The weekend passed by, with Van deciding to take it easier on Sunday and rest all day at home, letting his bruises heal up. The combination of rest and some of the medication he used made him feel a lot better. Regardless of that, he still had some patches and bandates on his forehead and face.

The walls of the Domino High were now seen with various posters across the different hallways and common students' areas announcing the inscriptions to the different clubs.

Groups of students were gathered on the hallways of the first floors, observing the papers with curiosity, and chatting among themselves about them. The topic was obvious, they were all talking about the different clubs they would join and the expectations about them.

"Hmmm, so inscriptions are gonna be after class…" Van commented as he was standing front and center of one of those papers, "Do you guys think many people will try to join?" Then he asked looked at his sides, eyeing Koji and Chiaki one at a time from the corner of his eyes.

Koji then nodded, "Don't be surprised if people join the club just for the sake of being in a club. And add the thought of just being a simple game. I can see things getting crowded."

"I wonder if they will try to filter people out…" Chiaki noted, then continued wondering, "Maybe some sort of entry test or something like that?" As she looked over to her friends.

Van shrugged and gestured with a single hand, "Wouldn't that be counterproductive if one of your goals was 'teaching' people the ways around the game?"

Subsequently, the three of them would hang their heads back, staring at the roof while they hummed and thought about how things would be done. After a bit, they would hang their heads down and grab their chin, humming a bit more. Moments later they would narrow their eyes, now the three of them looking frustrated before they finally sighed in defeat.

"No idea…" Koji said.

"Yeah, I got nothing…" Chiaki commented.

While Van, on his part, just shook his head with two short hummed sounds.

"What are you guys doing?" A girl's voice called, the trio turned around, spotting Rika and Saori.

Rika would look at the papers behind and close in, "Oh, the clubs…" She'd cross her arms and tilt her head, twisting her lips a bit, noting "And we haven't decided what to join…" clearly looking a bit gloomy about it.

Saori would chuckle, "Well, -we- haven't. You know, certain someone has already decided they are joining the dueling club!"

"Speaking of which, where is she?" Van asked, noticing the missing members of the usual girls group.

"Downstairs. They got caught up about the same posters that are near the entrance." Rika replied then sighed, "I had just hoped we would all just take part of the same club…"

"Well, you could always join, right guys?!" Koji stated eagerly.

But Rika huffed, replying, "Get real, I'm not interested in the game." Almost looking offended by the question.

"So, what's your plan now?" The kid asked.

The girl started to think about it before another voice calling to them joined the conversation.

"Yo, guys! Good morning." with its usual well-mannered and eager tone, Takato showed up walking towards them, "Deciding which club to join?"

"Some of us. My friends here and I are joining the Dueling club." The boy responded as he turned to face Takato. "I suppose you will continue in the Judo club, right?"

"Actually, last week I was Admitted to be the Club President of the Dueling Club." The boy side with a bright smile from ear to ear.

"Wait, what, are you for real!?" Van then asked as the rest of the group eagerly approached him.

"That's wonderful, so we are all going to be together!" Chiaki said before adding "So that makes Van, Koji, Haruko and Myself as the sure initial members of the club".

"Wait, so you are a duelist as well!?" Rika then asked, jumping into the conversation, a sudden interest spiking up in her as she even squeezed her way between her classmates to stand in front of Takato.

The second-year smiled at her, "What about you Rika, are you joining the club as well, or are you joining a different one?"

Rika then backed off a bit, "U-uh…" she then fiddled a bit with her fingers, "I'm still not sure what am I going to do." looking very timid and flustered opposed to her usual self.

The rest of her group watched her; their eyes narrowed, drawing a bit of a neutral, blank stare on the girl. Among the group, Koji just poked Chiaki's shoulder with his elbow.

"… Struck?" the boy whispered to her, while still staring at their other classmate down

Chiaki just tilted her head closer to Koji, responding, "Mhm… bull's eye."

"Well, don't feel rushed, I'm sure you'll find your place soon enough." Takato then focusing on the rest whole group. "And you guys, having you in the club will be quite helpful, actually. Having experienced duelists to give me a hand in some of the activities I have planned."

"Activities?" Van asked, with a bit of curiosity in his tone.

The second-year nodded at him, "I have some things in mind to help them get introduced into the game. You'll see in time."

The school bell would ring, indicating the start of the first period of classes. And thus, the students proceeded to move to their respective classrooms. Takato and the rest of the group agreed on meeting later and while the first year entered the classroom on their floor, the second-year headed a floor above to his respective classrooms. However, there was still a group who was not so keen on following the school rules, and had hidden in one of the bathrooms to kill some time from the first period.

"So, let me get this straight. You saw this girl who owns an extremely rare and valuable card, right?"

"Uhuh…."

"And she wiped the floor with you?"

"Yes, also kiss my ass."

"Right… so you then stole the card, and this other kid outsmarted you."

"To be frank, he can take a beating… I 'kind' of respect that, he didn't wimp out or anything. But it's clear that using our fists to negotiate things through will just get him to the hospital before cooperating…"

"Because, among us, you are both the better duelist… and the only one Takato can't clean easily."

*Sigh, * "I'm trying really hard to remember why I still hang around with you and those little scrubs you call a gang."

"You don't, they hang around with you. They decided to follow you after you beat them up."

"Right, right… I'm not even sure what that logic is even… But you mentioned that girl took down your King and your entire lifepoints in a single turn, ey? Perhaps… that could be worth the time checking out. Anyway, tell me again, what did that girl run on her deck"

"Right, so she seems to be running spellcasters and also…."

Later that day

During the launch break, Chiaki, Koji and Van were sharing a table and talking things over a couple of snacks and drinks. Koji would be checking and double-checking his deck.

"Hmm…" The boy hummed, or rather almost grunted, as he kept on checking his cards.

"What's wrong?" Chiaki asked, leaning over to see if something was wrong with them. While Van simply lifted an eyebrow, wondering the same thing.

"Well yeah! Think about it, if the club is gonna reach to the point of doing interschool competitions, shouldn't also be upping what our decks can deliver?"

Van narrowed his eyes and took a sip of his bottle of water before responding, "Koji, we haven't even joined the club yet. I think you are thinking way ahead, far too much."

"Yeah, Van's right, besides… remember that you have my dad and me! Our shop will always be available for you guys." The girl cheerfully added, agreeing with that and trying to calm her friend down.

"Hey guys!" Sayuri's voice would call as both she and Saori arrived at the table. With the former asking, "Hey, have any of you seen Haruko around here?"

The three of them looked at the girls confused, "Wait, is she gone?" Koji asked.

Saori then shrugged, "Well we were chatting in the classroom, then said she needed to go to the restroom, and we haven't seen her since. We thought she might have come down here."

"Want us to help?" Van asked before looking at Chiaki and Koji, "Don't think we were in the middle of anything in particular, right?"

"Nah, it will also help distract me a bit from the anxiousness of the club!" Koji stated as he stood up and picked up his cards. "Should we split then?"

"You and I could check around the campus, how about that?" Chiaki then suggested, pointed at Van, "And you can check the upper floors of the school and maybe even the rooftop."

The German teen stood up, nodding at Chiaki, "Very well, I'll get going then.". He picked up his bottle of water from the table and raised the hand holding it, acting as if he were waving at them, "See ya in a bit."

"Good luck!" The group replied to him as the pink haired girl could've been seen pointing at both Saori and Sayuri, and talking to them, possibly instructing them where they could search for their friend.

Van then calmly walked up the stairs and headed over to the second floor. He walked down the hallway as some second-years were looking at him, easily noticing that he wasn't a regular face seen on that floor. Van also didn't want to spend too much time there, as he wanted to avoid running into Yamada and his group as much as possible.

The boy finally got his eyes on his prize, Takato, who could be seen speaking with a group of his classmates inside their room from one of the entrances of the classroom.

The boy then leaned into the classroom and knocked on the door twice, "Oi, Takato!" he would pause for a moment as the boy and the group turned to look at him, "Hey, seen Haruko around here?"

"Oh, hey Van! And, nope, I haven't seen her!" then shrugged before adding, "Something wrong happened?"

"Eh, I wouldn't know." the Van then shrugged and shook his head. "Well, if you see her, let her know her friends are looking for her, alright?"

"Alright, but are you sure you don't need help?" the boy then asked.

The first-year then waved his hand in dismissal, "I got it, don't worry. See you later!" the boy then hurried to the stairs, looking to head to the third floor. However, when he reached the stop that led to the hallway, he felt a little something. A hunch perhaps, a thought, or something that made him consider skipping the classroom floors entirely and go over to the rooftop.

Van just walked up, moving past the third and fourth floor. Before finally reaching the end of the stairways and being met with a double-metallic door. The boy opened the door and the light of the sun did manage to almost hit his eyes directly. Van brought his hand up to his face and then, when things cleared out, took a look around the rooftop. There were a couple of students here and there. And in one of the corners, a bit away and on her own, a blonde-haired girl could be seen.

"There you are…"

The student walked up to her, taking another sip of water from his bottle. When close enough he greeted her with "Hey…" standing beside her and catching her attention. Her orange eyes staring at him. There was worry in them. "What's wrong? The girls are looking for you, you know?"

Then the girl then just looked back past the rooftop's fence, "Hm, Great…" seemingly out of the conversation and not really paying attention to him.

The boy blinked a couple of times and tilted his head, "Hey, are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, they're great…" She mumbled.

Now, visibly upset by her not paying attention to him, proceeded to take a mouthful of air and yell "HEY!"

"AH!" yelped and jumped, surprised by the scream, then faced him and yelled back. "You almost gave me a heart attack, why are you screaming like that, you weirdo?!"

"Well, because you are lost in your little world!" He screamed back at her, "What are you even thinking about that is distracting you that much!"

"Well, that's…" Then she'd press her lips and look away, "… that's none of your business!" going back to her previous state of worry, but now with a mix of annoyance.

Van's eyes sharpened, it didn't take a genius to realize that something was really bothering her, that's why he simply decided to lean his back against the fence, and stayed beside her. "Right then…"

The Kaiba looked at him from the corner of her eye and asking, "Then what…?" suspicious of what Van was planning. But to her surprise, he would just be idling there, humming and maybe toying with his phone.

At one point, he just looked at her and smiled, "What…?"

"I'm not gonna say a word. Don't you even try…" The girl then added, still suspicious of him.

Van shrugged and responded, "Not asking. Did you hear me asking? Didn't heat anyone doing so."

"Hmph, whatever. I'm leaving then." Then responded, then began walking away, decided to find another good and quiet spot where she could think things over. However, much to her surprise, Van's response would be…

"Ah, good." the boy then brought his hands in his pocket commenting "As far as I know, the others were looking for you around the first floor and the campus. You should be able to meet them around there."

The girl then stopped and lifted his eyebrows… he picked up on it. She wanted to think things over on her own, away from the others, and he picked up on it. And with her friends looking for her around the school, she wouldn't have much of a chance to find another quiet spot like this without been seen before.

Then she looked over at Van, frowning at him, "Oh I hate you so much…" Then she sighed in defeat and added, "… but that was good, well played…"

The girl then walked back and leaned against the fence, "Fine… but I don't want you to talk about this with the others, alright? It's just… too embarrassingly stupid…"

"Don't worry, besides… you forgot I am the person who had to speak German to entertain the class goofiness on our first day here?" The boy responded.

Haruko then, upon hearing those words, had a sudden rush of that memory and how he looked at that moment. She remembered how his face was read, and he was trying to bury his head between his shoulders while uttering some words in his native language. She couldn't help but bring a hand to her mouth, so she could muffle the laughter that came out from it. "Pft… phmh hah! I'm-I'm sorry, I don't mean to…!"

"That's better." The boy then commented while pointing at her. "Laughing, I mean, it suits you better." he smiled and continued with the question, "So… you were saying?"

Haruko was taken aback for a moment by what he said, with a very faint blush appearing on her cheeks before nodding "Yes, well…" she began explaining "Remember on the weekend, at Otogi's Café? How Ryuji told us about his friends eventually going on their separate ways and that…"

Van sighed and hung his head back, resting it against the fence, "Yeah… when we start thinking about that, it just sucks… the idea of doing and going through so much together. It would just feel…" Then he started clapping a couple of his fingers, thinking of a fitting word to describe that feeling.

"Vain, empty?" she then asked

With one slap of his fingers, the German teen pointed at the girl, "That's right." Then he'd bring his hands back into his pockets and ask, "So, are you worried things are going to be the same for you?"

"I mean, I know that's going to happen. The thought of how and when is what bothers me…" Then she moved her hands behind her back, letting her fingers slip and hold on the fence. "We've been friends for years now, Saori, Rika, Sayuri. But once we start going our separate ways… that bond won't last…"

As he heard her words, a thought came through his mind, "It never does…" slipped out from his lips, almost without even realizing.

"Huh?" Haruko reacted by quickly looking at him, just to be met with a stare from him that reflected just as much confusion as she had, "Have you ever gone through-"

Without letting them finish her question, the boy just looked away and clicked his tongue, "Guess it's just fair since we are into this conversation…". He then closed his eyes and took a sigh to get ready and open up a bit to her just like she did to him, it was the least he could do after all.

However, when Van was about to speak, both students' attention was caught by a commotion on another part of the rooftop. The entrance to be precise.

"Shit…" he cursed at what he saw, or rather, who he saw.

"Are you deaf or stupid?!" Yamada and his goons were there, two students, a boy and a girl; were on the ground. With the boy sitting on his butt, and the girl ducked down trying to help him out, though intimidated by the second-year. "I asked you a simple question, we are looking for a first-year punk with blue eyes, he also wears some goofy sunglasses!"

"Well, I doubt he wears them at school, Ya'…" one of his classmates noted.

"I DON'T REMEMBER ASKING YOU A DAMN THING!" Yamada then screamed back at him, easily shutting him up and keeping 'his goon' in check.

Seeing the opportunity as they were distracted and grabbed Haruko by her wrist. She jumped a bit, looking at him in question, to which he simply brought his index up to his lips and hushed. Then, with a single head-tilt, he motioned her to follow him.

Thus, they tried to hastily move away from their line of sight. He would head to one of the sides of the rooftop's entrance.

"Alright, starting from now this is our spot, so all of you losers get out of here, come on!" Yamada yelled at those who were there. The couple who was in front of him quickly got up and hurried back inside and went down the stairs. The rest of the present students did so as well, they made their way to the stairway and left the Rooftop, with only one of them being stopped by Yamada, as their hair seemed rather similar to that of Van's.

Meanwhile, the German kid spotted a ladder on the wall. He pointed it to Haruko and motioned her to go and soon afterward he would climb. Leaving them at the top of the cement square which was the top of the school stairways and rooftop's entrance. Which worked as the spot where the school water tanks could be found.

"ALRIGHT PUNK, WE KNOW YOU ARE HERE, WE SAW YOU COMING UP AND NEVER LEAVING. SO, UNLESS YOU JUMPED OFF THE EDGE, IT MEANS YOU ARE STILL HERE!" Yamada screamed as he and his group spread across the Rooftop.

"Hey nothing here!"

"No one around here, Ya'!"

"Crap, crap!" The Van thought, as both him and Haruko were now laying prone where they stood, hiding from the group.

Haruko was just as worried as him, "I can't believe they are still looking for a fight, and in the school no less…!" she whispered to him.

"Shh! Stay quiet, they will hear us…!" A couple of sweat drops had formed around his forehead and running down his face. Last time he took quite a beating and that was with Koji 'backing' him. Now he was completely on his own, which made things even worse.

"Ugh… this is why picking that fight with that Yamada guy was such a bad idea…" Haruko thought before sighing.

"Hey, there's a ladder here!" One of the second-years called before approaching and getting ready to climb it.

"Oh no…" both first-years thought at the same time, Van then got on his knees, "Hey come on!" called to his classmate in a bit of a louder whisper. Haruko got up and both crouched all their way close to the water tanks. Upon a closer inspection, he noticed a good gap where they could hide. But he knew time wasn't on their side.

"Alright, in here, now… go, go!" the boy instructed her.

However, Haruko protested "Hold up a second, what about you!?" then she'd shake her head "Stop trying to act like-"

"Here they are!" The second-year from a moment ago called, finishing their climb up the ladder. "And the blondie is here too!"

"Who do you think you are calling a BLONDIE!?" the girl yelled at him.

"Hey, not the time!" her classmate called "Damn it, what now…" he uttered, looking around.

A second member of Yamada's group would get up there, "Hey, stop fooling around, there is no way out. Now you either come down with the rest of us, or we will drag you down." then he'd point at Haruko, "And your little girlfriend too."

"What!?" Both of them screamed at the second-year as that last comment. Then Van exclaimed, "Alright, Alright! If he wants to fight me that bad, so be it…"; he began walking towards them just so he could make his descend.

"Wait, what? But if you get into a fight now…" The Kaiba noted, worried. She shook her head, hurried to catch her classmate, "Hey, forgot what I told about taking on my fights!"

"Nope, that's why I'm taking this one." The boy replied, lifting his index finger, noting, "Pretty sure this one counts as my fight, not yours. Right?" then chuckled at her, trying to bring some optimism to the tense situation, and began descending the ladder.

"Why are you taking this so lightly from all sudden!?" yelled back.

"Hey, shut up and get down as well!" One of the second-years demanded, bumping her back, and prompting her to go down as well. She'd begrudgingly do so.

They would be led to where the rest of the group was waiting for them. Van, once again, would try to keep a cool act and just greet Yamada by calling "Hey, how is it going, no hard feelings over punching your mouth right?"

However, that would easily lead Yamada to clench his fist and deliver a quick and solid punch to his gut.

"HEY!" Haruko screamed and Van was quickly brought down to his knees

A chocked "Ahck!" out along the air pushed out, followed by coughing and spiting some saliva over the ground while his arms wrapped around his torso both in pain and trying to catch his breath.

The girl quickly got on her knees as well, checking on her classmate "A-are you alright?" and then looked at Yamada "That was uncalled-for, what do you want anyway!?"

"Originally, our business here was just with this little punk, but since you are here, we can improvise and make things a bit more interesting." The bully then scatted in front of them, "Fortunately for you, failure of a hero, this time we are gonna speak your language."

After a mouthful of air filled his lungs, the boy asked in his struggle, "What on earth are you even on about?"

The question was met with a simple answer, "A duel." The bully's answer naturally surprised both first-years. Yamada then explained, "You messed up our original plan with your girly here, so now you are paying that bill. Ante ruling, you lose and we take your rarest car. You win, and we let you go unharmed." Then he blinked, realizing he just punched him and corrected, "Well, mostly unharmed."

"Fine, I already defeated you once. let's get this done once again!" Haruko stated, getting on her feet "Huh?", however, noticing that Yamada was unfazed by her words, she asked "Come on, what's the matter?!"

"First." Yamada then slowly got up, "I said that we would be changing things a bit. Since you are so eager about putting yourself in the line, let's add your rarest card to the deal. And we both know which one it is." Then he lifted his hand showing two fingers, "Second… I won't be dueling this time around. I already got a grasp of what you have in that deck, we'll let 'the boss' handle things this time around.

"The boss?" She asked confused.

followed by Van's question as well, "What are you talking about?"

"Right…" Then Yamada sighed, noticeably annoyed because he realized the person, he was referring to wasn't really present there. "HEY TETSUO, ARE YOU GONNA KEEP US WAITING?!" he angrily screamed while looking back at the rooftop's door.

"Uh…?" both of them narrowed their eyes, wondering how despite Yamada calling this new person the 'boss' the treatment didn't seem as such.

On the other side of the door, Tetsuo scratched his head and stood up from the ground. "Hmph, keep you waiting, you are the one who took forever finding that first-year, you idiot…" the young man said as he opened and crossed said door.

The first glance at him alone did actually manage to take the cool away from Van and intimidate Haruko a bit. About the same height, if not just a bit taller than Yamada, but with a broader build. One that matched Takato, which would be the question if he was also a member of the Judo club, or if he did any other type of sport. His hair was long, black and spiky looking. His eyes were sharp, and his face showed a constant air of confidence.

"So, this is the kid who punched your mouth?" he asked, looking down at both Haruko and Van.

"Shut up, you asshole!" Yamada screamed at him, annoyed.

"Ah, so you've heard!" The first-year commented with a smirk on his face.

However, that smirk would soon be wiped from his face by none other than his classmate. Haruko, annoyed by how he was almost begging to get beaten up again, she couldn't help but swiftly deliver a slap to the back of his head followed by "Quit it already you idiot!"

"HEY, DON'T HIT ME!" Van screamed on her face.

The girl did not give ground and screamed, "THEN GET SERIOUS!" right back at his face.

"You know, heard what you did. It takes plenty of guts to pick a fight against these guys, even though they are a bunch of idiots." the boy then smirked, "I can respect that." Then he pulled back one of the sleeves of his Domino jacket, revealing his duel disk. Just like Koji, he had one of the latest models and with its simpler design, it became easier to keep it hidden like that. "I believe Yamada told you what's on stake here. I gotta be honest, I couldn't care less about their problems with you, but I've heard both of you are quite good duelists; I've been itching for a good duel for a while now." His expression then changed to one more serious and asked, "So… who is it gonna be?"

"I'll do it!" Haruko defiantly called, stepping to face Tetsuo. However, Van was quick to get in her way, "What are you doing?"

"Number one, you already had your go dueling these guys with Yamada…" Van noted while reaching to the back of his belt, and underneath his jacket.

"That's not fair!" She protested before pointing at Yamada, without taking her eyes off from her classmate, "You can't consider that even a warm-up with how easy the duel was!"

Yamada, on his part, did not say a word. But he surely pressed his teeth and clenched his fists while thinking, "That little shit…!"

"Well, learn to pick your fights, then!" Van argued back with her.

"YOU ARE THE ONE TO TALK!?" Haruko refuted, "You picked a fight, and got beaten up by these guys last week, did you get hit hard on the head and forgot already!?"

At that point, it seemed that both first-years were so invested in their argument that the group who had ambushed them and were holding them against their will on the rooftop, were just gone and out of their worries. Getting to the point of them even being surprised at the duo.

Then Van brought his second point to the argument" WELL, WHERE IS YOUR DUEL DISK MISS KAIBA!?" as he revealed his disk he was keeping hanging at the back of his belt, covered by the lower end of his uniform's jacket.

That quickly put Haruko on the back foot, "Uh… uhm… well…"

"Checkmate!" the boy then exclaimed triumphantly before facing Tetsuo and putting his duel disk on. "Then it's settled, ready?"

Tetsuo proceeded to activate his duel disk, "Finally! Alright then, you better give me a good duel…"

The German-born teen nodded at Tetsuo "I hope for the same. Let's see how the 'boss' of this group can handle his deck." Then, as his duel disk also activated; reached to the pocket of his jacket and pulled out his blue sunglasses. Putting them over his nose, and pushing back against its bridge. His icy-blue eyes now concealed by the blue lenses of the accessory.

He closed his eyes for a moment and brought his disk up, taking deep breaths, mentally preparing for his duel.

"DETECTING ACTIVATION OF DUEL DISK BATTLE SYSTEM"

The words came out from the disk integrated voiced program. That was the call for Van to open his eyes and, with his serious, sharp eyes, stare directly at his opponent. With everything set and in place, both students exclaimed, "DUEL!"

Tetsuo was quick to make the call, "Hope you don't mind, but I'll take the first draw!" at the same time he pulled the first card from the top of his deck.

"Well, show me what you got mister 'boss'" Crossed his mind, awaiting the first move of the duel to take place….


Author's note: A NEW CHALLENGER HAS ARRIVED! Yep yep, a new week, a new chapter. And with the introduction of a new character, Tetsuo. Can you guess what deck does this guy run? lets see what you guys say.

Now here is where I say have a great weekend, take care and I'll be seeing yall next week. Bye!