Edited: May 2018
The Duel Champion's Daughter
Disclaimer: I do NOT own either Inuyasha or Yu-Gi-Oh GX
AN: I admit that the original version of this chapter was pretty horrible since I wrote it over maybe 72 hours without sleep. I actually really hated how I had Kagome and Asuka meet, and this chapter has been massively trimmed down from the monster 25k it originally had been. Also, long time no see! Thank you everyone for waiting so patiently for my re-writes and everything.
AN-2: I have taken down chapters 6-13 to prevent confusion for old and new readers. Recently I revised some parts of Kagome's history in this story so many things will be different from what I had initially written some years ago. No worries though! I will be trying to get the re-written chapters up much faster than this one.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Kagome sighed as she waited for the general rush of students to dwindle down. With her arms folded on top of the ship's rail, she watched through half-lidded eyes as student after student descended from the cruise ship.
It was maybe twenty or so minutes before the stream of students had diminished to a trickle.
Yawning at how long it took, the Pro Duelist pulled away from the railing and made her way downstairs to the main deck to get off the ship. As she left the VIP lounge, the teenager wondered if one of the things she hated the most was going to be at the island school.
'I really hope there won't be any fan-people here,' she thought as a mental image of all the rabid fanboys and fangirls that she had ever met entered her mind. A horror filled shiver wracked her body at that thought. 'It'd be the last thing I need at a place like this."
To get rid of the disturbing thoughts of rabid fans, Kagome turned her mind to other matters like how her actual school was going to be without her or if her schoolmates were going to keep her informed; she held really important positions at Issei Institute after all. She wondered if the children and underclassmen she looked after would be okay. Or if the plans she had made with her friends would progress as they should.
Biting her lower lip, Kagome couldn't believe she had agreed to attend a place that was so far away when she had so many responsibilities to take care of and so much to do back home.
With her mind occupied with matters that were actually important to her, the teenager didn't even realize when she had stepped onto the docks until another student almost bumped into her.
'The heck?' she blinked, her eyes taking in the sight of Duel Academy students still milling about the dock, mingling with their friends.
Sighing at how noisy everyone was, Kagome straightened her clothes before following the first-year students to the Duel Academy's main building.
As she followed the first-years she noticed that half the students were still dressed in their junior high clothes while the other half were already clad in the academy's issued uniform. Their uniforms showed their ranking by the colors of Osiris Red, Ra Yellow, or Obelisk Blue.
Passing by several groups of second and third-years, she noted how they were also dressed in their school uniforms.
'I bet no one but the third-years are even aware of the honor dorms here,' Kagome couldn't help but mentally scoff. She may not have visited the island school since she was a child, but she had heard rumors from her Aunt Aoi about the goings-ons at the academy.
Leaving that thought alone for the time being, she continued for the Duel Academy's main building with the rest of the students.
It wasn't long before they arrived and were immediately herded into the auditorium, and told to line up in alphabetical order.
Kagome took a moment to look over the room, and as she had expected, it hadn't changed much since her last visit. The only difference since her last visit six years ago was that all the electronics had been swapped out and replaced by the newest technology.
When Principal Samejima appeared on the auditorium screen, she paid no mind to him or his welcome speech. She had heard it enough times throughout her childhood that she had it memorized by heart. The Principal always told the students to be proud that they were able to be accepted into Duel Academy, explained the ranking system and how to move up to the next dorm, the uniforms, and some of the other basic rules.
'Which reminds me,' Kagome thought to herself. The lack of variation in the girls' uniforms hadn't gone unnoticed to her. 'I have to tell father to change the ranking system to be for both genders, not only boys. The girls here think they're great duelist just because father made it mandatory all girls must be placed into Obelisk blue.'
Kagome sneered in disgust as she thought of all the special treatment the school's female population received. 'It's not right. All students should have to work to get their ranking, no matter if they are boy or girl. If boys have to do it then so must the girls.'
As her thoughts delved deeper into the problems of Duel Academy the more oblivious the teenager became of her surroundings. So lost in her thoughts and criticism of the academy, the Kaiba heiress almost missed when Principal Samejima called the assembly to an end and told everyone to pick up their uniforms and school issued equipment.
Barely hearing that final announcement, Kagome quickly made her way to one of the stations waiting to attend to the students. She wasn't friends with any of the first-years, and she would rather not dawdle around with people she had no intention of befriending.
Once she had collected her required items such as her uniform, academy issued Duel Disk, and student PDA, the heiress promptly took her leave. She saw no point in following the school guides around or joining the first-years when she already knew her way around.
As the Higurashi departed despite the calls of the faculty the Pro Duelist never noticed the hazel eyes that followed after her.
It took just over forty minutes before Kagome reached the girls' dormitory.
During her trek, she had taken the chance to look through the PDA she had received. Entering her Duel Academy student ID number, the Pro Duelist was almost fascinated as she watched her personal information was downloaded into the device.
Looking through the loaded information, she found that both her English and Japanese birth names were listed. Listed under her names was the rest of her basic information such as her height, weight, hair and eye color, age, and grade level. The only piece of information that hadn't been included in the PDA was her birthday.
Not that it mattered; the Kaiba heiress didn't even know when her own birthday was anyways, so she couldn't fix it even if she wanted to.
Checking through the rest of the PDA, Kagome saw that the student planner was almost exactly as she had expected. The PDA was mainly for students to communicate with each other, check their classes and grades, and other school related necessities.
Putting the device away, the Ace Princess looked up at the female Obelisk Blue dorms. It really had been a long time since she had been here, but the building still looked the same as when she had last visited. The dormitory was still styled like the French manor, Château de Chenonceau, and painted white and blue.
'I kind of miss staying here as a kid,' she thought as she entered the residence hall. Her thoughts momentarily flashbacked to some of the summers she had spent on the island, remembering how the academy's instructors would look after her when her parents were busy. 'I wonder if anyone besides Samejima-oji-san still remembers me. It wasn't like I was able to keep in contact with all of them. Did Samejima-oji-san even tell them I was going to be here for the year?
Shaking her head and not bothering to look around the dormitory's lobby, Kagome made her way up to the top floor, climbing the grand staircase three steps at a time.
As soon as she stepped foot on the third floor she immediately headed down the hall that was the second closest to the stairs.
After navigating her way towards the end of the hall and then climbing a semi-hidden stairway, the raven came to a halt in front of a beautifully carved, dark wood door. Unlike every other room that had been passed along the way, this door was the only one to have a unique design of its own. Small, delicate ivy carvings littered the dark wood; the detailing was so fine that under a passing glance it would have gone unnoticed. And for its door handle was a custom made, satin silver door knob; a Blue-Eyes White Dragon was wrapped around the edges of the handle plating and a Harpie Queen on the doorknob itself, looking as if the Harpie Queen was hugging it with an arm or wing crossing the front.
Shrugging off her backpack and being careful with her new uniform, Kagome rummaged through her bag in search of her bedroom's key. Knowing that she would be staying at the Obelisk Blue dorm as she always did, the raven had made sure to pack her room key the night before.
After a minute or so, she finally pulled a silver key free from her bag's inner pockets.
Looking down at it, Kagome had to admit that it was a surprisingly simple key. But what made it special was her full birth name that had been engraved along its length in a special script. Even if someone was able to get passed the other security measures, that person wouldn't be able to get into her room without an exact copy of her. Anybody, who tries to get into her room without a key that has her exact name in that specific script, would be immediately shocked with 50,000 volts of electrical current (the amount an average Taser holds) until they release the door knob. And that was not including the activation of the other more perilous security measurements.
Inserting the key into its keyhole and giving it a full twist, the raven waited for the panel she knew to exist to open. And open it did, as a part of the wall to the right of the door slid open, revealing a palm reader and a retina scanner.
Sighing at the extremes her parents went to, Kagome placed a hand on the palm reader as she aligned her eyes to the retina scanner. She sighed tiredly as the two scanners signaled the completion of their scans. She really hated doing this every time she came to the island, but she knew it was a necessary evil. At least she only needed to do this when she didn't return to the room for more than a week.
Stepping away from the panel, which had automatically re-hidden itself, the blue-eyed girl waited to hear a distinctive clicking sound of her room being unlocked.
Once the click came, she pushed the door open and was left speechless at what she saw.
'This was most definitely not the room I left behind,' Kagome thought with her mouth agape. "What happened to my room?" she gasped as she wandered in.
Unlike before, her actual bedroom wasn't the first room she had entered. Actually, she couldn't spot her bed, nightstands, or any of her bedroom furniture anywhere. In place of her bedroom was a large, almost excessively so, sitting room with high quality furniture and decor that would be typically found in any plutocrat's home.
Natural light poured in from the windows that made up two of the four walls, reflecting nicely off the black grand piano that occupied the corner furthest from the door. Sunlight glistened off the glass coffee table that took up the center of the room and was guarded by a white, circular sectional sofa surrounded it on two sides. A library stand expanded across the entirety of one wall while the final wall was installed with all types of media equipment that would have made anyone jealous.
Kagome was in a daze as she walked around the room, trying to figure out where her sleeping quarters had gone. She may have agreed to live at the dormitory again, but she refused to sleep on a sofa for an entire year.
"What did they do?" she mumbled to herself before promptly tripping over an unseen obstacle.
"Ow… The heck was that?" the almost sixteen-year-old grumbled. Spotting the offending object, the raven crawled over to it in confusion.
"How did my trunk get in here?" she asked in confusion. There were only seven copies of the key to her room at the Duel Academy; one for each of the Kaiba's and her two godparents. So how did her trunk get in her room when none of the key holders were on the island?
Saving that thought for later, the Kaiba went to explore the rest of her renovated room. She'd really like to know where she was supposed to sleep because she most definitely was not going to be sleeping on the couch.
Going through the door that was next to the media wall, Kagome was again surprised by what she found and she would continue to be surprised as she walked from room to room.
"Finally," the miko gasped in relief upon finding her bedroom. She didn't care as her bag fell to the ground; all she wanted was to collapse on the king-sized bed that was set across from the wall-sized window.
She had been nearly at the end of her wits just trying to find her sleeping quarters.
What had her father been thinking when he had expanded her room? It was more than excessive with how it took up the entire top floor, and it was more like a house than a dorm room. So far she's found a study that was attached to a private library, a fully stocked sewing room with all the necessary equipment, a full bath that looked like it had been taken straight out of her dreams, a gourmet kitchen, an empty room, a gym, and of course, her new closet.
She had spent the last hour just wandering from room to room trying to find where she was supposed to sleep. Admittedly, she had spent a majority of that time lost in the closet that was even larger the one she had in Domino City, but that was beside the point. She was pretty sure she had made a full circle around the floor already.
Dragging herself over to the plush bed, Kagome kicked off her boots and flopped onto the fluffy comforter. Too lazy to actually move around to get comfortable, she tried to relax where she was.
When she finally started to feel a little more at ease, she took a glance around her new sleeping quarters. What she found had her amazed but also thoroughly annoyed.
She was beyond astonished that the room included everything she had ever had on her wish list. There were even things she had been jealous of her French and Chinese cousins for. She had a feeling her mother had helped her father in the room design because of that. But what really took her breath away was the gorgeous view of the lake and ocean.
Despite how amazing everything was, she was still very much annoyed.
Who the hell needed over 12,000 square meters of space to themselves? She sure didn't, and she didn't know what she was supposed to do with all of the space.
No longer feeling tired but still miffed, the raven dropped her school supplies and left her room and floor, needing time in a normal environment to calm down.
As she reached the main staircase, Kagome couldn't help but notice that the rest of the dormitory's current and new residents had arrived.
She took a step back from the railings to stay out of sight. Keeping her ears open, she listened for the sounds of the other students to grow distant as she waited for them to leave.
No longer hearing them in the building's atrium, the miko swiftly descended the stairs and hastily made her exit.
She had no desire to mingle with more of her new schoolmates or make friends. She didn't see any point on befriending the people at the academy when she was only going to be at the school for this one year. And from past experiences, she had always found the students on the island and the players off the island to be way too obsessed with something that, in modern times, was nothing but a mere card game.
Once outside, Kagome only made it as far as the edges of the lake and forest before hearing someone call out to her. 'Can't these people take a hint,' she sighed, walking faster and further away from the person.
"Hey, you! The person not in uniform," a girl from behind called out as her footsteps grew louder. "Hey!" the person called out again.
Stopping in a small alcove, the raven turned around sharply. "Is there a reason why you're following me?" she demanded of the blonde teenager that had been following for the past few minutes. "It's not like there aren't other people on this island."
"Ah…" the new girl laughed nervously, not expecting the raven to react so coldly. "Ano… I saw you leave the entrance ceremony early, and were heading towards one of the restricted areas. I wasn't sure if you knew that, but I didn't want you getting in trouble before lessons even started."
"Restricted?" the Kaiba heiress questioned, momentarily baffled. Looking around, she recognized where they were and how close there were to the abandoned dorms "So they added the honor dorms to the forbidden zones."
"You know about the abandoned dorms?"
"Perhaps. Normally it's polite to introduce yourself before questioning a stranger," the blue-eyed girl drawled before turning away and heading off in the direction of the former honor dorms.
"Oi! Wait a minute!" the blonde called out as she followed after the pro duelist. Catching up to the other girl, the hazel-eyed teen finally introduced herself. "I'm Tenjouin Asuka, and you are?"
Her blue eyes glanced over at the new arrival as the raven mulled over actually answering the question. "Higurashi Kagome," she stated crisply before increasing her pace.
She tried to ignore her newest acquaintance as she got nearer to the dormitory, but the blonde seemed persistent in getting her attention.
"Higurashi-san, if you know about the honor then you're aware of what occurred there?"
"You're awfully chatty, Tenjouin-san. If I had wanted a companion, I would have stayed back with the rest of the new students," Kagome mused as she pushed away a low hanging tree branch. "And yes, several students disappeared at the honor dormitory a couple years ago," she confirmed.
"If you know that much, does that mean you're related to one of the missing students?" Asuka asked boldly, rushing ahead to stop the other girl in her tracks.
"As if any my relatives would study here," the miko scoffed, not bothering to hide her disdain. Aside from her father and maybe her Uncle Mokuba, not a single one of her relatives would even consider attending the gaming school. They'd all much rather attend Issei or its sister schools for their better education and wider curriculum.
"I don't just mean family members, Higurashi-san," the blonde glared.
"And I don't believe it is any of your business whether or not I am in anyway connected with the missing students, Tenjouin-san," Kagome snapped in return. She was in no mood to entertain self-entitled children especially when they were not actually children. Not even the kids she looked after at Issei were this nosy and pushy.
Ignoring the other girl, the Kaiba pushed on towards the abandoned dorms. 'It shouldn't much farther from here,' she thought to herself, having spotted a familiar landmark that used to be used to indicate the pathway to the honor students' residence.
Pushing back one last overgrown bush, Kagome felt her jaw drop at the sight she came upon. "What the hell happened here…?" she spoke slowly, beyond stunned by the utterly degenerated state of the dormitory.
"Even if it was abandoned, it's only been two years," the raven mumbled to herself as she made her way over to the chest high fence that surrounded the school housing. "It couldn't and shouldn't have deteriorated this quickly," she lamented, wincing at the large amount of cracks littering the dormitory's stone walls and what appeared to be mold and rot on the front doors.
Stepping over the warning sign, Kagome made to inspect the rest of the residential hall. There had to be a reason for the honor dorms' dilapidated state. Just abandoning the place couldn't cause this amount of decay unless it had been decades since a person had resided there. Or a curse of some sort had be cast upon the place.
From what her senses told her, she wasn't going to like whatever it was she found.
Whatever had caused the disappearance of the various honor students two years ago seemed to have taken up residence at the dormitory. And from what she could feel, whatever it was, it wasn't all too happy to be here.
As she placed a foot on top of the building's stoop, a voice stopped her.
"What do you think you're doing, Higurashi-san?!" Asuka shouted from the dormitory's fence perimeters. "Didn't I just tell you this place is a restricted area? It isn't a place to come for fun. You'll get punished if you go in there."
"Why do you care so much that I'm interested in the abandoned honor dorms, Tenjouin-san? You don't even know me, and I have no interest in knowing you," the heiress pointed out, almost curious about why the blonde continued to follow her even after she had been so curt.
"My older brother was one of the students was one of the students who disappeared here," the Obelisk Blue explained solemnly. "After what happened to my brother and the other students, I don't want another student to go missing here. And if I can prevent it, I'll do whatever I can to stop it. So please, don't go in there."
'So that's why she's been so persistent,' Kagome thought, understanding entering her eyes. 'She's one of those who are still looking for answers.'
Sighing, she walked away from the student housing. She wasn't about to give up her investigation; there were too many questions that needed to be answered for that to happen. But the other girl's fear persuaded her to postpone her research for the time being.
She'd just go into the dorm at a later time when blonde wasn't around to stop her. And it wasn't like she wasn't strong enough to protect herself from the angered spirits that inhabited the building, but she wasn't willing to take the risk of having the hazel-eyed girl getting hurt because of her. Even if it would be the other girl's fault for following her even after being warned away.
Taking the blond by the shoulders, the raven quickly steered the other girl back towards the main path that would lead them to the main campus. "Come on, Tenjouin-san. Let's get you out of here," she said as she pushed the emotional girl ahead of her.
"You're not going to ignore me?" the uniformed girl blinked, surprised by the icy girl's abrupt change.
"Don't get me wrong, Tenjouin-san. I'm not listening to you for your sake; it's more bothersome to have someone following me around. And stalkers are amongst the things I hate the most," Kagome brushed off as Asuka finally started walking on her own. "You'd be better off staying out of my business. No matter how good of a duelist you may be, my life has no need for an average person like yourself," she warned, brushing pass the girl to head towards the main campus.
Seeing as her investigation would have to be saved for a later time, the raven decided that it'd be for the best if she got a head start on that husband hunt her parents had assigned her. She sure as hell didn't want to marry a Duel Monsters cards player, but she might as see her prospects were. It wouldn't hurt to see how boys outside Issei and its sister schools were like after all. Hopefully none of them would be as boring as Hojo or as creepy as Muso and the rest of her fan club members.
When she had nearly arrived at the main campus, Kagome couldn't help but sigh. 'What is up with her?' she grumbled to herself as she glanced behind her, catching a glimpse of the reason for her sudden change in plans.
The blonde had been following her ever since she had passed the other girl in the forest. At first she had brushed it off as Asuka needing to use the same path to head back the girls' Obelisk Blue dorms, but quickly buried the idea when the Tenjouin had missed the turn for the dormitory and had continued to follow her.
She was sure she had made it abundantly clear to the blonde that she had no intention of making friends, much less with her. She had even thrown in some of her father's haughty attitude in the mix to make herself seem even more approachable. After all that, the last thing the miko expected was for the blonde to continue following her. 'So why the hell is she still following me?' she griped, sensing the blonde trailing not too far behind her
Abruptly, she stopped in her trek and turned to face her stalker. "Is there a reason you're still following me, Tenjouin-san? I believe I had already made it more than obvious that I have no need of your companionship."
"I'm not following you," Asuka retorted, only a few steps behind the other girl. "This just happens to be the fastest way back to campus."
"… Whatever you say," Kagome huffed, picking up her pace, even more determined to leave the persistent Obelisk behind.
Seeing a less traveled path, she turned towards it and began hiking through the underbrush in the direction of the main campus. She easily maneuvered through the overgrowth; her steps quiet as shed ducked under branches and vines, and stepped over bushes and roots unhindered.
After a while, she heard the cracking of wood and the crunching old dried bushes as the sound of loud footsteps noisily crashed through them. Looking over her shoulder, Kagome's eyes widened in surprise as she spotted the blonde attempting to keep up with her.
'Seriously?' she thought as she watched the other girl struggle along the path behind her. 'What the hell does she think she's doing?'
Casting one last glance behind her, she shook her head and pressed on.
That is until she heard a crash. And a scream.
Sighing in exasperation, Kagome turned around and marched back to her stalker. Her caring nature making her unable to leave someone in need even when the said person was annoying her.
"You all right?" she asked as she kneeled down to the fallen girl's level.
"Uh…" Asuka looked up at the raven, her expression clearly showing her surprise and confusion.
"Can you stand? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" she continued as she did a once over the blonde's injuries. "Would it be all right for me to check you over, Tenjouin-san?"
No answer came as Asuka continued to stare at Kagome in shock.
"Tenjouin-san? Tenjouin-san?" the heiress called out more sharply with a hint of impatience in her voice.
"Huh? Oh um, please," the hazel-eyed teen stuttered out, finally remembering where she was at the moment.
With a gentleness that startled the amateur duelist, Kagome quickly and efficiently looked over the injuries the Obelisk Blue had sustained in her attempt to follow the Kaiba through the untamed forest.
From what she could see, the blonde had gotten off rather lightly with what would become mere scrapes and bruises. Running a hand over some of the deeper cuts and another over the beginnings what looked to be swelling, Kagome focused some of her reiki into her hands to heal the minor injuries.
"Do you feel pain anywhere, Tenjouin-san?" she asked once she had finished healing the other girl.
"Unn," Asuka answered with a shake of her head.
"Do you think you can stand and walk?" she continued as she lent the uniformed girl hand.
"I think so…" When the blonde took her hand, Kagome pulled her up with little trouble, and kept her steadied as she regained her balance.
Once the Obelisk Blue was able to stand on her own, she took a step back from her, subtly distancing herself both physically and emotionally.
"Then follow me," she instructed as she started walking again.
"Huh? You want me to follow you?" the uniform wearing girl asked in confusion. "Weren't you just telling me to not follow you?"
"You're going to follow after me regardless of what I tell you. If I leave you on your own, you're bound to get hurt trying to keep up with me," the miko deadpanned. "Now, unless you want try stumbling out these woods on your own, I suggest picking up the pace," she snapped with finality.
With that said, she continued down the new path, which was indeed less overgrown and overrun with plants. She kept a moderate pace, nothing too fast or too slow, and her ears open to listen for the other girl's footsteps.
The pair hiked through the forest for a fair while, probably close to ten minutes before they reached the one of the designated walking paths again.
Looking up, Kagome could easily see the main campus building. They had been much closer than she had thought.
"You can head back to the dorms on your own from here, can't you Tenjouin-san?" she asked rhetorically as she headed off to the school building on her own. Now that they were both safely out of the woods, she had no reason to stay with the other girl.
She didn't turn around to acknowledge Asuka even when she felt the other girl catch up and continue to follow her.
As she neared the school, she noticed a familiar duo-colored brunette running into the academy building ahead of her.
"Yuuki-san?" she questioned softly as a boy with cyan-colored hair chased after her acquaintance.
Not giving much thought to it, Kagome followed the two boys into the school.
"Hm? Which way did he go?" she mumbled as her gaze shifted between the three hallways before her.
She had lost sight of Yuuki shortly after she had entered the building. The brunette was quieter than he made himself out to be.
"Geez, why am I even chasing after him?" Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair in frustration. First it was the
Grumbling to herself, the heiress picked a random hallway and headed down it. It had been years since the last time she was at the academy, and the school had gone through several renovations since then, so she might as well see what else had changed.
Humming to herself a little, Kagome looked around the hallway as she walked.
Like the assembly hall all the students had been required to be for the opening ceremony, the hallways were relatively the same as the last time she was here. The only differences had been the new coat of paint and updated equipment.
Glancing over at a nearby map, she noted that the building layout had remained mostly the same as when she had last been here. The only difference being that some rooms had been expanded or added while others were repurposed.
Coming to another set of hallways, she turned and headed down the one she knew led to one of the main building's many dueling arenas.
If there was one thing she knew, it was that Duel Monster players, when together, tended to gravitate toward the nearest dueling arena. The brunette couldn't have gotten all that far, and if she was right, he should be in the arena ahead of her.
As she got closer to the dueling field Kagome started to hear voices. She recognized Yuuki's confident tone while the other duelist spoke to two or three others.
Stepping into the arena, she barely caught the last bit of what the three Obelisk Blue boys said.
"You don't know who Manjoume-san is? He's a First-Year like us, but he's the number one in the junior high branch's super elite class!"
"And he's the future Duel King we're all hyped, Manjoume Jun-sama!"
"That's weird…"
"What is?"
"Well, being the Duel King means being best, right? And this academy's number one is me!"
"You Osiris Red dropouts don't know your place, do you?"
"Be quiet! Just calm down everyone."
"Manjoume-san…"
"He's better than both of you. Despite all the corners he cut, he is the one who took Chronos-kyoyu down in his entrance exam duel."
"That was skill."
"I'd like to see that skill for myself."
"That's fine by me."
Kagome sighed as the brunette seemed to get himself caught up in something he probably shouldn't.
"They're at it again," annoyed voice scoffed from behind her.
"Tenjouin-san?" she blinked upon seeing the blonde following her again. 'She still hasn't given up?'
She watched with wide eyes as Asuka marched passed her and towards the group of five boys.
Silently, Kagome followed after her, curious about what the blonde planned to do.
"What do you all think you're doing?" Asuka demanded as she walked right up to the boys.
"Tenjouin-kun, yo… These newcomers seem rather naive about how the world works. I figured I'd give them a quick lesson on how intense the academy can be."
Eying the pale boy in the stands, Kagome couldn't help but add her own two cents.
"You know, for someone that's supposedly the next Duel King, I've never seen your name in any of the tournaments in Japan much less heard of it on the international junior circuit," she stated with narrowed eyes. "There's nothing worse than person who's all talk and no bark."
Stepping closer to the boys, she ignored the cyan-haired boy's exclamation on her and Asuka's looks as she watch the arrogant Obelisk Blues sputtered at her accusations.
"Higurashi-san," the blonde said in both warning and surprise, having not expected the other girl to be so bold in spite of their interactions so far.
"What? If he was really worth his salt, he wouldn't be going around mouthing off and flaunting himself like a peacock," Kagome shrugged in half amusement.
"Hmph, who's this that you seemed to have brought with you, Tenjouin-kun? I don't think I've ever seen her before," Jun asked as he eyed the new girl up and down, silently appraising her.
"Higurashi-san, one of the new students," the blonde answered curtly.
"Well then, Higurashi-kun, you obviously don't realize how intense the academy is like these two newcomers," the arrogant boy said with a gesture towards the Osiris Reds.
"Say that when you've made a name for yourself on the junior circuit. Obviously, you don't know how intense the real world is after being coddled in the safety of the school for so long," Kagome mocked.
"Why you?" Jun gritted out through clenched teeth.
"Watch who you're talking to!" the other two Obelisk Blue boys
"Ara? Did I touch a nerve?" the Higurashi continued with a smirk and mocking tone. "According to yourself, Manjoume-kun, Yuuki-san here, an Osiris Red, is better than your two friends here. So what does that say about you Obelisk Blue boys, I wonder? Now why don't you three try going a week without that unwarranted arrogance of yours and win a duel without mocking your opponent, and then we'll talk."
Done with those three particular boys, she turned her back on them and gave her attention to the Osiris Red boys. "Nice to see you again, Yuuki-san," she greeted with a small wave and smile.
"Hey Kagome," Judai smiled back. "You really tore into those three back there."
Kagome just shrugged her shoulders in response. "I'm not overly fond of arrogant bullies, and I don't make it a habit of letting them get away with it. Everyone's born and raised with different talents after all. Being good in one area doesn't make one better than another."
"Aniki!" the other Osiris Red cut in. "When did you get to meet such a pretty lady?"
"That's what you're worried about?" the brunette shot back incredulously. "Kagome and I had a duel on the boat trip here. Best duel I've had yet!"
"That's sweet of you, Yuuki-san. It almost makes me want to blush," the raven chuckled.
"You can just call me by name you know. Yuuki-san makes me think of my parents," Judai said.
"Likewise then," she said, her smile growing a fraction wider than before.
It wasn't until she blinked that Kagome realized that the Osiris Red was still staring at her with eyes bright in curiosity. "What is it?"
"Hmm… I might be imagining it, but you seem happier now than when we were on the ship," Judai observed, his head tilting from side to side as he tried to see the difference in the two sides he had seen.
"I suppose that's because I took out some frustration on those three," the blue-eyed girl figured while jabbing a finger at the three Obelisk Blue boys. "And… you sort of remind me of a friend of mine."
"Anyways, it's about time for the welcome parties at the dorms to start," Asuka suddenly announced from where she stood behind next to Kagome.
With that said, the Obelisk Blue boys quickly cleared out of the dueling arena, leaving the two Osiris Red boys and the two Obelisk Blue girls
Turning her attention to the two remaining boys, Asuka issued them a warning. "You two, don't let Manjoume-kun and his group get to you. After all, they're a bunch of good-for-nothings."
"Heh… You went out of your way to tell us that? Did you fall in love with me at first sight?" Judai grinned while pointing at himself.
"Aniki, that can't be it!"
As Asuka interacted with the boys Kagome couldn't help but the notice the pink string that connected the blonde and brunette to each other.
'Interesting,' she hummed to herself as she observed the string turn a darker shade of pink.
Her giggles ending, Asuka informed the boys of their own party. "The Osiris Red's welcome party should be starting soon too."
"That's right! Let's head back to the dorms!"
"See ya, Kagome!" Judai added as he ran out of the room with the shorter boy hot in his heels.
"Huh? W-wait for me, Aniki!" the cyan-haired boy shouted as he chased after the taller Osiris Red.
"Oh… um... Bye?" Kagome replied in a questioning manner as she watched the boys leave.
Not even a moment would pass before the brunette was back for him and Asuka to introduce themselves to each other. She barely had the chance to blink before he was once again headed off to the Osiris Red dormitory, and soon out of sight.
Turning back to the blonde, she bluntly stated, "You're interested him."
"Huh?" the Obelisk Blue girl sputtered, eyes wide in shock, completely taken aback by the statement. "What makes you say that?"
"Call it a hunch," the miko sang as she waltzed away.
"Hold it! Where are you going?"
"Back to the dorm. The welcome parties are starting soon, no?" she smirked, briefly glancing over her shoulder at the blonde.
Swirling her champagne in its flute glass, Kagome sighed as she looked over the banister at the other girls of the Obelisk Blue girls' dormitory. Nearly everyone at the castle-like residence was gathered in the building's main hall.
"Why don't you go talk to them, Kagome-chan?" Ayukawa Emi, the headmistress of the only girls' dorm as well as one of the academy's Physical Education teachers, encouraged from beside her. "Maybe make some friends? You'll be surprised by some of the ladies here."
Snorting softly, the raven leveled a flat look at the older woman. "No offense Ayukawa-sensei, but I'll pass. I have no intention of being friends with stuck up brats who didn't even make it to Obelisk Blue on their own merit much less any desire to interact with people who are only here to fangirl over the boys at the school."
"It's honestly not as bad as you think," the headmistress denied. "There are some really bright girls here that came in on their own merit like Fujisawa Arashiko-san, Katahira Sakie-san, and Shibata Mimi-san."
"And just how many of the dorm's girls are actually like that?" Kagome countered while sipping her champagne. "Every conversation I've heard so far since the start of the welcome party has been about nothing but boys and fashion. I haven't even heard of any project discussions from the girls who are supposedly here for game design."
"Those are topics you can talk to them about," the older woman interjected. "You're here to find yourself a fiancé after all, and from what I've heard you're on your way to be a talented designer."s
The teen couldn't help but scoff at that. "Thanks for the compliment, sensei. But just because my dream career is in fashion design, it doesn't mean I want to get involved in the frivolities of self-centered children. And you know the whole fiancé thing isn't by my choice to begin with. If I had any say in things, I'd still be in Tokyo and filling out applications with my year mates."
"You should still try to enjoy yourself while you're here," the redhead urged. "Time goes by faster when you're having fun."
"I guess these next ten months are going to be tortuously slow then," the heiress grumbled back. 'Hopefully work will make it go by faster.'
"Kagome-chan, look! Some of the girls are heading over here," the teacher announced while pointing at the girls walking over to the staircase.
Looking over to her where her former caretaker turned teacher pointed, Kagome noted that it was the blonde that had been following her around that afternoon. This time there two others with her, a raven and a orange-redhead.
"Kagome-chan, have you met this lovely lady yet?" Professor Ayukawa asked once the trio was close enough to the pair. "She's one of the girls who entered the high school division with high marks from the junior high division. Tenjouin Asuka-san, wasn't it? And the two lovely girls with her are Hamaguchi Momoe-san and Makurada Junko-san" she introduced while pointing at the raven and redhead respectively.
"We've met," the Pro Duelist replied in a clipped manner, wanting this forced interaction to end as soon as possible.
"May we have a word with Higurashi-san, Ayukawa-sensei?" Asuka asked.
"That's all right with me, but that would be up to Kagome-chan, wouldn't it?" the instructor smiled. "Isn't it nice to have friends?"
"We're not friends, sensei," Kagome swiftly rejected, crushing that idea before the older woman could even have time to entertain that fantasy. "She just followed me around for the better part of the afternoon."
"A word please, Higurashi-san?" the blonde asked, redirecting her question while giving the raven a pointed look. "In private if you will."
Pushing away from her perch on the banister, the miko finished her drink and sighed. "Might as well, seeing how you won't leave me alone."
As soon as Kagome gave her answer Asuka and her group of girls waited for her the ravne to step down from the staircase before leading the way to a more secluded area of the party.
"So what did you want to talk?" Kagome asked with her arms crossed over her chest. Her impatience showing through her tapping foot, and her exasperated expression.
"About this afternoon…" the blonde started off. "You really shouldn't have provoked Manjoume-kun and his groupies like that. They might be a lousy bunch, but they do hold some influence over the students."
"Why do you care? What happens to me is none of your business, and I can take care of myself," the heiress snapped, having had enough with the blonde's interferences.
"Ahh, you butted heads with Manjoume-san?" Momoe gasped, a hand coming up and covering her mouth.
"And?" Kagome was a brow raised at the other raven. "Little boys like him need to be knocked down a peg and put in their place rather than inflating their fragile ego."
"Hey, quit it with the attitude!" Junko interrupted. "Don't talk to us and the Obelisk Blue's queen like that."
"Queen?" she scoffed in return. "If you think a First-Year is this dorm's queen, then you need to have your head checked. And you would be just as rude if you had a stranger stalking you all afternoon even after telling them to go away."
"Why you?" the redhead growled.
"And isn't it about time you and the other girls here, especially the ones from the junior high division, get off your high horses?" Kagome snapped, a surprisingly calm expression on her face despite her annoyance. "There's nothing special about being in Obelisk Blue when you're girl. If you haven't noticed, every single girl that comes to Duel Academy is automatically placed here. No matter how low your entrance exam score is even if it's lower than the lowest scoring Osiris Red student's, a girl will always be placed in Obelisk Blue."
"If you're so great, why don't you try having a duel with one of us?" Junko challenged. "Or are you afraid to after all that talk."
"Hmph, as if I would waste my time on such a thing. Think whatever you like, but I'm under no obligation to humor you."
"Hey!"
"Now, if that was all you wanted to talk to me about, Tenjouin-san, I'll be heading back to my room. Have a nice night, you three," the heiress bade. With a sharp turn of her heels, teen made her way back to the dorm's headmistress and then headed off to her room.
"What a fridge bitch! We were only trying to warn her about Manjoume-kun and the others," Junko complained. "Why did you have to talk to someone like that, Asuka-san?"
"We could have had a better time if we didn't go out of our way to make her more comfortable here," Momoe added.
"She's right though," Asuka said, finally adding in her two cents. "She may not have said it as nicely as she could have, been she's right. Every girl at this school are placed in Obelisk Blue even the girls we know for a fact don't have the grades to be here. If we don't keep ourselves in check, we'd end up like Manjoume-kun and his group of friends."
"Asuka-san…" the other two girls mumbled.
"Don't let her words get you down, but keep them mind to become better students and duelists," the blonde comforted. "It's not bad to have something to prove after all."
"If you say so…" Junko replied hesitantly.
"What are we going to do now?" Momoe prompted.
The girls fell silent as they considered their options for the remainder of the party.
After a moment of contemplation, Asuka raised her head with a determined glint in her eyes. "I'm going to try talking to her again."
"Asuka-san!" both girls called out in protest, shocked at the blonde's persistence.
"It'll be fine," the hazel-eyed girl reassured as she went to chase after the school's new ice princess. "You two just relax and have fun tonight."
Kagome bade Professor Ayukawa goodnight before she headed off to her room.
She took the steps two at a time as she hurried up the stairs. She wanted to get out of her day clothes as soon as she possibly could. The uniform she had been forced to change into earlier had been bothering her throughout the entirety of the party.
How the hell did her father expect to wear something so annoying for the whole ten months she was required to be on the island? Maybe she could do something to make the uniform more comfortable?
If she remembered right, the school rules had a policy allowing students to personalize their uniforms as they liked. Pulling on the collar of the jacket, she tried to think of what she could change about it.
"Maybe a dark scoop neck with some nice leggings and new boots. Maybe even those belts I bought with Yugi-oji-sama," she mumbled as she unbuttoned the clasp of the vest. A sigh of relief left her as she was finally able to properly breathe again, her chest no longer confined by the tight uniform.
Stopping a hallway down from the flight of stairs that led to her room, Kagome stretched her tense muscles, tight from her discomfort throughout the day.
As she stretched an arm across her body she felt her student PDA vibrate in its case.
"Hmm? Who'd be calling me on this of all things?" she mumbled in confusion as she took it out to answer. "Moshi moshi?"
"Yo, Higurashi-san," the Obelisk Blue boy, Manjoume Jun she recalled, said as soon as she opened. "You said you wanted to see ne duel. At midnight I'll be dueling your friend, Yuuki Judai, at the dueling field we met at earlier. See you there."
"Like hell I'm going to that," she grumbled, snapping the PDA's lid close. "Who's actually stupid enough to go to the school facilities after hours?"
"You're not going to stop him, Higurashi-san?"
Whipping around at the sudden voice, Kagome's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Again, Tenjouin-san?"
"Isn't Yuuki Judai your friend?" Asuka continued, walking up to the raven from behind.
"We've only met twice, merely acquaintances at best. If he does something idiotic, it's not my responsibility to stop him," she drawled.
"But-"
"If you're so worried about him, why don't you go stop him," Kagome cut off, her blue eyes darkened in accusations. "You're interested in him after all."
The blonde momentarily froze at that statement, but quickly shook the accusation off. "Of course I'm interested in him, but only as a duelist!"
"Sure you are…" the raven dismissed with a huff making it clear that she did not believe the other girl's excuse in the slightest. "If that's all, Tenjouin-san, I'll be heading back to my room now. Have a nice evening."
"W-wait a minute! You're really not going to stop them?"
"As I've said if you wish to stop them, do so yourself, Tenjouin-san. They're not my responsibility. Goodnight," the heiress said firmly, putting an end to their conversation before turning and once again heading for her dorm.
"Hush you," Kagome shushed with a soft pat to her belly.
Her stomach only growled back in reply, having not been satisfied by the amount of food it had been given during the welcome party. The amount she had eaten hadn't been small, about average for a non-athlete. But it had significantly less than her normal intake.
"All right, all right! I'll feed you soon," she aquiccessed her steps hurrying as she left her room for the kitchen.
She would have used the kitchen in her room turned apartment to make herself something to eat, but when she had checked the fridge, it had yet to be stocked with anything beyond cans of juice.
"Let's hope they'll let me use the kitchen, and there's no strawberries in there."
Silently traveling through the many halls of the dormitory, the raven quickly made it to her destination.
Poking her head in through the door, she took a tentative sniff of the air, wary for her own safety. She had been lucky that there hasn't been anything strawberry related at the welcome party.
She had no desire to spend her first night on the island in the school's infirmary due to her own allergy.
Not smelling the fruit, Kagome continued her late night raid of the kitchen and headed over to the pantry, determined to fill her stomach and to stop its loud rumbling.
With the sleeve of her nightgown covering her nose and mouth, she grabbed a few simple ingredients, such as eggs and veggies, as she thought about what to make.
"Something quick and simple, but filling. Maybe a sandwich or some fried rice," she said aloud to herself as she inspected the other ingredients available in the fridge.
"Did they even cook rice today? Doesn't look like it," she frowned. "There goes the idea of making fried rice or omurice. I guess I'll just make an omelette then."
Grabbing a bottle of cream and some cheese, Kagome quickly got to cooking her late night meal.
Before long the warm scent of melting butter perfumed the air and the sound of swift whisking filled the kitchen.
Within a few minutes, she had a neatly rolled omelette plated on the counter.
"And done," she smiled to herself as she sprinkled some more cheese on her egg dish.
With a quiet "Itadakimasu" she picked up her chopsticks and began eating her meal.
It didn't take long for her to finish eating, and soon she was saying "Gochisousama" and washing all the dishes she had used for her late night meal.
As she was putting away the dishes she had used Kagome heard movement that didn't belong to her. In the still of the night, the person's footsteps were distinctively loud.
Peeking into the hallway, she looked up and down the hall in an attempt to find the source of the sound.
"Tenjouin-san?" she called out upon spotting a now familiar head of blonde hair.
"Huh?" the blonde jerked back, surprised by the sudden greeting.
"So you really are going?" Kagome asked, taking note of the other girl's state of dress; still clothed in the academy's uniform.
"And obviously, you're not, Higurashi-san," Asuka shot back.
She hummed in response to the accusation seeing as it was the truth. She had no plans of interfering with what happened after all.
Seemingly frustrated with the raven's attitude, the blonde's brow creased and a frown formed across her lips.
With determination shining in her tawny eyes, Asuka marched up to Kagome grabbed the taller girl by the arm.
"Tenjouin-san?" Kagome gasped, her eyes widening in surprise as the blonded proceeded to drag her out of the dormitory with her. "Let go of me!"
"Whether you like it or not, you're coming with me," was all the blonde said as she continued to drag the raven all the way to the duel arena they had visited that afternoon.
"What the hell is your problem?" Kagome snapped, wrenching her arm from the blonde's grasp as soon as they had arrived at the main campus building.
"My problem? What the hell is your problem? You have the chance to help a friend, and you're not even going to try to help?"
"At the moment, my problem is you! Putting your hands on another person without their consent and dragging them somewhere against their can be counted as assault and kidnapping," the blue-eyed girl retorted in irritation.
"Seriously?" Asuka asked incredulously.
"Think of the consequences before you drag people into your shenanigans," she glared, her eyes darkening in annoyance as the blonde continued to not understand. "Not everyone is just going to follow your lead just because you say so."
"What are you trying to say?" Asuka glared back.
"All of today, you've been making demands of me and handing out orders as if I'm one of your groupies like those two girls who'll just agree with everything you say. When a person disagrees with you, you force them to follow your lead anyways without any consideration for them," she bit out.
"You warn about Manjoume-kun, and yet you act the same way as him if not worse. He at least gives others the option to participate in something while you just force it on others. Are all Obelisk Blues like this or is just you?"
Wrapping her arms around herself, Kagome shivered as a cold sea breeze blew. Summer may be barely coming to an end and the school was rather far south from Honshu, but it was still cold at night. "You didn't even bother to consider that I am in my nightgown or that I don't want to be dragged around while dressed only in my night wear."
Looking the raven over, the blonde finally took in what the other girl was saying, even if it was just a little. The other duelist was clas only in a lacy satin dress with a matching thin robe and indoor sandals.
"I'm so sorry!" With wide eyes, the blonde hastily apologized for her blunder. "I really didn't notice that you weren't in your day clothes anymore."
"So if I was still dressed for the day, you would have still dragged me out but without any guilt," Kagome groused with a raised brow. Frowning, she clutched the front of her robe and held it firmly closed before her bust."Whatever. Let's hurry up and get this over with."
"What? You're really going? Dressed like that?" Asuka sputtered out in shock.
"Might as well, seeing how I'm here already," she huffed as she marched pass the other girl and into the school building.
When they finally arrived at the appointed duel arena, it was to the scene of Jun activating the Trap card Hell Polymer, which would allow the Obelisk Blue to take control of Judai's Flame Wingman in exchange for sacrificing Reborn Zombie.
"For a duelist, it's a fundamental thing to know," Asuka said as she walked over to stand next to the short Osiris Red student.
"Asuka-san?" the boy gasped as he turned to see who had spoken. Spotting the raven next to the blonde and seeing what she was dressed in, he couldn't help but blush as he very nearly shouted, "Kagome-san?!"
"When your opponent summons a Fusion Monster, you sacrifice one monster you have on your field to gain control over that monster," Kagome continued, paying no mind to the cyan-haired boy's flustered state as she walked over to the other side of him.
"Huh? So, what does that mean?"
Neither girls spoke as the duel continued and what they had just explained happened in real time.
As everyone else kept their attention focused solely on the ongoing dueling Kagome observed each person with tired eyes while ignoring the chatting pair beside her.
What was actual point in watching the two boys play in the first place? Hadn't she been dragged here to put a stop to it?
With no actual interest in the duel, she quickly grew bored and a wide yawn escaped her as she neared her daily limit.
"Well he's out," she mumbled as she wiped the yawned produced tears away. The Obelisk Blue boy's duel induced scream had automatically landed him on her not going to happen list. In her opinion, screaming from the tiny amount of pain that the Duel Disks simulated was beyond ridiculous.
Through bleary eyes she noted that the duel looked like it was beginning to wind down with Jun currently taking the lead with how he had destroyed Flame Wingman and summoned Hell General Mephisto.
~Kuri Kuri~
'What was that?' Kagome thought, blue eyes flickering about the room in search for the source. The sound had been high pitched and resounding, but somehow also soft and comforting.
~Kuri~
A grimace flashed across her face as a painful pounding began at the back of her head. 'Where is it coming?'
Before she could think on it further, Asuka was suddenly shouting at the boys about the security guards and expulsion. "The security guards are coming! The Ante Rule's forbidden by campus policy and you're using a facility after hours; those policy violations are all grounds for expulsion!
"Wha?"
"Huh? There are campus policies about all that?"
"Didn't any of you read your student PDAs?" the other Obelisk Blue girl pointed out while taking out her own PDA in explanation.
"It's also common sense, " Kagome said as she spoke up and drew attention to herself for the first time. Her soft voice easily projecting across the arena. She kept her face in a neutral expression as her head continued to ache, the pain not dulling in the slightest.
"Maybe next time all of you will actually read the rules before doing something so stupid again. That goes doubly for you Obelisk Blue students. You would think the students who were from the junior high branch would know better than to think they're above school regulations," she snapped in a no nonsense tone.
"H-Higurashi-san?" the wavy-haired boy stammered out. A bright blush colored his and his dorm mates' faces as all three boys took in what the feisty girl was dressed in.
"Quit staring! I didn't come here by choice," she snapped, a furious blush on her cheeks as she pulled her robe closer together to cover herself.
"S-Sorry," the same Obelisk Blue stuttered as he quickly averted his eyes. Shaking his head, he redirected his attention to appealing his friend-more like his boss in Kagome's eyes. "Manjoume-san! We need to go!"
Nodding in acknowledgement, the raven-haired boy turned his back on Judai. "That's good enough for tonight. I'll keep a tight grip on my win."
"The match isn't even over yet!" Judai complained.
"It was long enough. I got a good read on your skills. Apparently, your entrance exam was just a fluke!" Manjoume shot back in a bored manner.
"Don't give me that!"
"Next time, have the guts challenge him during the day rather than in the middle of the night!" Kagome snarked under her breath as the Obelisk Blue boys walked away.
"Aniki, they're going to find us!" the short Osiris Red boy suddenly shouted.
"Come on, this way!" Asuka urged.
"Hurry!" the bespectacled boy shouted, his nerves having seemingly left him in a state of panic.
"I don't wanna! I'm staying put right here!" Judai said, stubbornly crossing his arms and turning away from the two girls and his roommate.
"Aniki!"
Seeing his stubborn set, Kagome couldn't help but sigh as she took the bottom hem of her robe and tied it together at her waist so that the robe was more of a cardigan or vest.
"Judai," she called out as she stepped on to the dueling stage.
"Huh? What are you doing here, Kagome?" the brunette asked, surprise plainly on his face at seeing his newest friend.
"Not important right now. But could you face me for a moment?"
"Why?" he asked, a perplexed expression on his face as he did as she requested. He had barely gotten the question out before Kagome punched him.
"Aniki!" the other boy shouted in alarm as Judai slumped over from the impact.
"Shut up," Kagome hissed as she easily hefted Judai onto her shoulders, her head still throbbing from her sudden headache. "If anything's going to get us caught, it's your constant yelling and screaming. Now if you don't mind, let's get going before we all get in trouble."
With Judai securely on her shoulders, she quickly headed towards the same exit that the Obelisk Blue boys had taken. Asuka and the cyan-haired boy following her shortly after.
The moment they were in the hallway, the blonde took over the leading them out of school building. The short boy, thankfully, remained silently as they made their escape.
"You're really strong for a girl," Asuka said the moment the quartet were safely outside.
Kagome only hummed in reply as she slid Judai off her shoulders and to the ground.
"What did you to him?" the shirt boy shouted once he finally caught up to the group.
"I knocked the wind out of him. He should have come to by now," she explained nonchalantly as she steadied the brunette. "Hey, Judai? Are you awake now? Can you breathe?"
"Yeah," the brunette grunted as he stood on his own feet. "Ya know, you could've set me down earlier."
"And risk you causing a scene? Not going to happen," she stated with her arms crossed. Stepping away from him, Kagome didn't even wait before launching into a lecture. "What the hell were you thinking using a school facility after hours? Do you want to be expelled before your first day of class? How would getting expelled get you anywhere closer to being Duel King, huh?
It's already the middle of the school year at every single other school in Japan. Did you even think what about would happen to you if you got expelled in the middle of the year? And no, getting expelled at in spring or winter wouldn't make it any better!"
"Okay, okay, I get it! Geez, mom," Judai conceded with his hands raised in defeat. "I'll be more careful next time."
"You better hope there isn't a next time," Kagome huffed with a final admonishing glare. "I know you're smarter than this Judai. Otherwise you wouldn't have been accepted into this even with good dueling skills. So use it that brain of yours. Being a happy-go-lucky idiot doesn't help you make and keep friends."
"Well? How was your first taste of Obelisk Blue?" Asuka cut in.
"Okay, I guess. I thought I could've gone on a bit longer though," the brunette replied with a smug smile.
"Is that so? If no one had interfered, wouldn't you be losing a valuable card to the Ante Rule right about now?"
"Nope, that duel would've been my win," Judai grinned as he revealed the card he had drawn before the duel had ended.
"Lady luck seems to have favored you tonight," Kagome mumbled as she looked at the Monster Reborn card the Osiris Red boy was holding.
With a confident smirk, the would be Duel King tucked away his card and headed back off to his dorm without another ward. His dorm mate quickly nipping at his with shouts of "Aniki" in his wake.
Kagome watched quietly as the two boys headed back to their own dorm. Her sudden headache slowly dissipating the further the boys got.
"Let's hurry up and get book to our own dorm. The faster we get back, the faster I can tell Ayukawa-sensei why we're out after curfew, and how you drag people into things against their will," she said, turning on her heel to start the walk back to the girls' dormitory.
"What? Even after that duel?" Asuka gaped, surprised that she could still be in trouble.
"A duel is a duel no matter where you go," the raven shot back in a brusque manner, her pace quickening. "There are far more impressive things in the world than a duel that's not even finished."
Casting one final look in the direction of the Osiris Red dorms, she couldn't help but think that her last year of high school might be more interesting than she'd thought.
'But what was with that pain earlier? I've never felt anything like that for no reason before.' She pondered with a hand lightly touching her head while her other hand untied her robe.
Still thinking about the matter, Kagome ignored Asuka and her quiet complaints as they made their way back to their own dormitory.