Chapter Five
I Heavily Question How We Were Caught with Lack of Evidence
Day One of Tag Duel Preparations
A few days later on no class day before dawn…
Fog made it difficult to distinguish one's surroundings. The lighthouse was one, shining its light as Asuka walked towards it. She stopped, spotting someone by the lighthouse and gasped once she realized who it was.
It was an Obelisk Blue student, about 17 years old and on the tall side with dark, blue-green hair and teal-colored eyes. He had his arms crossed as he stared out, hearing a foghorn (I'm not sure if that was it, but I just wanted to use the word foghorn!).
"Ryou…" said Asuka.
Asuka walked closer to Ryou and joined him in on staring out into the open. A few moments had passed before Ryou spoke.
"Dawn still seems so far away, huh?" said Ryou.
"Yes, but I believe there's no night without dawn," said Asuka.
~later in the Osiris Red Dorms~
Daitokuji, wearing a long-sleeved shirt and white sweatpants, woke up to the sounds of footsteps and got out of bed, wanting to know who it was. Pharaoh followed Daitokuji as he opened the door. The tabby walked out of the room as the professor rubbed his eye and yawned.
"Who is that-nya?" he asked. "It's too damn early for students to be up…and it's a no class day!"
The steps were louder and more forceful-sounding as Daitokuji rubbed his eyes whilst Pharaoh meowed.
"For crying out loud, don't break the corridor, or the floor will cave in…nya?" Daitokuji said, looking up as he saw who made the steps.
It was a group of people with green jackets resembling the school's uniform-jacket design. Daitokuji was now bright and alert after seeing the group of people. He stepped out of his room after stepping into his blue slippers to see where the group was heading to. He was nervous for some reason.
"T-T-The Academy Ethics Board, fearful enough to quell a crying child?" said Daitokuji. "Why are the people that'll undoubtedly expel you if they're rubbed the wrong way here at our dorm?"
Meanwhile within one of the rooms,
Jaden slept peacefully in her bed on her back with her head facing her right, having just turned a few moments ago. Shou turned to his left side, his head facing the same direction as he snored softly. He still had on his glasses, having been too tired last night to remember to take them off. Hayato slept on his back, his face facing the ceiling as he snored.
It was somewhat hard to believe how both Jaden and Shou were able to sleep with Hayato's loud snoring…then again both Osiris Reds were deep sleepers (especially Jaden) and had been living with the koala-resembling boy for at least a month, so they probably had adapted. However, their plan to sleep in today due to no classes, was soon to be ruined as someone knocked on their door.
"Open up!" said someone. "Open it up!"
Hayato was the one who woke up first when he heard the person knocking on their door speak to them somewhat more aggressively. Not wanting to get out, he turned in bed and hoped whoever was knocking on their door would go away.
"It's too damn early on a no class day…" Hayato muttered as he tried to go back to sleep.
Jaden, surprisingly, woke up and sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. Her hair was tousled up from turning in bed. As of result, some of it was either in her face, sticking up in various places, or covering her eyes. Either way, had anyone seen her how she was at this moment, the first thought to pop up in their mind would be that she looked adorable (or at least that's what Hayato, Shou, Daitokuji, and Asuka agreed on).
"What the hell…?" Jaden said sluggishly. "Quit making all that noise…"
Jaden slid her legs over to the side of her bed as she turned to stand up. She yawned, rubbing her eyes as tears welded up in them. The knocking on the door turned more aggressive as the person started to threaten them.
"If you don't open up immediately, we'll blow this door up!" threatened the person.
Jaden, having been sluggish, repeated the person's threat.
"Blow…" she said. "Blow up—"
Jaden's eyes widened as she stood up immediately, now wide-awake and alert.
"W-Wait a second!" exclaimed Jaden.
Jaden ran over to the door and opened it, coming face to face with a woman taller than her wearing a green uniform, a cape, and a beret of the same color of her uniform. Standing next to the woman, were two men, both wearing green uniforms, only unlike the lady, who wore a green skirt, they wore black pants.
"Jaden Yuki…and Shou Marufuji, as well," said the lady.
Shou, having heard the door open as well as noticed the sudden brightness that lit up the darkened room a bit, buried his face into his pillow.
"Close the damn door, you're letting the cool air out," Shou said, his voice muffled through his pillow. (1)
The lady looked at Shou sternly in bed. Jaden looked nervously and motioned at the lady.
"Hold on one sec…" said Jaden.
The lady nodded and watched as Jaden dashed over to the bunk beds and climb up the ladder. She crawled into Shou's middle bunk and began to shake the blue-haired boy's shoulder.
"Shou, wake up!" said Jaden. "We're in deep for some unknown reason!"
Shou pulled the covers over himself.
"Leave me alone…" murmured Shou.
Jaden sweat dropped and she sighed.
"Guess I'll have to do it the hard way…" she said reluctantly. "Sorry, Shou, but I have to do it!"
Jaden grabbed a hold on Shou's blanket and began to pull roughly until Shou lost his grip on his covers. Somewhat angry, Shou sat up immediately, coming almost face-to-face with Jaden. He wasn't flustered or angry seeing as he was somewhat used to this wake-up call from Jaden…and also didn't want to be pulled off his bed and fall onto the ground, which would've been courtesy his Aniki.
Jaden wasn't the type to wake up people by pushing them off their beds…unless she gave out warnings. The first was shaking and calling the person's name, the second was pulling off the covers, and the third was pushing/pulling the person off their beds and she didn't give a damn on which bunk bed they slept on, she'd do it. Jaden, having woken up her roommate, climbed out of Shou's bunk bed and walked back over to the green-clad lady.
"Sorry about that…" Jaden said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head.
Shou adjusted his glasses as he yawned. He looked around, his eyes widening as he noticed the lady by the door. The lady looked around before looking at Jaden.
"You're the ringleader, Jaden Yuki, aren't you?" she asked, earning a perplexed stare from Jaden.
Jaden rubbed her eye again as she yawned once more. She, Shou, Hayato, and Daitokuji were at it about almost all night long telling scary stories, dueling, and making snacks. The rest of the Osiris Red dorm decided to do what exactly the said quartet did, but unlike the quartet, who did it until 2, almost 3 AM, they passed out (not literally, but you get the point) at midnight. So it was expected of her to be tired and of course, sluggish as well.
"Huh?" she said. "Ringleader…?"
Shou walked up to Jaden having climbed out of bed. Jaden stared as the lady looked down at her.
"We're taking you to the Inquiry Board," said the lady.
Jaden and Shou looked at each other perplexed before looking back at the lady. Jaden sighed and turned around.
"Hayato, wake up!" said Jaden. "I'm going to change and I need you to get out!"
"Then why don't you use Daitokuji-sensei's room?" Hayato asked as he buried his head into his pillow.
"Because I'll push you out of bed and I don't care if you're on the top bunk," Jaden said seriously.
…
"Give me a minute," said Hayato.
In a chibi-like manner, Shou walked up sluggishly with a new sign, his referee uniform messy from his lack of attention to place the uniform on correctly. He blew the whistle weakly and held up the sign with the score messily written before dozing off.
Round 3:
Jaden: WIN (Chibi-Jaden sluggishly held up a V-sign as she yawned)
Hayato: OWNED AGAIN (Chibi-Hayato fell out of bed and onto the ground in defeat)
Shou sighed as Jaden pushed him out of the room. Hayato followed him out as Jaden shut the door behind them. The lady looked at them questioningly.
"Aniki's a girl," said Shou.
The lady nodded, understanding why Jaden was a little aggressive with having privacy.
~later within the Inquiry Board~
Jaden and Shou exclaimed loudly in shock at what they were told from three large screens with Professor Chronos, Samejima, and the lady they met earlier on each other the screens.
"Expelled?" they both said.
"A few days ago, Jaden Yuki and two accomplices broke into the special dormitory…which is closed-off and was made off-limits, and wreaked havoc inside," said the lady. "The investigation has commenced!"
A/N It's supposed to be earlier that day, but this is my story, I'm making it a few days ago so deal with it! Besides, both Jaden and Shou would've had alibis having spent the whole night until 3 AM with Daitokuji and Hayato and part of the chapter's title would've been useless.
Jaden clasped her hands together.
"We'll do anything you say, just give us a chance!" said Jaden. "I heavily question how we were caught with lack of evidence."
"I heavily question how we were caught with lack of evidence," thought Shou.
Professor Chronos responded first.
"Well then, I propose another way to penalize you two," said Professor Chronos. "And that would be a Punishment Tag Duel."
Jaden blinked.
"Punishment Tag Duel?" repeated Jaden.
"Precisely," Professor Chronos said with a grin. "Jaden Yuki and Shou Marufuji, you two will form a tag team to duel-no ne. Should you win, you will then be cleared of all charges-na no ne."
Jaden blinked and her naïvety kicked in, ignoring the consequences.
"A tag duel?" she said, smiling afterwards. "Sounds like fun."
Shou, being the best little brother (AKA, otouto) his Aniki could have, tried to remind her that this was actually bad.
"This is bad, Aniki!" said Shou.
Professor Chronos ignored Shou's distressed expression.
"Principal, it seems that even he himself is satisfied with the idea…" said Professor Chronos.
Jaden didn't bother correcting Professor Chronos's misuse of pronouns on her. Samejima stared at the two Osiris Reds.
"Well then…it seems we have no other choice," said Samejima. "Jaden…until the outcome of the duel decides if you stay or not…I'll have to postpone construction on your room."
Jaden shrugged, not minding one bit. She actually liked rooming with her current roommates. They were like the brothers she never had…Especially Hayato.
Professor Chronos diverted his eyes onto both Osiris Reds.
"Should you lose, you will be expelled immediately!" he said. "The opponent you will face in your Punishment Tag Duel will be made public by me at a later time-no ne."
Jaden sighed and grabbed onto Shou's jacket sleeve.
"May we leave?" she asked.
All three of the people on screen nodded and the moment they did that, Jaden began to drag Shou out.
"Thank you," said Jaden.
Shou frowned as Jaden continued to drag him.
"Aniki," whined Shou.
~later that day in Samejima's office~
Hayato stood in front of Samejima's desk, having heard from Jaden and Shou what had happened.
"I-I was at the dorm as well," Hayato confessed.
Samejima stared at Hayato, somewhat surprised with his confession.
"S-So, I will be on Jaden's tag team!" said Hayato.
The doors were opened as someone else confessed, too.
"I was at the scene of the crime, as well," she said.
Hayato and Samejima turned, their gaze focused on Asuka as she walked over to them. Samejima was astonished with Hayato's and Asuka's will to help out their friend. Asuka stopped in front of the headmaster's desk.
"Please allow me to be on Jaden's tag team," said Asuka.
"I-I used to think of myself as useless before…" said Hayato.
Asuka looked at Hayato and blinked.
"But after seeing Jaden duel, I want to come to grips with dueling one more time!" said Hayato.
Samejima smiled and chuckled a bit, amused with all the trouble these two students were going through to help out their friend.
"Whenever you get involved with her, everyone seems to get a little crazy," said Asuka.
Samejima looked at both Asuka and Hayato, smiling, though with a somber look in his eyes.
"I know very well how you both must feel…" Samejima said, propping his elbows on his desk as he clasped his hands together. "However, the Yuki-kun and Marufuji-kun tag team was decided by the Inquiry Board."
Asuka and Hayato looked at each other.
~later in the Osiris Red Dorms~
Hayato had just barely closed the door behind him to the room when Shou threw himself onto the large boy for support. Shou was by all means anxious and frightened as he embraced Hayato, his eyes closed.
"I can't do this!" Shou said frantically. "I'll lose and get expelled for sure!"
Gripping the koala-resembling boy's red and white jacket, Shou called out to Hayato.
"Hayato-kun!" cried Shou. "Please take my place!"
A/N Okay, this may be random, but I actually found Shou's reaction to the tag duel adorable. I wanted to hug him SO badly…
Shou started to hyperventilate as Hayato looked down at him.
"I was thinking the same thing, but anything decided by the Inquiry Board can't be changed," said Hayato.
Jaden was lying back onto her bed, pillow cushioning the back of her head, looking at the cards in her hands with a small pile of them by her side. She overheard Shou and Hayato and, without looking, she tried to reassure Shou.
"Don't sweat it," she said, concentrating on her cards. "We just gotta win, right? Just gotta win…"
Shou let go of Hayato and turned to look at Jaden.
"Aniki, you say that like it's nothing, but have you ever played a tag duel before?" Shou asked as he walked over to Jaden.
Jaden gave a small smile as she adjusted her cards.
"Nope," she said simply, lowering her cards as Shou looked directly down at her. "It'll be fun because I haven't."
Jaden laughed as Shou reacted somewhat negatively to her comment.
"Y-You're nuts!" remarked Shou.
Jaden quickly grabbed her pillow from underneath her head and pushed it into Shou's face. Shou backed up with a muffled yelp as he took the pillow off his face. Jaden sat up and grinned at Shou as he glared at her with the pillow in his hand.
"If you're really my otouto, then you'll suck it up and do the best you can," Jaden said, crawling onto her bed towards Shou, who still happened to be close by. "Or do I have to shove another pillow into your face…or maybe—!"
Shou blinked as Jaden grabbed his glasses and distanced herself from him.
"I'll take your glasses!" Jaden said in a teasing voice.
Shou blinked and placed his hands on his face to feel around for his glasses. Feeling none, he gasped and started reaching for the glasses in Jaden's hand.
"Aniki!" said Shou. "Give them back!"
Jaden placed her hand on Shou's forehead and pushed him away, sticking out her tongue at him.
"Nyah~!" said Jaden. "Not until you stop worrying about losing—yikes!"
Jaden rolled out of her bed as Shou dived at her, missing as he landed on her bed. Jaden stood up and tried not to laugh as she saw Shou's disheveled look from diving into her bed. Shou shook his head and looked at Jaden (once he managed to spot her distinct red jacket with his blurry vision) angrily. Despite his angry look, Jaden found it adorable and snorted as she couldn't take him seriously with that face.
Shou, having heard Jaden, quickly took this opportunity to get out of bed and jump on Jaden. Surprisingly, he managed to grab her around the waist without any mistakes, startling Jaden.
"Aniki, give them back!" Shou said as he reached up with one arm.
Jaden held Shou's glasses up in the air and out of his reach.
"Not until you take out your deck and stop worrying!" she said, gently swatting Shou's hand away. "I still don't know a darned thing about the make-up of your deck."
Shou sighed heavily and reached for his glasses again, his hand getting swatted away once more by Jaden. He sighed again and gave in.
"Fine," Shou said, diverting his eyes to the side. "Just give me back my glasses, Aniki…"
Jaden closed her eyes and grinned widely as she placed the glasses on Shou for him. Shou blinked and adjusted his glasses with one hand.
In another chibi-like manner, Hayato, testing out his new job as the referee, worked on the sign before blowing the whistle. Afterwards, he held up the score of round 4.
Round 4:
Jaden: WIN (Chibi-Jaden bounced up and down, grinning in victory)
Shou: K.O. (Chibi-Shou adjusted his glasses before getting glomped onto the ground by Chibi-Jaden)
A/N Yup, I said glomped and I meant it!
"By the way, you think you can let go of my waist now?" Jaden asked, Shou's face turning red.
Shou let go of Jaden and fell back onto his backside as he distanced himself away from his female roommate.
"S-Sorry, Aniki!" said Shou.
Jaden walked over to Shou and ruffled his hair as she reached for her deck on her bed.
"It's okay," she said as she gathered the scattered cards on her bed. "Let's go have a duel to test out our skills first."
Shou blinked and sighed.
~later~
Hayato looked down from a cliff, staring at his two roommates, who were both at a lower level than he was by the ocean. Shou and Jaden stood on opposite sides, the waves crashing onto the rocks and splashing them slightly with water.
Shou stared at Jaden as she grinned, her expression the opposite of his. Hayato stared at his roommates, both who were about ready to duel each other.
"Jaden…Shou…even though there's nothing I can do…" said Hayato.
Asuka overheard Hayato as she walked up to him. She had been told by Daitokuji where Shou and Jaden were when she couldn't find them in their dorm room.
"I'm sure they'll be fine," reassured Asuka.
Hayato turned and saw Asuka.
"Asuka-san," said Hayato.
"I thought that the Punishment Tag Duel would get her down, and yet she looks pretty happy," Asuka said as she stopped to look down at Shou and Jaden. "Any person involved with Judai feels better than they did. I'm sure Shou-kun will, too."
Shou and Jaden faced each other on their respective opposite sides with their duel disks in hand. Jaden smiled and held out her hand.
"You don't have to hold back," Jaden said, placing her hands on her hips (2). "Let's not think of it as a test in skills, and have ourselves a fun duel!"
Jaden held up her fist in the air as she grinned. Shou looked down, his expression neutral.
"Yeah…" Shou said dully, feeling envious of Jaden's optimism. "I wonder why you look so happy…I mean, they said we're pretty sure to get expelled…"
Jaden crossed her arms.
"Say something?" she asked.
Shou blinked as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his head.
"N-Nothing at all," Shou said nervously.
Jaden uncrossed her arms and nodded.
"Okay, then!" said Jaden. "Duel!"
Shou blinked, sighing as he bleakly said, "Duel…"
Jaden:
LP
4000
Shou:
LP
4000
"I'm first!" Jaden said as she reached for her deck. "Draw!"
Jaden drew a card and looked at her cards.
"All right!" she said, looking up from her cards wearing a grin. "I summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode!"
Elemental Hero Avian appeared on the field, making his entrance with a flip.
ATK 1000
"Then, I set one card face-down on the field to end my turn!" said Jaden.
Shou frowned as he reached for his deck.
"My turn," Shou said dully. "Draw…"
Shou drew a card and looked at the cards in his hand. A spark of newfound excitement lit up in his eyes as he spotted one of his monsters with an ATK higher than Avian's.
"Yes!" thought Shou. "Patroid's ATK has a chance against Aniki's Avian! A good start is essential in anything!"
A small little simulation played within Shou's head involving Patroid attacking Avian and sending him into the cliff with an explosion followed by Jaden praising the blue-haired Osiris Red. Along with the praise, Jaden also said she should be the one calling him 'Aniki'.
Shou laughed quietly, earning a perplexed stare from Jaden. Having been more than a minute, Jaden wondered what was wrong with Shou.
"Oi, Shou!" Jaden called out. "What're you doing?"
Shou snapped out of his blissful simulation with an immediate blink and sweat drop.
"Oh, crap!" said Shou. "I summon Patroid in attack mode!"
A cartoony-looking black and white police car-like monster appeared on the field. It wore a cap with a yellow star and had a red light on its back.
ATK 1200
Shou smiled and snapped his fingers.
"All right, let's battle!" Shou said, jumping back as he ordered Patroid to attack. "Go, Patroid!"
Patroid immediately dashed towards Avian, the light on its back flashing as a red aura emanated from the police car-like monster. The siren blared loudly as Patroid charged towards Avian.
"Siren Attack!" yelled Shou.
Just as Patroid was about to attack Avian, Jaden intercepted the assault with a trap card.
"Trap card, activate!" said Jaden. "Attack Nullification!"
A spiral-like form of energy appeared right in front of Avian, causing Patroid to skid to a complete stop. Patroid stood up and started backing up, his face scrunched up as his energy was depleted.
"Huh?" said Shou. "Patroid's energy is getting sucked away!"
Meanwhile with Asuka and Hayato,
Hayato sighed.
"He got tricked right off the bat…" said Hayato.
A loud meow caught Hayato's attention as well as the feeling of something brushing up against his leg. Hayato looked down and saw that it was Pharaoh. He bent down and picked Pharaoh up as the tabby cat continued to meow.
"Sure enough, it's just what I was worried about," said Asuka. "Shou-kun might be carrying a heavy load as Jaden's tag partner."
~back with our dueling Osiris Reds~
Shou turned around and knelt down onto the ground. He began to draw something into the dirt using his finger.
"And here I thought I'd show off how cool I was…" said Shou.
Jaden stared at Shou as he drew in the dirt.
"Shou, you don't really just see a monster's ATK, do you?" asked Jaden.
Shou stood up and turned around.
"Of course I don't!" snapped Shou.
Jaden sighed and crossed her arms.
"Patroid had the special ability to check the opponent's field," explained Jaden. "Since he has that effect, you could've checked that I had my Attack Nullification set up."
Shou frowned and closed his eyes as he talked back to Jaden.
"Quit it!" snapped Shou. "You may be my Aniki, but that doesn't give you the right to lecture me!"
Jaden was taken aback with Shou's reaction.
"What's wrong, Shou?" she asked. "You're not asking like yourself…and remember, I'm a girl, so I'm technically your Aneki, but I digress."
Shou opened his eyes and looked down sheepishly.
"I'm sorry…Aniki, I am acting odd, aren't I?" Shou asked Jaden. "You were just trying to give me some advice…"
Jaden blinked and rubbed the back of her head as she smiled awkwardly.
"No, maybe I did overreact with the lecture," said Jaden. "There aren't any social standings amongst duelists!"
Jaden tightened her fist and held it up as she smiled.
"I'm gonna give it my all without giving any advice!" Jaden said as she reached for her deck. "My turn! Draw!"
Jaden drew a card and looked at her hand (AKA, cards for those of you who don't know card game terms).
"All right, I'm counting on you!" she thought as she played a card. "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode!"
Elemental Hero Sparkman appeared on the field next to Avian.
ATK 1600
Jaden grinned and said, "Here I go, Shou! Sparkman, use your Spark Flash on his Patroid!"
Sparkman charged up electrical energy between his hands and held it up before grabbing it. He threw the electrical energy, like a javelin, at Patroid. Patroid grimaced as the javelin-like electrical energy pierced through him and destroyed him. A small explosion of smoke was made from the attack.
Shou braced himself as the smoke from the explosion.
Shou:
LP
3600
Shou gasped.
"Attack Shou directly, Avian!" said Jaden.
Avian stretched his wings and created a whirlwind aimed at Shou before diving in and punching the blue-haired boy. Shou yelled as he was punched back onto the ground.
Shou:
LP
2600
Jaden placed one face-down and ended her turn. She stared at Shou, startling him with her sudden serious actions. He sat up and laughed awkwardly as he smiled.
"It's pretty cruel of you to get all serious so suddenly, Aniki," said Shou. "I didn't even think Aniki could be this serious!"
Asuka looked at Shou as Hayato placed Pharaoh onto the ground.
"Has he lost the will to fight already?" she asked. "Hang in there, Shou-kun."
Hayato stood up and stared at Shou, whom was sitting on the ground. The koala-resembling boy gritted his teeth and growled as something within him snapped.
"Get it together!" yelled Hayato.
Shou blinked and looked up at Hayato.
"If you're getting depressed over stuff like that, you'll look even worse than a first-year repeater like me!" yelled Hayato.
Shou frowned.
"Hayato-kun…" said Shou.
"Pull it together!" yelled Hayato. "Pull it together, Shou!"
Shou blinked as his thoughts focused on Hayato's sudden outbursts.
"A guy like him, who never yells much, is cheering for me as hard as he can…" Shou said, a few moments passing before he clenched his teeth and got off the ground. "I have to fulfill…his expectations!"
Shou tightened his fist as he stared at Jaden with a change in his expression.
"It's my turn!" said Shou.
Asuka looked at Shou, noticing his sudden motivation. Hayato bent down to pick up Pharaoh again after the tabby kept rubbing against his leg. Asuka looked at Hayato with a small smile.
"Looks like your cheering got him his motivation back, Hayato-kun," said Asuka.
Hayato looked at Asuka, having heard what she said. He gave Asuka a small smile.
"Since I'm hopeless, I think I understand how others who get discouraged feel," said Hayato.
Pharaoh meowed.
"I'm pretty sure you can understand how others feel because you're not the useless individual you think you are," said Asuka.
Hayato blushed slightly, smiling at what Asuka told him.
"G-Go figure…" he said.
"Draw!" Shou said as he drew a card.
Shou stared at the card and his hand, thinking over carefully to plan his next move.
"The monsters in my hand don't stand a chance against Aniki," thought Shou. "I activate the Magic card, Pot of Greed, from my hand!"
Pot of Greed allowed Shou to draw two cards from his deck. Shou stared at the cards he draw, his eyes widening as he gasped. In his hand were two Magic cards, one of them the reason for his surprised reaction.
"Power Bond…" thought Shou.
Jaden stared at Shou, noticing the change of his expression.
"What's with Shou?" she thought. "Did you really draw an awesome card, or something?"
Shou stared at the card, Power Bond, remembering its effects as well as the flashback it carried along.
"Power Bond is treated as a Fusion, but…it can double the ATK of the Machine-type Fusion Monster that's special-summoned," Shou said, clenching his teeth at the memory that popped up. "But it's a card my Onii-san barred-off from me, telling me I can't use it yet. That day…while I was still a grade schooler, I dueled against a bully named Gorisuke."
~flashback~
A younger Shou was dueling against a pudgy, somewhat older boy by what seemed to be a playground.
Shou:
LP
1600
"It was my chance to triumph over his usual bullying in a duel," explained Shou.
Gorisuke:
LP
1900
"M-My turn!" said Shou. "Draw!"
Shou drew a card and looked at it, smiling ecstatically as it was Power Bond.
"I drew it!" thought Shou. "It's the Power Bond I got from my onii-san! Since I've drawn this, he's easy pickings!"
Standing on Shou's side of the field were two monsters, both cartoony-looking mechanical ones of a train and a helicopter.
"All right, if I just use Power Bond to special-summon Steam Gyroid, its ATK will be doubled," thought Shou. "Its ATK will be 4400! Take away Gear Freed's 1800, and it'll deal 2600 damage to Gorisuke, making it a stunning upset! I'll be able to see that bully Gorisuke with tears rolling down his face!"
"What's up with you?" asked Gorisuke. "Did you draw some really good card, or something? You're such a spazz…"
Shou laughed and placed his hand on his hip.
"Gorisuke-kun!" said Shou. "You've been treating me like a fool and bullying the heck out of me all this time, haven't you? But now, that balance in power is about to be thrown off in a big way!"
Gorisuke looked perplexed.
"What?" he exclaimed.
Shou grinned.
"Go ahead, be afraid!" Shou said as he held up his card. "Soil yourself! Bow at my feet, you cowardly gorilla!"
A/N Wow…Shou used to act this way…cute~! Sorry, had to say that…
Gorisuke scowled at Shou.
"You freakin' punk!" snapped Gorisuke. "After talking all that smack, when you lose, I'm gonna make you pay!"
Shou laughed.
"And when that happens, I'll do a lap around the schoolyard, doing a handstand butt-naked!" said Shou.
"Okay, then," said Gorisuke. "It's a deal between us guys."
A/N Oh, dear god…Shou, what have you gotten yourself into?
Shou laughed.
"You're gonna show me how a gorilla looks like crying," he said. "Behold! It's the killer card I got from my Onii-san!"
Shou was about to play it when a sudden, familiar voice stopped him.
"Hold it!" yelled someone.
Whoever had yelled at Shou, startled the poor boy badly that he fell forward and landed flat face-first onto the ground after shrieking. He pushed himself up, glaring at whoever had stopped him.
"Who's trying to get in my way?" said Shou.
Shou's eyes widened as he gasped once he saw who had stopped him. Walking right past him was a boy older than him by at least two years with dark, blue-green hair and teal-colored eyes.
"Ryou-nii-san," said Shou.
The older boy was in fact Shou's older brother, the one who had given him, Power Bond. Ryou walked over to Gorisuke, showing the bully a card.
"Hey, sorry, but I'll let you have this to forget this duel ever happened," said Ryou.
Gorisuke looked at the card Ryou offered him and snickered.
"Don't see any harm in stopping, then…" said Gorisuke.
Shou's eyes widened and he immediately got off the ground. He was annoyed with what his older brother had done. Gorisuke had already left, taking the card Ryou had offered him.
"Why did you stop me?" said Shou. "I was going to win this turn, too!"
Ryou diverted his eyes at Shou.
"You don't deserve to use that card yet," said Ryou.
Shou blinked.
"Until you're competent enough to be called a 'duelist', that card is barred-off from you," said Ryou.
Shou's eyes widened.
"Why?" he asked. "How come?"
"You can't understand why?" asked Ryou. "In that case, take a good look at the card that was face-down on the field."
Ryou held up a card for Shou to see. The card was a trap and had a picture of a hexagram on it.
"Hexagram Curse!" said Shou.
Ryou turned his head.
"As long as this card is on the field, the opposing monster it's designated to is unable to attack or change its battle mode," explained Ryou. "The ATK of a Fusion Monster special-summoned with Power Bond is doubled. However, as its risk, the player will take damage equal to the original ATK of that monster at the End Phase of his turn."
Shou bit his lip and looked down, his eyes beginning to water.
"Even if you had special-summoned Steam Gyroid, not only would it end up not landing its attack…" explained Ryou, "…but Power Bond's risk would, instead, have you take damage to its original ATK, and you would have lost."
Shou fell onto his knees despondently.
~end of flashback~
"I don't deserve to use this card…" Shou said as he stared at Power Bond. "This card is still barred off from me…"
Shou closed his eyes, clenching his teeth as he trembled. Jaden's eyes widened at noticing Shou's distressed form.
"What the heck?" thought Jaden. "Now he's started quivering?"
Jaden placed her hand by the side of her mouth.
"Oi!" said Jaden. "What's the matter?"
Shou opened his eyes and gasped. He shook his head a few times before switching out Power Bond with a different card and held it out. Jaden blinked at Shou's sudden change in expression.
"I activate the Magic card from my hand!" said Shou. "Polymerization!"
Shou stared at Jaden as Polymerization was activated.
"Just you watch, Aniki…" said Shou. "Now I'll get some payback with my Fusion Monster! I fuse Gyroid and Steamroid in my hand together…to fusion-summon Steam Gyroid!"
Shou held two cards up as Gyroid and Steamroid appeared on his side of the field. Steamroid was the train-like monster from Shou's flashback while Gyroid was the helicopter-like monster. Both Steamroid and Gyroid were pulled into the Polymerization vortex.
The result of the fusion was a monster with an appearance of a combination between a train and a helicopter, Steam Gyroid.
ATK 2200
Shou and Jaden stared at each other for a few moments, their monsters doing the likewise. Shou was the one who spoke first.
"Battle!" he said. "Hurricane Smoke!"
Steam Gyroid blew out a lot of smoke from its whistle, the propeller around its waist beginning to spin rapidly. Soon, it created a huge whirlwind of smoke around itself that was aimed at Avian. Avian coughed from smoke inhalation and looked within the whirlwind.
Steam Gyroid charged towards Avian wearing a grin as it blew its whistle. Avian was attacked and soon destroyed. The aftermath of the attack took effect on Jaden, causing her to collapse onto one of her knees.
Jaden:
LP
2800
Shou gave a satisfied smile as Steam Gyroid returned to his field. Jaden looked down, her hair covering her eyes and her expression neutral.
"I end my turn!" said Shou. "Well, Aniki? I've got a little beat, huh?"
Shou's breath hitched as he saw Jaden grin and heard her start laughing. Jaden lifted her head up as she laughed, her eyes opening as she looked at Shou. She smiled and held her fist up.
"This is the kind of duel I'm talking about, all right!" said Jaden. "Shou, things have gotten a little interesting!"
Shou smiled widely.
"Wha?" he thought.
"Awright!" shouted Jaden. "Let's give it all we've got!"
Shou laughed a bit nervously.
"Uh, y-yeah…" said Shou.
"It's my turn!" Jaden said, reaching for her deck. "Draw! Okay! From my hand, I activate the Magic card, Polymerization!"
Jaden held up Polymerization. The Polymerization vortex appeared as Jaden chose her monsters to fuse.
"Sparkman…and Clayman…" said Jaden. "Your powers are going to call forth a new power!"
Sparkman nodded and jumped into the cloudy sky with Clayman. Lightning sparked in the clouds as a loud crack of thunder added to the effect.
"I summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" said Jaden.
Hayato and Asuka looked at the duel, a loud crack of thunder startled Pharaoh. Pharaoh meowed and jumped out of Hayato's arms.
"This outcome is clear," said Asuka.
Hayato looked at Asuka questioningly.
"How come?" asked Hayato. "Shou's still giving it his all, isn't he?"
Asuka looked at Hayato, past duels with Jaden and experiences with Thunder Giant popping up in mind.
"Thunder Giant destroys one monster with an original ATK that's lower than his own ATK," explained Asuka. "You wouldn't believe how my Cyber Blader was taken down by that special ability."
Hayato's breath hitched.
"Huh?" he said. "Then…"
Hayato turned to the duel as Thunder Giant appeared out of the clouds. Shou watched as lightning flashed behind Thunder Giant. He knew of the Elemental Hero's special ability, having been there when Jaden used the Fusion-Monster against Asuka.
ATK 2400
"Vapor Spark!" said Jaden.
Thunder Giant pointed his index finger into the sky. A bolt of lightning shot out of his finger and into the cloudy sky, causing a shower of sparks to rain down on Steam Gyroid. Steam Gyroid shielded himself, but was no match against Thunder Giant's power. The attack caused a small explosion, destroying Steam Gyroid.
Shou stared at the spot where Steam Gyroid once stood.
"My favorite card just…!" said Shou.
Jaden held out a card in her hand, which happened to be her signature female Elemental Hero (her only one), Burstinatrix.
A/N Jaden's signature male Elemental Hero would be Avian and her signature Fusion-Monster would be Flame Wingman, so it's official! Well, in this AU it is.
"I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in attack mode!" said Jaden.
Elemental Hero Burstinatrix appeared in the air and flew around Thunder Giant until she was in back of him.
ATK 1200
"Launch a direct attack on that player!" said Jaden.
Thunder Giant charged up a sphere of electrical energy in his hands.
"Voltic Thunder!" yelled Jaden.
The sphere was thrown directly at Shou, shocking the poor boy with its electrical energy. Shou yelled as he was shocked before falling onto his knees despondently.
Shou:
LP
200
"Another attack!" said Jaden. "Burst Fire!"
Flames appeared in Burstinatrix's hands as she held them up, merging the flames together into a sphere. She then threw it at Shou, sending the blue-haired boy back onto the ground.
Shou:
LP
0
Jaden winked and pointed two fingers at Shou as she grinned.
"Gotcha!" she said. "That was sure a fun duel, Shou!"
Shou sat up and frowned at his loss.
"I knew I'm no good…" said Shou. "There's no way I can win that tag duel."
Jaden blinked as she walked over to Shou.
"What're you talking about?" asked Jaden. "The fall you took was something else, but up till then, it was a close match."
Shou looked down and said, "But…"
Jaden stared at Shou with a perplexed expression, remembering what happened earlier.
"You had a weird look when you drew that card…" Jaden said, eyeing the Shou's hand. "Let me see your hand."
Without waiting for a reply, Jaden bent down and took Shou's cards out of his hand. Shou gasped as Jaden caught him by surprise. Jaden looked over Shou's cards and gasped when she spotted a certain Magic card.
"Why didn't you use Power Bond?" Jaden asked as she looked over Power Bond. "Had you used it, your ATK would've been doubled."
Jaden looked down at Shou.
"Steam Gyroid would've become a powerful monster with 4400 ATK, wouldn't he?" she asked.
Shou got up from the ground immediately, his fists tightened.
"I can't play it!" snapped Shou. "My Onii-san barred that card off from me!"
Shou snatched his cards from Jaden's hand. Jaden blinked as she saw Shou's eyes begin to glisten with unshed tears.
"I knew there's no way I could ever be on a tag team with you, Aniki!" said Shou.
Shou turned and began to run away from Jaden as he started to cry.
"Shou!" said Jaden.
Shou ignored Jaden and continued to run away. Hayato gasped and turned towards the dorms.
"Shou!" he yelled.
Asuka watched as Hayato ran towards the dorms in hopes to catch up with Shou. The Obelisk Blue looked back at Jaden. Jaden stared out into the ocean, her expression neutral as her thoughts focused on what Shou had said.
A few moments later,
Asuka walked up to Jaden, wondering what was wrong with the usually-optimistic Osiris Red.
"What could be up with a person who always as cheerfully as you today?" asked Asuka. "You look glum somehow."
Jaden continued to stare out at the ocean, watching the waves as they splashed against the rocks.
"Well, a duel should be something fun, right?" said Jaden. "And yet, when he duels, he looks kind of distressed."
Jaden turned to Asuka.
"He has a killer card like Power Bond, but…" Jaden said, remembering Shou's words. "He said stuff about it being barred-off by his Onii-san and wouldn't use it."
Asuka's eyes widened as she gasped at the mention of Shou's older brother. Jaden blinked.
"What is it?" she asked Asuka.
Asuka looked down.
"Shou-kun has a real brother, and he's in this Academy," replied Asuka.
Jaden blinked and nodded.
"That's right!" said Jaden. "He told me! Uh…Top of the Third-Year Obelisk Blue, Ryou Marufuji, right?"
Asuka nodded and Jaden turned around, thoughts focused on Shou's behavior.
"I wonder what happened between Shou and that big brother of his…" Jaden said as she looked out into the ocean.
"Jaden…" said Asuka.
An idea popped into Jaden's head and she punched her fist into her hand.
"All right!" she exclaimed. "I'll now right after I have a duel with him!"
Jaden turned to Asuka and smiled. Asuka gasped and stared at Jaden perplexed.
"Huh?" said Asuka. "Jaden, don't you already know? Ryou Marufuji is the Third-Year…"
"The Third-Year Obelisk Blues' top guy who's nicknamed 'Kaiser', right?" said Jaden.
Jaden tightened her fists and grinned widely.
"Things have finally gotten interesting!" she exclaimed, laughing a bit afterwards.
Asuka looked at Jaden and sighed.
"Jaden…you're just…" Asuka thought, smiling as she said, "…too interesting to handle…"
Jaden pumped her fist into the air.
"Just you wait, Kaiser!" exclaimed Jaden. "We're gonna duel!"
A/N End of chapter, to be continued in the next. Remember! NO FLAMES! Constructive criticism and reviews are welcomed!
(1) Quote taken from episode 6 of DarkSideIncorporated's Yu-Gi-Oh GX Abridged, the one that I heavily recommend in watching. I don't own it and the only reason I placed it in there was because I couldn't resist. Seriously, too irresistible to leave out…especially since this was Shou!
(2) As pointed out by, may he rest in peace, Raymscreator in his Yu-Gi-Oh GX Abridged Series; Jaden was standing like a girl. I just barely noticed that…I still recommend watching that series as well.
Well, next chapter!