First of all, I'd like to apologize for the wait on this chapter. The internet has been somewhat wonky around here, to say the least, so I've been having some troubles for getting this chapter uploaded. Then, I'd like to give a shout out to MysticTyler and Lucarai, who have been helping me with ideas for not only this part, but for the upcoming parts as well. This story probably wouldn't be going as smoothly if it wasn't for them.

As I had guessed earlier, students were already swarming over Kaze as soon as they entered the arena. Some of it was about his perfect score, but a majority of the chatter was about me. About how a student like him could handle sitting next to a witch like me. "Hey, Kaze...! Come on, when this is done, you have to sit by us instead! You can't keep sitting by the witch," a blond Osiris whispered, cautiously sending a glance my way once he finished.

"Yeah! I mean, if you hurry up and change seats, I'm sure she'll let you live! There's still time," one of the boy's friends agreed. So, the deed was done. They'd sank their claws into the new student's brain, and soon enough, he'd be a mindless drone like the rest. None of that mattered though, because…

"Um... I don't get what the problem is, but I like my seat! I like Aki too! I mean, she doesn't talk a lot, but she seems really nice!" Kaze said cheerfully. Given by how silent the room got after that, you could have sworn he just kicked a puppy or something. Although, to tell the truth, I was taken by shock just as much as they were. He had ignored their claims? In fact, he even said he liked me?

I quickly shook my head as if to remove the ideas. It'd all be over soon. Surely, he was simply a just person who didn't believe rumors. Soon, he'd see these rumors weren't just myths though... Once the duels started, he'd see just how much of a monster I was.

"Attention duelists," our duel instructor called out as he entered the open room. Clearly, he had been expecting a loud amount of chatter, not the silent scene before him. He took it as a blessing, however, and continued on with his plans. "For the duel portion of the exam, we're going to have you duel a fellow classmate." This caused my classmates to all send glances my way, as per usual. All except for Kaze, that is, who kept staring intently ahead for instructions. Seeing as he didn't know what I was, he had no reason in his mind to worry about his opponent. Truly a just duelist... "For the first match, let's have... Ms. Izayoi and... a Mr. Kaze Kokoro?" the instructor asked as he looked up from his clipboard.

Another round of silence filled the room. I couldn't help but inwardly laugh at the irony. He wouldn't only figure out I was a witch, but he'd experience it first hand. My brunette opponent turned to me with an easy going smile before he got to his feet and followed after the instructor. I slowly stood up and began to make my way down to the duel field as well, not unaware of the glares.

"Try not to kill him, Witch," a student muttered under his breath as I passed. I stopped in my walking before turning to where the voice came from. All it took was a slight glare to leave him cowering in his seat. Hah, not worth my time... I continued on my way, now uninterrupted, and soon enough I stood opposite of Kaze.

"Whenever you two are ready," the instructor said as he readied his pen for notes.

"Good luck, Aki!" the Osiris called out before taking the initiative and drawing his cards.

[Aki: 4000 LP] [Kaze: 4000LP]

"I start off my turn by activating the spell Water Hazard! When I control no monsters, I can special summon a level four or lower Water monster from my hand! I choose to Special Summon Fishborg Blaster in defense mode!" Kaze declared as he inserted the monster's card into his duel disk. Shortly after, a robot-like creature appeared before him, sheltering a small fish in its center. [Fishborg Blaster: 200 DEF] It was at this point that I took notice in something others were usually oblivious too. The fact that his monster had a slight transparency to it, revealing itself to be the hologram it was."Then I set a monster face down in defense before setting one card. That ends my turn," Kaze said.

"My turn then," I muttered before taking my draw. I gazed over my cards for a brief second, trying to figure how to play my cards. "I'll start off with summoning Twilight Rose Knight. When he's summoned I get to summon a level four or lower Plant monster from my hand, so I'll summon Evil Thorn in attack mode," I said as I continued with my turn. As my purple knight and plant appeared, my opponent's eyes widened briefly as he murmured something to himself. [Evil Thorn: 100 ATK] [Twilight Rose Knight: 1000 ATK]

Did he notice my monsters weren't holograms...? If so, then... since he didn't have powers like I did, he must have met another who did. Regardless, he must have known what was coming, seeing as he braced himself. "I sacrifice my Evil Thorn in order to deal 300 points of damage to you! Not only that, but I'll get to summon two more Evil Thorns afterwards," I explained to the brunette. The sac with thorns on it began to expand to the point of bursting. At said bursting point, the thorns erupted out, flying at my opponent.

There was a noticeable air of tension in the crowd of student spectators. They had been expecting for the new student to not know about the damages done by my cards. But he knew. Given how he raised his duel disk to cover his face from the thorns, I'd say he knew a little too well. That didn't stop the remaining thorns from cutting up parts of his sleeves and jacket, though. [Kaze: 3700LP] Kaze went to open his mouth, as if he was going to speak to me, but he must have decided against it, as he simply re-closed his mouth.

That's right... Give up on me like everyone else. Just like I knew you would...

Ignoring that train of thought, I continued with my move, placing two new Evil Thorns in attack mode. "Now I'll attack your face down monster with Twilight Rose Knight!" I declared. My knight obediently went forward, slicing down at the unknown monster. [Nightmare Penguin: 1800 DEF] I won't deny it, the backlash from the attack brought a little tingling pain, but that was really it. I almost felt bad for my opponents; they get real cuts, while all I get is little shocks. Just almost, though. [Aki: 3200LP]

"When Nightmare Penguin gets flipped over, he allows me to return one of your monsters to your hand! I'll return Twilight Rose Knight," Kaze said. Clearly, he was either pinning his hopes that I wouldn't have another plant monster next turn or that he'd finish the duel before then. That is, my knight was a tuner. He figured I'd tune something either way, and this was his only chance at a reversal. The shame was that even without a Synchro summon, I'd be able to defeat him. "Also, when Nightmare Penguin is face up, all my Water monsters gain 200 attack," Kaze continued with his monster's effect. Not that it mattered, though, seeing how his monsters were all in Defense mode.

"I'll just activate Terraforming then to bring Black Garden to my hand. Then I'll activate Black Garden," I said as I placed the field spell in its proper spot. Thorns and roses almost instantly sprouted out of the ground around us, blocking us from the view of the student peanut gallery. Seeing how our teacher observer was on the duel field, however, he remained as our only witness. "With two cards face down, I end my turn," I said. Kaze, focusing most of his energy on how to turn this around, simply drew his card. He knew the consequences if he failed. He knew the things that were at stake, and he was playing his cards accordingly. I did admire his courage, though. Most people would have surrendered after the first hit. Most did, actually. Was I actually going to get to finish a duel with someone for once?

"I sacrifice Fishborg Blaster to summon Mobius the Frost Monarch," Kaze said. The robot-like monster faded into dust, giving its life force away to summon an even greater monster: a large figure clad in light blue armor with water swirling around it. [Mobius the Frost Monarch: 2400ATK]

"Unfortunately for you, Black Garden reduces your monster's attack by half," I explained to my opponent as the thorns swirled around the new arrival, chaining it down. [Mobius the Frost Monarch: 1200ATK] While that was the case, neither of us forgot about his other monster, which gave the emperor some extra attack points. [Mobius the Frost Monarch: 1400ATK]

"It also gives you a Rose Token too, doesn't it?" Kaze questioned. Seeing as how the rose monster was already appearing on my field, I felt no need to give affirmation to his question. [Rose Token: 800ATK] "With Mobius the Frost Monarch' effect, I get to destroy two spells or traps on the field! I'll destroy Black Garden and the face down on the left," Kaze spoke, clearly convinced things were beginning to turn his way. For now, at least, I'd let him have his supposed victory. "I'll change Nightmare Penguin to Attack mode! Both of my monsters will attack your Evil Thorns!" Kaze shouted before his penguin and emperor charged forward. [Nightmare Penguin: 900ATK - 1100ATK]

[Aki: 900LP]

"And that will end my turn," Kaze said.

"Now it's time for this little game to end," I said as I drew my card. I couldn't help but let out a slight smirk as I saw the card in my grasp. With this card, I would be able to... "I'll summon Twilight Rose Knight, and with his effect, I'll special summon Botanical Lion! Don't get too used to them, though. I'll tune my Twilight Rose Knight with my Botanical Lion!" I began with my plan. My knight erupted into an array of lights which soon clustered themselves into three green circles. The wooden lion then went into these circles before another eruption of light occurred. "Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"

When the light disappeared, my ace, the dragon composed of rose petals appeared, letting out a loud road as it did. [Black Rose Dragon: 2400ATK] Yet my opponent kept his cool. He did not turn and run. He stood his ground. I honestly had to commend him for it. Kaze was a true duelist. Not that it'd matter once my dragon was done with him, though. "Black Rose Dragon! Destroy his emperor! Black Rose Flare!" I called out.

"Hold it! I activate Widespread Ruin! With it, I can-" Kaze started in a feeble attempt to save himself.

"It's too late! I activate Dark Bribe! It negates your trap at the cost of you being able to draw one card," I interrupted him before the explosion could take place. With distractions out of the way, my dragon began to charge its attack. It seemed that the transfer had given up resistance as well, as he was preparing a futile attempt at blocking once more. Once my dragon let its violet blast go, however, he realized his attempt as the failure it was. The blast ripped straight through his monster before colliding with him, sending him flying back, his jacket and visible skin now slightly charred. [Kaze: 2700LP]

"Stop the duel! Stop it now!" our observer shouted as he began to make his way to the immobile Osiris. He didn't need to intervene, though. I doubt Kaze would have recovered after that blow for some time, thus making me the winner. I shrugged before deactivating my duel disk, leaving the monsters and cards to fade away.

"Maybe next time you'll listen to the others and leave me alone," I said without a backwards glance. By now, the other students were making their way down to the damaged duel arena to check on Kaze.

"A-Aki...! Wait, you-" Kaze's words were choked off, more than likely from the burn now sustained on his chest, not to mention the other wounds. I left, regardless of his plea. If I stayed, there would only be more trouble. That's how things always were...

"Well well well... If it isn't the witch who nearly killed the nice little transfer," a voice mused, drawing me out of my thoughts. Up until then I had been alone in the garden, but now a group of three boys approached. They were no strangers, rather, they were a trio of Osiris students who never quite understood to stay away from me. It was no doubt why they were in Osiris.

"Watch out Kimoru, or she might hurt you too," the blond in the group spoke, playfully nudging his brunette friend as he did.

You know, considering that they were asking so nicely...

I took Black Rose Dragon's card from my extra deck before placing it on my duel disk. The sparse number of roses in the garden began to pulse with energy, slowly rising up to the sky as they did. Seeing how this was all happening behind them, the boys were oblivious to the incoming threat.

"Oh, hold up! Is the witch all out of black magic tricks? Or did hurting your little friend just shock you out of it?" the boy I took to be Kimoru said with an irritating smirk. Said smirk instantly fell upon hearing a growl not even a foot behind him. The trio of boys turned, only to find themselves face to face with the rose-red eyes of my dragon glaring at them. Simultaneous shrieks rang out before the group departed. With a sigh, I returned my card to my deck. As my dragon disappeared, I noticed a figure in the distance, previously hidden by my dragon's massive form. Figuring it was another foolish student coming to harass me even more, I began to reach for a monster to summon and send them away.

"W-Wait, wait, it's me..! It's Kaze!" the figure called out, causing my arm to pause. Noticing my hesitation, the brunette made his way over to me, clutching his side as he did. It was then that I noticed that his jacket was now tied around his stomach, possibly as an extra cover for his wounds. Not that it mattered anyway, seeing as he apparently changed clothing in my absence, completely covering a majority of the wounds. The small scratches sustained from my Evil Thorn on his arms and burns from my Black Rose Dragon's attack still remained, however. "Look, Aki... I-"

"If you want an apology, save it! You won't-" I started to cut him off, but Kaze wouldn't have it.

"I don't want an apology! I know you can't help it," Kaze said. I'll admit I was taken by surprise at what he said. Someone who I had only known for an hour or two was already this keen on the problem at hand. Could it be that he... was he not like the others? All of his words seemed sincere, and he had even come before me now, regardless of our duel. It all pointed to that assumption, but still... there had been plenty of people like that before. People who get under your skin just because they can before leaving you, as if you were some game they were bored with. "Aki... I want to finish our duel," the Osiris spoke with pure determination in his eyes. This only took me aback even further. He truly wanted to finish our duel...? A duel that could spell near death if he lost?

"The teacher isn't here, so if you're concerned about your grade, it won't matter. Besides, I'm the one who ended the duel, so it will count as your win," I briefly explained, figuring this was the most logical source of the problem.

"That's just it. I don't want it to be a forfeit. Aki, I want to beat you in our duel fair and square," Kaze said.

"Why? Aren't the wounds you've sustained enough of a warning to leave me alone?" I continued to question his motives.

"We can talk afterwards, but for now, just please let us finish our duel," Kaze persisted with his request in turn. Seeing how he was so adamant in his cause, I saw myself with no choice but to oblige. Pulling back the data from our suspended duel, we both reset our fields and redrew our cards.

[Aki: 900LP] [Kaze: 2700LP]

"It will be your turn then. My last attack ended my turn," I informed the brunette, who simply nodded before drawing his card.

"I summon Deep Sea Diva! When it's summoned, I can also Special Summon a level 3 or lower monster from my deck! I choose Spined Gillman! With Guilman on the field, all my Aqua, Sea-Serpent, and Fish monsters gain 400 attack," Kaze declared. With his sharply executed move, the mermaid creature and blue-spined sea serpent appeared, making their stance ahead of their owner, as if to protect him from my dragon's glares. [Spined Gillman: 1300ATK - 1700ATK - 1900ATK] [Deep Sea Diva: 200ATK - 600ATK - 800 ATK] [Nightmare Penguin: 1100ATK - 1500ATK] "Then I'll tune my Deep Sea Diva with Nightmare Penguin," Kaze began with his own Synchro, the signature rings and stars taking shape from his monsters. "He who was born from the blizzards of the past! Break your frozen shackles and freeze all who dare get in your path! Synchro Summon, Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!"

It wasn't per say the light blue ice dragon itself that shocked me. I mean, the card itself was slight rare, yes, but it was nothing to get shocked over. The more pressing matter was the hologram itself, or therefore lack of the characteristic transparency of other monsters. To say the least, it meant either this card had an enhanced spirit or Kaze truly had powers like mine, but with controlled ones at that. [Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier: 2300ATK - 2700ATK] [Spined Gillman: 1900ATK - 1700ATK] That was when the final shock hit me. The effect, the combined attack, the entire combo as it was. I had no means to defend against it. He was actually going to win against me, the Black Rose…

"By using Brionac's effect, I can discard my one card to return one of your cards to your hand! I chose Black Rose Dragon," Kaze began to seal the duel's fate. His dragon began to flap its wings, sending a gust over my way that, as per the game's effect, took my dragons' card off my duel disk and into my extra deck. "Spined Gillman, attack Aki's Rose Token!" Kaze declared. The blue creature obliged, charging forward, slicing its trident through my rose, and taking me down to exactly zero life points. [Aki: 0LP]

There was several seconds of silence as we waited for the monsters and cards to disappear. Once they did, Kaze allowed himself to take a few steps forward, so he wouldn't have to shout across the distance of the makeshift duel field. He seemed to ponder a bit on his words as he went, this apparently important conversation brewing in his mind. I simply waited. I lost the duel, and thus I had no right to leave if talking to me was his winning condition. "I... You're in a lot of pain inside, right?" Kaze questioned softly, as if he was afraid of asking the question. I opened my mouth to respond, but my throat just wouldn't produce the words.

Was I? I've hardened myself to a majority, if not all, of my emotions ever since I was called a witch. Could I even tell if I was in pain anymore? Upon seeing my hesitation, Kaze decided to change the topic, "Where I come from... It's a really dark place. Lots of people got hurt... And I'd be lying if I said I didn't cause some of it."

"What are you getting at?" I cut to the point. If this was turning to the point where I think it is, then if I wasn't curt like this, he'd end up beating around the bush.

"My point being that I understand how you feel," Kaze responded equally as frank. I couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"You think you understand how I feel? You? You're either extremely dense or you're extremely stupid," I mused.

"You don't think I'd understand how it feels like to be an outcast? To have people call you a freak? Eventually ending up thinking 'If that's what I really am, then why not act like one?'?" Kaze continued on his point. I went for another response about how he was clearly wrong when I ended up meeting his gaze straight-on. The hardness of his voice was matched by a certain intensity of sincerity in his eyes. If I wasn't mistaken, then it seemed like... Was he actually speaking the truth? Did this transfer actually have an idea of what I was going through?

"And just because of that you think that allows you to be my friend?" I accused the Osiris. Certainly earlier, before he even knew me, he claimed we were something like friends. His friendliness and insistence on being near me was hint enough at it. Even the dense Osiris students came to the same conclusion. Just completing a duel with someone didn't make you instantly friends. In one of those childhood tales of the prince and the distraught girl, maybe, but in real life, that was a hopeless romantic's ideal.

"But don't you want friends?" Kaze questioned innocently. "Don't you want someone to share your pain with you? Someone who will be by your side no matter what you do?"

"You say that, but you're just like the others. You're just trying to make me get attached to you so you can turn around and leave like everyone else. I'm aware of your games," I continued to defend myself and my long-built wall. Kaze opened his mouth, more than likely for some rebuttal against what I said, but then he decided against whatever he had in mind. To further add to his silence, his phone began to ring, sounding out the cliché tune of a default ring tone. Kaze was noticeably hesitant, knowing it would deter from our conversation, but took the device out of his pocket regardless to see who it was.

"I get that you don't want to let someone in, and I won't force you... but if you ever need me, Aki... I'll be there for you. Don't forget that," Kaze said briefly, presumably to sum up his stance before departing to answer the call. To say that I wasn't shaken up a bit from our conversation would be a lie. Certainly it wasn't enough to leave me a wreck, but it still had quite an impact on me. As I left the garden myself, thinking this would be the last time I'd see the transfer, I pondered on what he said and how different he was from the rest. Fate, however, had different plans in mind for the two of us...

(Kaze PoV)

The choice to prematurely depart from my conversation with Aki, the supposed 'Black Rose Witch', probably wasn't the brightest of choices I've made. Truth be told, I probably should have stayed, ignored Rei's call, and made sure she saw I was saying. To make sure she understood that she wasn't alone in the world and that I was willing to help her. What'd passed has passed, however, and Aki was departing as well. Thus, I turned my attention to Rei Saotome, one of my closest friends from back at Duel Academy. As of late, she'd been hauling me around to help her court Judai, but all dealings aside, my fellow Osiris was there for me thick and thin, no matter what. It was people like her and Judai that Aki really needed to meet... "Rei, what's-" I started to question as I answered the phone. Almost immediately, my energetic friend back from Duel Academy butted in.

"Kaze, you're alright! Oh, thank goodness! I was so worried that something happened to you," Rei sighed with relief, confusing me. Did Rei somehow find out about my duel with Aki? Even if that was the case, that was no cause for alarm. After all, I'd been in Shadow Duels, where your life truly was on the line. Reasoning that train of though out, the only remaining option would be that something had happened to the others back at DA.

"Rei, is everything alright? Are there new Shadow Duelists or something?" I quickly asked. This time, it was Rei's turn to be confused, although she recovered much more quickly than I did.

"What? Oh, no, no, everything is alright back here," Rei said. "It's just... How do I explain it? I got this uneasy feeling in my stomach awhile ago... It was like it was trying to tell me something bad happened... I'm worried for you, Kaze."

"There's nothing to be worried about, Rei. In fact, there's probably more danger back at DA," I chuckled lightly at the irony. Truth be told, it was a wonder that our school wasn't closed down by now, given all the Shadow Duels going around. Although, considering that Judai and I, along with our friends, handled them, I suppose there was no real threat.

"Kaze, you really should come back! What if something happens to the academy while you're gone? What will we do then?" Rei questioned feverishly.

"If something happens, I'm sure you could handle it. Besides, it'll only be a month or so and I'll be back. Why don't you duel with Judai and the others to pass the time? I'll be back before you know it," I tried to comfort the purple-haired duelist. She didn't say anything for a few moments, which hopefully meant that she was considering my words.

"I... Just promise me you'll come back home soon and you'll come back safe... alright?" Rei asked softly. It struck me as odd that Rei was suddenly so concerned of my welfare. I mean, don't take me wrong, she was a close friend and we always worried about each other and everything, but now she seemed more worried than before. Then again, I was always within a minute's distance or so until now.

"Of course I will. Why wouldn't I?" I questioned in return.

"Ugh! Kaze, don't kid around with me! That's a pinky promise, right?" Rei persisted, disregarding my own question. I couldn't help but laugh at her innocence, but I relented either way.

"Right. A pinky promise."

Notes:

- To those of you who haven't noticed, I have had a poll on my page for what pairings you'd like to see in the story besides AkiXKaze. As of the last time I checked, Rei and Misty were up in the top, so I'll be throwing them in, although I won't tell how they exactly play into the story yet (although you can probably figure out Rei by now, given the little interaction with her and Kaze). I'm not sure if I'll throw in any more, but you can still feel free to vote if you want to.

Reviews:

- Guest666: This story will slightly become a harem. It'll be more obviously later why it's only slightly. But as of now, the only pairings that will show up are AkiXKaze, One-Sided ReiXKaze, and eventually MistyXKaze.