Silent Calling

[King K. Azo]

So, I was inspired to write a story that takes place between Yugioh and GX... And... here is the first chapter. Enjoy.

[spoiler=Chapter One: It's Time to Duel!]

The stage was set for the final duel in the worldwide Duel Monsters tournament. The stands were filled with fans from every race on the planet, and the tension was so thick you could use it as gravy. The announcer stepped up to the stand, grabbed his mike, and started to do what he did best.
"Welcome to the finals of this Worldwide Duel Monsters tournament! This year was a shocking one for sure! And after 3 grueling rounds of this tournament, we have our finalists! On one side is our defending champion, the King of Games, Yugi Muto!" The tricolored haired teen walked up to his position on the battle field, causing cheers to erupt from the stands.
The years were kind to the reigning King of Games. He finally had his growth spurt, making him look even more like Atem then ever. His hair remained the same after all the years, and his violet colored eyes retained their intensity. He was wearing a violet jacket and jeans. He looked at the announcer, who proceeded to announce the other duelist.
"Now here comes the challenger! An unknown from the country of America… the Rising Star, Saiku Kamezooka!" An orange haired teen walked up, ready to have the duel of his life. His hair was a mess, spiking in every direction, but was held back slightly by his red headband. His blue eyes stared back at Yugi with the same intensity. He wore a red T-shirt and jeans.
"It's time to duel!" the two shouted as they strapped on their Duel Disks and drew their first five cards. The two looked at their hand and smirked, the strategies already weaving through their heads.
"Since you're new to this tournament, I'll allow you the first move," Yugi said, his voice filled with confidence.
"Okay, then I draw!" Saiku yelled, reaching into his Duel Disk and pulling out a card. He looked at it and added it to his hand. "I summon Defender, the Magical Knight (Attack:1600/Defense:2000) in attack position!"
A flash of gold light appeared in the center of the field. When it died down, a knight was standing in place. He stood tall, dressed in a blue and gold robe, which was tucked into blue and gold steel boots. His upper legs, his torso, and his shoulders were covered in thick armor that matched his robe, which kept all but the front piece of ornate fabric pressed to his body. He held a small dagger in his right hand, obviously not made for attacking. In his left hand was a somewhat rectangular shield that looked almost as big as his body. It was much like his armor, accented by a ruby in the center. He glared at Yugi from behind a gold visor, which was part of an incomplete knight's helmet attached to a traditional Spellcaster's hat.
"Now I can place one spell counter on him. With that, I end my turn!"
Yugi smirked as he drew his card. He didn't even look at it when he started his play. "I activate the spell card Ancient Rules! With it, I can summon a level five or higher normal monster without tributing! I summon the master magician, Dark Magician (Attack:2500/Defense:2100)!"
In a flash of light on the field opposite of Defender, a magician everyone knew and loved appeared. He was decked out in a purple and red robe with matching armor. His pale blue skin only added to his dark features, offset only by the bright blonde hair that wasn't tucked into his armored hat. His hands expertly held a large staff, which looked like a demonic torch. A green sphere rested against the cup like shape on the end of the staff, glowing slightly with an eerie light. His bright green eyes glared at the defending magician, who shivered.
"Dark Magician on your first turn? Whoa!" Saiku could barely contain his excitement.
"Yes, but you won't see him for very long," Yugi said, his smirk growing slightly larger. "I activate the spell card Magical Dimension! With it, I can tribute one Spellcaster on my field and summon one from my hand, regardless of the level!" A coffin rose from the ground, which Dark Magician jumped in without hesitation.
"You have a Spellcaster better than Dark Magician?!" Saiku shouted. When did that happen?
"No," Yugi said. "I now play the spell card Code Changer! With it, I can change the monster type on a card. I change the type from Spellcaster to God!"
"What?!" Saiku yelled as the sky began to darken. Clouds gathered as lightning began to flash and thunder filled the ears of everyone there. Then, every duelist's worst nightmare began to descend from the heavens. A red, winged serpent began to slither down towards the ground, its large scaly masses looking like armor. The sapphire atop its head shone ominously, casting a faint light that caught on the spikes covering its deceptively slender body. Each flap of its mighty wings seemed to echo the raw power it contained within.
"I summon Slifer the Sky Dragon (Attack:?000/Defense:?000)!" Yugi called as the red serpent-like dragon landed behind him, looking down on the field with glowing yellow eyes. The two mouths began to open, and Saiku braced himself for the mighty roar. However... that wasn't the noise that came from the dragon's mouths. No, oddly, it sounded like... his alarm clock. Saiku then realized the awful truth.
This was a dream. Again.


Upon letting the dream world dissipate from his consciousness, Saiku woke up. Sighing, he reached out from under his covers and smashed his fist on top of the clock, silencing it. He slowly got up with a yawn, rubbing an eye with one hand.
"Man…" Saiku sighed, looking out the window. "Why can't I ever have that dream on a weekend…?! Stupid clock…" With an irritated grumble, he slipped out of bed to get ready for the day. He padded into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, running a hand through his hair to ease out some of the tangles. "I wonder if Yugi has trouble like this in the morning…" he mused before deciding to hit the shower, chuckling to himself at the thought of Yugi having a bad hair day.
Several minutes later, he stepped out, feeling refreshed and ready. He eyed his favorite outfit—and really his main outfit, he had over a dozen of them—draped neatly over the chair. A light blue t-shirt with a white stripe down the middle, a pair of black pants with blue hems and threads, socks, and a pair of black shoes with blue laces and white soles. He slipped the outfit on before tying the unique piece to his ensemble, a red strip of fabric, around his head, letting the tassels hang down to the small of his back.
He strolled down the stairs where his mother, Sari, was sitting at the table, clutching a cup of coffee in her hand while working on a crossword puzzle.
"Oh, good morning, honey!" she called him over, her green eyes shining with amusement. "I see someone had a rudely interrupted dream." Saiku turned a startled look to her. Really, though, this was the twentieth time he'd had such a dream. It shouldn't surprise him she could pick up the signs. "I got breakfast ready this morning. Hope you're in the mood for pancakes!"
"Sweet!" he grinned, rushing to his favorite seat, where a small stack of pancakes was waiting, with a handful of berries and a couple sausage links. Saiku was quick to douse the fluffy circles with syrup, gobbling down his mother's fantastic cooking before it got soggy.
"Oh, before I forget…" Sari grinned and pulled out a small stack of bills from her pocket. "I believe this is yours."
"Aw yeah!" Saiku cheered amidst his mouthful, happily taking his allowance. Already, ideas were flashing in his head about what to get. The two sat idly, Sari brushing a few locks of her brown hair back while she scribbled down another answer.
"So, what's on the schedule for today?" Sari asked, unable to keep the silence for much longer. "Anything big?"
"Not that I can think of… no quizzes or tests, at least," he replied after a bit of thought. He then glanced at the clock, realizing it was time to go. "Whoa! Didn't realize I took so long…" he muttered, shooting out of his chair. He quickly grabbed his jacket off the hook in the hallway, a black thing that fell to mid-thigh with a folded-down collar, decorated with a white pinstripe on the back and the right front, accentuated with pure gold cufflinks. He took a quick moment to buff the shiny pins, making sure they looked good. After all, he doubted his mom would appreciate them getting tarnished for their price. He quickly darted upstairs to collect his Duel Disk and deck, stuffing them into his backpack. "Bye, Mom!" he yelled as he headed to the door.
"See you later, Saiku!" his mother called. "Remember to try to be home before seven! Your sister will be back from Grandma's by then!"
"Got it!" he replied as he opened the door... only to have his face assaulted by a flying furry object, which turned out to be a squirrel.
"Wee! Another evil villain vanquished!" a familiar voice screamed out. Saiku got the frightened animal off his face and turned to face the one behind the flying squirrels. He was tall, with black hair and brown eyes. A blue jacket covered some of the boy's shirt, which read, "Peanuts are more complicated than you think." His torn jeans flailed in the wind as he punted poor squirrels across the street with a pair of brown boots.
"Wade, stop it before PETA comes after you," Saiku said as he walked to his strange friend. "Where's Blues?"
"Over at the tree, looking like a fangirl's wet dream," Wade muttered as he punted one last squirrel. Saiku shook his head at his friend's bluntness as he walked to the large oak tree across the street.
"Hey Blues," he greeted the teen at the tree. He was average height, with light brown spiky hair. He had sunglasses over his eyes and a yellow scarf around his neck. He wore a simple grey t-shirt, jeans, and white tennis shoes.
"Hey," was Blues' reply. The three stood in amicable silence, not really finding anything to talk about. "Well, we better get moving if we want to get to school on time," Blues said as he began to walk away.
"Right," Saiku replied as he followed. Wade just muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he followed the two. They were silent until they were in the city limits, where it got much louder, and the rantings that were sure to come wouldn't be overheard so easily.
"Why do we have to walk to school?" Wade started to whine. "There's an invention called the school bus. In some civilized countries, they have entire routes and everything!" Blues shook his head at his friend's ranting. It wasn't anything new, since Wade did this all the time, but it did get annoying sometimes.
"So Blues..." Saiku began, trying to think of a different subject, "Got any challenges to duel today?"
"Duel Monsters! Duel Monsters!" Wade yelled, stopping Blues' reply. "That's all ANYONE ever talks about! Why?! It's a stupid game!" The teens resisted the urge to facepalm. Sometimes Saiku couldn't help but wonder why Wade bothered to hang out with them, being major fans of the card game he hated so much. Though usually he kept his distaste quiet… Not today, apparently.
"Uh... Wade," Blues tried to say, but he was interrupted.
"Every freaking day, someone has to bring it up. 'What new cards you got?' 'Oooh, is that a new Spell Card?' or God help me, 'Man, you're a lucky bastard! I've been looking everywhere for that card!' It's like a freaking epidemic! People wasting money on pieces of cardboard and hologram projectors, just for a stupid game! If that wasn't bad enough, there's that stupid Seto freakin' Kaiba guy! What's his deal?! He has millions of dollars, and instead of using it to help people who need it, like the poor kids in other countries, he wastes it all in virtual reality and this STUPID CARD GAME!"
"Guess he got some extra sugar in his cereal or something…" Saiku muttered as Wade continued to complain.
"And then there's Yugi Muto. The guy frickin' CHEATS! I don't care what you guys say, but in those old videos of duels he's done, he'd grow three extra feet before or during his duel, and no one seems to notice or care! What the hell is with that?!" By now, Wade's rant had lasted a few city blocks. Saiku idly noticed they were nearing the playground, giving him an idea. "And then there's the fact that—"
"Hey, dude," Saiku said as he poked his friend in the forehead, jerking his thumb over at the playground. Wade gave him an odd look, completely distracted now. "Wade's Wild Wednesday, remember? You almost passed it up."
"Oh, yeah!" the brunette brightened. They walked into the gates of the playground, Wade looking around at the equipment. "Hm… What trick to try today… Ah!" He ran over to the swings and sat, swinging back and forth until he was almost going over the bar. After a minute or two of this, he leapt off, curling up into a ball and rolling in the air. He then gracefully landed on his feet by Saiku and Blues.
"Nice. Nine for the takeoff, eight for the form, ten for the landing, but a two for time taken," Saiku criticized. Wade gave a thumbs up before turning to Blues.
"Hey, Blues, I just got an idea! You, me, race to school, now!" Wade barely finished his sentence when Blues dashed past him, rushing for the schoolyard. Wade cursed loudly as he ran after Blues. Saiku just shook his head before dashing off after them.
The redhead regretted doing that. By the time he got to the schoolyard, he was gasping for air, his muscles burning and his face red. Wade and Blues were unaffected by the race, and Wade was now laughing at his physical state.
"See, those card games don't do jack for you! You need to get out and exercise more. Get your body in shape!" Wade claimed as he flexed a muscle. "Although, I do wonder how Blues can do both..." He glanced over at their friend with a quizzical eye.
"I have nine brothers and a sister, remember? Figure it out," Blues said as he walked for the school's door. Wade facepalmed as he was reminded of that fact. Saiku finally caught his breath, and the two followed Blues.
As the trio went through the halls going for their lockers, Saiku noticed that many girls, most not that bad looking, staring in their direction. He shook his head as more than a few tried to get close to Blues only to be tackled by some other girls.
Then he noticed the three rather large football players headed toward them. His eyes narrowed as he recognized them as infamous bullies. They stood in front of them, blocking the way to the lockers.
"Okay you maggots. Pay the toll," one of the bullies taunted.
"What toll? This is a freakin' school hallway!" Saiku yelled.
"There's one now. And you can either pay, or you can get the living crap beaten outta you!" another growled. As if the growl was a silent signal, Wade's composition suddenly changed. He threw back his head and began to laugh maniacally before looking each bully, a wild look in his eyes. Drool dribbled from his lips, and he slouched over.
"Oh goodie..." he began in a creepy voice. "I haven't given anyone a wedgie in a LONG time... Let's see how long you guys stay in the hospital after I give ya some GOOD ones!" The trio's eyes widened. What the hell was with this kid?!
"Wade…" Saiku sighed.
"W-Wade… You mean W-Wade Silson?! Th-the guy who single-handedly put that g-gang in the h-hosp-pital?!" the final jock stuttered, he and his posse immediately starting to back up.
"The one and only," Wade laughed before getting in a stance. "Come at me from any direction you may like!"
"No thanks man! Never mind, you can keep your money!" the leader cried as they ran off.
"Heheheh… Talk about a couple of losers…" He turned to Saiku and Blues after wiping his lip, giving them a megawatt grin. "And you guys say nothing good comes out of being random and creepy. See you wankers at lunch!" Wade gloated as he strutted away to his class. Saiku's head hung as he walked to his class. How was he gonna go so long without a duel?!


Blues was much more composed as he walked to his class; however, inside, he was the most nervous of the three.
As soon as he walked into his math class, every girl's eyes focused on him. He felt like he was under a microscope, each girl trying to get a look at everything he did. He wasn't even sure why, he never DID anything that should attract attention.
Casting his thoughts aside, he took a seat at his desk and got ready for his class. However, as soon as he did, he knew this would be one long class. The teacher was particularly boring today for some reason. Even Blues, who normally could focus on anything, was nearly falling asleep.
Suddenly, a folded up piece of paper subtly landed on his desk. He raised an eyebrow at this and turned his head at the direction it was thrown from. A blond haired girl looked back at him, an expectant look in her blue eyes. She was definitely pretty, looked about his height, and was wearing a pink button up shirt and a blue skirt. Only several years of dealing with girls and a lot of hard work allowed him to keep his impending blush at bay. Racking his brain, he tried to remember this girl's name. After a few seconds, it hit him. Her name was Kazuma, and she was the most popular girl in school!
He opened the note cautiously, making sure the teacher didn't see him as he did. The first thing he did was notice the handwriting, and he barely kept an eyebrow from rising. It was incredibly crisp and neat, as if every letter was measured out. Was she taking classes or something? The only one he knew that was that neat was his little sister Roll!
The next thing he noticed was the actual message. It read, "You're going on a date with me in two days. Pick me up at 6 PM," Blues eyebrow did rise at this. The sandy haired teen looked at back at her. She was a demanding one, wasn't she? Well, it'd be rude not to reply.
He quickly scribbled down his message, "Sorry, but I'm too busy. Important stuff I have to do." He folded up the note, and expertly tossed the note back to her desk. She opened up the note and her expression changed to a confused look. She turned to him, her eyes demanding an explanation. He just shrugged slightly before turning his attention back to the teacher.
He almost shivered a few seconds later. He could feel her eyes staring at him, almost like she hoped he'd burst into flames. She must not be used to rejection. The bell then rang, to which Blues leapt out of his seat and quickly got out of that room. Only three more periods of this... oh joy. He hoped that Wade and Saiku were having a better day.


Wade, if anyone were to ask him, was not having a good day. His first period, English, was a total drag. Not that it wasn't normally—it was tolerable, at least. But today just seemed to be an off day. His teacher must have been having her period or something, because she basically screamed at him all period. All he did was make a pun... and point out that it was pointless for him to learn a language he was speaking since he was two. Who was he to blame for that? It wasn't his fault every English class was just a remedial version of the previous year!
And his second period, Science, had a substitute, so all the kids did was gather around and play their stupid card games. He tried to ignore this fact and play his 3DS, but the yelling that the idiots were making was distracting him from his Pokémon training.
"Aw, c'mon!" a kid whined. "What is it with you? First my Beta, now my Gamma?!"
"Hey, you're the one who has such an obvious strategy. There's no way I'm letting you pull out a Valkyrion," the other gloated. Wade felt his eye twitch.
'C'mon, focus, Wade… Just focus on your game… Let's see… Dialga needs about twenty more EVs in Special Attack before he's maxed out… Damn, I'm out of berries. Ok, so…'
"Take that! 1000 points of damage!" one kid cheered. Wade's whole body twitched.
"…so… I need to battle about twenty Pokemon… ten if I can remember which ones give two SA EVs… But what the hell…." He muttered out loud.
"Dude! Is that an XYZ Dragon Cannon! Awesome!"
'That's it…' Wade stood up in a tense, rapid movement, staring down the groups with blazing eyes. "What is wrong with you people?!" Wade began to yell. "Why do you insist on whittling away your time playing something so stupid?! It's just a freakin' card game, and yet it consumes your very way of life! All I ever hear is 'Duel Monsters this' and 'Duel Monsters that'! Every free second you guys have, you play this moronic game!"
By this time, Wade had got on top of his desk and was belting out each and every word. Most of the students were sweatdropping at their psycho classmate's ranting, and the substitute was watching in silent interest.
"How the hell do you guys live?! There's more to life than these cards games! Go outside, run around, get laid, SOMETHING!" Wade was gonna say more, but the sub grabbed him by his arm and began to drag him down the hall. "Hey, the flip are you doin'?!"
"You cursed, and you mentioned some inappropriate things during class. I'm sorry, but you gotta go to the principal's office," the sub explained. Wade sighed. This was nothing new. He went to the principal's office so much he literally had every detail of that place memorized.
He yanked his arm free from the sub's grip and walked into the office, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He was really not looking forward to this.


Saiku was sitting in his English class, utterly bored out of his mind. As much as he hated to admit it, Wade had a point. Why did they have a whole class dedicated to a language you've spoken your whole life? He'd rather have a Japanese class, since all the great duelists spoke that language. At this point, he was scanning through his deck, with all sorts of strategies running through his head.
"If I use DNA Surgery with THAT card, then-," Saiku's inner plotting was interrupted by the sound of a ruler slapping unto his desk.
"Mr. Kamezooka," the teacher stated, keeping her voice neutral as she glared at him from behind her glasses. "I hope you have a good reason why you are looking at those accursed cards instead of doing your work?"
"Yeah, I'm done with the work," Saiku fired back as he raised his paper. The teacher blinked in surprise as she looked over his paper. After reading it, she sighed in defeat and went back to her desk. Saiku shook his head; this was gonna be a long day.


After the long, mind numbing day of school was over with, the three amigos gathered outside to rendezvous.
"So what's on the plan for today wankers?" Wade asked as he looked over his two friends. The two looked at each other.
"I have to go home and babysit," Blues said. "My parents have some speech or something to give." Wade sighed as he looked over to Saiku.
"I'm going to the card shop," Saiku said. "I have some cash and I wanna get some new cards." Wade's eyes widened as he turned and walked away.
"What is with these people?! Card games this, card games that!" Wade complained as he disappeared over the horizon. Saiku looked over at Blues.
"I'll see you later Blues," Saiku said as he walked towards the card shop. Blues nodded as he headed to his house.
Saiku's face broke out into a large grin as he walked into the card shop. He loved it here! The possibilities were endless when he bought a new pack! He had enough to buy two packs, and he couldn't wait to do so!
"Welcome to the High Corner Game Shop," the shopkeeper greeted, his green eyes sparkling with mirth. Apparently, business was rather slow, considering he was busy dusting off his shirt from cleaning. 'Why the guy wears collared white shirts and black pants in a retail shop I will never know. Those things are practically a dust bunny petting zoo waiting to happen!' It wasn't exactly a question that deserved to be asked, so he never said anything. Henry straightened up as Saiku strolled in, pushing his ponytail behind his shoulder. He was one of the few guys Saiku felt could pull off wearing a ponytail, especially considering his hair was a dark blue.
"Hey! Henry!" Saiku asked as he walked up to the counter. Henry was one person every duelist in the city knew. After all, he had the only store completely dedicated to Duel Monsters. It seemed he knew the game inside and out. No monster was forgotten, no effect was too obscure for the shop owner to know. He could even repair broken Duel Disks, and he did it for much cheaper than Kaiba Corp ever did.
However, the most interesting thing about him was that he was a former American champion. Many rumors about his accomplishments circulated around the small city. Some said he actually took on the best in Japan and won, until he got to Yugi Muto. But according to the rumors, not even the King of Games could stop the powerhouse, instead their game ending in a draw. Of course, no one knew if this was true or not, but one thing was for sure.
Even in retirement, this guy could still duel. No one in the city was able to beat him, and some people even came from out of state to duel the former champion. The one thing that bothered Saiku though was that no one knew why Henry retired. Any time anyone would ask, the store owner would just chuckle and change the subject.
"Ah, good afternoon, Sai!" Henry grinned. "Nice to see a familiar face around here!"
Saiku took a moment to look at the memorabilia lining the walls. While cards were always the big thing, he couldn't deny that some of the bracelets and binders were neat. Though he had to admit, the black tees with the Millenium Puzzle design were a little overkill. 'Maybe I should look into a new binder… Nah. Mom would just call it a waste… Should probably look into one of those cool iron-on design kits and make my own cover.' He eyed the walls before noticing a new shipment had arrived. Though not Duel Monsters, it was something he recognized. "You get Magic, Henry?"
"Oh, yeah, just got a set last night. Seems like a good investment. May not be as popular, but it's an awesome game, nonetheless," the shopkeeper explained, taking a moment to spruce up a counter. Saiku nodded as he held up a few booster packs, examining the covers.
'Probably won't play it any time soon, but the cards are photorealistic as all get out… Gotta hand it to the designers…' Saiku mused before turning to the opposite wall, examining a few posters, some of them being large Duel Monsters card artworks, and others being collection images. "You think they'll sell here? I mean, I haven't seen anyone playing it at school…"
"Meh, who knows. I'm just looking to replace that kiosk," he motioned to a little turntable tower that sported keychains and bookmarks. "Those things fell flat since last month." Saiku gave a nod as he flicked one of the chains, letting it rattle before checking out the actual card section. His brow furrowed slightly as he examined a few structure decks. Most of what was available dealt with warrior monsters…
"You have anything new in the back?" Saiku asked hopefully. Maybe a new shipment would prove promising. After all, what did he have to lose?
"No, sorry buddy, but they didn't release any here in America yet."
"And Japan has them, of course. Man, I have to move there," Saiku sighed. "Well, I guess I'll just save my money. I'll see ya later Henry!" Saiku ran out of the store. If he couldn't buy new cards, then he could go to Blues' house and have a duel with someone!
Deciding to take a shortcut through the park, he ran across the grass, trying to get to Blues as fast as he could. However, he noticed something that made him stop in his tracks. An old man was holding on to a box tightly as a much younger man tried to pry it away from him.
The old man seemed to be in his late 60s, with a full, thick gray beard, very visible wrinkles across his face, and dark blue eyes. The younger man seemed to be about 25, with a scar on his cheek, and brown eyes. Saiku took a look and knew what he had to do.
"Hey you!" Saiku yelled, running up to the two, "Leave that man alone!" The mugger turned to Saiku, a giant smirk appearing on his face.
"Don't try to play the hero, kid," he chuckled, "You may get hurt. All I want are the rare cards this man has." Saiku growled, clenching his fist and settling into a fighting stance. One of the male's eyebrows rose. Just where did this snot learn Muay Thai?
"Back off. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you push me…" he scowled. To his surprise, the man chuckled.
"Look, kid… You don't wanna pick a fight with someone twice your age… But you got spunk. So, how about a little wager?"
"A wager…?" Saiku blinked, going back to a full stand.
"Sure! You kids are all about wanting to settle things with duels… so, how about this? You beat me in a duel, and I'll not only leave…" his smirk grew. "But I'll also give you my rarest card."
"Deal," Saiku replied, his expression set while he strapped on his Duel Disk, shuffling his cards. "And the same rules apply to me. If you win, you'll get my rarest card."
"Heh, you really are something else…" the man said, copying Saiku's movements. "Mind giving me your name for the record books, kid?"
"Don't see why I should be formal with a thief…" Saiku scowled, locking his deck into his disk.
The mugger let out a low whistle. Damn, this kid was serious about protecting the old man… This was going to be fun.
"Well, if you wanna play it that way… But I'll give you my name, just so you have a name with the face of the man who has your rarest card in the future. Coran Vance."
"Saiku," the redhead muttered. "Just so you know who stopped you."

Saiku Kamezooka vs. Coran Vance
Saiku: 4000
Coran: 4000

"I'll go first!" Coran proclaimed. "I summon Luster Dragon (Attack:1900/Defense:1600)!" A pillar of light shot up from the field for a few seconds as the creature made its entrance. Once the light died down, Luster Dragon was shown in all its glory. Its scales glimmered and shone like gemstones. The center of its chest was made of rocks, strangely enough. Its teeth were open in a feral grin, the tusks sticking out by the sides catching the light. Its glowing red eyes seemed to eye Saiku like a bear would eye a rabbit. Its wings, if they could be called that seeing how they were nothing more than two large bones curving like scythes, flapped once or twice.
"I then set a card facedown and end my turn." Saiku smirked as he saw the dragon.
"A Dragon deck, huh? I have the perfect card for that... if I draw it in time..." Saiku thought as he drew his card. He looked at it, and sadly, it wasn't the card he wanted. However, there was one card he had that could help...
"What, losing hope already?" Coran taunted. Saiku just rolled his eyes.
"I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (Attack:1600/Defense:1000)!" Saiku called out. In a flash, a figure that looked somewhat similar to Dark Magician appeared. However, it was similar in silhouette only, as its many pieces of thin crimson armor shone in the sun. He held a small, red and gold shield in his left hand. It was very ornate with crisscrossing lines of gold in the red, but a sapphire rested in the center. His deep red cape hung down to his knees, unaffected by the wind blowing through. He leveled the sword in his right hand, staring down at Luster Dragon. "Now that he's summoned, I can place on spell counter on him, increasing his attack to 1900!"
"A Spellcaster deck?" Coran said with a laugh.
"Not exactly," Saiku replied with a smirk. "I place one card face down and end my turn." Coran drew his card, and a wide grin appeared on his face.
"I set one monster card facedown and set one card. With that, I end my turn." Two giant cards materialized onto the field. Saiku considered his options as he drew his new card. The facedown monster was probably a trap. It either had a flip effect, or that spell or trap card would do something. Well, at least his new card would help him out if something bad happened.
"I summon Defender, the Magical Knight (Attack:1600/Defense:2000) in defense position!" Saiku smiled as he called this out. The blue and gold knight appeared besides its comrade, placing his oversized shield in front of himself. "Now I can place a spell counter as on him as well, and I place a card facedown. Now, Breaker, attack the facedown card!"
Breaker charged at the facedown, his sword poised to slice it right down the middle. However, as Saiku guessed, that facedown in the Trap and Spell Zone was there for a reason.
"I activate the trap Negate Attack!" Coran shouted. "I can negate your attack and end your battle phase!" Breaker's sword was stopped inches from the card. He then leapt back to his original spot.
"Alright, fine. I end my turn."
"Prepare for your end!" Coran shouted after drawing a new card. "I tribute my Luster Dragon and my facedown Dragon Dwelling in the Cave to summon Red Eyes Black Dragon (Attack: 2400/ Defense: 2000)!" The two monsters were eaten up in a vortex, and replaced with a much scarier dragon. True to its name, the dragon had bright red eyes, offset by huge plates of gleaming black scales. Unlike Luster Dragon, this thing had real wings, which would have kicked up a storm if it were real.
"Hold up! I activate my trap, Threatening Roar!" Saiku yelled. "You can't conduct your battle phase this turn!"
"Heh, you wasted that trap for sure. I end my turn," Coran said. Saiku drew his card and sighed. Still not the card he wanted. However, Defender's ability would let him save a Spellcaster from destruction, so that was good.
"I place a monster card face down and switch my Breaker to defense position," Saiku said. "And with that, I end my turn." Coran began to laugh as he drew his next card.
"Alright kid, time for the big guns!" Coran claimed as he placed a card on his Duel Disk. "I sacrifice my Red Eyes to bring out a dragon that would make a Blue Eyes feel fear! I summon Strong Wind Dragon (Attack: 2400/Defense: 1000)!" Out of the resulting flash was a completely different beast than Red Eyes. It stood up more on its back legs, and every inch of its body was packed with rippling muscles and bulging veins. Its wings looked odd as well, looking like someone took a wing skeleton and filled the gaps with green curtains. With the glowing yellow eyes and long pointy ears, it was the most unusual thing Saiku had seen.
"Strong Wind Dragon? I've never heard of that. However, it has the same attack as Red Eyes... what was the point of that?" Saiku asked, trying to hide his admiration of this dragon.
"Strong Wind has a special effect! If it was summoned by tributing a Dragon-Type, it gains attack equal to half of the dragon used to summon it! And since Red Eyes had twenty-four-hundred attack...,"
"Strong Wind gains twelve-hundred attack points?!" Saiku cried out in fear as the dragon's strength increased from 2400 to 3600.
"That's right! Now Strong Wind Dragon, attack his facedown!" Coran cried as Strong Wind dove at the facedown. "Oh, and by the way, if Strong Wind's attack is more than the defending monster's defense, the difference is dealt as damage to you!"
"Piercing damage?!" Saiku cried. 'Oh man... my facedown is Nimble Momonga... it only has one-hundred defense!'
Strong Wind Dragon made impact with the card. First, a gold halo of light surrounded the card. Saiku could only watch as a translucent form of the flying-squirrel creature shrieked before shattering in pieces of gold light. His expression morphed into one of panic as his life points fell drastically.

Saiku: 500
Coran: 4000

From its position on Coran's side of the field, Strong Wind Dragon gave a mighty roar of triumph. Its wings flapped viciously, enough to create a tornado had it not been a hologram. Saiku growled at Coran's haughty face. He may have had the advantage, but he didn't have to rub it in! He wasn't completely helpless!
"Nimble Momonga's effect now activates!" Saiku shouted. "Because it was destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I gain one-thousand lifepoints!" Coran's grin faltered slightly as Saiku's lifepoints went back up.

Saiku: 1500
Coran: 4000

"And now I can set two of them onto the field! Of course, my deck is shuffled afterwards." Two more facedown cards appeared in front of Saiku as his deck was shuffled by the Duel Disk. Coran's grin came back even bigger than before.
"You just created two more prime targets for my Strong Wind Dragon!" he laughed. "You're lucky I can't attack again. I end my turn!" Saiku resisted the urge to gulp.
'Damn it, There's no way I'll survive another attack. I need that card!' Saiku thought.
Saiku reached for his top card, hand shaking. If he didn't get the card he needed this turn, he was royally screwed! He looked at his Duel Disk. 'I can't give any of you guys up! Give me something I can use, or we're done for!'
"Heheh. Feeling the heat, kid?" Coran chuckled.
'Deck... don't fail me now!' he mentally pleaded. "I draw!" he yelled as he pulled out his card. His arm trembled slightly. Saiku didn't want to show it, but he was nervous now.
"C'mon, kid! Take a look so I can see how you look in defeat!"
Saiku growled lowly. He wouldn't be goaded by his taunting. Gulping quietly, he slowly turned it over…
"…!" This was it! This could turn everything around!
[/spoiler]

[King K. Azo]

[spoiler= Chapter 2: Every Dragon's Nightmare]

Saiku's face broke out to a huge grin as he took a look at what he held. It may have not been the card he wanted, but this card was a huge help!

"End your turn so I can finish you!" Coran yelled.

"I will, right after I do this!" Saiku slapped the card onto his Duel Disk. "I activate the spell card Swords of Revealing Lights!" Golden lights in the shape of swords suddenly fell from the sky and surrounded Strong Wind Dragon, pinning it in place. "You probably already know what this card does. For your next three turns, you can't attack! And with that, I end my turn!"

Coran growled as he reached for his card. This was starting to get annoying. He drew his card and snarled. It wasn't anything he could use to destroy that Swords of Revealing Lights, but it was a nice backup plan, just in case this kid managed to get a powerful monster out.

"I set one card and end my turn," Coran said.

Swords' effect time left: 3 turns.

Saiku drew his card, and he let out a gasp. It was the card he need!

"I tribute my two facedown Nimble Momongas to summon every dragon's worst nightmare! I summon Buster Blader (Attack: 2600/Defense: 2300)!" Saiku nearly cheered.

A large man in shining black armor emerged from the holographic dust of the tributes. The sun gleamed off the several spikes and the golden designs on the metallic suit, throwing the rest of his body into shadow. In his hands was a massive sword offset with gold and sapphire, looking absolutely sharp from the spike on the top to the tips of the handle. He lifted up his head, his beady red eyes almost seeming to glow like the emerald in the middle of his forehead as he stared down Strong Wind Dragon. He swung the massive blade a few times before leveling the blade at the dragon's head.

"I activate my trap, Adhesive Trap Hole!" Coran shouted. "This one time only, the monster you summoned has its attack and defense halved!"

"What?!" Saiku yelled as he watched his Buster Blader fall to one knee as his attack lowered (Attack: 1300/Defense: 1150). The knight then slowly got back up to his feet. Saiku shook his head. "Well, Buster Blader gets five-hundred attack points for every Dragon-Type on your side of the field and your graveyard, and since you have three in the graveyard and one on the field, Buster Blader gains two-thousand attack points (1300+2000= 3300)!"

"That's still not enough! And if you think I'm stupid enough to summon another dragon, you're dead wrong!"

Saiku smirked. He had a plan for this, but he would wait it out until Swords of Revealing Light nearly ended. "I end my turn!" Saiku yelled. Coran drew and looked at his card. It wasn't anything he could use.

"I end my turn," Coran said.

Swords' effect time left: 2 turns.

Saiku drew his card. This one was promising.

"I activate the spell Pot of Greed!" He showed his card before slapping it into the Duel Disk. "I can now draw two more cards!" The orange haired duelist pulled out the cards and took a look. Now this would work out just fine! "I summon Magician's Valkyria in attack position (Attack: 1600/Defense: 1800)!"

A young girl rose up in a flash of light. She wore a light blue-green dress that stopped right above her hips. She had matching elbow length gloves and pointy hat. Her brown hair flowed down her back, and her blue eyes stared at Strong Wind, almost confused why she was here. She looked over to her allies, and Breaker shrugged.

All these little motions were missed by the two duelists as they were glaring at each other.

"What's that supposed to do?" Coran nearly laughed. How did one more weak monster help? Saiku grinned as he thrust his hand forward and pointed at Coran.

"Magician's Valkyria is only the first step. Thanks to Pot of Greed, I drew this! Ookazi!" Saiku grinned. Coran covered his eyes as a holographic fireball engulfed his body, shaking his head to clear the spots and pop his ears.

"I swear, I need to take the sound effects out of this thing…" he half-whined. Despite feeling giddy at his impending victory, he couldn't help but take a split second to agree.

Coran: 3200

Saiku: 1500

Saiku grinned as he started to shout out commands. "Now, Buster Blader! Attack his Strong Wind!" The black knight charged at the muscular dragon with heavy steps, sword glinting dangerously.

"Hah! What's your deal, kid? Trying to lose or something?" Coran laughed. "Your little knight is still too weak!"

"Now I activate my facedown Spell Card Rush Recklessly on Buster Blader! Thanks to this, he gets 700 more attack points (3300+700= 4000)!" The second his attack went up, Buster Blader let out a roar, his speed increasing as he was surrounded in a violent, flickering white aura.

"Shit…" Coran muttered as he watched Buster Blader's charge. The knight leapt into the air and swung his oversized sword, slicing the opposing dragon in half and causing it to explode into holographic dust.

Coran: 2800

Saiku: 1500

"Now, Breaker! Direct attack!" The red clad magician dashed forward, his impressive speed catching Coran off guard, quickly unsheathing his sword and slashing Coran. The wannabe-mugger winced as the blade phased through his torso, physiologically reacting with a tingling sensation. Saiku winced as well. "Never get used to it, do ya?"

"Nope," Coran shook his head, scowling at Saiku's expression.

Coran: 900

Saiku: 1500

"Magician's Valkyria! Finish this duel with a direct attack!" The young magician closed her eyes and began to hum, her entire form glowing with multicolored light. A soft, resonant buzz began to emit form the tip of her staff as it began to shine, the glowing edge aimed at Coran's body. The mugger's eyes squinted at the brightness as it began to coalesce into a bright white ball, sparking with multicolored lights and haloed by a gold aura. With a fierce cry, the light shot out in a small beam and impacted Coran in a flash, effectively reducing his life points to zero.

Coran shook his head as the holograms faded away. The thought that he lost to a kid of all people was rather unsettling…

"I can't believe this… losing to a snot-nosed kid… Whatever, a deal's a deal. Looks like I won't be getting any rare cards today…" He walked over and handed Saiku the Strong Wind Dragon card. "There. My rarest card, as promised. Enjoy it. And by all means, allow this victory to go to your head." The mugger turned and walked off, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Saiku took a quick glance at his card before inserting into his deck and putting the cards away.

He then turned to the old man.

"Are you alright, sir?" he asked politely.

"Don't worry about me, sonny," the old man replied. "I may be old, but I still have some spunk!" He let out a jolly laugh before gaining a serious look and stared into Saiku's eyes, almost like he was searching for something. Before long, it started to make the orange-haired boy very uncomfortable; it was almost like the guy was staring into his soul or something!

"W-Well, I'm glad you're okay, but I should be going." Saiku shook his head slightly and turned to leave.

"Wait!" the old man called out. "I feel like I should reward you for risking your rarest card for me." He held out the box. "Take it, as a gift from me to you."

"No, I can't take that," Saiku said as he shoved it back toward the old man's chest. "It seems important to you."

"Oh, but you're the one who this box is meant for," the old man countered as he shoved it so hard in Saiku's arms that the orange haired duelist stumbled back a few inches.

"Well, okay then… Thanks," Saiku replied as he looked down at the box. "Wait a minute, what do you mean meant for—" He glanced up and realized the old man was gone. "What the—? Where'd he go?" Saiku blinked as he looked around for any sign of the old man, but there wasn't a trace of evidence that he was even there.

Saiku looked back down at the—his—box, thoughts of confusion running through his head. Casting them aside for the moment, he turned and headed for home. His sister would be home in about three hours, so he could look through the box then.

Saiku opened the door of his house and dashed for the stairs. He could hear his mom cooking in the kitchen, so he could have some privacy for an hour or so.

Quickly shutting his door and tossing the box onto the bed, he began to think about this situation. He just dueled some random mugger who had some card he never heard of before, and he was pretty well informed of Duel Monsters cards. Then some old man he never met before in his life gave him a box that was supposedly for him. As Wade would put it, this smelled fishier than a Japanese fish market.

Saiku shook his head. He was overreacting. What was the worst thing it could be?

"It could be a bomb!" Saiku's inner Wade screamed out in his head. Ignoring the voice, he opened up the box and received the shock of his life. Inside the box were six cards, all neatly lined up by each other. Saiku picked up the two cards on the far left.

"Silent Magician and Silent Swordsman?!" he gasped. He though these were one of a kind cards that only Yugi Muto had! After the shock slightly faded, Saiku realized there were some differences between these and Yugi's. Yugi's Silent Magician was called 'Silent Magician Lv. 0,' and was clothed in a red and black robe. The one he was holding was called 'Silent Magician Lv. 4,' and was dressed in a white and blue robe.

The Silent Swordsman was different as well. The card he was holding was 'Silent Swordsman Lv. 3' while Yugi's was 'Lv. 0.' Plus, this monster had green skin, but Yugi's monster had normal colored skin. The orange haired duelist glanced over to the other cards in the box and realized he didn't just get the Silents. He also received their powered-up forms. Silent Magician only had one, which was 'Lv. 8.' It was a drastic change from 'Lv. 4.' The magician was tall and sleek, and her hair was longer than her smaller form's.

Silent Swordsman had two powered-up forms, labeled 'Lv. 5' and 'Lv. 7.' 'Lv. 5' reminded Saiku of a teenager, and he carried a sword that rivaled Buster Blader's in size. 'Lv. 7' was even taller, looking more like an adult. His sword was ridiculously large, making Buster Blader's look like a toothpick. The final card in the box was a Spell Card called 'Level Up!'

Saiku blinked as he looked at his cards. "Did I just basically receive the most powerful magician in Duel Monsters and a spell destroyer in one box?" he wondered to himself. Well, there was only one thing to do now. Dashing over to his closet, he grabbed a book filled with all the cards he owned and began to look over them. "Hmm… The 'Gift of Greed' trap card could help a lot…" He strategized as he flipped through the pages, looking for cards for his revised deck.

His thoughts were so filled with potential combinations that he lost track of the time, and three hours soon flew by.

"Saiku!" his mother called. "Jessica's home!"

Saiku's head snapped toward his clock.

"Oh man… Alright! I'll be down in a few minutes!" Saiku responded as he began to put away his cards. He made sure to insert his new cards into his deck before placing it on his desk. He then quickly ran downstairs. As soon as his feet touched the floor, Saiku was tackled by a pink blur.

"Big brother!" the blur cried out in joy. Saiku looked down at the little girl who was now hugging him tightly. Her big green eyes focused on his blue ones as she waited for a response.

"Hey Jessica," Saiku greeted as he hugged her back. Jessica then pulled away, brushing back her dark brown hair and fixing her bright pink shirt.

"Kids, dinner's ready," Sari said as she walked into the room, giggling at the two of them.

"Yay!" Jessica cried as she leapt up and ran into the kitchen. Saiku chuckled before picking himself up and following his hyper little sister. The two sat at the table and began to eat.

"So, how was your two days at Grandma's?" Sari asked.

"Oh they were fun! We made cookies, and went to the woods and saw some deer! They even had a cute little baby deer!" Jessica gushed. Her eyes practically had twinkles in them.

"I see… You did pay attention in school and did your homework, right?"

"Yep! And I got into a duel at school! It was hard… I almost lost, but then I got a direct attack with Kuriboh and I won!" Jessica explained with a smile. Saiku stopped twirling his spaghetti and stared at Jessica.

"Sorry, I musta turned crazier than Wade for two seconds. I thought you said that you actually won a duel by attacking with Kuriboh." He knew Jessica wasn't one to make up stories, but that sounded just a little too good to be true.

"I did!" the dark-haired girl insisted, crossing her arms with a defiant stare. Saiku resisted the urge to flinch. He knew that look. There was so much conviction in that expression that it just screamed: 'Try and say I'm lying! Go ahead!'

"Okay, then one of three things happened. Either you got EXTREMELY lucky, your opponent SUCKED, or you're just an AMAZING duelist." Jessica's smile went slightly lopsided at that. While she hoped it was the last, the two former could have been true. Luck was all well and good, but what would her friends think if she just got by being lucky or that her victory was assured because her opponent was weak?

"Maybe it's all three," Sari spoke up. "After all, luck is always in the game. That is what your father says, right? And if your opponent 'sucked,' I think that just means you're more amazing than normal."

Saiku crossed his arms with a playful huff, but couldn't ignore his mom's words of wisdom. He had to wonder why she never picked up the game. Of course, considering she was the breadwinner of the family, she probably didn't have the time….

'She'd be a great duelist with that mindset, though,' Saiku thought with a wistful grin. 'Oh crap, food's getting cold!' Saiku quickly dug into his spaghetti, letting all thoughts of cards drift out of his mind to enjoy the simple pleasure in front of him.

Saiku sighed as he sat at the computer and opened up the internet. Hopefully this time his father wrote something. He opened his e-mail account and then started to grin.

"Mom! Jessica! Dad e-mailed us!" he called. The two females rushed over to the computer and gathered around the screen.

"Oh, what did he say? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Jessica bounced up and down as she waited for Saiku to read it. Sari just smiled as she put a hand on Jessica's shoulder to calm her down.

"Dear family," Saiku began. "I have some great news! Not only have I been invited to the World Championship this year, but..." Saiku's voice began to trail off.

"What? What is it?" Sari asked, a bit concerned.

"Limerick has also been invited," Saiku muttered, getting up from his seat. His twin brother was invited to the World Championship?! Just how much better of a duelist was he?! First, their dad took him to Japan to break into the world of dueling, and now this?!

"Brother…?" Jessica looked at him with a worried expression.

"I'm going to bed. Good night," he said as he climbed the stairs.

Inside his room, he began to get ready for bed. At least he could get away from his worries there. When he got to his bed, he noticed something strange.

"Huh?" He stared at the Silent Magician Lv. 4 card on his pillow. "I could swear I put that in my deck." He shook his head as he reached to pick it up. As soon as he grabbed it, a soft voice emanated from somewhere in the room.

"Onii-chan," the voice called out. Saiku's head jerked around as he looked for anyone in the room. Why did he hear someone call out 'big brother' in Japanese? 'Jessica...?' No. It sounded similar to Jessica's voice, but Jessica didn't know Japanese... So who was that? "Must be going nuts from hanging around Wade so much," he muttered, scratching the back of his head as he put the card in his deck. With a huge yawn, he lay in his bed and fell asleep.

On the other side of the world, the creator of Duel Monsters was reading a manga, chuckling as he did so. Soon, though, one of his henchmen burst through the door.

"Pegasus-sama!" he called out, only to receive a sharp glare in return.

"I told you never to interrupt me while I'm reading," Pegasus said coolly.

"S-Sorry, Pegasus-sama," the henchman stuttered, "but you told us to tell you when Takashuki-san reported to us."

"Oh, Yoshi-kun finally found a worthy recipient for the cards, did he?" Pegasus' reply was cheerful.

"Yes sir," the henchman breathed out in a sigh of relief. "He said they were given to a… Saiku Kamezooka."

Pegasus stroked his chin in thought.

"Kamezooka, is it? Sounds vaguely familiar. Well then, let's keep some tabs on this boy and see if Yoshi-kun's choice was a good one."

"Yes, Pegasus-sama." The henchman walked out, leaving Pegasus to lean back in his chair and resume reading.

"Well, Kamezooka-kun," he said to himself, "let's see where fate takes you."
[/spoiler]

[King K. Azo]

[spoiler= Chapter 3: Playing with Fire]

Opening his eyes, Saiku noticed something was very wrong. The world around was gone! Surrounding him was nothing but an empty black void. There didn't even seem to be a floor, yet something was below him, supporting his weight. He spun around, looking for any sign that there was anything other than him here. Strangely enough, he could see his hand in front of his face, even though there was no light coming from anywhere.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" Saiku called out.

"I can hear you, Onii-chan…" a voice echoed. Saiku couldn't pinpoint the location of the voice. It seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"…You're not the same voice I heard earlier…" No, this voice was different. This voice sounded like a boy who was in his rebellious stage, trying to sound gruff and tough. It was almost funny to the teen.

"Heh, you can tell the difference between us… That's good." The voice sounded happy at that.

"Who are you?" The orange-haired duelist was starting to get impatient. Needless to say, after the incident with the e-mail, and then finding one of his cards out of place, this little event was starting to wear on his nerves. He wanted some answers!

"Sorry, Onii-chan… But I'm not allowed to tell. Not yet."

Saiku groaned. That was not the answer he wanted…

"So when can you tell me?!" Saiku practically screamed. He didn't want to sound angry, but when he got impatient, it took less and less to irk him. The voice was silent for a few minutes before replying.

"I dunno," it spoke back sheepishly. Saiku shook his head. This wasn't getting him anywhere…. Saiku took in a deep breath. He didn't want to make the kid upset by yelling up a storm. It wasn't the guy's fault anyway.

"Then how do I get out of here?" As far as he could tell, there was nothing else in this void.

"Oh, you should be waking up soon. I really don't know. You seem like a heavy sleeper…"

Saiku groaned as the words sunk in. "Another dream. Just great." Of course it would be nothing more than a dream. Well, he couldn't say that. This was the weirdest dream he'd had in years. No way was it 'nothing more.' His hand met his face… And it seemed to sting a lot more than it should have in a simple dream…

Saiku woke up to a stinging face. At first he wondered why, but then he felt his hand directly over the stinging section. He groaned once more. He had actually facepalmed himself in the dream AND in real life… Oh, if Wade were here…

'Can this morning get any weirder?' he wondered to himself as he looked at the other side of his bed. As if the universe was answering 'yes it can,' Saiku's morning became stranger. On his pillow was his 'Silent Swordsman Lv. 3' card. He reached over and picked it up, looking at it. "Okay, I KNOW I put that in my deck last night," he said to no one in particular.

This couldn't have been a prank from Jessica… She was still sleeping, plus she didn't even know about his new Silent Swordsman. Well, it didn't matter too much in the end, so he dropped the thought and got up, putting the card back in his deck before getting ready for the day.

After going through his morning routine, he rushed down the stairs. After all, last thing he wanted to do was start the day off without breakfast. As he sat down at the table, his mother came up to him.

"Saiku, I was called by your grandmother. I have to go. Can you take your sister to school for me?"

"Sure, Mom." Saiku then dug into his breakfast. Jessica came down not too long after and sat by him before starting to eat her cereal. "Hey, Jessica, I'm taking you to school today, alright?"

Jessica's face lit up almost instantly. "Really? Cool!" After that, she started to devour her cereal with gusto. Saiku chuckled as he finished. He knew the real reason why she wanted to go with him.

"Well, c'mon," he said as he got up from the table. "Don't wanna be late." Jessica got up and bound to Saiku's side.

"C'mon, bro! Let's get going!" she said, tugging on his arm. Saiku stumbled as he was practically dragged out the door.

"Dang, Jessica, you must really want to see Blues," Saiku teased. Jessica chose to ignore that comment, but a small blush did appear on her face.

After what seemed like an eternity to Jessica, the two made it to the spot where Saiku usually met up with Blues and Wade. The orange-haired teen had no complaints about the longer walk, but it was a lot nicer yesterday when they met up just across the street from his house. As he expected, the duo was waiting for them.

"Blues! Hiya!" Jessica called out as she unlatched from Saiku's arm and ran over to latch onto Blues'.

"What? No hello for me?" Wade asked. Jessica just stuck her tongue out at the crazy kid.

"I think she's still mad about last time," Saiku answered.

"Hey, don't be mad because I train Pokémon better…" the black haired teen muttered as the group began to walk. The silence didn't last long, as like all little kids, Jessica had something to talk about. And she couldn't keep it locked up.

"So Blues, guess what? I won a duel yesterday!" Jessica boasted. Blues gave her a grin. He knew Jessica, like most kids her age, was only a novice, so victories were a treat.

"Really now?"

"Yup! I did a direct attack with Kuriboh!" Blues cocked an eyebrow as he processed this information.

"You won a duel with Kuriboh?" he asked, his voice filled with disbelief. There was just no way!

"That's what I said!" Saiku butted in.

"It's the truth!" Jessica pouted. Honestly, why was that so hard to believe?

"Well, good job," Blues congratulated, patting her on the head. The small gesture nonetheless caused her to blush a bright red.

"That's nothing compared to how I beat your Empoleon with my Charmander!" Wade cut in. This comment turned Jessica's blush from one of childish embarrassment to indignant rage.

"How did you do that?!" she demanded, pointing a finger at Wade with a challenging glare. "That should be impossible!"

Unperturbed, Wade chuckled. "Impossible's my middle name. Literally. My name is Wade Impossible Silson. And as for beating your Empoleon, I did a bunch of EV training while you foolishly rushed your Pokémon's evolution. I can't wait to show you how strong it'll be as a Charizard!"

Jessica stuck her tongue out again, which Wade copied.

"Would you two stop? You're acting like a bunch of two year olds," Saiku tried to reprimand.

"That's nothing new for Wade," Jessica shot. Clearly, her method didn't work. Wade laughed.

"Oh, big talk for a girl that just got out of diapers," he teased. Jessica's face instantly heated up with rage.

"Excuse me?! I've been potty trained for years!" she screamed. Blues shook his head.

"Enough you two. This constant bickering has got to stop," he spoke calmly. If there was one thing he knew, Jessica would listen to him at least a little more. The young brunette nodded in response, proving his idea. Wade, on the other hand, just shrugged.

"I'll try, but teasing Jessica is more fun than punting squirrels!" He then rubbed his hands together. "Speaking of which..."

"Hey, look at that! We're here, sis!" Saiku spoke up loudly, distracting them. The three others blinked, and sure enough, they were right in front of the sidewalk going to Jessica's school.

"Alright! Bye big brother! Bye Blues!" Jessica called as she ran for the school doors.

"What? No goodbye for the Pokemaster? Sheesh, talk about holding a grudge," Wade grumbled. Saiku patted him on the back.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll forgive you if she beats you," Saiku explained.

Wade laughed at the notion. "Me? Lose to a novice like her? Impossible!" He kept laughing as he walked away. Saiku and Blues followed, both chuckling as they did. They made their way around several corners, taking a different path compared to yesterday. Thankfully, they'd walked this path many times as well, so getting lost was nearly impossible.

As the group neared the school, a voice called out to them.

"Hold it right there, Blues Hikari!" The group turned to see Kazuma standing there with some other girls standing behind her. One of her hands was on her hip, and the look in her eyes showed that she meant business.

"So who's the chick?" Wade asked. "And why does she look ready to shoot us so she can go on a date with Blues?" Clearly, the question was open-ended, not directed at anyone.

"It's Kazuma. Y'know, the really popular girl," Blues explained. "She wanted to go on a date with me tomorrow, but I refused. I already have an appointment."

"Oh. Didn't take it well, huh?" Saiku commented.

"Do they ever?" Blues countered. Kazuma growled as she watched the three.

"Don't ignore me!" she yelled. "Blues Hikari, I challenge you to a duel!" Wade abruptly face-faulted.

"Oh, c'moooooooon! I thought the popular chicks were all about new trends and calling everything 'so five minutes ago' or something!" he whined, tears comically streaming from his eyes. "Why why why has she fallen under the spell, too, huh?!"

Kazuma deadpanned, completely losing her train of thought. 'Silson? Really? What is up with that guy? Talk about stereotyping!' She shook her head. "Anyway… If I win, you must take me out on that date! But if you win, I'll stop bugging you about it."

Blues sighed. "Deal," he replied as he turned to walk away. Kazuma was in the process of strapping on her Duel Disk when she saw him walking.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" Seriously, first he said he'd duel, but then he just walks away? Who does that?!

"School starts in five minutes. I'll duel you afterwards."

Kazuma blinked before looking at her watch, yelping in shock.

"Oh, man! We gotta move!" With that, the group of females barreled ahead, obviously not wanting to put tardiness on their records. Saiku laughed at their rushed behavior as they trailed behind. Soon enough, they entered the school, getting ready for another tedious workday.

Later in the day, Saiku met up with Blues and Wade in the hallway, getting ready to head for lunch. Blues had a slightly unnerved look on his face, as he always did around this time. Shaking his head, he led the way to the cafeteria. He plucked out a set of earplugs for each of them, and Blues and Wade took theirs in a fraction of a second. Saiku then put in his own, pushing open what Wade called 'The Gates of Hell.'

The three walked in silence for all of three seconds, then it happened. Although they could barely hear it, one of the many females in the room shouted.

"Omigod it's Blues! Blues is here!"

With that, a chorus of excited shrieks exploded from all areas. The trio cringed as their earplugs were overpowered just enough by the volume of screams. Blues shook his head in exasperation as they tried to make their way through, but as usual, girls swarmed them from all sides trying to get close to him. Saiku and Wade did their best to act as bodyguards, but it wasn't easy.

Wade then stopped, causing the other two to halt and look at him. They could see him sniff the air for a few seconds, and just like someone flipping a switch, his expression morphed into a beaming grin.

"OH YEAH! TACO DAY, BABY! MOVE IT!" With that, Wade barreled his way through the throngs of fangirls, knocking them aside. Saiku and Blade broke out into grins of their own, as Wade's rampage left a fantastic opening they quickly took advantage of. Once they got in line for the tacos, they were in Wade's 'Safe Haven.' Thankfully, numerous faculty members watched the line to keep anyone from skipping. The rest of the room only had a few personnel, which was why the mob always occurred. Of course, Wade thought it a ploy so everyone could enjoy their torture.

Now that they were in the safe zone, they took out their earplugs. They cringed as the intial shrieking hit their ears, but it wasn't deafening, like that one time a new teacher wanted to see how good he was in a duel. Between the fangirls cheering and Wade ranting, Blues and Saiku wondered how they still had their hearing.

"Thanks, Wade. You make a nice battering ram," Saiku spoke up, earning chuckles from the teachers watching the line. Wade simply ignored him, looking over the line as he waited to get his taco. It wasn't long before the three got their meal and quickly found a seat, insisting on having two teachers help them barricade Blues until then. Thankfully, a table had a section open, and they took it.

Upon sitting down, Blues sweatdropped as he could feel all his fangirls wanting to watch him eat. 'Talk about disturbing... Don't they have anything better to do...?' he mentally whined. He wished he could do that in real life, but knowing his 'posse,' they'd probably just find it cute. 'Ugh...' As it was, several of the girls had made a large ring around their section, all of them pushing against each other as they tried to get close to Blues.

Saiku shook his head as he took in the display the fangirls were creating.

"Sheesh, how are you still alive?" he asked Blues.

"Yeah, either the fangirls rip you apart trying to get you, or the boys kill you out of jealousy!" Wade yelled. Blues shrugged.

"Just lucky, I guess," he replied as he started to eat.

Seeing as how Blues was busy eating, Wade decided to strike up a conversation with Saiku. "So what did you do yesterday?" he asked. He always liked hearing what went on when he wasn't around. Usually it was the same thing, but it helped him to be in-the-know.

"Well... I saved an old guy from a mugger," Saiku replied. Wade's face lit up. Maybe...

"Did you use the Muay Thai I taught you?" His voice was hopeful and excited, which made it all the more crushing when he got his reply.

"I was about to, but he made an offer that I couldn't refuse. He said he'd back off if I beat him in a duel. So I did." Saiku answered with a shrug. "Made things a lot easier."

Wade slammed his head against the table as he heard those words. "What the flying duck?! I teach this kid the second most deadly martial art in the world, and he does a stupid duel?! What is this freaking world coming to?!"

Blues sighed, ignoring the other half of his taco to reply. "Wade, while I can agree not all problems should be solved by dueling, they shouldn't be solved by putting someone's life at risk either. It all depends on the circumstances. Now shut up and eat your taco before it gets cold. Because then we'll have to listen to you complain about 'no reheating services in this lunchroom' for the thirty-third time."

Saiku covered his mouth as he tried to hold in his laughter. Wade was trying to level a deadpan glare at their brown-haired friend, but his gaping mouth from being put in his place and hearing Blues talk more than usual in one breath just ruined the effect.

Eventually, Wade sighed. "Yes, Mother..." With that, Blues resumed eating. Wade picked up and began to eat his taco, taking only seconds to start devouring it in fervor.

Saiku took a minute to stop looking like he was going to hack up a lung, and only barked out a few laughs in his efforts. He dug into his meal, enjoying one of the few foods that actually tasted good out of the usually mediocre menu. About the time he finished the food portion of his meal, he heard a loud burp come from Wade. The sound carried quite a distance, causing most of the fangirls to back up.

"Mmm... them's good tacos!" he laughed in an old man's accent. Saiku chuckled in between sips of his water, shaking his head at his friend's audacity. It was only a few minutes after that when the bell rang, causing all of the students to groan. "Aw man! I swear that bell always rings five minutes early just to torture us!"

Blues sighed, picking up his tray. "C'mon... We'd better get moving..."

With that, the three dumped their trays and exited the cafeteria, splitting up to go through the last of their day.

Once school let out a few hours later, Saiku and Wade were waiting by the steps. If there was one thing they liked, it was that the end of the day held more power over Blues' fangirls than he did. When that bell rang, they were the first ones to leave. Blues was free to take his time strolling through the hallways in one of his rare moments of peace, and always left about ten minutes after most of the kids were gone.

Soon enough, Saiku saw Blues come through the opened door. Sadly, though, he had to break the mood with a question.

"So, Blues... You have any idea where Kazuma is planning on dueling you?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. Blues, instead of frowning, simply looked from side to side. Neither Kazuma nor her group was anywhere in sight. "I mean... I thought she'd be waiting around..."

"Backtrack. Where's the one place Kazuma's seen me other than here at school?"

Wade scratched his head. "You honestly think she's waiting at the spot where she yelled at ya?"

To their surprise, he nodded firmly. "It's the only place she knows I go. C'mon."

Saiku and Wade shrugged as Blues led the way, heading down the streets they took that morning. Sure enough, after winding around two blocks, Kazuma was standing there with her arms crossed.

"Wow. Smart thinking, man!" Saiku praised. Blues said nothing as he reached behind him, pulling out his Duel Disk from his backpack and strapping it on.

"Alright, Kazuma. I'm here to take your challenge as I promised."

Kazuma grinned, strapping on her own Duel Disk before walking forward with her deck in hand. Blues wasted no time in swapping decks and shuffling Kazuma's expertly. Kazuma finished a few seconds after, and they returned the decks. Blues stood right where he was, prompting Kazuma to walk across the road. She turned around once she was directly across from him and stared him down. They each got out their seven cards and started.

"Duel!" the two shouted at once, causing the large hologram representing the field to flash for a split second.

Blues Hikari vs. Kazuma

Blues: 4000

Kazuma: 4000

"Because I'm such a cool person, I'll let you go first," Kazuma said. Blues rolled his eyes, although no one could really tell from behind those sunglasses.

"I activate the spell card Ancient Gear Castle!" With that, the ground was covered in a hologram, making it look like the courtyard of an old castle. The castle itself overtook the buildings, making a nice backdrop. "Now I summon Yellow Gadget in attack position (Attack: 1200/Defense: 1200)."

A small yellow robot rose from the ground, looking at Kazuma with the single eye in the center of its head. Half of a gear stuck out from both sides of its body. Its hands and feet were attached to its body by metal tubes.

"When I do that, not only can I place a counter on Ancient Gear Castle, but I can add one Green Gadget from my deck to my hand." Blues smirked as the Duel Disk pushed the card out from his deck for him. He placed it into his hand. "I then set two face-downs and end my turn!"

"Okay then, I draw!" Kazuma announced, drawing her card. "I summon Solar Flare Dragon (Attack: 1500/Defense: 1000)!"

A small snake-like dragon rose from a fire, roaring as it emerged. Its body, which was covered with flames, seemed to look like slightly hardened lava. It had large white horns on its head, which were pointed to the sky. Its green eyes narrowed as it roared at Yellow Gadget.

"Now Solar Flare, attack his Yellow Gadget!" The dragon roared and opened its mouth, gathering flames within it.

"I activate a trap, Draining Shield!" Blues called out. As Solar Flare Dragon fired its attack, a force field surrounded Yellow Gear and absorbed the attack. "I now gain life points equal to the attack points of your monster!"

Blues: 5500

Kazuma: 4000

Kazuma sighed as she watched this happen. Guess she'd have to give it her all for this duel.

"I set two cards face–down and end my turn. And with that…."

"Solar Flare Dragon's special ability activates, making me lose five-hundred life points," Blues finished.

Blues: 5000

Kazuma: 4000

"Um… yeah," Kazuma muttered, somewhat flustered.

"I draw!" Blues reached into his Duel Disk and drew. "I activate my trap A Rival Appears! I can select one monster on your side of the field and special summon a monster with an equal amount of stars. The monster I summon is Green Gadget in attack position (Attack: 1400/Defense: 600)!"

A green machine rose from the ground and stood by its partner. Unlike this monster, its torso was one giant gear surrounding a green sphere. Resting on the gear was a large green shape. The head was situated in the middle, and it had a small red eye. A gear was placed on each end of the shape to represent its shoulders. Two metal prongs attached the feet to the spherical torso.

Saiku was watching this match intensely until something he didn't expect to happen drew his attention.

"Wow, Onii-chan. That guy is a good duelist," the voice from last night suddenly said in his head.

"Yeah… I know," Saiku thought back. "Wait, what the heck?! Why am I hearing you in my head!?" He didn't know how he knew it was in his head unlike last night, but it was.

"Maybe you are crazy like that Wade person," the voice from his dream spoke up in a rather teasing manner. Whoever this kid was, he was obviously trying to act like someone five years older.

"Nii-san, don't tease Onii-chan like that," the girl muttered shyly. Saiku inwardly felt somewhat bad for her, if it wasn't for the fact that it was just a voice. Still…

"No offense you guys," Saiku cut in. "But can we bicker after this duel?"

"Whatever," the snarky-sounding one replied. Saiku turned his attention back to the duel. Blues seemed to have a smirk on his face as he tapped a card in his hand. It seemed this card would finish Kazuma for sure!

"I tribute my Yellow and Green Gadgets to summon Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon (Attack: 3000/Defense: 2000)!" Blues shouted as the two monsters were turned into dust, allowing the new one to rise.

Old metal and gears interlocked each other, forming the body of the large dragon. Its tail whipped around as it flapped its bony-looking wings to stay afloat. It then roared at Solar Flare Dragon and Kazuma before giving them a proud look.

"Oh, crap…" Kazuma muttered.

"Now, thanks to Ancient Gear Castle, my dragon here gains three-hundred attack points (Attack: 3300/Defense: 2000)." Blues' smirk widened slightly. "Now attack her Solar Flare Dragon!" Blues commanded. The robotic dragon then flew toward its target, jaws wide open.

"Hold on! I activate my trap Ultimate Offering!" Kazuma said with her own smirk. "By paying five-hundred life points, I can either set or summon an extra monster!"

"Nice try," Blues responded. "But when Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon attacks, you can't activate and spells or traps during the battle phase." The look of shock on Kazuma's face was worth this whole duel, Blues decided as his dragon shut its jaws around the fire dragon, turning it into holographic dust.

Blues: 5000

Kazuma: 2200

"Now, as I'm sure you don't know, since I tributed Yellow Gadget to summon this beast, he has another effect." Blues loved the eye twitch developing on Kazuma's face. "If he destroys a monster by battle, he inflicts another six-hundred points of damage to you."

Kazuma watched as the dragon roared before whirling around. Although the holographic tail did nothing as it phased through her body, she still flinched.

Blues: 5000

Kazuma: 1600

"I end my turn," Blues said, crossing his arms. Kazuma was seething with anger at this point. How could she be losing so badly this early in the duel?!

"I draw!" she yelled, pulling out her card. Her face lit up when she saw what it was. This could turn everything around! "I activate the spell Lightning Vortex!" she announced. "I discard one card, and all your face up monsters are destroyed!" Bolts of lightning fell from the sky and struck Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon, destroying it. "I now summon Fire Princess in attack mode (Attack: 1300/Defense: 1500)!"

A swirl of flames rose from the ground, gathering around each other before fading, revealing a monster that looked more human than anything Blues had seen. Surrounding her body was a long robe that glowed like orange flames. She had long hair that was like a brown-tinted blonde. It fell down to her waist, giving her a very elegant appearance. A thin ring surrounded her head, complete with an emerald in the center of her forehead. She held a staff that was made like a spiraling piece of wood, like an Olympic torch. In fact, Blues would have considered her quite pretty, if it wasn't for the sharp features on her face and the ironically cold fury in her eyes.

"Now, attack him directly!" The princess gathered flames in her hands and fired a stream of them at Blues, who flinched out of reflex.

Blues: 3700

Kazuma: 1600

Blues sighed as he drew his next card. This was getting troublesome.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn," he said, crossing his arms and waiting for Kazuma to make her next turn.

Saiku looked on as one of the kid-voices came through.

"Onii-chan… Is he gonna lose?" It was obviously the little girl, considering how shy she sounded.

"I don't think so. Blues could've used Ancient Gear Castle's effect to bring out a super powerful monster, but he didn't. I think he has something up his sleeve."

"Alright, I draw!" Kazuma smirked. "Now for my surprise! Marie the Fallen One gives me two-hundred life points during my standby phases. And because I gain life points, Fire Princess' ability activates. You lose five-hundred life points," the popular girl explained. Her smirk widened. This date was as good as hers!

Blues: 3200

Kazuma: 1800

"Hold on… Marie the Fallen One? She never played that card…" the male voice suddenly spoke, this one catching Saiku more off guard.

"She didn't have to. Marie the Fallen One works in the graveyard," Saiku spoke back. "That must've been the card she discarded for Lightning Vortex."

"Huh…" the voice faded away at that, as silently as he arrived.

"Now, Fire Princess, direct attack!" The monster was ready to launch her attack when Blues brought out the trick up his sleeve.

"I activate my trap Call of the Haunted! I can special summon one monster from the graveyard in attack position! Come on back, Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon!"

Kazuma gasped as the machine-dragon rose up from the ground like a zombie, roaring threateningly at her Flame Princess.

"Flame Princess, stop your attack!" The flames died in the monster's attack and she backed up to her original position. "I set one card face down and end my turn," she groaned, knowing full well that she probably would lose in the next turn. Blues' face broke out into a large smile as he drew what would be the last card he'd need.

"You did have the courage to duel me, so I'll honor that by not holding back!" he announced. "I use the spell card Fusion Sage, which allows me to add one Polymerization card from my deck to my hand!"

"Oh boy, looks like he's bringing out the big guns," Saiku chuckled.

"He's bringing out Super Robot Horsie Man!" Wade yelled.

"I now play my Polymerization! By fusing my Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon on the field with the Ancient Gear Golem and Ancient Gear Soldier in my hand, I can summon the ultimate robot! Come forth, Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem (Attack: 4400/Defense: 3400)!" The three monsters that Blues called out were taken into a vortex before being stretched and swirled around. In seconds, a new monster was formed out of their bodies. The upper torso looked almost like a robotic man's upper body, but the lower half resembled a horse body. The monster towered over everything around it, making it one fearsome sight. It then bucked on its hind legs, making it look even more intimidating. "And again, just for that extra kick, his attack increases thanks to Ancient Gear Castle (Attack: 4700/Defense: 3400)!" Blues stated. "Attack, Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem! Use your Ancient Wrath!" Blues commanded. The oversized robot centaur charged at Fire Princess, drawing back the said fist, which began to glow with a copper colored light.

"I activate—" Kazuma started, but Blues quickly interrupted.

"Not so fast!" he yelled. "You can't activate spells or traps when Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem attacks. You'll just have to watch the show." With a roar that sounded like grinding steel, the giant golem threw its oversized fist at the fiery princess, obliterating her and reducing Kazuma's life points to zero in a blinding flash of copper light.

Kazuma nearly cried as she fell to her knees, the holograms disappearing and the girls around her cheering.

"H-how could I lose?" she wondered. "How could he not want to go out with me?"

Blues sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, slightly raising his sunglasses. To the disappointment of the girls around him, his eyes were closed, so they couldn't look into them.

"Onii-chan, why is he acting like that?" the snarky voice asked.

'He's probably torn right now… While he's happy this duel is over, he hates seeing girls crying. You should see how he acts when his sister is about to cry,' Saiku answered back. He then paused for a few seconds. He was talking to two voices in his head like it was nothing at all. He mentally sighed, not wanting to draw attention to himself. 'I must be going crazier than I thought…'

Meanwhile, Blues closed the distance between himself and Kazuma. He then got down on a knee and offered his hand, to which he received a confused look.

"It's not that I don't want to go out with you," he explained. "I'm actually flattered that you wanted to go out with me. The thing is, I can't on the day you wanted to. Remember, I said I had important things I had to do. Well, if you need the details, my parents are leaving town for the weekend, and I have to watch my siblings. All ten of them. So I have to respectfully decline."

Kazuma wiped her eyes. "That's the only reason? It has nothing to do with me?"

"I swear it doesn't."

Kazuma accepted the hand and stumbled lightly as Blues helped her back up. He then turned around and walked to his friends as the girls left.

"Nice going, Casanova," Wade said as he patted Blues on the back. "You beat a girl at a child's card game and lost out on a date. Nice." Blues rolled his eyes as he turned to Saiku.

"So, what were you gonna do if she won?" the orangette asked.

"I didn't think about that. I wasn't gonna lose," Blues replied as he walked away. Wade chuckled as he followed.

"Overconfident much?" he asked. "Too bad that after all this, you'll probably get even more girls ogling over you like you're their knight in shining armor."

"More like knight in rusted armor, what with the deck he plays with," Saiku joked.

After fifteen minutes of walking down sidewalks and city blocks to head to their homes, Blues turned to Saiku. Even though the orange-haired duelist couldn't see his friend's eyes, he could tell that what was coming next was serious.

"During my duel," Blues began, "I could... hear voices... I don't know what they were saying, but they seemed to be addressing you." He glared from behind the sunglasses. "Anything you want to tell me?"

Saiku sighed in response. For some reason, all this craziness was making him feel numb. He didn't have the energy or sense to be nervous or shocked right now. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." It wasn't a complete lie. He really didn't know what was going on. Blues didn't seem convinced, but he thankfully dropped it and just kept walking. 'So, Blues heard the voices too, huh? Incredible... Either I'm not crazy and something's happening, or both of us are crazier than Wade...' He paused after that thought. 'Nah, it's definitely the first one.'

After a silent walk, the three got to their meeting spot and promptly said their goodbyes before heading their separate ways. As they left, only one thought went through Saiku's mind.

"I hope tomorrow isn't as crazy as today was..." he spoke out loud, seeing as no one was around.

"Don't bet on it," the snarky voice said suddenly, causing Saiku to facepalm.

"It's gonna be one of those weeks..."
[/spoiler]