Chapter I: Lily of the Valley
"Jaden! Jaden! You would not believe what I saw today!" Syrus yelled as he stormed into the room that he shared with Jaden and Chumley. Jaden was on the floor, looking through his deck, while Chumley was on the top bunk, daydreaming. They both looked up when their small friend stormed into the room, as happy as he could be.
"What did you see, Sy?" Jaden asked.
"I saw…I saw an angel!" Syrus' whole face went red the moment he spoke it. He could still remember the moment he saw her. Apparently, neither one understood what he was saying.
"Syrus, are you sure it wasn't just the sun in your eyes?" Jaden asked.
"Oh no, this angel was sent from God, just to be with me!" his heart fluttered in his chest as he explained to Jaden, not only what he meant, but what he saw. A girl with Alexis with long pink hair and green eyes. She was, in his opinion, the most beautiful thing he ever saw.
"Alright, Syrus!" Jaden yelled, standing up, the moment Syrus had finished explaining. "Apparently you're in love. So why don't you go after the girl?"
"I can't! She probably doesn't like me, either! After all, she's in Obelisk Blue. Most of the girls in that dorm wouldn't even look at me, let alone talk to me," Syrus said sadly.
"What about Alexis? She looks at you, and talks to you," Jaden pointed out.
"Yeah, but Alexis is your friend, Jaden," Syrus shot back. "You also like her, just as much as she likes you."
"Yeah, I can't believe you haven't asked her out yet," Chumley spoke from the bed.
"Ask her out? Guys, Alexis is just a friend to me, nothing more," Jaden tried to explain, but it wasn't working. Syrus and Chumley exchanged suspicious looks before turning back to Jaden.
"The best relationships always start off as friends," Syrus spoke.
"That may be, but Alexis and I are only friends. I don't have feelings for her, and I know she doesn't for me," he argued.
"How do you know? Do you read her mind?" Syrus asked.
"No, but-"
"Do you read her diary?"
"No-"
"So how do you know she doesn't like you?"
"I just do!"
Jaden had had enough arguing with his friends. He turned back to his deck, but as he thumbed through the cards, he couldn't help but think of Alexis. Could she have feelings for him? Does he have feelings for her? Things were confusing enough without the known dramas of being a teenager.
"I can't like Alexis. I just…I can't…."
The moonlight shined down on the beautiful Duel Academy island as spring blossomed everywhere. Crossing the paths of the dormitories was a boy striking a yellow blazer, had dark hair, and matching, dark eyes. As he walked towards his dorm, he saw a girl walking towards him, probably heading to the Obelisk Blue Girls' dorm. She had long pink hair and green eyes, and her blue blazer revealed slightly a pink undershirt. As she raced across the grass, the boy noticed that in her arms was a soiling pot, blossoming out of it a beautiful light pink lily.
As she ran past him, he called out to her, questioning the plant.
"Hey, what is that?" he asked. She turned to him, a charming smile on her face.
"It's called the Lily of the Valley. It's a sweet flower that must be planted in the dead of night. Otherwise, this spring won't be as amazing and wonderful as it seems," she pointed out.
"You seem to know a lot about plants," he responded.
"Well, my mother was a gardener, but I'm only interested in flowers. They're beautiful, and each one has a story behind it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go plant this outside my dorm," she rushed off carrying the plant, and disappeared into the moonlight. The boy turned back to his walking, and as he approached, he saw a man standing outside the building, wearing the yellow uniform of the head of the dorm. Professor Sartyr.
"Sir, what is it?" the boy asked. Sartyr looked up, and for once in his life, there was a smile on his face.
"A young lady came here just a few moments ago, and planted this lovely flower. She told me that it would bring a pleasant spring if it is planted in the night," he explained. The boy became startled by this, and started asking questions.
"Did this girl have pink hair? Did she have green eyes? Did she strike a Blue blazer?" he asked his professor.
"Yes, she did. She even told me her name. Sakura Mitokaza. A lovely name, and she told me her name meant 'cherry blossom of the spring.' How lovely," the professor sounded as if he was under an enchantment. Apparently, by having someone plant a flower in front of the dorm had made him happy, which was rare to see.
The boy stared down at the lily, and saw it was almost an exact replica of the one she had. Who was this girl? And why did she care so much for Spring?
"Bastion, you would not believe this! Syrus is in love!" Jaden told his friend, a usual smile on his face. Bastion, who was walking ahead of him to the forest, chuckled slightly.
"And you would not believe what happened last night. A girl planted a flower in front of my dorm. She made Sartyr very pleased," Bastion explained.
"Really? What did this girl look like?" Jaden asked.
"Pink hair, green eyes, Obelisk Blue blazer," Bastion said, describing the girl.
"Really? That sounds just like the girl Syrus was telling me about. Sakura, I think, was her name," Jaden spoke.
"Yeah, it was the same girl, then," Bastion explained.
"Then she must've been the one who planted the flower in front of our dorm, then," Jaden spoke. Bastion stopped in his tracks and turned to the boy. He explained. "This morning, we found a flower planted right outside our dorm. Banner told us during breakfast that the girl who planted it had pink hair and green eyes. He also told us that the flower was called the Lily of the Valley, and that when planted during the night, it's supposed to bring a good spring."
Bastion looked down. What is this girl thinking, planting flowers everywhere?
"Hey, Alexis, can we talk to you for a moment?"
Alexis looked up from her work to her two best friends, Mindy and Jasmine, as they approached. "Sure, what's up?" Alexis asked.
"We'd like to talk to you about Jaden," Mindy spoke, sitting in front of her friend, crossing her arms over her chest with a look of expectance.
"Why? What did he do this time?" Alexis asked.
"Oh, no, he didn't do anything. But…do you remember the night you dueled him?" Jasmine asked her. "The night that he came to rescue little Syrus because he had trespassed into our dorm?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Alexis spoke.
"Well…both Mindy and I think there might be something going on between the two of you. We saw sparks that night, and you acted differently than usual. You stood up for him," Jasmine pointed out.
"No, I didn't stand up for him. Part of the deal was, that if he won, which he did, I would let him loose, and he wouldn't get in trouble. That was what the deal was," Alexis shot back.
"Yeah, but you acting very strange. Not to mention, you didn't play as hard as you should have during that duel," this came from Mindy.
"I did play my hardest. And besides that, Jaden is just a good friend of mine. I don't like him any more than that," she explained to her friends. They didn't buy it. Alexis was known to have been the center of attention around the guys in the school, but she was most especially fond of by Jaden. They could just tell.
"Listen, Alexis, we don't mean to bother you and annoy you with this, but we're your friends, and we know when you're in love when we see it. It's obvious you have feelings for him," Mindy argued to her.
"No, I don't! I don't have feelings for him!" Alexis yelled at them.
"Have feelings for who?"
All three girls looked up at the sound of a familiar voice. At once, they saw Sakura standing at the computer desk, apparently just barely eavesdropping. She approached the other girls, a confused look on her face. She turned to Alexis. "Who do you have feelings for?"
"No one. And if these two would just leave me alone about it!" she snapped at her friends. This time, it was Sakura's turn to speak.
"You know, Alexis, it is Spring, after all. This is normally the time when people do fall in love. That's why I planted flowers around the school," Sakura explained, sitting at their table.
"Wait, that was you who planted that flower in front of all the dorms?" Jasmine asked her. Sakura nodded.
"Yes. I want this Spring to be a good one. And my mother told me about how, if you plant a Lily of the Valley at night in front of a building, whoever resides in that building will be brought a good Spring. She even told me the legend behind it. There's a legend and story for every flower," Sakura explained.
"Really? Then tell us the one for this one," Mindy asked for.
"Alright," Sakura began. "Well, a hundred years ago, a ship was cast away in the ocean, heading towards Europe. On this ship were thousands of men, and each man had a woman waiting for them to return home. Two years passed since that ship has set sailed, and the women waiting for them were worried they may never see them again. It was in Winter that someone approached each one of these women, and told them to plant lilies in front of their houses at midnight, so when Spring came, their wish would come true. Well, Spring came, and the lilies blossomed beautifully, and on the day they did, the men had returned home to the women. It's said that, by planting a Lily of the Valley in front of your house, whatever your heart desires will come true during that spring. You just have to make a wish on it."
"That's a lovely story," Mindy was almost entranced by the tale, and so was Jasmine. Sakura smiled at Alexis.
"So…have you made your wish yet?" Alexis' face went red at the question. She didn't know what to wish for.
It was amazing how much the tale of the lilies had spread throughout the school. In less than three hours, people were standing outside their dorms, making wishes on the lilies Sakura had planted for them. Mostly the girls were the ones wishing on them, few boys were. Boys and men were never truly interested in such things of Spring, so it was understandable to most people. Jaden thought nothing of the matter with the flowers, while Syrus talked nothing of them.
"I'm going to make my wish as well. I'm going to wish that I would see that girl again," Syrus cried, kneeling on the grass and bowing to the flower. His light blue hair brushed against the petals of the flower, and he shut his eyes as he made the wish.
"Come on, Sy, you don't really believe in all that junk, do you?" Jaden asked his friend. Syrus didn't answer, but a voice spoke to them calmly and in a friendly way.
"Hi!"
Syrus and Jaden looked up to see a girl standing before them, her long pink hair swaying in the wind behind her, her plant, green eyes sparkling gently. Jaden and Syrus exchanged looks, and at once, Syrus' face went red. He mouthed to Jaden, "that's her." Jaden was surprised now by this appearance.
"I thought some people might enjoy the little favor I did everyone last night!" she said cheerfully.
"You're…you're Sakura Mitokaza?" Jaden asked.
"Yes, I am. And you must be Jaden Yuki. It's nice to meet you," she held out a hand, and Jaden shook it.
"It's nice to meet you, as well. Why did you plant the flowers?" Jaden couldn't help but ask.
"Because I want everyone to have a wonderful Spring. It's only meant to be, seeing as how this is the season of romance," Sakura spoke almost calmly. Jaden and Syrus both went red in the face. Syrus looked down, trying to avert his eyes from the girl. She noticed this, though. "No need to be shy. Everything is as it should be."
She turned and started to walk away, but then she stopped and turned back to them. "Actually, I came to deliver a message," she spoke.
"A message?" Jaden asked.
"Yes, from Alexis. Crowler has pretty much told everyone that nearing the end of Spring, there'll be two dances. One will be the annual Spring Dance, while the one before it will celebrate the graduation of the seniors. Be sure you find a date for the dances, otherwise you'll be going alone, and that's not the tradition of Spring," she explained before walking off again. She didn't mention the message from Alexis. But as she walked off, she dropped something on the grass, and, once she was out of sight, Jaden went to go pick it up.
"What is it?" Syrus asked softly, finally looking up with a red face.
"It's an invite," Jaden held the pink envelope before his eyes, scanning it. "It's from Alexis."
"Open it," Syrus cried, standing up. Jaden obeyed. He opened it and pulled out a pink card with flowers along it, and on the front, in bold, cursive red ink, were the words Annual Spring Festival. He opened the card, and there was the invitation in the same, sparkling, red, cursive ink.
You are hereby invited to attend the Obelisk Blue Annual Spring Festival, coming up on March 25th. There will be dancing, celebration of the famous Duel Monsters, annual duels, games, and more. All hosted by the Girls of Obelisk Blue. Come and enjoy the celebration of the season, with your hostesses, Sakura Mitokaza and Alexis Rhodes. March 25th at 8. Don't be late!
Sincerely,
Queen of Obelisk Blue
Alexis Rhodes
As Jaden read the invite, he suddenly began to realize that Sakura had purposely meant to drop this invitation. She wasn't planning on telling him about the festival, but why? What was so secretive that she had to drop the invitation rather than tell him? As he pondered this for a moment, he passed the invite to Syrus, who also read it. At once his face went red.
"A festival? That'll mean that other people will be there! Other guys! What if she dances with one of them, and not me? It'll be the worst day of my life!" Syrus cried.
"Chill, Syrus. How do you know until you go? She probably will dance with other guys, but who says she won't dance with you?" Jaden asked.
"Thanks a lot, Jaden," Syrus spoke sarcastically. That didn't make him feel any better. But Jaden didn't hear the sarcasm.
"Any time, bud."
FD: Wow. Seriously, wow. I'm just in awe. I don't even know where to begin. Um…first, let me just say thank-you to everyone who reviewed. I got like seven reviews in less than forty-eight hours for this story, so, yeah, I just like to thank all of you who did that. Second, I have five people adding this to their favorite and alert lists. That stunned me quite a bit, and for that, I thank you. What also shocked me was that someone also added this to their C2's. I was, literally, stunned to see that. I want to thank all of you for what you had done. I couldn't have done it without you, and I hope you like this second chapter. I'll work on the next one as soon as I can, but…like I said, thank you!