A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favored this story! Now on with the chapter!
Turn 05 - Duel Academia
Judai was beginning to think that he would have been better off getting to Duel Academia Island his own way instead of taking the helicopter with the other students. Traveling by helicopter wasn't the issue for Judai; it was more the fact of the people he was traveling with. All the kinds of negative spirits that he sensed before at the entrance exam were still very much present and being confined inside a small plane only made it harder for Judai to ignore them. Fortunately through years of practice Judai was able to hide his discomfort very well by putting on an act of leisure. Judai was hoping to not be disturbed for the whole flight as he wanted to use the time to meditate, yet it wasn't meant to be as the boy sitting on his right decided to start a conversation with him.
"You're the one who beat Cronos-sensei right?" the small light blue haired boy asked in a shy voice.
Judai was a bit upset that his attempt to have a peaceful ride was interrupted. Judai then gazed at the boy beside him and quickly recognized the spirits of self-consciousness and dejection that were on him. Judai almost frowned at this as he could clearly see that the boy had some serious confidence issues to work out. However Judai managed to keep his carefree attitude in place as he turned his full attention towards the boy.
"Yeah, but if it wasn't for luck on my side I would have lost for sure," answered Judai in a modest tone.
A look of sympathy crossed the boy's face when he heard this.
"I know what you mean, I just barely passed the written exam and I totally lucked out for the practical part," the boy said sadly causing Judai to mentally cringe.
"Great the last thing I wanted was to bring up his feelings of self-consciousness. If Yubel were here she would definitely mock me for saying something stupid like that to someone with insecurity issues. I'll have to try and fix this," thought Judai before coming up with a way to help lift the boy's mood.
Judai put a huge grin on his face and patted the small boy's shoulder in an encouraging way making the boy look up at Judai in surprise.
"But that's why we're going to Duel Academia, so that we can become better duelist right?" Judai stated which succeeded in bringing a happy look to the boy's face.
"Right, by the way my name's Marufuji Sho," introduced the boy with a friendly smile.
Judai immediately recognized the surname and was able to connect the dots right away.
"So he's Marufuji Ryo's younger brother. No wonder the kid has so much self-doubt," realized Judai before introducing himself to Sho.
"Seigiyami Yuudai," replied Judai with a smile of his own.
After the introductions were made, Judai and Sho had engaged in light conversation during the rest of the flight. The helicopter soon arrived at Duel Academia and descended onto the island. The passengers aboard soon disembarked from the helicopter one by one and took their first steps onto the island. The first year students were then greeted by a faculty member who instructed them to follow him to the main auditorium. Looks of excitement, apprehension, and wonder came on many of the newcomers' faces as they looked around their surroundings while they were being lead to the auditorium.
However Judai shared none of his peers' feelings as he was too preoccupied with keeping his guard up. The moment he stepped foot on the island Judai's spiritual senses blazed in warning. Judai had felt the evil spirits that plagued this island and he knew they had sensed him too. That's why Judai wasn't surprised when he soon noticed several transparent black demonic looking spirits begin to come out from the surroundings and glare his way. Judai could easily tell that those demons were very angry that he was there and they further proved so when they launched forward to attack him. Judai let a scowl appear on his face at the oncoming attack from the resentful spirits. Judai knew that he couldn't fight the demons back with so many people around, especially when no one else could see them. The only option he had at this point was to get away from the crowd and deal with the issue privately.
"Yuudai, where are you going?" whispered Sho in curiousness when he noticed Judai beginning to slip away from the group.
"Bathroom," uttered Judai quickly, not even turning back to face Sho as he continued hurrying out of the crowd.
Sho was flabbergasted by his new friend's strange behavior.
"I guess he must really have to go," thought Sho as he noticed Judai heading into the woods instead of the direction of the school building.
Judai ran deeper into the surrounding woods as the evil spirits continued to chase after him. It was only when Judai felt he was far enough away did he stop running and turned to face his pursuers. Judai noticed that more kinds of demons had joined the others making their numbers larger. Judai however wasn't worried at all by the increase and instead had an aura of confidence around him.
"Since these demons come from the evil darkness, I have to fight them with the good light," declared Judai.
Understanding this, he focused on the power of the Holy Spirit that resigned in him rather than the powers of Gentle Darkness. Judai instantly felt the response from the Holy Spirit and could feel the power of His light coming to the surface. Judai's eyes were now gold yet had a light sheen of white as well. The evil spirits had ceased their approach when they sensed the light from Judai come forth. Nonetheless some of them did not halt for long as they were adamant on wanting to hurt Judai. He remained perfectly calm as he watched the demons come in closer already knowing that they wouldn't be able to touch him. This held true as the moment they were inches away from him, a white barrier covered Judai which caused the evil spirits to holler in pain and recoil back right away. Judai then sent a hard glare at all the demons that were present before he opened his mouth and spoke.
"Leave now," commanded Judai as another voice full of authority mixed perfectly well with Judai's own.
The demons had fled quickly having recognized the other voice that had merged with Judai's. When all of them had left, Judai felt the light receding inside him once more now that the threat was taken care of for now.
"Thank you," Judai gratefully stated as his eyes returned to their normal shade of brown.
Judai received an aura of acceptance from the Holy Spirit, bringing a small smile to Judai's lips. Judai then sensed another presence nearby, but unlike with the demons he knew this one wasn't a threat to him.
"Glad to see you've made it onto the island Yugi-san. I'm sure you've had a confrontation with the demons already," announced Judai as he faced the direction where he knew the man was at.
Yugi soon came out from the forest and entered the clearing that Judai was standing in. Yugi had a stern expression on his own features as he responded to Judai's statement.
"Yes, fortunately I was by myself when they approached so I was able to take care of them right away. Though the fact that there seems to be so many of them here troubles me," Yugi replied.
"I know what you mean; even now I can still tell there are a lot more demons around. I think the ones that approached us were simply the welcome party," added Judai with a frown coming to his face.
"I agree and it only proves that we were right about the things that are happening at Duel Academia. I'm most certain now than ever that this is why we were led to come here," commented Yugi.
"I think you're right, someone on this island opened a door for these spirits to come through and it's up to us to close it before anything worse comes through it," Judai seriously said causing Yugi to nod in agreement.
"I'll see if I can gather any information on where the door may be located since I know you have other things to worry about right now," Yugi told him making a grateful look appear on Judai's face.
"I appreciate that a lot; still please contact me if you find anything. There's power in unity after all," replied Judai as a grin formed on his lips.
"I will. You should get going now or you'll be late for the welcome from the principal," he reminded Judai.
"Trust me, it wouldn't be the first time I was late for something. But yeah I should leave now," Judai stated in a lighthearted tone.
"I'll see you later then," Yugi proclaimed as he started to leave the clearing.
Judai was about to do the same before he remembered something important that he had to tell Yugi.
"By the way my name is Seigiyami Yuudai!" declared Judai causing Yugi to look back at Judai with a grin.
"Clever," was all Yugi said as he left the clearing.
Judai soon left the area as well and hastily ran to where the main auditorium was. When Judai entered the auditorium he noticed that the students were already in their assigned school uniforms and were already assembled in lines waiting for the principal to make his announcement. Realizing this, Judai quickly looked around and found where he was supposed to get his school jacket. Once Judai obtained his assigned uniform he hastily put on the red jacket as it was mandatory to have it on before the principal made his welcoming announcement. Judai quickly joined the rest of the students and soon the white screen with the blue and red DA symbol in front of them turned on. Immediately the face of a light colored bald man with a grey goatee was looking at all of them with proud eyes and a cheerful smile.
"Welcome Dueling Elites! I am Principal Samejima!" the man announced with a joyous tone.
"You all used your skills to open the narrow admission gates. Please have fun studying in hopes of becoming the future Duel King! Preform your best and duel with passion. Remember you never know whose eye you might catch. Good luck to you all!" finished Samejima as the screen became blank once more.
Judai held in his chuckles when he had caught the principal's subtle hint regarding Yugi being at Duel Academia. Sho who was now wearing the closed red uniform with a yellow shirt underneath and light gray pants soon came over to Judai with a smile on his face.
"Look Yuudai, we have the same color jacket," Sho excitingly stated before an amused glint entered his eyes.
"You might want to change the rest of your cloths though. The jacket doesn't work too well with the other cloths underneath it," Sho lightly joked as he noticed how Judai was currently dressed.
Judai gazed down at himself and saw that his cloths did look a bit out of place. The black jeans he was wearing were fine, yet his dark green colored t-shirt under his red and black windbreaker with the red school jacket over it made his upper body look bulky. Having the school jacket over his windbreaker didn't help make his colors match that well and he still had on his black tennis.
"You're right I better change," agreed Judai with a bashful look on his face.
"I'll wait for you outside," Sho stated to which Judai nodded before leaving to go change his outfit.
After changing his cloths and getting all he needed for his stay at Duel Academia, Judai headed outside to meet Sho like they agreed. Judai was able to find Sho right away and saw that he was patiently leaning on one of the stone squares that were scattered around the front. Judai walked over to the boy and tapped his shoulder to get Sho's attention. Sho jumped in surprise when someone had touched him but immediately calmed down when he realized it had been Judai. The smaller boy then took a swift glance at Judai's attire.
Judai had the red school jacket opened to reveal a royal purple t-shirt that's length went a few inches below his waist and a standup v cut collar with a gold border on the neckline. Judai had opted out his black jeans for navy colored ones that were slightly tighter. A black suede utility belt hung loosely around his waist that had several pouches and a deck holder placed on the right side of the belt. To Sho it seemed that the only part of the uniform that Judai had the same as him was the black and red shoes. For even the school jacket Judai had on was a darker shade of red and it also was a bit longer in length then the usual red school jacket. All in all Sho thought Judai looked awesome in the school uniform.
"Wow Yuudai, you look cool!" exclaimed Sho in admiration making a puzzled look cross Judai's face.
"Um, thanks?" replied Judai not really seeing what the big deal was to his appearance.
Sho shook his head not understanding how Judai could not know how cool and mature he looked. Nevertheless Sho moved on and took out the PDA that he was given by the school to get the information that he needed.
"We're ranked as Osiris Red so we're in the Osiris Red dorm," he told Judai.
This made Judai take out his own PDA from one of his belt pockets and look up the information for himself. He saw that Sho was correct about their assigned dorm and quickly pulled up the map feature on the device to help him locate the dorm.
"Let's go check the dorm out, according to the map it's near the beachfront," stated Judai before they both headed off to find their dorm.
When Judai and Sho saw a two-story yellow building with a brown roof up ahead they both realized that it had to be the Osiris Red dorm.
"Is the Osiris Red dorm the only dorm that sucks?" wondered Sho as the two of them headed up the stairs to the second level of the building.
Judai's eyes had swiftly scanned the building from top to bottom and felt that the dorm was satisfactory enough even if it wasn't the best.
"Let's just be grateful that we have someplace to live, some people don't even have that. Besides the location gives us a great view of the ocean and more privacy than the other dorms," claimed Judai in a calm voice making Sho become more amazed by the second.
Sho then remembered that he needed to find out the room he was in so he looked it up on his PDA.
"My room is the second door on the further end, where's yours?" Sho asked turning toward Judai with an eager look.
Judai used his own PDA to find out his room and an amused smile came to his lips when he found out which room he was staying in.
"The same as yours, I guess we're going to be roommates Sho," commented Judai which made Sho happy.
"Then what are we waiting for, let's check out our room!" exclaimed Sho excitingly before walking toward the door to their new room.
Judai followed right behind Sho as the smaller boy opened the door. They both looked inside to see a room that had a triple brown bunk bed on the far right, a brown desk that had a black desk lamp and books on it in the left corner, two black desk chairs and trashcan by the desk, a stove, sink, a closet to the front right, and a window with closed green curtains on the back wall. Sho was the first to enter the room and when he took a good look around it, his mood dampened slightly.
"The room is kind of small for two people don't you think?" Sho asked as he turned back to face Judai.
Judai looked around the room for himself before responding to Sho.
"'It could be worse Sho, besides I think you mean three people," replied Judai pointing his thumb in the direction of a huge lump covered by a blue sheet lying in the top bunk bed.
"Huh?" said Sho as he looked where Judai was pointing.
Sho blinked in surprise wondering how he had not noticed another person in the room. Judai shook his head in amusement also wondering how Sho didn't see the other person in the room.
"Then again I've learned to be more observant over the years. I probably would have missed him too otherwise," Judai reminded himself.
Judai figured their other roommate was trying to sleep since he hadn't made a single move or sound when they had entered the room. Therefore Judai was about to suggest to Sho that they should explore the school and then get settled into their room later, however it appeared that they had made too much noise as the person in the top bunk suddenly pulled the covers off of him.
"You mind keeping it down!" yelled a boy in the reversed Osiris Red jacket who looked exactly like a koala.
Seeing that the boy was upset at having his nap ruined, Judai decided to handle the situation.
"Sorry, we didn't mean to wake you. We're new students and we were just checking out our room," stated Judai as he came in front of the boy with an apologetic look.
The boy did not expect such a reply and despite the fact that he didn't like having his nap interrupted, he couldn't seem to remain upset at them. With a huff he figured he might as well introduce himself.
"I'm your roommate Maeda Hayato," the boy announced in a monotone tone.
"I'm Seigiyami Yuudai," Judai told him in a kindly tone.
"And I'm Marufuji Sho," said Sho with a friendly smile.
Hayato frowned at their obvious enthusiasm as he turned his back to them and pulled the covers back over himself. It was clear to Hayato that his new roommates had no idea what their situation at this school was or else they wouldn't be so cheerful.
"Do you know what the 'Red' in 'Osiris Red" means?" questioned Hayato not even glancing in the other boys direction.
Judai had a strong feeling he knew exactly what being Osiris Red meant and he didn't like it one bit, yet he wanted to hear if his guess was correct first.
"No, not really," admitted Judai.
"No, does it have some meaning?" asked Sho as he gained a puzzled expression on his face.
"Red is for "Red Zone." It means we're all a chancy bunch," began Hayato as he turned to face the ceiling with a reserved look.
Both Sho and Judai made a shocked and confused sound as they heard this.
"In Duel Academia, you're split into three dorms depending on your grades: Obelisk Blue, Ra Yellow, and Osiris Red. Obelisk Blue is occupied by the high achievers from the middle school. And those who got in by taking the high school exam are first assigned to Ra Yellow," explained Hayato.
"Then what's Osiris Red?" questioned Sho gaining a worried frown.
"It's a beat up gathering place for the dropouts with horrible grades," answered Hayato making Sho and Judai grimace from the news before he slightly glanced their way.
"Do you get it? Those that've been sent here never had a future from the get go," finished Hayato as he turned away from them once more.
Both Judai and Sho were dismayed after hearing about the dorm ranking system; however each had their own reasons for feeling this way. Sho was becoming discouraged at the thought that he had been placed in the so called "Red Zone" of the school.
"So I'm already deemed as a failure," thought Sho in a saddened way.
Judai was feeling both angry and appalled by the prejudicial ranking system of the school. Judai was one that never liked injustice especially considering who he was. Sure he understood that life wasn't fair, but to instill the morals of pride and prejudice in already impressionable teenagers was unsettling to Judai.
"With a system like that in place it's no wonder why there are so many evil spirits here. This island is probably like a fun vacation spot for them," reasoned Judai as an irritated look appeared on his features for a brief moment before slipping into a neutral expression.
"Why don't we explore the island a bit Sho so Hayato can return to his nap," suggested Judai causing Sho to come out of his depressing thoughts.
"Ok," responded Sho in a disheartened voice.
Judai was concerned by Sho's dulled mood and knew he would have to help bring back the boy's confidence once again. After settling in the room, they headed out to look around the island. Sho and Judai walked for a while around the area near their dorm, checking out the landscape. As they were walking up the hillside, Judai noticed that Sho still had a sour mood with how the boy was slouched with his head lowered.
"Still feeling down huh?" questioned Judai already knowing the answer.
"It's thanks to what he said…" began Sho but Judai decided to quickly cut him off.
"Sho remember what we said on the flight here? We're at this school to become better duelist. We have to start somewhere and since we're already at the bottom all we can do from this point is go up," Judai proclaimed with encouragement as a grin came to his lips.
"Besides I like red, it's the color of a burning flame, scorching blood, and a flowing heart. Osiris also happens to be my favorite of the three Egyptian Gods too so it's a double win for me," stated Judai cheerfully.
Sho was once more moved by Judai's words and began to feel a sort of devotion to the boy who was encouraging him to carry on.
"Yuudai, you're really something else!" praised Sho which made Judai a bit embarrassed.
"Sho, I'm nothing special. I'm just here to learn how to improve my dueling skills like everyone else," Judai claimed even though he knew he was lying straight through his teeth.
Sho was beginning to understand that his new friend was a very modest person which just made Judai even more awesome to Sho.
"Still you're right. We're only just starting! It's no point in feeling down at the very beginning!" Sho announced with a fire burning in his eyes bringing a relieved smile to Judai's face.
"That's the spirit Sho! Now come on, we have more of the island to explore!" proclaimed Judai as he started sprinting ahead.
"I'm right behind you Yuudai-kun!' Sho yelled back eagerly as he ran to catch up to Judai.
Judai and Sho were now walking around the front of the main campus after they had checked out the places where their classes would be held. Judai was currently checking out the map on his PDA to decide where they should head to next while Sho decided to take this chance to speak what had been on his mind for a while now.
"You know I was just thinking it must be fate that we sat next to each other on the plane and now are roommates. Maybe in our past lives you were the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh and I was Priest Seto or something! You think I could call you Pharaoh Yuudai-kun?!" Sho asked Judai with admiration in his voice.
Judai immediately looked away from his PDA to Sho with shock clearly shown on his face. Judai didn't know how to respond to any of that. Judai's mind started turning as he began to wonder if in fact he had known Sho in his past life. It certainly was possible and the fact that Sho wanted to call him a king may have come from some subconscious part of the boy that did know his past life.
"I do feel that there is some kind of connection between Sho and me. Maybe if I focus enough I could retrieve some memory of him," contemplated Judai as he started gazing intensively at Sho.
Sho was frozen the moment Judai's eyes connected with his. Something about the way Judai was looking at him made Sho unable to look away. Sho could've shown that Judai's eyes changed gold for a second, but the change was so quick that Sho figured that it had been a trick of the sunlight. Judai then suddenly broke his gaze from Sho which unfroze him from the intense gaze.
"I believe you could be right about the whole past life thing Sho, however the pharaoh part may be a bit too much. Also I would feel uncomfortable if you called me pharaoh, if you have to choose a name for me could you pick something else instead?" Judai said with a reserved look on his face.
Sho was still unsure of what the staring with Judai was about yet he simply brushed it off when Judai had replied normally to his previous thoughts.
"Well how about I call you aniki then, I think that suits you," he suggested to Judai.
Judai was about to remind Sho that he already had a brother, but realized that Sho knew that fact. This made Judai wonder what kind of relationship Sho had with Ryo if the boy was eager to call someone he just meant his brother. Judai managed to keep a frown from coming to his lips at the thought and settled for a friendly approval.
"That's fine with me, now how about we check out the duel arena. I bet it's awesome," Judai recommended to which Sho had no problem agreeing with.
It didn't take long for Judai and Sho to find the duel arena. They both walked into the arena and were in awe when they saw the large stadium.
"This place is impressive," commented Judai as he looked around the place.
"Yeah, this duel field is installed with the latest equipment! The sound equipment and virtual system are all new versions!" exclaimed Sho as his eyes scanned the arena.
"Man am I jealous…I'd sure like to duel in a place like this," Sho muttered with a sullen expression on his face.
"Don't worry Sho, I'm sure we'll get a chance to duel here soon," Judai told his friend placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
However two male students in Obelisk Blue blazers came up to Judai and Sho having been close enough to hear Judai's statement.
"You Osiris Red dropout boys don't belong here," one of the males proclaimed making both Judai and Sho look at the two Obelisk Blue students in bewilderment.
"Look above you," the other student instructed having noticed their confusion.
Judai and Sho did as suggested and saw a crest with Obelisk the Tormentor's face on the top of the entrance to the arena.
"Don't you see the Obelisk crest? That means this is an Obelisk Blue only area," the first Obelisk Blue student clarified to them.
"S-Sorry, we didn't know. Let's go back to our dorm aniki," Sho said to Judai while tugging at the other's arm as a signal that they should leave.
Hearing that the duel arena was only privileged to Obelisk Blue students didn't set well with Judai at all. It took all of Judai's restraint not to retort to the two Obelisk Blues and figured it was best to follow Sho's example for now and let it go. Judai simply nodded to Sho in agreement not risking opening his mouth. They both were about to leave the arena until one of the males gained a look of recognition on his face.
"I thought I recognized you. Manjoume-san, its Number 100, the one who beat Cronos-hakase!" the guy shouted while looking at another male who was up in the stands.
Both Sho and Judai looked in the stands and saw a guy in an Obelisk Blue blazer who had black hair that sectioned in two layers and whose black colored eyes were sharply fixed on Judai. Judai almost groaned when he sensed the strong arrogant and prideful spirits that were on the guy.
"Great another one," Judai thought in irritation before putting on a false outgoing expression on his face.
"So who are you?" Judai asked him casually which caused an angry look on the boy's face.
The other two Obelisk Blues seemed to take offense at the question as well and quickly answered in their friend's defense.
"You don't know who Manjoume-san is? He's a first year like us but he's Number 1 of the super elites, tried and true from the middle school," boastfully answered the Obelisk Blue student.
"He's the much talked about future Duel King, the great Manjoume Jun!" the other Obelisk Blue student announced with pride.
Judai mentally face palmed at this not believing how conceited these guys were. Judai knew there were plenty duelist out there that could easily mop the floor with all three of these guys and not break a sweat, himself included.
"How are these Obelisk Blues expected to become stronger duelist if they already think they're the best?" wondered Judai as he was becoming troubled by the school's ranking system more and more.
Still despite how he felt about these guys, Judai figured it was best to play nice for now.
"Oh well then it's nice to meet you, my name's Seigiyami Yuudai," kindly greeted Judai while doing his best to keep a pleasant expression on his face.
Manjoume however could see through Judai's fake friendly disposition having experienced enough of the same kind of falseness on people in his life. The quest for Manjoume now was to figure out what kind of guy Judai really was.
"You're the guy that beat Cronos-sensei in your entrance exam correct?" asked Manjoume giving the boy a scrutinizing glare.
Judai knew exactly what the glare Manjoume was giving him meant and he didn't like it one bit.
"He may be arrogant but he's not stupid. Though if he thinks I'll be easy to figure out than he's going to be greatly disappointed," Judai mused before putting on a modest expression.
"Yeah, but I felt it was more out of luck than anything else to be honest," replied Judai while adding a nervous laugh for good measure.
Manjoume recognized a hidden challenge when he was given one. At first he would have thought that it was dumb luck on Judai's part when he beat Cronos but now he could tell there was something much more behind the Osiris Red student then he lead on. Since the challenge was declared, Manjoume knew the best way to find out what he wanted to know.
"Then you must have some kind of luck, I would like to see this supposed luck for myself now," proclaimed Manjoume with a smirk, knowing that dueling Judai himself would be the perfect way to gain information.
Judai almost let a curse at the clever move from Manjoume. He knew more than anyone how a duel could reveal so much about a person. Judai certainly didn't have to fake the nervousness on his face as he knew dueling Manjoume right now wouldn't be good idea. Judai hadn't had the time to consult with his deck since the entrance exams and so he wasn't sure how they would react in a duel with a guy like Manjoume. Both the Gladial Beasts and Elemental HERO's were very honorable creatures that didn't like those who took an opposition against justice, which is why they were perfect for Judai. However it was this characteristic of his monsters that made it hard for them to hold back during duels when he was facing those kinds of people. Judai himself was just barely keeping it together and not lash out in response to all the unfairness, and smugness that was all around him. Sadly if he dueled Manjoume now he was sure that his supposed luck would be revealed as actual skill. Fortunately Judai was saved from the difficult situation by an unexpected interruption.
"Hey, what are all of you doing?" asked a female voice making all five boys turn in the direction the voice was coming from.
A girl with light brown eyes and blonde hair that's length went down to her back and wearing the Obelisk Blue girl's uniform walked into the arena.
"Wow, she's pretty!" Sho stated as a blush spread on his cheeks when he saw the girl.
"Tenjouin-kun!" called Manjoume bringing everyone's attention back on him.
"You see, I was just planning on seeing what these new comers are really made of. I want to know if they are meant to be at this Academy," Manjoume declared boastfully as his eyes briefly met Judai's.
Judai understood the undertones of Manjoume's statement loud and clear which caused a twitch of a smirk to momentarily form on Judai's lips. Manjoume had caught the smirk on Judai's face and sent a hard glare his way in reply. The girl had noticed the glare Manjoume was sending to Judai causing her to wonder why he seemed to have it out for Judai more so than he would other low ranking students. Yet she decided that the answer to that would have to wait for later.
"It's almost time for the welcoming party at the dorms to start," she reminded Manjoume with a firm tone in her voice.
Hearing the seriousness in the girl's voice made Manjoume retreat as he knew that she was not one to mess with.
"Let's get out of here," Manjoume commanded to the other two Obelisk Blue males.
The two quickly followed Manjoume's instruction and soon the three left the arena, leaving only Judai, Sho, and the girl. Seeing that they were finally gone, the girl turned her head towards Sho and Judai.
"You guys shouldn't take up dares from Manjoume-kun and his group. After all they're a lousy bunch," she warned them as a scowl came to her face from just thinking about them.
Judai had soon recognized the girl as the same one he saw in the stands who had watched his entrance exam duel with Cronos. Now that he was closer to the girl he could see that she didn't have any of the negative spirits that were on the others that he had encountered. It was a relief for Judai to finally meet someone that didn't have all those spirits around her. Yes he could still detect a few concerning auras around her but it was not at a dangerous level as others had been. Judai didn't think he would mind having this girl as a friend and besides he owed her one even if she didn't know it.
"Thanks for stepping in when you did. I appreciate it a lot," honestly said Judai with a smile on his face.
"It was no problem, just try and stay away from them alright?" she told them with a friendly smile.
"Yes milady, we will do as thou instructed," remarked Judai in a chivalrous voice while bowing down on one knee with his arm extending in front of his chest like a knight.
"Aniki?" questioned Sho at seeing Judai's playful antics.
However Judai's little act had caused the girl to giggle bringing a grin to her face.
"The welcoming party at Osiris Red will be starting soon as well," she remarked with a bit of laughter still in her voice.
Judai grinned as he stood back up on both feet and gave the girl a generous look.
"You're right, let's get back to the dorms Sho," Judai stated as he began walking away with Sho rushing a bit ahead as he didn't want to be late.
Nonetheless Judai stopped walking when he remembered he forgot to ask the girl who she was.
"Oh right, what's your name?" questioned Judai, turning his head back in the girl's direction.
"Tenjouin Asuka," she answered with a warm smile.
"Seigiyami Yuudai, it was nice meeting you," Judai said politely before he soon caught up to Sho as they walked back to the dorm.
As Asuka watched the two Osiris Reds leave, she couldn't help the positive expression that showed on her face.
"It was nice meeting you too Yuudai," she whispered as she soon left as well.
As Sho and Judai were walking back to the Osiris Red dorm, Judai decided to ask Sho something that had puzzled him.
"Sho why didn't you introduce yourself to Manjoume or Asuka when you had the chance?" questioned Judai as he glanced down at Sho with inquisitive eyes.
Sho paused in his steps as a solemn look crossed his face.
"Everyone was mostly talking to you so I figured they weren't really concerned with who I was," timidly replied Sho.
This caused Judai to stop walking as well and face Sho with firm expression on his face.
"Sho, stop it," Judai stated with a sharp edge in his voice making Sho look up at Judai in surprise.
"Stop what?" asked Sho becoming slightly nervous at the serious expression on Judai's face.
Judai was silent as he thought about how was going to elaborate what he wanted to say to Sho. With a heavy sigh Judai decided on what to say.
"Sho, you need to stop believing that you're worthless because you're not. You are just as important as anybody else, so don't let others and yourself think otherwise," explained Judai bringing a look of astonishment to Sho's face.
When Judai saw that Sho was about to make a rebuttal, Judai quickly cut him off.
"It's true Sho. None of us are better or less that anyone else. It may seem that way but trust me it's not. We all have our own struggles, but it's up to the person to overcome them."
Judai could tell that his words were beginning to reach Sho and decided to continue on.
"Sho as far as I'm concerned we're equals. We both have obstacles to face here at Duel Academy and we'll face them together as equals. What do you say?" finished Judai with a smile as he stuck out his hand for Sho to take.
Sho really took Judai's words into heavy consideration. Even though he still felt self-conscious he was starting to realize the truth in what Judai had said. With a slow but growing confidence, Sho looked at Judai with purpose in his eyes.
"Alright, let's accomplish our goals here together," proudly exclaimed Sho as he grabbed onto Judai's outstretched hand in agreement.
"Good, now let's get going or we're going to be late," Judai stated with a grin as their hands disjoined from one another.
"Then let's move aniki!" shouted Sho as he started running toward their dorms.
Judai was delighted to see that Sho was heading on his way to gaining some confidence in himself.
"Wait up Sho!" called out Judai with a laugh as he started running to catch up to his friend.
At the Osiris Red dorm welcoming party, plenty students were upset about the poor meal that they were given.
"What's this?!" cried one student in dismay as he saw the small portion of fish and rice as their dinner.
"The other dorms had an incredible feast!" complained another student.
Soon practically all of the Osiris Red students began uttering out their own protests of the unfair meal they received. Judai's eye was twitching in annoyance at this point. Judai did agree with everyone else that they were being treated unfairly, but he didn't see the point of complaining about it. Judai had learned that complaining doesn't do anything to change the situation. If you wanted to change something you had to do more than talk, you had to also act. Normally he would be all over this issue and try to help implore the ideas for a fairer ranking system, yet Judai knew he couldn't focus on the matter as he had more important things to do at Duel Academia. So with a heavy heart he had to watch this injustice carry out along with his peers around him who were starting to get so worked up that by this point they were assuming weirder things now.
"And to make things worse, our dorm leader isn't even human!" exclaimed another guy who was looking at a pudgy brown cat with dark brown strips lounging on a table.
"He's a cat?" wondered a different student who was now staring at the cat as well.
Judai wanted to shake his head at the ridiculous statement. Sure the school was mistreating the Osiris Red students but he was sure it didn't go so far as to neglect them a sensible supervisor.
"Then again with the way this school treats Osiris Reds, I can understand why they would think that," was Judai's afterthought.
Just then a man wearing a white shirt with a red necktie and black paints walked into the room. His black hair was tied in a ponytail in the back and his eyelids were squinted and hidden behind a pair of square-lensed glasses.
"I'm your dormitory leader Daitokuji-nya," the man introduced himself with a welcoming smile on his face as he picked up the brown cat and carried the feline in his arms.
The second Judai's eyes landed on Daitokuji, Judai's whole demeanor changed. Judai's body tensed as he focused more on the man.
"He feels familiar, if only I could figure out where or when I've sensed him before," Judai thought as he gained a contemplative expression on his face.
"And in class, I'll be in charge of alchemy. Pleased to meet you all-nya," Daitokuji greeted to everyone.
Judai's eye's widened in realization as he discovered why the man was familiar to him.
"Things just became more interesting, I'll have to be more careful now that he's going to be around here too," reasoned Judai as he quickly calmed himself down before anyone noticed.
"Well everyone, it will be a pleasure working with all of you-nya!" Daitokuji finished with an excited voice.
After the welcome party was over, all the students returned to their dorm rooms for the evening. Back in their room, Sho decided to make some tea for them and began brewing it right away. When the tea was done, Sho poured some tea into a cup and immediately handed the cup to Judai.
"Thank you," Judai said in appreciation as he took the cup from Sho.
Judai took a sip of the tea and his taste buds were immediately pleased by the hot liquid that went down his throat.
"This is really good Sho!" happily declared Judai.
Hearing the praise made Sho feel glad knowing that Judai liked the tea he had made. Sho then turned to their other roommate who was still lying in his bed.
"Hayato-kun, tea?" asked Sho.
"I don't want any," Hayato muttered back as he buried deeper into the covers.
"Oh ok," replied Sho with a frown on his lips.
Judai could tell that Sho was not taking Hayato's rejection well. Judai knew exactly why Hayato didn't want any tea if the constant depressing spirit around the guy was any indication. However Judai realized that Sho needed to know the real reason for Hayato's pessimistic attitude.
"And why not, Sho did go through all that trouble to brew it and everything," questioned Judai in a confused voice secretly hoping to get a response out of Hayato.
"It's not a big deal aniki," replied Sho, trying to brush the matter off.
Judai silently responded to Sho by giving him a firm look that practically said "what did we just talk about" which instantly reminded Sho of the deal he and Judai had recently made. Sho nodded in both understanding and apology which Judai accepted. Hayato not having seen the exchange between Sho and Judai simply answered Judai's question.
"It's not that he's a bad cook or anything. I'm depressed about our predicament, so I haven't been able to swallow a bite of food," he announced in a dulled tone causing both Sho and Judai to look at Hayato with sympathy.
Judai mentally sighed as he figured he would have to deal with Hayato in a similar way he had done with Sho. Just as Judai prepared to open his mouth to speak, a beeping sound coming from his PDA caught his attention. Judai took out the PDA from the pocket of his belt and saw that he had an incoming message. Judai debated about opening the message as he had a feeling that it wouldn't be good news for him. Nonetheless Judai accepted the message which then opened to reveal Manjoume's face on the screen.
"Hey Dropout Boy, I'll be waiting on the duel field at twelve midnight. We'll duel with the Ante Rule with both of our best cards at stake. Come, if you've got the guts," was the message Manjoume sent to Judai.
Judai wanted to scowl at the obvious trap Manjoume had sent for him. Sho who had been right next to Judai when he played the message was worried for Judai.
"What are you going to do aniki?" Sho asked him with concern in his voice.
"That's a really good question Sho," thought Judai as he pondered how he was going to handle this situation with Manjoume.
It was midnight and Judai was in his room currently lying awake on the bottom bunk of the triple bunk bed with an amused expression on his face. After he had thought over Manjoume's message, Judai had realized that the answer to the situation was actually a no brainer. He had found that it was in his best interest to not accept the duel. Judai knew the school had rules against dueling after curfew and using the Ante Rule, and he was sure Manjoume did as well. It was obvious to Judai that Manjoume had been planning to not only use the duel to find out more about him but to also get him in trouble. With how bias Duel Academia was there was no doubt that if they had been caught dueling, he would get punished the most while Manjoume would've probably gotten off easy. When Judai had come to that revelation, it had made perfect sense for him not to take up Manjoume's challenge, especially when they could easily have a duel that wouldn't violate the school rules at another time.
"I wonder how Manjoume will react to me not showing up," thought Judai in mirth as he imagined the look on the arrogant Obelisk Blue's face.
It was times like this that Judai was grateful that he had understood the importance of thinking before acting. Judai remembered when he used to be reckless, especially when it came to dueling. Yet over the years Judai had learned the hard way what happens when you rushed recklessly into things and it had cost him and others severely. Now Judai was more careful about the decisions and moves he made, knowing that it only took one mistake to cause a huge mess.
"Aniki, are you still awake?" asked Sho in a quiet voice so he wouldn't wake up Hayato.
Judai looked up to the edge of the bed above him and saw Sho peeking out on the side of the bed.
"Yeah, I'm still awake. Is something wrong?" Judai asked silently also keeping his voice down.
Sho gained a worried look on his face as he decided to speak the concerns that were on his mind.
"Are you worried about what Manjoume might do when he realizes you're not coming?" Sho questioned.
Judai just smiled at Sho's concern and so he wanted to reassure his new friend that things would be fine.
"Not really, after all what can he do about it? If he told anyone about it he would be the one to pay for it since the duel was his idea and it was against school rules. Also I don't see how not showing up to the duel would tarnish my reputation at this school since we're already considered to be in the Red Zone anyway," calmly answered Judai, bringing a look of understanding to Sho's face.
"That's true, I guess I was worried for nothing. Good night aniki," said Sho with a smile as he lied back in his bed to go to sleep.
"Good night Sho," replied Judai as he too closed his eyes and went to sleep.
A/N: I debated about adding more but figured this was a good place to stop instead. So as you can probably guess from this chapter, not every duel is going to happen that did in the anime. This is mainly because this Judai won't jump for a chance to duel at every turn, he will think before he duels and decide if dueling that person is worth it or not.
Also since I'm sure some of you are curious, the absolute pairing in this story is Soulshiping, there may be one sided Fianceshipping but that's it. The only other romances that will take place in this story are others that are considered canon.
Regarding Judai's alias name: Yuudai means 'big hero' and it's a real Japanese name too. The bonus is that the name is a nice combination of Yubel and Judai. Seigiyami is "righteous darkness", I just combined the Japanese words for righteous and darkness together. As the story continues you will see why Judai needs an alias in the first place.
Until next chapter!