So. First and foremost!
Merry Christmas you beautiful people! ;)
Hopefully, everyone has enjoyed the first little block and I should address some of the reviews we've already gotten:
Black Latios - For the Heroes mentioned; this is only season one of the story. As of right now, it's mainly focused on the main deck of the Elemental Heroes and some of the core cards before the addition of Knopse, Shadow, Poison Rose, etc. They will be introduced but not for this particular "season", as it were.
InsaneMakaioshin - HOLY, that's a lot of questions! In short, concise order: Eventually, Mostly Anime, Yes, No (the card is honestly terrible), Chazz will utilize the Dragonmaids in Season two onwards, No to both sets of "Gods" (since the latter went back with Atem at the end of Yu-Gi-Oh!), Possibly, and finally: nope. The latter two would have no means to be included with the story as far as I am aware and mostly created as the bosses for both Forbidden Memories and Duelist of the Roses. Plus, I have the storyline fully mapped out up until, and including season four. He doesn't make an appearance, I'm sorry!
Zanuk - I was planning on doing so, anyways! It made no sense for Mai to be the way I wrote her initially so I'm gonna be completely reworking it! As to what kind of relationship they have, I'm thinking more of her being a somewhat protective Aunt to him rather than the flirty... whatever it was I originally wrote her as. It felt like a complete disrespect to her character after sitting down to review it.
Ragnerock - You realize it's been a few years since the end of Yu-Gi-Oh! and the start of the GX generation, right? With Pegasus still alive, what's to say he didn't have talks with Seto Kaiba and duplicate the Blue-Eyes'? The same with the Dark Magician archetype since that was also featured in the duel but not mentioned in your review. It wouldn't surprise me if people found a way to make duplicates in the hopes to mimic the dueling ability of Seto Kaiba, so he would've just let it happen officially. I'm sorry that it's this little tidbit that became the deciding factor to give this a read but it's your choice. *shrugs*
Midnightscar17 - IF we're being technical about it, the main pairing would be JadenxBurstinatrix via their history together, and that Burstinatrix was Jaden's first Hero he ever got to meet. Both Alexis and Jenny are relationships that develop as time goes on. Though it seems too... accepting. I'll be working on the relationship with the three of them anyways, making it more of a struggle and character development for them.
Mike Kromer - I'm trying to ease back a considerable amount of women who are attracted to Jaden! Aside from the Duel Spirits, it will legitimately only be both Alexis and Jenny. The Heroes are kinda-kinda-not in an official relationship; all explained in chapter two~
I'll be real with you; this isn't going to be canonically correct. If this is going to bother you or make you not want to read any further; then this is your warning. I'm not going to be re-writing the story to adapt to my readers, and to satisfy their wants and inclusions, this time around. I learned the hard way that that's one of the reasons that lead the first time to end up hitting a huge block.
I'm not blaming anyone but myself in this instance before anyone misconstrued my words! I just need to remember that I'm still the author and that it's up to me how this story goes at the end of the day! I still take your ideas and opinions into play but not sacrificing what effort I put in and upsetting the plans I have in place! Sorry if it doesn't make sense, the head is fried!
I'm still using the ideas and cards that have been given to me to use, and I'll do what I can to make them viable without going too overpowered in their usage!
Also, for requests to write stories; and there have been quite a few - I won't be taking the requests, I'm sorry! I'm going to be dedicating my time to both this and the SAO fanfic that I'm working on until I feel sufficient enough to make a start with a new story idea I've had in the wings for over a year now. I'm sure others would love to take up the mantle but I'm not in a stable mental frame of mind to do so. I'm sorry, and I hope that you all understand~
... phew!
So with all that addressed, we can finally jump into the next installment of Enter The King: Redux!
~Enter The King: Redux!~
~Starting on the Wrong Foot!~
(~Part I: Crowler's Faux Pas!~)
The following morning was the first official day of lectures; all of the first-year students anxiously sat in the same room where they had the Chancellor's introductory speech. While the seating system would normally consist of all three years, the Academy Board had decided to change proceedings on a trial basis and altered the timetables so that the students would be separated by what year they are.
Furthermore, the seating plan was split into three obvious groups: Obelisk Blue near the top and back of the class, Ra Yellows in the middle, and Slifer Reds near the bottom and to the front.
Jaden yawned into his hand out of boredom as he sat in the middle of Bastion and Jenny, who was sitting to his left and right respectively. His yellow blazer was unzipped; revealing a black t-shirt that had a picture of Kiyomi winking and posing, with the words 'Can You Stand the Heat?' written down the left side of the top. He had finished the ensemble with a white pair of jeans, and trainers to match.
To his right, Jenny leaned back (un)knowingly giving Jaden a nice glimpse of her bust area as she stretched, wearing a similar outfit to what she did yesterday; the only difference being the plain red t-shirt that covered her entire torso, along with a weird emblem near her navel area that resembled the Eight Trigrams Seal. It came as no surprise to him after yesterday's revelation of her knowledge of Japanese Anime that she wouldn't have some form of clothing related to some of her favorite shows.
Bastion, boring as he is, just kept to his green polo-neck and black trousers get-up. Bastion soon twitched, feeling the urge to look upwards to the ceiling with narrowed eyes, wondering why he felt like he had just been insulted. He continued to stare for a few more moments before he turned his attention back to the book he had started reading the day before on the ferry.
Heheheh~ *wags tails playfully~*
A few more minutes passed, the clock hands landing precisely on half-past nine in the morning when the door to the classroom opened up to reveal the first teacher of the day. Much to Jaden's ire, it was Crowler.
"Alright, class! Settle down!" Crowler ordered while walking over to his desk, placing his lesson planner down on the desk. A quick dusting of his cloak, the Doctor made his way towards the front of the small stage and stood before the class, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Listen closely, as I'm only going to introduce myself once! I am Dr. Vellian Crowler; your teacher in Dueling Techniques, and your first teacher of the day. Now, I want to quickly cover the basics to see how far ahead we can skip proceedings, and the useless drivel so we can get to the more interesting subjects!" Crowler continued, resting against the edge of the desk, waving his hand dismissively as he scanned the class before him.
"Now! Can anyone tell me just one of the three types of cards in duel monsters, and the sub-categories they can be placed into?" Crowler asked, his eyes scanning the students. From the dirty-blonde hair, the slumped posture, and the seemingly bored look on her face? Crowler had found his first target. "Miss Rhodes! I'm unaware that only a minute into my class would have someone such as yourself looking so utterly bored! Perhaps you can answer for me?"
Alexis jolted in her seat, her head snapping up to face Crowler with a slightly embarrassed blush on her face. Dusting herself down, she quickly stood from her seat and straightened up. Coughing into her hand, she nodded in response to the question.
"Duel Monster cards can be split into many categories and hybrids. However, as a general rule, Duel Monster cards are traditionally split into three types: Monster cards, Spell Cards, and Trap Cards. To save time, I'll explain a bit more about the various types of Spell cards. You have a variety of Spells with different effects and activation timings but the general categorization goes as thus:
You have Normal Spells, Continuous Spells, Equip Spells, Quick-Play Spells, Ritual Spells, and Field Spells. Ranging from normal activation to be able to activate during your opponent's turn, or used to special summon stronger monsters by various means; the combination and usage of such is near-unlimited. In recent times, a new form of card typing has been released in regards to monsters having an effect that would allow them to function as a Spell card; one main type of such being the newly-released Pendulum Monsters.
In addition to providing additional effects for your side of the field, the Pendulum scaling that comes with said monster cards also enables the usage of special summoning monsters whose levels lay within the range of two Pendulum Monsters that have been chosen to be played as continuous Spell Cards," Alexis explained, mentally thanking her lucky stars that the look on Crowler's face seemed to be one of awe. With her piece said, she retook her seat with a sigh.
"Very good! Thank you, Miss Rhodes! I was unaware that you were also up-to-date on the current releases of card types, so that helps speed things along! Now… Mister Truesdale! Would you care to take over?" Crowler pointed out, crossing his arms and staring at the Slifer student with a small smirk on his face. Unfortunately, due to his anxiety, Syrus clammed up the moment he stood up and couldn't form his words. Syrus began to shake from suddenly being called out, startling some of the surrounding Slifer members and causing them to grow concerned for him.
Jaden also noted this, being more than aware of anxiety hitting you out of nowhere and leaving you unable to move. As such, he suddenly took to his feet and startled both Bastion and Jenny from the sudden movement. Jaden put on a more easy-going grin, making sure to rest his gaze on Crowler as he spoke.
"Syrus, buddy! Don't force yourself if your anxiety is too much right now, okay? I'll explain the last two typing of cards, both on mine and his behalf, Doctor," Jaden asked respectfully, deciding to start on square one with the Doctor. Earning a dismissive wave of his hand and a nod in response, Jaden rolled his eyes but carried on.
"Following Lexi's impressive know-how, I'll continue first with Monster cards. With new technology between both Kaiba Corporation and Industrious Illusions, they have added the releases of several new categories of monster cards. Including the previously mentioned Pendulum Monsters, you also have the addition of Synchro Monsters, XYZ Monsters, and the newly discovered Link Monsters! Of course, this doesn't detract from the pre-existing monster typings; such as Fusion Monsters, Ritual Monsters, Effect Monsters, Gemini Monsters, and regular Normal Monsters!" Jaden began, Crowler having dropped his bored look and decided to start paying more attention to Jaden's explanation.
"Lastly, you also have the Traps! These range from Normal Traps, Counter Traps, and Continuous Traps, along with some specific Monster cards functioning as 'hand-based' Trap cards that don't need to be set to activate. The most recognizable of such would be the Traptrix Archetype; utilizing their usage of specific Trap cards to mimic their effects. There are also special cases in which a Trap Card can also be summoned to the field as a Monster Card, similar to Lexi's description of Pendulum Monsters!" Jaden finished, sitting back down and enjoying the awed looks he received from the other students.
"I am… impressed, Mister Yuki!" Crowler openly admitted, having been able to skip at least two months of curriculum thanks to his response. "Of course, given your background of having years of experience in the Pro-Circuit, it should've come as no surprise to me that you would be aware of such things! Very well! As you are well-versed in card types, I believe it's time for a slightly harder question! Would you care to enlighten the class about the abilities of the three Egyptian God cards, please?"
"I can, yet forgive me for asking why such a topic would be considered relevant to what we have just talked about," Jaden narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering why the sudden question was asked out of the blue. "First and foremost, the Egyptian God cards and their usage were mostly contained to the events that took place several years ago during the Kaiba Corp. Battle City Tournament. Secondly, it's only due to my ties in which I am privy to such knowledge. Considering that I have a close relationship with a number of the people who witnessed the event first-hand, they've passed that knowledge onto me; including information that they had decided to omit for safety precautions," Jaden explained, leaning forwards to place his palms on top of the desk in front of him.
"As such, I'm currently concerned to why you want to know such information, Doctor. Even if I were to answer your question, would there be anything you could say to verify my answer without the prior knowledge yourself? I'll be blunt and tell you straight; the fact that you asked such a question has me on edge."
"You raise valid points, and I wasn't aware that such information was restricted so heavily," Crowler responded seriously, having not expected such a response to his question. While he would admit that it was more for curiosity's sake, there was still a small part in the back of his mind in which was telling him he was stepping too far with his position. "It's mostly to see how much of the curriculum I can pass over, and this class working on more advanced topics! Of course, there's nothing wrong if you refuse to answer but remember that it'll reflect badly on your dorm, and yourself!" Crowler smirked, bursting out into a shrill laugh as he turned away from the class.
Jenny snarled slightly, slamming the desk in front of her and snapping to her feet; immediately feeling a hand on her shoulder the moment she stood to full height. She snapped her head to the side, following the arm that lead to her new roommate, looking forward still with a weird smile on his face. To her? It was a mix of thankful, melancholic, and exhausted. The sound startled Crowler, prompting him to turn back round to find Jenny had also taken to standing up; narrowing his eyes slightly once he noted the glare she was sending him.
"Is there a problem, Miss Andrews?" Crowler nearly spat out, a condescending tone to his voice upon addressing her. Jenny crossed her arms under her bust, cocking her hip as she continue to glare at the Doctor.
"I think I should ask you the same question, Doctor," Jenny retorted with unhidden heat in her voice. "I feel like I should speak on behalf of the entirety of the current Ra Yellow members that you have no right to decide whether our reputation should hinge on someone answering a question, in which the nature of the question being asked being sketchy. I doubt you would say the same thing if you were to ask one of your Obelisk students, am I correct?"
Crowler flinched slightly, repeating her earlier actions and slamming the desk to quickly save face and regain control of the situation.
"I am not fond of your tone of voice towards me, Miss Andrews! Remember that I am the one in charge here, and you will behave in my classes! Be aware that this is the first day of lessons here, and it would be unwise to act in such an impulsive, and childish manner! This matter doesn't concern you-" Crowler began, before being interrupted once more.
"As a matter of fact, Doctor," Jaden interrupted, an emotionless look on his face that chilled the Doctor. "The fact you just brought the reputation of the entirety of the Ra Yellow dorm into question, regarding my refusal to answer a question that pertains no relevance to the class? You have just made it their concern! So, either you apologize to the rest of the dorm right here and now? Or I will leave the class with Miss Andrews and take this matter up with Councillor Sheppard, and tell him of your untoward behavior on our dorm," Jaden threatened, his eyes flashing gold for a split second as he spoke.
Crowler shook upon seeing the sudden shift in Jaden's eyes, the sudden spike of fear leaving him to grip onto the desk lest he lost control of his legs and fell to the floor. At the same time, he was furious at the fact that his initial plan of embarrassing Jaden had backfired spectacularly. Gritting his teeth in an attempt to control his rage, and his shame, he regained control of his legs and stood up defiantly, and gazed at the rest of the students.
He noted how almost all of the Ra Yellow students were looking at him in a negative light, most of them offended by the recent events and all he had said up until this point. The Slifer Red students were also watching with slightly narrowed eyes, no doubt from the situation with Syrus and his subsequent anxiety attack from being randomly chosen. While most of the Obelisk students weren't that bothered, he did notice a majority of the female students looking at him with unveiled disgust for his behavior.
"I'm sorry for my prior actions and words," Crowler sighed, his shoulders slumping in response to understanding that he was genuinely in the wrong here. "You should not have been subjected to such words and implications, and that the fault lies solely with me. I ask that you would grant me a chance to make amends to you all and that this one instance should not dictate the relationship I have as your teacher from here on out.
As such, I do believe that I have sufficient knowledge that several members of this class are advanced for what the current level should be; and that we will cut the class here. I will revise my teaching schedule to better accommodate such a thing, and advise to speak with Mister Yuki should you find yourself wanting a better, and more in-depth explanation should you find yourself needing further explanation," Crowler advised, looking at Jaden towards the end of his speech. Though the facial expression didn't let up, a nod was given in response to the unasked question.
"Use this time wisely before your next lesson, and use this as an opportunity to bond with one another should you so wish," Crowler finished, grabbing his notes and swiftly exiting the room. Whispers and murmurs soon broke out once Crowler finished speaking, though the man in question made no effort in listening to what was being said. He was determined to get out of there as fast as possible to save face.
"Well, that was a start to the year I wasn't expecting," Bastion quipped, somewhat bewildered by the events that had just taken place over the past five minutes. He glanced down to the watch on his wrist, coming to realize that it hadn't even been a full fifteen minutes before the class had started and now having the class declared over. "In all my years, I've never experienced such an anomaly such as what I just witnessed."
"I wish I could say the same," Jaden sighed, gently bringing himself and Jenny back to their seats. His hand remained on her shoulder for a little bit longer, rubbing it softly before letting it drop. He saw the thankful smile from the redhead's face, nodding to her with a smile of his own. "It just made no sense as to why he would ask such a question out of nowhere, and something that had nothing to do with the lesson!"
"Could it be," Jenny hummed, earning the attention of the other two male classmates with the sudden noise. "That Crowler was looking for a way to embarrass Jaden?"
"What do you mean?" Bastion asked, his voice lowering slightly as the idea was pitched.
"Think about it! After what happened in the examination duel, which you floored him," Jenny began, pointing at Jaden as she commented, "And the whole backfire in which he tried setting you up in Slifer Red? Why would he try so hard to get back at you, otherwise?"
"We can't say for certain but if that is the case, then he's stepping on a lot of toes in his petty revenge against Jaden. Yet as convincing an argument as that would make, we can't just jump to conclusions without more sufficient... more concrete proof, first," Bastion commented seriously, crossing his arms and leaning back into his seat with his eyes closed. "For now, we have to take this at face value while remaining cautious as to what could be going on."
The other two nodded in response to Bastion's words, Jaden sighing deeply from already being caught up amid everything upon his first day here. He should've expected it but it was still a pain in the ass when someone seemed to have a self-imposed vendetta against him, just because they can't accept their flaws after having them pointed out. He slumped forward, letting his head rest against the desk in front of him, and let loose a loud groan in exasperation.
Jenny watched him, letting loose a small sad smile as she did so. Gently placing her hand on his back, she felt him tense up slightly underneath her fingers before rubbing his back in circles slowly to help him relax. Surely, Jaden did relax once he pieced two and two together and let the redhead do what she wanted to do. A second hand soon joined in with the first, using her limited knowledge to give him an impromptu massage.
She felt the small knots in his upper back and the groan of relief that came from the man under her hands, prompting her to shift her position slightly to give him a better-effort massage. Granted, she was more than aware of the stares that were currently upon both her and Jaden but she didn't care right now. After what just happened, she could easily tell them all to fuck themselves and let them be.
"Jay?"
Jaden hummed in response, making no move to shifting his current position but having picked up the unmistakable tone of voice from his fellow Slifer Red friend. Jenny gave Syrus a small smile, and Bastion gave a friendly nod towards the younger Truesdale.
"Whaddup, Sy?"
"Ummm... I wanted to thank you for earlier on," Syrus softly spoke, taking time to think his words through and trying to shut the stares out of his mind. "A-And I wanted to ask you more about the cards you mentioned earlier, i-if that's okay with you?"
Jaden gently patted Jenny's thigh, letting her nod and let her hands slowly drop from his back so that he could sit up and face Syrus properly. He noticed a few of the Slifer students had also joined him, a mix of males and females all looking at him in equal parts awe and gratefulness. He turned to Bastion quickly, who had taken to reading his book once more.
"How long do we have before the next lesson?"
"We have," Bastion started, flicking his eyes down to his wrist once more, "About an hour or so before the next lecturer is to take the lesson. Give or take," he added as an afterthought. Jaden nodded in response, stretching slightly and admiring the massage Jenny gave him before taking to his feet. Skipping his way down the stairs that led down to the stage Crowler hadn't long vacated, he jumped up on the stage and turned back round to face the rest of the students. At this point, everyone was watching him making his way down while wondering what exactly he was gonna do next.
'What the fuck is he thinking?' Chazz thought to himself, frowning as his sour mood continued after Crowler left the classroom after Jaden and Jenny's smartass comments. He was still bitter about the duel from the night before, and how easily he had his ass handed to him. What made matters worse was that no one bothered to help him back after the duel, and ended up getting a chewing out from Crowler himself for being out after curfew. He barely dodged having to serve detention thanks to them, so he wasn't a fan of either of them right now.
"Right!" Jaden clapped his hands, turning to the others with a grin on his face. "No doubt you know who I am at this point! A pleasure to meet you all, and I hope to get to know you all better as we journey through Duel Academy together! Now, you're probably wondering what I'm up to! I've been asked to talk a little bit more about the types of cards both Miss Rhodes and I spoke about earlier! I know some of the card types are relatively new so it wouldn't surprise me if there were any questions you'd like to ask! Saves us doing nothing for the next hour, and it gives you something to work on with your dueling skills!"
Murmurs broke through the crowd, students turning to one another as they contemplated the idea. Alexis' posture straightened up considerably, intrigued at the opportunity currently presented to them. Deciding to throw the brunette a bone, a smirk appeared on her face while she stood up.
"Since you're offering, Jay," Alexis quipped playfully, earning a bigger smile from him in response, "Maybe you can talk a bit about the summoning conditions for the Monster Cards in a bit more detail~ I don't think any of us are clued in to what the heck the new Link Monsters do, or how they work!"
"Sure thing!" Jaden grinned wider, nodding in response. "So, I'm going to assume we already know about the basic four? Normal, Effect, Fusion, and Ritual, right? Gemini is classed as a normal monster until it's normal summoned again when on the field. Then it turns into an effect monster!" Jaden added as an afterthought, realizing not everyone knew about that one from some confused looks. Jaden continued onwards for the next hour or so, taking his time to answer questions about the types of cards that the students were unsure of.
From his office, Sheppard had stopped working on his paperwork to take the time to watch Jaden doing his best to teach the rest of the students. He was more than aware of Crowler's prior attitude towards him, and the other students, and made a note to pull the Doctor into his office for a formal meeting regarding what transpired. Yet as he watched, the smile continued to grow seeing the nurturing side of the celebrity interacting with the students and giving them advice. Another mental note made, he reached down to his phone and dialed Crowler's number.
'Better get it over with now,' Sheppard thought to himself.
~ETK:R!~
(Time Skip: Auditorium)
After a much more surprising end of the lesson after Jaden's impromptu explanation and lesson, the students were pleasantly surprised to have found themselves learning more than they originally thought they would from him. A few clicked onto why he was so knowledgeable but that's a story for another time! It was the sight of Jaden teaching the students in which their next Professor made themselves known: the Head of Slifer Red, Professor Lyman Banner.
Jaden swiftly apologized for intruding on lesson time, only for Banner to politely dismiss the apology after seeing how engrossed the students were. He also admitted that he had been listening in, and was pleasantly surprised to learn a thing or two himself! Nevertheless, the next lesson began when Professor Banner took over in Alchemic Studies.
It was hilarious, and also adorable to watch Syrus double as a scratching post for Banner's cat, aptly named Pharaoh, and watching Banner blow himself up a few times from accidentally mixing the wrong ingredients; trying to play it off as what not to mix. The students laughed along with him, enjoying the lightness of the lesson in comparison to Crowler's short lesson.
While everyone carried on with the lesson, Jenny kept shooting a concerned glance towards Jaden; still somewhat concerned for him after what Crowler tried to do against him. It was difficult for her to not think about the matter but she couldn't find herself focusing on the lesson at hand, and her mind went back to that particular thought. She tried everything from taking notes, scribbling doodles in her book, to repeatedly bouncing her leg in the hopes to distract herself.
"Professor Banner?" Jaden called out, raising his hand. The slender male figure spun around, his glossy black hair flowing with him as he turned to face the brunette. Taking a small pause from writing a formula out on the blackboard, an eyebrow raised in concern.
"Yes, Jaden? Is everything alright?" Banner asked, his slight German accent adding a soft quality to his tone that Jaden found oddly soothing. Jaden raised his hand, showing it shaking slightly for the professor to see. As much as he didn't like lying, Jaden wasn't a stranger to escaping lessons by faking something was wrong with him.
"May I please be excused? I might've overdone it since my anxiety has just kicked in, making me shake like this. Would it be okay for me to get some fresh air to calm down, and to bring Miss Andrews to accompany me, please? I don't enjoy being alone when one of these episodes kick in, I'm sorry," he requested politely, earning a startled look from the said girl. Banner, aware of some of the details given on his student form, noted this and simply nodded in response, a soft yet concerned smile on his face.
"Of course, Jaden! Next time, please don't push yourself too much if this would be the result. Okay? Miss Andrews? Would you please accompany Mister Yuki to make sure he recovers fully? If you still don't feel well, please make your way towards the nurses' office at once! Mister Misawa? Would you be as kind to take notes for your fellow Ra students to catch up? There will be homework to do ready for next lesson, and wouldn't want them to fall behind!" Banner nodded while asking Bastion the favor. Getting a nod in response, and a smile in agreement, Banner waved his hand to the pair and allowed them to be excused.
Alexis watched as the two left through the main doors, concerned about his sudden change of demeanor and his sudden shaking. She took note of him mentioning it was anxiety-based, which led her to the conclusion that he suffered from some kind of mental illness. Having understood that, she became a touch more empathetic towards him for his condition. She would check up on him later on once lessons were over, and bring over her notes as a small gesture of goodwill.
~ETK:R~
The two of them swiftly made their way from the classroom, Jaden taking the lead after finding a small pathway leading into a heavily forested closing; a small escape from the sight of the Academy that would serve enough of a distraction for both himself and the woman accompanying him. Carefully making his way through a particularly thick overgrowth, he turned back to give Jenny a helping hand in the hopes of not damaging her uniform by accident.
"Are you okay, Jay?" Jenny softly spoke, concern visible in her amber orbs as she regarded him. Jaden exhaled deeply in response to the question, the shakes in his arm going from being faked to genuine from the sudden excursion here. He held his hands out in front of her, letting her examine how both of his hands continued to shake unsteadily in front of her and prompting Jenny to slowly reach out to take his hands into her own. She could feel the small vibrations in her own body, using the chance to lock her fingers around his own.
"Sorry," Jaden apologized, slowly closing his fingers around her hands. "I wanted to get you out of the class as a distraction but it seemed that I needed the excuse to leave as well. Was genuine in saying I might've overdone it, and I won't have my medication until a few days from now so I'll be more on edge than what I usually am."
"It's okay," Jenny cooed softly, gently pulling him down onto the grassy floor to sit. She let their knees touch while continuing to rub the back of his hands with her thumbs. "You did wonderful in explaining everything to the class! I could tell a lot of students made some good use from those explanations of yours, and that your reputation with them bumped up a few notches~" she praised, squeezing his hands.
"Are you okay, though? I know you were distracted in the lesson," Jaden asked in return, worry now shining in his brown orbs for her. She instinctively wanted to say she was fine but she knew he would immediately see through the lie. Knowing that he had been nothing but open with her up until now, that she would return the favor to him.
"I'm just worried about what Crowler is doing, and how this is going to affect you," Jenny confessed softly, her gaze looking down to her lap. Her myriad thoughts swirl around in her head about what has been going on over the past few days, realizing just how much she's learned. "I know a little of what you go through daily since I've also been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, PTSD. So I know better than most just how much of a prisoner of your mind you can be.
I'm... afraid of how this is going to play out; when Crowler seems to have a personal vendetta against you and is willing to go to such lengths to exact his revenge when his flaws are shown for everyone to see. You weren't even being malicious in your words or actions, which is the thing!" Jenny continued, her voice wavering as her eyes grew heavy with unshed tears. "You already suffer so much as it is! How much more do you have to suffer!?"
Jaden found himself speechless as he continued to listen to her words, not having expected to find such a kindred soul similar to his own. He could hear the warble in her voice as she spoke and noted the lone teardrop that fell on her lap. His heart ached for her right now, not liking to see her this way. He gently tugged her arms towards him, pulling her closer to him. She caught onto the gesture, lifting herself and setting herself in his lap before letting her arms wrap around him.
The tears soon fell freely once she let her head take refuge in the crook of his neck, feeling his hand slowly combing through her hair and rubbing her back consecutively. The emotional build-up finally having the chance to be released in front of someone she had found herself growing more and more comfortable with as time grew, which only makes sense after learning about his traumatic past and sharing a room with him.
The two remained like that for the longest time, neither of them wanting to leave the embrace of the other. They found themselves in a place of solace and comfort, one that neither of them wanted to give up right now. Her tears stopped a little while ago, now taking to slowly rub her face against his neck and taking in his natural scent to calm her down; no doubt understanding that he would be doing the same with her right now.
"How're you feeling now, Jay?"
"Better. Much better now, thank you," Jaden hummed softly, nuzzling himself into her hair. Jenny smiled into his neck, squeezing her arms wrapped around him right now in response and nuzzling his neck a little more. She couldn't explain why she was so comfortable as she was right now, given how many people would look at the two of them and question why they were so comfortable in such a compromising position.
She didn't have any qualms with it, and neither did he. So there was nothing wrong with it, as far as she's concerned.
"Shall we stay here a little longer?"
A warm smile appeared on her face, though Jaden wouldn't see it, as she leaned back into him and rested her head on his shoulder. Nuzzling herself comfortably once more, her fingers gripped the back of his jacket a little firmer and shifted herself to better fit in his lap. A small blush came to her face upon realizing she was straddling him once more but she couldn't find it in her to change her position at all.
Even if he were to react to their position, she would be able to tell it was happening. Yet that oddly didn't concern her if he did. She knew she was a relatively beautiful woman, so if Jaden were to react to her in such a way? It would be more of a compliment given that she would know that she already has a powerful bond with Jaden. And that made her smile even more~
"I'd like that, Jay~" Jenny purred lowly, closing her eyes for a little while and enjoying the serenity of this moment alongside him.
~ETK:R!~
"How dare they make a mockery out of me!"
A solitary voice from within a personal office bit out, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper as a means to vent his anger of all that had transpired earlier on in the day. From the awful first lesson with the first-year students to being called out on his misuse of words, and then brought into a meeting with the Councillor in regards to his attitude!
How was he to know that he was being monitored in his lessons!?
Nevertheless, the chewing out he had received for his blunder in the first lesson had set him on a very dangerous path. Sheppard had taken it upon himself to warn Crowler of his recent actions involving that of Jaden Yuki; from the entrance duel to the deliberate sabotage of his accommodations and dorm placement, and now to this. As such, Sheppard made it very clear that if there would be one more instance in which Crowler's name is mentioned due to untoward behavior to Jaden?
Then it would go higher up, and straight into a disciplinary meeting with Seto Kaiba himself.
So now being monitored, the idea of trying to make sure any future attempts of revenge would be done in secret; making sure to deny any allegations that would tie him into any of the events that would lead to Jaden breaching Academy Codes of Conduct and having him expelled! His reputation had already taken enough of a dive and he would not have a celebrity ruining it further!
Signing the bottom of the piece of paper with a flourish and tucking it neatly into an envelope, he set the fountain pen to the side of the letter before reaching for a perfume bottle nearby. A few squirts of the perfume sprayed on the wax-sealed envelope before being placed back down in its previous space. Concerningly (to the readers), a small tube of lipstick was brought out of his jacket pocket; using it to coat his lips in a rich shade of red before smearing it across evenly. Once satisfied, a firm kiss was placed on the front of the envelope as the coup de gras.
A low giggle escaped his lips, using a napkin to quickly wipe off any remaining lipstick before swiping the envelope off the desk and tucking it into his jacket pocket. Quickly using the desk draw to hide the bottle of perfume from prying eyes, he locked it deftly before dashing away in a manner that would even make Kefka proud.
~ETK:R!~
(Time Skip: Gym Lockers)
Having a copy of the timetable for the first-year students on him, Crowler knew that the next lesson on the list would be Physical Education. With that knowledge in mind, he swiftly made his way towards the male gym lockers, keeping an eye out on the way for anyone who would be around to spot his actions. Slipping in deftly to the locker room, Cowler immediately had to hold cover his nose in disgust; pulling out a handkerchief to try and filter some of the lingering smell that permeated through the room.
"Now, where is Jaden's locker I wonder?"
Crowler questioned himself, searching the locker rows for the one in question. He knew the general area where the first-year lockers would be since the second and third-year lockers were placed towards the far left and right walls, respectively, since the students would receive an upgrade to their lockers the longer they studied at Duel Academy. His inner thoughts distracted him, Crowler nearly missed the locker he was looking for; a locker belonging to Jaden Yuki.
"Now to plant the bait!"
Snickering to himself, he pulled out a "Master Key" to the lockers and slowly opened up Jaden's locker. Taking the envelope and placing it in the locker itself; the sudden rush of noise zeroing on his position gave cause for concern for Crowler. As such, he hastily closed the locker back up and failed to notice the letter slipping out of the locker upon retrieving his hand. A quick turn on his heel led him deftly out of the locker room and walking normally away from the scene.
Just as he ran out of the room, Syrus soon ran into the room; panting out of breath before he began to quickly change for the next lesson, lest he is marked down as late for attendance. Quickly removing his top, Syrus hastily opened his locker up and reached inside for the gym top all students were provided to change into. While he was changing, he muttered to himself in embarrassment.
"Dammit! I didn't know that was the girl's changing rooms! I'm glad I got out of there before I was seen by anyone! I hope our teacher isn't... too..." he trailed off, his eyes zoning in on an envelope lying randomly on the floor. Confused as to why one was left on the floor in the gym lockers of all places, he searched around for anyone who could interrupt him before picking the envelope up.
Carefully lifting the wax seal, Syrus shimmied the letter from its confines and flipped the page open to read. Eyes furrowed as his eyes adjusted to reading the decorative text, barely just making out words that were written down.
"Since I first laid eyes on you, I knew that my heart belonged to you. Your natural charm captivates me, and I would love to get to know you more if you would indulge me~ Meet me outside the Obelisk Girls' Dorm around nine in the evening, where we can get to know each other better~ Love..."
"A-ALEXIS RHODES!?" he yelled to himself, foregoing logic and reason. It was the first time anyone had shown any kind of interest in him that would be linked to a romantic attachment, so all reasoning immediately rushed out of his mind. Tucking the letter in his locker, he dashed out to the field to take part in the lesson.
'Alexis, my love! Wait for me!'
~ETK:R!~
(Earlier On...)
It took a total of fifteen minutes before her mind found itself detached from the, rather pointless, lesson that had been going on and turning back towards the pair of Ra students who had excused themselves from the lesson. She had noted the shaking in Jaden's arm, and the slight wavering in his voice that told her that he was suffering from a small episode of mental illness. She wouldn't admit it but she was more than aware of how mental illness affected the mind.
She sighed to herself, interrupting the class and asking Professor Banner if she would also be excused to check up on Jaden's current status. While she wasn't close to him, per se, she was still somewhat concerned about what would leave him having such a reaction after doing seemingly well to teach an entire class for an hour prior. Given her reputation as the main representative of Obelisk Blue's Female Dorm, she may have abused that position to do what she could. A swift nod from Banner had her exiting the class and on the trail for the two Ra students.
She lucked out, finding a pair of gossiping second-year females talking about Jaden making his way somewhere with a female. Interrupting the two, she asked if they had any idea where they were seen going; given the information that they had made their way towards the forest clearing just a few minutes away from here, and towards the Memorial Bench that was placed there in honor of the first Chancellor of Duel Academy who passed away due to illness. Quickly thanking the students, she turned and quickly made her way towards her destination.
She had found the pair of them after searching a little bit longer, peeking through a particularly thick bush as the two of them talked with one another in a rather intimate position. Her mind chose that moment to forget about Jaden's earlier issue and made a move to interrupt the two of them and reprimand them for skipping lessons to do... this!
Well, she would if not for an outheld arm stopping her from proceeding. She jumped at the sudden movement, willing herself to not scream in fright lest she would be discovered eavesdropping on the two of them! She snapped her attention to the newcomer, immediately noting that they had chosen to keep themselves incognito; hiding most of their facial features, aside from a lock of blue hair that had escaped from under their hood.
"I figured you would be smarter than that," they quietly spoke, her head snapping back to him and a choice retort on her lips ready. "You immediately jump to conclusions based only on what you see. You have no idea as to why they are so comfortable with one another that they would let themselves be at ease in such a position. While I cannot vouch for the young woman, I can definitely vouch for Jaden."
Alexis listened to his words, eyes narrowing as to why the voice sounded so familiar to her.
"He's not the man to take advantage of such a situation. He had experienced too much trauma in his younger years that left him emotionally and mentally stunted than you and I. It is not my story to tell, and I will respect him to keep quiet on the matter. Yet you would do well to befriend him and get to know more about him, and what makes him the amazing man that he is... Alexis."
"... who are you?"
A mysterious smile was her response, a lone crimson eye peeking at her from his peripheral. He shrugged to himself, knowing this wasn't the time nor the place.
"That doesn't matter right now. Yet there is a storm that will hit this island, and shake the very foundations of all that you know to be true. Out of everyone who currently resides on this island, it is that man right there who will be the key to breaking through the trials ahead. Take heed of my warning," the figure finished, taking a step backward into the shadow of a tree before disappearing from view.
Alexis stood there astounded and speechless, not believing her eyes for what she had just seen. With everything that had just been revealed to her, on top of the events that had happened this morning on her mind? Alexis decided to place everything on the back burners and just call it enough for one day. Skipping the rest of her lessons, knowing she can ask for notes later on from a few of her friends, she spent the majority of the day back in her room.
Nighttime soon descended, and she decided that it was late enough for her to make full use of the girls' bathing area and enjoy the baths the best he could, given all that was on her mind. With what she wanted to reflect and ponder on, she would've preferred to have been alone but considering her two closest friends were there, Jasmine and Mindy, she couldn't bring herself to complain too much. Closing her eyes and sinking further into the water, she allowed her mind to focus on her thoughts from earlier.
'How the heck did he know who Jaden and I were? I've never seen him before but he felt familiar to me for some reason,' she thought to herself, a sudden squeal snapping her from her thoughts and back to the conversation her friends were having with each other.
"I wonder if Jaden's okay? I mean, he left class earlier but he didn't come back until we spotted him in gym class!" Mindy commented, leaning in closer to her best friend while not hiding her interest in the celebrity student. A fervent nod was her response from the second female beside her.
"I was wondering about that as well! Never mind that; did you hear him answer Crowler's question? Oh my god, he's so smart!" Jasmine threw back, squealing.
"He's also incredibly sexy!" Mindy sighed dreamily.
"A pro duelist!" Jasmine ticked off.
"Charming and kind~"
"Great fashion sense~"
"Alluring voice which makes me incredibly horny!" Mindy professed without regret, earning a giggle from Jasmine.
"And his eyes! Oh, I could lose myself in them forever!" Jasmine squealed once more. "Just imagine staring into them when he makes hot, steamy, passionate love to you~" she moaned erotically as she rubbed her thighs together underwater. "It's every girls' wet dream!" she finished, slightly annoying Alexis at the way she was describing him more of a thing, than a person.
"He's perfect~!" the two girls sighed dreamily, making Alexis snap as she had enough of their childishness.
"You do realize the reason why he had to excuse himself from class earlier on was due to anxiety right?" Alexis butted in, tired of the fangirling. "He said so himself, having stood in front of a room of strangers and having to speak with them in regards to his knowledge on Duel Monsters took its inevitable toll on him, and left him shaking because of it!"
"L-Lexi?" Jasmine asked, shocked by the sudden outburst and noting the sullen look on the blonde's face. Mindy wasn't much better off, as she too recoiled from the verbal lashing.
"Girls, you've never had to deal with mental illnesses so you have no idea just how much of a torture it is on someone. It is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, I can assure you it's that bad," Alexis finished, huffing as she submerged herself under the water for a moment before letting the hot water wash over her. "So please do me a favor and stop trying to think of him as 'easy pickings'; there's no doubt in my mind you would be like everyone else, pining after him for his status and fame. I know you two aren't that shallow!"
Silence reigned between the three of them; Jasmine and Mindy looking collectively cowed at the sudden outburst from their best friend. They soon came to realize just how badly they were acting, feeling a touch ashamed of other words and behavior in front of someone they had grown up with. Both Mindy and Jasmine looked apologetic towards their sister figure, swimming over to embrace the blonde in an apologetic hug. One which was returned.
"Ahhhh! A boy is spying on us!"
"I'M NOT A BOY! I AM A MAN!"
"What!?" Alexis gasped, rushing out of the bath and revealing her swimsuit. "Girls, let's go!" She ordered, grabbing her towel and quickly wrapping it around herself before running out of the bath to sort this new mess out. Both Jasmine and Mindy looked at one another before they followed suit, keeping hot on the heels of the blonde as they grabbed their towels.
~ETK:R!~
(Time Skip: Ra Dorms)
Thankful that it was the end of an emotionally tiring first day, the two Ra students made their way back to their dorm room before they both collapsed on Jaden's mattress, groaning. Whether it would be from the aches in their bodies or the encompassing comfort of the mattress, we don't know; they were simply looking forward to grabbing food and falling asleep soon after.
But of course, Murphy didn't like Jaden since his PDF went off across the other side of the room, in his blazer pocket.
"Fuck you, Murphy," he cussed, his voice coming out as a groan. "Girls? Can one of you be a darling and pass it over, please?" he asked to seemingly no one, sensing the arrival of his three female duel spirits who appeared in the room with them. He looked up and noted that their fourth member, Stephanie, wasn't with them so she must've been working. Trix nodded in response to the gesture but gasped upon landing her eyes on Jaden's.
"Jaden, you look terrible!" she passed him his PDF, handing it over before examining his face closely like a doting mother. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? Girls? Help me make him more comfortable, please?" she asked politely, as the two female spirits nodded and took up their positions. Kiyomi shifted herself and moved to straddle his lower back, giving her access to his upper back and shoulders to massage.
Ayumi took to sitting at his feet, taking them into her hands, and began massaging the soles of his feet. She was somewhat hesitant given that the feet would've been one of the worst parts of the body concerning smelling bad, yet incredibly thankful that they didn't! She pleasantly noted that they had a soft scent of lemongrass and rosemary to them, alongside the slightly musky scent of his sweat that had her head sway for a split second.
As for Trix, she softly ran her fingers through his mane of hair and gently massaged his scalp; earning a deep and powerful groan of relief as he melted underneath the three females' administrations. Jaden slumped further into the mattress as bliss threatened to overtake him and lull him off to sleep, murmuring slightly before coughing to himself.
"Anxiety attack after an impromptu lesson takeover. Did too much and paid for it," Jaden confessed, earning an unseen frown from Trix as she leaned down to place a kiss in his thick mane of hair. "Jenny helped though. Please give her the same treatment?" he slurred his words, the tiredness taking over as the three duel spirits agreed to his wish.
Just as the words left his mouth, two new, yet familiar, male figures made themselves known to Jenny; allowing her to examine them both in detail. The first of the males who stood in front of her had a nice slimline figure, hidden by the sky blue shirt that conformed to his frame and a pair of darker blue jeans, finished off by a pair of brown leather loafers. She was surprised that he had short, spiked green hair, and prominent red eyes... but the most surprising feature was the pair of wings that appeared from behind him that fluttered slightly.
The second spirit was a little bit taller than the first, wearing a plain white t-shirt that also showed off his slim figure and stone-colored, knee-length khaki shorts gave her a glimpse of his powerful and toned calves, not paying much attention to the flip flops he wore. Contrasting to the first spirit, this one had long blonde hair tied back into a tail, and a charming pair of hazel eyes, and a smile on his face directed to her.
"Don't be alarmed Jen," Trix spoke up, reassuring the redhead who looked a little hesitant at the sudden appearance. "These two wonderful men are another two Heroes from Jay's deck; Avi, Jay's Elemental Hero Avian, and Jack, his Sparkman. Along with me, and two others; we are the original five Elemental Heroes he ever met~"
Jenny's eyes widened in surprise, not knowing that little tidbit from all the times she had talked with him. Feeling more at ease knowing she was in safe company, her eyes sought the two males out and nodded to them. A smile on her face as she laid next to the others, soon joining in on the blissful warmth that threatened to engulf her from their talented hands: Avi gently moved behind her, kneeling next to her on the bed, and started massaging her shoulders and upper back; while Jack worked on her feet and calve muscles, noting that they had multiple knots worked into the muscles.
"Ohmygod," she moaned into her pillow, "I'm never gonna be able to sleep without one of these, ever again," she blissfully sighed, closing her eyes and letting the two spirits have their way with her, earning chuckles and giggles from the spirits there from her words. "Who was texting Jay at this hour, by the way?" Jenny asked, somewhat still coherent enough to remember the PDF going off.
Trix nodded, having briefly forgotten about that tidbit in favor of helping Jaden relax from the stresses of today. Searching his inbox for the new message that just came through, she hit the play button for the room's conscious occupants to hear the voice message.
Jaden Yuki. We have your friend, Syrus Truesdale, hostage for breaking the Academy curfew and breaching the Obelisk Girls' Baths after hours. Meet us outside the Obelisk Girls' Dorm to collect him and prove his innocence.
"What's Sy gotten himself into?" she groaned, rubbing her hand against her face. "Sorry but I am not waking Jaden up to deal with this issue. Not after the day, he's had," Jenny stubbornly forced her foot down, earning a nod of approval from the other Heroes at her declaration and a massive bump up in their respect for her.
"We agree with you Jen~ The only problem is that he was asked for by name," Kiyomi frowned, reminding them of that point. Jenny shrugged in response, gently patting both Avi and Jack to let them know she was getting up. She stretched, thanking the two of them with an award-winning smile before turning back to face the rest of them.
"Well, he's still not going. I'll go in his stead, and bring Bastion with me so we can sort this thing out properly," Jenny offered, getting up from the mattress gently to not disturb a sleeping Jaden and grab her jacket. Trix allowed a proud smirk to appear on her face, seeing such a fierce friend taking a problem that wasn't hers to take upon herself. All for the sake of letting Jaden rest.
"Since you're going to be dueling on behalf of Jaden, it's only fair we'd help you out as a thank you~" Trix slyly commented, moving up from the matters herself and searching Jaden's blazer for something. Finding what she was looking for in his inner pocket, she pulled out Jaden's deck and handed it to her. "We'll back you up for this one, Jen. You've proven to us that you care enough for Jaden to do this for him. This is our way of saying thank you! Let us fight alongside you!"
Jenny was floored. To be asked by the very duel spirits of her idol to duel with his deck?
It was a no-brainer.
Apologizing to her dragons, who gave a short roar of approval in response to the chain of events; being aware of what has transpired over the past few days, she took the deck reverently into her hands before grabbing a hold of his duel disk to slot the deck into. She turned to the rest of the spirits and nodded before a thought popped into her mind.
"Wait. If we're all going, then who's staying behind with Jaden?"
"I'll look after him."
Everyone turned to the new figure, Jenny taking her in for the first time in person but recognizing the woman being the same one Jaden had danced with two nights ago on the ferry. That, and the wings were the biggest giveaway of the fact. Jenny walked up to her and smiled, earning a confused look from the duel spirit.
"So you're Yubel! It's so nice to finally meet you in person!" Jenny beamed, startling the duel spirit since she was not aware that the redhead knew who she was. "I may have heard the music from the ferry deck and saw you both dancing~ You both were amazing that night, and I am jealous of your skills!"
Yubel allowed a smirk to appear on her face, liking the new person already. The fact that the rest of the Heroes were also voicing for her in letting her use Jadens deck for this upcoming duel, gave enough sway to give her a gist of the person she was. Shaking the offered hand that was extended to her, Yubel allowed her smirk to tone into a genuine smile.
"Thank you~ It seems you're someone rather special if the others are letting you use Jaden's deck for something like this. Do us proud, Jennifer~" Yubel encouraged, earning a beaming smile from the redhead as they all made their way to where they needed to go. Meanwhile, Yubel turned her gaze to Jaden and floated downwards to him. Gently taking his side, she shifted his sleeping frame to rest his head in her lap; using her hands to comb through his hair and keep him relaxed.
Her mind turned back to Jenny briefly, humming to herself why she felt familiar...
~ETK:R!~
(Time Skip: Obelisk Blue Girls' Dorm - Main Hall)
"You said he'd be here!" Alexis rounded on Syrus, trying not to visibly laugh at how utterly pathetic he looked right now. Caught in his Slifer Red uniform; he had his hands tied behind his back with a piece of rope, another length of rope tying his arms to his torso, and a collar had been given to them from one of the more... kinkier girls of their dorm, and used it as a dog collar by attaching a chain to it…
… from the same girl. She had the decency to blush about them knowing one of her kinks, but the first rule of kink-shaming?
You don't.
Even if kink-shaming is your kink.
It had been an hour since she had sent the message to Jaden's PDF, and was visibly confused as to why he would take so long to respond. She mused the thought that he would be sleeping, but the noise of these things was loud enough to wake the dead. There was no way he would leave him here, either; that's not the kind of person he was.
Alexis, Jasmine, Mindy, and a majority of the female students were getting bored of waiting, the other female students decided to take the time to get dressed and lounge about; chatting with one another and ignoring the lone male figure amongst them. Meanwhile, Syrus was extremely nervous as he was at the mercy of the entire girls' dorm, watching as they waited patiently for the Ra duo to arrive.
Just as soon they were about to give up on Jaden's rescue attempt, they both heard the front doors swing open; watching a figure walking towards them with purpose in their steps. Alexis was about to speak but soon blinked twice seeing that the person they intended to appear before them was nowhere to be seen.
"J-Jenny!?" Alexis spoke up, taking a few steps forward to meet the female Ra student. "What're you doing here?"
"I'm here because someone decided to get themselves into trouble, which caused a chain reaction of another someone wanting Jaden to make his way here to rectify the situation. Which, may I add? Is a stupid move since you'd be breaking the code of conduct further by inviting a male into the Female Obelisk Dorms after curfew!" Jenny ranted off, pointing at both Syrus and Alexis during her reasoning.
"So, thanks to me just so happening to be there when you sent the message to his PDF, I decided to make my way here and take care of the situation in his stead; given that Jaden is still worn out after today and is currently sleeping from the exhaustion," Jenny revealed, earning a small flinch from Alexis that had her feeling a touch of guilt. She wasn't aware that he was currently sleeping off today's fatigue and rubbed her eyes in exhaustion.
"I wasn't aware that was the case, I apologize, Jenny," Alexis spoke, earning a tired smile from the redhead in response. "However, since you're here; we need your help with something. Syrus found a letter and we were wondering if you had any clue about it."
"A letter?" Jenny asked, confusion in her voice as Alexis pointed to Syrus behind her. Jen's gaze followed behind her until they reached Mindy, and Jasmine who held the rope that kept the young Slifer tied up like a dog. She smacked her palm against her face, dragging it down in exasperation.
"Syrus? Why do you do this?"
"I-I'm sorry, Jen! I wanted to tell them it was a fake and that someone was setting Jaden up!" he apologized, making Jenny crouch down and stare into Syrus' orbs.
"Please don't take this the wrong way, Sy. Jaden has fallen asleep from the lesson earlier, and his anxiety kicked off afterward. It's why he asked me to go with him, since leaving someone alone to deal with anxiety is a big no-no. I was this close," Jenny explained, narrowing her thumb and index, "To falling asleep myself before I remembered about the text. If I have to do something like this again, I am making you my slave for a week. Are we clear?"
"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Syrus stammered, nodding his head rapidly in understanding. He swiftly passed the letter out to her outheld hand, letting the redhead read the contents of the letter. She sighed in annoyance, waving the piece of paper about in front of everyone.
"It's a fake, as you've no doubt guessed already," Jenny explained on everyone's behalf. "I have a theory on who could've done this but I can't assume without the necessary evidence. If I were to do so, then it would backfire badly on everyone involved, and the intended target of this 'prank'," Jenny finished, taking the letter and tucking it into her jacket pocket. "So, can I have Syrus and just forget anything happened tonight? I would like to sleep!"
Alexis was about to let her go before a thought popped into her head. She was curious as to why Jenny was spending so much time around Jaden and had a few questions of her own.
"If I may," Alexis spoke up suddenly, earning the attention of everyone. "How did you know Jaden's PDF went off?"
"Well, considering both he and I were hanging out with Bastion this evening before he passed out? I figured that would be enough of a reason. Before you have a go at me about being in a room with males past curfew," Jenny interrupted the question before it was asked, "Due to a shortage of rooms in the Ra Yellow's Girls' Dorms, they had given me the furthest reaching room to myself in the Boys' Dorm. It's out of the way so that no one would have a reason to visit me unless they were actively searching for me.
Jaden is sharing a room with Bastion due to Crowler's intentional fuck-up and deliberate miscalculation of Jaden's scores to land him in Slifer Red, only to backfire once Jaden took it up with Sheppard and needed accommodation. Since then, he's been bunking with Bastion," she explained, putting all the pieces in place to avert them from the truth of him sharing a room with her. Alexis hummed, not knowing the full story until now.
"Well, I'm afraid you're trespassing as well," Alexis smirked as she thought of a cunning plan, though the nonplussed look on the Ra female's face showed how much she thought of the idea. "Look, we can either settle this the hard way or through a duel. Your choice~" she offered. Jenny threw her hands up, showing everyone that she had borrowed Jaden's duel disk for herself. "And why do you have Jay's duel disk on you?"
"Because it just so happens that we anticipated for this bullshittery to happen!" Jenny groaned loudly, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Fuck it, let's get this over with so I can go to sleep!" she moaned, staring at Alexis with tired eyes. "I'll give you your duel. I win, we go free and I get one favor. I lose, you can report us. Jaden goes scot-free regardless of the outcome since he isn't here. Deal?" Alexis narrowed her eyes at the slightly dismissive tone of voice from the redhead, not at all amused with the attitude she was being shown.
Though she paused for a moment as she recalled her words. Why did she say 'we'?
"Alright, I'll accept those terms," she smirked. "Let's take the duel outside. I can give everyone a show of beating you while I'm at it," she boasted, as everyone made their way outside. Jenny sighed, not amused by the pompous attitude and a deep nagging feeling that this was going to be a continuous thing. She followed soon behind as they all made their way outside the dorms, into the large spacious field that held enough room for a duel or two. She soon reached the spot where Alexis was waiting but to her surprise, pointed back towards the dorm with a softer smile on her face, prompting the Ra duelists to look behind her.
It was an incredible sight, she had to admit; a pure-white castle by the calm lake, bathing under the moonlit night as a host of stars gathered to watch another long-old dance between two duelists. The female students looking on started to discuss what was about to happen when one of them mentioned that this would be the 'Fairy Tale of Duel Academy' as Jenny and Alexis both made their way to the opposite ends of the courtyard.
The crowd of female students began repeating the title and soon started taking out their PDAs and mobile phones to record the upcoming duel between the Obelisk Queen and her opponent! While that was happening, Jenny and Alexis, both shuffled their decks before they placed them in their duel disks, feeling the anticipation rise as both duel disks burst into life. Alexis smiled as she lowered her disk down and caught her attention with a sharp whistle.
"I see you hanging around Jaden quite a lot, Jenny! I wanna see why Jaden considers you a friend, and what he sees in you!"
Jenny paused at those words, replaying them in her head and narrowing her eyes considerably. How those words were spoken were less than friendly, and she was not about to take a hidden insult lying down. She felt Jaden's Heroes bristle at the insult, making them all the more eager to put this Obelisk in her place. She turned back to her opponent and allowed her fangs to be bared towards her, shocking people at the sudden turn of mood.
"And what is that supposed to mean, huh!?" Jenny hollered, the steel in her voice evident at her opponent. "Do you think I need a reason for Jaden to want to hang out with someone like me!? Newsflash! I ain't nothing special! I'm not a superstar celebrity, I'm not a girl who has a well-off lifestyle with a comfy family; I'm just another girl in the millions who looks up to Jaden for who he is! Not the pro-duelist, the man he is! I'm just luckier than most girls that he enjoys hanging around me, and he enjoys my company!
So don't you dare tell me that I need a reason to hang around someone who understands me on a foundational level, and someone who understands him the same way! Know your fucking place, you selfish bitch!"
Gasps burst out through the grounds, everyone stunned at the sudden hostility that shone through from the Ra student towards their Queen. Alexis, herself, was taken aback by the insult before her eyes narrowed in anger, not realizing what she had said or the tone in which she said it.
"So you wanna know why Jaden thinks so highly of someone as inconsequential and broken like me? Then let me show you why! It's time to knock you off of your high-horse and show you that you're not heaven's gift to the rest of us mere mortals! Be prepared because you are about to have your ass handed back to you!" Jenny promised, the duel disk snapping into place ready for the duel ahead.
"Game On!"
~End of Part I!~
Dang it, Kitsu! Ya gone done it again!
No doubt that some of the die-hard fans of ETK will already notice the complete change of the chapter! From Crowler's interaction to the affair with the letter, and even the duel line-up! I decided to change it to Jenny taking Jaden's place given that it would make sense for him to be resting at this point after an emotionally draining day.
Plus, it gives him less time in the limelight and more of a shine on other characters at the same time. Jenny is also a crucial character to the story so I'm changing the dynamic between both her and Alexis to start on a huge negative; making it all the more fun to write! Mwahahaha~
It's a cliffy this time~ Decided to treat you for Christmas by updating this but ended up completely rewriting the chapter and changing it up! So I need to spend time on the next part correcting it all and making it fit how I'm taking the story in terms of directions!
So again? Merry Christmas, everyone! c: