And hello again, readers and true believers! I can't believe it's been more than a month since I last posted. Life's been busy and this chapter went through a few rewrites, so I'm glad I finally pushed through and got it out for everyone to read. And that people are still reading this fun idea I've been playing around with, so thank you for continuing to read and comment. What was originally just going to be a cool down chapter turned into the setup for another two-parter, so I hope everyone enjoys what's about to come. So, before we get started, time to get to a few reviews:
Pokemonking0924: Yeah, he's a moody teenager with issues, but Bastion and the Slifers are definitely growing on him, whether he wants to admit it or not. And Hope's going to get a lot of fleshing out as chapters come out, so I'm happy you and hopefully others are interested about what she can do.
649: Honestly, no. I wasn't really planning on having them paired up. A lot of other stories do that, and I really wanted to try something a little different. Alexis will get her own stuff to do, and Kenji may have a romantic interest in the story, but nothing's concrete and I just enjoy writing about his friendships with the others right now. 'Canonically', Ken's not into blondes.
AmanoRyo: The month away's been giving me some time to think about Ken's deck more, so I will say, he won't be getting Rihan or anything close to anything that late in the card game's history. He will be getting a Fusion Monster, one of my personal favorites actually, but not a Six Samurai one. And I'm looking forward to revealing it down the road and showing off what it can do.
Now with reviews addressed, and without further ado, it's Time to Duel!
Only Rei could get a bunch of teenagers to listen to a lecture at 8 in the morning. Ken thought bitterly as he watched his sister go through her class lecture, trying to pay attention himself as he took notes. Everyone in class was either completely engaged with the lesson or at least paying enough attention not to fall asleep. Jaden in particular hadn't nodded off once all week during her class, which shocked the Ra the first time he saw it.
Rei, the miracle worker. Ken held back a chuckle at the idea of Jaden actually paying attention in class but was still having difficulty taking notes. Something that made him think back on the past week and the routine he found himself in. After his duel with Alexis, he was rewarded for his efforts with more schoolwork and lectures instead of the cheering he was telling himself he would get. A price he had to pay for not getting expelled by the girls, but he could still be annoyed about it.
A couple days of class in, the boy noticed his day followed a strange schedule: breakfast with Bastion with the two trading jabs and comments, meeting up with Jaden and Syrus outside of class and the four would walk to and complain about class together. Hope would join them for lunch, but he still didn't know too much about her. Just that she liked to draw and was pretty good at it. Still, Ken didn't complain, and could admit he enjoyed their company. Even if Jaden did drive him up the wall with how nonchalant he was about class, or if Syrus's lack of confidence in anything made him want to shake the self-worth issues out of him. But he noticed that there was a change in the atmosphere since the first day. Ken looked up at the Obelisk side of the class out of curiosity. To no surprise, a good number of them flinched away from his gaze, too scared that he would snap again. Torimaki in particular refused to make eye contact with him and curled into himself, finding the marks on his desk far more interesting.
I make one little threat, and these wimps show their true colors. Ken wryly thought, noticing Alexis and her friends look at him warningly. Jasmine in particular was giving him a hard glare, while the others looked less heated. His only response was to give them a tired smirk, silently telling them he wouldn't try anything. Ever since the first day of class, most of the Obelisk Blue students would do their best not to acknowledge him or outright avoid him. That didn't stop everyone from staring and gossiping about him when he wasn't looking. Especially during homeroom, now that everyone had put two and two together about him and Rachel, which only brought more headaches for the Ra. Turning back to pay attention to the lecture, he noticed Bastion looking at him with concern. Quietly, Ken gave a small wave of his hand to tell him he was okay. Thankfully, Bastion didn't push the issue, giving a nod before turning back to his notebook. But Ken could practically feel the curiosity radiating from him. The Obelisks' demeanor wasn't the only change he noticed. Looking down towards the Slifers, Ken saw Syrus actively taking notes, looking slightly less nervous in class since the first day. While he still stuttered and hoped he wouldn't get called on in class, he and the others would calm him down after class to keep his spirits up. Jaden would do his best to keep the mood of the group high while Bastion kept them focused on their schoolwork. And if anyone tried to mess with them, Ken stood between them and the would-be bullies, intimidating them away.
All in all, Ken didn't hate it.
"Mr. Shirogane!" He heard Rachel call out, quickly snapping to attention. The small smile he didn't know was on his face evaporated as he stood up, reluctantly ready to answer what question she had. "Can you please explain to the class what an archetype is?" Rachel's eyes were focused on Ken's, both ignoring the whispering and the stares the other students were giving the two.
"An archetype is a group of cards that has its own dedicated support cards. Cards belonging to an archetype are identified by a common name or alludes to a name in their description. My Six Samurai cards are one example." Ken explained, crossing his arms as he did, but refusing to break eye contact. "Spells and Traps, even Monster Effects for an archetype usually affect its monsters in a way that benefits their playing style, making them practically useless to any other card outside the archetype without very specific strategies in mind." The boy was very careful not to say exactly how his cards worked, knowing that some people in the class would love to be privy to that. The way Ken spoke sounded as if he was repeating something from memory, but his eyes never left Rachel as he spoke, who wasn't reacting just yet. Ken blinked for a second before continuing, biting back a sigh as he knew what she was waiting for. "Though more generic cards can provide a greater variety of strategies that can improve upon an archetype if played right. Focusing on an archetype's main strategies or adding additional cards to cover its weak points is a matter of a duelist's preference." A second or two passed between them as Rachel gave a smile at the answer.
"Very good, Mr. Shirogane." Rachel replied, looking satisfied by the answer. Ken didn't return the smile or say anything else, instead opting to sit back down and return his attention to his notebook. He didn't give his sister another look and Rachel didn't linger on that. Behind Ken, the girls had focused on the Ra as he spoke, somewhat impressed. Alexis's eyebrows shot up a bit on the succinct answer while Mindy gave a quiet hum and an impressed smile his way. Jasmine was the only one refusing to comment on the answer, looking away from her friends and on her notebook as to not give the boy any undue attention. Away from them, Chazz and his cronies gave him a hard glare, more annoyed than impressed by the answer. All three of them believed Chazz would've answered the question far better if given the opportunity. Ken could see Jaden and Syrus sending a thumbs up to their buddy while Bastion gave a satisfied smirk to his seat neighbor. "Now, let's get a bit more into the first examples of archetypes. If you'll look at the board…" Ken simply grabbed his pencil and started taking notes again, ignoring the grumblings of the students as he did.
Another part of the routine was beginning to establish itself, it seemed.
"Weekend's here!" Jaden cheered as he dashed out of the classroom. His beaming smile was almost blinding to everyone around him. The day continued without incident: classes were muddled through, Crowler didn't pick on Syrus again, no one was called out or punished, and Pharaoh found a comfortable seat on Syrus's lap this time. The quartet was just happy that they survived their first week of classes, all in varying states of jubilation.
"About time…" Ken groaned as he dragged his feet right behind his friend, rolling his shoulders to shake off the exhaustion. The boy felt a firm pat on his shoulder, seeing Bastion walk past him with an amused expression, but was too tired to bite back a retort.
"I thought Professor Banner would never finish." Syrus complained with his head hung low. "I didn't know Duel Academy needed history lessons…"
"Well, at least it's over now." Bastion consoled the two, looking over at Jaden with a tired smile. "We have the weekend all to ourselves, at the very least. Anyone have any plans?"
"Not sure. Was probably gonna do some exploring." Jaden mused out loud. "We haven't really done any walking around since orientation."
"I'm just glad we don't have homework this weekend." Syrus sighed in relief. "I might just start a book from my stack."
"Well, I wanna hit the card shop before we head back." Ken said while rubbing the back of his neck. "I've been meaning to power up my deck for a while." Ken turned to his friends with a tired smirk. "Anyone up for a little field trip?"
"Card shop?!" Jaden's grin grew from ear to ear at the mention of new cards. "Oh yeah, I'm in!"
"Yeah, sure."
"I have no objections."
"Motion carried!" Ken announced, throwing his fist into the air and turning on his heel. "Onward, my loyal companions! To the card shop!" The three followed their impromptu leader, moving past the other students and chatting away with each other as they walked. As they walked, Ken noticed that the girls would give them annoyed looks, far from friendly or polite. Most did their best to give the four a wide berth, but their gazes lingered on Ken and Syrus specifically.
Guess Rhodes and her friends kept their word. Ken thought as his eyes followed the girls walking past them. I really don't want this to be an all-year thing. The boy mentally groaned as the four turned the corner and entered through the threshold of the card shop. The shop itself could only be described as a hub: students from every dorm congregated and glossed over the glass cases containing booster packs and cards on display. The room itself was decorated with banners and signs adorned with images of various monsters and the Duel Academy emblem.
"Here's hoping they have some good stuff for sale." Ken mused aloud as he led the others into the room. "I've got a good feeling about these sorts of things."
"Just make sure you don't go too crazy with your funds, Kenji." Bastion chided, but Ken shrugged as Ken picked up his pace.
"Relax, B. I should have enough DP to get something good." Ken said nonchalantly, but Jaden and Syrus both looked confused.
"Enough what?" Jaden asked for the both of them, making the Ras turn around to look at the brunette with a curious eye.
"DP." Ken said simply, Jaden still did not look like he understood. "You know, our Duel Points?" He asked, but again Jaden didn't look like he took the hint. Ken pinched the bridge of his nose in disbelief, shocking even himself on why he should have thought any different. "How do you even…?" He trailed off, leaving Bastion to pick up where his neighbor was leaving off.
"Every student gets an allowance of Duel Points to purchase card packs at the shop every month. The better the dorm you're in, the higher the amount." Bastion explained to the Slifers, the promise of new cards keeping their attention. "You can gain more by dueling and beating other students. And the amount you earn goes up depending on what dorm they're in."
"Like I said, Blues get all the perks." Ken nodded as he let out a breath, feeling a bit too proud of himself for the observation.
"So, the higher the dorm we're in and the more we duel…" Syrus started the train of thought.
"The more DP we get and the more cards we can buy." Bastion finished. "Strengthening our decks to duel stronger opponents and get into the better dorms." That got an excited look out of Jaden.
"So, we just need to duel as many people as possible, I gotcha!" The Slifer grinned a mad grin as he looked around the building for someone to duel. His friends recognized the look on his face and how his hands gripped in excitement. Just as Jaden was about to accost some student for a duel, the boy felt another hand yank the back of his blazer hard, stopping him in place.
"Card shopping first, then we duel like maniacs." Ken stopped his friend with a frown, hand tightly held on the boy's jacket for a moment longer before he let go. "I'd suggest you guys at least look at what they have too. I'm sure you guys'll be able to buy some packs too."
"Maybe…" Syrus pondered, a small hopeful smile growing on his face. "It'd be nice to add some new cards to my deck."
"That's the spirit!" Jaden cheered as he patted Syrus's back, getting a bigger smile out of his friend and amused smirks out of the Ras. "Come on, cards are waitin'!" Jaden pointed with his thumb, prompting the four to walk over to the card counter. Catching Ken's eye was a young woman behind the desk wearing a pink shirt and red string tie with a blue apron over it. Her soft brown hair was tied into a low ponytail with a Duel Academy visor shielding her brown eyes. Her older figure and soft smile sent a jolt through Ken's chest, liking what he was seeing.
"Well now…" Ken smirked as he straightened his blazer and let out a breath before walking over to the girl. The others looked at each other as Ken stopped in front of the counter, a noticeable spring in his step and a twinkle in his eye.
"Good afternoon." Ken greeted the young woman with a wave, his voice more cheerful and charming than the guys had ever heard before. "Miss…"
"Sadie." The young woman politely answered him with a courteous smile.
"Sadie." Ken said, committing the name to memory. "I'm looking for any Monsters that can help Warrior-decks. Six Samurai cards too, if you have them."
"I'm not sure about Six Samurai cards, not many have been released to the public yet." Sadie explained, with the Ra quickly becoming disappointed by that. "But we do have some new Warrior Monsters in the case on the right." She mentioned, her hand openly pointing towards the case on Ken's right. Giving the girl a smile, he walked over to the other case and peered through the glass. Inside was a multitude of Warriors on display, many of them not catching his eye or high-level monsters that would only slow his deck down. Slowly scanning through each one of them, he stopped when he noticed two cards in particular side-by-side. Both monsters were blond-haired warriors holding swords, one in metal armor and the other in leather armor. The one in leathers was incredibly familiar to him, but both made Ken grin.
Obnoxious Celtic Guardian and Command Knight.
"Those two are staples of any Warrior deck nowadays. I'd suggest Marauding Captain too, but copies alway go quickly." Sadie explained, a noticeable ring in her voice as she saw the boy eyeing the two cards. She could practically hear the thunder clouds in his head as he brainstormed what he could do with them.
I need some better staying power for my deck. I don't have too many cards that can stay on the field without swarming it first. And these two would be harder to get rid of if I play them right. His mind made up on the investment, Ken looked at Sadie and gave her a grin.
"I'll take 'em." Ken announced, getting a polite smile out of the girl. "How much?"
"1500 DP."
"For both?!"
"Each."
The boys could see the color drain from Ken's face as he did the math in his head. Quickly shaking his head and stuffing a growl back down his throat, Ken's charming smile faltered as he dug through his pocket.
"Let me check real quick." Ken muttered to the cashier as he pulled out his PDA. "I might have enough for one of them, but I don't remember off the top of my-." His mouth and his thoughts stopped as he registered what he was seeing on screen.
Name: Kenji Shirogane
Dorm: Ra Yellow
Current DP: 4000 DP
"Head?" He finished, prompting the boys to look over at his shoulders (or around in Syrus's case) and eye what he was seeing. They were all surprised that the boy had enough to get the two cards. Out of curiosity, Bastion was the first to pull out his PDA to check his points. Sure enough, he saw that he only possessed 2000 DP.
"Curious." Bastion said barely loud enough for the others to hear.
"Why's yours so high, anyway?" Jaden asked, Ken not taking his eyes off the device.
"It must've been when I dueled Rhodes…" Ken mused, the ramifications of this jump in points were slowly dawning on him. If beating an Obelisk would get me this many points… Beating Obelisks left and right, I'd be swimming in new cards in no time! Ken shoved that thought away for now and looked back at Sadie, who was waiting for his decision with a practiced smile. "I'll go ahead and take 'em. And I'll take a few packs too." Ken affirmed to Sadie's satisfaction, giving the girl what he thought was a charming smile. "Though I gotta ask, is there any chance for a discount? Maybe we can discuss it over a cup of coffee?" The question didn't seem to faze the girl, but the boy could've sworn he saw a twitch of her lip at the question.
"I'll be right back, sir. Just need to get the keys for the case." Sadie said, completely ignoring the proposal. The young woman turned heel and walked towards the back, completely ignoring the floundering boy. Ken grimaced as the counter girl walked away, mentally cursing himself for his approach. Turning his head back in embarrassment, he noticed the amused looks on his friends' faces at his painful attempt at flirting. His only response was to silently flip them off, getting the three to hold back a laugh. Ken growled before hearing the sound of footsteps coming from where Sadie was. Turning back to greet her, his face immediately shifted back to his more charming visage as if nothing had happened. A moment spent unlocking the case and fetching the cards, Ken paid his tab and received the two new warriors for his deck along with the card packs. Giving the young woman a smile, she only gave him a polite wave before turning back to another customer. Ken's smile fell as he turned around, seeing only Jaden standing there with his arms crossed and a playful smirk on his lips.
"Smooth." Jaden quipped, Ken's eye twitching in annoyance.
"Shut up." Ken grunted back as he looked around, Bastion and Syrus were currently looking inside the cases for anything that they could use. The two chatted for a bit while Bastion and Syrus window-shopped, Jaden soon enough breaking away to join the others to look for any deals. Ken, choosing not to make more of an idiot of himself, stood nearby and simply watched students come and go from the shop in an attempt to stop boredom from creeping in. After a few minutes, the three returned to their friend, their hands carrying small bags of booster packs.
"Trying your luck today?" Ken asked the three as he led the group toward the exit, getting a cocky grin out of Jaden.
"Yeah, I didn't want to spend all my points at once. I'm hoping I can get something good." Syrus explained.
"There ya go, Sy." Jaden smiled at his buddy, clutching his own bag of packs. "Positive thoughts, Lady Luck likes that."
"Hopefully we all pull something good." Bastion mused loud enough for everyone to hear before turning to Jaden. "Here's hoping your 'Lady Luck' is feeling generous today."
"Hey, she exists." Jaden caught the look Bastion was giving him and was almost offended. "Watch Joey Wheeler's old duels, dude made his mark off lu-." Jaden felt himself bump into Ken before he could finish that sentence, the boy had stopped dead in his tracks prompting the others to follow suit. "Hey Ken, why'd you stop?" Jaden asked before turning to his front and saw a familiar figure. Raymond stood in front of the group, a smirk on his lips and holding a small folder in one of his hands.
"Aww man…" Syrus groaned at the sight of the familiar Obelisk.
"Oh joy…" Ken muttered as well, more out of annoyance than fear.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen." Raymond greeted courteously as he walked up to the four of them, only to be met with glares from the boys. "Card shopping, I take it?"
"Maybe, what's it to you?" Ken asked, instinctively stepping between Raymond and his friends.
"Just making conversation." Raymond casually remarked, but was still met with accusatory glares. "I hope you four are staying out of trouble, though." He said as he eyed Jaden and Ken. "You two in particular are starting quite the rumor mill this week. Something about the girl's dorm?" That got a shocked reaction out of the four, Syrus in particular was curling in on himself at the memory as he unconsciously rubbed his wrists.
"If you have something to say, I suggest you say it." Bastion spoke up, clearly in no mood for the Obelisk's riddles.
"I'm just saying it would probably do you all good to keep your heads down and study. It would be a shame if some good-natured hijinks got you all into trouble." Raymond alluded with a smirk, like the cat who ate the canary.
"After what happened the other night, I can imagine someone would be happy about it." Jaden accused the second-year, who only kept his smirk in response.
"Just giving some friendly advice. The Reds and Yellows aren't very well-liked here, as I'm sure you've guessed." Raymond relented as brushed off the accusation, not paying their stares any mind. But they could see the cocky grin was gone in a second, replaced by a much harder glare at the group. "What's the point of coming here if you're not going to take it seriously?" The four did not like what Raymond was saying about them, but Jaden could see out of the corner of his eye Yubel had materialized behind the Obelisk with a malicious snarl on her face, with Winged Kuriboh hiding behind her. She hadn't forgotten about the other night with Chazz, and this wasn't improving her opinion of him either, but could feel the pull of Kuriboh's claws on her hair in an attempt to stop her from doing anything mean.
"Hey, we take being here plenty seriously!" Jaden denied the accusation, but Raymond only sneered back at the retort. Bastion, out of the corner of his eye, noticed that the group was attracting a bit of attention. The impromptu argument was attracting students from every dorm every passing second.
"Judging by how you've been going on all week, I highly doubt that." Raymond bit back, a noticeable edge in his voice. "Otherwise, you would've tried a little harder to make things better for yourselves." The cold, unsympathetic look in his eye said everything about how he felt about the four, but he didn't stop speaking. "All you're doing is making the rest of us look bad." As Raymond vented his frustrations, the spirit inched closer with her claw extended to give the boy something to think about, her snarl slowly morphing into a gleeful grin.
"Well, we can't all pay our way into Blue our first year like your buddy Princeton." Ken quipped with a malicious smirk, now fully gaining Raymond's attention and moving forward enough for Yubel to miss her mark, to her utter annoyance.
"That blue-blooded twerp isn't my friend." The Obelisk immediately corrected his underclassman, a noticeable edge in his tone as he did, getting a quirk of Bastion's brow. "Unlike him, I earned my place here. I suggest you all take a page from my book and do the same." Raymond closed his eyes and was ready to end the conversation. Yubel attempted to grab him again, but the boy walked past the group, now completely disregarding their stares and existence while making Yubel miss again. "Duel Academy is no place for slackers." The four watched Raymond walk past them and away from the card shop, only looking at him with contempt. Jaden, however, saw Yubel flying over to Raymond in an attempt to mess with him, but a 'Coo' from her partner brought her attention back to him and their partner. And gave her a look from his big eyes to leave the human alone. With a sigh, she did so and flew back to the fuzzball before fading from sight. The little spirit earned a silent, thankful look from Jaden before he faded from sight as well. With the crowd now starting to disperse, the four looked at each other in varying levels of annoyance.
"What's his problem?" Jaden muttered just loud enough for the four of them to hear.
"Just forget about him." Ken suggested as he looked back at his friends. "How about we head back? We have new cards, it'd be a shame not to see what we can do with them."
"Sounds good!" Jaden grinned at the group."Let's head back to our room, we can see what we get." With all four nodding in agreement, the group proceeded to leave the shop. Except for Bastion, who was watching Raymond walk towards the counter for his own shopping. The sharp gaze mirrored the storm of thoughts about that last comment the Obelisk made.
"Bastion! keep up, will ya?!" The Ra broke his gaze at the sound of Ken calling out to him. Shaking out of his thoughts, he quickly caught up to his friends to make their way to the Slifer dorm.
"Curses, curses, curses!" Crowler shouted from the privacy of his office, banging his fists on his desk. "It's only been a week and those kids are making my class a nightmare!" Crowler seethed as he grabbed a stress-ball on his desk, thoughts of his troublesome students flooding his mind. "First Jaden and his nitwit friend bungle my love letter plan. Then the Shirogane boy threatens one of my students and actually beats Alexis Rhodes! And now every one of my Obelisks is afraid to get near him!" The professor grit his teeth, being reminded of how his elite students flinched every time Ken so much as glanced at them. And especially Jaden, who dared to make a fool of him in his own classroom. "They're making a mockery of my dorm! And by extension me!" Crowler shouted and threw his hands into the air, the stress ball he was squeezing flying out of his hands when he did. The stress ball managed to hit the ceiling and bounce back hard onto Crowler's forehead, stunning him for a moment before he recovered. "Chancellor Sheppard will never let me hear the end of it if they continue to do what they want. I need to bring them to heel now!" The doctor muttered as he rubbed his head where the stress ball hit and left a red mark. Panicked thoughts stormed in his mind before he heard a knock at his door.
"Dr. Crowler, are you in?" Crowler heard a voice call out from behind the door, immediately recognizing it.
"Ahhh, Mr. Wolfe. Come in, come in!" Crowler welcomed the boy with a genuine ring in his voice. The student opened the door to see the now smiling Dr. Crowler.
"Are you alright, sir?" Raymond asked, subtly pointing in the direction of the red mark on the doctor's head. The good doctor flinched, knowing exactly what he was referring to.
"Ah, it's nothing, just hit my head on my desk getting my pen off the floor." Crowler lied as he gently rubbed the spot, something the student easily picked up on. "Never mind that, I trust you're getting settled in well enough?"
"Yes, Doctor." Raymond answered, his tone proper and his posture nearly perfect. "Everything is immaculate, just like last year. I still can't get over the difference between the dorms."
"Hard work and diligence reap rewards, Mr. Wolfe." Crowler spoke, with no small amount of pride in his voice. "You've proven worthy of such a privilege, and I know you'll continue to do so."
"Thank you, Doctor." Raymond said, a small smile betraying the proper tone he was trying to set. He instead held out the folder he had in his hand. "Here're the documents you wanted."
"Ahh, thank you, my boy." Crowler said, opening the folder and pulling out the paperwork. "I had to rush back from a meeting and completely forgot." Crowler went on, but noticed the apprehensive look on Raymond's face and his smile became tight. "Something on your mind?"
"I heard you screaming from across the hall." Raymond admitted as he crossed his arms.
"Yes, well…" Crowler's smile was replaced by a grimace as he did his best to clear his throat. "Just dealing with some troublesome students, nothing you need to worry about." Crowler tried to brush away the question, missing the critical look Wolfe was giving him. "Honestly, I wish more students would be more like you. You understand the importance of actual hard work. Unlike those Slifer Slackers…" Crowler muttered in thinly veiled disgust, but Raymond looked as if he wanted to refute that.
"Hopefully, they can work hard and climb up to Ra Yellow soon." Was all Raymond said in an unusually sympathetic tone.
"One can only hope…" Crowler grunted, clearly not as confident by the idea. "Enough of that, I did want to speak with you about a small matter. I watched your duel with Mr. Shirogane during the entrance exam, in case you remember." Crowler said, his tone shifting to something a bit more critical, to Raymond's dismay. "You performed admirably, but I couldn't help but notice your current deck lacks consistency. Trying a new deck composition again?" The annoyance in Crowler's voice made Raymond hang his head in shame, the boy hiding his frustration behind a bitten lip.
"Yes, Doctor. Though, I'll admit I need to work on it more." Raymond admitted, his cheeks were dusted red in embarrassment at the memory of his loss against Ken. "Normal Monsters tend to be a bit easier to summon with my current deck. Ancient Rules and Double Summon tend to work with a lot of monsters from that deck. But I didn't build my deck well enough."
"Yes, I know you're a fan of tinkering, what with all the odd decks I've seen you build your first year…" A hint of exasperation tinged Crowler's voice at the memories flooding his mind from Raymond's first year. "Don't get me wrong, it's helped your studying immensely, but I do think your style could benefit from a bit more cohesion." Crowler reached for a drawer on his desk and pulled it open, digging through the contents to pull out a simple, black container. "Here, a little 'welcome home' gift. Let me see what you can do with these." Crowler explained as his protege took the container and opened it to reveal several fresh cards inside. The gloss on them and the stats from just the first monster indicated that he was holding a pack of very rare cards to try.
"A very generous gift." Raymond was almost speechless by the site of the new cards, before looking back at his mentor and giving him a grateful bow. "Thank you, Doctor."
"As I said, it's a reward, Mr. Wolfe." Crowler corrected the Obelisk. "For all your hard work all last year. You've met my every expectation without complaint. And I expect even greater from you, do you understand?" He was answered by an affirmative nod, satisfying the professor who allowed himself to let out a breath. "Now that that's out of the way..." Crowler drawled as he rested his threaded hands on his desk, a rare easy-going smile now on his face. "Have you any plans for the weekend? It's your first week back, you should enjoy yourself a bit." Crowler asked, causing the young man to blink.
"I'll probably be spending all weekend in the library." Raymond admitted, ignoring the amused look Crowler was giving him. "I want to get a head start on the new material." The comment earned a 'tut' from the doctor.
"Honestly Raymond, you shouldn't be afraid to enjoy your time here a little more." Crowler chided the boy, sounding more like a proud mentor than a high-and-mighty professor. "Your philandering aside, you really should take more time for yourself. You're still young, no one will think less of you for taking a break, you know."
"I appreciate your concern, Doctor." Raymond said diplomatically, letting his shoulders relax a bit and letting himself smile. "There's supposed to be a get-together this weekend for the Obelisks. Barbecuing, music, that sort of thing. I may go for a bit. After all my work is done."
"Well then, I won't keep you any further." Crowler said, seemingly satisfied with the answer before picking up a pen and grabbing the first document from the folder. "Go on, enjoy your weekend. I'll see you on Monday." He urged the young man, who bowed respectfully again and turned to leave. When he finally did, Crowler let himself chuckle.
"That boy…" Crowler fondly sighed as he shook his head, already starting to tackle the paperwork on his desk.
"So there's supposed to be parties around campus this weekend?" Syrus asked as the group walked down the dirt road with his friends, the four having fallen back into a comfortable rhythm.
"From what I heard this morning, it seems so." Bastion explained, gaining the attention of the others. "Normally, it's tradition for the upperclassmen to arrange get-togethers for the freshmen, sort of a welcome party after the official welcome party, as it were."
"Sounds kinda cool." Ken smirked as he thought about it. "So I'm guessing burgers, music, girls?"
"No small wonder your mind went to girls…" Bastion sighed as Ken felt a punch in the shoulder from Jaden. "I'm sure they'll be spending their time with the other Obelisks. Though I'm sure the other dorms will be doing something similar."
"Not to mention they're still keeping their distance over 'the incident…'" Ken lamented while giving a look to Syrus, who flinched sheepishly.
"Awww, come on." Syrus whined, finding it hard to look Ken in the eye. "Are you still upset about that?"
"I was pretty sure a couple of them would've said 'yes' to coffee with me if I had the chance to ask..." Ken sulked, but the others hardly seemed to believe that.
"Your friend needs to find a hobby…" Jaden heard Yubel speak in his ear being followed up with a small 'Coo' from Kuriboh, the boy doing his best to fight off a laugh, but a snicker escaped him.
"Something funny?" Ken looked back up to Jaden, who was now covering his mouth to choke down the rest of the laugh.
"Nah, I just sneezed." Jaden weakly tried to play it off, but Ken only growled back in response. "But come on, I'm sure there'll be plenty to do this weekend. Maybe we can invite Hope to hang out with us too. I'll bet she wouldn't mind." The Slifer suggested, with the others shrugging in agreement. The walk down the dirt road continued with jokes and jabs bouncing off the four before Jaden pointed out their destination: the Slifer Red Dorm. "And here we are!" He called, pumping his fist in the air as he and Syrus walked ahead. The Ras, however, were stuck in their tracks, now having seen the Slifer Dorm up close for the first time.
"Well this is kinda…" Ken drawled, taking in the shoddy state of the Slifer dorm while Jaden and Syrus walked up the stairs to their room. From the look on his face, it was clear that he wasn't exactly thrilled with the state of the dorm. With the rotting planks of the handrail and stairs, the cracking foundation and roof, and the paint peeling off the walls near the edges, the Ras were discovering first hand how fortunate they were for scoring so high.
"Rustic?" Bastion suggested hopefully, mirroring Ken's less-than-impressed grimace.
"I was going to say 'a dump', but yours sounds better." Ken admitted as the two followed the Slifers to their room. The second Jaden ran up to his door, he turned to the others with a blinding grin.
"Welcome to our dorm, boys!" Jaden announced as he threw open the door to reveal their room.
"It's a bit small, but it's home." Syrus added as he headed inside and set his bag down on a nearby desk. "Come on in, I'll make some tea." The two Ra students walked up to the threshold of the room, both hesitating to take that step inside.
"Sorry for disturbing you." Ken said barely loud enough to hear almost out of habit, but was surprised when he turned to hear Bastion mutter the same thing right next to him. In realization, Ken gave Bastion a smirk. "Jinx." He chuckled before walking in and throwing his bag on the floor, Bastion following suit with an amused chuckle of his own. Jaden, looking a bit confused by the display, only shrugged before being the last one to enter the room. To the Ras, the inside felt as worn down as the outside, but they could tell the Slifers had wasted no time making it feel comfy.
"So, whaddaya think?" Jaden asked, watching his friends inspect the room with critical eyes.
"Feels a bit cramped for four people." Ken immediately spoke his mind, earning a look from Bastion while Syrus started to heat the kettle on the room's stove.
"Yeah, but it's cozy for us. You gotta check out the view outside. And It's five people, actually." Jaden corrected his guest as he spoke about the dorm room, who only looked back in confusion.
"I'm sorry, what?" He asked again, but Jaden was cut off by an unfamiliar voice.
"He said it's five people!" The voice boomed from the top bunk in the room, startling Bastion and Ken.
"A freaking koala?!" Ken shrieked in shock as he backed away. Bastion, to his credit, held his ground, more curious than frightened.
"Who are you two supposed to be?" Chumley asked, clearly annoyed at having his nap disturbed and mistrustful of the strangers in his room.
"This is Ken and Bastion. Remember, those Ra Yellow students we go to class with?" Syrus did his best to remind his friend, but Chumley only regarded the two with suspicion. Both Ken and Bastion put on their most polite smiles, Ken even trying to give a small wave at the boy. The smaller boy was already beginning to prepare the mugs of tea while the kettle began to heat up while Jaden was grabbing snacks from a container for them all to share.
"Are you two here to make fun of us?" Chumley asked to the Ras confusion, a twinge of anxiety in his voice when he did. The two looked at each other, unsure of what to say to that before looking back at him.
"We didn't plan on it?" Bastion asked sardonically, not liking the accusations the Slifer was sending them. "Why would we?"
"Cause that's what Ra Yellows do, or haven't you noticed?" Chumley bitterly told the two, but did nothing to stop them from glaring back at him.
"We were invited over to open card packs." Ken answered, the shock in his system now completely gone. "By our friends, who also happen to be wearing Red, or haven't you noticed."
"Lay off 'em, Chum. They're cool." Jaden defended the duo as he set out the bags of chips and crackers along with the booster packs, making the larger Slifer blink. "We already told you about what happened at the girls' dorm, right? They helped us out."
"That doesn't mean I have to like it." Chumley muttered, Ken stepping forward in response to show he wasn't intimidated. The brewing argument was interrupted by the sound of the kettle whistling, prompting Syrus to break away from the argument to start pouring the tea. The group sans Syrus all looked at each other before Chumley broke his glare away from the guests. "Fine, whatever." Chumley grumbled before laying down again and turning away from the group, doing his best to nod off again. "Just try and keep it down, okay? I had a hard time sleeping last night."
"Will do, bud." Jaden assured his roommate while giving the group a silent look of apology. The Ra Yellows quietly waved it off and proceeded to sit down on the floor as Jaden followed suit. Syrus, almost immediately, came over with mugs of tea in each hand. He quietly distributed the mugs to each of them before setting one down on the desk. Ken, noticing this, counted five mugs of tea; one for each of them and one extra. Looking back up at the surly Slifer, he deduced it must've been for Chumley if he wanted it. He didn't dwell on those thoughts for long as Syrus sat down next to Jaden, the group now looking over their earned prize for the week surrounded by bags of snacks. The group had all evening to enjoy their spoils.
"Now, how about these cards?"
Later that evening, in the Obelisk Blue dorms, while many of the students had already fallen asleep after a long week of schoolwork, one in particular was burning the midnight oil. The dorm itself could be mistaken for the room inside a 5-star hotel room. Fine carpeting, a soft bed with well-made red sheets matching the color of the curtains, a large couch and glass table in front of a flat-screen television and a door leading to the balcony, the room looked like the epitome of luxury and comfort. But one area was littered with notebooks and shoeboxes full of cards.
"Malevolent Catastrophe, maybe two copies of Dust Tornado for backrow destruction? Card of Demise and Pot of Greed would probably be enough for draw power, same with Trade In. Shallow Grave and Call of the Haunted can bring back whatever I send to the Graveyard. And if not, Kaiser Sea Horse and Flame Ruler can bring them out faster on Normal Summons... Along with the new cards Dr. Crowler gave me." Raymond muttered as he pondered how his deck was going to flow with his new cards.
Sitting comfortably at his desk, a coffee mug sitting in the corner and a notebook below it, Raymond was currently setting his new cards out to construct a new dueling deck. As he did, he jotted down notes on how each card could be played, what card would work with others, and possible combinations to play them, occasionally looking over other notebooks on the floor to check something he might have missed. One card in particular sat at the center of his build, with Raymond unable to take his eyes off it for too long as he structured his new deck around the brilliant golden beast. An eager smirk graced the young man's lips as his thoughts trailed back to Jaden and Ken as he did. The entire week, the two of them have proven themselves to be nothing more than eyesores to him. With their comments and attitudes towards him and Dr. Crowler, he had a very good idea who was vexing the professor. And he was more than willing to take the upstarts down a few pegs with the cards Crowler had given him. Gently tapping his new main card with the back of his pen, all he could do was smile at the opportunity he had been given.
"Alright then, let's see what I can do with these."
So that's Chapter 7, and I'm so glad to see it out and ready to read. And next chapter, we'll be getting to see what Raymond's new deck is going to be in another climactic duel! His notes on what cards he has is a little hint on what his deck will look like, so a light teaser for anyone interested in guessing. After the next chapter is the promotion exams. I've been looking forward to this, and I hope everyone else does too.
Until next time, thank you all for reading and following and remember:
Drink lots of water, be good to one another, and get your game on!
