YGO Academy

One-Shot/Chapter 16.5

The Dance

"All right, that's enough for today!" Neo told his two friends as their Duel Disks deactivated, both the Ra Yellow and Slifer Red looking quite exhausted. A curious Kat was watching from the bleachers as both of them sat down. The Obelisk Blue they've been dueling for the past hour didn't seem to be the least bit tired as he seemed to have a few words for his team. "Mikee, your plays are indeed strong, but you empty your hand so early. You don't have a back-up plan when the opponent plays a comeback, leaving you wide open. Luna, you're just the complete opposite. You seem to just hold back as if you're just, afraid at what might happen. You need to take the risks as often times, it's rewarding." Neo said. After saying some more things, he set off on his own, saying he was going to go relax at the dorm. Mikee sighed as he laid back on the bleachers, stretching as he looked up to Kat. "And you? You've been observing, your opinion?" He asked.

"What he said, basically. Dunno why you're asking me." Kat told him.

"Kinda figured you to be an elite Duelist or something." Mikee commented back as Luna took out her Deck. She was about to leave the two to start bickering each other when her green eyes caught someone coming into the small stadium. "Hey, Mikee?" Luna asked.

"Hm? What's up?" He asked. Mikee sat up and looked at who Luna was staring at, which happened to be Rika. Other students also noticed her, but they walked past without a simple hello, but that wasn't what bothered her, it seemed. She was sad on her own, sitting at an empty table as the cute female crossed her arms and lied her head down. "She seems pretty down today. You gonna go and see what's up?" Luna asked the Ra Yellow looking at her.

"Me?" He asked.

"Yeah! You're like, one of the few people who would just go up to her and chat, so go see what's up!" The ebony-haired Slifer told him, giving him a playful shove which got him on his feet. Mikee nodded as he made his way to Rika, slowly approaching her as to not surprise her. The Slifer Red watched as he was about to start up a conversation when someone called out to her. "Luuuuna! I found you!" A bright and cheery Sadet called out to her friend as the brunette ran up to her ebony-haired friend. Luna made a motion at what she was focused on as it took her friend a moment to notice, Sadet turning to see Mikee in a conversation with Rika.

"Hey." Mikee greeted the depressed Ra Yellow as she turned her head to look at him. She watched as he took a seat across from her. "So, what's up? Something bothering ya?"

"A lot of things bother me, I just, it's nothing." Rika said, looking away from the male and towards the wall. Mikee looked a bit curious and concerned as he crossed his arms. "Anything I can help with?" He asked.

"No, you can't. Why do you want to help me anyway?"

"Well, you seem troubled, and well, someone like you needs to be happy." Mikee told her as her eyes widened, her face now looking straight at him.

"Why do you say that? Am I not happy or something?" She asked, blinking. He leaned back, waving his hands back and forth. "N-No no no no, nothing like that! I just don't like seeing people so bummebd out, that's all." He said. Rika lifted her head out of her arms and looked right at him, smiling just a bit. "You're always so goody, no wonder Danielle doesn't like you." The pretty Ra Yellow told him. He laughed a little and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yup, he's cheering her up, that's sooooo cute!" Sadet squealed. Luna was smiling alongside her friend as Sadet went quiet for a moment before poking her friend's shoulders. "Hey, hey, I got an idea. You and me, let's set them up together."

"Get Mikee and Rika together? Shouldn't we let things take their natural course?" Luna suggested.

"Well, Mikee's dense and Rika doesn't leave her circle of friends, they're pretty much perfect!" The excitable Slifer Red told her.

"And what about Tig? Aren't they a thing?" Luna asked. That was when Kat cleared her throat as both females looked to her. She pushed back her hair as the Ra Yellow stood up. "Tig and Mikee are more, really close besties. They like each other's company for some reason, but you just don't really see them cuddling." Kat told the both of them.

"Or," Sadet pointed out, "Mikee's too dense to really make moves. He's always focused on dueling and improving his skills. Two busy bodies with no time to really do anything." Luna pointed out as Kat shrugged.

"But if we pair Mikee up with Rika, it might even kickstart their relationship!" Sadet exclaimed as both of them were beginning to leave the stadium. As they were leaving, they saw a familiar blonde putting up posters around the walls of the stadium as she seemed to be irritated. "Ugh, you can't find good help these days..." She mumbled as the two Reds walked up to the Card Shop owner.

"Ms Serena, what are you putting up there?" Sadet asked as the blonde stepped away from the poster. Both girls looked as it was a well-designed poster filled with art of classic Duel Monsters and in front of all of them was a man with a red coat and long white hair. "This is the little ceremony the school has each year, tomorrow's the anniversary of Duel Monsters, and I WAS supposed to get people to put up posters and flyers, but no one showed up! They're just so busy with the Quasar Cup. Now I have to try and put up posters, but it's not easy!" She complained.

"A ceremony? You know, we can help." Luna asked.

"Sure, if you can cover the school and give out the flyers. I-I got the posters, just tell everyone you can about it." Serena told them as she handed Sadet the papers. The Card Shop owner continued her way as the two girls looked at one of the flyers. "Celebrate the anniversary of the creation of Duel Monsters in this formal event! Bring a date or come alone for good times and fun duels!" It read as Sadet's eyes were wide, as if she had a great idea. "Wait! This is it!" Sadet almost screamed as students looked at her awkwardly at the Slifer female.

"Sadet! Not so loud, you dummy."

"Luna, we invite them to this! At least it's more honoring dueling. Think about it, they can invite each other, hang out, and then have a good time!"

As soon as Luna was convinced to try out the plan, they just have to find Mikee and Rika, the first being the absolute easiest as he was in the Second Stadium where the Turbo Duel Simulator was. Both girls came into the room as they did see their friend. He was on the Duel Runner as Spar was linked to it. On the screen above, he was racing ahead of Spar with his Accel Synchron and Junk Warrior. He sped forward as he shifted his hand to his two monsters. "Let's see if it works this time! Clear Mind" The Ra Yellow proudly declared as he was racing forward. "I tune my Level 5 Synchro Monster Junk Warrior with my Level 5 Synchro Tuner, Accel Synchron!" Mikee declared as he was starting to be covered in a bright blue energy, but it vanished as the Duel Runner shook a bit, telling him he couldn't perform the Synchro Summon. The duel stopped as Mikee removed the helmet, looking a little disappointed as his two friends approached him. "Oh, Luna, Sadet, what's up?" He asked.

"Mikee, we have something to ask you." Sadet asked as she handed him one of the flyers. Luna explained to him about the ceremony, but before she could finish, he told the both of them, "Pass." Both Slifers looked pretty shocked as he put the flyer down on the Duel Runner. "What? You're not even thinking about going at all?" Sadet asked, looking disappointed.

"The Quasar Cup is only a month away, I've got to keep training for it. I feel like I'm close to summoning a new monster, but I haven't reached the right conditions yet." He mentioned.

"B-But what about Tigara? Has she asked you?" Luna asked.

"Nah, Tig's not interested, she's not the type of girl who goes to fancy events like that. Besides, she's still trying to dig more information on Danielle. Even I can't pull her away from that." He explained, sounding slightly disappointed. Luna and Sadet looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the Ra Yellow. "Well, Tig might not be too into it, but what about Rika? She seemed pretty down earlier, and I'm sure it'll cheer her up if you invited her." Luna brought up. Mikee was about to respond, but he seemed to think about it. "I'll get back to you on that one. Seriously." He said as he put his dueling helmet on and set the flyer aside.

"Well, that was sorta good, he's thinking about it, right?" Sadet asked. The ebony-haired student shook her head. "I think we need to convince Rika about it first before anything. Maybe if she were to just come out and ask him, he'd probably go with her." Luna brought up.

"But Rika's like a ghost, she's in and out of places almost instantly, where would she even be at?" Sadet wondered out loud. Before Luna could come up with a couple of ideas, a voice came from behind them. "What's this I hear about Rika?" They turned to see Heather approaching them as Sadet seemed to take a step back. The Obelisk Blue put a hand to her hip as Luna was the one to answer her. "Nothing really, we just wanted to know where she is."

"Yeah, we wanted to just ask if she wanted to go with Mikee to the Duel Monster's Ceremony!" Sadet openly told her. Luna sighed as she face-palmed, the Obelisk Blue looking quite surprised, yet interested. Both Slifers explained their idea for cheering up Rika with Mikee and this was the perfect way to give them a push. "Speaking of, do you have any idea why she's bummed out lately?" Luna asked. The question seemed to surprise her as if it came out of nowhere. The pretty green-haired student sighed a bit. "Well, let's just say she's got a huge burden on her, but, this ceremony gig might just be enough to cheer her up. Fine, count me in." The Obelisk Blue female told both girls as they looked at her pretty surprised.

"Really? That'll be awesome! Now all we need to do is try and convince Mikee again to go to the event!" Sadet mentioned, smiling that things were sounding better than they were. Luna had to agree as Heather gave them her contact info for when Rika was ready to go. Despite being from Danielle's group, Heather didn't seem all that bad. If only she could speak for the other three.

Heather knew exactly where Rika was today, at the library. Just like most duelists, she was just preparing for the opponent she was going to be facing, and Tigara was most certainly one of the biggest threats. iThere's a lot on the line for Rika this time and this duel. This event better just remind her to relax./i Heather thought as she pushed open the doors and indeed, she found her sky-blue friend at one of the hologram computers. Only she wasn't alone. An Obelisk Blue was trying to talk to her, but she was slowly shifting away from him. On a closer inspection, he had light brown hair, pale skin, a green shirt under the Obelisk Blue coat and a red belt. "Come on, it's going to be a great time, going with me. Don't you know who I am?" He begged.

"You don't get the hint, do you? I'm not interested, so go away." Rika sharply told him.

"But you're just a Ra Yellow, you're meant to go out with me to the ceremony. I bet it'll impress even the lovely Danielle, isn't that what you want?" He asked.

"I can tell you what she certainly doesn't want, a wimp like you who can't even respect a woman's boundaries." Heather interrupted, surprising both of them as the Blue stood up straight.

"Heather? What are-"

"Besides, go grovel to some other chick, this girl's already taken by a guy much better than you, so go, shoo, before I start getting serious." Heather told him. The Blue huffed and straightened his coat, saying a rude comment before leaving. "Wait, what?" Rika asked her friend as she stood up from her chair.

"You're going to the ceremony. Word among the students says Mikee's actually available and looking for someone to go with." Heather told her as the Ra Yellow's eyes widened a bit. Heather activated her D-Gazer as she just got a notice from Luna and Sadet that Mikee was still in the stadium. "Come on, you need a break from...this." The pretty Obelisk Blue pointed at the monitor as it was information on Tigara's previous duels and records. Rika looked to the monitor and sighed a bit. "Sure, I guess I can go then...but I don't have anything nice to wear."

"That's not a problem, I'm sure the school has stuff you can borrow. Now, go on, ask the guy you like to the event!" Heather told her friend.

"Come on, let's do this! I tune Accel Synchron with T.G Hyper Librarian!" Mikee declared on the Duel Runner again as it almost shorted out again. He couldn't perform his Summon as he took off the helmet and removed his Deck hastily. He seemed disappointed as he sat on the bleachers, sighing in furstration. "Damn it, I'm just missing that one card...I guess I'll have to rely on Shooting Star for a while, and use Accel Synchron to Accel Synchro." Mikee said to himself as he looked at the Extra Deck his Deck had. The doors slowly opened as Rika poked her head into the empty stadium. She saw her future date as the blue-haired girl walked in. "Hey, how's your training coming along?" Rika asked, getting his attention as Mikee put his Deck away into his Duel Disk.

"Terrible, my training isn't making any new results. It's basically my same methods all the time, and I just can't seem to change things up. I can't get any stronger than I am now." He told her as the male looked to the female as there was a blush on her face. "W-Well, i-if you're not doing a-anything later...wanna come with me to the Duel Monster's Ceremony?" Rika asked, rubbing the side of her arm.

"Well, I'm not doing anything tomorrow, of course. So, want me to meet ya outside your dorm or wait at the...er, " Mikee was saying as he pulled up the flyer he picked up from Luna and Sadet. It seemed the event was going on at the Auditorium. She agreed to meet him right outside the dorm tomorrow. Just outside the Stadium, Luna and Sadet backed away to cheer that their plan finally worked. Now they just had to wait for tomorrow evening.

Not long, it was already the night of the Event as there were small groups of students entering, all of them formally dressed. Men were in various colors of tuxedos and dressy wear while the girls either had their best dresses or other pretty options. Luna herself was in her own pretty dress: A pale green strapless dress that reached down to her knees combo'd with light grey leggings and dark green elbow-length gloves as she entered the doors. It was decorated like most dance halls: Tables were scattered around a circle where most couples were dancing, and before all of them was a large Dueling Field with a podium for the speakers. On the Podium were the four Teachers in their normal uniforms as they were watching the event. Luna scanned the people around as she only came by herself as she didn't see Mikee yet. She did however see another familiar face sitting at a table by himself. He was dressed in a dark blue tuxedo as his eyes were half-closed. "Hey there, mind if I sit here?" Luna asked Cryo as she slowly approached the table. He took a small glance at her and motioned to one of the vacant chairs, the cute Slifer taking the chair. "Hey, is it true you're with Danielle's group? Is she even here?" Luna asked. Cryo sighed through his nose and glanced at her. "First, yes, but that's none of your business. Second, Danielle was formally invited to give a speech, and she decided to bring everyone, including me. Tigara would have done it, but she opted out." Cryo explained as Luna realized that she was probably still looking into Danielle. She looked to him and then looked to the Stage where all the Duels were going to be held.

The doors slowly opened as Luna saw Mikee and Rika come in, the male holding the door open for his date. Mikee was in his own black tuxedo while Rika had her own dress: sky-blue that reached to her knees, and matching blue elbow length gloves. She was smiling as both of them walked over to a vacant table as Luna smiled too from the distance. "The plan's a success! Boy, you have NO idea how hard it was to pick her a dress." Heather immediately said as she came up to Luna and Cryo in her own pretty emerald green gress. She took a seat as both of them looked over to the pair, vaguely hearing that he would grab them something to drink. "Rika's smiling, that's good. She's been so bummed out, it's good for her to relax." Heather mentioned, sighing with content.

"Are you like, family or something?" Luna asked.

"Nah, I'm still new to Danielle's group, but Rika, I've always seen her moody or down, so I make it my priority to cheer her up." The Obelisk Blue explained as there was sound feedback coming from the speakers. The group looked as some of the students were gasping and whispering things. The teachers got out of the way for the rest of Danielle's group, including the leader herself. Nick was behind the microphone as he was in a think maroon red tuxedo, Lily was in her usual uniform, but Danielle was the reason for all the gasps. She was in what seemed to be a ballroom gown with long white elbow gloves, her hair bangs in curls and a ribbon hairband. "All right everyone, Danielle is ready to start this off. After the speech, we will have our duels to determine who gets the rare prize of their own cards. Lady Danielle, if you please." Nick introduced as he backed away from the podium. Most of the students were clapping as she took a slight bow and cleared her throat.

"Thank you everyone, as even someone like me must honor the year when Duel Monsters were created. Far back in those times, the card game was a simple way to have fun with your friends and comrades. Summoning your strongest or favorite monster was the way to go, but people like Seto Kaiba and Maximillion Pegasus took it a step further. They created the foundation that we use today: Hologram Dueling where our cards and actions came to life before our eyes. Over time, that advanced to Turbo Dueling, and today, Action Duels and Surreal Duels. What the evolution of dueling has taught us is there's more ways to enjoy ourselves in what we enjoy best. Whether you're a individual who craves high speed action and risks, you're a Turbo Duelist. If you long for the times of old when Shadow Games were what reigned, you're a Surreal Duelist. If you prefer to be an entertainer and give your audience a good time, Action Duels are yours. Every method shows how unique our duelists are, and how far we've come from standard competitions and the days when we dueled over tables. We can enjoy our ways now, but we must look back from time to time and appreciate how far the game has come." Danielle was still speeching as another guy came into the auditorium. Everyone was clapping as her speech was done, Rika taking a look as she grimaced a bit as Mikee just came back. "Oh, you're going with him?!" The Obelisk Blue demanded as Mikee set the drinks down.

"I thought I told you, I was not interested in going with you! Why are you here?" Rika asked.

"Rika? Who's this?" Mikee asked as he seemed to get a bit defensive.

"My name is Sean, and this girl was supposed to be my date, not some loser like you." The Obelisk Blue taunted.

"Excuse me? Loser?" Mikee asked.

"Yeah, you heard me, someone who's getting a constant losing streak from people lower than him! What girl would ever want him!?" Sean argued. That was when Rika stood up and glared right at the Obelisk Blue. "Mikee here is not a loser! He's a nice person who at least listens to me, and respects me, not some wanna-be like you!" Rika told him off . The people who heard her practically yell it started to look her direction as Rika noticed she was drawing attention to herself. The pretty Ra Yellow noticed it as her face turned a bit red from the sudden embarrassment as she dashed out of the auditorium. "R-Rika, wait!" Mikee called to her as he shoved Sean aside and ran after her.

Despite it being rather dark outside, Mikee was able to follow where Rika went as he rushed through the least dense part of the woods where he heard students say she went this way. After running out of a clearing, Mikee found himself facing the ocean as they were at the cliffsides. Rika was sitting on the ground not close to the edge, her knees up to her chest as she had her hands wrapped around her legs. She looked at her date, but then just looked back to the ocean as he sat down near her. It was awkwardly quiet between them. "Erm...thanks for sticking up for me back there..." He had to say as he couldn't really say much. Rika was still silent, her face covered below her knees as Mikee looked to the rather pretty moon. "You know, I'm nice to you because you're some of the few people who actually respect me. Guys like him are frequent with me, but you and my friends just appreciate me for, well, me." He started telling her as she looked to him.

"It's...the reason I like hanging out with you. You're so kind and really friendly to boring people like me, it makes me forget all my problems." Rika admitted, opening up a little as she sat normally.

"You, boring? Don't tell yourself that! You're a pretty girl who likes to use Synchros, how can you call that boring?" Mikee told her in an attempt to cheer her up. It seemed to work as she giggled a bit, the girl in the dress scooting herself slightly towards him until both of them were close. Rika leaned on his shoulder, sighing with content. It was finally quiet as all they could hear was the ocean waves hitting against the rock wall. "Thank you..." Rika told him, closing her eyes. She didn't want to leave this moment.

But eventually, all good things must come to an end.