Chapter Four- Dueling More

"Private," Hassleberry said the day after Zane called. "How about a duel? We haven't faced off since the start of the year."

"Sure. Let's do it." Syrus grabbed his disk and turned to see a startled Hassleberry.

"Sure?" he repeated. "You actually want to duel me?"

"Of course. I finally realized that if I want to go pro, I have to duel more and improve my skills."

"That's the spirit, Sy!" Jaden spoke up. "Let's head outside so you two can get your game on."

Uncertainty flashed across the dino duelist's face. "I don't know. I wasn't expectin' Sy to agree."

"Really?" Syrus said. "Well, expect me to say yes more often. Now, let's duel." Syrus rushed out the door, eager to see how much better he could be with his unleashed confidence.

Syrus braced himself as his monster was destroyed and his life pointed dropped to 1200. He smiled as his turn started. Both of them were dueling their best which was a relief to Syrus. Hassleberry had seemed unsure as the duel began but by the end of Syrus' first turn, he got into the game and was dueling with his usual skill. Both had taken damage and Hassleberry was grinning. Syrus had definitely improved and had Hassleberry on the defensive for a few turns. His own life points were at 900 but now he had the strongest monster on the field, though certainly not the strongest in his deck.

Syrus drew a card, looked at it, and then his hand and the field. He had his Cyber Summon Blaster active but didn't have the combo he wanted that would end the duel. He examined his hand again and said, "I play Pot of Greed so I draw two cards." He drew and kept his glee to himself. He had what he needed! "Next, I play Polymerization, fusing Ambulanceroid and Rescueroid to form Ambulance Rescueroid. That activates my traps as my fusion monster is a special summon."

Hassleberry gulped as his life points hit 600. "I'm not done," Syrus continued. "I now play De-Fusion to split my monster into two again which counts as two special summons. My trap activates and I win."

Hassleberry grunted as he took the damage and his life points hit zero. He remained on his feet and gave Syrus a grin. "Nicely done. You've improved since your promotion duel."

"Thanks, but I can get better."

"Of course, you can," Jaden said, having watched the entire duel. "Oh, Sy, I want you to have this. It's a copy and I don't need it."

Syrus took it a little wary until he saw it was a trap card. "Draining Shield!" he said in delight. "Thanks, Ja. I'm sure it'll come in handy."

"Hey, Truesdale!" called a voice and Syrus turned to see a fellow Ra approach and also saw that his duel had attracted a small crowd. The Ra student put on his disk and activated it. "Want to duel me?"

"Sure." Syrus added his new card to his deck before turning his disk back on. "Let's duel."

Jaden slipped up the stairs so he could watch the duel from above. He thought back to Syrus saying he needed to duel more and improve and also Hassleberry's comment that Syrus had improved since being promoted. He has gotten better but I sense he's become more confident lately. Perhaps, Sy's just growing up. People do tend to be more confident as they get older. I have no problem with a more confident Syrus, but I'd like him to be a good deal more confident. A wicked smile came to Jaden's lips as a thought occurred to him. Tomorrow night is the full moon and my magic is at its strongest during that time. I'll lure Sy into the woods tomorrow and use my magic to make him as dark and evil as I am. It'll be one less person I'll have to influence. He saw Syrus win his duel and, as others moved in to congratulate him or ask for a duel at a later time, Jaden imagined the next night when he would change Syrus' personality.

Syrus beamed as he was congratulated for his moves while other either spoke of his combos or asked for a duel in the days to come. He happily scheduled two more duels for the next day and was considering allowing for impromptu duels tomorrow when he sensed that he was being watched. He looked around and then up to see Jaden on the second-level porch. The brunette was smiling in a way that Syrus would call wicked and he thought he saw Jaden's eyes glow a faint red. Syrus suppressed a shudder, but felt a chill go down his spine. Does Jaden suspect that I'm not under his control or is he cooking up a plan that involves me? Either way, I better watch my step, figuratively and literally.

Syrus subtly sniffed his food and smelled nothing unusual. My senses are sharper than before. Ja can't prank my food anymore as I'll be able to smell if something's different. He happily ate his shrimp and side dishes before getting up to get seconds of shrimp- a lot of shrimp. My full moon craving for meat is cropping up, he thought. I'm sure Zane's feeling it too, even if he won't transform tomorrow.

Jaden and Hassleberry stared in surprise at their roommate's tray before Jaden cracked, "Gee, Sy. You leave any for me?"

"Sure did. I know how much foxes love seafood."

"Got that right." He pointed at the shrimp on his tray and they swelled to jumbo size.

Syrus eyed the enlarged shrimp with slight envy but said nothing. To his knowledge, wolves did not have any magic. They had their top status in the canine family and mental barriers to block magic, and really that was enough for Syrus. If I can return Jaden to his sweet self, I can ask for larger meat portions during the full moon.

Jaden stalked through the forest, his now red-brown eyes slightly unfocused as he ran through what tricks he had played and what he could still do.

"Jaden," a voice whispered.

The half-kitsune was immediately alert and he glared about. "Who's there?" he snapped. "Show yourself!"

"Jaden." This time a chorus of voices sounded as well as balls of light. Jaden stared as the balls morphed into the strangest looking Duel Spirits he had ever seen. There were at least six and all both happy and serious.

"Jaden," said one who had a head like a dolphin. "We need your help."

"My help?" he asked, folding his arms.

"Yes," said a panther. "Our world is threatened by a group called The Society of Light. They intend to eliminate the darkness and all life everywhere."

The mention of the society caught Jaden's attention. He had heard Chazz bandying around the name lately. "So, all life's in danger and only I can put a stop to it."

"That's essentially correct," said the dolphin. "And we, the Neo-Spacians will fight alongside you." Then all of them turned into light streams and flew into his deck box.

Jaden pulled his deck out and stared at his new cards before separating them from the rest. I don't need any new cards in my deck. If a light society is threatening the darkness, I am the perfect one to stop it as I am a dark half-kitsune.

I don't need to fight alongside these Neo-Spacians. I only need one card to insure my victory. He pulled out said card and smirked at it: Fox Spirit- Malicious.