The moon hung high over Duel Academy as the sky shimmered, the roars of the ancient sealed beasts echoing through the night, silent to all but those who were naturally accustomed to such things. The sky seemed to shake as the roars rose up from the depths of academy island, calling out to any who would dare unleash those that were buried on those shores. A roar tearing at already fragile bonds, yearning for freedom.

…but after a few moments that stretched to eternity, their cries ceased as their spirts were quietened by the seals once more. The skies calmed, the world returned to how it had been, the invisible destruction averted for now. But for how long? For a few moments more all remained as it should…a pair of lights, taking the form of twin orbs, descended from the skies to hover over the academy.

"That was too close," the leftmost light stated, their voice warm and feminine, "…I don't think those three are going to stay still for too much longer." The rightmost light said nothing. "…so what's the plan here, then? Are we going to deal with them, or…?"

"…it's a problem for the people of this world," the other light responded, their voice deep and masculine, "Let them handle it." There was a pause as the feminine voice seemed to sigh with relief. "…Not that you were intending to intervene anyway."

The feminine voice giggled. "…It's the only day of the year I get to have so much fun," she answered, flying around in a circle, "I'm surprised you came along, though. You've never shown much interest in coming back here…" She stopped, as if frozen by the glare of the other orb. "…I'm just going to leave you to it then. Try to be back before the day ends, otherwise you might get trapped in this world for a whole year."

The feminine orb flew off towards the main building of Academy island, leaving the masculine orb hovering above the island. The orb remained there for a while, seemingly studying the island, as if searching for something…or someone. "…Let's see if I can find a worthy opponent…"

It has been few days since Camula was defeated, and their were no signs of Shadow Rider's but the battle was far from being over and the gang decide to go back to their normalcy for the time being. With two Shadow Riders being defeated, Misawa thought of taking the Slifer boys to hot spring for relax. The Duel Academy has a special tertiary building where the students can go shopping for their essentials, spa and hot springs where they can relax and enjoy a hot batgh,

After Changing and grabbing some pool gear, Judai, Sho, Chumley, and Misawa all made their way to the male section of hot spring and jumped to the huge body of water surrounded by potted trees, waterfalls, and large boulders that dotted the area.

Sho placed a yellow inner tube around his waist, and then ran off a large rock, landing into the water, nothing but a towel around his waist. He sank and then surfacewe a smile on his face as he shook his head, enjoying the refreshing dip.

"It feels like a spa!" He turned around to see the other boys looking down on him, smiling at his antics.

"What's wrong with you guys".Sho asked.

"Your towel is floating". Misawa said as he narrowed his eyes towards the direction of the towel.

Sho turned back around to see his once fluffy towel floating around him, completely soaked. Now save for the inner tube he is completely naked.

A short distance behind him, Judai resurfaced holding up something.

"Hey, guys look what I got".. He called out teasingly.

Sho turned around and started doggie-paddling towards his roommate, "Hey Aniki, give back my towel!".

"Yours?" Judai laughed as he backstrokes away from his friend, "No this is wet, get a dry one".

"Aniki! Stop messing around and give my towel back". Misawa and Chummley sweatdrop while watching thair argument.

All of a sudden a wave of ice cold water hit Sho in the face, causing him to stop chasing after his friend. He, Chumley, Judai and Misawa turned to see who it was.

Chazz sat on a nearby rock with his legs crossed, and he was only dressed in a towel covering his private part and was holding a small bucket in his hand.

"Be quiet and take a chill pill you shortstack", He snapped.

Judai saved as he threaded water, "Hey what's new...Chazz a roo?

"Cute"... Chazz rolled his eyes as he set the bucket next to him.

"Aw so sweet", Judai rubbed the back of his head, "So why are you here! You came to chill with us?"

Chazz scoffed and looked away, "As if I would hang with you losers. I just came to rel-". He was interrupted when Sho return the splash by spiting water on his face.

"I finally got my revenge" Sho said and he then rolled his tongue to him but that didn't stop The Chazz from splashing water on him.

All five boys continue to play and splash water with each other

They were able to meet and hang with some Duel Spirit's such as Winged Kuriboh, Des Koala, and Ojama Yellow.

"This is the first time I have left the wading pool feeling tense than I did when I came in!" Sho laughed as he and the others crossed the bridge while the sun set, "Its good to hang with Des Koala and Winged Kuriboh, right guys?"

What Sho didn't know was that Des Koala was waking behind Chummley, back in spirit form, while Kuriboh flapped its small wings near Judai's head.

"I know what I know, Kuriboh," Judai turned to his friend, "I owe you",

Kuriboh booted happily.

"On Sho I still have your towel", Judai turned back to his friend"

"Hey! Aniki give me back my towel."

"Come and get it".

The next day Judai silently rolled over in his bed, consciously aware of the snoring coming from the bunk above him, Sho's noise echoing through the room as the smaller student rested comfortably. Judai, on the other hand, couldn't sleep; he didn't want to miss his meeting after all. He checked the time on the small clock upon Sho's desk; he still had a few more minutes to go. He rolled back onto his back, quietly exhaling as his heartbeat refused to slow down.

"Judai wake-up sleepy head"

The Slifer Student nearly fell out of bed as that feminine voice rung through his head. He sat up, looking around the room but saw nothing but the dim illumination of the pre-dawn morning. He stood up and walked over to his desk, drawing the top card of his deck…and smiling, seeing the one card he'd wanted to play all year. One of these days…I promise we'll win a duel together! He put the card back onto his deck before sliding the deck into its case. He looked back at the sleeping form of Sho before quietly nodding and changing out of his PJ into his Red Uniform. He slipped his deck case onto his belt before creeping towards the door, taking one last look over his shoulder and quietly opening the door, stepping through and shutting it.

Judai wasted no time in making his way from the Red Dorm to the path that led beyond Ra Yellow and the lake that conjoined the higher ranking dorms and from there onto the beach beyond the Blue Girls dorm that adjoined the path to the bathhouse. In the pre-dawn hours of the morning it was difficult for him to make out anyone on the beach…but he smiled at the sight of the solitary figure that was seated on a bench at the edge of the beach; Asuka. Judai quickly made his over to his friend…managing to sneak up on her.

Asuka jumped in alarm for a moment before calming down, gently punching Judai in the shoulder for daring to scare her. "Judai,you jerk!" She teasingly greeted, before giving him a hug. Judai blushed and chuckled, seating himself next to Asuka.

"…Well, now that you're here…" She continued, reaching over to her other side and pulling out a long box and planting it on Judai's lap, "…I think you should try this on for Duel Monster's Spirit Day festive." Judai looked at the box in the dim, early morning lighting…

"…Elemental HERO Avian?" Judai asked, seeing the image on the front of the box. He opened it to find a costume of the monster, Judai lifting it up and holding it in front of him.

"I hope I got your size right," Asuka mused, standing up and holding her own costume up in front of her, a red leotard that Judai recognized. He laid his Avian costume down before looking at his deck to confirm his suspicion. Asuka chuckled a little.

"But why? We will be having Duel Monster's Spirit Day festive after two months". Judai noted

"I thought of getting your custome earlier before it's too late. I hope you like it?" Asuka said nervously while blushing slightly.

Judai smiled looking up at Asuka, he stood up aand embrace the Obelisk Queen. Asuka blushed, her eyes closing as Judai's lips slowly neared her own…until there was nothing - no contact, no warmth. Asuka opened her eyes to see Judai looking past her, eyes wide in alarm. Asuka looked over her shoulder and her jaw dropped…

…at the sight of Chumley, sketchpad in hand, a box of assorted pens and other colouring implements in the other, the Fat Slifer Student staring in shock and alarm at the sight of the couple in the early hours of the morning. He then gulped and bowed to them.

"…I-I'm sorry for disturbing you," Chumley stated, bowing a second and third time, "I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Asuka sighed, slipping out of Judai's grasp to face Chumley, placing her hands on her hips as her heartbeat returned to its normal pace.

"…I just…" Chumley continued, looking towards the East, "…I just wanted to capture something before I leave…"

JudaI and Asuka looked to the East as Chumley took a seat at another bench. They were posing as couple and watched as he sat there…and the sun crept over the horizon. And at once his hands went to work, quickly sketching the scene of the sun rising over the island horizon. Asuka blinked, watching the Senior at work. The couple walked over, expecting to see only the roughest of sketches for the fleeting moment as the sun crested the horizon…instead finding the drawing in the earliest stages of a detailed linework.

"Th-that's amazing…!" Asuka remarked, "You've got quite the talent as an artist!" Chumley smiled at the compliment.

"…and here I was hoping to find someone with talent as a duelist!"

Judai and Asuka looked up from the beach to see a tall figure standing there in a sleeveless coat with prominent shoulders over a black, long-sleeved shirt with finned black gauntlets. He wore dark grey jeans and a helmet that resembled the head of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. On his left arm was a duel disk that also resembled the legendary creature, the playing area unfolding to resemble a draconic wing. He grinned confidently down at the students, Chumley and Asuka shuddering before his gaze…but Judai stood firm, gulping and grinning back.

"…At least you've got some spine."

Judai looked up and down the figure.

"Kaibaman, huh?" Judai stated, gulping again as he felt that familiar shudder he'd felt when he first encountered Ryo. Heck, when he'd first seen Camula and even Nightshroud. "…Gotta give you props for your costume; Grade A for that authentic feel." His grin widened. "But you're a bit early for the festivities."

Kaibaman grinned, stepping down onto the beach as Judai stepped back to allow him to take a position across from him. Asuka gulped, handing Judai a Duel Disk of his own. Judai gratefully accepted it, activating it. Kaibaman's grin turned into a heartfelt smile. "…I believe I've arrived exactly when I needed to," Kaibaman replied, "…especially since you're just raring to go, aren't you?" Asuka looked at Judai…and sighed. Judai looked back at her, Asuka nodding in affirmation.

Judai looked back at Kaibaman. "What can I say?" Judai replied, "When you look so much like Seto Kaiba…" Kaibaman grinned at that comment. "

"…if you duel anything like the guy you resemble, then I might just be in for the duel of my life." Asuka couldn't help but smile at Judai's excitement. "So…are you ready to due?" Judai drew the top five cards of his deck.

Kaibaman nodded, drawing the top five of his own deck. "The better question is…are you ready to lose?" The pair's LP counters set to 4000.

Judai 4000

Kaibaman 4000

"Duel"

Turn 1 Kaibaman

"I'll be taking the first move!" Kaibaman declared, "And to begin, I'll reveal this to you - My Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Kaibaman slid a card out of his hand and flipped it around to display the fierce beast to Judai.

Asuka narrowed her eyes. Why would he show that to Judai?

Kaibaman returned the card to his hand. "Now that I've done that…I can summon this; My Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon!"

A brilliant light erupted from the ground as the massive white Dragon emerged, glowing silver veins shining through its body (ATK 3000). Judai gulped.

"Next, I'll activate the spell card Cost Down. By discarding one card, I can reduce the level of all monsters in my hand." Kaibaman slid a card from his hand into the graveyard. "By doing that, I can summon this from my hand without a tribute; Krystal Dragon!"

A large, serpentine Dragon formed of a crystalline body appeared next to Kaibaman's other dragon (ATK 2500).

"I'll set one card face down. It's your move." A set card appeared behind Kaibaman's Dragons.

Turn 2 Judai

Judai nodded, shivering with excitement. "Now I draw!" He slid the next card from his deck free. "And to start things off, I'm summoning my Elemental HERO Stratos!"

The familiar HERO with the rotor wings descended from the air before landing in front of Judai(ATK 1800).

"When this HERO is summoned, I can add another HERO monster from my deck to my hand." A card slid from Jaden's deck which he added to his hand.

"Now I'll activate the spell Polymerization!" The Red-Blue Spiral of Fusion appeared above the field. "So I'll fuse the Stratos on the field with Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier from my hand to summon a new HERO; Elemental HERO Sunrise!"

Next to Stratos appeared a slender HERO in a dark body suit and fish-themed armour. A moment later the pair were pulled up into the spiral…only for a bright light to erupt from the spiral as the red-armored HERO Sunrise descended, his cape billowing in the wind (ATK 2500).

"When Sunrise hits the field, I can add a Miracle Fusion from my deck to my hand." A second card slid out of Jaden's deck. "And why wait to activate it? I can now banish two HERO monsters from my graveyard to summon another Elemental HERO fusion monster - Elemental HERO Great Tornado!" As the Red-Blue Spiral continued to spin, a violent tornado blew across the field as the green-clad HERO descended in the middle of the wind (ATK 2800).

Kaibaman grinned. "…I now activate my trap; Torrential Tribute!" Kaibaman's set card flipped up. "Since you just summoned a monster…I can destroy every monster on both fields." The ground rumbled before a great torrent erupted that quickly consumed all monsters on the field.

Judai gulped again before looking at his Duel Disk. "…ok, that was bit rough," he stated, "But because I banished Liquid Soldier for a Fusion Summon, I can draw two cards and discard one." Jaden drew two cards, looked at his hand and then slid one card into his graveyard.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn." A face down card appeared in front of Judai

Turn 3 Kaibaman

Kaibaman nodded. "Now I'll draw," he stated, sliding his next card free, "…and I'll activate Monster Reborn!"

A light appeared on Kaibaman's field. "With this card, I can revive a monster from my graveyard…like my Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon!"

The Alternative White Dragon rose up from the ground before roaring at Judai.

"Next I summon my Assault Wyvern!" A second dragon appeared, smaller, serpentine with wings edged with blades (ATK 1800). "Battle! Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon attacks you directly!"

The larger dragon opened its maw before unleashing a torrent of white breath, wreathed in lightning. Judai braced himself as the stream consumed him, his LP dropping to 1000.

"Next comes my Assault Wyvern!" The Assault Wyvern roared before flying towards Judai

"…I activate my trap - Necro Fusion!" Judai shot in, his set card flipping up. "I can banish monsters in my graveyard to fusion summon, but my monster can't attack this turn." The Red-Blue spiral of fusion returned before quickly becoming a Blue-Purple spiral.

"So by banishing Sunrise and Great Tornado from my graveyard to summon…Elemental HERO The Shining!" From the corrupted spiral descended the HERO of Light, his arms folded, his golden halo aglow (ATK 2600). "And this HERO gets quite the power-up. He gets 300 points for every banished HERO I've got. And I've got four." A brilliant glow enveloped The Shining as his power grew (ATK 2600 - 3800). The Assault Wyvern stopped its attack and flew back to Kaibaman's field

"…It's your move."

Turn 4 Judai

Judai exhaled. That was a close one. He looked at his hand. I've got Avian, Burstinatrix and Hero Signal in my hand. He looked at his deck. It all comes down to this draw. He inhaled, calmed himself…and drew…and then Judai smiled.

"I activate…Polymerization!" Judai slid the card into his duel disk before looking back at Asuka and giving her a thumbs-up.

"With this card, I can fuse Elemental HERO Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand to summon…Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"

The images of the winged, humanoid Avian and the leotard clad Burstinatrix appeared in front of Judai before being pulled up into a Red-Blue Spiral of Fusion…and from that spiral emerged a new monster; it's right arm was the head and neck of a red dragon. From its left shoulder protruded a singular white wing. It's form alternated between a light green and a deep red color as it pointed its Draconic arm towards Kaibaman (ATK 2100).

"Time to battle!" Judai declared, pointing at Kaibaman, "Elemental HERO The Shining is gonna send your Alternative White Dragon right back to the graveyard!" The Shining leaped into the air, his fist encircled with brilliant light before crashing down on the Alternative White Dragon, Kaibaman grunting as his Dragon was destroyed, his LP dropping to 3200

. "Next comes Flame Wingman! Attack Assault Wyvern with Skydive Scorcher!" Flame Wingman took to the sky before wreathing himself in flame and crashing down on Assault Wyvern, detonating the dragon before hovering in front of Kaibaman, whose LP dropped to 2900.

"And now for Flame Wingman's effect; when he destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to that monster's attack points!" The Draconic mouth of the Wingman's right arm opened wide before unleashing a stream of flames onto Kaibaman, the masked duellist sliding back in the sand as his LP dropped now to 1100. "I'll throw this face down and call it a turn."

Chumley gulped. "…if he only had one more attack," he stated, Asuka looking at Chumley, "…If Judai's last card just gave him one more attack then this would be over."

Judai looked to the last card in his hand. "I'll set this face down and end my turn." A set card appeared behind Judai's HERO monsters.

Kaibaman looked to Judai. "…now this is quite the refreshing experience," he stated, before laughing, "I've got no monsters, no spells, no traps." He looked down at his deck. "It's been a long time since anyone but Atem was able to push me to this extent. Asuka blinked, recalling the name Atem but she couldn't place exactly where she'd heard it. Kaibaman grinned. "…and yet, I don't feel any fear, only excitement," he continued, "Tell me, boy, what is your name?"

Judai grinned. "I'm Yuki Judai, a Freshman of the Slifer Red Dorm."

Turn 5 Kaibaman

The Masked Duelist nodded. "A Freshman, eh? Good…I'll know where to find you for our re-match!" He placed his hand upon his deck as his cards began to glow. "…this is a trick I picked up from my greatest rival.

I'm going to draw the one card in my deck that can win me this duel." The glow subsided, save for around the top card, which Kaibaman then drew and slid into his Duel Disk.

"…I activate Dragon's Mirror!" A large circular mirror appeared in front of Kaibaman.

"With this card, I can Fusion Summon a Dragon Monster by banishing the Material from my graveyard." Two cards slid out of Kaibaman's graveyard. "I banish by Blue-Eyes White Dragon and my Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon to summon a new creature of destruction!" A brilliant light erupted from the mirror.

"Appear; Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon!" A larger Blue-Eyes White Dragon flew out of the mirror, its massive wings wreathed in a brilliant light as it roared at Judai (ATK 3400).

Judai sighed as Asuka watched. The Slifer Boy then smiled and laughed with joy. "Oh man, you've got me," he stated, "…but that was a blast!" He grinned. "…Now bring it on!"

Kaibaman nodded. "Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon - Destroy his Flame Wingman!" The Tyrant Dragon roared before unleashing another stream of white energy that engulfed the Flame Wingman and then Judai, the Slifer Student's LP dropping to 0. Kaibaman, triumphant, smiled softly as the image of his Dragon and Judai's remaining HERO vanished, his Duel Disk deactivating. Asuka rushed over to Judai as the Slifer Student began to wobble before falling onto his rear on the sand.

"Gotcha that was a fun duell!" Judai exclaimed doing his usual pose while siting on the sand, looking up at Kaibaman as the figure walked towards him…and offered the student a hand. Judai accepted it, Kaibaman pulling Judai to his feet.

Judai 0

Kaibaman 1100 Winner

."…so about that re-match…"

"Soon enough, Yuki Judai", Kaibaman replied, "…when you've grown even stronger as a duelist." Judai nodded.

Kaibaman looked past Judai towards the woods that led to the Abandoned Dorm. "…Listen, Judai, I came here for two reasons." He paused.

"The first was to see if any new worthy opponents had appeared in this world…and here you are." Judai chuckled.

"The second, in the event no one on hand was capable, was to deal with something laying slumbering beneath this island…"

Judai narrowed his eyes. "The Sacred Beasts, right?" Judai questioned.

"…you're saying that you would've handled whatever is coming for them?"

Kaibaman nodded. "That's right," he answered…before smiling and petting Judai on the head.

"…Thankfully, I'd say you're more than up to the task." Kaibaman turned.

"…The creature you need to stop is called Tragedio; a Malevolent Duel Spirit that escaped into this world and someone has already become his vessel." He looked over his shoulder towards Judai.

"…It will eventually come when the Seals will be at their weakest. That's its best chance to absorb the Beasts and their power…" Kaibaman paused and then grinned.

"…of course, it's also your best chance to hand it an eviction notice from this world as well." Kaibaman began to walk away. "…make sure you're ready by the Spirit Gates when the final battle reaches…and be ready for the fight of your life."

Judai nodded, looking over to the concerned face of Asuka, The Slifer smiled, prompting Asuka to smile as the pair were joined by Chumley in watching Kaibaman walk back down the beach, the morning sun bringing new warmth and light to the shore…

Notes

Me and my friend made Judai and Kaibaman's duel happened more realistic way than in the canon. I did enjoy their duel in Canon but I didn't like how they unrealistically dragged them to spirit world while they were bathing.

This chapter also contains more foreshadowing.

I hope you enjoy this chapter.