Chapter 7: Blood V.S. Bonds, the clash for Syrus' soul

"Why is it so difficult to request a freaking duel?" Haru grumbled hunching over a table in the card shop. He had started filling out a duel request form, but stopped out of frustration.

"It's really not all that hard" Eiji commented, looking at his companion with a small amount of amusement on his face.

"Oh really? Why the hell does this form require me to write a six hundred word explanation of why I want to duel Zane?" Haru shoved the paper in the Ultra Hero's face.

"Hold on six hundred?" Eiji grabbed the paper and read it over "That seems a bit excessive"

"Tell me about it" Haru grumbled, beginning to write on the essay portion. "I can't believe Syrus' brother Zane, Eiji. The guy is the single reason why my partner in crime has so little self confidence. If I could just get this form finished I'd show him a thing or two"

Haru looked up to see Eiji gazing at the entrance to the card shop. Following his gaze Haru let out a muffled "Shit" as he observed Professor Crowler walking in his direction.

"Hello Eiji I trust you've been keeping up with your studying" Crowler gave the boy a friendly smile.

"Yes i have professor, Sarah has been making sure of it"

"Good to hear" Crowler said his gaze turning to Haru "Rumor has it that you've been filling out a Duel request form for about two hours now ."

"So you're having your dorm spy on me now? Is that how it is?" Haru narrowed his eyes.

"How preposterous" Crowler giggled moving past him, his hand grabbing the form from the desk in front of Haru. "Almost as preposterous as you dueling Zane" He commented after reading the paper.

"That's what you think fruitcake" Haru smirked "I'm going to take your most prized student down, and give Syrus the confidence he needs for our upcoming match"

"Ah yes the big tag duel… the one that will determine if you stay at this school or are expelled." Crowler shook his head. "You say dueling Zane will prepare you for the match? Well that's too bad, because there will be no duel!"

With one fluid motion Crowler ripped the duelist request form on half laughing as he did it. Haru jumped out of his chair and began to lunge at Crowler. Eiji stood up and blocked the boys advance.

"Haru it's not worth it" The silver haired boy said looking him in the eyes.

"Oh I think it's pretty worth it" Haru growled as he watched Crowler take his leave, "Just one punch I'll make it quick"

"If you do that you'll be giving him what he wants, a reason to kick you off the island." Haru flinched and sat back down in his chair, knowing the boy was right.


"Look, it's not you, it's me. I'm sorry, but I can't use you in my deck anymore. I've gotta make room for another koala…".

Chumley sat in the tree in near proximity to the red dorm, his deck spread out before him and a Des Koala in hand. He looked at his deck then the card and nodded "Fifteen should be enough".

"Fifteen? I'm pretty sure there's only like, two Koala monsters currently in the game"

Chumley looked down to find Eiji and Haru down below. The latter, who was the one that spoke, cupped his hand over his eyes to shield from the sunlight.

"Then how do I have fifteen in my deck?" Chumley asked.

"You can only have three copies of a card in your deck Chumley" Eiji reminded him.

"Shouldn't you be editing your deck for your upcoming expulsion duel, instead of scrutinizing my deck building skills?" Chumley scowled putting his scattered cards into a pile before jumping down from the tree.

"I'm not worried, my deck has never let me down before" Haru said "I'm just looking for someone to practice against"

"How about a pickup game then." Chumley smiled.

"I wouldn't" Eiji shook his head. "Your deck clearly does not abide by the three copy rule"

" Alright captain buzzkill, lay off already" Chumley grumbled.

"A pick up duel huh?" Haru said deep in thought "That gives me an idea" he turned and began to run back towards the way he came.

"Where are you going?" Eiji yelled

"To that stuffy place you call a dorm"

Chumley dropped his deck in shock, not believing what he had just heard. "Why are you going there?"

"To duel Zane"

"The Zane?!" Chumley fell backward this time into the dirt "He's officially lost his mind"

"Oh Haru, you always know how to make things interesting" Eiji shook his head as he watched his friend leave.


As Haru approached the blue dorm he began to notice the flaws in his plan. He stopped as the entrance to the dorm came into view along with two obelisk students standing between him and the door.

"Well, well, well looks like the Red dorms Guardian Kaiju has graced us with his presence" the first obelisk, a boy with spiky brown hair, smirked. "Rumor has it that you want to duel with Zane"

"Listen boys I'm going to get through that door" Haru said cracking his knuckles. "The question is are you going to let me through or am I going to have to make you?"

"What makes you think Zane would waste his time with you?" his companion a boy with short black hair nodded "You're probably still wet behind the ears from pre-duel school"

"Ooh" Haru mocked. "Did it take you a whole week to come up with that one? Listen boys I've got a schedule to keep. If you both want to take me on like men I'd gladly oblige, if not I recommend you move aside.

"Trying to pick a fight again? I thought you would have learned by now violence isn't the answer" A familiar voice said as Sarah walked out from behind the dorm.

"Oh for the love of…." Haru exclaimed. "Why is it that you or Eiji always have to spoil my fun"

"I'm actually here to give you a little help" Sarah shook her head "But if you don't want it you can go about this the hard way"

Haru raised an eyebrow "You're going to help me? Why?"

"Think of it as a favor. I may ask for one in the future from you in return"

"Why are you helping someone from the red dorm? Don't you have any pride as an Obelisk?" the boy with black hair accused.

"Your definition of pride and mine are completely different" She said condescendingly.

"Fine I'll take your deal, now tell me where Zane is" Haru said growing impatient.

"He's currently meeting with some representatives from the pro-league, so your out of luck there. However I've come to find out Zane tends to visit a certain spot on the island every night before the sun goes down. The island docks"

"So I'm going to have to wait" Haru grumbled, he turned away from the dorm and the three obelisks in front of it. "Thanks Sarah you prevented me from wasting my time on these chowderheads" he turned his head and gave her a two finger salute "Catch you around bookworm".


It took approximately ten minutes for Haru to return to his room, where he was met by Eiji and Chumley inside.

"So what's your plan now boss man?" Chumley asked leaning down from the top bunk.

"I'm going to surprise that blue headed son of a bitch tonight, when he starts his nightly brooding session on the docks" Haru replied slamming his fist into his open palm.

"I know you're good Haru, I've been watching you duel first-hand since you got that deck from Pegasus. But are you sure you can take down the top ranked duelist on the entire island?" Eiji asked sitting down in the rooms desk chair.

"Come on I don't need you being negative today" Haru said getting up "Syrus hasn't even left the room today" he gestured to the bundle currently huddled up on the Roid Duelist's bed.

"Now that you mention it I haven't heard so much as a peep from him today" Chumley said following his gaze.

"Come on Syrus it's time to get up" Haru nudged the bundle. "Even Chumley got up at a decent time today"

"Only because of my bladder" Chumley muttered

Haru pulled back the blankets to reveal nothing underneath "Da fuck?"

"What's this?" Eiji asked picking up a piece of paper that flopped onto the floor when the blankets were removed. "Dear Haru, I'm leaving duel academy. Don't try and stop me, we both know it's for the best. Now you can find a partner that will keep you from being expelled" Eiji read.

Haru snatched the note out of his hands, crumpling it up after rereading it "Oh no you don't you little squirt, not while i have something to say about it."

"Alright we can start looking for him after dinner" Chumley nodded.

"Chumley now isn't the time for jokes" Eiji scolded.

" We don't have time to wait big guy" Haru yelled running out of the room.

"Awww come on it's grilled cheese tonight" Chumley whined.

"Yeah you can have Haru raid the fridge for you later" Eiji said pushing the boy towards the door.

Haru ran back into the room and grabbed Chumley by the lapels of his jacket "If we don't go now, this will be Syrus' last day on this island!"

"Fine fine I'll help" Chumley said nervously


Haru, Eiji and Chumley began to scour the island for their companion, until eventually coming to the beach area down below the red dorm. Not far off Syrus stood observing his handiwork after finishing his makeshift raft. The small watercraft consisted of several small logs tied crudely together. "That should do" The small slifer nodded as he place a foot on the craft to steady it. "So long Duel Academy" The boy said wiping away a stray tear "I hope my friends do well after i'm gone"

"Damn it Syrus don't do this to me" Haru yelled standing atop the large cliff overlooking the rocks. There was a low screech as the spectral form of godzilla appeared beside him and nuzzled his neck. "What's wrong old friend?" Haru asked his duel partner.

"I think I'm hearing voices" Chumley wheezed as he and Eiji joined him "Need food!"

"Did he find something?" Eiji nodded towards godzilla.

"I think so" Haru said looking back at the kaiju "Can you lead us to him?". Godzilla gave him a deadpan look before letting out what seemed to be a sigh of frustration. The kaiju began to float down the hill to the beach and Haru and Eiji followed his lead.

"I saw that" Eiji smirked "Your duel spirit is almost exactly like you Haru"

"Oh shut up" Haru rolled his eyes.


Zane stood in his usual spot near the lighthouse dock watching as the sun slowly made its way downwards. Hearing footsteps behind him he turned to see Alexis emerge from the shadow of the lighthouse. As she stopped at his side he gave her a concerned glance "Any news or luck finding your brother?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head "I can't believe he's still gone. I've been looking everywhere in hopes for a new sign that he's still alive, but I always seem to come up empty handed"

Zane folded his arms "don't worry about it too much, he's out there somewhere. You can't give up on him."

"Speaking of brothers" Alexis changed the subject "I ran into yours the other day"

"Oh did you now, probably up to no good with the crowd he's been hanging with"

"No he's actually been pretty productive, save for a few cases of sleeping in class" She told him.

"Is there a point to this?" He asked

"Yeah, he had a practice duel with Haru Yoshida" She recalled "Your name came up a few times during the duel and not in a good way"

"The big bad brother no doubt" Zane didn't even bat an eye "I suppose Haru wants to put me in my place now?"

Alexis smiled a little bit "I think we both know he wants to duel you" she replied. Before the two of them could continue their conversation they heard an audible splash. They both followed the sound of the noise to a small roughly constructed wooden raft floating just beyond a pair of rocks, a puff of blue hair peeking above the rocks.

"Stay back Haru" Syrus warned attempting to push off in his raft only to be tackled by Haru. The sudden impact of the two bodies dislodged the logs making them drift apart and sending the two boys into the water below.

"Genius plan there Haru" Eiji said clapping as he watched the two struggle.

Syrus managed to push himself away from the larger boy but began to flail his arms "Help me! I can't swim!"

"And you were about to set off into the largest body of water on the planet?" Haru cried as the smaller boy wrapped his arms around his neck for support "You really didn't think this out did you Syrus?" the two disappeared beneath the surface, as Eiji and Godzilla watched from the shore.

"Dont worry guys I'm coming!" Chumley cried jumping into the water after them.

"Guys it's not dangerous!" Eiji yelled attempting to get their attention.

Chumley opened his eyes to find himself only half submerged in water. He felt the ground beneath him and blinked in confusion " It's shallow?"

Almost on cue Haru and Syrus emerged from the depths gasping for air. Syrus' teeth began to chatter as he turned to his roommate with a look of confusion on his face. "Why did you come after me Haru?" He shivered "I stink".

"And you think taking a bath in the ocean is going to get rid of that?" Haru gave him a smirk.

"I'm serious Haru, with me gone then they'll have to find you a new tag partner. Then you'll have a better shot at winning the match."

"Come on syrus we both know that with Crowler in charge of our expulsion duel I'd probably end up dueling alone"

"You don't get it Haru!" Tears began to drip down his face and splash into the water below "I'm a lost cause"

"He's right you know…." A cold voice from above interjected.

The three Slifer's and Obelisk looked up to see Alexis and Zane standing on a path above them looking down. "That's Zane?" Chumley and Haru asked simultaneously, looking straight at the kaiser of duel academy.

Zane ignored the two of them, instead fixing his sibling with a blank stare, "You dropping out, little brother?"

Syrus nodded awkwardly "Yeah…. Kinda"

"Hmph…." Zane closed his eyes and turned away "It's about time".

This comment made Syrus' head droop, making the boy feel worse than he had before. He turned towards the now broken raft and began gathering the pieces.

"Don't listen to him Syrus" Haru shook his head "He's filling your head with insecurity"

All Haru could hear from Syrus was a loud sniffling sound. He glared at Zane " So what he was saying was true, you are as bad as he said you were. Filling your little brother with insecurities because you couldn't stand him making a small mistake, you make my blood boil. What makes you think you can say these things about him?"

"It's because I know him better than you" Zane told him, prompting a gasp from Alexis.

"Thats bullshit and you know it!" Haru exclaimed as began to wade towards the land, leaving a trail in his wake. "Do you even understand what you've done. You tore him down and tore him down until there was nothing left, and every time he tries to build back up you show up to undo any progress. And why? Because he wasn't as good as you are? Because he made mistakes? Asshole, that's how you learn!" Haru breathed heavily after his rant. He glared at Zane. "Tell me something Zane. Do you know why older brothers are born first?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Zane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That answer tells me everything I need to know." Haru said flatly. "Older brothers are born first to protect the ones that come after them! To teach them and lift them up, not torment them because you think they can't measure up! Since you can't seem to be a proper older brother for Syrus, I think I'll relieve you of the position"

"Oh? And you think you can do a better job than i can?" Zane stated, seemingly unaffected by Haru's rant. "You'll see it my way within the week"

Haru ground his teeth "How about you duel me so I can prove you wrong"

Syrus looked at his friend "Haru…."

Zane raised an eyebrow "Duel a slifer?" He thought out loud. "Sure…. Why not? It's been awhile since I went slumming"

"Can't say I've ever heard that one before, I'm getting pretty pumped now"

"Don't do it, Haru he's too good" Syrus pleaded

"I would expect no less from your older brother" Haru assured him. 'Hopefully this is just the thing to get Syrus out of his funk and regain his confidence. I just hope it doesn't damage mine in the process'


Later that night, just after the sun had set, Haru and Zane met at the docks each with their own duel disk, along with the rest of the group who sat down to watch.

"This is going to be an interesting duel" Eiji commented sitting between Alexis and Chumley.

"The Kaiser Vs the Kaiju, sounds like something from the pro leagues" Chumley nodded.

"Hopefully Haru isn't going into this to overconfident, Zane thrives on people underestimating him" Alexis told them.

"Duel!" The two shouted in unison

Z:4000 6

H:4000 6

"Looks like it's time for me to get to the bottom of what's going on between these two" Haru grinned, barely containing his excitement " and i get to rampage against the best duelist on the island no less". He drew his first card "Alright Zane i'm going to start by activating the field spell Kaiju sighting: Kitamatsu Mine 5. Now by ditching the top two cards of my deck I can special summon a Meganulon Token to my field in attack position" the small green bug appeared and clacked its mandibles.

Meganulon token (500/500)

"Next I think I'll throw a facedown and end my turn"

Zane drew his first card "That's all huh? For my first move I'm summoning Cyber Dragon in attack mode!"

The onlookers watched in amazement as a cybernetic dragon rose from the ground before coiling up behind its master.

Cyber Dragon level 5 (2100/1600)

"Wait level five?" Haru exclaimed "How can you summon a level five without tributing?"

"While normally it's rather difficult to get out a level five monster on your first turn, Cyber Dragon has a unique effect bypassing that problem" Zane explained. "While I control no monsters and you control at least one it I can special summon it from my hand"

"Thats pretty cool actually" Haru nodded

"But I'm not stopping there. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to eliminate your face down" Zane continued.

'I'd better activate it then' Haru thought "I chain my trap card to the activation of Mystical Space Typhoon. It's a trap I like to call Meganulon Ambush! While i control only one type of token I can activate this card and special summon an additional two tokens" In a flash of light two more large green insects appeared on either side of their comrade.

"So you still made use of your trap card" Zane nodded "Don't think your two additional monsters will save you from my Cyber dragon". He pointed towards the Meganulon in the middle "Since you so kindly left one of them in attack position I'll attack that one. Cyber Dragon attack that insect with Strident Burst!" The metallic dragon rose from its coiled position before letting loose a beam of blue fire that engulfed Haru's token.

H:4000-2400

Syrus watched from the sidelines quietly, noticing his friend was already on the way to losing. 'I tried to warn him Zane was too good'

'I have a hard time believing Haru would leave a token in attack without a countermeasure' Eiji thought.

"Next…." Zane said holding up his card. "I activate the spell card Different Dimension Capsule!" He declared as a golden sarcophagus with the symbol of a clock on the lid arose from the dirt below. "This card allows me to to take a card from my deck and place it in the capsule, and in two turns I destroy the capsule and add the card to my hand"

"So you're giving me an ultimatum? Interesting" Haru watched at the hologram of a card entered the capsule causing the sarcophagus to close, before disappearing into the ground below.

"Don't think of it as an ultimatum, but more of a promise that I'm giving you my all"

"I know what's in that capsule, And it's not pretty" Syrus thought miserably.

"Your move Haru…." Zane said

'Allright, I have to make a move before he makes this a complete blow out' Haru nodded 'He's not all talk as I originally thought, but that makes this all the more fun'

"Alright it's time to kick it up a notch" Haru drew his next card, " While my life points are lower than yours I can banish Meganulon Ambush from my graveyard and special summon another token to my field with attack and defense equal to the difference".

Magunlon Token (1600/1600)

Haru plucked a card from his hand and revealed it. "Now I'm going to introduce you to a monster Syrus' met during our last duel, I offer up one of my tokens to Tribute summon Kaiju Legend Rodan!"

Swooping downwards to dig its talons into the large green insect the giant pteranodon let out a mighty screech before digging into its meal.

Kaiju legend Rodan level 6 (2300/2300)

"Hmmm impressive" Zane nodded " show me what your monsters can do"

"I intend to" Haru smiled "Rodans first effect activates, by tributing a token on my field I can target one spell or trap card on the field and send it back to the hand and i choose your Different dimension Capsule. Go Rodan Great Tempest" A meganulon disappeared and the giant flying dinosaur began to beat its wings sending the card flying backwards.

"Now the card Zane's banished is gone for good" Eiji pointed out "I knew Haru had something up his sleeve"

"What gave you that idea? The fact that he's been unnaturally calm even after Zane inflicted sixteen hundred to him directly?" Chumley deadpanned.

"I think Haru's sarcasm is rubbing off on you Koala boy" Eiji smirked

"No i've always had it, I just never used it until the two of you came along"

Zane placed capsule back in his hand "I suppose It wouldn't hurt if I showed you the card that I banished"

"I was rather curious"

Picking the card out of his deck box he revealed it to the spectators and his opponent. "you got rid of one of my copies of Power Bond congratulations"

Syrus watched his companion smile, the small boy's eyes agape with surprise "Could Haru actually pull this off?" he asked himself.

"And now it's time to get rid of your dragon" Haru declared "Rodan attacks Cyber dragon" Swooping upwards the great winged dinosaur plucked cybernetic dragon off the ground like an average bird catches a worm.

Z:4000-3800

"you really something zane" Haru said exclaimed "you didn't even flinch when you took damage"

"What can I say? Many people have challenged me but few have given me a legitimate challenge" Zane shrugged "Most of them can't even inflict a single point of damage to my life points"

"So you're saying that you're enjoying this as much as I am?"

"I guess you could say that " Zane smiled slightly shocking the onlookers.

'Did Zane just smile' Alexis asked clearly taken aback.

"I feel like that's the first time you've smiled in a while there Kaiser. It suits you" Haru joked "But we should get back to this duel, I'll set a card and end "

" first I activate pot of greed allowing me to draw two cards and since you destroyed my Cyber Dragon, my field is currently lacking in monsters. Now I can special summon another Cyber Dragon from my hand " An identical cybernetic dragon appeared next to him letting out a growl as it coiled up.

Cyber Dragon level 5 (2100/1600)

"But i'm not stopping there, why have only one Cyber Dragon when i can have two 2? Zane held up a card " I play Monster reborn and with only one monster in my graveyard you can guess who's joining the battle". Zanes duel disk began to glow as his first cyber dragon was revived next to its companion.

Cyber Dragon level 5 (2100/1600)

"Neither of them will be here for long however" Zane revealed polymerization from his hand. "At least as separate monsters anyway. Dragons unite!" He commanded as the two metallic serpents were sucked into the forming vortex above him "Emerge, Cyber Twin Dragon!"

From the vortex emerged a new monster. This new monster had the heads of both dragons , but the body was that of one, each head had a different eye color one red and one yellow"

Cyber Twin Dragon level 8 (2800/2100)

"Twin Dragon? As if one was bad enough" Chumley stared at the new creature in awe.

"Twin Dragon can attack twice per turn" He pointed at Rodan 'Spelling bad news for both you and your monster. Go twin Dragon Double Strident Burst!"

"Not so fast!" Haru interrupted pressing a button on his duel disc " My trap says otherwise. It's called Kaiju Tag Team. While I control the amount of tributes needed for the tribute summon of a kaiju legend monster, as well as another Kaiju on the field I can tribute summon a Kaiju legend on your turn. Say goodbye to my other token as I bring out a new monster, come forth Kaiju Legend Anguirus in defense mode!" the ground shook between them as a giant ball of spikes rolled in from behind Haru before unfolding into a new kaiju. This new monster walked on all fours and had a long spiky shell protecting its back. Anguirus gave rodan a nod before letting out a shriek.

Kaiju Legend Anguirus level 6 (1700/2800)

"It won't save your dinosaur friend from my dragon's wrath" Zane reminded him as Rodan was engulfed in the dragons blue light.

H: 2400-1900

"Aw man you're so chill! Not even flinching when I try to counter you, I guess you are as good as everyone says."Haru laughed

Zane smirked "You're not too shabby yourself Yoshida, i'm going to set two cards and hand it to you."

'Huh?!' Syrus blinked in surprise 'is my brother giving him props?'

"It's my turn" Haru said drawing his next card "First my field spell activates giving me another token"

Meganulon token x1 (500/500)

"And then I activate the spell Kaiju Re-Awakening, allowing me to tribute my token to revive Rodan" the green insect disappeared and was replaced by the great winged dinosaur.

Kaiju legend Rodan level 6 (2300/2300)

"Thats nice and all but he doesn't control any more tokens so he can't activate his monsters effects" Chumley pointed out.

"You would think" Eiji told him " But there's a reason why his field spell mills two cards for cost, most of Harus spells and traps have some kind of banishing effect to net him more tokens"

"Thats right" Haru nodded "One of the cards i sent to the graveyard this turn was the spell card G-Force Observations" The spectral image of a card depicting an army commander standing in front of a screen with Godzilla on it appeared. Down below people were at work on computers filled with statistics. "I can banish this card from my graveyard and special summon a token for each kaiju currently on my field, so here comes two" appearing beside them were two army officers with a G-Force patch on the shoulder of their uniforms.

G-force tokens (500/500)

"I activate Rodan's second effect to target your cyber twin dragon and send it back to the hand by tributing my two new tokens" Haru declared " Malicious Malestrom"

"Sorry I'm going to have to prevent you from doing that, I activate the quick play spell that I set, De-Fusion. Now my cyber twin dragon is returned to the extra deck and I special summon the two monsters that made it. Return My Cyber Dragons!" A green and orange spiral engulfed the fusion monster separating it into the two copies of cyber dragon.

Cyber Dragon level 5 (2100/1600)

Cyber Dragon level 5 (2100/1600)

"Fine I'll have rodan attack the one on the right" The giant flying reptile flew across the field and gobbled up the robotic dragon.

z:3800- 3600

"I geuss thats my turn then " Haru sighed "I really thought I had you on the ropes that time"

"You would have if I hadn't planned for you resurrecting your monster" Zane nodded drawing for turn. "Unfortunately it's time for me to end this duel"

"Oh really?" Haru asked "What makes you say that? I have a 2800 defense position monster and another with 2300 attack"

"Oh trust me they won't be there for long" Zane said "I activate my trap card DNA Surgery and declare the monster type machine" Haru watched as his two monsters were engulfed in a metallic shell.

"What the hell?"

"Oh I'm not finished, I fuse the Cyber Dragon on my field with your two monsters that are now machines"

"Wait with my monsters?" Haru cried

Zane nodded " When I fusion summon this monster I don't need polymerization and I can use machine type monsters on either side of the field" The two duelists watched as their monsters were sucked upwards into a swirling vortex before a loud screech could be heard behind zane. "I fusion summon Chimeratech Fortress Dragon" Zane declared as a giant purple and silver dragon slithered its way around him. Its body was made of giant circles each with a cybernetic dragon head popping out of it. The main head had what seemed to be crosshairs set in its eyes as it fixed haru with a glare.

"Well shit" Haru muttered

"Chimeratech gains 1000 attack for each monster used to summon it."

Chimeratech Fortress Dragon level 8 (0-3000/0)

"Haru doesn't have any monsters to combat that behemoth" Alexis said

"Which means Haru is about to take 3000 directly to the face" Eiji added "A total knockout"

"Its as your friends say Haru you're done for" Zane shrugged "It was enjoyable while it lasted, go Chimeratech Super Strident Burst!" . The monster's three heads all began to glow before letting loose a enormous blast of white energy directly at Haru.

H: 1900-0

Haru fell to his knees in front of zane and punched the ground "Why?"

Syrus ran to his comrade "Haru!"

"I'm ok Syrus" Haru said giving him a smile as he pushed himself off the ground "Just really disappointed"

"You dueled really well, you have nothing to be ashamed of" Alexis consulted him

"No I'm not disappointed about that" Haru shook his head giving Zane a sly smile "this is the most fun I've had since i got to this island.

"Then why are you disappointed?" Syrus asked looking up at him.

"I can't keep my promise to Eiji anymore, now that I've lost I can't meet him on equal terms as rivals"

"About that" Eiji said rubbing his head awkwardly.

"I already beat him a few days ago." Zane interrupted "His friend Sarah insisted it was for the best for the both of us"

Haru glared at Eiji "So when were you going to tell me you lost Eiji?"

"I didn't know how to bring it up" EIji said backing away.

Grabbing him in a headlock Haru gave him a wolfish grin "I'm going to make you pay for that".

"Looks like Haru is going to be alright" Syrus laughed "I was real worried for a second"

"Worried?" Haru frowned looking at the small boy "That reminds me Syrus you tried to ditch me today didn't you?" he grab him in the other arm "The three of us are going to have a nice talk about what we have learned today.

"Friendship is forever?" Syrus gulped

"Losing isn't the end of the world?" Eiji laughed

"Why i oughta!" Haru said "Come on" he began marching them back up the hill.

Alexis watched them go before turning to Zane "Looks like you had some fun today"

"I don't know what your talking about" Zane shook his head "It was just another duel in the scheme of things"

"Right" Alexis smirked "I saw you smile once or twice during that duel don't try to lie to me."

"I'm just happy that Syrus has made some good friends" Zane said blankly "That's all. We better get back before the sun rises we do have classes tomorrow after all"

Alexis watched him walk back towards the Obelisk dorm a smile on her face. 'I don't know what it is but Haru brings something out of people that I've never seen before, He is rather interesting'. She began to frown as she thought about Haru's rant earlier in the day. 'The way he got so angry at Zane about brothers, does he have younger siblings? Is that why he is so protective of Syrus, and why he said he'd help me find Atticus?'

Only one more chapter until the expulsion duel happens, then we are off to the races on the real meat of season 1. Thank you for your support and I look forward to posting the next chapter within the next week. As always comments constructive criticism and ideas are always welcome.

As always Keep it showy

-Red