time, Kazuki. This wont be easy, that it will not. But, I have faith in you. I'm a teacher, you are the student. If I believe in you, and you believe in yourself, and we give it our all, you will be ready for this."
Resting his elbow on his knee and his chin in his pal, Eizan gave a scrutinizing look at the board in front of him. It was his move, and he had suddenly found himself in a rather unusual situation.
"I've become rather soft, it would seem." he lamented as he picked up his knight and captured the black bishop. "I've become accustomed to critical thinking opponents who are extremely cautious with resources. You, on the other hand, have no trouble making trades that, by all logical means, are the most absurd, that you do."
"It comes with being a billionaire." Pegasus responded, picking up a glass of wine from the side of the table where the chess board was set up. "You learn to recklessly spend what seems like a priceless amount, but in the end you get the real prize." Setting the glass down, he picked up his rook and took the offending knight.
"Yes, it makes it nearly impossible to judge your exact actions, that it does." Eizan responded. "But even then, a well developed plan can cut through the mess you leave behind because of your impulsiveness. It's just much harder, especially when you're used to opponents who want to use formations and traps against you. It's extremely difficult to adopt and entirely new mode of judgement for facing those few who are crazy enough to use up six of their pawns in the first few turns just to break up enemy ranks, that it does."
"Are you trying to intimidate me?" Pegasus asked, his voice resonating with curiosity. "Or just distract me? Or perhaps you're attempting to get me distracted through intimidation."
"I am simply saying that I'm being forced to gamble by a strategy that I myself could never adopt, that I am." Eizan answered as he reached for a piece, stopping when the sound of a knock at the door filled the room. "Enter, please."
Looking up and across the office, Eizan was pleased to see Kazuki enter.
"Oh, sorry Professor. I didn't know you had company. If I did I would have waited out...side..." Kazuki said, his voice suddenly becoming lost as Pegasus turned around in his seat. "Uh...I should step outside, shouldn't I?"
"Nonsense, my boy." Pegasus beamed. "I was just about to best your teacher in a mortal combat of the minds. He has put up a noble struggle, but that's the joy of conquest, isn't it? Dismantling the opponents strategies with something they can't expect."
"Uh..." Kazuki suddenly began to notice a shift in the temperature from mild to sweltering, causing him to perspire. "I...uh...I mean, absolutely. And, um...you did ask me, right?"
"Kazuki," Eizan spoke, his tone reassuring. "Relax. I'll be with you in a moment. We're in the end game right now." Picking up his only remaining pawn and using it to take Pegasus second bishop. To this, the card designer raised an eyebrow.
"That's an interesting move. But perhaps you are trying to catch me off guard, just as I did when we started; to distract me and make me believe you have some alternative plan set up."
"I leave that to your judgement, that I do." Eizan smiled back, a confident smile beginning to form on his face. Then, looked up and past Pegasus he addressed the student, "You may want to take a seat before you pass out, that you may."
Startled out of his shock, Kazuki sat down behind the desk and watched as Pegasus rubbed his chin for a moment before moving his rook from the previous turn to the back line, which was empty for all but one piece-the white king.
"Check."
Sighing, Eizan moved his queen to the space directly between the king and the castle. Now, if Pegasus wanted to strike, he'd have to give up his rook, and currently he was running low on pieces.
"Ah, trying to force me to a standstill back there for the moment, is that it?" the tycoon mused. "Well then, I guess I'll just move my king back here, and end." Sliding the black piece backwards a square, the turn passed to Eizan.
"Pegasus, it's been a wonderful game, but I'm afraid I must get back to work. So, within these next two turns, it ends."
"Your pawn is the only piece you can move." Pegasus pointed out. "For should you move your queen, it opens your king to my rook. If you attack with your queen, you will then be left with nothing. If you move your king, he is vulnerable once again. So, what will you do with a pawn?"
"I believe in the potential of a pawn to be guided by the player in order to become an instrumental figure with amazing power, that I do." Eizan replied, picking the small piece up. Instantly Pegasus realized his intention, and simply closed his eyes and chuckled, though he did nothing to impede Eizan.
"I use the rule of promotion to train my pawn to become a second queen." Eizan declared. "And that alone makes for checkmate." Nodding at the board, both Kazuki and Pegasus checked what he said, and indeed it was true. His king had been pinned against the back edge of the board by Eizan's first queen, and he hadn't realized it. Now his king was effectively pinned on all sides, and the game was decided.
"Ah, excellent game, Eizan." Pegasus smiled. "Sadly, chess was never my true forte." Rising from his chair, he turned to Kazuki. "You have an amazing teacher, my friend. I recommend you learn from him as much as you can, and not just in the classroom."
Downing the last gulp of his wine, he dropped the glass into the trash, not bothering to take it with him. With a quick bow, he withdrew.
Staring after the billionaire's departure for a few minutes, Kazuki finally turned back to his teacher, a confused look on his face. "What was that?"
Smiling, Eizan walked over to a filing cabinet and began to search for the proper drawer. "Mr. Pegasus wanted to stay a few extra days and see how the Academy operates, that he did. As for him being in my office, he said he was impressed by the display I put on last Friday, and that he wanted to pit his intellect against mine. Sadly, I didn't have time for a duel, so he consented to our chess game. Regrettably, I got so involved in it that I failed to notice that it went for more than an hour, and I have now fallen behind, that I have."
"So...erm, what am I doing?" Kazuki asked, rising from his seat and walking around to the cabinet.
"I'll be grading papers, that I will." Eizan explained, returning to his desk, motioning to two stacks of papers, one nearly six inches deep and the other only about half an inch. "So I would like for you to please input the grades into the computer, if you could. Also, I will need you to file them." Motioning over to a small table against the wall with a laptop on it. "I've already set up that computer for you to do that. So, if you could please take your stack over and get started, we can hopefully have the entire set done before the night ends."
Nodding, Kazuki reached for the smaller stack of papers, but stopped when he noticed that none of them had any kind of markings on them. Picking one up, he examined it, looking to see where the grade that he would enter was. Looking up to Eizan, he was about to ask what to put in, but his question was known before he could even open his mouth.
"That's my stack, that it is."
Hanging his head, Kazuki put the stack of paper back and grabbed the significantly larger one and hefted them over to the small table. After about forty minutes of clicking around he was able to somewhat (though not much) familiarize himself with the system, and began sifting through the stack, looking for names or scores.
As he set the thirty-seventh paper aside, Kazuki reached for the stack without looking, grabbing at the corner of the paper, only to feel it pull back, as if heavier than the few he'd already done. Glancing over at it, he blanched when he saw that it had to be at least fifteen pages thick! Single spaced! Not only that, but the margins looked like they may have been stretched a bit to allow all of the content to fit on those pages instead of spilling just a little onto a sixteenth.
"This is crazy." he muttered aloud. After all, the longest paper he had thus far seen had been barely over two pages. This one was more than five times that length. Intrigued, he looked at the paper more closely, checking the title and student who had written it.
"'Thesis On the True Duelist,'" he breathed, completely inaudible. Looking underneath the title, he was both surprised and yet, not really, to see the name of the writer. "Yue Ryusen. Well, those girls did say he was a genius, but this is something completely different from what I would have expected."
"Did you say something, Kazuki?" the student jumped, having forgotten that he was not alone in the office. Looking up from his seat over to Eizan, he laughed nervously at having lost his composure so completely.
"Oh. Uh, no, I'm fine. Really." the Osiris Red stammered, dropping the report onto his lap and waving his hands defensively. "Just a little interesting by the length of this report by Mr. Yue Ryusen." Eizan smiled and nodded.
"Yes, Yue is quite a unique student, that he is. He is one example of what I refer to in my mind as an Ideal Student." Kazuki raised an eyebrow at this, not sure how else to respond.
With a look of understanding, Eizan continued. "Yue is the sort of student any teacher hopes all of those under their direction could be like, in one way or another. He is dedicated to the work he does. He does the work not just to get through school, but because he wants to. He does what is needed, and then goes beyond that. He doesn't just learn the curriculum for the sake of pleasing any tests, but so that he can actually accumulate knowledge and grow, that he does. However, it goes deeper than that, that it does."
Leaning in with a look of interest, Kazuki seemed to forget about inputting grades, giving his full attention to what his teacher had to say. "He has a goal, and he is genuinely interested in doing the work to reach that. He doesn't let life itself hold him down, and he works as hard as he possibly can to master all subjects, not just those that he apply directly to his field or study or personal interests, that he does."
"That's your ideal?" Kazuki asked, unsure how to interpret that.
"That's one ideal, yes, that it is." the professor said. "However, I do not believe there is any one, single, specific formula for bringing forth a shining generation, that I do not. If I did, I would keep faith for the hundreds of new students I meet each year, and I would not lament within my soul each time I see another student fail themself because they weren't willing to tap their own potential."
Scratching the back of his head, Kazuki gave Eizan a scrutinizing look before saying, "I'm not sure I can believe all that."
Chuckling lightly, Eizan grabbed another essay and his blue pen and began to skim. "It would not be fair of me to expect that you could so soon, that it would not."
Shrugging, Kazuki turned back to the paper on his lap, his eyes widening as he noticed something he hadn't the first time he'd taken a look. 'This is for a level four hundred class! It's for only the most advanced and promising students!' Looking from the title page over to the computer, he pulled up one of the files from the bottom of the screen pertaining to that class. 'Since there are only three years here at the Academy, most students complete classes up through level three hundred, and some in their third year get the chance to take one or two classes in the four hundred range. However, Yue is a second year!'
Looking at the student roster for the desired class, he was rather surprised to see there were less than fifteen names on the list. What surprised him, though, were that he recognized some of them. 'Mitsuhoshi, Rangiku; Mikamoto, Tokimi; Ryusen, Yue; Seikai, Katsuaya...' his eyes shot back and forth. 'So, that's why they're all so strong. Of course it makes sense that the top two students in the school would be in such a class. And from what I saw of Tokimi and Katsuya, that's no surprise either. Heh, I wouldn't be surprised if either one of them made it into the top three when Rangiku graduates. Plus, isn't the current third ranked also graduating at the end of the year? Maybe both of them will make it.'
Shaking his head, grinning all the while, Kazuki checked Yue's grade (A perfect score of one hundred forty points), then continued down the stack.
An hour and a half later, Kazuki sleepily dropped his index and middle fingers onto the Enter key, finalizing the last grade for the night.Stretching his arms out wide, he yawned and blinked his eyes a few times, realizing just how tired he had become as a result of the rather redundant task he'd been set upon.
Rising to his feet, he hoisted the stack of papers and made his way over to the filing cabinet and began to look for the appropriate drawer. He had been horrified while actually entering the grades to find that the assignments weren't in any sort of order at all. As a result, he had needed to organize them as best as he could during the process. Of course, his best only resulted in them being ordered by class, meaning he still had to put them in alphabetical order while filing.
Another half hour later, Kazuki was slamming the final drawer shut and then rubbed his eyes, annoyed. 'He has no sense of order whatsoever! How can you call that a filing system? Half of the folders don't even have names on them!' he ranted to himself, making sure to keep from making his annoyance known out lout.
'But still,' he continued, his tone changing to one of wonder. 'Who is this guy? He's a teacher at the Academy, meaning he has to have a degree. He's a fearsome duelist, even though his deck doesn't seem to have much in terms of offensive power. And now, he teaches more classes than any other faculty member? Not only that, but he teaches dueling classes on all levels, not just those for first years. How could one person, especially someone as young as him, be capable of so much?'
Rubbing his chin while watching the teacher, Kazuki frowned when Eizan sneezed exceptionally hard, throwing himself backwards and out of his chair. 'And yet, he sometimes seems like such a fool...' he pondered, a dumbfound look on his face.
Picking himself up off of the floor, laughing lightly, Eizan looked over at Kazukiwhile rubbing just under his nose.
"My apologies, Kazuki. I guess someone was just now talking about me and how great a teacher I am, that they were." Kazuki sweat dropped.
"Anyway," the older man said, rising to his feet and brushing the dust off of his black slacks. "I think that's enough for one night, don't you? It's getting rather late, that it is." Nodding, Kazuki rose to his feet and made for the door, but was stopped when Eizan called suddenly, "One more thing before you go, Kazuki."
To add to the surprise from the sudden call, Kazuki noted that his teacher's voice was mysteriously lacking in its usual light-heartedness. It was still a kind voice, sincere and gentle, but at the same time there was an inner intensity and obviously much more serious. Turning cautiously, unsure how to react to the fact that his teacher was suddenly so different, Kazuki's eyes widened when he noticed that the silver haired mans face had become rather stern, though like his voice it maintained his usual kindness. Still, it was new and surprising, and very much unlike the man Kazuki had come to know over the past month.
"Kazuki, there is something very important that I have been asked to tell you, that there is." the teacher sighed, perking his student's curiosity. "I believe that you were given a letter when you left the entrance exam, telling you that there were some interesting circumstances which you would be informed of at a later point, yes?" Kazuki nodded.
Sighing again, seeming distraught, Eizan sat down on his desk and motioned to one of the chairs, which Kazuki slowly found himself setting into, keeping his eyes on the professor. For the first time, in Kazuki's mind, Eizan looked to be older one would expect, nearly thirty or so instead of twenty-two or twenty-three.
"There was some...opposition to your acceptance into the Academy, that there was." the older man broke the uneasy silence. "Because you lost your duel, it was believed by someone that you were not yet ready to attend the school. Such criticism was opposed by many of the faculty, and eventually the one who tried to prevent you from being accepted was removed from his position, that he was. However..."
Eizan suddenly stopped and turned his head to his desk, ignoring any chance of looking at Kazuki. 'This isn't right. Why, Dayu? Why him?' He didn't like what had to be said. He hated what had to be done. But be done it must. Breathing in deeply, he forced himself to look at his student and spoke as boldly as he could.
"However, something unexpected happened. The one who opposed your admittance apparently has deeply-rooted connections with the board of directors for the school. Using those connections, he managed to force those of us who supported you to accept a proposal, that he did."
"Proposal?" Kazuki asked, unsure of what to make of all this. Some big internal political struggle? Over him!
"Yes." Eizan reaffirmed. "You were allowed admittance to the Academy for one year. In this time you are expected to learn and progress as much as you can. You are required to win your way into the ranks of the top five duelists at the Academy by the end of the year, that you are."
Kazuki stared. "Top five!" he screamed. "That's crazy! With my current record, it can't be done. There's no way, with all the duels I've lost this month, that I could get myself from Osiris Red into the top five!" Eizan continued to fix him with that penetrating stare of his, sincerely empathetic for Kazuki's fear, but at the same time confident.
"At the end of the year, you will be in a special exhibition duel against one of our third year students before the special Graduation Duel is held. It is with this duel that you will be able to win your place. If you can defeat your opponent, you will automatically be granted any points needed for you to earn the rank of fifth strongest in the school, that you will." he explained. As an afterthought he added "It wont be against anyone currently in the top five. It'll be someone who would be a potential candidate to fill one of the holes in the top five being left by the third years who currently hold that standing."
Kazuki again stared in unbelief. "How am I supposed to beat someone being considered for a top rank in the school?"
"Because," Eizan replied sternly. "I believe in you, that I do. I am certain you can win this duel, if you are willing to accept your weaknesses and work to overcome them. It is my personal belief, Kazuki, that if the teacher is willing to stand by his pupil, and the student gives everything he possibly can, then even a student who is the most rugged stone on the surface and be refined into the most pure and cleanly polished gemstone, that it is."
Rising to his feet, Kazuki shouted, "I CAN'T DO IT! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? I KEEP ON LOSING! IF I CAN'T EVEN BEAT A FIRST YEAR RA YELLOW, HOW AM I GOING TO WIN WHEN MY OPPONENT IS A GRADUATING OBELISK BLUE!"
"Kazuki," Eizan sighed again, hanging his head. "Would you rather have been denied your chance to get into the Academy to begin with?" The boy stopped cold, having somehow not realized the simple logic behind the whole incident. Rising calmly so that he once again looked down on the boy, Eizan spoke again.
"Kazuki, if you want to overcome whomever you duel, you must get stronger, this is true. It will be more difficult than anything you could imagine. It's unreasonable to expect this of a first year student. However, I already told you that I believe in you. It's time you believed that yourself, that it is."
"But...but I..." Kazuki stammered, not sure what to say.
"Kazuki," Eizan smiled, albeit very weakly. "Haven't you noticed that in every single duel you've been in, you've been on the verge of victory, only to have it taken from you at the last minute? It never mattered if your opponent was another an entrance exam proctor or an exceptional Obelisk Blue like Katsuya, you still were on the precipice of victory, that you were."
Stunned, Kazuki's eyes widened as he heard these words. He had never considered it before, but now that it was mentioned...Eizan was right. How many times had he been just inches from going in for the kill, to have it lightly snatched out from under him by a desperation attempt by his opponent?
"Why is that?" he found himself asking, the only question he could think of.
Sighing again, Eizan placed a hand on Kazuki's shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. As he did this, Kazuki noticed that a new emotion had entered those silver orbs. What was it? It was as if Eizan had in his eyes something Kazuki had seen time after time when he'd been looking in a mirror, but as to what he could not tell.
"Kazuki, you lose because you are not connected to your cards the way a duelist should be. You and your cards are out of synch, that you are, and so you hold a role of dominance over them rather than working together with them. Because of this, they do not respond to you, that they do not. Beyond that, your soul itself is out of synch, especially in how you regard the deck you currently use. You resent them, and so you block your mind off from being able to carry through with your brilliance. In other words, you have been defeating yourself all this time, that you have."
"I don't understand." Kazuki responded. "What's weird mysticism got to do with me as a duelist? And even if my cards were alive like that, why would they reject me? Or why would I reject them? And what do you mean by I've been beating myself?"
"Because, Kazuki," Eizan said, his voice once again becoming strict. "They aren't your cards. That's not your deck at all."
"What are you talking about?" Kazuki shot back, suddenly becoming defensive. "I've had this deck for years. These cards were given to me, so of course they're mine!"
"No, Kazuki, that's not how it works at all. That deck was left to you by your father. He built it, became a champion using it, and then abandoned you and your mother without a word when you were just a child, leaving that deck as the only proof he ever existed in your home to begin with, that he did. Those are still his cards, because he never truly passed them on to you. Not only that, but you still resent him, and in so doing, you resent your cards, that you do." the professor declared, suddenly becoming rather frightening.
At least, frightening to those who knew him. It was likely that if not suddenly seized by rage, Kazuki would have fled in terror. Instead, he clenched his fists angrily as blood and adrenaline began to pump swiftly through his veins.
"You don't have a damned clue what the hell you're talking about!" Kazuki screamed before bolting for the door.
"Yes I do, Kazuki!" Eizan called, slowing the boy at the door with his voice. Slowly, the student turned his head to glare at his teacher, the doorknob already twisted in his grasp. "I knew your father very well. He was a good friend of mine, that he was. He-" he was cut off as Kazuki wrenched the door open and shot into the hall, running as fast as he could.
'Dayu, you haven't won yet.' the lone teacher vowed to himself. 'Kazuki will realize what needs to be done, and accept the facts for what they are. And when that day comes, I will show you what distinguishes you and I.'
Slumping into his chair, seemingly exhausted, Professor Kiske reached for a picture he had standing in a thick frame in the corner of his desk. It showed him smiling brightly, standing tall next to the usually grim-faced Katsu Yoriyoi. However, they both appeared to be much younger, and Katsu was dressed differently from usual. He was in khaki's and a lightweight silver blazer hanging open over a black undershirt. Over the left pocket of the shirt was the badge of a professional duelist sponsored by an independent.
Grimly, the teacher reached for the picture, but instead of picking it up, he simply tugged on the frame, which opened like a book. Inside was a different picture. It was of himself in his late teenage years in a black jacket and blue shirt, standing next to a man with faded black hair cut short and spiked up, dressed in a scarlet blazer over a gold colored shirt. The jackets they both wore seemed to reach down to their knees. One couldn't be sure, since their lower bodies were completely cut off by a strip of white paper with some black scribbles running across it.
"'To Professor Eizan Kiske, a powerful warrior who wants to live a peaceful dream. My only rival. Signed: Itzika Katsura.'" he read the memorized autograph before his eyes looked back at the picture. Both he and the man next to him were holding white slips of paper, both having similar black scribbles on them, though the handwriting was obviously very different.
Even without being able to actually read the paper the stranger in the picture held, Eizan still knew what it said exactly. "'To Itzika Katsura, a man of the ages. May you enjoy the dawn of your professional dueling career, but never forget everything I have strived to teach you. Signed: Eizan Kiske; Former Champion and Future Professor.'"
To Be Continued...
There you finally have it! The plot (well, a big chunk of it), as well as many mysteries, revealed!
Next Time-Kazuki finds himself tormented by demons of his past as memories of a life he left behind come back to haunt him. As a result, his focus begins to slip and he begins to lose himself to despair. To show him a way out, Yue Ryusen, boy genius and patented card designer, steps forward in a duel against Professor Katsu Yoriyoi to show Kazuki what lays ahead of him.
Next Time-The Frozen Heart