Alright, so we are finally in the Academy. And things are going to start picking up, and I hope you all are ready for the roller-coaster I have planned.
"Duel"- talking
'Duel'- thinking
"Duel" – Duel Spirit talking
*** POV change
- Time break in same POV
The Slifer Welcome Dinner wasn't much, in Luke's opinion. A bowl of rice, a bowl of soup and a few small fish was served. He didn't bother complaining, but other students did. Luke wasn't impressed by their Dorm Head, a tall skinny man, with long black hair and glasses, and an odd attachment to his cat. The speech he was given seemed boring to Luke, until everyone noticed Jaden already eating.
Though the Dorm Head, Professor Lyman Banner, was speaking, he decided to let everyone eat after seeing Jaden start. One short meal later, everyone was dismissed for the night.
Luke decided to stare at the ocean, under the night sky. He leaned against the dorm, thinking about his earlier experience.
He couldn't get Sierra out of his head. The weird dream he had did not help. He really hoped it was only caused because of his lack of sleep. Which was something he planned to change during his stay at the Academy.
"Will you not be using that deck again?" Black Luster Soldier asked. "It's nothing but corrupted Darkness. Why do you even use it?"
"I feel safer with it," Luke said. "I only use it when the need arises. Don't forget, YOU are my ace. And I didn't put you in my other deck for a reason."
"But I still worry," Soldier said, looking away. "Maybe we should ask Jaden for help."
"Someone call my name?"
Luke turned to see Jaden behind him. In his hands were bathroom essentials. A goofy grin was plastered on his face.
"How much did you hear?" Luke asked darkly, as he glared at the other Slifer.
"Nothing, besides Soldier asking for help," Jaden laughed. "Truthfully, there isn't much I can do if I don't know the problem."
"There is no problem," Luke said standing and walking past the brown hair youth. "He's just worried about me. That's all." Luke headed to his room. ***
Jaden watched Luke walk away. Now, Jaden was sure he was hiding something. He just needed Luke to open up to him.
"What do you plan on doing?" Yubel asked.
"The best thing," Jaden said with a thumb up, "The next chance I get, I'll duel him. That way we can let our cards do the talking."
"You know I won't do much talking," Yubel huffed, crossing her arms. "Something about him seems familiar, but I know he has no connection to your past."
"Well whatever. Anyway, it's time to bathe." Jaden went to the Slifer's bathroom and washed up before getting ready for bed. -
The next day started normal enough. Jaden got out of bed, ate some breakfast, got ready for class, and left with Syrus. He had already noticed, since his first class, that the three dorms were separated by color. The Slifer's were up front, the Ra's in the middle, and the Obelisk's were close to the back. Jaden could see this was because of the social food chain within the school. He didn't really care; red was a sweet color.
The first teacher of the day was Dr. Crowler. Jaden remembered the good professor from his entrance exam. Of course, he also remembered the man's attitude. When Crowler picked on Syrus, that was the last straw. He made a comment about Crowler losing to him, which made him worse than the Slifer's. This caused the good Doctor to flush with anger and bite on his handkerchief. The entire class laughed at the detective's comment, which was the reaction he expected.
"You need to be careful," Yubel whispered to him.
'I know,' Jaden thought, 'I just couldn't resist.'
Yubel sighed before disappearing. ***
Luke smiled in amusement. He had heard that Dr. Crowler was a good Duelist with a short fuse. Jaden's comment proved the information right. Luke didn't understand what Jaden meant when he said he beat Crowler.
After that little fiasco, the day seemed to drag on. In their Duel Alchemy class, taught by Professor Banner, Jaden's roommate, Syrus if he recalled, seemed to draw the cat to him. The bluenette freaked out a bit before getting the cat back to the teacher. Luke couldn't help but join in the laughter again.
When the bell rang, Luke grabbed his stuff and headed out. The classes had an hour before their Duel practice. They could do whatever they chose. Most stood around and talked to their friends. Luke sat by the entrance, looking at his Black Luster
Soldier card.
Before he could talk to Soldier, a pair of sky-blue eyes caught his attention. Sierra was standing in front of him, bent at her waist to be eye level. Luke tried to look away but couldn't. Something told him to stay close to the girl.
"Hello~" she said cheerfully. Her smile sent shivers down his back.
Luke attempted to look away. His attention was caught by something orange and blue. The Duel Monster, Flames Swordsman, was standing next to Sierra. Luke guessed she finally acknowledged his presence. How was the question?
"I have two questions for you," Sierra giggled. "One, do you have any lunch plans?" Luke shook his head in response. "And two, can you see anyone next to me?"
Sierra's second question caught Luke off-guard. He nodded, which caused Sierra to squeal like a fangirl. She was jumping up and down like a child who got her favorite toy.
"Yay! You can see my swordsman," She cheered. Luckily, few people were around to see her act like this. "You and I are connected like he said."
"Like who said?" Luke was genuinely confused by her comment.
"Why Flame Swordsman, of course." Sierra answered matter-of-factly. "He told me not to reveal him to any who could not see him. And since you can, we can be friends."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," the Flame swordsman said, bowing. "I am Princess Sierra's Duel Partner."
"I'm not a princess," Sierra whined.
The word "princess" reminded Luke of his dream. He remembered the wedding, and its attendees. The man in the red and orange armor was a Flame Swordsman look-a-like. He guessed that was why it was with Sierra. It was with her look-a-like, just like how Soldier's was with his.
Luke's next action surprised himself, Sierra and the two Spirits. Luke had gotten up, grabbed Sierra by the waist, and kissed her. Sierra was shocked, but instantly became happy. Both Swordsman and Soldier were just shocked. Luke had yet to fully register what had happened.
When everything clicked, Luke broke the embrace and backed away. Once again, he had no idea why he wanted to kiss Sierra. The look in her eyes showed she wanted more. Luke had to look away, before he could fulfill that request.
"Sorry, I don't know what came over me," he said.
"It's okay," Sierra said, her eyes still a little hazy, "I didn't hate it. In fact, I was hoping…"
"HEY! YOU DIRTY RED!"
Luke and Sierra turned to see a small group of Obelisk boys walk up to them. The one leading the group did not look happy. Luke only assumed they saw the exchange between him and Sierra.
"What the hell do you think you're doing Slacker?" the leader asked, shoving Luke away from Sierra. "What right do you have going after an Obelisk? You should wallow back in the dirt, like the bug you are."
"A bug?" Luke smiled mischievously. His hair blocked his eyes, which flashed black, indicating his Darkness taking control. "That's the best you could come up with, Little Boy Blue? I prefer to be called DIRT AT LEAST!" Luke's eyes went back to silver before he looked at the Blues. His smile remained unchanged. "I honestly was just trying to see if I could trick this girl. But damn, you saw through me. I would have had a hot Obelisk girl to help boost my popularity."
"Luke?" Sierra didn't seem to know what was happening.
"Well that's not going to happen, Slacker," the leader retorted. "No low life is going to ruin the Obelisk name."
"Fine by me," Luke laughed, "In fact, why don't we have a duel? If I win, the girl is mine, no questions asked. If I lose, I'll avoid the Blues all throughout the years."
"Luke, you don't have to do that," Sierra said, "Don't worry about what they say."
"You're on Slacker." The leader took out his PDA and sent Luke a challenge. "Don't be late, we'll be dueling during class." With the words said, the group of Obelisks left.
"You didn't need to do that," Sierra huffed, "I'm not a prize to be won."
"And you won't be," Luke said after calming down. "This duel is to get the Blues off my back for a while." -
During the Class Duels, Luke watched as Sierra dueled her old friend Alexis. Alexis was using a deck that could be described as a Sporty Girl Deck. Sierra's deck seemed to be a Flame-user deck. It was slightly centered around her Flame Swordsman.
The Duel was about to end. "Go Cyber Blader," Alexis commanded her Fusion Monster, "Attack Sierra directly." The monster landed a kick to Sierra, causing her life points to reach zero.
Sierra giggled, even though she just lost. "Wow, Lex, you've gotten stronger. You took out Flames quicker than the last time."
"You've improved as well," Alexis said, as the two made it to the bleachers. "I'm glad you took my advice with the Horus cards."
"You still took them out way to quick," Sierra joked.
Luke's eyes followed the girls as they sat. His Duel was about to start. He wasn't sure he should have accepted the challenge in the first place.
"Will Luke and Roger please report to the Duel Field?"
Luke walked onto the field to see the Obelisk from earlier. His opponent had smug grin on his face. Luke kept his expression neutral. He did not want to show his true emotions.
There were murmurs going around the arena. Some seemed to be about the Duel. Others seemed to be about what the Duel meant. Luke looked to Sierra, who just smiled and waved.
"Don't get too chummy, Slacker," Roger said. "My dragons will burn you."
"I'll be okay," Luke said, with a smirk. "My knights will help me slay them."
"DUEL!"
Luke: 4000
Roger: 4000
"I'll go first," Roger said, drawing his first card. "I'll play one card face down, and a monster in defense mode." The two cards appeared on his field.
"My turn," Luke said, drawing his card. "First I play Mystical Space Typhoon. This will allow me to destroy your face down card." A gust of wind blew away and destroyed Roger's face down trap card. "Next I summon my Marauding Captain in attack mode."
A warrior in tattered armor appeared on Luke's field. His sword at the ready. (M.C. ATK: 1200 DEF: 400)
"Thanks to his special ability, I can special summon one Level 4 or lower monster from my hand. I choose to summon Big Shield Gardna, in defense mode."
A tanned man with a large shield appeared, crouching next to the Captain. (B.S.G. ATK: 100 DEF: 2600)
"Marauding Captain attack his face down monster. Marauding Slash!"
The Captain leapt into the air. Bringing his sword down, the Captain slashed the card. Before the card disappeared, a gray jar appeared. A black thing, with one eye, chuckled at Luke, before exploding.
"You flipped my Morphing Jar," Roger said, laughing. "Now we both discard our hands and draw five new cards."
Both players discarded what cards they had and drew five new ones. Luke did not like the looks of his new hand. He had no cards for any combos. But he could at least stall.
"I'll play two cards face down," the holograms appeared in front of him. "And I'll end my turn."
"My turn," Roger drew his next card. "First, I activate Stop Defense, switching your Big Shield Gardna from defense to attack mode. Then I activate Monster Reborn to bring back my Ryu-ran."
Big Shield Gardna stood up as a red dragon wearing an eggshell, like a diaper, appeared. The dragon stared down Luke's monsters. (Ryu-ran ATK: 2200 DEF: 2600)
"Then I summon Koumori Dragon, in attack mode." A purple dragon with no hind legs appeared on the field. (Koumori Dragon ATK: 1500 DEF: 1200) "Koumori Dragon attack his Marauding Captain." The purple dragon shot flames at the captain, charring him.
Luke: 4000-3700
"Ryu-ran, destroy his Big Shield Gardna: Fire Stream Attack!" The red dragon followed its command, and shot red flames towards Big Shield Gardna, charring him like his predecessor.
Luke: 3700-1600
"What's wrong Slacker?" Roger taunted. "I thought your knights were going to slay my dragons?"
Luke growled as he drew his next card. It was his swift Gaia card. With another monster in his hand, he couldn't use the effect correctly. He had thought Roger would think to rid his field of all his cards before going to attack.
"From my field, I activate Graceful Charity. I draw three cards and then discard two." Luckily for him, all three cards drawn were Spell cards, one being the Black Luster Ritual. He discarded the extra monster along with a trap.
"Next I set four cards on the field." The four holograms appeared next to the previous one. "And since he is the only card in my hand, I can Normal Summon Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight, without using a tribute." Gaia appeared on the field, lances at the ready. (S.G.F.K. ATK: 2300 DEF: 2100)
"From my field, I next activate Pot of Greed." Luke drew his next two cards. "I'll play one more face down, and from my field activate the Spell: Double summon. This card allows me to Normal Summon once more this turn." A hologram card took Pot of Greed's place, only for the card next to flip up and flash.
"With the effect of Double Summon, I'll normal summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands." A strange-looking gray monster, with hands nearly everywhere, appeared next to Gaia. (Manju ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000)
"With Manju being summoned, I can pull a Ritual Monster or Spell card from my deck. I choose the monster Black Luster Soldier." Luke retrieved the card from his deck. "Next, I'll activate the Monster Reborn card on my field. The monster I choose to bring back is Gearfried the Iron Knight that I discarded earlier." A man in black metal armor, with matching sword and shield, appeared. (Gearfried ATK: 1800 DEF: 1600) "Then I'll activate Card of Sanctity." Both players drew until they had six cards.
Luke looked at his new hand. He smiled, knowing the Duel was about to end. "I'll activate the Black Luster Ritual that's on my field. I'll tribute the Manju on my field, and the Celtic Guardian in my hand." Both monsters disappeared into a shield that came from the card. "Come on out Black Luster Soldier!" Luke's ace appeared from the shield, ready to fight. (B.L.S. ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500)
"Once more, from my field I'll activate the Equip spell: Lightning Blade. Followed by activating the Equip spell: Legendary Sword from my Hand. I'll be equipping both to my Soldier, giving him a total of 1100 Attack Points." (B.L.S. ATK: 3000 + 1100= 4100)
"I'll also activate the Equip Spell: Big Bang Shot, which give him another 400 Attack points and the ability to inflict piercing damage. (B.L.S. ATK: 4100 + 400= 4500)
"The final card I'll play is the Spell Card: Release Restraint, from my hand. By sending Gearfried to the Grave, I can evolve him. Come forth, Gearfried the Swordmaster."
The iron knight's armor burst off his body. Underneath was a tan muscular man with long dark hair. A blue loincloth was wrapped around his waist, while a sword was strapped on his back. (Gearfried ATK: 2600 DEF: 2200)
"Three powerhouses in one turn!?" Roger was shocked. As was the audience. This combo was much stronger than the one he used in the exam.
"This is my OTK combo," Luke said. "Gaia attack Koumori Dragon. Spiral Saber!" Gaia charged the purple dragon and struck it with his lance. This caused the dragon to burst it tiny golden triangles.
Roger: 4000-3200
"Next, Gearfried will attack Ryu-Ran. Go! Sword of Power!" Gearfried grabbed the sword off his back and charged the red dragon. With a quick slash, Ryu ran burst into tiny golden triangles as well.
Roger: 3200-2800
"Finally, my ace will finish this. Black Luster Soldier attack the Player directly. Twin Lightning Sabers!" Soldier charged at the Obelisk student. With a cross slash across the chest, Roger's Life Points dropped to zero.
As the holograms disappeared, Luke turned and left. As soon as he was out of sight, he clutched his chest and started gasping for air. The Duel was too close. His Darkness almost took over, if not for his last combo. He stood in the darkness trying to catch his breath. ***
Sierra watched in amazement as Luke won his Duel. Pulling a come from behind OTK, was enough to be excited over. And she wasn't the only one impressed. Alexis was sitting there, shocked. Almost like she couldn't believe what had just happened.
"To think a Red could be this strong," she mumbled, "Maybe he and Jaden can go far."
Sierra looked around for Luke. She was surprised how quickly he vanished. She wanted to congratulate him on his awesome victory.
Flame Swordsman appeared and pointed towards a dark corridor. Sierra nodded and headed for it, leaving Alexis in her thoughts. When Sierra approached, she saw a bad sight.
Luke was leaning on the wall for support. His breathing was shallow, and it looked like he was clutching his chest. Sierra thought he looked a little pale.
Before she could approach him, Black Luster Soldier appeared. "Don't come any closer," the spirit pleaded. "Luke will be alright. This happens when he gets over-excited during a Duel. He'll be fine in a few minutes."
Sierra nodded. "You did great out there today, Luke." She said from a distance. "I'm glad you're a strong Duelist." With those said, she turned and headed back to her friend, who was still deep in thought. ***
A shipping, a duel and concern for the student body. Great way to kick off the first official day at the Academy. And things will only get more interesting.
See you next time!