Home Sweet roaches(T.J.)
So, anyone figure out what the DL stands for yet? If not, you're in for a wait, since it won't be revealed for awhile. Also, I fixed the problems last chapter had, so yeah. That's something. This story has a lot of planned chapters and a grand total of four story arcs, felt I'd add that since this is a short author's note. Again, leave a review if you want, and enjoy reading.
T.J. was psyched, after a long helicopter ride to the island he was finally here. A place he'd hoped to be since he was eight years old. He didn't fully understand how they thought helicopter rides were the safest way to carry students to the island, but that didn't matter right now, the point was, he was there, and walking his way along the path that led to the Ra Yellow dorm. A pair of suitcases gripped tightly in his hands. He was already wearing his dorm's jacket over his shoulders, he was excited and above all else, happy. Months of buying cards had finally payed off, and at least right now, kind of slowing him down. One of those suitcases was stuffed with cards, every single one of his cards that weren't in his main deck. The other one was full of every yellow piece of clothing he could muster, mostly because he forgot that they gave him his own jacket. Still, the dorm stood before him now, it looked pretty fancy, even from the outside. Based on the windows, it probably got a good view of the ocean that it sat so close to. He did find it kind of odd that this dorm, and the Red dorm that he'd passed we so close to the sea. He had no idea where the Blue dorm was, but it must have been further inland, since the rest of the dirt paths that ran through the island seems to point in that direction. The point was, if their was a tidal wave or a hurricane, this dorm and Red dorm would not fair very well.
Still, it was a nice place, there was even a gazebo not far from the dorm, it looked worn, but like the rest of the grounds, well kept. The doors were wide open, a lot of other new students were entering, greeting the more experienced second and third year students. He was home. He stepped through the doors, seeing that the dorm was even fancier on the inside than the outside. He took in all the scenery. More people than he could count dotted the main room. Most of them talking, some of them, like him, taking in the sights that the dorm offered. There were plenty of beautiful paintings and potted plants. Some people sat at the giant tables eating together. T.J. was pretty sure he was going to like it here, despite the snooty looks of a few of the people. One particular person caught his eye, he was sitting alone at the
far end of one table, and people seemed to give him his space. His hair looked to be a faded black, almost gray in color. There was also a poster on one wall, a few people were on it, a young woman with brown hair, behind her stood an older guy with black hair, and a blue scribble in marker. It seemed to be crossing out another person, he couldn't tell what they looked like, but someone must not have liked them. Behind each of them was a monster, all of them dragons as it appeared. The text of the poster was in bold yellow, 'Dragon team, join today!'. He wasn't sure what it meant by 'Dragon team'. Did the academy have Duel Monsters teams or something?
Still, there was something about that poster that he... Liked. He wasn't entirely sure what, but still, he had more important things to do, like unpack and find his room! He'd been given a number, he assumed he just had to find it. He passed a lot of people, he could get acquainted with everyone once he was in proper attire. Numbers on the doors flew by as he jogged around the hallways, and after reaching highest floor of the dorm, he found it. The door seemed like it had practically been shined, buffed, cleaned and polished to perfection. Something told him that he was bunking with either a second year student, or another first year with a serious case of being a neat freak. He slowly opened the door, not wanting to freak out whoever the other student was. At least if they were the neat freak he expected. Stepping inside, he dropped his suitcases in a mix between awe, and bewilderment. The room was definitely home to another student, but this was not the room of a neat freak. It was lined with all sorts of... What he assumed was Samurai memorabilia. Different kinds of armors, artwork that looked hand drawn, and a long sheathed blade mounted on the wall. How had this guy gotten all of this past Duel Academy security? Was the sword real? He kind of wanted to see. He walked over and began reaching out to it when a low, snappy, serious voice made itself clear behind him.
"Touch it and it will be the last thing you ever feel." He turned around, seeing the same older student who was sitting alone at the table earlier. T.J.'s hand dropped straight to his side, he did not sound like the kind of guy who made empty threats. T.J., trying not to make a bad
first impression to his scary roommate, held his open hand out.
"Oh... Hi. My name's T.J., I'm your roommate." T.J. tried to put on his most "not-creeped-out" smile he had. He was very overbearing, his expression said that if he had heat vision, there would be two rather large holes through T.J.'s face right now. His scary gaze shifted from T.J. to the piece of paper in his other closed hand, quickly taking noticing that it was an official Duel Academy slip. T.J. took the hint and raised the paper, un-crumpling it to show him more clearly. The young man looked at his assigned room number, it was in fact the same as his. "Let me set some ground rules." He began, his voice was one that demanded attention, and it was clear enough to even T.J.'s short attention span that ignoring him would end badly.
"Leave my father's sword alone, the top bunk is for my books, and if you interrupt my studying you will regret it. Understood?" T.J. nodded. He could see why people avoided him earlier. He could also see the bright side in all of this. If all those people are as scared of him as he was, then he would be seen as a pretty cool guy for being bunked with him. This was still going to be fine. One hour and a lot of unpacking later, T.J. was in his official uniform. It was a little snug, but he didn't care much, he was on his way to his first class on academy island, and he was as tired as he could be. He hadn't slept last night, he was too excited about the entrance exams, and while he fought to stay awake for the helicopter ride over, the fact that he'd made it through the last two hours on the island was nothing short of a
miracle. Still, this class was going to be easy at the very least, it was duel monster's history, what could be easier? He was a nerd when it came to all things duel monsters, he could name a card's effect just by it's cover art. Usually. A wide assortment of students were at their seats already, Blues, Reds, and Yellows alike. He found his seat, which he himself found odd. He didn't like the concept of being giving a seat number, he wished he could just sit where he wanted, but a least it was a cozy little one at the front row. An old man walked out and up to a podium, he looked like he had been teaching here for quite awhile, and it showed by his following speech.
"Hello again class, as you probably know, we've received our next wave of new students today." He began, his old voice seemed as if it had been practically worn down, the only thing that made it clear was a small growl behind it. He could have been a fast talker in his own time, spitting out words until his voice would give out, but his words now were slow, and a little forced.
"Those of you who are new, my name is Professer Nost Liaga, and I will be teaching your duel monster's history class." His words slowly began to bounce off of T.J.'s head, sleep was coming, and he couldn't do anything about it. As the class dragged on, T.J.'s eyes surrendered to Ol' Mr. Sandman. Being at the front of his class, Nost quickly took notice of his new student's lack of attention. Checking his charts, he saw that this student's name was T.J. Avian.
"Mr. Avian, would you like to tell us what the first card to have an official ID number was?" He asked in a surprisingly loud voice, which rang loudly into T.J.'s ears, snapping him out of his sleep. He paused for a second as he got himself re-oriented, realizing where he was and what he'd just be asked, his mind raced to come to the answer of the question, after a few seconds, Professor Nost felt he had made his point.
"Avian, I will not tolerate slackers in my cl-" He began to lecture, only to be interrupted as T.J. finally came to the answer. "Penguin Knight. It was set to ID number 01 in one of the first packs ever released..." He stated as coherently as he could, though he did slur a few of his words. Nost was surprised, not impressed. He was still annoyed by this student falling asleep in his class.
"Correct." He mumbled begrudgingly. He did not like these kinds of students. The ones who slack off but think that knowing their facts was going to get them 'off the hook' for it. He hoped that this student had at least learned a lesson from this, and that he wouldn't doze off again, or there WOULD be consequences. "Now who here can tell me..." The sound of his voice began to drift off again, and the next time T.J. was snapped awake, the words he heard were feint. "We can't have students who fall asleep in class, it's kids like these who are driving our reputation into the ground." He blinked a few times, trying to be rid of that tired feeling that still lingered in his eyes, he couldn't quite lift his head yet, but he knew at least one thing, these words were being said on his behalf.
"True, but from what I heard, he was the first person to answer your 'slacker sleeper' question correctly." A second voice retorted, it was female, and familiar. He raised his head slightly, his vision was a little blurred, falling asleep at a uncomfortable desk will do that. "So he knew the answer to the question, that doesn't mean anything. He needs expelled before he becomes another problem student." It sounded like T.J. wasn't the first person to just fall asleep in his class.
"Nost, every student deserves a chance, if you want to punish him, expulsion is not the way to go." T.J. finally raised his head enough to see two blurry figures, one of a person with a feminine shape with what seemed like blond hair, he assumed that this person was the female voice he'd heard. He didn't need to worry about who the other might be, because he knew it was Professor Nost. "Well what do you suggest?" Nost asked. The woman turned back to him after noticing that T.J. was awake, not sure how to respond for a moment. Finally, an idea crossed her mind, and she smiled.
"Avian, meet us in the central duel room at six. Now get up before you're late for someone's class." The woman ordered. Finally, the blur that had been in T.J.'s eyes cleared, he could recognize that this woman was the teacher he had dueled in the entrance exams. T.J. felt like he was being ordered around a lot today, but this was not the time nor place to complain about it.
"Yes Ma'am." He said, quickly getting himself out of his seat and running out the door.
(Ran)
Ran stepped off the helicopter that brought them to Duel Academy Island. Before him lay the sprawling complex, going for miles in seemingly every direction. From the bustling crowd, he could just see the spires that indicated the Gods in which the school was based on. Excitement bubbled in the pit of his stomach as he bounded forward, following their guide across the bridge and up the long winding path that ended at a fork. Three signs were there. One pointed to the right most path that said "Slifer Red." The Middle one said "Obelisk Blue" and the farthest said "Ra Yellow." Suitcase in tow, he began to hurry down the path to his new home.
He passed several other students whom had paused on the trail for a break, the path was uneven and rather dangerous looking. But Ran was young and careless, he didn't care what the path was like that led to the cliff-side form. All he cared about was making friends with his roommate, whomever that be.
Ran was dressed in his full gear: The dark Slifer Red blazer, a gray undershirt with stone-washed, slightly holey jeans. Everyone of course looked at him as-if he were some kind of bum, like he was raised on the streets. They weren't far from the truth, all things considered. Ran had been born into a very poor family, always struggling to make ends meet and accepting food given to them by the local church. His family really never had a lot of money. Ran bought his cards by taking in soda cans and glass bottles to the recycling place. He had to do it a lot, but he always had enough to get at least one pack of cards per week. All this had built his deck, the only deck he ever felt comfortable using.
He pulled his heavy suitcase up the stairs to the second floor of what he called a "hole in the wall" type building. It was shoddy. Slightly run-down, yet it had a rather homey feel about it. Checking the slip of paper he was given, just to make sure the room number was correct: he pushed the door open and entered. The place seemed rather empty, all things considered. There was another suitcase at the end of the bunks, almost as if the suitcase was hiding. Setting his own down, he gazed about the room. It was small and slightly cramped. With two dressers, a small crappy tv in the corner and a wilting plant in the sill of the only window. All in all, it was great. But where was his roommate? He had to be here, his suitcase was! So he searched, and when he came to the closet he gripped the handle and pulled. Hard. When he did, he heard a slightly loud crash and an even louder curse.
The smaller blonde male had fallen as he jerked the sliding door open, causing him to trip and knock the shelf down on himself.
"Oh! I'm sorry, are you okay?" Ran asked, picking the shelf up off of him and setting it back on its holder. He extended a hand down to the smaller male, trying to help him up.
"E-erm... Yeah I-I'm okay." He stammered, his bright red eyes filled with tears as a comically large bump grew on his head.
"I'm Ran Tatsuya! Your roommate, it's nice to meet you." He spoke, his voice suddenly cheerful again as he moved over and kicked his suitcase under the bottom bunk. "If you don't mind me asking," He spoke guardedly, "Why are your eyes so red, and why were you hiding in a closet?"
"I'm Lucky. It's nice to meet you too..." He looked down at the mention of his eyes, "It's... a birth defect." He murmured, clearly shy about that particular subject and ignoring the second part altogether.
Ran, sensing his obvious alarm quickly apologized. "No no! It's awesome, actually. I've never met someone with such red eyes! I have the coolest guy in the school as my roommate!"
Lucky looked up, shocked. He let out a shaky little laugh, "Thank you. Can I have the top bunk?" He asked shyly.
"Of course! I don't mind. I like the bottom bunk instead, really. I never did enjoy sleeping so high off the ground." He fumbled around in his pockets before pulling out a thrice folded piece of paper. "So what's your first class?" He asked, knowing that because of the arrival schedule being slightly skewed, his second class would act as his first today. "Mine is Spell & Trap 101." Odd that they'd go over something so simple..
"That's mine, too!" Lucky cheered, and together, they walked to their class.
Together they set off. Trudging their way into the main building towards classroom number 5, Spell & Trap 101. Apparently they were the last ones in the class, 'fore when they stepped through the door every single seat was filled! Only two of them were left, one in the very back and one in the very front. The one up top was Lucky's they could see the sign with his name on it. Unfortunately, it looked like he was sitting next to two very disgruntled looking Obelisk Blue students.
"Good luck..." He murmured before sidling off to his seat.
Ran grinned and moved hurriedly down to his seat, positioning himself on the very edge of his seat. Excitement rippling through him as he stared in anticipation. Where was the teacher?!
Finally, the door down by the desk opened and in strutted a tall woman with short, bouncy blonde hair, startlingly blue eyes and with a kind face that made her seem almost dangerous. Aside from her Obelisk Blue uniform, she smiled at the rest of the class and set her briefcase down upon the desk.
"Alright students," She spoke, her voice soft yet ringing. "Welcome to Spell & Trap 101. I'm Casey Salazar, I'll be your Duel Mechanics teacher this year." She shuffled some papers about and began to make roll call.
After a few minutes, she set the paper down and walked around her desk.
"I want to talk to you all for a moment. What we teach here may be trivial, some might even call it unnecessary. But, it's important. This world has evolved to the point where your success depends on your duel monsters prowess." She spoke bright and clear, crossing her arms. "Here I will teach you how to use Spells and Traps to their highest proficiency. Now!" She barked, suddenly snapping the class out of their concentrated stupor. "What is the most useful trap card?"
Ran's hand was in the air before anyone elses, biting his lip as he almost begged to be chosen. She gazed about the room, only one person had his hand up. After checking her sheet of paper for the seating arrangement: "Yes, Ran?"
"The most useful trap card is the one that fits your deck! For instance, if you have a deck-type that relies on indirect damage: Magic Cylinders is perfect for you. Or if you're trying to destroy your opponents attacking, Mirror Force. Each situation and deck type matters when it comes to useful trap cards." He spoke confidently.
A thin smile crossed her lips as she heard his answer. "Very astute. But correct." She paused for a moment, remembering something she had heard in the staff room. They were seeking an opponent for the one boy who beat her to get IN to Duel Academy. "Ran Tatsuya, meet me in the main duel chamber tonight at six."
Ran looked puzzled. "Why, Mrs. Salazar?"
"Because, you have a duel."
With that, she turned her back to the class and assigned work for them to do. Leaving Ran to wonder who his opponent was.
It was evening for duel academy now, and a rather large crowd of students were gathered in the stands of the academy's main dueling arena. This was the place where everyone went to settle disputes, so when it was announced that a duel would be held there today, most of them dropped what they were doing to watch the showdown. Gossip ran through most of the students, a high scoring Red against a Yellow who slacked off. Almost everyone was in agreement that it would be a fun match to watch, if not just amusing.
T.J. himself was not very worried as he waited beside the raised platform of the duel arena, he'd beaten one of the school's own teachers for crying out loud! Now he was going to be dueling a Red, the lowest rank a student could have here. In his mind, it wouldn't be all that difficult. Professor Nost sat in a front row of the stands beside a few other members of the staff, ready to see this slacker put in his place. The rest of the restless students finally silenced themselves as the Red student entered the room from the main hall.
T.J. had recognized him from the entrance exams, the red haired duelist with the Dark Magician Girl. He wouldn't outwardly show it, but the idea of seeing somebody play this card was the second most exciting thing he'd ever hoped for, next to owning one of the God cards. As far as he knew, only one Dark Magician Girl Card existed, and it was still in the possession of the king of games. At this thought, a few quiet words slipped through his lips
"This might be a fun challenge after all."
Ran had been pacing nervously outside his designated entrance for at least ten minutes. Several students wished him luck, while others jeered and made fun of him for having to duel a Ra yellow. He wasn't sure how to react, but Lucky seemed to try and give him encouragement. But whenever one of the school "bullies" popped up, he ducked behind Ran and hid from view. It was finally six o clock, time had come for the duel the whole school was waiting for. He pushed open the door and stepped through. The entire school had showed up! Professor Casey was sitting in the front row, a satisfied look on her face as she jolted information down upon a clipboard. His green eyes wandered the length of the arena, catching the face of his opponent. He faintly remembered this person, he supposedly used a new type of card.
The young duelist smiled shakily as he walked up the steps to the duelist platform, his older-styled duel-disk sitting on his left wrist. His oh-so precious deck prepared and ready for battle, he was going to enter his first duel as a student at duel academy! How perfect! As he stood there, taking in the hundreds of faces that stared down at him, a voice suddenly came over the intercom:
"Welcome students to our first duel of the year!" Nost began over a microphone perched directly in front of his seat.
"Today's duel has some very special stakes, if our little Slifer here can win this duel, he and the Ra student will be swapping dorms!" A series of 'Ooh's and laughs rang through the students, this couldn't be for real. A pair of first day students and already this is happening. If it were anyone other than the constantly serious Prof. Nost announcing this duel, they would think it to be a joke.
"Our participants for this duel are both first year students, Ran Tatsuya, a Slifer who is certainly not a slacker, and T.J. Avian, who... Is." Nost commented, giving the students a chance to cheer or laugh. It was always good to see students paying attention to something for more than five seconds.
Casey shifted her gaze towards her colleague and gave a soft sigh, leaning forward to speak into her mic. "Indeed! Such high stakes at the start of the year. This could only mean we're going to have an explosive, memorable year here at Duel Academy." She smiled, noting that the boys in the crowd seemed to dote on her every word. "For a little background information: T.J. Avian was caught napping in class, "slacking off" as Professor Nost would say. Ran Tatsuya, however, displayed excellent use of cool intellect and brilliant logic. So I appointed him to the duel!"
The whole arena hushed as everyone listened to her every word. She must've noticed this, for she blinked and smiled again. "May the best duelist win! Now, T.J. and Ran, step forward and cut one anothers deck."
T.J. stepped up the small stairs of the arena himself, cutting this guy's deck was something that gave him goosebumps. He was going to hold a deck that contained The Dark Magician Girl. As the two duelists approached each-other, T.J. tried to keep his head a bit more level, keep his mind off of the fact that such a rare card was about to be in his hands for several seconds. Soon, they both came to the center of the arena. There was a short pause between them before T.J. offered his deck to Ran.
"Let's give these people a good show." He greeted in the closest thing to 'Good luck' he could manage at the moment. He was caught between confidence and excitement for this duel, and a simple 'Good Luck' would not do for this situation.
Ran slightly tilted his head, a bright smile flicked across his features as burning determination roared to life in his eyes. "Right! I hope you're as good as you were in your duel against Mrs Casey!" He spoke, extending his own deck towards T.J's. He took his, shuffled it and cut it and handed it back. Handling the cards with the respect they deserved.
T.J. did likewise, he felt a little tense, he currently had a card that he previously presumed one-of-a-kind in his hands, a card used by the king of games himself. The thought 'Don't drop the cards' passed through his mind. 'Don't run away with the card, you'll never make it' was another one. He felt he was beginning to take too long at this point, and stopped repeatedly shuffling the deck. As the deck left his hand and returned to it's owner, he could practically feel a small piece of his heart fall off. With a respectful nod, he started back to his spot in the arena.
Ran smiled at him and spun on the ball of his foot and half-hurried back to his spot on the duel platform. The duel was set to begin! The antique duel disk on his arm activated, growling to life and extended outwards. His deck spat out five cards into his awaiting hand, he looked down at them. Dark fire soldier #1, Pot of Greed, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Trap Jammer.
"My turn!" He bellowed as he drew, adding magical hats to his hand. "Alright, first I set two cards face down and place a monster in facedown defense position!" He called, watching the cards flicker to life in front of him on the grid. Better to start off slow, wait for him to make the first move. "I end my turn, good luck T.J."
T.J. drew his cards, adding them to his hand whilst Ran took his turn. Like his entrance exam, not the most flashy hand, but a pair of familiar cards graced it all the same, Giant Germ and Junk Synchron, along with Neo The Magic Swordsman, Coffin seller, a Double Summon, and a Monster Reincarnation topping off his hand as he started his turn.
"Alright, let's get this thing rolling! I'll start by activating Double Summon!" The hologram of the card faded onto the field, coupled with a pair of circular lights in the monster zone.
"Next, I'll summon Neo The Magic Swordsman!" The a noble looking soldier materialized unto the field, swinging it's sword down with both hands, striking a battle pose. It was closely followed by two face down holograms, one in the monster zone, the other behind it.
"Then I'll set a monster, and a little surprise back here. Now let's see what your deck is made of. Neo! Attack his monster!"
Ran smiled as his opponent destroyed his set monster which was revealed to be the Celtic Guardian. "Not bad." The smile grew as T.J. ended his turn. Ran drew, flicking his gaze down to his cards. "Now, my friend. Let's see what your deck is made out of, shall we?" He roared as he slammed Milla the Temporal Magician into the monster zone. The magician rose from the ground, holding her staff in her right hand whilst looking bored and dispassionate. Her cold eyes staring at the enemy swordsman, twirling her staff in her hand and waiting.
"Now, Milla. Attack his Neo the Magic Swordsman!" Ran demanded, watching her leap forward and slam the end of her staff directly into the chest of Neo. Causing the monster to erupt into various shards of hologram, spraying his opponent with them. "My deck draws from the power of magic, T.J. You'll be hard pressed to defeat them with simple warriors."
T.J. drew a card, a small chuckle hidden in his breath. Those 100 life points would not be missed any time soon. "Funny that Neo's a Spellcaster." He commented, adding the new card to his hand. Dark Bribe, an old favorite of his. "I'll set one card face-down, and end my turn." Why waste an important monster when he was about to get two free ones?
Ran grinned sheepishly as the man caught his little play on words, but no matter. He drew his card and stared at it, a slow tick developing in the corner of his lip as he added it to his hand. "Alright, Milla! Attack the facedown card!" He roared, watching the magician stab the face down card with the end of her staff.
"Thanks for that." T.J. began to his own amusement. The pierced card shattered, turning into a large purple blob that was being pressed to the ground. "You've just attacked my Giant Germ!" The ever shifting shape of the Germ began to bloat around the bottom of the magician's staff, before bursting in a spray of debris.
"When Germ is destroyed by battle, you take five hundred points of damage!" T.J. boasted as the pieces of the monster pelted his opponent before fading away. His duel disk then dispensed two cards, another pair of Giant Germs. As he slid them into the monster card zones, two new holograms of the huge bacterial creatures appeared in the previous one's place.
"Argh!" Ran groaned as his life points fell, hissing in irritation as he grudgingly ended his turn. T.J. smirked, a few more moves and he might be able to get another one attack win. As he drew his card, he smiled, it was one of the few cards in his deck that could go toe to toe with Milla without a tribute, Herald of Creation.
"I'll start by summoning Herald of Creation in attack mode! Now let's see who's magician is stronger. Herald of creation, destroy his magician!" The golden garbed spellcaster spun her staff in the air once before directing it toward Milla, who was already pointing her's own staff right back at it. Large beams of energy erupted from their staffs, growing brighter and brighter as they collided. In a massive explosion, the two monsters fell to the ground shattering.
"But that's not all! I just activated Coffin Seller! Now with your Milla going to the graveyard, you take 300 damage!" One of T.J.'s two face-down cards rose up from the ground before suddenly shattering! Much to it's owner's surprise.
Rans grin spread across his face as his trap rose, indicating his opponents complete despair. "Did you really think I'd let that happen?" He asked, revealing his Trap Jammer for all to see. "I activate Trap Jammer! Destroying your precious coffin seller!" He uttered a quiet laugh, "Now if my math is correct, both of our monsters are destroyed!" T.J. furrowed his brows. It wasn't a major setback by any stretch of the word, but man did he hate being shut out like that. With a quiet sigh he sent his monster to the graveyard. "I end my turn."
Ran chuckled a bit as he started his turn and drew a card. 'Lightning Vortex,' Ran mused in his thoughts, shifting gaze over to his hand. "I summon an assassin from the depths of fire. Come, Lady Assailant of the Flames!" He bellowed, slapping the card into the monster zone. The gray haired beauty rose from the ground, crossing a kunai across her chest. "Now I activate the spell card Lightning Vortex." He called, clouds billowing above them as a roar of thunder erupted around the arena; followed by two harsh lightning strikes that destroyed those pretentious germs. With a final crack of thunder, it resided; leaving him wide open! "Now, my assassin! Attack his life points directly!" He called, watching her slide forward with incredible speed and stab the blade into T.J.'s chest. Dropping his opponents life points to 6400! "I end my turn!"
T.J.'s face scrunched up in pain. These holograms hurt a lot more than the pros make it look like. He drew another card from his deck, smiling as he realized that is was monster reborn. Now that was a good card. "I activate monster reborn! I think you know what that means!" He boasted, as his monster of choice ejected from the graveyard. "I'm bringing back my Herald, and I'm going to use it! Herald of creation, attack his Assailant!" The monster spun it's staff the same way it had done with the Temporal Magician, this time pointing it at the blade wielding assassin. In a bright flash of light, the monster was shattered, bringing Ran's life points down to 7200. "Let's see you get past her this time. Your move."
Ran grunted as his beloved monster was reduced to mere fragments. "Alright, I'll get past her then." He muttered, drawing his favorite card. The Dark Magician Girl! Perfect. This duel was his. "I activate pot of greed!" He boomed, drawing the two desired cards. Summoned Skull and Magic Formula... Perfect. "Unfortunately, I end my turn."
T.J.'s confidence got a boost by this. He had him in a corner now, he was sure of it. He didn't really care about the card he drew "Well if you're going to leave me such a nice clear path, I'll use it. Herald, you know what to do!" The golden mage unleashed another mighty wave of white light, searing Ran's life points away, bringing them to a much nicer and lower 5400. "Tough words don't win duels, let's see if you can back them up."
The young duelist grunted as the magic slammed into his frame, causing him a large amount of discomfort. "... Blast." He grumbled to himself, drawing a card from his deck. A ghost of a smile working across his pale visage. "Alright... time for a taste of your own medicine!" He roared, slamming his previously drawn card onto the field. "Go, Change of Heart!" He boomed, sending out the light and dark angel, who held a small heart between her hands. The monster, Herald of Creation walked towards her opponent- as if to attack and turned her back on him. "Time for you see what your own magic tastes like." He murmured with another grin as she raised her staff up high- light beginning to form from its crystallized end. "Go, Herald!" Ran called as the light turned into a spear and drove straight for T.J.'s chest. Costing him another 1800 life points, dropping them down to 4600. "The duel is back in my favor, the ball is in your court. I end my turn." With that, the Herald shifted her position and moved back towards T.J. A nasty scowl upon her tanned face.
T.J. glared at his own monster. Being on the receiving end of that attack hurt, and he was not very happy about it. He drew his card, Negate attack. "I set a card face-down!" He did not like having his own monster used against him. "I'll summon my Junk Synchron is attack mode! Now let's meet his old friend Giant Germ!" The small orange armored humanoid seemed to reach into the ground to pull up the gigantic bacterial ball. "You were at the entrance exams, I'm sure you know what happens next!" The Synchron and the Germ began to rise into the air, the germ shadowing it as green orbs materialized from the monsters. As the orbs floated forward, a gigantic cylinder of light enveloped them. The orbs sunk into the wall, which soon after exploded, revealing a tall blue armored humanoid. "My Junk Warrior!" The monster hovered with it's arms crossed, before unfolding them outwards in a wave of power. "Let's see how you like his attack! Scrap fist!" The warrior began to fly toward Ran at a high speed, it's fist pulled back before finally punching him. Ran's life points clicked down to 3100. "You're move." T.J. almost regretted saying that. He had forgotten to attack with his Herald... Maybe no one would notice...
Ran stumbled back for a moment as the powerful synchro monster punched him directly in the chest. It stung a bit, causing a bead of sweat to trickle 'cross is brow. "No matter. You forgot to attack with your Herald, leaving me a whole host of options." Ran spoke, drawing all the while. He turned his eyes over to the card in his hand and grinned- just so. "I activate the spell card, Monster Reborn, summoning my Dark Fire Soldier #1 back to the field." The proud warrior rose in his flames, staring at the female and machine with a hungry flare in his eyes. "Alone, my flamed swordsman won't do much. He is merely acting as a ploy, you see. I tribute him to summon...!" He trailed off for a moment, letting the suspense build up. "The DARK MAGICIAN GIRL!" He bellowed as the beautiful Magician popped into life, winking playfully at the two opponents before her. The crowd, which had been watching in a tense silence, suddenly erupted in a deafening shout. The Magician was still a fan favorite in her old age, despite all that he slapped down another card. "I activate Magic Formula! Bringing my Dark Magician Girl up to 2700!"
"Amazing..." Casey muttered to herself, watching the duel with an avid interest. "Now, my Magician, Dark Magic Attack!" Ran called, pointing vehemently at his foe as she raised her staff, holding it above her head and throwing a large black ball right towards the fabled Junk Warrior!
"Not so fast!" T.J. called out, as he broke out of his own little trance that seeing the rare and lovely Magician Girl had put him in. He'd remembered that he had set a trap last turn. "I activate Negate Attack!" He announced, his face-down card raising, and turning in a a great spiraling vortex that seemed to repel the Magician's magic. "Bringing an end to your battle phase." T.J. had been waiting for this. A chance to battle the Dark Magician's great apprentice. Ran released a small sigh, "I end my turn."
T.J. drew another card. Swords of Revealing Light. This was exactly what he needed to win this duel in style. "I activate Swords of Reveling Light!" In the air above Ran's field, bright shining lights began to form into the shape of several swords. They flew down, crashing into the field and narrowly missing the Dark Magician Girl, who jumped out of the way with a terrified expression on her face. Prompting a round of Boos and angry chanting from the audience of other students. T.J. sighed as he moved on to his next move. "Herald of Creation! Attack his Dark Magician Girl!
"Is this guy braindead?" Nost asked himself from his seat. "It's basic math! His monster is weaker!" Regardless of the questions and puzzlement of crowd, the Herald began to walk toward the Dark Magician Girl, staff raised in the air, gathering energy. It brought it's staff down, only to have it blocked by the Magician's own staff. The monster was repelled and knocked to the ground before shattering like a pane of glass. T.J.'s life points were at 3700. With a smile, he ended his turn.
Dark Magician Girl pouted as she tugged rather helplessly at one of the light swords, wanting to attack in her powered state. Much to her dismay, she couldn't do a thing about it. He drew a card, peering down at it with a sense of distaste. "I activate Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards at the cost of discarding two." Her sneered as he did the action, not finding anything of worth. Tossing two random cards. "Fine, I end my turn." The red haired duelist was still questioning his tactics, was he dumb... or was it a clever ruse?
T.J. smiled at everyone's confused looks, when this happened, it would happen in a big way. No one knew the card he had drawn earlier. He drew a card. A Magic Jammer. "I'll set a card face-down and end my turn." Ran drew a card, staring at it before summoning. "I summon Dark Fire Soldier #1." He spoke dully, the fire warrior rising and releasing a hiss as the harsh flames licked the air. "I end my turn." T.J. drew once again, Synchro Soldier. Perfect. "I'll end my turn once more." This next turn would be his last turn of safety, the last he would need. Ran drew a card and activated it rather quickly. "I activate Book of Secret Arts, bringing my monsters attack points to 3000!" He exclaimed, watching a magical aura trace her frame... "I end my turn."
The swords around Ran's monsters faded. T.J. could have activated Magic Jammer, but that would reduce the impact of his win. He wanted his best monster at it's strongest. He drew another card, but it was unimportant. "I summon Synchro Soldier!" A man in some big and rather heavy looking armor appeared on his side of the field, wielding a rather odd looking gun. "Next I'll activate Megamorph, and I'll be equipping it to my Junk Warrior!" The mechanical warrior seemed to slump slightly, as it's attack fell to 1150. "Now Synchro Soldier! Attack his Dark Magician Girl!" The soldier pointed it's weapon at the Mage. It banged on the gun a few times as if it were jammed before it exploded, the Magician Girl smiled as the gun malfunctioned, her wand glowing slightly. T.J.'s life points took a rather large blow, bringing them to the low amount of 700.
As the soldier exploded though, the Junk Warrior rose up, energy seeming to leak through it's armor. It's attack points raised to an all time high, 4600! "Now let me give you a little taste of my Warrior's power! Scrap Fist on his Darkfire Soldier!" The warrior didn't even charge, it punched the air, and waves of energy rocked through the soldier before it shattered. T.J. laughed to himself, not even noticing his warrior slump back down as Ran's life points hit 200.
The red-haired duelist didn't seem to mind as his fiery soldier exploded into a thousand shards of hard light. Ran grinned, watching him laugh in glee as he ended his turn. "You fool." He spoke softly, stepping forward and pointing. "Dark Magician Girl," he called as he entered his battle phase. "Attack him with Dark Magic Attack!" He roared, watching his magician throw forward the large black ball which caused the machine to explode in a fury of a mixture of mechanical electrical sparks and black magical fire. Ran yelled in happiness, shouting wordlessly of his victory as the holograms faded.
The crowd, however, applauded and roared with delight over the terrific duel they witnessed between two specular duelists who happened be first years. T.J. on the other hand stood with his mouth agape, still frozen in the expression of that victorious laugh that he was having a bit earlier. It dawned on him finally that he had lost the duel, or to be more specific, it dawned on his face. His smile sunk a bit, but he wasn't angry. He wasn't sad. No, he was happy. That was a fun duel, and he got to see the Dark Magician Girl up close, heck, she was the one who ended the duel. It was exactly the kind of duel he loved to see. A back and forth with no solid footholds for either duelist. Still, he wanted his first duel in the academy to be a win.
"Haha!" Nost cheered, happy to knock that slacker down a peg. He grabbed the microphone happily. "The winner is Ran Tatsuya!" He announced. Casey wasn't sure that Nost was happy for the right reasons, but she was happy that the students seemed to have had fun in the duel. Ran's grin stretched from ear to ear as he strode over towards his most worthy adversary. Extending his hand in a gesture- one of respect. His green eyes almost glowing as euphoria washed over him. "Look, man. That was a heck of a duel, you're seriously skilled. We'll have to have a rematch!"
T.J.'s frown faded. "Thanks man." He extended his hand too, locking their palms together in a handshake. "It really was a great duel. Oh, and a word of advice..." T.J. added as their hands separated. "When you get to the yellow dorm, don't touch any swords." He finally trailed off in a whisper toward the end. Ran tilted his head a bit at his words, eyes slightly narrowing. "Ra Yellow? I'm not going there- I prefer it in Slifer Red. Much more like home- just with more cockroaches." He sighed theatrically, but smiled all the same. "I'm going to work my way up the ladder, not win a duel on my first day here and end up in a higher dorm." He spoke with obvious happiness ringing with every word. "I guess you'll be moving to red, then?"
T.J. was about to speak, but paused at the mention of roaches. He had heard that the red dorm kind of sucked, but roaches? This was going to be a long year. Trying to shake it off, he smiled awkwardly. "Yeah I guess I am." He began. "Never liked the color yellow anyway." He tried to play it off coolly. At least he would be away from his scary roommate.
Thank you for your patience if you had enough to actually wait for this chapter. Next chapter should come faster since only one of us will be writing this one, so we don't have to wait for the other to finish their part. In later news Ran says hi. See you next chapter, coming When it's done.