Knight of the Red Moon

My name s Loki Foxtail, 1st year Red Slifer at Duel Academy. I have always dreamed of being one of the worlds greatest duelist. When I was excepted it was like I'd died and enter the next life. It didn't matter that I got one of the lowest scores, I was in. Then at the acceptance dinner I met the girl who now inhabits my every thought. I never imagined she'd take a minute out of her life to talk to me. She stirred strange feelings in my heart and soul sending a shiver through me. In the week before I came to the Academy strange things started happening. Sometimes, in the middle of a duel, I would hear voices coming from the cards. I've never told anyone, in case they'd think me crazy or on drugs. And I would defiantly never tell her. But something told me this idea would change. Thought I could not put my finger on it…

I sat at a table in my dorm surrounded by my three best friends. Jaden Yuki stood behind, my current dueling opponent, Syrus Truesdale. Chumley Huffington was sitting at the end of the table watching us play. Jaden was Syrus' adviser so to speak, though his comments were few and far in between. I however refused any outside help, though Chumley so graciously offered it twice. I was also losing 100 to 1050 and it was my turn. The odds were not good. There was a lot riding on this turn. I drew a card and suddenly felt the duel shift in my favor. "I play Maiden of the Moonlight in attack mode. Then I play the magic card Lunar Eclipse to transform her into Maiden of the Dark Moon, giving her a grand total of 3000 attack points! MEANING ADIOS STEAMROID! I've won! That means you buy me sodas for the next week!" I grinned as Syrus moaned.

"I thought you said you didn't have a Maiden of the Moonlight, Loki." Jaden commented and went to pick it up. I however dove for it and held it close.

"I just traded a little while ago for it. Sweet, huh?"

"What for?"

"I needed it for this combo obviously!"

"No, I mean what card."

Suddenly I really didn't wanna talk about this, "Oh nothing really. Just… Um, well. My-uh… Dark Magici-"

"YOU TRADED A DARK MAGICIAN FOR A MAIDEN OF THE MOONLIGHT?" The trio yelled.

Syrus gaped at me, "That card is like ultra rare! Why in HELL would you trade it? Sure it's a cool combo but really!"

Jaden however seemed to assess the situation in an instant. "He traded with a girl. And she must have been incredibly cute, too."

I felt like someone had just stuck me into an oven, "I never said that!"

"Don't give us that bull, your face says it all."

"My face?"

Chumley looked at me with a mixture of confusion and laughter, "Dude you're the same color as your jacket."

Jaden leaned across the table, "So who was she?"

"I told you I-"

Syrus sat by my side, "Come on, spill. The girls never talk to me! A girl traded cards with you! Give us the details."

Chumley got on my other side, "Does she have a koala she doesn't want?"

I looked from Jaden to Syrus to Chumley and took a deep breath, "Her name is Melody. She's an Obelisk."

Jaden sat back, "Loki, you aim high for a 1st year don't you? That girl has guys at her beck and call. She is hot, too."

Chumley gave me a look of what looked like admiration, "You've talked to the sister of Hira?"

"Yeah. I met her before but she probably doesn't remember. It was at a celebrity party I won an invitation for. Some Dj introduced me to her and her sister."

"So what are you? A stalker?"

"NO! She dropped her deck in the hall and I helped her pick it up. I saw her Maiden of the Moonlight and she told me I could have it. I didn't feel right not giving her something in return so I gave her my Magician. I've only seen her a few times since then." Suddenly the lights flickered on and off, before turning off completely. "Um… That can't be good." A few minutes later the Slifers assembled in the eating hall. Professor Banner addressed us with a smile.

"It seems the main generator has malfunctioned. For the next week we will not have lights, air conditioning or stoves. We will however have hot water, and refrigeration. Classes will be postponed until we can get the generator operational again."

The Slifers let out a cheer and walked out chatting happily. Jaden slapped me on the back, "Hear that, my boy? No stove. Sounds like we're having a cook out! Let's go get some recruits!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Recruits?"

"Yeah! What kind of a cook out would it be if it were just us?" Thus we walked to the Obelisks fancy door, Alexis and her friends sat outside chattering happily. "Ladies!" Jaden said giving a graceful bow, "We humbly invite you to grace us with your present at our cookout in honor of the power outage."

Alexis pondered this for a moment, "I guess I'm in. Beats eating bologna sandwiches."

The other girls agreed. Just then Melody walked out of the dorm and spotted me. Our eyes met for a moment or two but she looked away. Jaden spotted her. "Would you like to join us at our cook out?"

The girls looked up at Melody. Something told me that if she wasn't going they weren't.

Melody gave us a crooked smile, "I wouldn't miss it."