(A/N: Yu-Gi-Oh is a franchise that was my whole childhood in elementary school. I loved it so much that I even drew my own cards. I've wanted to do a Yu-Gi-Oh story for quite a while, and I decided on the GX series because I feel like it's underappreciated sometimes.
I'll try not to make this first chapter too long, but I can't make any promises (I've written so many long chapters it's like a bad habit lol). That's all I really need to say for now, so I hope you enjoy reading this story.)
Y-U-X~*0*~X-U-Y
"I'm really going to miss you, big brother," a girl no older than twelve with peach-colored hair cried into the chest of a young man about eighteen years of age with black hair.
"I know, and I'm going to miss you too, but I have to get going soon," he told her.
She finally let go of him and he proceeded to finish packing. He was leaving for the service, in a week he would be in boot camp, which meant he could only take a select few items.
She left his room, coming back a few minutes later, clenching her deck in her hand, "Can we at least duel one more time?"
He shook his head, smiling, "Sorry, no." He eyed his own deck on his bed and grabbed it, turning to her, "I have an idea, let's mix our decks."
"What?" she questioned in confusion.
"I'll take half of your cards and you can take half of mine," he explained. "That way we'll always have a piece of each other."
They spread their cards across his floor and started selecting the ones they wanted. Seeing all of them together, their decks could not have been more different. He had a fantasy inspired deck with dragons, knights, mages, and other creatures, while hers was a random combination of cards from birthdays, holidays, family, friends, card packs, convenient stores, and even some she found on the ground or in trash cans.
"Are you sure you want any of my cards?" she asked, a little embarrassed. "They're not as good as yours."
"What are you talking about? Of course they are," he smiled, patting her on the head reassuringly.
"But they're just… thrown together," she protested, his hand still on her head.
"So? That's what makes them special," he grinned. "Not because they don't have a theme, but because you saw something in them, even the ones your classmates tried to throw away."
He finished selecting twenty cards out of her deck, while she was still choosing from his. He could not help but notice that she was careful with not picking cards that were too powerful. Anyone else would have been eager to take his strongest monster from him.
He stopped her from selecting the last two cards and handed her two, he knew she would have never chosen them on her own, "Here, take these instead."
She gasped in shock, "But, but these are your best cards! I can't take them!"
"I want you to have them," he insisted, gathering the rest of his deck.
"But… why?" she asked.
His hand found her head once again, "Because I'll know that my best monster is looking after my little sister, when I can't."
Though neither of them could see, armored hands rested on the shoulders of the siblings. "You don't have to worry, I will always be there."
A teenage girl walked into a building in the middle of Domino City, after checking with administrators outside once they were satisfied with her registration. She was trying out for Duel Academy, having taken and passed the written exam, and the final hurdle was a practical test.
She sat in the stands above the dueling arena, where multiple applicants fought proctors to prove their worth as students. There were dozens of student-hopefuls, many had dueled already and decided to watch, while others were waiting their turn.
She inhaled a deep breath and sighed heavily to calm her nerves. She took out her deck and looked at the cards, both her own and those that originally belonged to her brother.
'It has been… what? Three, four years now? I guess they're all technically mine,' she thought. She put them away and watched the duels.
She watched a few duels, until a monotonous voice rang out, "Applicant Number Eighteen, please make your way to the floor."
"I guess that's me," she stood up from her seat and rubbed the crook of her neck.
Meanwhile, a trio of boys watched the practical tests from an upper platform. Only one observed the duels with keen interest, while his friends were only slightly intrigued by comparison.
"Looks like we're gonna have ourselves a lot of competition this year," a boy with shoulder length brown hair remarked happily. "Not that I'm worried about us."
"Looks can be deceiving, after all, these are test decks," another boy with equally long dark bluish cyan hair pointed out coolly.
"Yeah, but it's also not meant to be easy," the last boy with longer moderately dark golden green hair commented.
"You guys need to be more optimistic," the brown-haired boy joked.
A platform lifted her to the dueling field, where a proctor was already there waiting for her. He wore a standard issued Duel Academy duel disk, which looked modern compared to her own made by KaibaCorp for the Battle City Tournament a decade earlier.
"Look alive! This duel will determine if you deserve a spot at the best dueling school in the country! I hope you're ready," the man said.
She nodded, "Of course."
"Duel!" they exclaimed in unison, their respective duel disks activating simultaneously.
Proctor: 4000
Student: 4000
She drew her six cards and placed a monster on her duel disk in defense mode, "I summon Petit Dragon in defense mode." She placed a card into one of the slots, "I'll also place this card face down and end my turn."
Petit Dragon [ATK: 600/DEF: 700]
A small dragon with yellowish green scales and an almost serpentine body appeared on the field. Behind it, the face down card she placed appeared as well.
"Is that all? Fine. I summon Leghul to the field," he declared.
Leghul [ATK: 300/DEF: 350]
A yellow caterpillar with an armored purple back and pincer fangs appeared. Its presence confused her initially, it was weaker than her monster, but then she remembered its effect.
'Oh, no,' she thought with slightly widened eyes.
"I activate Leghul's special ability and attack your life points directly!" he yelled.
The large caterpillar's body stretched across to her side of the field and its pincers snapped. She closed her eyes instinctively, even though she knew it was only a hologram.
Proctor: 4000
Student: 3700
"I'll place one card face down and call it a turn." His face down appeared behind his monster. "Your move."
Her first thought was to switch her Petit Dragon to attack mode since it was the stronger monster, but there was the face down to worry about. Since this was a test, she knew it would not be something too powerful, but that did not mean it was not anything serious.
She drew a card and smiled to herself, "I activate the spell Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy all spell and trap cards on your side of the field."
Her spell card appeared face up on her side, an image of a typhoon of blue winds. His face down was briefly revealed before being destroyed.
"Next, I'll switch my Petit Dragon to attack mode and attack your Leghul." She changed her card from a horizontal position to vertical, her little dragon moving into an upward stance.
It leapt towards the large caterpillar with its mouth wide open. It chomped down on the armored insect and it disintegrated upon contact. Petit Dragon returned to her side of the field immediately afterwards.
Proctor: 3700
Student: 3700
"I'll place one more face down and that ends my turn," she set another card into her duel disk.
"Hey, that was a pretty sweet move," the brown-haired boy commented. "She managed to even things out with her turn."
"Yeah, and she left the dueling proctor with nothing on his field," his green-haired friend added, impressed.
"That may be so, but she also switched her only monster to attack mode and failed to summon another to the field, meaning she'll take damage and leave herself wide open," their blue-haired friend pointed out, somewhat critically.
"Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we? I hope she does win, it'd be a shame to let a cute girl like her slip through the cracks," he rested his chin on his palm, his elbow on the railing, as he watched her duel.
His friend and classmate rolled his blue eyes, 'Duel Academy's resident womanizer.'
"Not a bad move, applicant," the man said. He drew a card, "But not good enough! I summon Flying Kamakiri Number One in attack mode."
He set the said card on his duel disk and the summoned monster appeared. It was a praying mantis-like creature with large red eyes and two sets of wings; it dwarfed her little dragon.
Flying Kamakiri #1 [ATK: 1400/DEF: 900]
"Now, attack Petit Dragon!" he ordered.
The tall green and red insect slashed its large claws, destroying her monster. She now had nothing but her face down cards to protect her.
Proctor: 3700
Student: 2900
"Ouch! Maybe you were right, Zane," the brown-haired boy uttered.
"Of course I was right, Atticus," he responded.
"Hold on, it's not over yet," their green-haired friend pointed down at the field.
She drew a card and smiled to herself, it was exactly what she needed to turn the duel around. "I summon Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress One in defense mode. And since I hate to see him lonely, I'll summon his twin, Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress Two in attack mode."
Two dragons, identical in size, shape, and appearance appeared on her side of the field. The only difference between them was that one was light blue in color, while its twin was bright red.
Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1 [ATK: 1400/DEF: 1200]
Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #2 [ATK: 1200/DEF: 1000]
"Next, I'll summon Watapon to the field," she continued. A small round creature with pink fur, puffs on the ends of its antennae, and large blue eyes appeared next to the dragons.
Watapon [ATK: 200/DEF: 300]
"And I'm not done yet," she put a card into her duel disk and it stood face up on her field. "I activate the trap card Ambush Shield, by sacrificing a monster on the field, I can add its defense points to the attack points of any monster of my choice. And I choose to sacrifice Watapon and add its defense points to Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress Two." The small pink creature disappeared from her field and the dragon roared as its attack points increased.
Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #2 [ATK: 1500/DEF: 1000]
"And now attack!" she commanded.
The red dragon roared again and shot a fireball out of its mouth at the tall insect. She knew what was next, she was aware of his monster's special ability.
Proctor: 3600
Student: 2900
"You've activated my monster's effect, now I can summon another monster to my field that's fifteen hundred points or lower. And I choose Flying Kamakiri Number Two!" he declared.
Flying Kamakiri #2 [ATK: 1500/DEF: 800]
His new monster was similar to his previous one, though slightly bigger with a more praying mantis-like appearance. Its claws were bigger and it had an extra set in its midsection.
She drew from the top of her deck, "I draw one card and end my turn."
She was not worried about this second mantis creature attacking and causing her to lose life points, its attack points were equal to her red dragon and her blue dragon was still in defense mode. While it would not be the one to create problems for her, she knew to still be on guard as long as he still had cards in his deck.
"I summon Insect Queen to the field," he said.
A large female insect emerged on the proctor's field. She had an appearance that was akin to yellowjackets with her six legs and yellow exoskeleton.
Insect Queen [ATK: 2200/DEF: 2400]
"And with Flying Kamakiri Number Two out on my field, Insect Queen gains two hundred points," he continued. A yellow aura surrounded the female insect as her attack points increased.
Insect Queen [ATK: 2400/DEF: 2400]
"Twenty-four hundred attack and defense points?!" Atticus exclaimed in disbelief, leaning over the railing. "That's insane!"
"Now the real test begins," Zane stated. His two friends looked at him as he explained, "Chances are that's the strongest monster in the proctor's test deck and her biggest challenge yet. Insect Queen may gain attack points for every insect monster on the field, but it can't attack unless you sacrifice a card to the graveyard."
His green-haired friend picked up on what he was saying, "So it's a double-edged sword."
"Exactly," he replied. "If he summons anymore insects, it's going to be harder for her to defeat it. But since it can only attack with sacrifices, he risks throwing out powerful cards."
"So she has to beat it this turn or there won't be another chance," the brown-haired teen deduced.
The proctor sent a card from his hand to the graveyard, "I sacrifice one card and attack with Insect Queen!"
Instead of being afraid, she cracked a small smile, there was a reason she left one monster in attack mode, 'Go on, take the bait.'
Just as she anticipated, the female insect attacked her red dragon. It may cost her a monster and life points, but as long as her blue dragon was safe, she could win the duel.
Proctor: 3600
Student: 2000
"With that, I'll end my turn," he said.
'Your last turn,' she thought with a smile. "I summon Fairy Dragon to the field."
A serpentine dragon with beautiful dark green scales and pink eyes appeared on the field. In terms of size, it was not much bigger than Petit Dragon.
Fairy Dragon [ATK: 1100/DEF: 1200]
She revealed a card in her hand, "Next, I activate Polymerization and fuse Winged Dragon and Fairy Dragon to create Kaiser Dragon!"
The projections of the blue and green dragons combined and a new dragon emerged in their place. Like Fairy Dragon, it also had a serpentine body and its scales were the color of sandstone with an almost armored appearance, it had spindly limbs with long, sharp claws.
Kaiser Dragon [ATK: 2300/DEF: 2000]
"Now, Kaiser Dragon, attack the Insect Queen!" she ordered, pointing at the said monster.
Her dragon roared and flew upward, almost to the ceiling. Of course, she was aware that her monster was weaker, but it would not be for much longer.
"Oh, and don't worry about him being weaker because I reveal my face down spell card Battle Fusion." One of her face down cards stood erect, which showed an image of two warriors engaged in battle. "And with this your Insect Queen's attack points are added to Kaiser Dragon's for a total of forty-seven hundred."
Kaiser Dragon [ATK: 4700/DEF: 2000]
The serpentine dragon soared down and slashed the female insect, who screeched in pain. Before she was destroyed, she left an egg in her place, an Insect Monster Token; not that it mattered at that point.
Insect Monster Token [ATK: 100/DEF: 100]
Proctor: 1300
Student: 2000
"And I'm not finished yet." She picked a card from her hand and turned it around, "Now I activate De-Fusion and separate Winged Dragon and Fairy Dragon." Kaiser Dragon distorted and split into its two original monsters. She inserted a card into her duel disk and an image of an angel over a dying man appeared on the field, "I activate the spell card Altar of Restoration and by banishing the top two cards of my deck, I can take one card out of my graveyard."
She drew her two cards and briefly caught a glimpse of them. They were the two cards her brother gave her when they combined their decks those years ago.
'Sorry about this,' she thought as she sent them to the graveyard, getting one card in return.
A spirit she could not see smiled down at her, "Don't be sad, I understand."
"Huh?" the green-haired boy blinked in surprise. "A duel spirit?"
"What was that, Yusuke?" Atticus asked.
"Nothing, I was just admiring her cards, that's all," he answered, slightly embarrassed.
He blinked, a bit confused, "Uh, okay."
She revealed the card that returned to her, "I'm sure you remember my Ambush Shield trap card. Now I'll sacrifice Fairy Dragon and give its defense points to Winged Dragon!"
The dark green dragon disappeared from the field and the blue dragon roared, just as its red twin had earlier. It was now more than strong enough to defeat the large praying mantis.
Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1 [ATK: 2600/DEF: 1200]
"Now, attack Flying Kamakiri Two!" she commanded. It roared once again, opening its jaw wide to shoot a fireball, destroying its target.
Proctor: 200
Student: 2000
The duel was almost done, all she needed was to play one last card, "I play my last face down, the spell Poison of the Old Man." Her only unrevealed card stood upward, showing an image of an elderly man in a cloak with two vials in his hands, one with a green fluid, the other purple. "With this card, I can either gain twelve hundred life points or inflict eight hundred points of damage. I think you can guess what my choice is."
Proctor: 0
Student: 2000
With that, the duel was finished and she was the winner. She was now officially a student of Duel Academy.
"That was one sick duel!" Atticus grinned. "I'm glad she got in. I can't wait to meet her once we get back to the island."
"You might scare her if you're that zealous," Yusuke told him, holding up his hands, slightly uncomfortable by his friend's eagerness.
Zane sighed and pinched his nostrils, briefly tightly shutting his eyes, 'You will never change, will you?' He opened his eyes and gazed down at the girl, who smiled at her victory and thanked the dueling proctor, 'Well, at least this year won't be a dull one.'
Y-U-X~*0*~X-U-Y
(A/N: Didn't turn out as long as I thought it would, but I'm not complaining, believe me. I'd say the toughest part about writing this wasn't the duel, but picking which cards to use for both sides. It was a real challenge after the cards for the first turn.
If you're wondering, the cards that used to belong to her brother are Winged Dragon #1/#2, Altar of Restoration, Fairy Dragon, Kaiser Dragon, and Battle Fusion. The rest - Petit Dragon, Polymerization, De-Fusion, Poison of the Old Man, Ambush Shield, and Watapon - all belong to her.
If you liked this first chapter, then I hope you might stick around for the next one and hopefully the rest of the story. It's going to be a little while before I get to the meat of the story, so I hope you're in this for the long haul.)