Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!GX except for Fukugawa Nao. Credits go to Takahashi Kazuki and Director Tsuji Hatsuki. It is advisable for readers to know how to play the game. Because the setting takes place in an older generation, tuner monsters are considered effect monsters, and in Naturia archetype case, synchro monsters are ritual monsters with the archetype ritual magic card.

Chapter 2

Obelisk Royalty

"Among Duel Monsters cards, they are classified into Monster cards, Fusion Monster cards, Ritual Monster cards, Effect Monster cards, Magic and Trap cards. Next, Magic cards are sorted into Normal, Field, Equip, Permanent, Ritual and Quick-Play Magic card. Lastly, Trap cards are sorted into Normal, Counter and Permanent Traps."

Now this is another level of boredom - recitation from the rulebook, she inwardly rolled her eyes. Professor Chronos, the head professor of the academy, already picked out his favourites - all from his pride and joy of Obelisk Blue students. Nao was a strange exception in his list, but a prodigy in skills and intellect nonetheless. Being the first contender, she had been asked (with an Italian sugary cherry on top) to showcase her knowledge to the class. More like a victim, she groaned.

"Bellissimo! A superb job! It was a task far too simple for Obelisk Blue's Signora Nao, no ne (2)?"

"It is basics," she brushed off and sat down in her seat. Nao wasn't so sure how long the awkward moment of silence was compared to others, but to her - it felt tantalizingly long. This was also the only time she gave a slight amount of gratitude to the prim and proper drag-queen-of-a-professor for clearing his throat and picking out his next victim to explain to the class. For the most part of the lecture, as well as the past couple weeks, Nao tuned out of her professors. Seldom were any duels that interested her either. Everything she learned until this early point in her life all came from common sense and logic.

Today, however, was a lecture that never left her mind. "Signore Marufuji, please explain to us what Field Magic does." Every time Nao spotted students in red uniforms as opposed to Blue or Yellow, she wondered that if she were a boy, would she have been in Osiris Red instead. It was true that her own uniform placed her as Obelisk based on skill, but at heart, she was more than content to be in Osiris. A twinge of remorse pinched at her head as she watched an Osiris student as small as herself stumbling over his words while stiffening like a rock statue.

"Even a kindergartener know something like that," an Obelisk interrupted rather rudely, followed by an army of laughter taking pleasure at smallfries.

Manjōme found stupidity very entertaining - especially from Osiris students. Professor Chronos swatted his manicured hand down for Marufuji to sit back down. What was more satisfying was that the professor shared the same segregation between excellency and mediocrity. "But Professor, knowledge and actual combat are two unrelated things, right? I mean, I'm one of the Osiris Red, too but I beat you in a duel professor."

Ah, hypocrisy is suddenly entertaining, Nao hid her smirk quite well in Manjōme's eyes. Making fun out of her own ranking was utter blasphemy. Maybe if she had been at the middle school division then her could have been different. Yuki Judai, the one notorious for having Professor Chronos as his proctor, has been on the blacklist since day one - or rather day zero. He was considered more infamous than himself. Fukugawa Nao gnawed at him at a slow burn with each passing day he shares the same classes with, and inevitably, she could turn into a threat as the daughter of the former Pro League champion (with cards fitting for a picture book - he couldn't ever think of calling them...cute).

Surrounding himself with a posse of fellow Obelisk classmates from middle school days, they stood in the hallways as if they were Kings. By record, they were Elite. From the corner of his onyx eyes, he smirked to himself spotting the heiress with two other Obelisk girls who did most of the talking. They were considered above-middle-class rank in his books, likely to leech off of the rich and Fukugawa happened to perhaps be their next victim. He recalled the time during one of their first days of practice when those two attempted to make the duo to a trio. With the number of female students defeated by the new Obelisk, she had already gained interest.

"Since you are so good at duel monsters, you have a high chance of earning an Obelisk title," said girl number one; Nao had forgotten their names long ago and hadn't bothered to ask.

"Obelisk title?" she raised her eyebrows.

"You've seen Tenjōin Asuka - our year - who was Number 1 female student in middle school. She holds two titles. Obelisk Queen," said girl number two with a navy bob cut.

"Or Obelisk Madonna," number one cut in.

Nao almost laughed, "Madonna, huh? How lavish."

"Well, Nao-chan? Are you going to go for it?" Chan, that was new.

"Better if I am left out of it. I am not very interested," she shrugged.

"Eh, that's a shame. But even if you won't, it's better if you have some sort of idea.

"There are five ranks in total in among both male and female student body. The lowest rank is the bottom of the Obelisk pyramid - generally without a title. We're usually only regarded as 'ladies and gentlemen,'" said number one, which she noticed had a rather attractive hair accessory pinning up her brown curls. "Or 'signore and signora' by Professor Chronos. Most of them are duelists who have been promoted from previous dorms."

"The next rank is the Baron or Baroness title for duelists from middle school. Again, most have been promoted during the transition."

"The middle rank is where most Obelisks are weeded out and where the real elite are: the Princes and Princesses. Our upperclassman, Kochō Ran-senpai (3), is known for her Insect Princess deck and earned that title upon high school entry last year."

"The second rank is the Kings and Queens of Obelisk: the best of the best among the three years."

"Finally, the one upholding the lone title: the Kaiser - third year upperclassman, Marufuji Ryō. Ever since middle school, he had never lost a duel and kept a perfect record for five years. No one has been able to take up the Kaiser mantle since then."

Marufuji, don't tell me, Nao fit the pieces in her mind as she tuned out the two girls and made the assumption of Duel Academia housing two Marufuji's this year. Now this was a more interesting piece of information to chew on.

While the conversation rattled on, Manjōme nodded his head at his mates to the trio nearby with a knowing look. He pushed himself off from leaning against the wall and sauntered in smoothly like a King he was. "Oh? This sounded very interesting, so maybe we should join in." The girls turned their attention to him, as expected.

"Why not take their advice and see where you fit in with the Elite, Fukugawa?" Nao's two new acquaintances transformed into love-struck pixies at the sound of his voice. "New blood calls for initiation." What a troublesome bunch gathering, she sighed.

"I don't like to repeat myself," she said, assuming that he eavesdropped.

"Interest doesn't matter with the Elite. Join the ranks," he pressed a little further to gain something other than a straight face.

"Oh, having to be knighted by other students is a rather superficial invitation."

"What did you say? You dare mock the Obelisk traditions as a new student," Manjōme's posse, or minions in her opinion, scoffed. Nao shrugged and started to walk away from the suddenly stuffy crowd with the two girls scampering close by.

"You sure are arrogant for fresh meat! How about a title to cover up that arrogant family name of yours while you can?" Manjōme drew the last straw from Nao's hand, making her stop dead in her tracks. He smirked with a wicked gleam, "Finally caught your interest? Good, then your initiation will begin at 9pm tonight at your dorm. I'm sure there will be a lot of attention on you, given the number of female students you already defeated."

"Should I expect to see you there," she asked darkly.

"Who knows? Just know that your opponent has been decided. Don't chicken out," he warned.

Without another word, and her pride cracked, she resumed her retreat with dignity. No doubt that others overheard, maybe added something to their agenda for a 9 o'clock spot, but gotten their attention otherwise. "Nao-chan, don't mind. You can win," said girl number one.

What a nuisance of a duo who have more faces than a bipolar did. Until the due time, she had been remotely entertained by her two sources of information about the infamous classmates in Duel Academia. At least they proved themselves useful so far. This better be good.

Nine o'clock struck the bell at the Obelisk Blue Girls dorm and there was already a rather impressive crowd of mostly blue uniforms and some scattered dots of yellow and red in the mix. Nao came down the stairs slowly and quietly to catch the glimpse of her opponent - a blonde beauty with a buxom figure that is the centre of all envy for every growing girl in school. The description from her 'friendly' duo clicked easily with the name.

"Nice to see you on time," said the Madonna, she remembered. Too friendly. Too gentle to be a typical gossiping Obelisk, Nao sighed in relief? "I'm sure we don't need introductions, but you've been the talk around Obelisk lately. Let's get right to it," Tenjōin Asuka, Nao finally put the name to the face, said. The two females walked towards each other, decks on hand to exchange to shuffle. After exchanging them back, both duelists felt the tension pulling between them with each step increasing the distance.

"Prepare yourself," Tenjōin called out. Both duel disks switched on and the duel commenced.

"Duel!"

Turn 1 - ASUKA
ASUKA: 4000 || NAO: 4000

"It's my turn. Draw," the Queen went first. With elegance, the heiress observed. "I summon Cyber Tutu."

Cyber Tutu (Level 3)
Warrior-type
ATK: 1000 / DEF: 800

Whatever creative technology Kaiba Seto had invented was still impressive after many years of developments and upgrades. In Cyber Tutu's appearance, everything spoke out 'femininity' just by summoning. "Cyber Tutu's Normal Summon activates Naturia Cosmobeet's effect. When the opponent successfully Normal Summons or sets, this card can be Special Summoned from my hand."

With that, Nao promptly placed Naturia Cosmobeet in attack position, going head to head with Cyber Tutu.

Naturia Cosmobeet (Level 2)
Plant-type
ATK: 1000 / DEF: 700

Tenjōin was somewhat impressed and intrigued with an unknown deck with unknown abilities. The fact that Cyber Tutu cannot attack directly, since both monsters have the same attack points, had not been expected. If only the plant was one hundred points higher, she wistfully sighed to herself. "Then, I'll set one card face-down to end my turn."

Turn 2 - NAO
ASUKA: 4000 || NAO: 4000

"My turn. Draw. I sacrifice Naturia Cosmobeet to summon Naturia Bamboo Shoot in attack mode." The small little beet turned white and sprouted a pointy prickly top, as well as increasing in size.

Naturia Bamboo Shoot (Level 5)
Plant-type
ATK: 2000 / DEF: 2000

"Battle: Naturia Bamboo Shoot attacks Cyber Tutu! Sprout Skewer!" Nao gave the command, and Tenjōin noted that there was no hesitation nor second-guessing her strategies. All her observations almost made her forget to counter the attack. "How naïve! Instant Magic-" she stopped mid-sentence to see short bamboo stems holding down the four corners of her face-down card. "What?" The confusion made her jump when Cyber Tutu's holographic display was shattered, along with a thousand points. "Why couldn't my face-down card activate?"

"Naturia Bamboo Shoot prevents the opponent from activating Magic and Trap cards as long as it is face-up on my field," said the heiress.

"That card should be illegal! Not fair," shouted an Obelisk.

"Of course, since Naturia Bamboo Shoot is a higher-level monster, a tribute is necessary. If it was any other monster, then the bamboo shoot would have been ready to eat without the ability," she added, to silence the ignorance.

She's fast. I couldn't catch up with my cards, Tenjōin felt the pinch situation already with two thirds of her deck already sealed. Her set card was now useless with Cyber Tutu in the Cemetery.

"Setting one card. Turn End."

Turn 3 - ASUKA
ASUKA: 3000 || NAO: 4000

"It's my turn. Draw," said Tenjōin. She studied back and forth between her hand and the newcomer's composure. She looks bored, so let's turn the tables, she decided. "I summon Cyber Gymnatics. Attack mode." Cyber femme fatales. No wonder they call her Obelisk Madonna. Nao kept still to anticipate her opponent.

Cyber Gymnatics (Level 4)
Warrior-type
ATK: 800 / DEF: 1800

"Cyber Gymnatics's special effect activates. Once per turn, by discarding one card from my hand, Cyber Gymnatics destroys one face-up attack-positioned monster on the opponent's field. Dismount!" The gymnast skillfully leapt forward and tread towards the bamboo shoot to kick it out of the field. Nao swatted the holographic shards afterwards. "With that, my Magic and Traps are unsealed. From my hand, I activate the Magic Card, Pot of Greed, to draw two more cards. Finally I activate Fusion! From my hand I fuse Blade Skater and Etoile Cyber to summon Cyber Blader!"

In Nao's eyes, Cyber Blader was indeed the perfect combination of the two material monsters (in terms of looks). This were finally getting interesting, mostly because the crowd of Obelisks cheered so loud that her ears rattled from the volume.

Cyber Blader (Level 6)
Warrior-type
ATK: 2100 / DEF: 1800

"Now your field is open! Battle: Cyber Blader and Cyber Gymnatics attack directly!"

"Instant Magic activates, Pseudo Seed. This card Special Summons one Level 2 or lower Plant-type monster from my hand. I summon Naturia Eggplant! Attack mode!"

Naturia Eggplant (Level 2)
Plant-type
ATK: 1000 / DEF: 700

A rather playful purple eggplant somersaulted rather clumsily into the field, somewhat irking the Cyber Gymnatics in the process. However, the bright existence was short-lived due to Cyber Blader's skates slicing it in half. Right when the skater slid away, Nao barely managed to block her incoming kick from the gymnast that came down to a total of nineteen hundred points of damage. "Naturia Eggplant's special effect activates. When it is sent to the Cemetery, I can select one other Naturia monster from the Cemetery to my hand." She held out Naturia Bamboo Shoot for Tenjōin to confirm.

"I set one card to end my turn." The Obelisk Queen's expression lightened up with an interesting notion from the turn that just ended. "You're clever to summon your monster in attack position instead of defense. In fact, I didn't realize until it was sent to the Cemetery. If it had been in defense mode, Cyber Gymnatics would have been able to destroy it and Cyber Blader would have dealt more damage."

Nao couldn't help but give a half-smile. "So you noticed." There was a collection of aha's, and other gasps around them. "This has gotten somehow fun, but I think I'm getting fired up."

Tenjōin returned the determined look, who also finally felt the joy. "Bring it."

Turn 4 - NAO
ASUKA: 3000 || NAO: 2100

"My turn. Draw! I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards from my Deck. I summon Naturia Cherry." A pair of pink cherries with a sakura blossom hopped out in front.

Naturia Cherry (Level 1)
Plant-type
ATK: 200 / DEF: 200

"Next I activate the Ritual Magic, Naturia Sacred Gateway. It allows me to summon a Ritual "Naturia" monster from my hand by tributing EARTH-type monsters equal or higher to the selected monster." A giant gate materialized with trees, grass and an assortment of flowers with two torches on each side. "From my hand, I offer Naturia Bamboo Shoot and Naturia Mantis to Ritual Summon Naturia Gaodrake!" The sacrificed monsters respectfully bowed in front of the gate and disappeared once the gates creaked open to reveal a ferocious lion, literally out of nature. Gaodrake's roar deafened the cheers and chatter in the crowd.

Naturia Gaodrake (Level 9)
Beast-type
ATK: 3000 / DEF: 1800

"Three thousand attack points? However, with two monsters on your field, Cyber Blader's second ability, Pas de Trois has been activated. When my opponent has two monsters on their field, Cyber Blader's attack strength doubles."

"I wouldn't rush," Nao countered. "I'm not quite finished the main phase yet. My final magic card: Permanent Magic, Super Nutrient Sun. Once each turn, by tributing one Level 2 or lower Plant-type monster on my field, I can Special Summon from my Hand or Deck one Plant-type monster whose Level is lower than or equal to the tribute's level plus three. I sacrifice Level 1 Naturia Cherry and Special Summon Level 4 Naturia White Oak in attack mode!" The cherries planted themselves into the ground and a large tree adorned with flowers grew tall in its place.

Naturia White Oak (Level 4)
Plant-type
ATK: 1800 / DEF: 1400

"Now, Naturia Cherry activates its special effect when it is removed from the field. I can Special Summon two Naturia Cherries from my deck to the field in face-down defense position." Nao fetched them from her deck and placed them on her disk.

"I see. You've avoided all three of Cyber Blader's special effects."

"Just lazy with numbers." Actually I should consider myself lucky, she added.

"It's more than that. The tables were turned quite quickly."

We're both fired up and everyone has gotten excited, Tenjōin felt the thrill of the duel riling up, but all good things need to come to an end at some point.

"Battle: Naturia Gaodrake attacks Cyber Blader!" Nao commanded her attack, and if all went well with her next attacks, this duel would soon be as good as hers. Before Gaodrake's claws landed on the prima, Tenjōin stepped in one last time.

"Counter trap activate: Doble Passe! With this, Naturia Gaodrake's attack will redirected to me, and Cyber Blader's attack strength will be inflicted to you!" Both monsters intercepted each other in a flash, and both players suffered from claws and blades respectively as their life points simultaneously hit zero. The crowd gasped in awe, but one by one, a few claps turned into a well-received applause especially from the female population.

What happened just now? What is this competitive spirit, Nao pondered to herself while sensing a good portion of the audience closing in on the two, perhaps the most skilled, female duelists. She watched Tenjōin being surrounded by some of her classmates while the others animatedly discussed the duel amongst themselves. She really is the Obelisk Madonna. If she sacrifices her life for her monsters, no wonder why they call her the Queen. Well, everything went better than I imagined. Before she could slip away from the scene, she had been called out.

"Hey. I want you to know that tonight was a superb duel. Fukugawa Nao, I look forward to facing you again," the blonde offered her hand.

The heiress glanced down for a moment, then made proper eye contact where violet met gold. Nao accepted the handshake firmly and said, "I'll be waiting till then, Tenjōin Asuka." I guess rivalry won't hurt.

(2): "no ne" - a habit Professor Chronos/Dr. Crowler has when he speaks (in Japanese). Generally, adding -ne at the end of a statement turns it into a 'yes/no' question. Usually said -yo ne rather than -no ne. Literally means, 'isn't it' or 'am I right'. Chronos is Italian descent so, of course he has an accent and weird speech quirks for a multi-linguist.

(3): "-senpai" - I noticed in quite a handful of anime/manga fanfiction that senpai was spelt "sempai" instead. True, in Japanese, people pronounce it with an 'm' because it's easier when speaking fast or casually. Grammatically, it makes sense. The way you spell it (for those who are interested in learning at some degree) is important to be correct. There is no actual letter in the Japanese alphabet with 'mm' sound BUT there is 'n' (and it is used a lot).

A/N: There wasn't enough Asuka and Nao moment that seemed like real friendship, so I'm adding rivalry to the mix. As for the Obelisk rankings, it sort of makes sense since Asuka, Manjōme and Ryō do carry honorific nicknames in the series. I wanted to emphasize that just a little but it's not the most important part of the big picture. The duel, though, was the first time I winged it. Asuka was easy, but Nao uses more cards on average compared to others. In future chapters/years, the less cards she uses, the longer and hard the planning is.