Authors Note: Thank you to those who have read the previous chapter and have left reviews. Please leave some more, I love reviews! And thanks to those following this story. I appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

I stepped through the front doors and entered a massive arena. In the center, several applicants dueled thier proctors in an attempt to earn thier place at Duel Academy. I claimed a seat in an unoccuppied area of the stands. Being as shy as I was, I was trying to avoid conversation with any strangers, atleast for now anyway, for I was focusing on my upcoming duel. On the opposite side of the arena, there sat those who had succeeded in entering the school in the past.

After sitting in isolation for about ten minutes, my name was called to report to Duel Field 3. There, I met my proctor. He wore an expensive blue duel blazer, which I assumed was the Obelisk-Blue uniform.

"Good luck," he said.

"Thank you, sir," I responded with absolute politeness.

We took opposite sides of the Duel Field.

"Duel!" We chanted in unison.

Several turns had passed, and my life points were at a dangerously low 500, while the proctor's were at 1200. On the field, I controlled Inari Fire, whose attack points were 1500, and two face-down cards. The proctor controlled Victory Dragon, whose attack points were 2400. It was his turn, and the move he would make was obvious.

"Victory Dragon, attack Inari Fire and end this duel!"

"Nice try, but I activate mirror force!"

"What?" He said in shock.

His dragon shattered as his previous self-assured expression had as well. He ended his turn after setting a face-down. His field was now void of any monsters. It wasn't hard to predict my next move. I knew he would try to deflect my attack with a trap card, but I wasn't worried.

"Inari Fire, attack him directly!" Inari Fire charged toward the proctor, as wisps of smoke trailed behind him.

"Not so fast, I activate the trap -"

"Once again, nice try, but I activate Trap Jammer!"

His trap shattered and Inari Fire continued his attack as he galloped foward. He leapt and feircely bit the proctor, ending the duel. The holograms faded and my opponent approached me.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you," I replied, smiling.

After handling registration, I returned to the empty section of seats I had occupied before. I spent my time watching the other applicants, especially an impressive one in particular. I overheard someone identify him as Bastion Misawa. Apparently, he had scored the highest on the written exam, which automatically meant that he was worth respecting in my book.

Sometime during Bastion's duel, I noticed a brown-haired boy sprint through the front doors. He was late, and it was obvious that he had just ran a few blocks. He was bent over panting, his face bright red, and twigs and leaves tangled in his hair.

Looks like someone had a tough jog, I giggled to myself.

After catching his breath, he laughed at his own silliness as he plucked each individual twig and leave from his caramel and chocolate-colored hair. While doing so, he approached a small blue-haired boy who was leaning on the railing and began a conversation with him.

A few minutes passed and Bastion finished his duel via the trap card Ring of Destruction. From what I understood, his duel was meant to be the last. However, I was pleasantly surprised to hear another name called: Jaden Yuki. The once exhausted brunette I had seen before was now energetic and cheerful as he raced down the stands to the duel field, leaving behind the small boy and Bastion, who had joined them after finishing his duel. Because of his reaction when that name was called, I assumed this spastic brunette was Jaden Yuki. I was surprised to see that Jaden's opponent was the infamous Dr. Crowler, a notorious professor at Duel Academy known for his unfair treatment of any students other than the Obelisk-Blues. Though he is prejudiced, he is otherwise known to be an excellent teacher. Without reluctancy, Jaden approached the duel field obviously unaware of his opponent's status. Strangely enough though, something told me that Jaden would've acted in the same manner had he known his proctor's identity.

After a few turns, I concluded that Jaden used an Elemental Hero deck. Such a deck was strong, but I didn't know if it could take on the legendary monster that stood on Crowler's side of the field: the Ancient Gear Golem. This powerful monster indicated to me that Crowler was using his actual deck, not one of the exam decks that were put together specifically for this occasion. I, and others I'm sure, wondered if Jaden had the skills to back up that confidence of his, because if he did, he could surely get past such an obstacle and defeat Crowler.

In his next turn, Jaden proved that his confidence was founded legitimately. After activating the field spell Skyscraper, the original attack points of Jaden's Flame Wingman, which was 2100, was raised to 3100. With his newly upgraded monster, he destroyed Crowler's Ancient Gear Golem. Due to Wingman's effect, the attack points of the monster he destroyed is taken from the opponents life points. Since Ancient Gear Golem's attack points were 3000 and Crowler only had 3000 life points left, he didn't stand a chance. Jaden was beaming with pride as he enthusiastically celebrated below. Because of the fantastic duels and enthusiasm displayed by so many that day, I realized then more than ever that at Duel Academy I would have the best experience of my life.

Thanks for reading, sorry it took so long for me to finish this chapter. I'm a very busy person! Please keep checking for chapter updates.