Hey, everyone!

Been working hard on this story, if you couldn't tell! 3 Chapters in such a short amount of time is really something, amirite? Hehe. Well, anyway. Back to the topic at hand.

As always, if you wish to have a chat with be about pretty much anything, just visit my profile and shoot me a Private Message! I guarantee that you will get a response from me!

Welcome to Chapter 3: The Results!

~~!~~
~~!~~

Chapter 3 – The Results

Both Hassleberry and Syrus turned their full attention to Jaden, who, out of seemingly nowhere, blurting out that he had an idea, which was a rarity in it's own right.

"What kind of idea, Jaden?"
"Yeah, Listen to your troops, Sergeant. What kind of idea?"

Both Hassleberry and Syrus exchanged glares, each of them believing Jaden to their their own best friend. Neither of the two believed that Jaden's friendship could be shared between them, not to mention the position of "best friend" for the brunette. For Syrus and Hassleberry, it was a constant struggle to gander the attention and friendship of the Slifer. Still, even with their constant bickering, deep down, they both knew that they were all on the same page, and no person's friendship was more valuable than the other one.

Finally having their undivided attention, Jaden spoke up. "Well, it was actually Hassleberry's statement that made me think of this. But, it's a really sweet idea!" Both Hassleberry and the bluenette next to him were still perplexed as to what the idea was. Jaden still hadn't said what it was.

However, the dino duelist took note of what Jaden had said. "You hear that, private? MY statement gave the Sergeant his idea. That proves that I am his wingman!"

"I've been through more with Jaden than you, Hassleberry!"
"The past means nothing, Truesdale. It's the present that matters!"

"Guys, knock it off, will ya?" Jaden couldn't take it anymore, at least for the moment. The fighting from the two Ra Yellows was starting to drive the Slifer Red insane. There was only so much of their arguing that he could take before it just had to stop.

"Sorry, Jaden." Syrus lowered his head a little bit.
"My apologies, Sergeant." Hassleberry stood up straight.

"No sweat, guys. Just chill a little bit more." Both Hassleberry and Syrus took a seat in the room, both of them sitting on the two chairs in the room. Jaden, on the other hand, took a seat on his bed.

It was quiet for a few moments. No one spoke a word. No sound was heard. All three of them had forgotten why they were getting so worked up in the first place. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Syrus spoke up. "So, Jay. You had an idea?"

Jaden's eyes seemed to flash, giving off a moment of deja vu. "Oh, yeah. That's right. It's a really sweet idea." Both Hassleberry and Syrus looked and listened to the Slifer Red intently.

"Well, I was thinking about what kind of idea I wanted, then Hassleberry mentioned something about starting his duel against you with 2,000 Life Points. Then, it hit me. How about a tournament using a different set of rules than now?"

Hassleberry and Syrus looked at the brunette, then at each other, then back to Jaden, then back to each other again. They were interested in the idea, but were wondering what kind of ruleset he was talking about. They had never heard of duels starting with 2,000 Life Points, not until Jaden just mentioned it. The bluenette and dino-duelist were looking at each other, trying to find an answer in the other. However, their question remained unsolved.

Jaden continued. "Well, I figured a really cool ruleset for the tournament would be to modify how dueling was played. In other words, the tournament would use the same ruleset that Mr. Pegasus used during Duelist Kingdom."

The bluenette was starting to understand where the Slifer Red was coming from. He had read about the Duelist Kingdom tournament that happened a little more than 10 years ago. It was the tournament that Yugi Mutou won, where he was pronounced "King of Games." Of course, that was all before the creation of the Battle City Tournament by Seto Kaiba not too long after.

Syrus was going to say something, but Hassleberry spoke first. "What? You mean to tell me that you want to change the rules of dueling? The other duelists here would have a hard time trying to adapt to such a radical change!" Jaden could tell that the was, not only a bit of uncertainty in Hassleberry's voice, but also quite a lot of anger. Jaden couldn't tell why he was getting so upset over the idea. 'I guess he likes things the way they are,' Jaden thought, trying not to smile in the process.

"I think it's a great idea, Jay! I'm sure the chancellor will like it."
"Are you insane, Truesdale? No one will go for that idea!"
"What? You don't think it is good? Some friend of Jaden's you are!"

The brunette sighed, trying to tune out the argument between the Ra Yellows. It was becoming very tiresome to hear the two of them constantly fighting with one another over who was this or who was that. 'It's only a matter of time before they Duel. I guess I should go submit my idea.'

As the Ra Yellows continued to fight with their words, Jaden snuck out of the room.

~~!~~
~~!~~

"Wow! There's so many ideas posted here!"

A bulletin board was posted in the main concourse of the Duel Academy building, containing all of the ideas that students had concocted and put up as suggestions for the Graduation Duel. Still, Jaden was sure that his idea was going to be the one that Chancellor Sheppard and the rest of the faculty would choose. 'There's no way these other ideas can stand to mine. I've got it in the bag.'

"And, just what you doing here, slacker?"

Jaden turned around to see Chazz standing behind him. "Hey, Chazz. Why are you here?"

"It's The Chazz."
"Right, Sorry."
"I'm here to put my suggestion in. I'm sure it will be better than all the others from these losers."
"I don't know, Chazz. They all look really good."
"Oh, yeah? Well, I don't see yours up there, slacker."
"I haven't put it up, yet. Give a moment."

Having said that, Jaden walked up to the bulletin board and picked up a marker. Finding a spot on the board, Jaden finally wrote his suggestion. It read, "Tournament with Duelist Kingdom ruleset. -Jaden Yuki." Satisfied with his suggestion, Jaden set the marker down and let another student use it. He also momentarily heard a high-pitched sound from his deck. 'Yeah, Kuriboh. It is a great idea.'

"Hahahaha! You call THAT an idea?" Chazz had been looking over Jaden's shoulder the whole time, which he did not notice until the former Obelisk Blue spoke up. "That has got to be the lamest idea on this board. Only a Slifer slacker could have thought of it."

However, Jaden was quick to point out the obvious. "Chazz, you are still a Slifer Red, remember?" The other duelist suddenly remembered that he was, a flush of embarrassment came over him, almost causing his face to turn red. Thankfully, his quick wit, if you want to call it that, kicked in. "I said Slifer slacker. Hate to disappoint you, loser, but I am no slacker."

Making his own way to the bulletin board, Chazz grabbed a marker and started writing his own suggestion down. It was at that point that the most annoying of people showed up.

"So, boss. What's your idea?"
"I bet it has something to do with dueling!"
"Of course it does. It has to be a duel tournament!"

Chazz gripped the marker in his hand rather hard, knowing that his Ojamas had finally decided to show up, as well as putting in their input on the situation. It was input and commentary that Chazz was not fond of, and found to be unbearably annoying more than helpful.

Trying not to talk back to them, Chazz simply used the fingers on his free hand to quickly flick the Ojamas off of his shoulder, causing them to disappear in a poof, returning to their cards in his deck.

Then, he finally continued writing what he had intended to write in the first place.

When he finished, he took a step back from the board, allowing other students in the area room to add their suggestions, as well as letting others see what he had wrote. Jaden was no exception. His curiosity had gotten the better of him, like it normally did, and he had to see what Chazz wrote on the board.

Making his way to the front he read what his rival had wrote. The first thing he noticed was how much room it took up on the board. It was at least twice the size of what he wrote. It read, "Dueling Tournament of Love. Winner gets a date with student chosen by vote. -The Chazz."

Jaden just stared at the suggestion for several moments, blinking a few times, trying to comprehend what exactly Chazz was trying to get at. It was no secret that Chazz was madly in love with Alexis, but Jaden couldn't help but think that the black-clothed student's suggestion was nothing more than a ploy to allow himself to score a date with Alexis.

Still, he decided to just play dumb for the moment in order to see what exactly Chazz was up to.

"A tournament of love? Wow, Chazz. I never imagined you to have a soft side. Haha."
"And, just what do you think is funny about it? It's just an idea I had."
"Of course it was, Chazz."
"THE Chazz!"

In a fit of anger and detest, Chazz stormed out of the concourse. With him out of sight, Jaden finally let out a laugh that he had been holding in for a long time. A few people standing around in the concourse looked in his direction, but many paid his laughing fit no mine and continued on.

Finally getting over his laughing fit, Jaden turned around and started to just wander around the concourse of the building. Many of the students were standing around and talking with their friends, a few were trading cards to strengthen their decks, and there were even some that were tossing out some trash talk before what looked like duels beginning to start. All of this, to Jaden, just seemed like a normal day at Duel Academy. It was a life that he was use to, even after the Society of Light and battle with the Sacred Beasts.

"JAAADEN!"

The all-too-familiar voice of Syrus rung out in the area. Jaden turned to the doors to see his the bluenette running towards him, followed closely by Hassleberry. 'I guess they finally realized that I let them to settle their argument on their own.' Jaden laughed inward. Even as Syrus was running out of breath, he still managed to yell out his name.

Syrus stopped in front of Jaden, trying to catch his breath as best he could. "Jaden! Why did you...just leave us like...that?"

"Well, you and Hassleberry were just arguing. I figured I shouldn't get in the way."
"You could have said something, Jay!"
"Don't worry about it, Sy. I just came down here to put my idea in."
"Really? You did that already?"

"Of course he did, Truesdale!" Hassleberry finally chimed in, apparently after just catching his breath, as well. "He knows that he has to keep his priorities straight, and putting his suggestion in first and foremost to his superiors is a great mark of responsibly. Every platoon needs a commanding officer like that."

Syrus got a flare of jealousy inside of him. He really disliked the way that Hassleberry portrayed Jaden to be his commanding officer, in a weird army sort of way. He kept acting as if Jaden and him had known each other since they were little kids. Now, Syrus did admit to himself that he hadn't known Jaden much longer than Hassleberry, only by a year, at most. However, he tried not to make such a big deal about it. It wasn't until Hassleberry showed up that the bluenette knew that he had to deal with someone else claiming Jaden as their best friend.

He tried not hang his head low. Syrus knew that both Jaden and Hassleberry would notice that. Thankfully, Alexis showed up and joined the group in their conversation. "Hey, guys. What's going on?"

"Nothing really, Alexis."
"What do you mean 'nothing', Sergeant! You just posted your idea for the Graduation Duel!"
"Come on, Hassleberry. Half the school did, as well. It's nothing special."

"Really? You thought of an idea already, Jaden?" Alexis went over to the bulletin board, searching around for the idea that Jaden had thought of. She skimmed over a few of them, reaching Jaden's idea before long. She read over the suggestion, then smiled as she turned away from the board. "That's a great idea, Jaden. I think it's the best one there is!"

"Aww, come on, Alexis. It's not that great."
"Yeah, it is. It's even better than my idea."
"Really? What was your idea?"
"Oh, nothing much, just a tournament where the winner got promoted to the next dorm level."

Hassleberry heard the suggestion. "Now that there is still a good suggestion, Alexis. There is no reason in the world why you shouldn't put that up on the board. Who knows? Sheppard might like it."

Suddenly, for whatever reason, Jaden remembered something. "Oh, yeah. Chazz was just here. He put up a suggestion, as well."

The others looked at Jaden with interested expressions on their faces. They thought that Chazz was someone that didn't really have an interest in these kind of things. Still, they figured that his suggestion might have been something worth taking a look at. The three students, aside from Jaden, went to the bulletin board and started searching for the former Obelisk Blue's idea. Syrus was quick to spot it. "Here it is."

They stared the suggestion, trying to digest the words and process what exactly he was suggesting...

Then suddenly, out what seemed like nowhere, both Syrus and Hassleberry began to laugh almost uncontrollably. "Wow. I had no idea Chazz was such a softie!"

"Got that right, Private! That has got to be some kind of joke!"
"If Sheppard sees that the idea is from Chazz, I'm sure he would laugh so hard!"

"Just imagine it. 'Oh, It's from Chazz. That's so funny!' Haha!" Hassleberry did his best Chancellor Sheppard impression as he said that. This got a little bit of a giggle out of Alexis, who did find the impression funny. "Come on, guys. It's just an idea, just like all the others ones up there." The queen of the Obelisk Blue dorm attempted to quiet down the two laughing Ra Yellows.

However, it was not Alexis who would calm them down, or even the one who would break up the argument. "What is all that racket? Can't you slacker's see that people are trying to think here?"

The four students looked around to see Professor Crowler approaching them. "I swear. There are times when I really do question why you slackers were even accepted in this prestigious academy."

"We're sorry, Professor. It's just that Chazz's suggestion was really funny." Jaden attempted to take the fault for the disruption that Syrus and Hassleberry had caused. He figured that he was the one that Crowler was after, anyway. So, this would be the perfect time for the professor to aim all of his frustrations at the Slifer Red. It wasn't as if this was something new. Besides, Jaden was already a master of tuning Crowler out if the situation called for it, which was mostly in class.

Crowler had his normal scowl on his face. "Well, see to it that you keep it down next time, Jaden. I don't want to get any complaints about you disrupting my students again." With that, Crowler continued on his way through the concourse and to one of the wings of the school. However, before he left, he made a small announcement to the students in the area.

"Just so you all know, the faculty will be determining which idea to use soon. We will announce the results tomorrow morning before noon. Make sure you don't dilly dally!" Crowler finished his statement, disappearing into the corridor and out of sight.

The concourse was relatively quiet after that. However, Jaden looked outside and saw that the sun was already setting. He knew that could only mean one thing...

"Oh, right! It's almost time for dinner! I better head back to the dorm!"

Before anyone else could say anything, Jaden went into a sprint, running quickly out the front door and disappearing from sight as the door closed behind him. Syrus just looked in the direction of the doors, still amazed at how fast his best friend ran when he knew that there was food on the line.

'He really does let his stomach run his life.' Syrus quietly laughed to himself.

~~!~~
~~!~~

"Come on, Jaden! We can't miss the announcement!"
"Get a move on, Sergeant!"

Just like most days, Jaden had slept in too late. Both Hassleberry and Syrus knew that the announcement for the Graduation Duel was going to be coming soon. Many of the students of the academy had already gathered inside the school, either in classrooms, corridors, or in the main concourse. Many of them had put in suggestions and were anxiously waiting to hear the results of the faculty's pick.

He brunette was still in bed, above all things. He hadn't even had a chance to get out of bed and hit the showers before class. But, he still was able to yell loud enough for the Ra Yellows outside to hear him. "Just five more minutes."

Syrus knew that this wasn't going to end well. He knew, deep down inside, that Jaden would not wake up unless there was something that he wanted to do, be it dueling, eating, or saving the world. Either way, hearing the announcement for which idea was getting picked for the Graduation Duel wasn't something that he would get out of bed for.

So, in order to get the Slifer out of bed, Syrus had to think of something. "Jaden! Help! There's a member of the Society of Light that wants to duel against you!" The bluenette made sure that he yelled that as loud as he could, hoping it would wake the Slifer up. Hassleberry, however, wasn't impressed with Syrus' attempt.

"Just what do you think that will accomplish, Truesdale?"
"I didn't see you think of anything! Besides, we need to wake Jaden up, anyway."
"Even he knows that blasted Society of Light is done and over with. What good will your shouting about it do?"
"Well...It was an idea! All we can do now is..."

Syrus was cut off as the door swung open and smacked him in the face. The force the impact made him fall straight to the ground, all the while covering his face. He was still able to hear Jaden yell as he ran out. "Where are there? I'll taken them. Time to get my game on!"

However, as Jaden looked around, the only person in sight was Hassleberry. "Wait...I heard Sy yelling? Where is he, Hassleberry?" The dino duelist simply pointed to the ground behind the door, motioning for Jaden to take a look. Low and behold, as he looked around the door, there was Syrus, sitting on the ground and holding his face.

"Sy? What happened? Did that Society of Light member hit you or something?"
"NO! It was you, Jay! You opened the door in my face!"
"I did? Sorry about that, Syrus. Want me to take you to the nurse?"
"I'll be fine..."

Jaden looked around the area, still wondering where the Society of Light member was. He scanned down the dirt road, around the dorm, and even looked in the direction of the forest. However, it soon dawned on him...he had already defeated the Society of Light when he dueled Sartorius.

He looked at Hassleberry, then at Syrus. "You tricked me, Syrus!"

"Hey! It was the only way to wake you up!"
"Did you even consider trying to just yell?"
"That's what I did at first!"
"Well...why did you wake me up, anyway?"

Jaden let out a yawn, hoping that he could just go back to sleep in due time. However, the Ra Yellows standing in front of him were not going to make it that easy for him. Without warning, they both grabbed Jaden by his arms and started dragging him off of the dorm's deck, down the stairs, and then along the dirt path leading up to the school. "Let's get a move on, troops! Our superiors will be making their announcement soon!"

It was then that Jaden realized what exactly they woke him up for, and, to be honest, he was annoyed by it. 'If my idea was picked, I could have just heard it later in the day. I don't need to be awake for it, right?' He found himself asking the question in his head. Luckily, he didn't answer himself.

Gaining his balance from the abrupt dragging, Jaden finally got on his feet and started walking on his own.

~~!~~
~~!~~

The main concourse of the building was completely abuzz. There were many students in the area, all waiting for the announcement to be made over the intercom system. Most were expecting the winning idea to be some kind of tournament, while others had envisioned the winning idea to be just a one-on-one duel against two people chosen at random.

The three boys entered the concourse, scanning the area. The three of them could see that it was extremely busy. A lot of noise was being generated from the shear amount of students who were in the area.

"Wow. I didn't think that there would be this many people in here." Jaden spoke first, quite loudly.
"Yeah. It's almost like a madhouse. There's so many students." Syrus got his input heard.
"That's a 10-4, troops. It's busier in here than a new recruit barracks." Hassleberry yelled, as well.

Even with the three of them yelling near the top of their lungs, it was still hard to hear each other over the constant yelling and talking of all the other students in the concourse. There were just too many students in the area for the three of them to even have a decent conversation with each other. All of their words just seemed to be get completely drowned out by all of the other voices from the other students, some louder than the others.

"Hey, guys!"

Syrus turned around, as he seemed to be the only one that really had good enough ears to have even heard someone yelling for them. As he turned to his left, he saw Alexis and Atticus.

He quickly turned to Jaden and Hassleberry to let them know two of their friends were on their way. The other two turned around and met their faces with that of Alexis and her older brother.

"Alexis, Atticus. What's up?"
"We just got here. I can't believe how loud it is."

Their conversation was cut short when someone with a really loud and heavily accented voice talked over all the other students in the concourse. "Excusez-moi, Mesdames and Messieurs. Chancellor Sheppard will be making his announcement soon." The students turned their attention to the source of the voice, and their eyes became fixated on Vice Chancellor Bonaparte.

The stout man stood in front of the large crowd, attempting to get the attention of everyone there. "That's right, students. Keep your voices down if you want to find out who the winner is." Vice-Chancellor Crowler soon joined Bonaparte at the front of the crowd. Almost immediately, the students quieted down to almost a whisper, eagerly awaiting Chancellor Sheppard's announcement over the P.A. System to be made.

But still, students were still chatting amongst themselves. Luckily, they were only whispers or speaking in their "in-door" voices. And, Jaden and his friends were no exception.

"So, who do think will win?" Jaden spoke, not loud enough to have been heard by Bonaparte or Crowler, but not soft enough to be a whisper. He never was really one for talking softly. Even his snoring in the classroom was loud.

"It's hard to say. There are a lot of good suggestions. But, I hope mine wins," Atticus said, pulling out his ukulele and strumming a tune. Alexis turned to her brother, giving him a slightly annoyed, but interested look. "And, just what did you suggest?"

"Well, little sis. I suggested that those who are chosen by the faculty duel it out, and the winner does a performance in front of the whole school. It will be a great spectacle to behold!"

Alexis, still knowing that her brother was up to his usual antics, simply heaved a sigh. "You're hopeless." Atticus simply smiled and continued strumming his ukelele. The other three boys standing there found Alexis' usual reaction to still be just as amusing as it normally was. Sure, Alexis and Atticus were brother and sister, but, at times, they seemed to be worlds apart. Syrus was about to speak, when...

A loud voice was heard all over the school.

"Good morning, my students. This is your Chancellor speaking." All of the students in the building went completely silent. Unlike what Bonaparte and Crowler did, Chancellor Sheppard got complete silence from the students.

"As you all know, the faculty of the school was looking for some fresh and inventive ideas for this year's Graduation Duel. We left a bulletin board in the main concourse for student's to record their ideas. Yesterday, we collected the bulletin board and went over the ideas." All of the students, Slifer, Ra, and Obelisk alike, were teeming with excitement as they awaited to hear the winner.

Sheppard continued. "This morning, at a faculty meeting, we choose three of the best ideas, then finally narrowed it down to the final winner. I will let you all know that it was a very tough decision to make. However, we believe that this choice was the best of the bunch."

Some students couldn't contain their excitement any longer. They were all eager to hear the final part of the announcement. And, their answer came not too long after as Chancellor Sheppard finished. "This year, the Graduation Duel will be...a tournament of Love, as suggested by your very own Chazz Princeton!"

"Chazz won?"

The five friends all had said the same thing, at the same time. All of them had looks of shock and surprise. None of them had imagined that Chazz's idea was the one that was going to win. Even though the five of them had yelled the same thing, their voices were almost completely drowned out by the uproar from the other students in the building. There was barely anyone that didn't have some kind of reaction to who the winner was.

"It's The Chazz!"

They all turned around to see Chazz standing behind them, smiling as thought he has just won the greatest duel of his life. "And, yes. That was my idea, and I am glad to see that Chancellor Sheppard agreed." The other five students just stood there, dumbfounded with disbelief. None of them understood why Chazz even suggested such an idea.

"But, Chazz. Why did you even suggest that? It's not like you are Mr. Romance or anything like that."
"Because, Jaden, I had a very specific reason for it."
"Well, we are all ears, bro."

The black-clothed duelist grinned even more, turning his head away slightly and tilting his head downward, also slightly. "Well, if you must know, I plan on winning the tournament and getting a date with the student chosen by popular vote. And, of course the students are going to vote for the one person that my love has always been for..." Chazz started getting dramatic the more he talked.

"...and, that person, the person that the other students will vote for...Is you, Alexis!" As he said her name, he pointed in her direction, all the while being slightly flushed in the face. Alexis' already surprised look changed to an even more surprised look, but quickly changed to dislike; some might have even called it hate. "Chazz! I am not some prize to be won. And, if you think I will let any of what you said happen, then think again!"

With that said, Alexis stormed out of the building, likely heading for the Blue dorm. Atticus didn't say anything, simply running after his sister. However, it was Jaden, Syrus, and Hassleberry that would say something on her behalf.

"That's really low of you, Chazz! How can you just try and force Alexis on a date with you?" Syrus made his remark.
"He's right, Chazz. If Alexis doesn't want to do anything like that, then you can't make her." Jaden spoke next.
"My commanding officer has the right idea. Sounds like you are a couple troops short of a full battalion!" Hassleberry spoke last.

"Hey! When I want your opinions, I'll ask for them. Until then, keep your traps shut, slackers!" Chazz couldn't say much to their comments. After all, even he knew that it was still going to be a long shot for the students to even vote Alexis as the person that goes on the date with the tournament winner.

With that, Chazz left the building, all the while still leaving an impression on the students who he just had his argument with.

Soon after, Chancellor Sheppard spoke one more time over the P.A. System. "The voting for the student who will be the one that has the date with the tournament winner will close in 3 days. Make sure you get your votes in, and thank you for all of your wonderful ideas!"

However, Jaden and his friends, during their argument, missed an important statement that Chancellor Sheppard made only a few moments ago...

...and it was a statement that was going to have a lasting effect.

~~!~~
~~!~~

There we go! Chapter 3 is complete!

Like always, if you ever want to have a chat with me, just shoot me a PM or e-mail while visiting my profile. Also! I have a new poll up for you to vote for! This poll is in regards to which Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! GX opening song is your favorite. Please remember to vote on which SONG is your favorite. Don't vote on the entire AMV, just the song!

That about does it for now. I'll see you in Chapter 4 – And the winner is...!