(Continuing From Last Chapter, End Of The School Day After Seirus and Orga's Duel. . .)

The school day had finally come to a close and the majority of the students in 's class were almost glad that it was finally over. After everything they had just witnessed during their duel/gym period, a lot of students had wanted to either duel or bombard the new kid with questions. It was flattering to say the least but having too many people coming to you at once was too much. Luckily enough, Seirus was saved by the bell before all that happened so he was spared for the time being: even now due to the fact that everyone was exhausted. The dark blue hair boy began packing his bags with his papers before he was abruptly stopped by the feeling of someone's finger. He turned around, his aquamarine eyes meeting up with Lucky's orange eyes.

He blinked a few times, realizing that he didn't really have a chance to celebrate his victory with him. Knowing that, he smiled, "Hey! So, how does it feel to be freed from noodle-hair?".

"Amazing actually. I have to than-Wait that's not what I came to ask! What were those cards you didn't say anything about you having a rare deck?" Lucky exclaimed as students passed by their conversation, somewhat eavesdropping on them.

The room was nearly empty, with few students in it. Only about the teacher and the two other boys were left behind. Nonetheless, Seirus tilted his head in confusion, "Well, I never thought my cards were rare at all. Though, that does explain why Orga looked so shocked when I summoned my first monster.".

"Oh they weren't just rare as in there are a few of them! They are rare as no one in the whole world has them! In fact, no one has ever heard of a 'Nexus' deck at all!" Lucky noted.

Seirus was more confused than ever, the realization that his cards were something out of the ordinary. It was a bit of a hard pill to swallow but all he could do was pass it off as something that wasn't important, "Is that so? Well I guess I'm unique aren't I!". His grin was wide but also insufferable.

"Really, that's all you got to say? Man, to think someone who's such a great duelist as well as having a unique set of cards would be this easygoing..." Lucky groaned in defeat.

Just as he said that, he heard a voice interrupt them, "Well, this wouldn't be the first instance where someone has a deck as rare as the one Yuzaki-san used.". They both turned, instantly noticing their teacher walking towards them to join in on the conversation.

"Oh, hey teach. I thought you'd be the first to leave," Seirus said.

Sho placed one hand on his hip and smiled, "Nope, I still have to show you to your dorm. You'll actually be sharing a room with someone in section 3 in the dorm."

"Hey, that's actually my section. . .," Lucky mumbled.

Hearing this, Seirus grinned, wrapping his arm around his shoulder so fast that the poor boy nearly jumped as his blonde hair stood up out of fright. Now the boy wonder chuckled, "Really? That's great, that means we're going to be hallway buddies! Hahahah!".

"That's all good and all, but you're suffocating me! And could you quit rocking back and forth, I'm nearly going to fall here!" Lucky complained as Seirus was nearly dancing out of excitement.

Sho smiled, seeing that kids haven't really changed much, "Looks like you're first day is going well. Especially since you've won your duel against Orga who was currently ranked 87th in the school through raw duel skills alone.". Seirus paused his little dance and looked at his teacher with a questioning expression.

"Huh, rank 87th? There's actual rankings in this school when it comes to dueling?" Seirus asked, looking back and forth between Lucky and Sho.

The light blue haired teacher nodded, clearing his throat as he explained further, "Well of course there is. Duel Academy is the top duel school in the world that not only teaches its students basic core essential to academics but turns them into pro duelists as well. The rankings are determined by a mixture of grades and duel skills that are always on constant watch by the teachers. Orga was simply well ranked in the system due to his exceptional win streak over the months. Especially in official matches signed by teachers that give them better merit."

"Wait, so does this mean because I beat Orga I am ranked 87th?" Seirus asked, his mind trying to wrap it's head around the system.

Lucky looked up at him and shook his head, "If it were that simple then anyone can become highly ranked through 1 measly duel. It's more like a rating system. The more duels you win while losing the least will give you a higher rating thus a higher rank. So in order to get into the high ranks, you're going to have to win a lot of school dueling events such as tournaments, official duels, field-exams, and everything else.".

"That's very true, Lucky. However, there are exceptions to the normal ranking system," Sho noted, causing them both to look at him. He smiled, placing his hand on his hip as he recalled the memories, "It goes back to what I said before. About this not being the first time someone came in with a deck of never seen before cards."

"Yeah, you did say something about that. What do you exactly mean by that?" Seirus asked in a rather casual tone.

Sho began to think back, "It was last year during the entrance exam. A student who applied to this school partook in the entrance field-test where he was unfortunately paired up with a professional duelist who just so happened to be a teacher at this school. On the first turn, the professional duelist had a full field of high level monsters. But, in 1 single turn, the duel was over before anyone could process his deck. No one knew the name of the cards he played but one thing was for sure, they were most certainly not normal.". Lucky shivered at the ominousness of the small story.

"I su-sure hope that I don't run into him. . .," He stuttered.

Sho smiled at his reaction, holding back a laugh at how much the kid reminded him of his old self, "Well, you wouldn't be able to tell anyways. No one was able to get his name nor remember his face much afterwards. But everyone agreed to one thing: that he was the undisputed #1 rank student in the school. It has even been made official in the school's records due to the fact that the professional duelist that he beat was none other than the Russian champion that had just won 3 times in a row."

"Wow, this guy sounds amazing! Now I wanna duel him!" Seirus was thrilled at the information he was just given.

Lucky looked at him as if he were crazy, "Didn't you listen?! This guy just beat a champion level duelist! Why the heck would you want to duel him?!".

"Well, because it sounds like it'd be a fun duel. That, and I want to duel as many strong opponents as I can. Something about dueling just gets me pump!" Seirus explained with a wide smile on your face.

Sho laughed, "Hahahah, you really are a reminder of someone I used to know! Even if it were your first duel ever, you are actually impressive. Such spirit and potential is gonna make a fine addition to Duel Academy.". Lucky blinked at that, his face looking as if he didn't comprehend that correctly until he nearly fell due to shock.

"Wait, wait, wait, that was your first duel ever?! Looking at the way you dueled, you didn't look like a newbie!" Lucky exasperated, down right surprised that someone who has never dueled in his life had just defeated one of the top one hundred duelists in the academy.

Seirus nodded, unable to get what was the big deal, "Yeah, I did. I mean, I've never dueled before but that doesn't mean I don't sit down with my deck and try to strategize with them. That and I watch pro duelists on T.V and read the duel weekly like everyday. But I have to admit, a real duel is really full of surprises. I didn't know a few moves that Orga did were possible but I managed to pull through in the end! Hahahahahah!".

The blonde hair boy watched him laugh at the situation he was in and merely slumped over as depression just hit him, "Man, so even a beginner is better than me at dueling. Just great...".

"Well that's enough chit-chat. We better head to the dorms so I can show Seirus his room," Sho said, chuckling a little at the young boy's words. He reminded him of so much of himself that it was scary but knowing that, he'd know Lucky would overcome his problems eventually. After that thought, the two students followed their teacher out of the classroom and began walking towards the dorms together.


(Now At The East Side Of The School Campus, Student Dorms/Recreation Center. . .)

The walk wasn't as long as Seirus thought it would be. Especially since they simply only had to transverse only two or three hallways before finally exiting and entering the East side of the school campus. It only took them about ten minutes tops, and that was them leisurely walking since they were still conversing about how the ranking system works in Duel Academy. Before long, after walking down the concrete path, they finally made it to the dorms. And to Seirus's surprise, it was definitely huge. From the front, you could only see what seemed to be the main section of the two story building that was crafted from fine gray concrete. However, that was only one part that was connected to three other parts that formed a square in the center: leaving an area that was meant for students to relax. The windows were tinted blue, and the doors were nothing but glass.

"Man, I've never felt so out of place in my life. This school feels like it's for rich kids at times...," Seirus muttered.

Lucky laughed a bit, "Well, Duel Academy is run by Kaiba-Corp and they are very passionate when it comes to generating good duelists. So it makes sense that they'd go out of their way to give us proper living conditions.".

"If you say so, dude. But I guess it doesn't matter too much. As long as the food is great during lunch then I'll go to any school," Seirus said as they walked through the doors. Once inside, they were met with a lady upfront who was currently typing away at one of the computers at a long desk colored in brownish-orange. The floor was carpeted with gray while the walls and furniture were a mixture of dark-brown and brownish-orange. It was really spacious, considering that the room had multiple sitting areas where students would probably chill at while a T.V would hang on the wall. As of right now, only a few students seemed to be relaxing, either talking or working on homework that they had just received from their classes.

After absorbing his surroundings, Seirus continued to follow his teacher and new friend to the counter where the lady was working. She had ruby eyes, her hair an ash-blonde color. The working woman also seemed well dressed in the same uniform as the female students, who had red glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. Sho smiled, ringing the bell in order to get her attention. She blinked, looking up to meet the eyes of the tall teacher.

"Good to see you working hard, Yui," Sho greeted.

She blinked a few more times before her face turned bright red, "Y-Yeah, I have to file in all of the logs for the day.".

"Ah, I see the principal really is putting you through the ringer," Sho said, knowing full well how unreasonable the principal can be at times.

Yui nodded, clearly flustered, "It's not too bad, besides I like working here. Especially since I can work together with you...". The last part was low and inaudible to the ears of the three boys before her though Sho could tell she said something more.

"Huh, what was the last part?" He asked.

The desk worker nearly jumped from her chair and shook her head, "Nothing! Nothing at all, heheheheheh!". The tall blue haired teacher tilted his head in confusion as she sat back with a nervous smile. She was sweating a bit which did strike something to be odd though he decided it wasn't the best time to press things further.

"Mhm, alright. Also, I'm going to need a copy of room #11 in Section 3 of the boys side. I have a new student here and as a dorm master, I have to show him to his room," Sho explained.

Yui snapped out of her trance and looked behind the tall teacher before her. There she saw both of the boys that accompanied him: one clearly recognizable while the other was waving back at her with a wide grin. Without hesitation, Seirus walked forward to the counter and stood next to his teacher with that same smile still on his face, "Hello, my name is Seirus Yuzaki! I guess I'll be seeing you more often dorm lady!".

"Uh, yeah. My name is Yui Tanaka. I'll be your dorm lady alongside Seirus being your dorm master," Yui said, her voice sounding as if she wasn't sure what to make of the boy.

Sho smirked, patting his student on the head rather hard, "As you can see, he's really outgoing and energetic. So much that he can even fall asleep in the middle of class. I couldn't have hoped to have a better student you know? I just sure hope he doesn't cause us any trouble, right?". His tone was dangerous and with each sharp word came with a harder pat to the head that maid Seirus cringe.

"Ow, ow, ow! Come on, teach! I get it! I get it!" Seirus cried, pleading for him to stop.

Yui stared at them as Sho slowly toned down his head "pats" and giggled. They both stopped and looked at her as she presented the key, "Seems like you two are already bonding. Here's your key to the room you requested. If you need anything, just be sure to come to me first, okay?". The new kid smiled brightly, his innocents showing more and more with each interaction.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind lady! Thanks for the key!" Seirus assured, grabbing the key and placing it into his pocket. With that, they began to leave with waves of goodbye. The lady at the counter waved back, her eyes only continuing to stare at them as they disappeared down the hallway. She let out but a breath of relief, her anxiety easing a bit after the social interaction. She wasn't one to be around others for long, let alone interact. But, being around a certain blue haired teacher was enough to make her yearn for more despite her nervousness. She sighed at that thought and went back to her work before leaving the topic off with but a thought.

"I suppose I couldn't tell him again. . .," Yui noted.


(Shortly After The Conversation Between The Boys And Yui. . .)

It wasn't long before they finally entered section three of the dorm building. Especially since it was so close to the actual reception desk that you could still hear the chatters down the hallways if you listen closely enough. The hallways themselves however were painted a the same color scheme as the entrance lounge except this time it housed even more furniture and occasionally glass display cases that showed various achievements and awards. The leader of the trio looked around, muttering to himself repeatedly as he was searching for the door number.

"Let's see, room #11. . .hmmm? Oh there it is, room #11!" Sho claimed, stopping just in front of the door.

The two boys following him stopped as well, and looked at the maple wood door that looked identical to the others. Seirus looked at the golden plate on the door and saw the number eleven scribbled on the center. He smirked and looked back at Lucky who was in a trance, "Looks like this is where we part ways. I'll see you tomorrow alright!".

"Yeah. . .though your door room isn't too far from my actually. In fact, I'm about two rooms over to the left," Lucky noted.

Seirus's eyes glowed at that, "Really?! That makes us neighbors then, sweet!". Sho laughed at his excitement.

"Aren't you lucky. Now you should head inside and introduce yourself. I have to go attend to some observations and maintenance around the dorms," Sho said.

Seirus and Lucky nodded as he began to walk off down the path they just took. Seirus at the moment was feeling rather good considering this was his first day and nothing had gone terribly wrong. In fact, everything had gone how he dreamed it would go and the fact that he was somewhat cool with his teacher and made two whole new friends in the process on the first day then all he could say was that it was a success. However, his thoughts were interrupted with a sudden bow from his blonde buddy. He looked down at him, blinking a few times before the boy spoke.

"I-I'm sorry that you had gotten caught up in all that! I don't know how I can repay you for your help but. . .thank you!" Lucky apologized.

Now the boy wondered stared at him in confusion, unsure as to why he was thanking him and being so formal. He smirked, amused by his attempt placed his hands behind his back, "Come on, you don't have to thank me. We're pals now so just know I'll always have your back!". Lucky looked up at him with shocked eyes, his mind processing the words he just relayed to him. He was having trouble to believe how someone could be so selfless despite getting put into a situation of near-humiliation. He was so in-shock that he nearly didn't notice Seirus placing the key into the door knob and unlocking it before opening the door to his new dorm room. He looked back with a wide grin and bright aquamarine eyes.

"See ya around, Lucky!" Seirus chirped.

As the door began to close, Lucky stood there in shock and time began to slow around him. His mind was slow to react to what was going on, however, he was finally able to muster a weak response, "Y-yeah, see you around. . .bro.".

With that, the door closed, leaving the boy in the hallway by himself. Inside, Seirus waited behind the door, listening as he heard the footsteps slowly go away before they finally disappeared from the vicinity. The new kid sighed, his bag still hanging from his shoulder. Once he felt settled, he looked up and examined the room he was in. The walls were painted beige in color while the ceiling was a pure white. The floors were fine and smooth hardwood that was carpeted with light gray material. As for what he could make out initially, the room already contained a couch, one long table and a kitchen that was behind it with all the necessary essentials for cooking. Next to the marble kitchen counter was a white fridge that looked rather pricey as well as several windows that gave them an open view of the courtyard that was in the center of the building. However, that was just one portion of the room due to the fact that there was a long slanted set of stairs that lead to an open balcony that was inside the room. Around the perimeter of the balcony was a railing that was placed for protection and from what he could faintly see was a bed on the side.

"Wow, this room is so spacious that it's hard to believe that this is only for two people," Seirus awed.

He took a step forward, his feet leading him past the bathroom that was next to him. He wanted to get his stuff at least off his back before exploring some more, however, he was halted by a voice that seemed to call out to him, "Wait a minute. . .who are you!".

"Huh. . .?" Seirus muttered.

In only but a few seconds, someone jumped down from the balcony and landed in front of him with minimal sound made. Despite that, the boy wonder was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the voice owner. He stumbled back, nearly tripping over his feet before steadying himself upright. Once he got his composure back, Seirus began to stare at his now supposed roommate. From first glance, he noticed his rather unique double layered hair that was primarily black but had a red fade to it and neck length. His hair was messy and he had one bang framing the left side of his face while another covered a bit of his forehead. After deducing that, he noticed his fiery orange colored eyes were dead locked onto his aquamarine eyes. In order to avoid such awkwardness, he looked down and noticed he dressed in a dark gray long sleeve shirt with bright orange outlines around the waist and sleeves. He had no shoes on and also only had long black sweatpants to go with it.

"I'll ask again, who are you and what are you doing in my dorm room?" He asked a second time.

Seirus nervously rubbed his head and smiled, "Well uh, this is also my dorm now. I guess you could say I'm your new roommate going forward.". The boy looked at him with a deadpan expression for what felt like an eternity. The prolonged silence left a rather awkward tension in the air: only adding to the uncomfort that the boy was feeling as he could have sworn that he heard a draft passing by.

Atlas, he finally got a wide, welcoming smile as a response, "Are you for real?! And here I thought I was going to go the rest of the year here without a roommate! The name Arata Kaseya by the way! I didn't mean to startle you!". His voice was nothing but cheerful and carefree, so much so that Seirus started to ease up with a sigh.

"No biggie, I think that's the ordinary reaction someone would make. I'm glad that you're welcoming me here so that's at least a bonus, right? Anyways, my name is Seirus Yuzaki! Let's be pals alright?!" Seirus replied with an equal smile.

His roommate blinked at him, kinda surprised after hearing his name, "Wait...you're Seirus Yuzaki?".

"Uh, yeah. . .am I famous already heheheh?" Seirus chuckled, wondering how his roommate knew his name already.

Arata's eyes gleamed with excitement and almost got up in the new kid's face before he knew it, "It is you! I heard from other classes that you beat Orga in a duel with some wicked never seen before deck! Is that true?!". Seirus cupped his chin, his smile smug as his eyes glittered with stars.

"Yes, that was me. . .it seems my reputation precedes me. This must be what the high life feels like," He smugly said, his roommate staring at him with a blank expression.

Arata then placed his hands on his shoulders, regaining his attention once more, "You mind letting me see your deck! It's not everyday that you not only would have someone with such a unique deck as a roommate!".

"Sure, I don't mind showing you my deck," Seirus agreed, slightly taken back.

"Awesome, come on! Let's head up stairs so we can check out your deck!" Arata cheered.

The Nexus duelist nodded, as he watched him begin to walk towards the stairs. He soon followed suit, following him as they climbed all the way onto the interior balcony. There he saw two beds across from each other, one clearly messy while the other remained neat and untouched while facing another glass window that hovered above it. In between the beds were two sets of dark oak wood drawers with mirrors hanging just above them. Overall, the balcony looked to be only a place where they slept until the next day and Seirus personally liked the unique sleeping area. It was more spacious than it actually was, weirdly enough.

They eventually made it to the bed and sat down, the new kid taking out his deck before carefully laying out his cards one by one so he can see them clearly. After he was done, he looked over at Arata who was stuck in a trance of awe. His eyes were glued onto the cards, scanning and reading their effects as if they were an ancient relic that had just stumbled into his hands out of whim.

"Wow, it actually looks like most of them have low levels, most not exceeding level 5. Taking that into account and the few effects I just read then this deck is more of a combo, beatdown deck!" Arata noted.

Seirus tilted his head in confusion, "Combo...beatdown? What do you mean?".

"It's the deck's playstyle, well from what I see. You see, each deck has a certain function no matter how unique it is. Some decks prefer stalling the game and slowing the pace which are called control decks and some prefer to build a powerful field in the Mid-game which are called Ramp decks. But your deck is fast and focuses on getting combos in order to bust out these powerful Synchro monsters that either extend your turn or give you a strong offense," Arata explained.

Seirus looked at him with an impressed expression, "Wow, you were able to deduce all that just with a few glances? You must be really smart!". Arata chuckled at his response.

"Well, I wouldn't say that. Anyone can at least figure this part out if they simply looked at your deck closely. However, your deck seems to be closer to a hybrid if I'm being honest. Like at first glance, it has most combo oriented strategies but there are hits of it being an aggro/ramp deck inbetween with a bit of defensive options such as Null Reflect," His roommate noted.

Seirus rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, I was trying to go for a deck that has an answer nearly anything. That I'd have a counter play after my opponent's turn or even during my opponent's turn.".

"Ah, I see. What you're trying to achieve is definitely a hybrid deck but with more variety. It's difficult since doing that can mess up your consistency, however, so far you manage to create something strong with these unique cards of yours," Arata smirked, his eyes looking directly at his ace monster.

Seirus blinked for a moment and nodded, picking up Xernus before staring down at it, "Well, some of these cards were my addition but these monsters were actually given to me by my parents.".

"Really? So were your parents some sort of secret elite duelists with rare cards or something?" Arata exasperated with surprise.

Seirus shook his head, his expression only a bit deadpan with a smile on his face, "No, at least I don't think. I never met them cause they had to go somewhere shortly after I was born and had yet to return. That's what my foster father has told me for some time.". His roommate stared at him before his eyes darted side to side as he began to feel guilt. He didn't want to bring up something so personal out of nowhere since he wasn't one to deal with this kind of stuff. Luckily, Seirus noticed his uncomfort and grinned widely before wrapping his arm around his shoulder and pulling him in.

"Anyways, you don't have to worry about that! I kinda want to know more about these deck types! If you're willing to tell me that is?" Seirus chirped.

Arata almost immediately replied with the same amount of cheerfulness, his guilt fading away like nothing, "All right, I got all night anyways! Besides, it's not like we'll be sleep deprived anyways as long as we set our alarms!". That said, the two would laugh at that comment and continue their conversation deep into the night.


(The Very Next Day, Early In The Morning With The Sun Rising Up. . .)

After what had been an eventful first day of school, the school grounds were greeted by the rays emitted by the sun. The sounds of squirrels playfully running around in the early grass while birds chirping lead to a peaceful environment for the academy's students to enjoy their free time in the morning. However, some chose to spend this time in bed, in particular a certain pair who decided to stay up far too late. In their respective beds, Seirus and Arata both were snoring away as bags of chips were littered across the floor along with candy wrappers. They had most certainly had a good time the previous night, especially since the two were quite passionate about dueling to the point that anyone would think they are crazy.

As they snored away their morning, the duffle bag next to the boy wonder's bed began to glow: the light starting to cause him to stir in his sleep. He twisted and turned, his face churning as the light faded. There was a brief moment of silence as Seirus's consciousness was slowly coming through. However, he would soon be hurried as he felt something weighing down on him. His eyes opened, blinking a few times in utter confusion before and looked around. He searched and searched, wondering what was going on until he felt a shift of movement on his lap. The boy stood up, straightening himself as he stared at the figure that was causing all the commotion.

"Wha-What in the...?" Seirus muttered. On his lap was an aquamarine cat with familiar yellow lining and bright yellow eyes. It's body was transparent, so much that you could still see the bed sheets on the other side.

The Nexus Duelist's eyes widened as the cat spread its wings, "Illuminant Cat? How are you even here right now? Either I'm dreaming or the lack of sleep is really kicking in.". Just as he said that, the monster let out a meow before flying back into his bag. Seirus tilted his head, wondering where it could have gone until his bag emitted a shining cyan light once more before fading away. Subsequently, he kicked his legs out of bed so that he would be in a proper sitting position and leaned over to shuffle through his bag. After moving a few things around, he finally took out his deck and skimmed through the cards until he found the monster in suspect.

"Okay, so maybe that wasn't as much of a hallucination as I thought. Did you really come out of your card to wake me up. . ." Seirus mumbled in a rather cranky tone.

As if it were a response, the image of the card moved, the cat winking with a purr escaping its mouth and into the mind of it's master. Seirus smirked, seeing how he wasn't as surprised by the similarities the cat shared with his pet Ozzie back at home. But, his thoughts were interrupted by a loud announcing yawn that came from the opposite side of the balcony. He looked over to see Arata stretching his arms.

"Hmmm-ahhhh, morning Seirus. I didn't expect you to wake up before me. You must be a morning person, huh?" Arata assumed.

Seirus chuckled, "Nah, I prefer to sleep in until I am satisfied. Anyways, weren't our alarm clocks supposed to go off by now? Pretty sure it's past 7:45AM".

"You're right, guess the app is kinda buggy huh? Anyways, we're still early enough to make it on time for breakfast. I heard the premium perfect gold egg sandwich will be in the lottery today," Arata insisted with gleaming eyes.

"Is it good. . ." The dark blue hair boy asked with a slight bit of excitement.

As his mouth watered, Arata could only think back to the memories that he's savored, "Unbelievably good! The egg and the cheese along with the sausage are all perfectly seasoned with high-grade ingredients! That combined with the secret sauce in the mix puts it over the top. But the catch is that there are only ten in a pile of hundreds so the odds of pulling it are slim. I've only got it once.".

"Ahhhh~that sounds amazing! Come on, I want to try my luck on getting this sandwich!" Seirus cheered as he rushed over to the drawer: pulling out his uniform in the process.

Arata nodded, nearly leaping out of bed to do the same. The two then walked down the stairs and entered their respective bathroom, enjoying the warm morning showers before exiting at nearly identical times. With hopeful smiles on their faces, they exited their dorm room and into the hallways of the schools dormitory. Seirus then locked the door behind them, double checking himself just to make sure that he had both his deck and school supplies that he had stored in his cyan mail style school bag that he held over his shoulder. Before the two could turn, a familiar voice was heard just down the hallway.

"Hey, bro! Wait up!" The voice shouted.

They both turned, immediately catching a glimpse of a blonde hair boy with orange eyes that was a bit shorter than the both of them. He had a happier look on his face as he jogged towards them to which it made Seirus smile to see that, "Yo, looks like we both woke up at similar times Lucky!".

"Not really, I just got done helping out a teacher with carrying some things! I just so happen to catch you in the nick of TIME!" Lucky exasperated at the last bit as he slowly came to a halt. His eyes were full of shock which confused Seirus as to the sudden change of mood.

Lucky was visibly shaking, not because of the questionable stare but because of something that he had never expected to run into. His orange eyes were completely focused on Arata, clearly seeing him as some sort of anomaly, "Wait, why is Kaseya standing next to you?!".

"Huh, why wouldn't he be? He's my roommate after all and we were just about to head out for breakfast," Seirus informed, still unaware as to why he was freaking out.

Lucky pointed at Arata who seemed clueless as well despite knowing partially as to why he was so shocked, "Seirus, he's actually one of the most well-known duelists among all of the academy's students! He's part of the top 8 ranking students in the school in terms of just raw dueling prowess alone!" He's THE Arata Kaseya!". At hearing this, Seirus turned to look at Arata with questioning eyes.

"Wait...is this true, Arata?" Seirus asked curiously.

The two-toned hair boy looked at him with a silly expression, his tongue sticking out as he rubbed the back of his head, "Guess I am busted. Yeah, I guess you could say what your friend said is true.".

Seirus's mouth was agape a bit, surprised by this revelation a bit, "That explains why you know so much about deck building and their types.".

"Well, knowing that is one thing but I don't dwell on it too much. Dueling is all about passion and heart. That's my motto!" Arata chirped.

"Right, now let's put that passion to good use and hurry to the cafeteria before that special egg sandwich is all gone!" Seirus enthused.

Arata nodded, "That's right! Now let's get a move on!". In that split moment, he took off down the hallway in a sprint with his new roommate following suit. Lucky sighed, and did the same, clearly disliking the idea of running to their destination.

The rather wimpy looking duelist could only mumble, "I'm in for a long year with these two...And why do we have to run?!".

(Duel Academy's Cafeteria On The North Side Of Campus. . .)


It didn't take them long to reach the cafeteria building that was just only a ten minute walk in terms of walking. Sprinting however was a different story as they sped through various students along the way, even leaping over some benches and bushes in hopes to make it in time. To Lucky's dismay, he was nearly out of breath when they reached the building and with a last ditch of effort, he finally made it alongside his two companions. The interior was just littered with a circular table and food stands that were definitely sponsors. The bottom half of the cafeteria was white concrete walls and a bluish glass ceiling that resembled more of a circular shape.

Seirus looked around, searching for the famous egg stand with numerous students and teachers blocking his sight, "Wow, this place is way more packed than during lunch. That sandwich gotta be amazing!".

"Yeah but we better hurry, follow me!" Arata smirked, his feet already moving with swiftness. The Nexus duelist nodded and followed him, ignoring Lucky's moans of complaint before doing the same.

It was impressive that Arata could quickly find the fastest routes that avoided the most amount of collisions as possible, and in no time at all, the trio had caught the stand in sight. They all smiled knowing that the mission they set out for was about to be complete and all they had to do was rely on their luck. However, they'd soon notice that there weren't many left over and eventually began dwindling in numbers.

"Oh crap guys, we better do something quick!" Seirus warned.

Arata grunted but grinned, "Then we'll just have to go all out! Pounce on those buns as if it were the last thing you would do!". With his encouragement, they leaped forward into the sea of students that surrounded the stand with hands extended out. Their eyes were closed, hoping they would accidentally grab one for themselves. Time was slow, the milliseconds passing by little by little until…

*CRASH*

Comically they all slammed into each other in front of the stand, each of them having their hands in the stall. They all groaned with obvious discomfort before opening their eyes. Lucky rubbed his head, "Ow… Jeez what are your heads made out of? Titanium or Steel?".

"You're one to talk, I can feel my brain rattling against my skull," Arata complained.

Seirus was about to say something until he felt a familiar material in his hand. He looked up, only to see a faint sight of all three of their hands gripping onto separate wrappers of the remaining egg sandwich. He grinned, feeling a sense of accomplishment, "Well despite the fall, looks like we were just in time to get our chance! Aren't w-".

"Hey! Get your hands off my sandwich! I was here first!" A male voice shouted. Seirus blinked for a moment before looking over towards his right along with his friends. There they saw three other boys with their hands also gripping the same wrapper that they were holding. However, the one that was gripping Seirus's wrapper was by far the more standing out out of the three. He had glaring yellow eyes, sharped almost like a tiger. His brown hair was spiky, so much that it darted out more towards the left while the tips of his front bangs were dyed yellow. On the right side of his hair was a yellow lightning bolt that stretched all the way to the edge.

Arata looked over at Seirus's shoulder to get a better look and waved, "Hey Katsuki~, I would of thought you'd gotten yours already?".

The boy groaned as he finally noticed Arata smiling at him, "Oh great, it's this idiot. Are these guys with you as well?".

"Yup, the one whose sandwich you're gripping is Seirus and the other is his friend Lucky! Now if you would be kind to let go then that would be great!" Arata cheerfully said.

Katsuki could feel veins popping, his eye twitching, "What do you mean 'let go'? We were clearly the ones who got here first.". Despite his voice sounding far too threatening than it led on, Arata still had a smile on his face.

"Well I didn't see you and all of our hands are on the sandwiches so we can't really come to that conclusion, right?" Arata argued, his expression never changing.

Seirus was a bit confused while Lucky could feel his soul leaving his body. The nexus duelist looked over at Arata, asking him, "Who is this guy? You two seemed to know each other.".

"Yeah, he's a friend of mine! His name is Katsuki Arigawa. He's not as mean as he looks, isn't that right Katsuki?!" Arata smirked obliviously.

"Oh yeah. . .well I beg to differ! How about I show you how 'mean' I can b-" He snarled until he was interrupted.

"That's enough, I think there is a way you boys could settle this!" A familiar voice said.

They all turned, immediately noticing a tall blue haired teacher with all too familiar glasses. Seirus grinned widely, waving at the man that approached them, "Morning teach, came for the eggwich?".

"Already got one, I heard there is only one left among the pile," Sho noted, revealing the half-eaten egg sandwich.

The smell alone made Seirus's and the other boys mouth water until they were soon snapped back into reality. The nexus duelist had a delayed gasp after realizing the meaning of his words, "Then you mean the last one is at least one of these eggwiches!".

"That's right, and there is an easy solution to this dilemma," Sho noted, gaining all of their attention.

They all stared at him as Lucky could only ask, "And what is that? That look on your face doesn't suggest anything good.". smiled and walked over between them, causing them to separate and each releasing their hold on the sandwiches. He looked at both of them, his eyes definitely suggesting what Lucky had feared.

"In Duel Academy, we have a saying that has been always around since I've been in school. 'A feud over food is settled with a duel'," He said with a casual smile on his face.

All of their eyes widened for different reasons while Lucky winced at the word "Duel". He shrank down in cowardness, his tone shaky, "Yo-you know, maybe I don't want that special eggwich anymore. In fact, I'll gladly hand it over."

"What are you talking about Luck? This is the perfect opportunity! I'm hooked!" Seirus cheered.

Arata glanced at him and smirked, "He's right, in fact how about this. Me and Katsuki will duel one on one and the winner gets to keep the remaining eggwich for their group of friends. In return, this will count as an official match.". The now gathering crowd gasped at the proposition, their morning becoming filled with excitement.

"Hey, wait just a minute! How about me?! Me and Lucky want to duel too!" Seirus complained, his face pouting in defiance.

Lucky shook his head vigorously, "No, no, no! Don't listen to him, you can duel and we'll watch! He's just putting words in my mouth!". The elite duelist chuckled, ignoring their little comments on the side.

"Sorry, but this is a chance to speed up our official match that was supposed to take place a week later. Especially since we got a teacher here to monitor it," Arata explained.

Slightly taken off guard by the new info, Seirus retreated a bit but was still adamant on dueling, "Fine, I guess that's fair. But you better not lose!".

"Heheh, I'll try my best. He's strong, you know. Anyways, Katsuki, how about it? You wanna duel for those eggwich!" Arata grinned.

Katsuki grumbled but eventually gave in, cockily replying, "Alright, you're on! Just don't complain when I beat you too fast! If that's alright with the teacher over there.".

Sho nodded, "As long as you all came to a conclusion then it's fine with me. Now, get your duel disk ready!". Just as he said that, they both reached into their bags, taking out their respective duel disks and strapping them onto their arms. In no time, they placed their decks into their slots, activating the solid vision blade that shot out of their disk. To Seirus's surprise, Arata's disk was similar to his, only the color scheme being more lava orange and yellow while also having to sharp edges sticking out where their frame wrapped around the red orb. On the other hand, Katsuki's disk was silverish gray color with yellow accents, it's shape taking the form of a rectangle with LED lights surrounding the deck slots. They both stared each other down, both clearly smiling for different reasons despite having similar end goals before shouting. . .


"Let's Duel!"

Turn 1: Arata Kaseya, 5 cards, 0 cards on field

Arata LP: 8000

Katsuki LP: 8000

Their hands swiftly plucked 5 cards from their decks. Arata's eyes were examining his hand, quickly dictating which move should be his opening one. He smirked as he looked up at Katsuki who had been patiently waiting for his move. On the other hand, Seirus and Lucky made their way over to show, their eyes glued on the duel before them.

"I wonder what deck Arata uses? I bet it's super sick!" Seirus wondered aloud.

Sho nodded and chuckled a little, "Well, he would be in the top eight if he didn't have a strong deck. In fact, you could say it's rare and legendary due to it only being passed down by those who are deemed worthy.".

"Whoa, that sounds awesome. These cards must really be something else then. . .Have you seen them Lucky?" Seirus asked, turning to his friend who had just caught a breather.

Lucky jolted a bit before replying, "Yeah, though I don't want to spoil it for you. You'll just have to wait and see.".

"Huh? Bummer. . .so much for getting some more insight," Sierus complained.

With that said, Arata decided to make his move, "I hope you're ready Katsuki! Cause I'm going to be starting off this duel big! First I'll tribute a monster from my hand!".

"A tribute summon with a card in hand? What could he possibly be summoning that'll allow him to do that?" Seirus awed, his eyes widening at the claim.

Sho smirked, "He's starting off big, but I guess he can't pull many punches against Katsuki.".

Arata sent his tribute card to the graveyard, "But the monster I sacrificed wasn't any ordinary monster but you'll find out what it was when his alternative version comes to the field. Now, by doing this, I can special summon Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon!"

(Lvl 7 Dark: Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon, 2400Attk/2000Def)

With a blazing tornado of crimson flames, an all too familiar black dragon rose from the depth of the ground and flew high into the sky before opening its wings. It had red markings engraved all over its body as it descended and hovered over the field. It's red-eyes glowed a pinkish red as it burned with fire equal to it's emitted heat. Seirus was left in complete shock, amazed that he'd ever seen a monster like this one in his lifetime.

"Wait. . .he has the famous red-eyes cards?! I thought those were lost due to time?!" Seirus pointed out in astonishment.

"Not exactly, 's held close ties to the previous predecessor of the red-eyes deck and through that, he was deemed worthy of being the current owner of the deck. Though, your reaction is justified since when he was admitted into this school: everyone's been caught off guard," Sho noted.

Meanwhile, Arata continued with his move, "Now I'll summon The Black Stone of Legend!". Appearing onto the field was a mystical black rock with a glowing red crystal embedded in it.

(Lvl1 Dark: The Black Stone of Legend, 0Attk/0Def)

Katsuki grumbled, knowing what was coming next, "Crap, you aren't wasting time aren't you?".

"Of course not, how could I if I am going up against you?!" Arata replied cheerfully.

"Whatever, get on with it!" Katsuki snarled.

The red-eyes duelist snickered and nodded, "With pleasure, cause I'll be activating my Stone's special ability. Now by sending him to the graveyard, I can Special Summon a level 7 or lower Red-Eyes monster from my deck! Of course, you know what that means, right?". Katsuki groaned in response.

"Good, cause I'll be summoning out the original Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Arata shouted, a pillar of light shining from the rocking before it shattered to pieces. From the light emerged the dragon in all of its glory, it's roar echoing throughout the lunch room. The crowd was cheering a bit, seeing that this was such an iconic beast from the past that they don't get to see very often.

(Lvl7 Dark: Red-Eyes Black Dragon, 2400Attk/2000Def)

Arata then took one of the cards from his hand and revealed it to his opponent, his smile as wide as ever, "Now that my Red-Eyes Black Dragon is on the field, you better duck for cover cause I'll be activating Infernal Fire Blast! With this, as long as I have a Red-Eyes Black Dragon on my field then he can burn you for each of his original attack points!".

"Wait so that means he's going to deal 2400 points of damage right off the bat?!" Lucky shouted, astonished despite this not being his first time seeing him duel.

The black dragon of origin opened its mouth wide and revealed a flaming crimson ball of fire. It roared, unleashing it's attack down upon Katsuki who crossed his arms in an attempt to defend. In seconds, there was a fiery explosion that engulfed the student duelist in flames that made him groan a bit from the realism of the system. The flames swirled around him as all he could do was watch his life points drop.

Katsuki LP: 8000→5600

The flames soon subsided, allowing it's target to breath as Arata watched with a smile, "I'll place one card face down and end my turn from there."

Arata's Hand: 0

Turn 2: Katsuki Arigawa, 5 cards in hand, 0 cards on field

Katsuki LP: 5600

Arata LP: 8000

Katsuki grumbled and glared at his opponent with slight annoyance, "Alright, since you're not gonna pull any punches then neither am I! It's my turn, draw!". He drew his card with force, smirking as soon as he saw it. Arata's eyes narrowed, growing more serious due to him being quite familiar with Katsuki's deck.

"Looks like Arata is getting a bit serious," Sho noted.

Seirus blinked in confusion along with his blond friend, "How come? Is Katsuki really that strong?".

"Well of course, the two are actually childhood friends according to the rumors. That and Katsuki is no slouch either as he's one of the academy's best duelists," Sho informed.

Katsuki smirked, "Time to deal out some carnage and I'll start it off by summoning my Armed Dragon Thunder LV3 in attack mode!". Rising from the field with bolts of electricity was an orange dragon clad in silver metal armor to which it generated balls of lightning around it's fist. Arata knew full well where this was going and the payback he was going to get for the play earlier was definitely going to come full circle.

(Lvl3 Wind: Armed Dragon Thunder LV3, 1200Attk/900Def)

"You should have let me have that eggwich so you could avoid this Arata! Now I'm going to have to humiliate you in front of all these people! Now, I activate my Dragon Thunder's effect! By sending 1 monster from my hand to the graveyard along with itself: I can then Special Summon a level 5 or lower Armed Dragon monster from my hand or deck! Come forth, Armed Dragon Thunder LV5!" Katsuki announced.

(Lvl5 Wind: Armed Dragon Thunder LV5, 2400Attk/1700Def)

His small armed dragon began to glow brighter and bright before finally evolving into a larger red version of itself that bore the same armor as it's predecessor except darker while also having a lightning bolt symbol in the center of it's chest. In addition to this, it's body was littered with numerous sharp blades that lined from bottom up.

Seirus could feel a bit of sweat on his face slowly fall off his chin, "Okay, so they are just busting out powerful monsters from their decks like it's nothing. Now this is what I call a duel."

"If that's what impresses you now, just wait until that dragon gets even stronger. . .," warned.

Katsuki snickered, "Heheheh, I hope you're ready to get squashed because he only gets bigger from here.".

"Oh no. . .," Arata muttered in realization.

"That's right! But first, since I sent another Armed Dragon Thunder LV3 from my hand to the graveyard, I can use it's effect! When he's sent to the graveyard due to the effect of a dragon type monster! I can draw a new card from my deck!" Katsuki informed, drawing his card and adding it to his hand.

He glanced at Arata with fierce eyes, "Now it's time to send away Armed Dragon Thunder LV5 and another monster from my hand to the graveyard! Now, I can Special Summon my Armed Dragon Thunder LV7 from my deck!". Once more, his dragon glowed, evolving into what is now an even larger dragon with blades sticking out all over its body as electricity sparked around it. It had two sharp metal tusks that extended below it's chin as it roared with might.

(Lvl7 Wind: Armed Dragon Thunder LV7, 2800Attk/1000Def)

"Now due to the effect of discarding a copy of Armed Dragon Thunder LV7 through the effect of a dragon monster, I can add one Armed Dragon card from my deck to my hand! And the card I'll be adding is one that I'll activate right now!" Katsuki shouted, the card appearing to his hand before he placed it in the spell slot.

With a bright glow, the card manifested itself onto the field as even Arata hadn't seen this card before. Katsuki smiled slyly, "Activate: Armed Dragon Blitz!"

"What does that do? I've never seen you use this card in your deck before!" Arata asked, curious despite the plays he was making.

"I'm glad you asked, cause this card is going to give me the edge. First I must target 1 Armed Dragon monster I control and then by doing so I can then Special Summon another Armed Dragon monster with the same name as the one on the field while ignoring it's summoning conditions!" Katsuki explained.

Arata recoiled at that info, slightly worried at what was about to happen, "Then that means. . .!".

"That's right, and due to Armed Dragon Thunder's other ability, it changes its name to Armed Dragon LV7! You're not the only one with monsters that have an original version of themselves! Now come forth, Armed Dragon LV7!" The lightning boy cried.

The spell card glowed, a spiraling tornado surrounding it before he burst into a brighter light. Arising from the field was a near identical dragon that didn't have electricity spewing out of it yet it still contained a roar so fierce that it caused Arata to shield himself.

(Lvl7 Wind: Armed Dragon LV7, 2800Attk/1000Def)

Katsuki snickered to himself, "Now, I may not be able to attack you directly this turn with my Armed Dragon LV7, but he can still activate his effect! By discarding 1 monster from my hand such as another copy of Armed Dragon Thunder LV7, all monsters you control on your side of the field that have less attack points than it are destroyed! And due to Thunder's effect from before, I can add yet another Armed Dragon card from my deck to my hand! And the card I'll be adding is a continuous spell called Armed Dragon Lightning! And I think I'll play it right now!".

Katsuki's Hand: 4

As the card appeared on the field, the Armed Dragon chest began to glow blue and spin, causing his opponent to panic a bit as two circular blades were rocketed towards his black dragons. Both Alternative and the original Black Red-Eyes let out a cry of pain as the blades grinding on their skin before they both exploded: unleashing a shockwave that nearly blue Arata away. Once it dialed down, Arata decided to make his move now.

"Nice try, but due to Alternative Red-Eyes being destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon a Red-Eyes monster other than itself from the graveyard!" Arata noted, his dragon rising from the ashes of its remains in a blaze of glory. It roared loudly as a red aura surrounded it, "Not only that, but if the monster was Red-Eyes Black Dragon then his attack points are doubled!".

Red-Eyes Black Dragon Attk: 2400→4800

"Alright! Now even though his field was just nuked, he still has a powerful monster on the field!" Seirus cheered.

However, his words would soon become known as a complete jinx as Katsuki still didn't finish his combo, "Heh, did you really think I wasn't prepared for your signature combo?! I'll activate the quick-play spell, Shrink! Now your monster's attack points are cut in half!".

"Oh no!" Arata cried, his monster now losing it's red aura.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon Attk: 4800→2400

Katsuki's Hand: 3

"That's not all, I'll also activate my continuous spell's effect! I can target 1 Armed Dragon monster I control such as my Armed Dragon Thunder LV7 and it'll gain 100 attack points for each of its levels!" He added.

Armed Dragon Thunder LV7 Attk: 2800→3500

Katsuki immediately pointed at the black dragon before him, "Armed Dragon LV7, attack Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Armored Blade Crush!". Just as he said that, the Red-Eyes duelist's monster was slammed with more blue disks that shot from the armored dragon's stomach. The sound of metal grinding against dragon scales echoes before the black dragon is sent to the graveyard once again in a blaze of glory.

"Arrraaaaaaagh!" Arata cried, feeling a bit of the shockwaves from the explosion.

Arata's LP: 8000→7600

"Heh, Armed Dragon Thunder LV7, attack Arata directly! Armored Thunder Hammer!" The Armed Dragon duelist commanded.

Without hesitation, the dragon lunged forward with a fist field with electricity. Once it got close enough to see the visible shock on Arata's face, it slammed it's fist next to him and emitted a large amount of voltage that raged around the duelist. Arata groaned, feeling a stinging feeling all over his body as bolts continued to surround him before dialing down as the dragon returned to it's master side of the field.

Arata's LP: 7600→4100

"Hmph, I'll set one card face down and end my turn. Hopefully you still have some fight left in you, 8" Katsuki said in a mocking tone.

Katsuki's Hand: 2

Turn 3: Arata Kaseya, 0 cards in hand, 1 card on field

Arata LP: 4100

Katsuki: 5600

"Things don't look too good. Arata has no cards in his hand and only a face down left. Katsuki on the other hand has a complete advantage right now," Lucky commented.

Sho nodded, "I agree, I didn't expect Arigawa to improve his deck this quickly. The synergy between his monster's power and card effects make a serious combo for a Quick-Power deck such as his."

"Well that doesn't matter! I'm still rooting for Arata to win this!" Seirus cheered hopefully.

Lucky narrowed his eyes on him, "You're just saying that because if he wins, you get a free chance for that special eggwich."

"Wh-what? No, I'm definitely here for moral support," Seirus said with slight nervousness.

Meanwhile Arata steeled himself: smiling as he watched Katsuki's grumpy expression, "I have to hand it to you, that was some turn. I guess I deserve it for that stunt I pulled earlier.".

"Good, now that you understand that, surrender while you still can so this doesn't get anymore ugly for you cause face it: I'm going to be in the top 8 now after I take your spot after this duel!" Katsuki insisted.

Arata chuckled, "I wouldn't be too sure about that. . . I'm just getting started! It's my turn, Draw!". He drew his card and took a peek, smirking as if he plays this right then he could turn the duel around.

"I'll start off by activating my reverse card, Hope for Escape! When my opponent's life points are at least a 1000 higher than my own, then I can pay 1000 life points to use it's effect! Now for every 1000 life point difference between the both of us, I can draw 1 card! That means with a 2000 point difference I can draw 2 new cards!" Arata elaborated, drawing two new cards from his deck while the trap disappeared from the field.

Arata's LP: 4100→3100

Arata's hand: 3

"Perfect, now I activate the spell: Pot of Greed! This card allows me to draw 2 more cards from my deck!" Arata claimed, drawing another two cards. He smirked, and continued with his move, "Then I'll activate this card, Red-Eyes Insight! Now, by sending 1 Red-Eyes monster from my hand or deck, I can add a Red-Eyes spell or trap card from my deck to my hand.".

After signaling his duel disk to choose the card he desired, he revealed it to his opponent, "The card I'll be sending to the graveyard is Red-Eyes Wyvern and by doing that I can add this spell: Red-Eyes Erupted Field."

"Red-Eyes Erupted Field? I guess I wasn't the only one who got some new cards," Katsuki muttered to himself.

Arata then raised the card in the air and placed it into the field spell slot, "Time to raise hell, I activate the field spell: Red-Eyes Erupted Field!". Just like that, the ground simulation began to crack little by little until it shattered into flaming molten lava that spew out of it. The cafeteria was now illuminated by a red color as flames spew out of the ground.

"Now I'll activate the continuous spell: Allies of The Red-Eyes! Upon activation, this card allows me to add another Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck or graveyard to my hand! And even better, all Red-Eyes monsters I control can't be targeted by card effects!" Arata claimed, adding a Red-Eyes Black Dragon from his deck to his hand.

"So what, are you going to summon your dragon again for no reason? Both of my dragons are stronger," Katsuki wondered.

Arata smirked, "No, cause I'm going to bring out a bigger dragon that'll take out your like it's nothing! Go, Polymerization! Now I fuse Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Red-Eyes Archfiend Of Lightning from my hand!". Both of his monsters appeared onto the field and took to the skies before diving into the molten lava below that spiraled like a whirlpool. The crowd gasped as something flew out of the lava and landed on the field, it's body shrouded in lava. First it's arm stuck out of the absurdly hot liquid before it's feet and tail.

"Black dragon of damnation, rise from the ashen planes of purgatory! erupt with flames that burn the souls that dwell in it! Fusion Summon! Level 9: Archfiend Black Skull Dragon!" Arata cried, his dragon roaring into life so much that the lava that covered it dispersed into nothing. The dragon had red skin and wings with dark armored scales accenting it's body. It's chest was partly covered by four cages of bone as it's armored head breathed hot flames that would torch anything that would come near.

(Level 9 Dark: Archfiend Black Skull Dragon, 3200Attk/2500Def)

"Okay, now that is one impressive monster. . ." Seirus commented.

Lucky on the other hand was intimated by not only the new monster but also how intense this duel was getting, "Isn't this a bit much for a duel that decides who would own some sandwiches?".

"This wouldn't be the first time, so I guess not," answered, reminiscing some fond memories.

Arata smirked, his new dragon glaring down at Katsuki's with a hungry look in it's red-eyes. After some thought, Arata pointed at it's target and shouted, "Now go, Archfiend Black Skull Dragon! Attack Armed Dragon LV7!".

At the sound of his command, Black Skull Dragon's eyes glowed a brighter color, it's mouth opening so wide that it revealed the insides to be shrouded with flames. It was almost as if the dragon was nothing more than a walking furnace as it took aim at Armed Dragon LV7.

"Purgatorial Hell Blaze!" Arata cried, his dragon unleashing a blazing stream that rained down on it's target. The Armed Dragon LV7 could only watch as the blaze impacted its body with such force that a pillar of hell fire covered it's body, causing it to melt. It cried loudly as it's body glowed until the big boom happened, forcing Katsuki to shield his eyes from the explosion.

"Araaaaaaaaagh!" Katsuki groaned.

Katsuki's LP: 5600→5200

Unfortunately for him, Arata's smile was suggestive that he wasn't done as his GY slot glowed for a moment: returning a card back to his hand, "Now, since this is the end of the damage step that this card battles, I can shuffle 1 Red-Eyes monster from my GY back into the deck. Then you take damage equal to that monster's attack points. So by shuffle back my Red Eyes Black Dragon, you take damage 2400 points of damage!"

Katsuki's eyes widened, his mouth unable to get out a response or reaction as purgatory fire came through the smoke and burned him. He felt his body grow hot as he groaned from having his life points literally getting torched.

Katsuki's LP: 5200→2800

"But why. . .couldn't I activate my face-down or my continuous spell?" Katsuki finally asked after the flames cleared.

Arata smirked, "That's easy, when Black Skull Dragon attacks, you can't activate any card effects until the end of the battle. Meaning no matter what, you were going to take heavy damage. Also since you took damage from a card effect this turn, I am allowed to draw 1 card!". He drew his card and smirked.

"I'll place this face-down and end my turn! Also, since it's the end phase, my Red-Eyes Wyvern's effect activates from the graveyard! Allowing me to special summon back the 2nd Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my graveyard in defense mode!" Arata noted, his iconic black dragon returning back to the field in a molten blaze of glory.

Arata's hand: 0

Turn 4: Katsuki Arigawa, 2 cards in hand, 3 cards on field

Katsuki's LP: 2800

Arata's LP: 4100

"I'll make you regret that soon! It's my turn, draw!" Katsuki growled as he drew his card.

Katsuki's hand: 3

The armed dragon duelist smirked inwardly, "Time for something big to show up! I'll be sacrificing my Armed Dragon Thunder LV7!". Everyone's eyes widened, wondering why he would sacrifice such a powerful monster of his, especially since it was already stronger than Black Skull Dragon.

"Why would he do that? Don't tell me he's got something even better!" Seirus pondered.

narrowed his eyes, knowing full well what was about to happen, "Look closely, Seirus. This card here is the evolved form of one of the most formidable monsters back then.". Katsuki overheard the comment and could only agree as Arata's face spelled everything he needed to know. The red-eyes duelist knew what was coming as well.

"That's right, cause now I'll summon out my ace monster! Appear, dragon of unbeatable thunder that lays waste to the lands it comes across! Armed Dragon Thunder LV10!" Katsuki called.

The thunder dragon roared, glowing with an even more impressive amount of electricity that spiraled around its body. Little by little, the room grew dark as the light grew brighter and brighter, forcing people to shield themselves so that they would protect their eyes. With a bright flash that erupted into a torrent of pure electricity rose a dragon of unmatched height. It was standing on it's bipedal legs and it's yellow wings were spread wide while it's tail hovered above the ground. At the end of its tail was a yellow ball that was laced with more blades, the electricity seemingly dancing around it.

(Lvl 10 Wind: Armed Dragon Thunder LV10, 3000Atk/2000Def)

"He brought out two! This isn't looking good! Our eggwiches might have to be forfeited now!" Lucky panicked

Seirus shook his head, "Not yet, Arata doesn't look to be as worried as we are! Plus he's still got life points left!".

"He's right, just wait and see how Kaseya-san gets out of this," Sho smirked.

Arata stared at the two dragons with a wide smile on his face despite the sweat that he was having from the nervousness. He was literally facing two of the most powerful dragons in the game head on within a rather tough predicament. How could he not feel the pressure that was weighing down on him and all it did was ramp up his motivation to continue this duel to win, "I'll admit Katsu. You've really improved by this much in so little time compared to our last duel.".

"Save the flattering, I told you I would beat you and take my revenge! Now you're just prolonging the inevitable!" Katsuki responded with irritation.

Arata looked a bit confused and sad at the same time, "Why are you so uptight with me? We've been childhood friends for as long as I can remember. What changed? What made you so distant?". There was a small moment of silence in the air, the tension growing between them despite the crowd watching. There were small murmurs there and there but Seirus along with his teacher could tell that something was most certainly up.

"Do. . .you really not remember, Arata? Does five years ago not ring a bell?" Katsuki muttered.

The red-eyes duelist raises an eyebrow, "Five years ago. . .? No. . .I don't remember.". His opponent sighed in annoyance, not bothering to continue things further.

"Whatever, it isn't important anymore. You should be more worried about yourself from here on! I use Armed Dragon LV10 effect! By discarding 1 card from my hand, I can destroy all face-up monsters my opponent controls! Go, Demolition Havoc!" He commanded! With it's open claws, a spiraling swirl of wind surrounded it's whole arm before it slammed down upon Arata's side of the field. The winds were fierce, pushing the red-eyes duelist back a bit as both his fusion and effect monsters were obliterated. Despite this, he steeled himself.

"You haven't forgotten Alternative Black Dragon's effect, have you? When he's destroyed, Red-Eyes Black Dragon now returns to the field with double the attack points!" Arata shouted, his iconic dragon returning to the field once more.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon Atk: 2400→4800

Katsuki had a deadpan expression on his face, "I haven't, in fact I knew he'd come back anyways.".

"Wait. . .shit!" Arata cursed.

"That's right, I first activated the effect of my Armed Dragon Lightning! Now I can increase my Armed Dragon Thunder by 100 attack points for each of its levels!" He claimed, his monster gaining a faint electric aura that shrouded it's body.

Armed Dragon Thunder LV10 Atk: 3000→4000

Katsuki then hovered his hand over his face-down, gesturing it to activate as it rose upwards to unravel itself, "Reverse card open: Armed Dragon Thunderbolt! Now I choose one Armed Dragon monster I control and it'll gain 1000 attack points for each Armed Dragon card in my graveyard whose levels are equal or lower than the targeted monster. However, that monster won't be able to inflict damage on you during the turn this card was played!".

"Wait, if that's the case then. . .he sent 6 of them to the graveyard so far during this duel," Seirus muttered.

Lucky blinked a few times before realizing it, "Armed Dragon Thunder LV10 has 10,000 attack points!".

Armed Dragon Thunder LV10 Atk: 4000→10,000

The nexus duelist looked over at his friend with curious eyes, wondering why he was so worried, "What's with you? Didn't you hear, he can't damage him despite gaining all that attack."

"That's not it, now that Armed Dragon Thunder LV10 is at full power, he can finally use it's true power," Sho informed, only gaining a pair of curious aquamarine eyes on him.

Katsuki smirked as he saw the look of panic on Arata's face, "Now I activate Armed Dragon Thunder LV10's effect! When this card reaches 10,000 attack points: I can destroy all other cards on the field! Go, Thunder Strike Havoc!". With but a finger raised, the cafeteria grew darker than it was before, the sound of thunder echoing throughout the room before suddenly a surge of electricity hovered above the arena. Arata groaned and acted fast, knowing that if he didn't do something now then he was as good as dead.

"I activate the effect of my Red-Eyes Erupted Field! Now by destroying my Red-Eyes Black Dragon, I can then special summon 1 level 7 or lower Red-Eyes monster from my hand or graveyard! Then I'll activate my trap card: Burning Sacrifice! I can target 1 monster on my field and if it is destroyed by a card effect then I can draw 2 cards!" Arata announced.

Before the lightning bolts would rain down on them, Red-Eyes Black Dragon glowed as blazing molten lava erupted from the ground and engulfed it with its heat. With its destruction, Arata drew two cards from his deck due to his trap and nodded, "Now, I'll summon back my Red-Eye Alternative Black Dragon!".

Emerging out of the molten lava came his Alternative Black Dragon, it's markings shining as bright as ever. However, just as soon as it returned to the field, the circulating surge of electricity that hovered above them unleashed a rain of thunderbolts down on Arata's field. He steeled himself, despite the bolts of electricity striking his side of the field with such force that both his monster and continuous spell exploded into nothing but dust. The ground became scorched a bit, some parts sealing up from the heat as the ground closed on itself. Once everything settled, Arata's entire field was reduced to ash as he looked over to Arata's side to see the damage that Armed Dragon Thunder LV10 caused. But what he saw was shocking.

"Wait, why is Armed Dragon LV10 still on the field!" Arata cried, his eyes staring up at the dragon that stood next to its counterpart.

Katsuki chuckled, a bit cocky with his response, "Of course he's still on the field.".

"What?" Arata muttered.

"Armed Dragon Lightning's other effect activates when one of my Armed Dragon monsters were to be destroyed by a card effect. I can send it to the graveyard instead in order to negate its destruction!" Katsuki revealed.

The red-eyes duelist groaned but still didn't give up, "Clever, but so am I! I activate Red-Eyes Alternative Dragon's effect once more! Now I can revive my Red-Eyes Black Dragon from the graveyard again and his attack points are doubled!".

Red-Eyes Black Dragon Atk: 2400→4800

Katsuki shook his head, and shouted "It's useless! Armed Dragon Thunder LV10 attack Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Thunder Claw Upper!".

At his command, Armed Dragon Thunder LV10's eyes glowed yellow, a yellow aura shrouding it as it channeled it's energy all the way down to it's right hand. In seconds, it became shrouded in untamed electricity, so much that bolts would randomly strike the ground. It roared, raising it's claw into the air before performing a scoop motion towards the black dragon. It's claws effortlessly slashed through the monster like a hot knife cutting into butter, causing it to cry in pain from the sudden voltage coursing through it. The black dragon was shrouded in electricity for only a moment as it exploded right in front of it's master's eyes.

"RED-EYES!" Arata cried, shielding himself from the blast.

Katsuki smirked, "Now he's gone, Armed Dragon LV10 will attack you directly! Armed Big Punisher!". Before Arata could recover, Armed Dragon LV10 raised it's open palm and generated a green, electric orb in seconds. Without mercy, it hurled the orb of energy down on the red-eyes duelist, the blast exploding on contact as soon as it impacted the ground. Arata could feel himself get blown back, his body being thrown into the air by the force.

"Aaarrrraaaaaagh!" He screamed, tumbling against the hard ground several times until he impressively landed back on to his feet with one knee on the ground.

Arata's LP: 4100→1100

Katsuki stared at him with a smug look, satisfied at the result of his turn, "Now I'll use Armed Dragon Thunderbolt's effect from my graveyard. By removing it from play, I can add a Armed Dragon spell card in my graveyard to my hand. I'll add Armed Dragon's Lightning and I'll end my turn from here. Also just so you know, Armed Dragon Thunder LV10's attack point will remain the same for this turn.".

Katsuki's hand: 1

Turn 5: Arata Kaseya, 2 cards in hand, 0 cards on field.

Arata's LP: 1100

Kaseya's LP: 2800

Arata stayed still, his brain going to work on a counter strategy while everyone waited in silence. On the other hand, Seirus and Lucky were now worried after what they had just witnessed before their very eyes.

"That's not good, Arata's got no cards on field while he's gotta somehow take down that Armed Dragon LV10," Seirus noted, finally accepting that Arata might not be able to win this.

Lucky slumped in defeat as soon as he said that, "I told you, we might as well forfeit those sandwiches right now. . .". Despite the pessimism, the school teacher shook his head and smirked.

"I wouldn't count Arata out just yet," He pointed out.

The two students were confused, wondering if his teacher was oblivious as the situation was in Katsuki's favor heavily. Sho noticed this quickly and chuckled, "Yes, Katsuki may have the advantage over him right now, especially since he kept that spell in hand to use Armed Dragon Thunder's quick effect to destroy any card on the field. However, look at Arata's expression.".

"Huh. . .?" Seirus and Lucky muttered in union, the two students looking over at the red-eyes duelist. Immediately, they noticed he had a look of determination on his face, his eyes showing no signs of losing hope in this duel. They watched him stand up on his own two feet as he smirked at his opponent: causing him to become confused.

"Now this is a duel! Seriously, I wasn't expecting you to push me this far!" He chuckled.

Katsuki looked at him as if he was delusional, quickly snorting at the comment, "You must be in denial. You're acting like you still got a chance! Just surrender already!". Arata shook his head, declining the request without saying a word. His eyes were burning with flames of passion so much that it was almost as clear as day.

"You may not be able to tell me what happened 5 years ago, but, that's okay! Cause this duel is what matters now and it's simply too fun to surrender! Now, it's my turn! Draw!" Arata replied with enthusiasm.

He looked at the card he drew and muttered, "Good, about time this card came. But first, I'll activate the spell card: Confiscation! Now by paying 1000 life points, you are forced to discard 1 card from your hand of my choosing! So say goodbye to that spell card you just added!".

Arata's LP: 1100→100

Katsuki grumbled as he discarded his remaining card, thus having his Armed Dragon Thunder LV10's effect neutralized. Arata smiled widely, the stage being set for him to win, "Now I activate the spell card I drew! Go, Red-Eyes Fusion!"

"Red-Eyes Fusion?! You didn't have that card before!" Katsuki exclaimed.

"You're right, cause this is a new card that I've recently added to my deck! Red-Eyes Fusion now allows me to send fusion materials from my deck or field to summon 1 monster with Red-Eyes listed in it's fusion materials! However, using this will prevent me from summoning or special summoning any more monsters this turn!" Arata explained.

Seirus eyes widened, "Wait, so that means this monster has to be extremely powerful for him to pay such a cost!".

"That's right but if considering his situation, he's taking all the gambles he needs to win," noted.

Arata eyes narrowed, his duel disk selecting the two materials he's chosen, "I fuse my Red-Eyes Flare Dragon and Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact for the cost of using Red-Eyes Fusion!" With that, both of his monsters appeared on the field before becoming completely covered in two different shades of red, one brighter than the other. Freely, the monster flew into the sky above in two streams of light as they swirled around and merged together: the energy bursting into a blaze that hovered above them.

"Black dragon of the apocalypses, descend from the ashen skies to rain your judgement! Scorch the land with your meteoric flames! Fusion Summon! Appear now, level 9: Meteoric Black Comet Dragon!" Arata shouted, raising his hand into the air.

With his call, the dragon came soaring out of the flames with sparks of meteoric flames that rained on the field. Everyone awed at the dragon, it's body covered in nothing but flames while it's scales were black with an orange and red tint to it. It's wings were spread wide, revealing it's flame like markings that had been spread to most of its body. It roared, creating a shockwave that caused Katsuki to shield his eyes.

(Lvl9 Dark: Meteoric Black Comet Dragon, 3500Atk/2000Def)

"That thing is one powerful monster. I can't believe you had this stored in your deck," Katsuki commented.

Arata nodded in agreement, "Well, since I've won most of my duels using Black Skull Archfiend, I haven't had the chance to use this monster. However, just know you are the only one to make me use him.".

"Is that so, should I be flattered then? Because your dragon still can't destroy my Armed Dragon Thunder LV10! Not only that, you won't deal enough damage to defeat me!" Katsuki pointed out.

Arata's expression was deadpanned before he huffed in amusement, "I don't have to destroy him, your other dragon will suffice!"

"What?!" the lightning duelist gasped.

"That's right, I'll be activating my Black Comet Dragon's effect! Upon his summoning, I can send 1 Red-Eyes monster from my hand or deck to the graveyard! Then, you take damage equal to half of that monster's attack points!" Arata pointed out, his deck shining as it selected the card before extending out so he could grab it, "I'll be sending a 3rd copy of Red-Eyes Black Dragon to my graveyard! This means you'll take 1200 points of damage! Go, Meteoric Burn!".

Black Comet Dragon's roared, emitting a heat wave that was so hot that it was visible to the human eye. Arata groaned, feeling the wave heat up his body.

Katsuki's LP: 2800→1600

"Graaagh, but that won't be enough to win. You're still short in terms of damage," Katsuki still claimed.

"I know, that's why this last card will end this duel! I activate Red-Eyes Searing Blaze! I can only activate this card when my opponent takes effect damage from a Extra Deck monster with Red-Eyes listed in it's fusion material! Now I can target 1 Dark Dragon monster I control on my side of the field and it gains attack points equal to the number of life points you just lost!" The red-eyes duelist exclaimed.

Katsuki's eyes widened with panic, "WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE!".

"That's right, so I target my Meteoric Black Comet Dragon!" He shouted in response. The black dragon flew high into the sky and let out another roar, it's flames growing even hotter than before with a fiery orange and yellow aura shrouding it's body.

Meteoric Black Comet Dragon Atk: 3500→4700

The end was here and Arata knew that this duel was over. He pointed at the Armed Dragon LV10 and declared, "GO, METEORIC BLACK COMET DRAGON! ATTACK ARMED DRAGON LV10! METEORIC SEARING SHOWER!".

At his command, the dragon's eyes glowed brightly. It's roar echoed as the heat summoned forth numerous flaming black rocks that were scorched with similar lining on its body. The dragon's mouth opened, revealing an accumulated amount of pinkish red and orange flames. Without mercy, it unleashed it's attack, numerous meteors raining down on Katsuki's side of the field. The multiple impacts created numerous explosions that littered across his field before the stream of hot flames crashed into Armed Dragon LV10. It cried in agony: exploding seconds later with an orange torrent of flames erupting from it's destruction.

"Tch. . .Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" The lightning duelist screamed, his body blown away from the force generated by the attack. He tumbled against the floor while his second Armed Dragon was also fading away due to the flames until everything at last simmered down. The field was now left with nothing, the only thing remaining was Black Comet Dragon until it disappeared as well.

Katsuki's LP: 1600→0

Winner Of The Duel: Arata Kaseya!

As soon as the Solid Vision effects wore off, the crowd erupted into roars of cheers, showing how much they loved the duel that was displayed. Arata let out a breath and walked over to his childhood friend who was lifting his back off the ground. Once he closed the distance between them, he extended out his hand, the gesture almost freezing the lightning duelist from any further movement, "That was a great duel. Here, let me help you up.".

Katsuki stared at his hand for a moment, a memory reoccurring in his head. A young boy with similar hair to Arata smiling down on him as they were surrounded by the trees of what seemed to be a wooded area while his younger self had dirt splattered all over his face. He clenched his teeth, slapping the hand away to which it surprised the red-eyes duelist.

"I don't need your help! I can get up on my own!" Katsuki snapped, standing up on his own two feet.

Arata sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Fine, so stubborn. I mean, so what that you lost? You don't have to be so sore after it. Plus you fought hard so isn't that enough for you?". Katsuki hid his face and turned away from him, his expression emotionless.

"Is that really the case? I didn't even force you to use that monster. . .," Katsuki mumbled almost inaudibly

Arata's eyes widened, wondering how he knew about that information. He stared at his friend with questioning eyes, but all he could see was his back. After several seconds, Katsuki hissed, "Tch, whatever. I'm out, you can enjoy your eggwiches. Come on you two, we're out of here!".

The two lackeys nodded and followed their leader into the crowd and out of the cafeteria. All Arata could do was watch, his mind still thinking about what he had just said until he felt an arm wrapping around the back of his neck. He nearly stumbled over a bit but managed to maintain his balance before looking to see a wide grin.

"Dude, that duel was fantastic! I really thought you wouldn't be able to pull through there!" Seirus complimented.

Arata smiled back at him, "Yeah, I thought I was a goner a few times as well. But thanks to Red-Eyes Fusion, it opened the door for victory. I just had to play my cards right.".

"And that's the way any top duelist of Duel Academy should duel. I'd say the most impressive part of the duel was you utilizing your field-spell and trap card in a combo to not only give yourself a proper defense but recover resources to pull off that final turn. Well done!" commented as he walked up to them with Lucky. He was holding the last 3 egg sandwiches in his hands to which it caused their mouths to water from the smell.

Arata giggled with joy, "Heheheheheh, yeah, I knew about Armed Dragon LV10's ability but I didn't expect him to have a face-down that'll allow his monster to reach such high numbers. Anyways, I'm ready to chow down!".

"I guess you should. Here, you each should pick one," Sho offered.

The three boys nodded, accepting the offer without a second thought. Each of their hands grabbed one of the wrappers and stared at them in suspense. They all gulped, the moment of truth drawing near. Simultaneously, they unwrapped the contents in one fell swoop. There was a moment of silence before they all bit into their sandwiches.

"Hmmmm, aw man, looks like I didn't get it," Seirus said in a saddened tone.

Arata swallowed him as well and sighed before realizing, "Me neither, but wait, that means. . .".

"Oh man, this sandwich tastes like it came from buddha itself! I think I got the legendary egg sandwich guys!" Lucky cheered, his face lighting up with glee. The two boys stared for a moment, their expression blank until they erupted with desperation.

"Hey, I'll trade you for half of that sandwich Lucky! What do you say!" Seirus shouted.

However, before Lucky could respond, Arata pushed him out of the way, "No way, since I won us the sandwich it's only fair if I get half!".

"That's not fair! You already tried it once and I didn't!" Seirus argued.

"Well then you should have been the one to duel then!" Arata smirked.

Seirus grew hot red and got up real close, "You were the one who was insistent on dueling him!".

"Heheh, but that's not my problem right?!" Arata teased.

Meanwhile, as they bickered and argued, Lucky felt like he was dealing with two monstrous giants debating who should eat him. The timid boy smiled nervously, "Hey, maybe you two can just work things out and accept 1/3 of the sandwich?".

They both paused their argument and looked at the blonde boy with a deadpan expression. Their silence felt long, until they went back to pestering the poor boy with offers for part of the sandwich and to Lucky's dismay, he couldn't do a thing about it. Sho chuckled, remembering a familiar time where he used to be in the middle of two friends arguing and he had to sit there and take it. And just like a teacher at the academy during that time, simply walked away and left them to settle things themselves.


A/N: Man this took long! I'd like to credit BatMed for letting me use some of his cards to support one of the newest characters, Arata Kaseya! Be sure to check out his DeviantArt for amazing images and cards alike cause just know that these aren't the only cards that'll be in the story. Until next time!