Chapter 7:
After another set of long lessons; maths with Professor Wilson and Home Economics with Professor Satyr, it was time for the promised duel. Unlike what happened the day before, Blake had been sent an official challenge to duel against Jasmine in one of the arenas, which he of course accepted. He remembered Jasmine playing a Harpie deck, so he wasn't concerned about altering his deck for it, the best she could do was swarm the field and boost her mediocre monsters after all. The Harpies Field Spell could cause him some problems, but he had enough removal by default, so not a big concern either. He didn't have the chance to open up his bought packs yet, but with a bit of luck he would maybe be able to replace the remaining mediocre cards in his deck soon. Depending on how big the audience for the duel was, probably sooner than later. He was already grumpy from the lack of sleep and nightmare he woke up to, but after getting talked down by an Obelisk student for the second time in a row, he got irritated. So, he made up a little speech for after the duel ended. In his victory, of course.
He arrived in the arena reserved for Obelisk Blue students, and it was massive. The dueling field itself was slightly elevated, surrounded by stages with enough sitting places that could probably fit all students in the school at the same time. Words about the duel had spread, as Blake had made a ruckus with his duel the day before as well, but a challenge in the arena like this made even more people come by and look. He wasn't sure, but it looked like the whole first year student body was present, along with a few upperclassmen, most importantly the Kaiser himself, who stood with Alexis and her friends. The small group of Slifers plus Bastion cheered him on as he made his way up to the duel field, and he even noticed the green-haired girl from earlier whose seat neighbour waved at him excitedly for some reason. A few rows above the Kaiser sat an Obelisk Blue girl with long, blue hair, who seemed very interested in this ordeal, judging by how she watched at the girls in front of her in contempt and the open-minded look she gave Blake.
The cheers for Jasmine were a lot louder, due to most of the Obelisk students chiming in, with Zane and Chazz being a few of those who held back. With both duelists on the stage, Doctor Crowler got up there as well, making sure they played nice and properly shuffled each other's deck. 'There wasn't a judge for the duel yesterday and the duel disks are capable of shuffling, is this because it's a match in the arena?' Blake thought to himself, maybe something he could read up later. They traded back their shuffled decks and took their positions on the field.
"As per tradition, the challenger takes the first turn! The duel may begin!", the professor announced and got off the stage, prompting the two duelists to draw their starting hands. (Blake 4000 / Jasmine 4000)
"You heard the professor, I'm going first. Draw!", Jasmine declared with a smug look and made her opening. "First, I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw another two cards! Then, I summon Bird Face in attack position and set two cards face down. Your move, slacker." A brown and blonde bird the size of a man appeared on her field, letting out a loud cry (1600/1600)).
Blake drew, but grimaced at his options. He could go for a strong offensive, but her face-downs could make him waste his resources, so he decided to start off slow. "I summon Exarion Universe in attack mode, then I'll attack your Bird Face with it!" His trusty weird-coloured centaur took the stage (1800/1900) and went for an attack, which wasn't interrupted, and destroyed its target. (Blake 4000 / Jasmine 3800) 'Either those face-downs are nothing to worry about or she's saving them for bigger threats.' Jasmine took out a Cyber Harpy Lady card from her deck and added it to her end after the battle ended, as her destroyed monsters' effect.
"I set a card face-down and end my turn-", Blake said but was interrupted by a harsh wind that destroyed his freshly set defence. "Before you end your turn, I activate my Dust Tornado to destroy your face-down!" Jasmine said, then drew for turn.
"You played right into my hands! I summon Cyber Harpie Lady in attack mode! And since I now have a Harpy Lady on the field, I can activate Elegant Egotist to summon Harpie Lady Sisters from my deck!", Jasmine shouted proudly as her monsters arrived on the field. The classic form of the red-haired Harpie Lady clad in cyber armor and wielding a whip appeared first (1800/1300), followed by the three sisters as one, sporting one harpy that looked like the Cyber Harpie, along with two others (1950/2100). "Before I attack, I activate my Field Spell Mountain! This boosts all Dragon, Winged Beast and Thunder monsters for another 200 to their attack and defence!" The arena got surrounded by holographic mountains, giving Jasmines monsters a slight glow as they got empowered (2000/1500) (2150/2300).
Now my sisters, destroy his monster, then Cyber Harpie Lady attack him directly!" The harpies quickly tore apart Blake's monster (Blake 2650 / Jasmine 3800), with the remaining one hitting him with her electrical whip for a big chunk of damage. (Blake 1650 / Jasmine 3800) "That's it for my turn. You're looking pretty lost there, slacker." The assembled Obelisks cheered for her, with Jaden shouting some encouraging words Blake couldn't make out due to the noise.
"Are you playing Harpies because you're a fan of Mai Valentine or because you sound like one when you're angry?", Blake taunted, annoyed by the overly loud cheers of the Obelisk students. They sounded too familiar to his liking, and he could feel his left hand spasm as the scene of the underground arena briefly entered his mind. He shook his head and ignored Jasmines fuming face, then drew his card. "First, I activate Graceful Charity, which allows me to draw three cards and then send two to the graveyard." He sent his Twin-Headed Wolf and back-up safety in Necro Gardna to the GY and continued. "Next, I activate Polymerisation, fusing together the Dark Blade and Pitch-Dark Dragon to summon Dark Blade the Dragon Knight!" The fusion, if it could be called that, put his dark warrior on a slightly bigger version of the dragon, loudly taking the stage as the dragon's weight hit the ground (2200/1500). As the fused monster was a Warrior type, it didn't get a boost from Jasmine's Field Spell. 'But Gaia the Dragon Champion becomes a Dragon. How stupid.'
"I'll attack your Harpy Sisters with my Dragon Knight!", he announced, the resulting battle being a bit longer but its damage neglectable (Blake 1650 / Jasmine 3750). "And due to my monster's effect, I can banish up to three Monster Cards from your graveyard. So, your Bird Face and Harpy Sisters are gone for good." The removal of her monsters from the GY made her grimace. 'Did she plan on resurrecting them? Tribute fodder for a Pet Dragon, perhaps?' "I end my turn with one monster and card face down-", he finished, but she activated a Trap card.
"I activate my face-down; Shadow of Eyes! With it, I switch your set monster into attack position!" Blake's Sangan appeared, ready for battle (1000/600). 'That was her Trap Card?! I should've gone all in from the start after all.' "You got rid of my sisters quickly, but your Dragon Knight won't be around for long either! I summon Harpie's Brother!" A bird man with a long red claw on his arm appeared next to her other monster (1800/600) and also got empowered by the Field Spell (2000/800). "Then I activate Follow Wind, boosting my Cyber Harpy Lady by another 300 points!" The Harpy sprouted another wing and got wrapped in a purple cloth, growing slightly taller from it (2300/1800).
"Now, my Cyber Harpy Lady attacks your Dragon Knight, while my Harpies' Brother finishes up your furball!" Her monsters attacked, but the Harpie Sisters were stopped by a shadowy warrior. Blake told her with a satisfied look on his face, "By removing my Necro Gardna from the graveyard, I negate the attack of your Harpy Sisters! And since you destroyed my Sangan-", the little guy was ripped apart like a rodent, causing another big chunk of damage to his life points (Blake 650 / Jasmine 3750), "- I can add Great Maju Garzett from my deck to my hand!"
Another round of cheers resounded for Jasmines devastating attack, but out of the corner of his eye he could Bastion smirk as he explained Blake's plan to Jaden and the others, while the Kaiser had a resigned look on his face, one which Alexis adopted as well. "You think that'll save you?! Look at our life points, you're way over your head, slacker. This duel is over."
"You're right", Blake countered as he drew his next card, "but it's my win, not yours. I tribute my Dragon Knight to summon Great Maju Garzett!" The hulking form of the green-furred fiend appeared out of the ground, crossing its arms as the power of its sacrifice strengthened it (4400/0) "He receives the attack points from the monster I tributed and doubles it. Good thing I protected my knight, right?"
His opponent gulped, while a large part of the audience cried out about the impressive amount of attack points, but he wasn't finished. "I hope you didn't forget that I set this card last turn. Next, I activate my face-down; Call of the Haunted, to bring back my knight!" The knight and dragon duo appeared on the field once more (2200/1500). "And to make sure he deals enough damage, I equip him with Megamorph, which doubles his attack points, since I have fewer life points than you." His fusion monster swelled up to the size of the demon beside it, sporting the same destructive power (4400/1500). Jasmines legs gave out at the sight of the two powerful monsters and her inevitable defeat.
"Dark Blade, destroy her Cyber Harpy Lady! Great Maju Garzett, take out the brother next!" With the two decisive attacks connecting one (Blake 650 / Jasmine 1650) after the other (Blake 650 / Jasmine 0), the duel was over. The arena was quiet for a few seconds, before the Slifer students cheered and whistled, even a few Ra students chiming in, while Blake's opponent hit the ground with her fist in frustration. A baffled Doctor Crowled announced "A-And with this brilliant finish, the victor is Blake Moore!"
Blake deactivated his duel disk and walked over to his opponent, her friends already on the way down to the arena. "Good game, you actually gave me some trouble.", he said, holding out a hand to her. Jasmine, however, scoffed at him and stood up by herself.
"Some trouble my ass, I had you! If only you hadn't gotten so-", she yelled in frustration and only stopped when Blake raised his voice over hers. "Lucky? Is that all we Slifers can apparently be when we win?" His annoyed but angry tone kept her from talking back. "Yeah, I sure got lucky when I set up my combo from my second turn onward. Or when I got rid of your graveyard so you couldn't summon your Pet Dragon, right? Strategy seems to be for Obelisks only."
By now Alexis and her black-haired friend Mindy had arrived down in the arena as well, the first one deciding to jump to her friend's defence. "Back off, will you?! You won, there's no reason to -" "To talk to her like that?", Blake interrupted once again. "Like how there's no reason for you Obelisk students to talk down to us Slifers, like we're some lowborn insects that can only achieve something when they get lucky?!"
Alexis looked away, but replied with a quiet voice. "Not all of us are like that." The arena was eerily quiet, not even Dr. Crowler found the words to intervene. But Blake scoffed at her statement, "You really think so? I'd say you may be an exception." Mindy looked at him with her head tilted, seemingly confused by what he said. Using the attention on him, Blake decided to make his statement as he addressed not only the girls in front of him, but the whole arena. "But do you know who're the actual lucky ones here in this academy?" His eyes went over the Slifers, then the Ras, and stopped at the mass of Obelisk students. "Those that aren't here because they are good studies or duelists, but because they were born to rich parents. And I'm eager to see how many of the Obelisk students will remain in their dorm once I'm done with them."
His words sank in for a moment, before the audience erupted. Shouts, curses, even threats were thrown at him from the students in blue, while most of the others were stunned, only a few brave Slifers cheering. Blake ignored the horrified look on Dr. Crowles face as he turned to Jasmine once more, the angry, conflicted look on her face telling him that at least someone got what he said. "If you can keep down your attitude, I can do the same. Otherwise, stay out of my way", were the last word Blake said before leaving the arena.
Blake didn't notice the calculating look of the blue-haired girl as she watched her dormmates curse him, nor the disapproving glare of the Kaiser, or how Chazz bit his lip in anger at what he said to them. He knew that he'd have enough willing opponents to quickly gather DP now, but couldn't help but wonder how much trouble he'd get from the teachers.
To say that the group of onlookers was in uproar would be an understatement. After the one causing it in the first place had left, the remaining students in red made their way out of the arena as well. While they had loudly cheered for and supported their dormmate, they quickly reverted to their meek selves that threw scared looks towards the revolting students in blue. 'No one's got to wonder why they're treated the way they are; they're but a bunch of spineless cowards. Pathetic.'
Kami had watched the scene unfold in front of her with great interest. At first, she was only interested in seeing how consistent her potential new underling could perform, well, that and seeing one of her supposed rivals' friends get beaten in public. It hadn't even been a full day and their upperclassmen had already gathered to decide who'd be candidates for Central Academie's titles, no doubt going by pure popularity - or looks, in terms of girls. While some thought that these titles were purely to make good duelists even greater in the eyes of the student body, there was more to it than most knew.
Rather than being just cool names, those were a separate thing after all, these titles gave the ones holding them power in the academy itself. The titleholders formed something akin to a student council that was able to suggest or hold events, have a voice in changes made in the academy, and even have their shared arena for personal use, along with some other smaller benefits. They granted political power not only on the island, but in their resumes once they were done with school. Anyone who held them would get guaranteed contracts with the pro duelist scene, spots in further educational institutions, or higher positions in any duel-related company. And the longer one held a title and more changes they made, the greater the payoff.
Originally, there had only been three titles: The King, the Queen, and the Jack. The King was the title for the best male student, just like how the Queen was the same for the greatest female student. To round them off, the Jack was a title always given to the best first-year student, regardless of gender. But because the year of the now third-year students held more than three great students, two of which were all but equal in terms of dueling, the title of Kaiser had been created in case two students both qualified for King or Queen, with none of the two being greater than the other. The only way a student could become King or Queen, was when they were either given the title of Jack or endorsed by a titleholder, and then not only challenged but managed to beat the holder of the desired title in a set of trials, finished up by a one-on-one match between the two. While getting the required title of Jack was tedious to begin with, one also needed a sufficient powerbase that supported them in their endeavours, as said trials required quite a handful of students to complete.
So, before Kami could strike towards the current Queen, a third year Obelisk Blue student named Seika Kohinata, she'd need to gather supporters, ideally from strong duelists like Blake. She knew that the title of King was currently vacant due to some circumstances she didn't have the full picture off, and that the Kaiser only supported strong, honourable duelists, something she could perhaps talk him into. But her best bet was getting the new Jack to be her ally, something that could perhaps get complicated.
From what she'd gathered, there were currently five students considered for the title, based on the entrance exams, both written and practical, as well as other factors she could only speculate about. These could change, of course, but according to her informant in the third year, that had never happened before. Two of the candidates were not in her favour, as Alexis Rhodes was most likely more inclined to become Queen herself, whether she got chosen for the title or not, due to her relationship with the Kaiser and former King. The other one was Chazz Princeton, who's already known to have his eyes on Alexis, as well as the matter of the Princeton Group being in quarrels with her own father's company.
That left the remaining three in Bastion Misawa, Jaden Yuki and Blake Moore. As the latter had publicly announced his plans to take on every Obelisk Blue student and kick out the leeches, he'd all but assured his public position, for better or worse. Allying with him would certainly be a gamble, but only if she didn't know how to pull the right strings and put him in a better light – if he was inclined to help her in the first place, but money and fame went a long way. The other two would be easy to string along, but only if they were interested in getting the title in the first place, so she'd stick with her current target for now.
He was looking for a fight, and she wanted him to prove himself further, so, she decided to play into both their hands. Those angered the most by his statement were the ones it applied to, after all, and making space for more capable students she could surround herself with was a great move going forward. Especially when three of their years greatest duelists were a group already.
With only the students in blue remaining in the arena, and their temper having cooled down a bit, she decided to make her move, playing up her non-existent anger a bit. "Well, as impressive the last turn of the duel might've been, I think we all agree that the statement of that Slifer student can't be left standing, right?" The other students turned towards her, agreeing with nods and grunts. Alexis, her friends, and the Kaiser had left by now, giving her just the room she needed, prompting her to continue with a cool glare. "While I myself was a bit taken aback by the duel between him and our fellow Obelisk over there, we all saw how close to defeat he was today. So, rather than having that guy pull the good name of our dorm through the mud, I say we show him just who he's messing with." She let her audience cheer, before adding in an authoritarian voice, "And if there really are lacklustre students in our dorm, we'll deal with them ourselves. We set the standard here, not some Slifer."
Satisfied with both the supportive cheers and a few horrified looks, including the student that had made a fool of himself the day before, Kami left the arena, already planning her next move.
"Man, that duel was awesome!", a pumped-up Jaden said as the group consisting of him, his roommates, Blake and Bastion made their way back to the dorms. "It was a rather close call towards the end, though", Bastion added, casting a questioning look towards Blake.
He shrugged. "I could've gone all in at my first turn, but her face-downs made me wary. If I knew what they were beforehand, or had any removal, it would've looked different. Either way, Jasmine did better than I anticipated."
"And now you have every single Obelisk student that was in the arena gunning for you, probably more when words of your little speech travel", Bastion lectured him, crossing his arms. "I hope you are prepared for that. While there may be a few of them that really aren't as good as they should be, I'd assume that at least 50% of them can give you as much or more trouble than her."
Blake waved him off. "Good, then I won't have to look for them to get some DP fast. Duels are more fun when they're a challenge anyway."
"Wow, you sure are confident. I wish I could be", a meek Syrus mumbled, the last part just loud enough to be heard at all. Jaden flung his arm around his roommates' neck and pulled him close. "Well then let's make you! If its dueling that's keeping you back, then you're at the right place after all. And if you need help there's enough of us to help you, right guys?" Bastion nodded, while Blake was in thought.
"But isn't your brother the Kaiser? If anything, shouldn't he have taught you how to duel and be as confident as him?", he asked, causing Jaden to jump up with a surprised "Wait what?!", while Syrus just sighed. "If it were up to him, I wouldn't even be here."
Jaden had none of that, encouraging his friend. "What, but you're his brother! I'm sure he's happy you're here, and will be even more happy when you show him just how much you'll improve!"
"I-I'll do my best, of course", Syrus countered, a bit embarrassed. "With all the Obelisk Blue students after Blake, I can duel against the other Slifers and maybe Ras in peace. At least, I hope I can."
"We'll see, but you shouldn't count on me to keep them away, or anyone for that matter. Show them that you're the better duelist and they'll leave you alone for it", Blake lectured him, a bit annoyed when reminded of the talk from this morning about exactly that. "Jaden's right; use the chance you have here and ask if you need help improving. Ra knows I won't have time the next couple of days, or even weeks, but Jaden and Bastion are able to help you more anyways. You just have to make the effort. From nothing comes nothing, as they say."
They reached the crossroads leading to the Ra and Slifer dorms respectively, but instead of splitting up this early in the day, they decided to visit the small café next to the road. The 'Rescue Cat Café' had a few outdoor tables left, so the group sat down and looked over the menu. The building, uniforms, and even desserts featured a cat theme, with coffees and cakes having cat-shaped whipped cream on top, and the dishes featuring paw-prints. But there were no cat-ears or -tails in sight, probably for the better considering the age of the students.
While the others all ordered some sweet drinks and cakes, Blake just took a black coffee, earning him some weird and one amused look. "With so many delicious things on the menu, how can you go for the blandest drink to order besides water?", Chumley questioned him with a puzzled look. Bastion added with a delighted chuckle, "You know you don't have to act all mature just because you're a bit older than us, right?"
"Wait, what?!", Jaden shouted out for a second time this day. "You are? And how do you know, Bastion?"
"An educated guess at first, but a fact after I helped Professor Satyr with some documents between lessons. I hope you don't mind, Blake?", Bastion answered.
"Not really", Blake denied, taking his cap off and putting it aside. "I mean, it's just my age, why should I?"
Syrus, in his youthful curiosity and certainly not trying to shift the topic away from him, followed up. "How comes? I mean, the Duel Academy is available at age 15, is it not?"
"True, but aside from the exams, you gotta be able to afford it first. And unlike certain people in blue, I'm not loaded", Blake answered, which made Syrus a little smaller in his seat.
"How did you afford the tuition then, if I may ask? Judging by your skills I would've thought you won some junior tournaments, but the most recent ones were all won by Chazz Princeton. At least the ones in Domino", Bastion mused, looking delighted when their orders, and most importantly his caramel-coffee, arrived.
Blake took a sip of his drink, not making any visible reaction to its taste. "Part-timing. After finishing school, I worked a whole year until I could pay the baseline needed to get here." His explanation was quick, a touch of venom in his voice.
Taking the hint, Bastion didn't go further into that. "So, you challenged the Obelisk students not only for quick DP, but to get promoted fast? Their monthly allowance would help you pay off the rest of tuition, if you don't spend much of it." Judging by Blakes smirk, he was spot on.
"That's the goal in the long run, yes. But I also really want to show those rich guys that they can't just sit around doing nothing, and remain where they are. I fully meant when I said that there were others more deserving of their spots in that dorm, like you guys. But for that to happen someone's gotta take out the trash first."
They way Blake worded the last bit made the others look a bit uncomfortable, even with the compliment thrown in. Taking notice of that, Blake drank the rest of his coffee and got up, putting his cap back on. "But that's a thing for the future. I wouldn't want you all to get mixed up in the mess I'm causing", he said with a neutral face, ", so, I'll be dealing with that by myself for the time being. See you around."
With that said, he made his way over to the counter and paid for his drink, ignoring the stares he got from the others students, as well as whatever Jaden shouted after him. He didn't even have a good reason for wanting to 'take out the trash' in the Obelisk dorm. No grand plans for the future for whenever a light-possessed lunatic would make the dorm students his puppets, or worse things happening after that. He just couldn't stand their overconfidence born from privileges and money, nor the attitude they gave anyone who didn't have the same. He had to work hard to get here, and work hard he did. While his skills and knowledge might be from somewhere else, his achievements and cards were paid with pain and humiliation. And there was no way he would take let himself get talked down on by people who didn't have to work even a little bit to get here, much less from those that had all the resources they could want and didn't use them properly. Something he might've had if he had been oh so 'lucky', like every Obelisk Blue told him he was.
A notice on his PDA with a message from Professor Banner about meeting him in his office before the day ended made him sigh loudly.
As always thank you all for reading