Road Of A Duelist

by Lux-Nero

Duel Academia - The place where great duelists come to train and become champions. But, who trains the champions? A story based on the other side of Duel Academia. Sort of a Re-Make of Duelist's Open Destiny

2. Draw 2: Rought Seas

Can you feel it?

Tell me the truth, in each and everyone's heart is an awakening to new experiences… Some people are able to adapt to these experiences and other are not so lucky. Even though we're afraid of these experiences, we need to seek this truth in order to better ourselves.

But it's quite amazing on this road!

There's an old saying that it's the journey itself that's important, not the end… And I gotta say that it's simply amazing. So many different people, so many kinds of music, and so many kinds of scenery!

Although, I will admit that there are still a lot of things that I haven't gotten used to yet in this new profession of mine…

… People are really weird, aren't they?

TTTTTT

Draw 2

Rough Seas

TTTTTT

Time: 5:00 p.m.

It had been a couple of hours since the entrance examinations and only thirty minutes since the results of the exams were posted. However, due to Academia traditions, only the names of the future students were posted on the board, allowing the applicants to see if they were accepted or not.

There are only two ways to Duel Academia, one way is by cramped helicopter and the other is by taking a boat or ship to the island based school. And since taking a helicopter would be insanely cramped due to the number of accepted applicants…

Logic would dictate that the students would be traveling by boat.

Domino City Harbor, while normally a quiet section of the large city, was today flooded with several teenagers, each of them congratulating each other or comparing their strategies as they stood in front of the large ship – It wasn't hard to find it after all, for it had quite a few large banners on it that read 'Welcome to Duel Academia!' on them.

And standing at the bridge that connected the boat to the docks was none other than Price and Hund – The latter tapping his foot annoyingly. "Those banners are a little over the top…"

"Well… I, I didn't suggest them, sir," Price chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Of course you didn't," Hund growled as he clenched his biceps with his hands. "It was that frivolous Kimchi who suggested it… Then again, he's the man who insisted on being a professor, a dorm leader, the P.E. coach and the top chef at Duel Academia…

"So, it wouldn't be too far of a stretch for him to pull a stunt like this."

"I… I haven't met Kimchi, yet, Professor Hund," Price admitted adjusting his glasses. "So… I wouldn't…"

"You'll meet him soon enough," Hund interrupted looking at his watch and nodded at it. "Unfortunately, we have other matters to attend to. Hand me the bullhorn."

"R-Right!" Price chuckled turning around to pick up the bullhorn, and just as he turned around to hand it to Hund...

The bullhorn accidentally turned on, sending a loud whiny screech that made all the nearby students grab their ears in pain. Even Price dropped the bullhorn in order to cover his own ears…

The only one who didn't seem to be affected was Hund himself, who simply caught the bullhorn and held it up to his lips, "At least that caught everyone's attention. For those of you who don't know who I am, I am Professor Cruger Hund of the Obelisk Blue Dormitory for Duel Academia.

"I hate long speeches, and I'm not in charge of giving you a speech… That's for the Headmaster's job when you arrive on the island. For now though I am here to congratulate you all so far on your success in the entrance examinations.

"Now, in one short night, you all will be arriving at Duel Academia in order attend your classes."

Hund stopped talking when a majority of students cheered, then with a sigh; Hund lifted up the megaphone once more, "Yeah… Congratulations to you all, now before you all are on the ship; I must enforce one single rule on the boat…

"Dueling with duel disks will be prohibited in certain areas the moment we leave this dock and until we land on the academy. This is so that the crew of the ship will not be distracted from their duties. You will not be allowed in certain areas of the ship and refreshments will be provided through out the trip.

"There will be a location under the deck where you will be allowed to duel with duel disks, we will tell you where to find this makeshift arena once we set off from the dock, so until then, please, no dueling.

"As for accommodations for rooms, proctors will be guiding you to your rooms and do not expect to share a room with someone from the opposite gender… And security will be making rounds at random time intervals to make sure this rule is enforced.

"And lastly, entertainment will be provided. Second and third year students have volunteered their time in order to do so, and if you wish to enjoy the entertainment they are providing, they will start their performance promptly around seven o'clock on the deck of the ship."

Taking a moment to breathe, Hund sighed loudly, "Now… If you would all board the ship in a calm and peaceful manner…"

Before Hund could even finish that sentence, several students began to rush past the two professors and run up the bridge onto the ship.

"That is not calm and peaceful!" Hund snarled loudly, being ignored by all the students.

TTTTTTT

Time: 6:13 p.m.

It wasn't long to make sure all of the students were accounted for on the ship due to the temporary room accommodations, and thus, the ship had left the docks and began its travels to Duel Academia.

It was a calm evening, the skies completely clear and only beginning to turn red thanks to the setting sun…

And with the salty air lofting about, Price couldn't help but sigh in relief as he walked the top deck of the ship, a smile on his face as he watched the dock slowly disappear into the distance. 'Well… For my first day, I didn't do too badly as a professor…'

That's when Price face faulted slightly, 'Aw who am I kidding? I was late for the opening, I soiled important documents and I almost lost my deck…'

Taking his glasses off, Price began to clean them with a handkerchief he produced from his pocket while he continued his walk on the ship. 'Speaking of my deck, I never really got a chance to properly thank that character for giving my deck back to… GWAH!'

Even though he had his glasses off, one would have to wonder how Price didn't seen the person sleeping on the deck, forcing the professor to trip over the sleeping person's legs and send him to the ground with a loud smack. "URK!"

A few moments later, Price had his glasses back on his slightly red face, "Ow… What did I trip over?"

Turning his attention back, Price gasped when he realized that he had tripped over a sleeping student, dressed in a flowing white and blue overcoat with a scarf covering his mouth. The young man didn't even seem to notice that Price had tripped over his legs, since the student still seemed to be sleeping soundly. 'Well, that's nice place to sleep!'

Recovering from his fall, Price rubbed the back of his head at the sleeping student, 'I shouldn't really leave him like this…'

"Excuse me, young man, are you okay?"

Price slowly shook the young man by the shoulder, eliciting a small growl from the student. "Meh… Who's there?"

The young man opened his eyes slightly, leering at Price, "… Oh, just a professor, is there something wrong?"

"Uh, yeah, you're kind of sleeping in the middle of floor," Price pointed out rubbing the back of his head. "And I tripped over you…"

The young man yawned loudly before he stood up, "Man, I was having such a nice dream. I dreamt that I was eating a huge plate of fire engines."

"I… I don't know whether to say that's a normal dream or if it's weird," Price muttered with a confused look in his eyes. "But regardless, I don't think you should really be sleeping on the deck of the ship… Someone could trip over you and…"

"You tripped over me, didn't you?" The scarf wearing student snickered, making Price nervously rub the back of his head.

"Uh, well, you see…" Price mumbled as he pushed up his glasses in order to hide his blush. "I was… Uh… Well… You're just trying to shift the blame!"

"And you're doing the same as well," the scarf wearing student retorted. "So how about we call this little argument to rest? I've had a long night last night and I was hoping to actually get some sleep while on the boat."

"Well, don't you have a room to retire to?" Price asked. "You could always get some sleep there and…"

"Are you kidding?" the young scarf man asked with a dulled look in his eyes. "If I did go to one of the rooms, it'd be a given that I wouldn't be able to sleep. The new students are too riled up to actually sleep and then there's that music that's been playing non-stop since the boat left the docks, and its only going to get louder and louder."

"Oh yeah, Professor Hund did explain that there was going to be entertainment on the boat ride," Price admitted as he turned his eyes to the side. "But, would it really be that loud?"

"Look," the young student yawned loudly as he adjusted his scarf. "I'll go sleep elsewhere, if you don't believe me about the music, feel free to check it out yourself. It should be taking place at the bow of the boat even as we speak."

"Yes, but still, that doesn't really resolve our current issue though," Price pointed out with a large bead of sweat appearing on the side of his head.

"Listen, I know you're a new professor, and I know you've had a long first day," the scarf wearing student commented, making Price blink a few times. "So, I'm cutting you some slack and following your simple request, but I suggest that you learn when to let sleeping dogs lie. Now have a good day, sir."

Price watched as the scarf wearing student slowly trotted away from him, yawning loudly in the process. There was something that crossed Price's mind as he watched the student round the corner, 'I can understand that due to my uniform, that he would think I'm a professor. But, how did he know it was my first day? Could he be a second year student?'

However, before Price could continue his train of thought, his stomach growled loudly, making the young professor place his hand on his empty stomach. 'Right, I skipped breakfast and lunch… All I'm running on now is coffee. So, I might as well check out the cafeteria here.'

As Price made his way to the cafeteria on the boat, the very same scarf-wearing student leaned up against the corner he had turned on. With his arms crossed, the student nodded his head – Recalling a conversation he had earlier…

TTTT – Half an Hour Earlier – TTTT

The last few students and professors were getting onto the ship, and making sure that all students were onboard and accounted for, Hund was standing on the docks looking over a clipboard that showed the marks of the students who were on board, "Hmm, everything seems to be in order. All the students who passed are on board…"

"Seems like a good crop for this year, Professor Hund," Yawned a suave voice.

"I guess I should expect you to have a good eye for potential," Hund stated as he placed the clipboard under his arm as the scarf wearing student walked up. "After all, you aren't one of my best students for nothing, Mustang."

The scarf wearing student – Mustang stretched his arms as he came to a stop in front of the older professor, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the details of that. And you're an excellent teacher, but there are some things that I do have to question…"

Hund turned his eyes towards Mustang, narrowing his eyes slightly at the young student. "… Go on…"

"I couldn't help but notice the decks that some of the proctors were using," Mustang stated with his arms crossed now. "A Fossil Fusion strategy for example seems like it be a bit more difficult to counteract since the cards are usually very rare to find as well as being very strong."

"And your point being is?" Hund questioned.

"I also recall facing a Fossil Fusion deck in my second dorm promotion examination," Mustang pointed out with his eyes narrowed down at Hund. "Even the combos I had to face against were the same as when I was dueling to become an Obelisk Blue student. And I highly doubt that a new professor would be willing to use his own deck.

"Also, I really doubt that would be his real deck even if he had chosen to do so, he struggled with using the deck against Eiji. So my question for you, professor, is quite simple, do you have a reason for why the proctors were using dorm advancement decks?"

"… Its at times like this I dislike your keen deductive skills, Mustang," Hund sighed with a shake of his head before he turned completely serious. "Very well, considering your position in the academy, and knowing you, you've probably gone over my head to the headmaster of the academy."

"You read me like a book," Mustang chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders. "So, what's your reasoning?"

"Before the examination is performed, deck lists are provided for each professor so that they can familiarize themselves with the decks they'd be using," Hund explained, his brow narrowed down. "However, a student had managed to steal a few of the deck lists, therefore, I determined that the best course of action was to provide several new decks to the professors in order to prevent any cheating among the students."

"… And the reason why the decks were level three?" Mustang asked.

"Mustang, before classes begin, allow me to speak to you as a teacher," Hund commented as he held his hand up towards the scarf wearing student. "You are a student, and I am the teacher. In society, the bar for education has fallen to such despicable standards, however, as long as I'm a professor, I will keep that bar from falling any further and even raise it! Students should be challenged intellectually, physically and mentally in order to thrive as humans.

"However, when students strive to break the rules, they must be punished accordingly. Even if just one student does so, there is the chance that it can spread like a virus among the student body, and must be vaccinated accordingly. So, while I approve that you're comfortable to approach me, do not undermine me as a professor in my decisions."

Hund spun on his heel and began to walk on the plank towards the ship, "Now, I suggest that you get on board Mustang, unless you wish to drop out from the academy this year and give up all your hard work that you acquired in the last two years."

Mustang remained quiet as he slowly followed Hund onto the boat, his hands now shoved into his pockets. '… A thief, huh?'

TTTT – Back to the Present – TTTT

'Professor Hund does have a good point about the situation,' Mustang thought to himself as he closed his eyes. 'And considering the time frame, he would've had to make a call like that. However, I couldn't help but notice that Hund didn't mention anything else on the thief matter. Could it possible that the applicant got booted out?

'Or… Is it possible that he's on this boat as well?'

TTTTTTT

Time: 6:59 p.m.

"Not bad…" Price muttered to no one in particular as he pulled the food he had gotten away from his mouth.

After snatching some food from the cafeteria, Price was back on the top deck, walking with quite a few other students towards the front of the ship. Truth be told, Price didn't know where he was going, he was just going along with the crowd of accepted applicants (who were a little tense because some of them had to duel against Price earlier).

"Hey everyone! Are you ready to have your hearts stolen?"

That's when something filled the air – Some sort of drum beat that tapped through the air, making Price stop in his tracks to listen. After a few moments, the strums of an electric guitar began to accompany the drum beat. This seemed to mesmerize Price, prompting him to continue his trek to the front of the ship.

And just as he was about to reach it…

Ever on and on I continue circling

With nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony

Till slowly I forget and my heart starts vanishing

And suddenly I see that I can't break free—

I'm slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity

With nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony

To tell me who I am, who I was

Uncertainty enveloping my mind

Till I can't break free, and…

A beautiful voice sang those lyrics in perfect timing with the instruments, and from where Price stood he saw that he wasn't the only one attracted by the music. On the front deck of the ship were several applicants standing and cheering in front of a large make-shift stage that had four people standing on it – And the music was coming from them.

In the back of the stage was a large teenager with long dark hair dressed in a yellow and white blazer, strumming on a large set of drums. On either side of him were two other guys, both dressed in dark blue overcoats – each strumming on a guitar.

Maybe it's a dream; maybe nothing else is real

But it wouldn't mean a thing if I told you how I feel

So I'm tired of all the pain, of the misery inside

And I wish that I could live feeling nothing but the night

However, it was the fourth person who was singing that caught Price's attention – It was a young girl singing into a microphone as she stepped around the stage. She was a slim, petite girl with creamy white skin and red hair that was pulled up into a pair of leafy-like tails. Covering her petite figure was a red vest over a black belly shirt that showed off her skin with a matching black mini-skirt with a few belts on it.

You can tell me what to say; you can tell me where to go

But I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know

If I make another move there'll be no more turning back

Because everything will change, and it all will fade to black

Price blinked a few times at the young student. It wasn't the first time Price had seen young women dressed like that, but to see the uniform modified to that extreme seemed to be teetering on dress code's standards.

'She sure has a nice voice…' Price thought as he continued to munch on the food he had acquired a few minutes ago, just standing there to listen to the music that was playing.

Will tomorrow ever come? Will I make it through the night?

Will there ever be a place for the broken in the light?

Am I hurting? Am I sad? Should I stay, or should I go?

I've forgotten how to tell. Did I ever even know?

As the girl took a breath to continue her song, she spun around and winked to the crowd, eliciting several catcalls and wolf-whistles through out the air.

Can I take another step? I've done everything I can

All the people that I see I will never understand

If I find a way to change, if I step into the light

Then I'll never be the same, and it all will fade to white

What Price didn't know about this girl, was that she was the same girl who was watching his duel against Eiji. Not that he would really care about that if he knew. He was more preoccupied with the beautiful song she was singing to the crowd.

Eventually, the song began to end, the large crowd cheering for more of the girl's amazing singing as she soaked in the crowd's reaction. "Thank you very much, everyone! Give a round of sound to Duel Academia's very own band – Ninety-Nine Percent! We'll be back in a little bit to continue our entertainment for you all!

"But for now, please, put your hands together for the next band – One Bad Draw!"

The moment the girl said that, she and the three of her band-mates jumped off the stage, allowing five other students to rush onto the stage, each of them taking the instruments that were just being used.

However, as the next song began to play, the crowd was more focused with the previous band as they walked through the crowds of accepted applicants, most of the attention gathered on the fiery red haired girl.

'I'm actually kind of relieved,' Price thought with a smile. 'It's good to see that the students are developing skills other than dueling.'

While Price was thinking to himself, he didn't realize that he was being looked at by the very same girl who was on the stage, a smirk on her face when she saw him, 'Hmm… I didn't expect to see him so quickly. Oh well, I'm not the one interested in him, so it doesn't concern me…'

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

Time: 7:31 p.m.

Price sighed loudly before he took a sip on his iced coffee as he sat in the ship's cantina. Caffeine wasn't the best thing to calm one's nerves. However, he needed the boost in energy to keep him in top game…

… Of course, if you asked Price, he didn't have a top game.

But he had other things on his mind.

"Gah," Price moaned as he pulled the cup of coffee from his lips. 'This day just keeps getting longer and longer. I know Hund said that we supposed to make rounds on the ship, but still…

'It's quite taxing on the legs and mind. Sure the music is good to listen to, but still, I can't really stay in the same place for too long…'

While Price mulled his problems to himself a pair of male students walked past him, both of them tearing open a few packs of cards. "Man, I wasn't expecting to see a card shop on this boat, and at great prices too!"

"Yeah," The other student muttered with a nervous smirk on his face. "But didn't you think that shopkeeper was a little too… Friendly?"

"Huh? What makes you say that?"

"She was licking her lips at us like we were prime cut steak, dood!"

"Yeesh man, you're sounding too paranoid…"

"And you're not paranoid enough!"

Price tilted his head slightly as he overheard the conversation between the two students as they walked away. However, all he heard was the words 'card shop' and the moment he did, he closed off the rest of their conversation to think, 'A card shop? Hund never mentioned a card shop before.'

Pushing himself away from the table, Price set off in search of this card shop on the ship.

Not like it was that hard to find, cause five minutes later Price was standing in front of what looked to be a large blue banner that had several pink paw prints splashed onto it with the name 'Caterwaul' written in between the paw prints. Price was at first stunned at the sight of the name, turning left and right to see if he was the only one who saw what was wrong with a banner like that.

Sure enough, he wasn't the only one who was looking at the sign with weird looks. Of course, Price didn't like the fact that most of the other people near him were students, 'If this shop is run by a member of the faculty, then I'm going to have to speak to Hund about this. Why the hell would you name a shop after that!'

"Ah, the new young professor, I had heard you were cute, but no one told me you had megane..."

Price was pulled from his train of thought by the sound of licking lips – Which sent a chill running down Price's back. Some of the students slowly backed away when Price looked at the voice's owner, "… Uh, are you the owner of this shop?"

On the ground in front of Price on a large pink carpet was a young woman, simply sitting amongst the packs of duel monster cards that she had seated around her thin legs. She was rather average in the figure department with a pink shirt and black overall shorts that showed off her nice legs. She had a cute, if not devious looking face that was topped with a black Duel Academia cap that had her short black hair popping out from the back with a few strands of pink hair falling in front of her large, green eyes – Price would even go so far to say that they looked like a cat's eyes. "Hmm, let's see, I've got duel monster packs on the carpet, I've got a large sign with the shop's name on it…"

"Yeah, that's not really the best name for a shop," Price pointed out, a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"And I've got a lock box full of cash," The young woman cooed, running a finger under her sharp chin. "So, nope! I am not the owner!"

Price merely pushed up his glasses in order to hide the blush on his face, "Uh…"

"I'm just hazing you, newbie!" the catty woman mewed waving her hand a few times. "Its tradition to haze the new professors when they get here, so don't worry about it."

"Oh," Price muttered rubbing the back of his head as he crouched down to look at the cards on the carpet. "I'm Rowen Price, the professor and dorm head for Osiris Red male dorm."

"Hmm," The catty woman purred, licking her lips again a large blush slowly crept onto her face. "So, you're the teacher in charge of the dorm with the greatest number of males in the whole school? With a figure like that?"

"Uh, should I be worried that you're drooling?" Price asked, taking a step back from the woman.

"No, not really," The catty shopkeeper replied with her smile returning as she wiped away the drool with her arm. "Anyway, the name's Hibiki Ayukawa, but everyone calls me Hibiki-tan! So, what brings a professor down to my humble little shop – Caterwaul?"

"Yeah, could you not say that name?" Price mumbled with a dull look on his face. "It's kind of embarrassing to hear."

"Aw, and I thought it was cute," Hibiki-tan moaned, fake tears appearing in the corners of her eyes.

"Uh, a-anyway," Price coughed, trying to change the subject. "I just came down here to verify that there was a shop here. Although, I'm surprised to see that there's a shop here."

"Meh, you gotta go where the business goes," Hibiki-tan answered with a wink. "Besides, after those examinations, I figure the students would want to reinforce their decks with brand new cards."

"Well, that does make sense," Price admitted.

"But, enough about that," Hibiki-tan cooed with an innocent smile. "You're a duelist as well, aren't you?

"Yeah," Price answered blinking a few times. "Of course I am."

"Then how about you buy a couple dozen packs for me?" Hibiki-tan suggested with that innocent smile turning into a devious smirk. "Every little bit helps, ya know. And I'll even throw in a special little treat for ya."

Reaching into her hat, Hibiki-tan produced a small pink card that had several heart and paw prints parked on it with the words 'Duel Academia's Number One Card Shop – Caterwaul Gift Card'. "Buy enough packs, and you can qualify to win the special prize from yours truly!"

"Uh, w-what's the prize?" Price asked as he took the card, a little worried that the name on the card might actually be the name for the academy's actual store.

"Hmm, well, if I told you," Hibiki-tan replied as she ran a hand under her chin. "Then it wouldn't be much of a surprise, now would it?"

"Y-Yes, I suppose it would ruin the surprise," Price chuckled nervously as he ran a hand through his hair.

"So, how many packs would you like to buy?" Hibiki-tan asked as she held up quite a few. "Every five packs you buy will add a point to that card of yours!"

"What? Five packs for a single point?" Price yelped with his eyes wide.

While Price was reaching into pants pocket for his wallet, most of the students who were around couldn't help but snicker at the predicament that he had gotten himself into.

However, one student had his eyes focused on something else on the scene…

TTTTTTTTTTT

Time: 8:09 p.m.

"Aw man," Price sighed loudly as he looked at his thinned out wallet. 'I maybe a duelist and I know that a duelist needs to be able to adjust their decks multiple times in order to keep things fresh and surprise their opponents… But packs are pricy! Oh, why did I let Hibiki-tan talk me into buying twenty packs?'

With his head lowered towards the table he was seated at, after his little run in with Hibiki, Price had found himself in one of the lounges on the ship, with another cup of coffee to help him keep him awake during his shift. The lounge itself was rather quiet actually, only a handful of students were around – either chatting with each other, trading cards, enjoying a cup of coffee or even dueling on the tabletops.

All in all it was a calm scene that Price was glad to be a part of… Of course, that didn't stop him from reminding himself of the problem that was facing him in the form of twenty packs of cards and a nearly emptied wallet, 'I hope that I can at least get meals for free at the academy when I get there. Otherwise, I might be sunk within the first week…'

"Well now, our paths cross once more."

"Huh?" Price questioned looking up from his wallet to see none other than Mustang looming over the table, a paper cup of coffee in his hands. "It's, it's you again, you're that one student who…"

Mustang took a seat across from Price, placing his cup on the table as he leaned back in the seat, "Yes, I realize that I fell asleep in an unusual place, that's just part of my charm… Well that and the fact that I skipped a couple of nights of sleep to help the professors with their preparations for the entrance examinations."

"Really?" Price questioned rubbing his chin. 'So, I was right, this guy was an older student, and he must have some pull at the academia if he's allowed to provide assistance to the professors. Although, I don't ever recall seeing him before during the preparations that I was actually involved in…'

"But regardless," Mustang continued as he crossed his arms over his chest. "That doesn't exclude me from making you trip over my legs. Besides, you're a new professor and I need to show you the same respect that I would show Hund, so Professor Price, allow me to introduce myself – Mustang of the Obelisk Blues at your service!"

"Mustang?" Price questioned with his head tilted slightly. "No surname?"

"Nah, its cooler to have one name," Mustang chuckled before he took a sip of his coffee. "Kinda like Prince or Cher, it always works well and adds a bit of depth when it comes to introductions."

"I… I see…" Price mumbled as he looked at the cup of coffee near him. "Well, you seem to know me by my name. But, feel free to call me Rowen, I prefer to have my students call me by my first name."

"Not a bad style," Mustang replied with a snap of his fingers. "I think you and I are going to get along greatly."

"What makes you say that?" Price asked tilting his head to the side as he gathered up the packs that he had purchased from Hibiki-tan.

"Well, ya see…" Mustang started. "I was actually at the testing grounds, and what can I say? I liked what I saw, for a new professor, you certainly seemed to be able to adapt well with a deck that you never used before."

"I… Well, it was just luck," Price replied with his tongue sticking out. "I'm not that great of a duelist."

"Oh? If you weren't then you wouldn't have been able to become a professor here," Mustang countered, a large smirk appearing on his face. "Plus, you managed to defeat the number one student from the prep school. That's certainly nothing to sneeze at, besides, you don't need to sell yourself short, I'm sure that…"

"-KUN!"

"Huh?" Price questioned as he turned to the side, only to have a familiar person tackle into his body, sending both of them to the ground. "URK!"

Mustang just sat there with a large bead of sweat, "… And getting some girls crashing into while they scream your name can be a good sign as well."

"Ow…" Price moaned as he adjusted his glasses. "Who in the world…"

"Price-kun!"

Price's eyes nearly bugged out from behind his glasses and his face glowed with a bright red when he realized that he was staring into a pair of cat-like eyes that had a few strands of pink and black hair lofting in front of them. "Uh… H-H-Hibiki-tan? W-W-What are you doing?"

Price didn't get an answer from the catty store owner, but instead he saw something in her eyes that made his eyes return to normal and make his face turn serious.

There were tears in her eyes.

"Hibiki-tan, what's wrong?" Price asked, no longer caring about the awkward position that he was in.

"I, I was robbed!" Hibiki sobbed, more tears appearing in her eyes. "Someone took all the packs I had and the cash I earned from my sales!"

"What?" Price muttered as he slowly stood up, helping Hibiki to her feet.

A few moments later, and getting the slightly distraught Hibiki a cup of water, both Price and Mustang turned their full attentions towards her, "Alright," Price started off, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Hibiki-tan, why don't you start by telling me what exactly happened."

'Hibiki-tan?' Mustang thought with a smirk on his face. 'Looks like Hibiki hasn't changed a bit since last semester.'

"W-Well," Hibiki muttered with her hat down. "It was a little bit after you left, Megane-kun."

"M-Megane-kun?" Price questioned with that serious look of his disappearing in the process.

"Congrats, Megane-kun!" Mustang laughed loudly, his smirk getting larger by the second. "It's only your first day and you've got yourself a nickname!"

"T-That's not important at the m-moment!" Price coughed before he turned back to Hibiki. "Now, please, continue."

"Like I was saying," Hibiki continued after taking a sip from the cup of water she was given. "A little after you left, Megane-kun, I was getting ready to close up for the night when one more student came up and asked to see what packs I had left. Naturally, I couldn't turn down any business, cause that's one of the first rules I was taught when I was training to become an entrepreneur.

"So, I figured what harm could there be? I brought out some packs that I had packed away, but before I knew it, there was a bright light that exploded around me. Next thing I know, I'm being pushed to the ground with my packs and cash box being taken away!"

"Seems like it's all your fault," Mustang pointed out with a flat tone in his voice.

"How am I supposed to know that guys carry flash-bombs now-a-days?" Hibiki huffed with her arms crossed over her chest. "Besides, I'm the victim here! Ya gotta help me! If anyone finds out about this, I'll be out of a job and…"

"… So, why'd you tell us?" Mustang questioned.

"I was hoping to get Megane-kun to help me," Hibiki replied with a deadly look in her eyes shot towards Mustang. "I wasn't expecting to see someone like you hanging around with the new professor…"

"W-Well, let's think about this for a second," Price commented as he lifted his arms up in an attempt to prevent the two from sparking up a fight. "Hibiki-tan, tell me, do you have any clue who did this?"

"I think it might've been a new student," Hibiki answered as she rubbed her chin. "He wasn't wearing a uniform, and I don't recall ever seeing a student like him. I didn't get a good look at his face, but I saw his clothes.

"He was dressed in a red jacket that had the sleeves ripped off with a star on his back and a pair of ripped blue jeans. And I think he had a hat too, but I'm not too sure."

"Hmm," Price thought to himself as he pushed up his glasses in thought.

"Yen for your thoughts?" Mustang chuckled, holding up a coin in between his fingers. With a smirk on his face, Mustang rolled the coin over his fingers a few times before he caught the coin in his hand. "It seems like you've got an idea."

"Well, think about it," Price answered with his eyes closed. "Assume that you're the thief – You've got several rare cards to your name now, your deck is super charged and you're a new student at duel academia. I would think the first thing you would do is show off you're new deck."

"Wouldn't that be risky to do though?" Mustang retorted with a smirk on his face. "If anything, wouldn't the thief be smart and hide out somewhere?"

"Normally I'd agree with you on that," Price stated. "But consider what he stole. When card packs are opened, it's near impossible to track the cards, so the guy would figure that if he could hide the cashbox, he probably won't get caught.

"And the moment that we get to the island, he'll hide himself amongst the student body and remove any evidence that could catch him, heck, he could be doing that right now. If he tossed the cashbox off of the boat then…"

"I doubt that," Hibiki replied with a smirk on her face. "I locked that sucker with some of the best locks around, so unless he's related to some master thief, it'll take him a while to break into it!"

"Well, he did have smoke bombs," Mustang pointed out.

"So, what we need to do is search for the student you described," Price commented with a smirk on his face. "And see if we can find your cashbox. We do so, we find your thief."

"Yeah!" Hibiki cheered as she pumped her arm into the air. "Let's do this!"

"Well, good luck you two," Mustang sighed as he pushed himself from the table and stood up.

"H-Huh?" Price questioned blinking a few times behind his glasses. "Y-You're not going to help?"

"Three things to note," Mustang explained, snatching up his drink. "One, this doesn't really have anything to do with me. Two, I have to meet up with someone in ten minutes and I know for a fact that if I keep her waiting, then I'm going to regret it for a long time.

"And third, the lovely lady asked for your help, professor, not mine, so I'd just be a third wheel on this matter. So, with that I bid you both good luck."

"Uh," Price mumbled as he watched Mustang walk away. "W-Wait a second…"

Before Price could get up and stop Mustang, Hibiki had already jumped from her seat and latched her arms around Prices right arm, making Price's face turn red. "Come on Megane-kun! We gotta hurry!"

Price's face turned redder when he realized where his arm was, "H-Hibiki-tan I… I… We… M-My arm and…"

"Come on!" Hibiki huffed, beginning to pull Price from the table. "If you know where the thief is, ya gotta help me find him!"

"I… I know, b-but…" Price muttered with his glasses fogging up slightly.

TTTTT

Time: 8:18 p.m.

Under the ship's first floor, the second floor was abuzz with duelists taking advantage of the rules that Hund had announced earlier – The ability to duel with duel disks under the deck of the ship.

All around the makeshift arena, students new and old were gathered around the dueling action with several holograms filling the room. However, not everyone was dueling, several duelists were on the sidelines chatting with each other or enjoying some food that they had gotten from the upper floor.

In fact, there was even a group of students that were gathered around a single table that had several scattered duel monster cards with a metallic money case sitting next to the cards. On one side of the table sat a large couch that had a good number of female students seated on it with a single young man seated in between them all. Thanks to the lighting in the room however, it was hard to see the young man's face, yet his smirk was visible through the darkness, "… Interesting, with a job like this, you've managed to prove me wrong.

"You're not trash after all, Bogard."

"Gimme some credit," the young man who stood on the other side of the table sighed loudly as he pulled down the red and white colored cap over his eyes. Unlike the other student he was talking to, this young man named Bogard was in the light of the room – which showed off his ripped red jacket, a white wife-beater and ripped blue jeans. The man had long brown hair that rested on his shoulders and fell in front of his slim chest. "I'm not some pompous loser like that Eiji guy. I can actually deliver."

The shadowed teen reached over and picked up a few of the cards in front of him, "Eiji Hidari wasn't trash, at least not before his overconfidence got the better of him, Bogard. He underestimated that new professor and didn't consider him a threat.

"In this world, you can't treat anyone as trash until you deal with them yourselves. Treating them as such based solely on the words of another or by rumors is the way that a fool dies."

"So, is that the reason why you treated me as trash then?" Bogard asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You know how I operate, Bogard," the shadowed teen sighed as he tossed the cards back into the pile. "I learned all about your character back in the streets, every time we crossed paths we fought, both with fists or cards. To learn a person's true self, face them in competition.

"Although, I'll admit that I was surprised that you managed to get into duel academia… I honestly thought you didn't have it in ya."

"Heh, you talk about not underestimating people," Bogard pointed out with his arms crossed. "But you were the one who was underestimating me, I'm more than capable of…"

"Yes, yes, and you also have a tendency of repeating yourself as well," the shadowed teen sighed loudly with a wave of his hand, and immediately one of the girls seated next to him handed him a fancy drink. "Thanks, and Bogard, while I do compliment you on your skills as a thief, your technical talents, and your ability to think on your feet, you lack one key element.

"Common sense…"

"Huh? What the heck are you getting at?" Bogard questioned pushing up his hat to reveal the confused look in his eyes.

The shadowed teen merely sipped his drink casually, but pointed over Bogard's shoulder, making the hat wearing teen spin around just in time to see Price walking into the large room with Hibiki right behind him. "Aw crap!"

"Now, now Bogard," The shadowed teen chuckled as he placed his drink on the table. "This is your own fault, well, yours and your greed. You might have been able to get out of this situation, but you got greedy and took the cash box as well, it's basically a smoking gun in your hands.

"So the question is, what are you going to do now?"

"Uh, well, I could try to…" Bogard muttered to himself as he looked over the cards on the table.

"Although, let me say this," the shadowed teen chuckled as he threw his arms over the girls next to him and rested them on the back of the couch. "I have no intention of interfering or defending you Bogard. You got yourself in trouble, so you'll have to get yourself out of it."

"Gee, thanks for nothing," Bogard sighed with a shake of his head as he began to gather up the cards on the table. "I'm going to follow the advice that my old man told me – when in doubt, run without a shout."

"That's an odd saying," The shadowed teen admitted, a small bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"Works for me though!" Bogard laughed as he pocketed the cards and snatched up the cashbox. "Later doods!"

Bogard ran away from the group, and a few seconds later both Price and Hibiki passed the table, eliciting a few stares from the people on the couch, including the shadowed teen who sighed loudly. "I had a feeling this would happen, oh well. Bogard dug his own grave, now he'll have to sit in it."

TTTTTT

A few minutes later in the halls of the ship, the very same girl who was singing on stage walked through the halls with a familiar scarf wearing young man tagging behind her, "Hurry up Mustang!"

"Yeesh, we're just heading to my room," Mustang chuckled with a shake of his head. "What's the rush?"

"I've been performing all night for the crowds," The fiery haired girl cooed as she trotted up to Mustang and snuggled up close to him, and began to run her fingers on his chest. "But now I just want to spend some time with you and perhaps even give you a private show. You know you want to see it."

Mustang couldn't help but smile, "You know Tenri, a guy can take that wrong way."

"Please, I'm a pure and innocent maiden," Tenri replied with a cute smile on her face. "I'm just enjoying myself before I can find the right guy."

"… Once again, a guy can take that the wrong way," Mustang mumbled under his breath. "And what do you mean pure and innocent? If I recall, you used to go under a certain name until a certain little shorty managed to stop you in your tracks."

"Humph," Tenri huffed as she pushed herself. "Why'd you have to ruin my fun by bringing that jerk up?"

"Oh come on Tenri," Mustang sighed loudly. "You know you have to admit if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't have been…"

"OUTTA THE WAY!"

Before Mustang and Tenri turned down the hallway, just in time to have Bogard run right into them, sending the two to the ground while Bogard continued running through the halls. "GOTTA LISTEN, YA LOSERS!"

"Oof!"

"URK!"

A few seconds later, Hibiki ran past the knocked down duo, "STOP THIEF!"

Following not too far behind was none other than Price, who was stumbling just to try to keep up with both the thief and the shopkeeper, "I… I'm coming!"

Mustang blinked a few times at the chase scene that quickly disappeared down the very hallway, and immediately stood up to dust off his uniform, "Well, things certainly have become interesting."

That's when Mustang realized that Tenri's eyes were spinning and she was mumbling something, "Hmm, looks like my schedule's all cleared, I'll just take her back to the room and maybe I'll give teach a hand."

TTTTTT

Time: 8:47 p.m.

Bogard breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned against the restroom wall, having finally managed to ditch his two pursuers. "Man, those losers don't know when to give up."

Taking his hat off to brush some sweat from his brow, Bogard chuckled to himself as he looked at the cashbox he had his foot on. "Now then, I should probably lie low for the rest of the night, I don't need any more trouble for…"

He would've continued, but that's when the door flew open and slammed right into the front part of his body, making a loud sound to echo through the restroom. And the very person who had opened the door, was Price himself with a defeated look on his face. "Ooh, I really am useless, I can't even help catch a thief."

Walking to the sink, Price removed his glasses and began to run some water, completely unaware that as the door to the restroom began to close, Bogard was slinking to the ground with a pained look in his eyes, 'SON-VA-BITCH! THE FRONT OF MY FACE!'

Price immediately splashed some water on his face and sighed loudly, 'Seriously, if I wasn't so slow, I might've been able to at least caught a glimpse of the thief's face. That would've been enough to catch him once we got to the island.

'But no, I can't even do that. What sort of teacher am I going to become if I can't help my co-workers or even my students?'

"Damn it!"

Price nearly jumped when he heard that voice, making him spin around to see Bogard kneeling on the ground, holding his face, "Damn it, why is it always the face?"

Quickly putting his glasses on, Price's eyes widened realized it was the very same thief that he and Hibiki were chasing a few minutes earlier. "Hey!"

Bogard looked up with his eyes widening underneath his cap, "Oh shit…"

Before Bogard could get to his feet, Price had leapt over the new student and grabbed him by the wrist. "I… I caught ya…"

'It was purely by dumb luck, but it still counts…'

"… You mind getting your paws off of me?" Bogard snarled as he jerked his wrist away.

"N-Not a chance," Price muttered as he pointed towards the cash box that sat on the floor. "Y-You're caught red handed, you stole that cashbox from Hibiki-tan and…"

"So what are you going to do if it is?" Bogard retorted as he crossed his arms. "Even if it is this 'Hibiki-tan's' cashbox, it doesn't mean that I stole it. If anything, I could've just found it and…"

"That's enough," Price stated coldly with his eyes narrowed down on Bogard. "Although you do have a point, I don't know if you are the very thief that stole from Hibiki-tan. But, if I take you to her, then she can easily identify not only you but the cash box that you took from her. So, all I have to do is take you to Hibiki-tan and she'll be able to settle this!"

"Great idea," Bogard spat back with his tongue hanging out. "Only one problem, I ain't going anywhere with you!"

"… Fine, then how about I make you a deal then?" Price offered as he reached into his pocket and immediately produced a deck of duel monster cards. "You and I will duel, you win not only will you be allowed to leave without any trouble, but you'll also get a little bonus – My deck."

"Really, now?" Bogard questioned as he looked over the deck. "A professor's deck? Hmm, there's bound to be some rare jewels in there. But what's the catch?"

"I win," Price replied as he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a small pocket duel disk that he immediately slapped onto his left arm, making the device activate. "And you're coming with me to get your punishment."

"Can I get a minute to fix up my deck?" Bogard asked with a sly smirk on his face.

"Go right ahead," Price answered as he fanned his own deck in front of him. 'I apologize for losing you, but please grant me luck in this duel so that I can help out one of my new co-workers.'

Bogard had spun around and had pulled out all the cards that he had taken from the stolen packs, and looked them over, 'With all of these bad boys, there's no way in hell I can lose! And once I get a professor's deck, I'll be able to power up my deck to make it invincible!'

A few moments later, both duelists stood across from each other in the men's restroom, both of their duel disks armed with decks and completely lit up. Bogard chuckled as he plucked the top five cards from his deck, "It's not too late, old man, you could still walk away…" (BLP: 8000)

"N-Not a chance," Price muttered as he pulled off his own opening hand. "Theft is a serious offense and I have n-no intention of letting you get off scot-free." (PLP: 8000)

"Heh, it's your deck, teach," Bogard sighed with a shake of his head when he pulled a sixth card from his deck. "But anyway, since you were the one to throw the gauntlet at our feet, I think it's only fair that I get the opening move."

'And what an opening it'll be…'

"Very well," Price agreed with a nod.

"To start off," Bogard snickered as he held up a card from his hand. "I'll be playing the spell card – Swamp of the Dragon Snake!"

The moment that Bogard fitted the card into his duel disk, a large puddle of water appeared at both his and Price's feet, making the professor stumble slightly, "W-What in the world?"

"Confused?" Bogard asked as he slid two more cards into his duel disk, making them appear in front of him. "Don't worry, you'll learn what this card can do very soon, but to end my turn, I choose to summon Ipiria!"

The water in front of Bogard began to ripple, immediately allowing a silver scaled iguana emerge from the water with its white mane of hair matted to its slim body (500/500). "And when this monster is normal summoned, I can draw a card from my deck."

Bogard quickly did so and looked over the cards he held, "And like I said though, I'll be ending my turn with that. And during the end phase, my spell card activates, allowing me to special summon another reptile from my deck."

"T-That's a bit much," Price admitted as a card popped into Bogard's hand. "It borders on the breaking point…"

"Well then be glad," Bogard snickered before he tossed the card towards Price, who immediately caught it between his fingers. "Cause I don't get the monster, YOU do! My spell special summons a Reptile to your side of the field each time I end my turn. So, I'll choose to special summon one Poisonous Viper in attack mode on your side of the field!"

Price looked at the card in his fingers and read the text on it, "This is…!"

"What's wrong?" Bogard chuckled, lifting his hand up towards Price. "You gonna play my card, or are ya going to surrender?"

Price bit his lower lip as he slowly placed the card on his duel disk, immediately allowing a long, spotted viper to coil around his legs (100/200).

"There we go, now," Bogard snickered with a snap of his fingers. "You know what happens after you draw, so go ahead."

"Fine!" Price yelped as he drew the top card of his deck, instantly making the Poisonous Viper to bite into his leg. "GAH!" (PLP: 7500)

"During each of your standby phases, my viper will drain five hundred points from you," Bogard chuckled as he licked his lips. "Unless of course you tribute my monster."

Price looked over the six of his cards in his hand and sighed loudly, "Unfortunately, I don't have many tribute monsters in my deck."

"Too bad," Bogard sighed with a smirk.

"But I have this!" Price announced as he slapped a card onto his duel disk. "I summon Quantity in attack mode!"

Leaping from the water was a gleaming small robot with hardly any distinguishing features (500/400).

Bogard just looked at the monster standing before him, blinking a few times at it, "What. The. Hell. Is. That?"

"H-Huh?" Price yelped, pushing up his glasses nervously. "It… It's my monster…"

"Yeah, why the hell are you using something like that?" Bogard snarled with his eyes burning down on Price. "I was under the assumption that you'd have some rare and awesome cards in that deck of yours! If you're running some no name cards, then I'm risking everything for nothing!"

"… You do realize it's only the first turn, right?" Price muttered out loud with a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head. "B-Besides, every card has a meaning. Allow me to show you, I activate the spell card, Machine Duplication!"

Two more small white armored robots leapt from the water, instantly striking a pose next to the original Quantity (500/400 x2).

"Great, three tin cans," Bogard muttered under his breath. 'I can see what he's planning, he's going to suicide one of those weaklings with Ipiria and then attack with the other two. I may not be able to use one of my traps, but my Snake Whistle will allow me to special summon another reptile, one a bit stronger.

'And then, I can really get the fun going.'

"Next, I play my own continuous spell card," Price announced as he slid a card into his duel disk, allowing three orbs of light to appear in front of all three of his small machine monsters. "Long-Range Strike!"

That's when three high-tech sniper rifles appeared in the small machines' hands, each of them taking aim at Bogard who blinked a few times at the weapons. "And these are…?"

"C-Continuous spell cards," Price began to explain with his glasses gleaming with light. "They remain in play after activation, and usually grant a minor effect for an undetermined amount of time and offer their effects exclusively to the card's owner."

"What the heck?" Bogard questioned raising an eyebrow.

"S-Sorry, a lot's riding on this duel," Price mumbled with a shake of his head. "A-Anyway, as long as this continuous spell card is out, all level three and lower machine-type monsters on my field can attack your life points directly!"

Bogard's eyes widened when three red dots appeared on his chest.

"Triple Sniper Strike!" Price announced throwing his hand up.

All three of Prices Quantities pulled the triggers on their sniper rifles, sending three concentrated beams of red light to fly through the air and crash into Bogard's chest, making him stumble back slightly. "GAH!" (BLP: 6500)

"I… I end my turn with a set card," Price announced as the set card appeared in front of him.

"Alright, so you got some cheap tricks up your sleeve," Bogard snarled as he pulled off the top card from his deck. "Not bad, teach. But you're not the only one with a few tricks…"

'Especially considering what I just drew was one of the rare cards I pulled from the packs!"

"I'll start this turn by activating the spell card called Cost Down!" Bogard announced as he held up the two cards, that he quickly shoved into his graveyard slot. "So by discarding Venom Cobra from my hand, I can lower the level of a monster in my hand by two.

"Meaning now, I can tribute only my Ipiri in order to summon Gogiga Gagagigo!"

A large cybernetic claw erupted from the water underneath the white scaled lizard, immediately crushing it as a large red and yellow scaled reptilian monster emerged from the water… At least until its upper torso was above the water. Over the large, muscular arms and neck of the reptile were several cybernetic enhancements that screeched loudly every time the monster moved (2950/2800).

Price blinked a few times at the impressive reptile, "Uh… Good move?"

"No duh, good move," Bogard snickered as he looked at the last card in his hand. 'And I've got another rare card right here just to help back me up next turn and refresh my hand, but for now, I'll just test the waters!'

"Gogiga Gagagigo! Crush one of those Quantities!"

The large reptile immediately lifted its large clawed hands up into the air and immediately threw them towards the Quantity in the middle…

"I activate my trap card!" Price announced as he threw his arm to the side, making a powerful orb of energy covered the entire field, lifting up all three of the Quantities, the Poisonous Viper, and the arms of the Gagagigo into the air. "Zero Gravity switches the battle position of every monster on the field!"

'I see, that's why he kept Poisonous Viper in attack mode, if I had a stronger monster out, then his trap would've put his monster in attack mode,' Bogard thought looking at the last card in his hand. 'Too bad I've now got a great meat shield now… However, those three Quantities can still attack me directly next turn. But we'll see how long that lasts.'

"I'll end my turn," Bogard announced as another card popped out of his deck. "And that means you get another monster teach, enjoy a second Poisonous Viper!"

Once again, Bogard tossed the card towards Price and just as quickly as Price caught the card, he slapped the card onto his duel disk with a second Poisonous Viper coiling around with the first (100/200).

"Now, for some well deserved payback," Bogard snickered with a snap of his fingers. "Feel free to draw your next card, teach!"

Nervously, Price did draw from his deck, and then both snakes bit into his legs, making his eyes bug out from behind his glasses, "GAH! That smarts!" (PLP: 6500)

"What's the matter, teach?" Bogard laughed with his arms crossed. "Not a fan of snakes?"

"Actually, snakes are fine," Price replied as he fitted two cards into his duel disk, making them appear behind his five monsters. "I just can't stand being bitten!"

"I doubt anyone does like getting bitten by snakes," Bogard pointed out with a dull look in his eyes.

"And I doubt anyone likes getting shot!" Price retorted throwing his hand forward, making all three of his Quantities stand up, taking aim with the sniper rifles in their hands.

"Oh for the love of…" Bogard started before all three of the lasers slammed into his chest, making him stumble backwards. "You gonna play something other than cheap moves?" (BLP: 5000)

"I… I'm just trying my best," Price answered rubbing the back of his head. "My deck is actually rather strong, I just…"

"Bleck!" Bogard gagged as he reached for his deck. "You done with your turn, oldie?"

Quickly turning a card on the duel disk, Price made the second Poisonous Viper crouch down defensively, and then Price nodded as Bogard drew from his deck, "Heh, man, I can't get a read on you, teach. You're acting all nervous here, but what happened to that big man who came up with this duel in the first place? Or was that all an act?"

"Uh, w-well," Price mumbled out loud.

Slowly, the door to the restroom began to creek open slightly, allowing a familiar scarf wearing student to peer inside, 'I'm curious about that too. And although he's winning, Price isn't showing any confidence.'

"Forget it," Bogard sighed as he held up another card from his hand. "I'm more interested in playing this spell card, the Spellbook in the Pot, now, both of us can draw three cards from our decks."

Price nodded as he pulled off the top three cards from his deck, while Bogard did the same. However, Bogard smirked as he looked at the cards. "And it looks like the fun just keeps on going. I activate another continuous spell card, known as Cursed Card Seal!"

Several chains erupted from the swampy waters, immediately looping over both of Price's face down cards, making the professor jump slightly. "W-What the?"

"This powerful spell card," Bogard chuckled as a dreadful aura loomed over his body. "May cost me a thousand life points, but as long as it's out, you can't activate any of your set cards." (BLP: 4000)

"W-What?" Price yelped with his eyes widening.

"No need to worry though," Bogard chuckled looking over the three remaining cards in his hand. "My spell removes itself from play after two of my Stand By Phases, but until then, I summon Dark Anaconda!"

The water began to ripple alongside the Gogiga Gagagigo's body, allowing a long and large black scaled anaconda to rise itself from the swamp (1750/200). "Now, I'll turn my giant lizard back to attack mode and get into my battle phase! Gogiga Gagagigo! Smash one of those tin cans!"

The large lizard roared loudly before it threw its claw towards the middle Quantity and immediately sliced its claws through its small body and immediately shattered it into millions of pieces. (PLP: 4050)

"Next up, Dark Anaconda!" Bogard continued with a snap of his fingers, making the anaconda hiss loudly before it leapt forward and wrap around the second Quantity and crushed it within its body. "HA! Easiest cards I ever got!" (PLP: 2800)

Price bit his lower lip as he fitted the two monster cards into his graveyard slot, "I… I haven't lost yet!"

"Please, with the way you're playing," Bogard sighed with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm surprised you're even a duelist, sure, you managed to get me with some cheap shots, but the moment I end my turn, I can summon the final Poisonous Viper and inflict fifteen hundred points of damage to your life points. And unless you've got a three tribute monster somewhere in that deck of yours, you won't be able to get rid of all three of them, and I'll be able to burn even more of your life points.

"Just face it, you're outclassed by your own student! You don't even deserve to be a duelist!"

Looking over the last two cards in his hand, Bogard shook his head as he crossed his arms, "But anyway, I'm ending my turn. So, here's my final gift!"

Bogard quickly tossed the third and final Poisonous Viper towards Price who caught the card and placed it on his duel disk, the third and final viper coiled around his body (100/200).

Price took a deep breath before he drew his next card, and all three of the vipers biting him in his leg, however, unlike the last time he was bitten, Price didn't react at all. (PLP: 1300)

Looking over the card he drew, Price reached for his glasses and pulled them off of his face, "Save your breath kid. You steal cards and money, you insult my credibility as a duelist and you play underhanded tricks – I have no time or interest to listen to words of a thief."

Both Bogard and Mustang's eyes widened when they heard Price's words.

"I activate the spell card – White Elephant's Gift!" Price announced as he turned around the card he drew. "Now, by sending the last Quantity that I have, I can draw two more cards!"

The last small robot disappeared from Price's field, instantly allowing Price to add two more cards to his now seven card hand. "Now, then, I activate another spell card – Black Hole!"

"WHAT?" Bogard yelped as a large orb of dark energy erupted in the middle of the field, immediately pulling in all five monsters on the field and crushing them into nothing. "T-That's… That's a cheap card!"

"It's also on the list of approvable cards," Price replied fitting another card into his duel disk. "I also chain it with another spell card – Emergency Provisions! Now, by sending Black Hole, Long-Range Strike, and one of my face down cards to the graveyard, I can increase my life points by one thousand each while wiping the field clear of your cold-blooded monsters!" (PLP: 4300)

"Gone, but not forgotten!" Bogard announced as his graveyard slot began to glow brightly. "You should know something about my Black Anaconda, when destroyed by a card effect, I can special summon a level four or lower Reptile monster from my graveyard. And I choose my Venom Cobra!"

The water in front of Bogard displaced and allowed a large cobra to appear around the capped duelist's body (100/2000). "And I'll keep him in defense mode!"

"Actually, I'm glad you did that," Price announced has he held up a card from his hand. "Since you have a monster and I don't, I can normal summon this next monster without a tribute…

"Arch Mech Sensou!"

A ring of light appeared in front of Price, unleashing a tall daunting, mechanical figure onto the field before him. Slowly the mechanical figure stood up, revealing that it was a man shaped machine covered with white, blue and black armor that had many sharp points jutting from the chest armor and helmet. On the sides of the machine's arms were what appeared to be a pair of steel blades that looked as if they could slide out from the machine's arms.

The machine aimed its red eyes at Bogard before it slammed its fists together, generating a large amount of electricity from the mechanical fists (2300/500).

"Hmm?" Bogard muttered to himself as he looked at the card on Price's duel disk, realizing what rarity of the card that Price just played. "Heh, how long have you been hiding that gem? That's a ghost rare!"

"I just happened to draw it," Price answered holding up another card. "Speaking of drawing, I'll play another spell card, one known as Frontline Base! Now, once per turn, I can special summon a union monster from my hand, and thanks to you, I've got one right here! I special summon Kamakiri Blades!"

From over the Arch Mech's shoulders leapt a large green armored machine that was designed to resemble that of a praying mantis with large bladed arms and red glowing eyes (1400/800). "And like I said, this is a union monster, and I'll do what union monsters do best, combine with others!"

The Kamakiri Blades leapt into the air, a large amount of light emitting from its joints separating the machine and allowing the parts to fall towards the Arch Mech Sensou. The man-shaped machine lifted its arms up, allowing the blades of the mantis to connect to its wrists with green armor appearing on its own while the rest of the metallic mantis' body connected itself to the back of the man-shaped machine (2300/500 + 300/0). The armed machine now lifted his arms up and towards Bogard.

"Not very menacing," Bogard admitted with a large smirk on his face. "Although, looking at the rarity on both it and the monster you've got equipped to it, I can see that both probably have some decent effects to them."

"Then how about instead of explaining what they can do," Price offered as he snapped his fingers, making the Arch Mech leap across the swampy field. "I show you! Sensou! Attack his Cobra! Kamakiri Cutter!"

Spinning around, the powerful machine monster slashed both of its green blades through the large cobra's body and cut it into several large chunks that flew around Bogard's body.

"Thanks again, teach," Bogard chuckled as one of his face down cards began to lift up, allowing a loud hiss to echo through the bathroom. "Thanks to you destroying my monster, I can use my Snake Whistle trap card to call out another reptile! This time, I'm thinking Oshaleon in attack mode!"

The trap card shattered, instantly allowing another large reptilian monster to appear in front of Bogard, this one however, was a cute chameleon creature with rainbow like scales with several star prints on its body (1400/800). "Now then, why don't you just end your turn and I'll just get started with mine so I can…"

"Actually, it's still my battle phase," Price pointed out.

"Yeah, and you only have one monster out," Bogard retorted with a dulled look in his eyes. "So unless you're going to set some more useless cards, I suggest you end your turn!"

"Actually, I've still got one more attack," Price commented as Arch Mech Sensou lifted its arms up into the air. "And I intend on using it! Sensou! Attack again!"

"WHAT?" Bogard yelped he watched both of the curved blades slice through his large, cute reptile, shattering the monster into millions of pixels. "URK!" (BLP: 2800)

As Sensou leapt back to Price's field, the professor couldn't help but smirk to himself, which caught the attention of Mustang who was watching the events unfold from the hallway. 'This is just like what happened before with Eiji's duel, it's almost as if there's another person dueling in Price's place. How curious…'

"H-How the hell did you pull that off?" Bogard ordered regaining his composure, or whatever composure he had before.

"Did you forget about my Kamakiri Blades already?" Price questioned as he gestured towards the armed Sensou. "Union monsters tend to give a good ability to the equipped monsters, and this one's no different. You see, once per turn, when the equipped monster destroys another monster in battle, I can have my Arch Mech attack a second time, just so long as you have another monster on your field."

"So basically, I just walked into that?" Bogard questioned with his eye twitching slightly. "W-Well, that doesn't matter! Thanks to your attack, I can activate Oshaleon's effect – allowing me to take a reptile monster from my deck just so long as it has five hundred or less attack points!"

A single card popped out of Bogard's deck and into his hand, making the capped duelist chuckle to himself, "So thanks."

"No problem," Price replied looking over the last three cards in his hand. "Since your spell card still has two turns left, I'll refrain from setting any more of my cards face down, so my turn is done."

"About time," Bogard sighed as he drew from his deck, his eyes curling slightly. 'And yet another rare card I added to this deck of mine, and I've got one of my headliners right here to boot! But first…'

"I'll start this turn by summoning a familiar face," Bogard chuckled as he slapped the card onto his duel disk, allowing the swampy water to displace once again, unleashing a familiar gray scaled lizard with a long matted down mane of white fur protruding from its neck (500/400). "Ipiria! So, I can draw another card from my deck!"

Pulling off the card from his deck, Bogard's smirk grew more devious, 'Heh, so, I draw you eh? Too bad I can't use you this turn, I've only got two more cards in my hand to work with, but next turn as soon as I draw, I can instantly work you in!

'Now, back to the matter at hand…'

"I activate my trap card!" Bogard announced as the water in front of him erupted. "Call of the Haunted! Now, thanks to it I can bring back another familiar face!"

"Going to bring back Gogiga Gagagigo?" Price questioned.

"That weakling?" Bogard chuckled as the Dark Anaconda (1750/200) reappeared in front of him, hissing loudly. "Please, compared to what I'm about to do, he's nothing more than an overgrown iguana! I activate the Quick Summon spell card!"

The waters underneath both of Bogard's monsters began to bubble, making both of the reptiles look down in time to see two massive snake heads erupt from underneath them and chomp down on both of them to drag them beneath the waves of swamp water. "Now, my spell allows me to normal summon immediately, so I can now tribute both of my reptiles in order to bring out the king of my deck!"

The swampy water at Bogard's feet began to churn, its bright blue waters immediately changing into murky dark purple ooze that shifted around as several purple scaled snakes began to rise up from the waters, each of them a different size and breed (although, Mustang noted that all of the snakes were of the venomous persuasion). All of the snakes hissed loudly as they slowly began to coil around each other resembling a vague human shape as some of the purple ooze began to climb on the snakes' bodies.

The ooze began to shift and churn over the mass of snakes, immediately solidifying into a royal robes and a cobra shaped crown with another pair of golden snakes erupting from its back. The creature lifted the sleeves of the robe, revealing the hands that were made up of the coiled snakes (0/0). "Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes! Feel the terror in your veins at the sight of this powerful demon and beg for…"

At that very moment, Price yawned loudly with small tears appearing in the corner of his eyes, "I'm sorry, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I've been busy all day. Were you saying something?"

"Pay attention to my threats, damn it!" Bogard snarled as he pulled down his cap over his eyes. "Especially when I summon one of the most dangerous monsters in this entire game, and Vennominon gains that title because for each reptile in the graveyard, he gains five hundred attack points!

"And if you lost count, there are the three Poisonous Vipers, my two Ipirias, one Gogiga Gagagigo, the Venom Cobra, my Oshaleon and my Dark Anaconda for a total of nine monsters… So his attack strength rivals that of the legendary Ultimate Dragon!"

A powerful dark aura erupted over Vennominon's body, making all of the snakes that made up its body hiss loudly (0/0 + 4500/0).

"… So?" Price questioned with a large smirk on his face.

"SO! THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY!" Bogard snarled stomping his foot into the floor a few times. "I bust out a powerful monster in one turn and that's all you have to say?"

"Power isn't everything," Price pointed out. "Every duelist knows that if you just rely on a strong monster, you're just destined to fail."

"But I'm not just relying on my monster," Bogard pointed out as he cracked his neck a few times. "Thanks to my Cursed Card Seal, that face down card of yours is rendered useless! So, I'm safe to do this! Vennominon! Attack his rust bucket!"

All of the snakes inside the sleeves of the robe flew from the sleeves and flew towards Sensou… However…

"Looks like I'll have my work cut out for me when I get to the academy," Price sighed as the Kamakiri Blades on the Arch Mech flew from its body (2300/500) and intercepted the oncoming snakes, unfortunately, the snakes merely coiled around the weapons and crushed them. "Cause it looks like you don't know that most Union monsters take the hit for the equipped monster instead. I still take damage, but Sensou remains." (PLP: 2400)

"Yes, but I'm right back in the lead," Bogard chuckled looking at the card in his hand – Snake Rain. 'And as soon as my next turn comes, depending on what I draw, I'll play this spell card and empower him to overpower anything he's got! But before that…'

"I'll end my turn, but since I'm doing that, I can still use my Swamp of the Dragon Snake, so, I think I'll give you my Gigobyte!"

Price quickly caught the card and slapped it on his duel disk, allowing a small green skinned reptile monster appear in front of him, its arms crossed over his small chest (350/300). "Giving yourself some more fodder to work with?"

"Perhaps, but just be glad that I can only have three Poisonous Vipers in my deck," Bogard answered as Price drew his next card. "Otherwise, you'd be taking some more burning damage!"

"Yes, yes," Price muttered out loud as he looked at the card he drew. "But you don't, so we won't dwell on that. For now, I'll switch Sensou and Gigobyte to defense mode, and I'll set another monster face down."

The two monsters on Price's field crouched down and crossed their arms over their chests while a set monster appeared between the two of them. "Then, I'll set two more cards face down, and end my turn."

"And then it's my turn," Bogard chuckled, pulling off the top card from his deck and turned it over. 'Hmm… This could be useful, especially since my Cursed Card Seal is now removed from play and he can use his face down cards. Hmm… I may want to hold off on using Snake Rain for now.'

"First off, one set card," Bogard announced as he fitted a card into his duel disk, making it appear behind Vennominon. "Next, Vennominon! Attack Sensou!"

All of the snakes on Vennominon all hissed loudly as they flew from the snake deity's body and towards the metallic monster.

"Actually, I'm activating my face down trap card – Shift!" Price announced as all of the snakes instantly changed direction towards the face down monster, all of them wrapping around it. "So, you're attacking my face down monster, and let's show what this bad boy is!"

The face down card shattered, revealing in its place a familiar jar with a single eye and a mouth of yellow teeth at the opening of the jar (700/600). "Morphing Jar!"

Bogard's eyes widened as he watched the jar shatter, "Damn it!"

"What's wrong?" Price asked as he fitted the two cards from his hand into hid duel disk's graveyard slot, and then drew five cards from his deck. "I just gave you a chance to replenish your hand, you should be happy about that."

'But he ruined my plan to empower Vennominon!'

Slowly, Bogard snapped off the top five cards from his deck and slowly looked them over with a curled smirk on his face. 'Actually, this might just work out even better, I just drew three more of the rare cards that I took before. And I drew something else of my strategy, but first things first, I can't give him any more of my monsters…'

"Since you were so helpful in giving me a new hand," Bogard chuckled holding up one of the cards. "I might as well play them! I activate a spell card you used, Emergency Provisions! And I'll use it to get rid of my Swamp of the Dragon Snake!"

As the quick play spell appeared on the field, all of the water in the rest room disappeared, allowing the monsters in the room to land on dry land. (BLP: 3800)

"Not feeling generous any more?" Price asked raising an eyebrow.

"Please, I just don't feel like letting you have any of my good monsters," Bogard replied with a shake of his head. "I gave you three poisonous tricksters, and one useless piece of fodder…"

Price turned his head towards the Gigobyte, who seemed to lower its head slightly, and hissed sadly.

"… Besides, it's always good to have a buffer of life points," Bogard announced as he fitted a pair of cards into his duel disk. "Because now I'm setting two cards face down, and I'm activating the spell card, Ancient Charge!"

Bogard's spell card materialized in front of him, revealing large alligator crashing through a trio of barbarian warriors. "Now, this spell card is quite potent for Reptile decks, whenever one of my reptiles battles a defense monster, I can inflict the difference to your life points!"

"It's a shame that you can't attack again," Price pointed out as Bogard waved the last card in his hand.

"Oh, you'd like to think that, now wouldn't ya?" Bogard responded by turning around the last card in his hand. "I activate the spell card, Surprise Attack from the Darkness! Now, my end phase has just become a second Battle Phase! And as an added bonus, I can have all the monsters that I summoned or attacked with this turn attack again!

"And I think I'll have Vennominon attack the fodder I put on your field! Attack with Venom Barrage!"

Vennominon hissed loudly as the snakes erupted from its sleeves, leaping towards the scared Gigobyte…

… However, just as the snakes were about to strike the small reptile, a powerful barrier erupted over the small reptile's body, knocking all of the snakes back. Price smirked as he held up the card that had saved not only him but the sighing Gigobyte, "Not happening! I activate my trap card, Negate Attack!"

"Humph, big deal," Bogard sighed with a shake of his head. "I'll end my turn."

'And thanks to the cards I have, your next turn will be your last. If you manage to destroy my king, I can activate my Viper's Grudge trap, and I can summon a level four or lower reptile from my deck or graveyard so I can defend myself.

'And once you attack that monster, I can use my other trap – Damage = Reptile so I can summon the second Vennominon from my deck and it'll be even stronger! And, to make things more interesting, the last trap card I have is my Limit Reverse trap, so I can special summon the first king! And I'll plow through whatever defenses he'll put up!'

"Alright, you've shown some potential, kid," Price stated as he drew a sixth card from his deck. "But you kind of tarnished that by being a thief, and for that, you'll have to learn a lesson. And I'm just the professor to do that."

"Please, all you've taught me is how corny one liners can be," Bogard chuckled with his arms crossed over his chest. "And you can save that lesson for someone who gives two shits."

"You'll be that person in only a few moments," Price answered as he lifted up two cards from his hand. "First, I activate the spell card, Monster Reincarnation, so by discarding Gozou Bagon from my hand, I can add Kamakiri Blades back to my hand, but it won't be there for too long, I activate Frontline Base's effect to bring out and equip the Kamakiri Blades!"

In a green light, the arm blades reappeared on Sensou's body, making the metallic warrior stand up and throw a few punches through the air (2300/500 + 300/0). "Next, I'll activate the spell card – Forbidden Chalice and for its target, I choose Vennominon!"

A large chalice appeared over Vennonminon's head, making the demonic snakes hiss in confusion and having Bogard raise an eyebrow at it, "And what does this card do?"

"It grants your monster four hundred attack points," Price explained as the chalice tipped over, spilling the contents over Vennonminon's head, making its body steam and having its snakes hiss loudly in pain. "But in return, your monster loses its effects until the end phase."

"W-Wait, then that means…!" Bogard gasped as the mighty King of Poisonous Snakes fell to the ground, its entire body steaming from the water that was just dumped on it (4500/0 – 4100/0). "NO!"

"And it only gets better," Price announced as he lifted a pair of cards from his graveyard slot. "Remember when I played my Emergency Provisions? And when I activated my Morphing Jar's effect? Well, two cards that I sent to the graveyard were two copies of the card – Skill Successor, meaning now, I can remove both of them from play in order to empower Sensou even further!"

A powerful red aura rushed over Sensou's body, making the machine's blue body change to a deep crimson (2600/500 + 1600/0).

"B-But! I still have my three face down cards!" Bogard pointed out with a smirk on his face. "For all you know, one of them is Mirror Force or even Magic Cylinder, if you attack then I'll activate them and you'll lose!"

"… Perhaps…" Price chuckled running a hand through his hair. "And I might just lose this turn, so perhaps I should refrain from attacking."

Bogard almost breathed a sigh of relief…

"Although," Price stated holding his hand up towards Bogard. "A fight every now and then does make life a little more interesting, don't ya think? Sensou! Attack Vennonminon, Dual Kamakiri Cutter!"

Mustang's eyes bugged out as he watched the now red armored machine dash across the field, 'If this connects, then Price will win, but Bogard was right. If one of those cards is one that he mentioned then Price will lose…'

However, Bogard never went for his duel disk, rather he lifted his arms up to protect himself as Vennonminon was sliced through by the powerful blades, sending the pixilated remains right through Bogard's body, his hat flying off of his head as his life points began to fall to zero, "GAAAAAAAAH!" (BLP: 0)

"And the final bell has rung," Price stated as the holograms began to disappear. "Your grade – Failure."

"Y-You're nuts man!" Bogard growled as he picked up his cap, and quickly used it to cover his hair. "I had three set cards, why did you attack!"

"Because," Price answered holding up two cards in his hand. "It didn't matter to me if you had the best traps in the world on your field, I had these cards in my hand."

Price turned the cards around to reveal the Quick-Play Spell card – Trap Booster, while the other card was Royal Decree. "Your traps would've been negated and you still would've lost."

Taking a moment to breathe, Price quickly placed his glasses back on his face and smiled innocently at Bogard, "Now then, as to the terms of our deal, you now have to turn yourself in, young man."

A chill ran down both Bogard's and Mustang's spines when Price smiled, and they both thought the same thing at the same time, 'What is with this guy!'

TTTTTT

Time: 9:49 p.m.

At the same cafeteria where Hibiki has requested Price's assistance, Hibiki was seated at a table with her head resting atop of it. It had been a good forty minutes since the thief had managed to elude her and Price, and at this rate, it was a sure fire guess that Hibiki would lose her job.

'I might as well get this over with,' Hibiki thought to herself as she slowly lifted her head off the table. 'I'm not looking forward to getting one of Hund's speeches, but I need to get it out of the way quickly…'

Before she could get away from the table however, a familiar cashbox with a large stack of cards resting atop of it was placed in front of her. "Is… That…"

Standing behind the cashbox itself was none other than Price, who had a bashful smile on his face with a little blush, "Um, y-yeah, Hibiki-tan. I turned Bogard into the security on the boat, and they'll discuss a proper punishment for him when we reach the island. Luckily, he only had his deck and the cards he took from you on him when I caught him, so by looking at the deck list he provided, we were able to determine what cards were…"

Price didn't get a chance finish when Hibiki immediately leapt from her seat and wrapped her arms around Price's torso, making his face turn completely red, "!"

"I… Um, w-well…" Price stammered, nearly dropping the cashbox and cards. "It… It was no big d-deal…"

"But it was!" Hibiki replied sternly, not loosing her grip (much to Price's embarrassment). "If Hund found out that I lost all the profits here, then my tail would be on the back burner! I… I don't know what to say!"

"Uh, y-you're t-thanks is all t-that I n-n-need," Price stuttered, trying to slip out from Hibiki's embrace… And failing. "A-And if you could l-let me g-g-go, I'd…"

"Tell ya what!" Hibiki announced with a catty grin on her face. "How about if you ever need a boost in your deck, you come on down to my shop and I'll give you a special discount."

"I… I um…" Price muttered. "… Uh, I a-appreciate it, b-but you don't h-have to…"

Meanwhile, leaning against the doors of the cafeteria stood Mustang, his arms crossed over his chest, 'At one moment, this professor's dangerous and capable of pulling out from one of the worst situations in a duel… And at another, he's as timid as a kitten.

'Hmm, maybe his classes will make this year a bit more interesting.'

TBC

TTTTTTTT

Card Stats

Ipiria / Earth / LV. 3 / ATK: 500 / DEF: 500 / Reptile/Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned, draw 1 card.

Description: a silver scaled iguana emerge from the water with its white mane of hair matted to its slim body

This card was used by Gansely in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime

Swamp of the Dragon Snake / Continuous Spell / Effect: During each of your end phases, special summon one Level Four or lower Reptile-Type monster from your deck to your opponent's side of the field.

Image: A glowing serpent emerging from a dreary swamp.

Poisonous Viper / Earth / LV. 1 / ATK: 100 / DEF: 200 / Reptile/Effect: During your stand by phase, inflict 500 points of damage to your life points.

Image: a long, spotted viper

Viper's Grudge / Continuous Trap / Effect: Each time a Reptile-Type monster you control is sent to the graveyard, you can special summon 1 Level 4 or lower Reptile-Type monster from your Deck or Graveyard

Image: A snake prepared to attack a warrior that's looming over a dead snake

The preceding three cards were used by Seika in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga.

Ancient Charge / Continuous Spell / Effect: When a Reptile-Type monster attacks and its ATK is Higher than the DEF of an opponent's Defense Position monster, inflict the difference as damage to the opponent.

Image: An alligator crashing through a trio of warriors.

This card was used by Jim in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga.

Spellbook in the Pot / Normal Spell / Effect: Both players draw three cards from their decks.

Image: Several spell books falling into a Pot of Greed.

This card was used in the Yu-Gi-Oh! R manga.

Quick Summon / Quick-Play Spell / Effect: Normal Summon or Set 1 monster from your hand.

Image: A group of rescue workers going into action with a siren

This card was used by Judai in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime.

Quantity / Earth / LV. 1 / ATK: 500 / DEF: 400 / Machine

Description: A small white armored robot

Long-Range Strike / Continuous Spell / Effect: Level 3 or lower Machine-Type monsters you control can attack your opponent directly.

Image: A large sniper rifle

These two cards were used by David Rabb in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga.

Surprise Attack from the Darkness / Normal Spell / Effect: The End Phase of this turn is also treated as a Battle Phase. During this special battle Phase, the monsters you control that were summoned and that battled in this turn can attack again.

Image: A knight charging forward, unaware of a similar knight attacking him from the darkness behind him.

This card was used by Yami Marik/Malik in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime, and its name in the English Dub was Surprise attack from Beyond.

Cursed Card Seal / Continuous Spell / Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points. As long as this card is face up on the field, your opponent cannot activate set spell or trap cards. During your second stand by phases after this card was activated, remove this card from play.

Image:

Dark Anaconda / Dark / LV. 4 / ATK: 1750 / DEF: 200 / Reptile/Effect: When this card is destroyed by a card effect, you may special summon one level four or lower Reptile-Type monster from your graveyard (you cannot select 'Dark Anaconda').

Description:

Arc Mech Sensou / Light / LV. 5 / ATK: 2300 / DEF: 500 / Machine/Effect: If your opponent controls at least one monster and you do not, you may normal summon this card from your hand without a tribute. This card cannot have its ATK and DEF lowered by card effects.

Description: a man shaped machine covered with white, blue and black armor that had many sharp points jutting from the chest armor and helmet. On the sides of the machine's arms were what appeared to be a pair of steel blades that looked as if they could slide out from the machine's arms

Kamakiri Blades / Wind / LV. 3 / ATK: 1400 / DEF: 800 / Machine/Union: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, if you control this monster on the field you can equip it to one Machine-Type monster as an Equip Spell card, OR change it back to a monster in face-up Attack position. When equipped to a monster by this card's effect, that monster gains 300 ATK. Once per turn, when the equipped monster destroys a monster in battle, the equipped monster may attack an additional time (the equipped monster cannot attack your opponent's life points directly with this effect). (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed, this card is destroyed instead.)

Description: a large green armored machine that was designed to resemble that of a praying mantis with large bladed arms and red glowing eyes

TTTTTTTT

How the hell did you get in here?

I've had enough!

This is the spice of life!

You're not so tough!

Oh man… This isn't good…

How the hell did you pull that off?

W-What the?

If you're not going to do anything

I'll take matters into my own hands

Prepare yourself…

For a true duelist!

Simply delightful

Don't think that just because I'm eccentric…

That I'm weak!

Draw 3

Opening Night

Author's Notes: By the way, brownie points if anyone can guess the name of the song that was used in this chapter.