A/N Just another story…that's not Kingdom Hearts or Pokémon! Unbelievable! Ahem, but not probable. Aside from that, I better get the disclaimer up since I don't want to be sued.

DISCLAIMER FOR WHOLE STORY: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or any of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Series at all! The rights to this anime (haven't read the manga, but I'll get to it!) I grew up to belong to Kazuki Takahashi, who I am NOT!

If I DID own it… d'you think I'd be writing this fan fiction? Plus, I'd be one rich bitch who didn't have to do chores and worry about losing this laptop to my brother, who happens to OWN it. I'll be attempting to use honorifics…don't you dare gasp! I supposed to do that! Hmph…ahem…Gasp! Okay, NOW you can gasp.

Anyways…I'll give the summary.

Just your basic fan fiction of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX told after the first episode…or is it! You say, "Is it?" I say "NO!" You say how, I'll say AU!

Jaden Yuki goes through life at Duel Academy…however, not all is what Jaden seems to be. Why do the guys feel awkward around Jaden? Is this Osiris Red holding a secret? Is it really a secret when all you actually had to do was ask? Who knows! Secret or misconception…which one is it? You'll have to find out!

Just for the heck of it…I'm adding the manga prologue for reasons I happen to not know of!

A solitary island floats in the Southern seas…

It is there that there is a school for training up-and-coming duelists.

The name of that school is Duel Academy High School.

Every grade is divided into three ranks…

"Obelisk Blue" for the students who had superior grades in middle school…

"Ra Yellow" for the students who did well on their entrance exams…

And…

"Osiris Red" where students fear for expulsion due to their grades…

Chapter One

Enter: Duel Academy

After what seemed to be one hell of an entrance examination for applicants wishing to attend Duel Academy, for those who have passed, were now making their ways towards the Academy itself. Looking through the window on a plane taking the new first years to the Academy was Shou Marufuji, a 15 year-old boy with light blue hair, somewhere around a shade of turquoise and light grey eyes. He wore a pair of circular-lensed glasses and a blue jacket with pants of the same color. Sitting next to him was his newly made friend, Jaden Yuki, who was currently asleep with his hands behind his head.

Jaden Yuki was a boy Shou's age. He had short, brown hair with a splotch of light brown, almost caramel, on the top of his head with bangs that framed his face. His eyes, which happened to be positioned directly beneath his bangs, were closed at the moment seeing as the boy was asleep, making it hard to distinguish his eye color.

Shou, having gone through some anxiety through the entrance exam, was more than relieved once the exams were over. The same might have not applied to his friend, though seeing as the only thing he had to worry about was being late for his exam. The bluenette let out a sigh as he glanced over at Jaden, who was still asleep.

Just as he was about to go back to looking through the window, a voice on the intercom caught his and the rest of the students on board's attention.

"Attention first-years, if you look outside your windows, you'll see your new home away from home," said the voice.

Shou quickly turned to his windows to get a good view, anticipation getting to him like the rest of the students on the plane.

"Now, now, I know you're excited, but don't shove," the voice said. "Now then, fasten your seatbelts and sit in an—"

Shou blocked out the intercom as he glanced over at Jaden, his friend still asleep. Realizing that they were almost at the academy, Shou sighed and decided to help the brunette out by fastening his seatbelt and attempted to make him sit at an upright position. Soon after, Shou did the same to himself as the intercom spoke up again.

"Next stop, Academy Island," said the intercom.

Shou smiled, eager to land already. Thoughts on the academy popped up into his head once more. He snapped out of them the moment he felt a strange weight leaning onto his shoulder. When he turned to see who it was, he sweat dropped. It was Jaden, having still been asleep, the brunette ended up leaning against Shou's shoulder unintentionally.

Shou sighed as his friend continued to sleep on as the plane began to land. It was somewhat awkward for some reason to the blue-haired boy.

Sometime later within the Main Academy Building, the new students (AKA, freshmen or first-years) were lined up, facing a large rectangular screen with the Academy's insignia. All were wearing one of three colored blazers each, some students had yellow, few blue, and about most of them, red, which included Shou.

The screen made a small sound as an image of a man with a red-colored jacket appeared on the monitor. He wore a big smile as he welcomed the new academy students.

"Welcome, Dueling Elites," he said. "I'm Samejima, the headmaster here. You all used your skills to open the narrow admission gates."

Shou listened to the headmaster closely, getting the feeling that he was going to be asked what he said sometime later by Jaden, who was standing right behind the bluenette, asleep and breathing softly as a small nose bubble deflated and inflated out of one of his nostrils. Shou sighed.

"At least he's not snoring…" thought Shou.

The headmaster continued on with his speech of some sort.

"Please have fun studying—" Samejima continued.

As Samejima was talking, Jaden suddenly woke up wide-eyed right after his nose bubble popped.

"—in hopes of becoming the next King of…" Samejima was cut off as a loud shriek interrupted him.

The shriek came directly from Jaden, surprising Shou as he was right in front of the brunette.

"Damn it!" shrieked Jaden. "My Elemental Heroes have been annihilated!"

"…Games?" finished Samejima.

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at Jaden, who had his hands on his head until he realized he was being stared at. He looked at everyone awkwardly before stopping at Shou. Shou didn't know what to say, however, he, like the rest of the students tried not to laugh. No, really, they tried not to laugh…though, resistance was futile as one small 'pfft' from a snicker caused everyone to burst into laughter…including the headmaster. There was a small select few of which who didn't laugh at Jaden's outburst, one included a neat, black-haired boy with brown eyes in a yellow blazer.

The boy was Daichi Misawa, an acquaintance of some sorts of Jaden and Shou. Somewhat older than them by almost a year and more on the tall side (also the owner of a British accent), he sighed at the immaturity of the students and the headmaster. Though aside from that, he was intrigued with Jaden, taking a slight interest in the younger boy.

"Things might just be interesting with him around," thought Daichi.

A/N This moment was based on the first episode of Lovely Complex when Risa let out an outburst similar to Jaden's (summon monsters) that caused her summer school. Man, I love that anime and manga…heh, tall girl, short boy, romantic school comedy…it has everything you want in it! Well, in my preferences.

Samejima, having stopped laughing, smiled at the students.

"Well, I'd say that's a good start!" he said. "Now, I won't bore you anymore with my talking, so you may go to your assigned dorms and get settled in. I'll think you'll find them quite comfortable…depending on how you ranked, of course!"

Samejima laughed and dismissed the students. Just as they were about to exit the building, the headmaster spoke.

"Just a minute," said Samejima. "Professor Chronos, will you escort Jaden Yuki to my office? There are some things I need to discuss about."

Shou could swear he felt the wrath of the blonde-haired professor, who wore crescent-shaped earrings, a blue jacket with gold trimmings and a pink ruffled collar, emanating at the mention of the name 'Jaden'. The same did not apply to Jaden, oblivious of how the professor felt about him.

"I'll meet up with you later, 'kay?" Jaden told Shou.

Shou nodded and watched as Jaden walked over to the blonde professor.

Moments later, Jaden followed Professor Chronos down a hall as he had his hands behind his head. Professor Chronos gritted his teeth having to escort the happy-go-lucky boy. Having been defeated (and not to mention humiliated) by him during the exams, Professor Chronos held a grudge against the boy for that exact reason. Although, there was one side of him that was completely filled with joy having been there when the brown-haired boy let out his outburst during the headmaster's speech, there was a chance that Jaden was being called up on for that exact reason. The word expulsion echoed in Professor Chronos's head as he laughed mentally.

Jaden yawned loudly, tears welding up in his eyes as he shut his eyes and opened his mouth wide to take a deep breath, not noticing Professor Chronos's annoyance at his actions. He rubbed his eyes as the professor's eye twitched slightly from a certain thought that came into mind. Professor Chronos found Jaden's motion rather annoying, though almost cute. Almost until he realized who he was thinking about and immediately began to ignore the boy's presence.

A/N Awkward!

He continued to do that until he and Jaden reached the entrance to Samejima's office. With a small wave at the professor, Jaden smiled and ran up to the headmaster, who was currently sitting by his desk, papers in his hands.

Samejima greeted the boy and quickly began to bring up the topic of his discussion.

"Jaden, I received a call from your father," said Samejima.

Jaden groaned inwardly and sighed.

"What is it?" he asked.

Samejima laid out the papers in his hands onto his desk.

"It's about your registration form," Samejima answered. "There has been a mistake, care to explain this?"

Samejima handed Jaden a paper, the brunette quickly skimming through it and stopping on the certain spot where the supposed mistake was. He grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, ya see," said Jaden. "I was in a hurry to check in so yeah… I'm rather used to this…"

A/N Explanation left out seeing as it's explained in the next chapter. However, there are hints (obvious ones) on what the mistake is.

Samejima sweat dropped as Jaden laughed. He sighed.

"Aside from that, it's going to take a while to fix this mistake," said Samejima. "As for your assigned dorm…"

"Can you mind letting me stay in the same dorm Shou Marufuji is staying in?" asked Jaden. "I'd rather stick close to my friend."

Samejima stared at Jaden for a few moments, a thought popping up in mind. He nodded.

"Very well," said Samejima. "You may…though your current room will be temporary. You'll get your official room in a few weeks."

Jaden nodded and held up his hand.

"Hey, question," said Jaden. "Can I keep the uniform?"

Samejima raised an eyebrow as he looked over Jaden's uniform (which actually just consisted of a jacket...and the rest is just his own clothes). Jaden's jacket was a bit big on him…especially the sleeves, but he quickly fixed that by folding up his sleeves.

"You don't another that's more suitable to your size?" asked Samejima.

Jaden shook his head.

"Nope," he said. "I'd rather keep this one. It's rather comfy."

Samejima nodded and took the paper handed to him from Jaden.

"Very well, you may go," said Samejima.

Jaden nodded and proceeded to walk out of Samejima's office and past Professor Chronos. Professor Chronos, curiosity getting the better of him, walked over to Samejima.

"What was that about?" he asked.

Samejima straightened up Jaden's papers as he sighed.

"Oh, nothing," said Samejima. "Just a little mistake with the registration forms."

Professor Chronos crossed his arms.

"May I ask what it was?" asked Professor Chronos.

Samejima nodded.

"You may," he answered.

A few moments later as Jaden dashed out of the building, a loud exclamation of surprise echoed through the halls. Jaden didn't hear any of it having just exited and spotting his friend Shou sitting on a pedestal of some sort a few feet outside the building looking on his PDA. Smiling, Jaden rushed over to Shou and tapped on his shoulders.

Shou looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Jaden," said Shou. "What was all that about?"

Jaden shrugged and walked over to the opposite side of the pedestal Shou was sitting on. After sitting back down, he took out his PDA.

"Just a small mistake on the registration form," said Jaden. "So…Hey! I'm in the Osiris Red Dorm! What about you?"

Jaden looked over at Shou. Shou looked up.

"I'm in Red, too," said Shou.

As Shou and Jaden were talking, their acquaintance Daichi Misawa walked by. Jaden looked at him, noticing the jacket's similarity to his and Shou's, the only thing it differed in was the color scheme, which was yellow. Curiously, Jaden wanted to ask a question, but before that…

"Hey!" said Jaden.

Daichi stopped walking and turned his head, now looking at both Jaden and Shou.

"You in Red, too?" asked Jaden.

Daichi sighed inwardly and looked at his uniform to give Jaden a simple (and not to mention, obvious) answer. Jaden blinked in question.

"Well, now let's see," said Daichi. "Yellow sleeves, yellow buttons…I don't think so. This is a Ra Yellow uniform."

Jaden looked at his red jacket.

"Ohh, so it depends on the uniform…" said Jaden.

Daichi looked at Jaden somewhat concerned.

"Please don't tell me that you just figured that out now," said Daichi.

Jaden glared at Daichi, a small blush wanting to tinge his cheeks in slight embarrassment.

"So what!" snapped Jaden. "Ever think I'm might be on the slow side? Maybe color blind?"

Daichi, a bit taken aback from the remark, looked at Jaden apologetically.

"Um, no, actually, I didn't," he said. "Sorry…so, are you, Ichiban-kun?"

Jaden smiled and shook his head, chuckling a bit. Daichi sighed and started to walk away.

"Nope!" said Jaden. "See you around the dorms!"

Daichi stopped and looked back, smirking as Jaden wave at him.

"I doubt that, your dorm's over there," he said, direction the Osiris Red duo to their appointed dorms.

Shou and Jaden looked at the direction Daichi directed them at. Moments later, the duo made their way towards their dorm with their bags. Once they reached their dorms, Shou frowned as he realized their dorms resembled that of an apartment building…a rather run-down looking one to boot. He walked up the stairs and looked to the side to look at Jaden, who happened to be intrigued with the ocean (which happened to be close by the dorm).

Jaden's hands gripped the rail as his brown eyes sparkled in awe at the view. Shou sighed and looked over the dorm again.

"What is this?" he asked. "Is the Osiris Red dorm the only dorm that sucks?"

Jaden turned his head and smiled at Shou.

"Oh, yeah?" asked Jaden. "This place has a great view, and you can feel the breeze! This place is great! It's got appeal!"

Shou sighed, somewhat envious with Jaden's optimism.

"So where's our room?" asked Shou. "We've only just met and we're already rooming with each other…"

Jaden picked up his bag and started to make his way past his friend towards a room. He stopped in front of a door and smiled ecstatically.

"This is it!" said Jaden. "This is it! This is our room!"

Jaden opened the door to his and Shou's room. The room brightened up once the door was opened. Shou picked up his bag and peeked into the room.

"We're in the same room, huh?" said Shou.

Jaden shook his head.

"Not for long," said Jaden.

Shou tiled his head to the side as he and Jaden entered the room. Jaden wowed and looked around, dropping his bag onto the soft, carpeted floor.

"Whoa…this room is surprisingly small, but there's enough room to live one!" said Jaden. "Kinda like my room only without the mess! I could get used to living in a place like home! I call top bunk!"

Shou smiled at Jaden's antics and the fact that they were rooming together.

"With us living together, we must be linked together by fate or something!" Shou said as Jaden walked over to the window. "Maybe we're reincarnations of the Pharaoh and Priest Seto from ancient Egypt! Your entry exam duel was so cool… Can I call you Pharaoh, Jaden-kun?"

Jaden stopped walking and shook his head.

"Nope, it sounds too weird," said Jaden. "And thank you!"

Jaden ruffled Shou's hair as he shrugged.

"How about Aniki?" he suggested.

Jaden blinked.

"There's no social standing among duelists, just rivals," said Jaden. "Besides, I'm fine with just Jaden."

Shou looked down.

"But it really suits you…" Shou said, sighing.

Jaden smiled awkwardly and scratched the side of his head idly with his finger.

"Go figure…" said Jaden. "From now on, let's work together towards becoming the King of Games…but first!"

Jaden grabbed a green curtain and opened it, bright light from the sun immediately brightening the room.

"My eyes!" said a voice. "So… bright…shut the damn curtains! They were closed for a reason!"

Jaden flinched and smiled awkwardly, closing the curtains immediately by request. He and Shou looked at the bunk beds, wondering if anyone was there.

"Is someone here?" asked Shou.

Jaden rubbed the back of his head as he noticed someone took the top bunk as they moved under the covers.

"S-Sorry, I didn't notice you," he apologized. "And they already called first dibs on top bunk…ah, well. I'll call bottom!"

The person in bed, obviously a boy due to his deep voice, spoke again.

"So a couple of new students full of dreams, huh?" he asked.

Shou and Jaden looked at each other before focusing their gaze at the top bunk. The person residing on the top bunk pulled off the covers and turned to the side to look at his new roommates. Jaden and Shou looked closely at the boy, who was about 16 or 17 (give or take) and on the big side (by big side I don't mean fat!). He had brown eyes, black hair, and a big nose.

Jaden and Shou stared at the older boy, taking in how his build, face, and hairstyle resembled that of a koala's. A silhouette of a koala-themed duel monster appeared in the boy, showing a shocking resemblance. The duo both shrieked and embraced each other as they stared at the boy wide-eyed.

"Death Koala!" they yelled.

The koala-resembling boy glared and held up a fist at the startled duo.

"Don't call me a koala!" he snapped. "I'm your roommate, Hayato Maeda!"

Jaden let go of Shou and laughed awkwardly. He pointed at himself as he introduced himself to the older boy.

"Sorry, I'm Jaden Yuki!" Jaden said, smiling awkwardly at Hayato.

Shou nodded and introduced himself as well.

"I'm Shou Marufuji," he said.

With those introductions done, Hayato turned onto his side in his bed, his back now facing the duo.

"Do either of you know what the 'Red' in 'Osiris Red' means?" Hayato asked.

Jaden blinked and said, "Sure don't."

"Does it have some sort of meaning?" asked Shou.

Hayato looked over his shoulder at the duo.

"'Red' is Red-Zone," he answered. "It means we're all a chancy bunch. In Duel Academy, you're split into three dorms depending on your grades: Obelisk Blue, Ra Yellow, and Osiris Red."

A/N Feel free to imagine the chibi simulation they gave out in the anime. Heh heh, chibi…

"Obelisk Blue is occupied by the high-achievers from the middle school," explained Hayato. "And those who got in by taking the high school exam, those with excellent results, are first assigned to Ra Yellow."

Shou nodded.

"Then, what's Osiris Red?" asked Shou.

"It's a beat-up gathering place for the dropouts with horrible grades," Hayato finished, turning in bed so he was now on his back.

Shou sweat dropped as Hayato looked over at him and Jaden.

"Do you get it?" Hayato asked, turning in bed again, his back to his roommates. "Those that have been sent here never had a future from the get-go."

Shou frowned and sighed.

~later~

Shou let out another sigh as he walked with Jaden around the school. Jaden looked at Shou.

"You're still feeling down?" asked Jaden.

Shou diverted his eyes at Jaden.

"It's thanks to what he said," said Shou.

Jaden looked ahead and smiled.

"But, I really like Red," Jaden said, holding up a tightened fist. "Seething flames…boiling blood… It's perfect for a zealous guy like me! …Okay, I can do without the blood."

Both Shou and Jaden stopped walking as they looked at each other.

"And besides, nothing's started yet," said Jaden. "We start everything now, don't we?"

Shou nodded.

"Y-You're right…" Shou said, holding up both of his fists in front of his chest. He looked out, imaginary flames emanating from behind him. "You're right! What's the point of feeling down now? Give it your all, me! Fight! Hang tough!"

Jaden blinked and walked away from Shou, having felt something that intrigued him. The imaginary flames on Shou went out as Jaden broke into a run, unbeknownst to the blue-haired boy, seeing as he was still giving his monologue.

"It was cowardly of me to get all depressed before anything actually started, Aniki!" Shou said, turning to look at Jaden.

Shou sweat dropped as he watched Jaden run towards the Main Academy Building. Realizing he was left behind, Shou dashed towards Jaden.

"Wait up!" he yelled. "What's going on?"

Jaden didn't bother looking back as he answered.

"There are people dueling somewhere!" said Jaden.

Shou picked up the pace, confused with what Jaden said.

"I can't hear anything like that at all!" Shou said.

Some moments later, the duo was in the building, currently walking down a hall. Jaden looked around for something, which was the duel he said was supposedly going on at the moment. How he knew, was what Shou wanted to know.

"Let's see…" said Jaden. "I'm pretty sure it's over here."

Shou panted as he tried to catch his breath. Jaden was really a fast runner, which made it harder for Shou to catch up.

"How do you know that, Aniki?" Shou asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Jaden stopped right in the middle of the hallway and breathed in through his nose.

"I smell it," answered Jaden. He looked around and smiled widely. "…I smelled it! That's the scent of a duel!"

A/N The way Jaden acts right now, he reminds me so much of Goku from Dragon Ball I mean I'll place out the similarities that were pointed out on YouTube. They're both dumb…well, naïve cuz I mean Goku thought marriage was food and Judai (Jaden) had no clue what 'fiancée' meant…moving on! They're optimistic, and ignorant, and they both never give up. I'm not bashing them or anything, I actually like these traits because it's who they really are.
Also, Goku loves fighting more than anyone in Dragon Ball, whereas Judai loves dueling more than anyone in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. They also both use their sense of smell to find things (Goku recognizing people and objects by their smell, and Judai "smelling" the scent of the duel). See the point proven? I did!

With that said, Jaden took a left turn, leaving Shou rather perplexed.

"Huh…?" said Shou. "Did you say 'scent of a duel'…? Hey!"

Shou watched Jaden as he entered a room.

"Is it all right to just barge there?" Shou asked.

Jaden didn't answer as he looked around the room, taking in the scenery of some sorts.

"Wow!" said Jaden. "Awesome!"

Shou ran up and stopped by Jaden's side. He soon did the same thing as Jaden, amazed at the duel field within the room.

"This Duel Field is installed with the latest equipment!" said Shou. "The sound equipment and the virtual system are all-new versions! Man, I am jealous…I'd sure like to duel in a place like this."

Jaden smiled and looked at Shou, unbeknownst to both of them that they had been heard.

"All right!" said Jaden. "Then let's do it!"

Shou blinked owlishly.

"Huh?" he asked. "I wonder if we can…"

"What are you talking about?" Jaden asked. "We're students here!"

"Which doesn't give you reason to do so," said a voice.

Shou and Jaden looked up, spotting two boys, both wearing blue jackets, walking towards them. One had dark, teal-colored hair a small rectangular glasses while the other boy had brown, spiky hair.

"You Osiris Red dropout boys don't belong here," said the brown-haired boy. "Look above you."

Jaden and Shou looked back, seeing a crest on the top of the entranceway.

"Didn't you see the Obelisk's crest?" asked the teal-haired boy.

Shou turned around and apologized to the Obelisk Blue boys. He looked at Jaden, who continued to stare at the crest.

"S-Sorry, we didn't know," said Shou. "Let's go back to our dorm, Aniki."

Jaden turned around and scratched the side of his head idly with his finger. Shou noted that Jaden looked rather naïve and got a rather bad feeling.

"Hmm…that somehow doesn't sit well with me…" Jaden said, smiling at the boys before pointing at them. "Well then, you wanna play me? That'd be okay, right?"

Jaden smiled at the guys, Shou sighing.

"I had a feeling he'd say that…" Shou thought.

Both the Obelisk Blue students, Taiyou Torimaki (teal-haired boy) and Raizou Mototani (spiky brown-haired boy), stared at Jaden. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Raizou's face as Taiyou's eyes widened.

"I thought I'd recognized you!" said Taiyou.

"Oi, Manjoume-san!" said Raizou. "It's the applicant who beat Professor Chronos!"

A few seconds had passed when a boy with sorta spiky black hair walked up into view. He stared at Jaden and Shou with his greenish-black eyes, looking rather miffed. The boy looked around the Osiris duo's age and wore a blue jacket.

Shou looked nervously at the boy, while Jaden was the complete opposite of him. The brown-haired Osiris waved at the Obelisk Blue as he wore a big smile.

"Hi, I'm Jaden Yuki!" said Jaden. "Nice to meetcha!"

Taiyou, Raizou, and Shou stared at Jaden as he asked them a question.

"So, uh…who's he?" Jaden asked.

The boy overheard Jaden's questioned and growled, gritting his teeth as he glared at the Osiris Red, a naïve simpleton in his opinion.

Taiyou answered Jaden's question.

"You mean you don't know who Manjoume-san is?" asked Taiyou. "He's a first-year like us, but he's Number 1 of the Super Elites, tried-and-true from the middle school!"

Raizou nodded.

"He's the much-talked about future King of Games, the great Jun Manjoume!" he said.

Jaden diverted his eyes and snorted.

"Bull," scoffed Jaden.

Raizou blinked and looked at Jaden questioningly.

"What is?" Raizou asked.

Jaden looked at the Obelisk Blue with a smile.

"I mean, the King of Games is Number 1, right?" asked Jaden. "I'm this Academy's Number 1, after all!"

Both Obelisk Blue students looked at Jaden for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. Apparently, whatever Jaden said wasn't taken seriously. Taiyou and Raizou both narrowed their eyes at Jaden.

"You Osiris Reds don't know your place, do you?" Taiyou asked.

Jaden growled at Taiyou and was about to snap at him, however, Manjoume beat him to the punch.

"Be quiet!" snapped Manjoume. "Everyone, just calm down."

The four boys looked at Manjoume.

"Manjoume-san?" said Taiyou.

Manjoume looked at them with a serious expression.

"That guy is better than the two of you," he said. "He's the guy who supposedly beat Professor Chronos in his entry exam duel, albeit he did it sloppily."

Jaden smiled as memories of that exact duel popped up into mind. He held up his fist.

"That was skill," said Jaden.

Manjoume snickered.

"I'd like to see this skill for myself now," said Manjoume.

Jaden smiled.

"Fine by me," said Jaden.

"Hey, what are all of you doing?" asked a voice.

Jaden, Shou, Manjoume, and the other two boys looked at who spoke as they walked toward them. It was a girl wearing the Obelisk Blue girls' uniform, about 15 and slightly taller than Jaden with long, dark blonde hair and light brown eyes. She was staring at the boys as she crossed her arms under her well-endowed chest.

Shou sighed and blushed slightly at the sight of the girl.

"Wow!" he said quietly. "She's pretty!"

Manjoume grinned.

"Tenjoin-kun!" said Manjoume. "You see, these newcomers are far too ignorant of the ways of the world."

He turned his head and kept his grin.

"I was thinking I'd teach them a bit about how intense the Academy can be," said Manjoume.

The girl kept her gaze on Manjoume.

"It's about time for the welcoming party at the dorms to start," said the girl.

Manjoume grunted and ordered Taiyou and Raizou to follow after him. After leaving, the girl looked at Jaden and Shou.

"You guys shouldn't take up dares from Manjoume-kun and his group," she warned them. "After all, they're a lousy bunch."

Jaden blinked owlishly and smiled at the girl.

"For you to take the time to tell us that…" Jaden said, grinning and pointing at himself. "Could you have fallen in love with me at first sight?"

Shou looked at Jaden strangely.

"Aniki!" he said. "That's impossible!"

Jaden laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Relax, I was only kidding!" said Jaden.

The girl looked at Jaden and laughed. She looked at him again and smiled.

"The welcoming party at Osiris Red will be starting, as well," she said.

Jaden looked at Shou.

"You're right!" said Jaden. "Let's get back to the dorms!

Jaden broke into a run, leaving Shou surprised and somewhat behind. Shou called after him, not wanting to be left behind.

"W-Wait up, Aniki!" he called.

Jaden slid to a stop and quickly turned around, running in place.

"Oh right, what's your name?" he asked the girl.

The girl blinked and smiled.

"Asuka Tenjoin," she answered.

Jaden nodded and introduced himself.

"Jaden Yuki, nice to meetcha!" said Jaden, waving afterward and breaking into a full run.

Shou sighed and ran after him.

"Boy, are you ever slick…" Shou sighed.

Asuka watched the two boys run, smiling at Jaden.

"Jaden…" Asuka said to herself.

~meanwhile within all the dorms~

The Obelisk Blue dorms had an elegant party in both the boys' and girls' dormitories. Whilst in the Ra Yellow, it was somewhat the same only around a table of exquisite food. As for in the Osiris Red…well…

The Osiris dorm had a few strange looks at their food, which consisted of a bow of white rice, a plate full of what seemed to be some type of small fish (probably sardines or something), and two other bowls of food, though they didn't get much of the strange stares seeing as everyone had their gaze on the rice and fish.

"What is this?" about almost everyone in the room said.

One person compared the food to the other dorms.

"The other dorms had an incredible feast!" he said. "And to make things worse, our dorm leader isn't even human!"

Everyone focused their gaze on a fat cat with light brown, somewhat orange-tinged, fur and dark stripes curled up on a table, asleep. He woke up and stretched out, letting out a loud yowl. Afterwards, it curled back onto the table, everyone's gaze still focused on it.

"He's a cat…?" asked another boy.

The cat looked at everyone as the sound of footsteps caught their attention. The sound of footsteps seemed to be getting closer until a tall, young man, wearing a white shirt (dress shirt if you want specifications) with a dusky-red necktie, black pants, and a belt, popped out from behind the drapes hanging over the doorway. He seemed to be somewhere between his mid-twenties or so and had a kind-looking expression and long black hair pulled into a ponytail with his bangs framing his face. His eyes were hid behind their lids and the square-lensed glasses the man wore.

Everyone within the room stared at the man with question. The man waved at them welcomingly.

"Hello, children," he said, having a German accent. "I'm your dormitory leader, Daitokuji-nya! And in class, I'll be in charge of alchemy. Pleased to meet you all-nya."

"Delicious!" someone exclaimed.

The outburst caused everyone, and I mean everyone, to focus their attention on them, which had happened to be on Jaden. Jaden, being impatient and too hungry to wait had already begun to eat his food. Shou looked at him anxiously.

"T-That's tasteless, Aniki," he said.

Jaden stopped his chewing and looked at Shou questioningly.

"Really?" asked Jaden. "It's awfully delicious to me!"

Jaden picked up a fish with his chopsticks and placed it in his mouth as if to prove his point. Shou sighed and continued to stare at Jaden as the boy continued eating.

"T-That's not what I meant…" said Shou. "The Professor's still introducing himself…"

Unbeknownst to them, Daitokuji had already had his eye on Jaden from when he first let out his outburst. Having known from Samejima about the mistake on the boy's registration and dorm request, he gave a small smile and started to walk over them. He stopped once he was in front of the boys' table. Shou looked nervously at the professor, Jaden still clueless, placed another fish in his mouth. It took him only a few seconds to realize why Shou was quiet. When he looked up, fish partially in his mouth and partially hanging out, he knew why.

Jaden sweat dropped as Daitokuji looked down at him, hands behind his back, with a smile. The professor chuckled a bit at the look Jaden gave him, which he found rather cute and decided to ruffle the boy's hair, not being able to resist. Jaden blinked and chewed on his fish, staring questioningly at the dorm head like the rest of the Osiris Red residents.

"Don't mind a bit-nya," said Daitokuji. "Well, everyone, from now on, make yourselves at home-nya."

Sometime afterward once everyone had eaten and gone to their rooms, Daitokuji made his way towards a specific room in the dorm.

Meanwhile in said specific room, Shou poured hot tea into three mugs as Jaden talked with a content sigh.

"Man, I am full!" Jaden said, satisfied.

Shou smiled as he continued to pour tea into the mugs. Jaden, sitting on the carpet and leaning back against the wall, let out another sigh as he rubbed his full stomach.

"I'm stuffed," he said. "Why didn't you eat all of yours?"

Shou placed the teapot down and looked back at Jaden with a smile.

"You were the only one who got a second helping, huh?" Shou said, picking up the tray holding the three tea-filled mugs.

Jaden grinned as he sat himself up-right against the wall as Shou handed the brown-haired boy his respective mug.

"It was pretty good!" Jaden said, taking the mug. "Thank you!"

Shou nodded and looked up at Hayato, wanting to offer him tea.

"Hayato-kun!" said Shou. "Tea?"

Hayato turned in bed.

"I don't want any," said Hayato.

Shou blinked, ceasing his smile.

"Oh, okay…" he said.

Jaden looked up at Hayato, blinking owlishly.

"And why not?" asked Jaden. "Shou went to all that trouble to brew it up and everything!"

Shou waved it off.

"It okay, Aniki," Shou reassured.

Hayato, his face buried into his pillow, spoke.

"It's not that he's a bad cook or anything," Hayato explained. "I'm depressed about our predicament, so I haven't been able to swallow a bite of food."

As Jaden and Shou were wondering what predicament Hayato mentioned, Jaden's PDA rang, alerting said owner of a message of some sort. Blinking, Jaden pulled up his shirt slightly to look for the pouch on his hip containing his PDA. He took it out of its pouch and looked at it, seeing that he got a message.

"Hey, it's from Manjoume!" said Jaden.

Jaden pressed a button and the message, a small video message from Manjoume, began to play.

"Yo, dropout boy," said Manjoume. "I'll be waiting on the Duel field at midnight. We'll duel with the Ante Rule with both of our best cads at stake. Come on, if you've got the guts…"

With that said, the video message was over. Jaden gave a small laugh and smiled.

"Things have gotten interesting!" Jaden said with a grin.

Hayato, having overheard the whole message, looked over his shoulder at Jaden.

"That pep of his ends here…" he said, rolling onto his side to get more comfortable.

Jaden smiled brightly and went to get his duel disk before grabbing onto Shou's hand.

"C'mon, Shou!" Jaden said, beginning to drag the poor boy with him towards the door.

"Wait, Aniki!" said Shou. "Didn't Asuka-san say we shouldn't deal with them?"

Jaden looked at Shou as he grabbed onto the doorknob.

"What are you talking about?" Jaden asked, turning the knob and beginning to push it open. "This is a duel! A real duelist should accept any challenge delivered to him…"

Jaden paused and added, "…or her."

Shou looked down at the floor.

"But…" he said, trailing off after looking at Jaden.

Jaden closed his eyes and grinned as he began to make his way out…only to bump into someone who had happened to be standing right outside the door. Jaden yelped and let go of Shou's hand to try and regain his balance, having losing it from bumping into someone. Thankfully, the person he bumped into helped him out by grabbing onto his outstretched hand.

"Careful," he said. "Wouldn't want you to fall and hurt yourself, now would we-nya."

Jaden laughed and rubbed the back of his head as he was adjusted into a standing position.

"Thanks!" said Jaden. "Sorry about bumping into you, Daitokuji."

Daitokuji nodded and smiled.

"Not a problem…now what's this about an Ante Rule duel in the duel fields at midnight?" he asked.

Jaden froze and looked up at Daitokuji, having been a good amount of height shorter than him. The professor looked down at Jaden, keeping his smile.

"You should know that Ante Rule dueling is prohibited in this Academy," said the professor. "And the rules say no off-hour arena duels. What would your father think…especially if he finds out you got into trouble for sneaking out of your dorm at midnight to duel a fellow student, a male one no less-nya?"

Jaden was taken aback from what the professor had told him. He had no idea there were rules about that and if his father ever found out about that… Jaden gulped and placed his hands on his head.

"He'll take me out of Duel Academy if he finds out!" Jaden wailed.

Daitokuji nodded, noticing the perplexed looked on Hayato, having watched the whole thing out of pure interest, and Shou, having been concerned for Jaden. Seeing as it was just Jaden's first day here, Daitokuji smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Since it's just your first day here, you'd probably didn't have enough time to read the rules," said Daitokuji. "And because first impressions are always important, I'll let it slide-nya."

Jaden blinked and took his hands off his head to look at the professor, surprised. Hayato and Shou looked at Daitokuji, surprised as well.

"Really!" he asked eagerly.

Daitokuji nodded and moved to the side to let Jaden go.

"Of course, just don't get caught you two," said the professor.

Shou blinked owlishly as Jaden pumped his fist into the air.

"Wait…you two?" repeated Shou. "What do you mean by—?"

His question was cut off and answered as Jaden grabbed onto his hand and dragged him out of the room. Daitokuji and Hayato watched as Jaden dragged Shou away. After they were gone, the professor looked at the older Osiris Red student, having noticed his earlier perplexity.

"Yes, what is it?" Daitokuji asked.

~meanwhile~

Jaden continued to run and drag Shou with him…even after having entered the Main Academy Building. It was only until they were close to the duel field when Jaden slowed down his pace and let go of Shou's hand. Shou sighed and followed Jaden, seeing as it was pointless to head back now.

"I can't believe Daitokuji-Sensei let us go, Aniki," said Shou.

Jaden nodded and began to take a left turn as he placed his duel disk onto his left arm.

"Neither did I!" said Jaden. "Boy, that Daitokuji is a nice guy."

Shou nodded and sighed.

"I hope we don't get caught…" he said.

Jaden looked at Shou and waved it off.

"Don't worry!" said Jaden. "We won't get caught as long as I'm aro—"

"Heh, you really came, Number 110," a voice interrupted Jaden.

Jaden and Shou stopped, realizing that they were now in the duel field. They looked around and spotted Manjoume with his group on the center of the room on the platform. Manjoume had his arms crossed, his duel disk on his left arm. Jaden blinked and smiled, holding up his left arm where his duel disk resided.

"I'd have no reason not to come, once I'm told about a duel," Jaden said, beginning to walk towards Manjoume.

Manjoume trailed after Jaden, worried slightly.

"A-Aniki!" he cried out.

A few moments later, Manjoume and Jaden faced each other on the opposite sides of the duel field.

"You're going to show me either the dumb luck or the skill that beat Professor Chronos!" said Manjoume.

Jaden grinned.

"Right!" said Jaden. "And I've wanted to know just how skilled the elites of Duel Academy are."

Manjoume laughed and smirked at Jaden.

"Listen up!" he said. "We'll be using the Ante Rule, putting both our best cards at stake."

Jaden smiled widely, annoying Manjoume slightly with his optimism, but not enough to make the raven-haired elite duelist cease his grin.

"Sure!" said Jaden. "I'm ready for anything!"

Both duelists shifted their duel disk from standby to active mode, shouting out 'Duel!' afterwards to begin the duel. Manjoume took out some cards from his deck as Jaden did likewise.

Manjoume:

LP

4000

Jaden:

LP

4000

"It's my turn first!" Manjoume said, taking out another card from his deck.

After checking the card and his deck hand, Manjoume looked at Jaden and placed the card into play.

"I summon Reborn Zombie in defense mode!" Manjoume said.

A card appeared onto field as a zombie materialized on top of it in a defensive position.

DEF 1600

"I place one card face down and end my turn," Manjoume said as he placed a card face down onto the card platform.

Manjoume stared at Jaden with a small smirk on his face.

"Duels contain the element of luck as long as there's drawing," Manjoume thought. "However, what decides a match is a strategy based on careful calculations."

Manjoume' smirk widened.

"Obelisk Blue against Osiris Red…" he said. "The difference in our intellect has already determined the outcome of this!"

Shou gasped as Jaden looked at Manjoume with a serious expression.

"You can't play a duel in your head!" said Jaden. "My blazing heart will take you on! It's my turn. Draw!"

Jaden looked at the card he just took out. Right on the card was a picture of a muscular, green-clad man with wings.

"Elemental Hero Avian," he thought, staring into his deck hand and finding the cards he needed as well as a certain one that was given to him on the entrance exam day. "Oh, Partner."

The little adorable (in Jaden's opinion) brown furball with wings Jaden called partner, Winged Kuriboh, responded with a small 'kuri kuri'.

"With lucky old you by my side, I've got nothing to fear," Jaden said to Winged Kuriboh as he held up the card he was going to activate. "I play Polymerization!"

Manjoume ceased his smirking as he stared at Jaden questioningly at who he was going to fuse. Jaden held up a pair of cards in his hands as if answering Manjoume's question.

"I fuse Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix together…" Jaden said as both Avian, a green-clad man with wings, and Burstinatrix, a red-clad flame-manipulating woman, appeared onto the field.

Both Avian and Burstinatrix were soon enveloped in a rotating bright light, which was caused by Polymerization. Jaden tightened his fist as he knew the fusion of Avian and Burstinatrix would give him.

"…to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman in attack mode!" he finished.

The light enveloping the two Elemental Heroes flashed brightly and waned, revealing the new Elemental Hero created by the fusions of the previous two Heroes, Flame Wingman.

ATK 2100

Jaden smiled as he held up a card in hand.

"All right!" said Jaden. "This is my favorite card!"

Manjoume smirked.

"I've caught you already, it seems," said Manjoume.

Jaden blinked, a small bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"What?" he said, his smile ceasing.

Manjoume's smirk widened.

"I already thoroughly analyzed your entry exam duel," Manjoume explained, raising his voice afterwards to point out, "Duels are all about brains! You seem to lack that."

Jaden growled slightly as Manjoume activated a trap card, Hell Polymer (A/N Like hell I'm spelling the English dub name!). Shou looked at Hell Polymer, going through his head to remember what it did.

"Hell Polymer…?" he said.

"It's basic knowledge to a duelist," a voice interrupted him.

Shou turned around and saw Asuka walking up to him.

"A-Asuka-san," said Shou.

"When your opponent summons a fusion monster, you can gain control of that monster…" Asuka explained as she stopped by Shou. "…by sacrificing one monster on your field."

Shou blinked at Asuka.

"What does that mean?" he asked, turning to the field.

Manjoume smirked as he tightened his fist.

"I sacrifice Reborn Zombie to gain control of Flame Wingman!" Manjoume said, his Reborn Zombie dematerializing from the field as he was sacrificed.

Flame Wingman glowed and disappeared, much to Jaden's dismay.

"Flame Wingman!" said Jaden.

Flame Wingman appeared on Manjoume's side of the field, causing an outburst from Shou.

"His monster got taken!" said Shou.

Manjoume smirked at the look Jaden gave him.

"I knew that a fusion monster finished Professor Chronos off in your duel with him, so I had that trap set," Manjoume explained with a satisfied smirk. "I can't believe that you'd step your way right into my trap, without even knowing that. You're a typical Osiris Red."

Jaden glared at Manjoume as he began to laugh. Fortunately for Jaden, since Flame Wingman was a special summon, he was still able to normal summon this turn. The brown-haired Osiris Red held up his card hand.

"But don't have any monsters in my hand the ATK or DEF to overcome Flame Wingman," Jaden thought as he looked up from his cards. "Guess I'll tide things over with a defensive monster."

Manjoume grinned, satisfied with the ability Flame Wingman had.

"Flame Wingman is a monster that deals damage equal to the ATK of the monster it destroys," thought Manjoume. "Whatever he does, he can't go unscathed next turn."

Jaden played Elemental Hero Clayman in defense mode and ended his turn.

DEF 2000

Manjoume drew a card from his deck and played it.

"I summon Hell Soldier (A/N Once again, to hell with the dub name! …no pun intended) in attack mode," Manjoume said, directing his hand at Jaden for his next move. "Go, Flame Wingman! Flame Shoot!"

With a leap into the air, Flame Wingman dived down towards Clayman, enflamed, destroying the Elemental Hero. And due to Flame Wingman's special ability combined with Hell Soldier's (ATK 1200) attack, Jaden lost 2000 life points in total. Jaden fell onto the ground on his knees from the attack. Manjoume placed down a face down and ended his turn.

"Now, it's your turn!" said Manjoume.

Jaden started to do what seemed like he was crying or something of that sort. Manjoume looked at him questioningly.

"Shedding tears of regret, are we, Number 110?" asked Manjoume.

Jaden continued to do what he was doing, but surprised Manjoume once he found out Jaden was actually laughing. Jaden got up from the ground and looked at his opponent with a grin.

"I'm touched!" he said.

Manjoume looked at Jaden perplexed.

"What…?" said Manjoume.

"Duel Academy sure is fun!" Jaden said, keeping his grin. "There's a bunch of guys like you around here, aren't there? This is going to be great!"

Manjoume gritted his teeth.

"What was that?" Manjoume asked.

Jaden drew out a card as Shou and Asuka watched him.

"I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode!" said Jaden.

Elemental Hero Sparkman, a man clad in blue with electrical static covering his body, appeared on Jaden's side of the field.

ATK 1600

"Go, Sparkman!" ordered Jaden. "Spark Flash!"

Sparkman charged up his right arm and shot out an electrical beam at Hell Soldier from his finger, destroying Manjoume's monster.

Manjoume:

LP

3600

Smoke engulfed the field as a sword, with a resemblance the one Hell Soldier had, flew up into the air and dived down towards Jaden, going through the boy.

Jaden:

LP

1600

Jaden held his chest in pain from the attack, Manjoume smirking at his pain.

"Its monster effect activates!" said Manjoume. "Hell Soldier has an effect that deals the same damage its player took to the opposing player when it's destroyed!"

Jaden growled as he stared at Manjoume. Shou looked concerned at Jaden, noticing his pain.

"Aniki!" he cried out.

Asuka blinked and gave a small smirk.

"Your big brother is mighty spirited, but pretty careless," said Asuka. "To just disregard a monster effect like that…"

Shou looked at Asuka.

"Jaden-kun isn't my real brother…" he explained.

Asuka blinked and looked at Shou.

"How can you put it…?" Shou said as he tried to find the words he wanted to say. "Well, he's my 'spiritual brother'."

Asuka blinked and looked at Jaden, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Is that so?" she thought.

After one turn, the tables began to turn after Manjoume activated Jaden's trap card, Mirror Gate, which switched the Flame Wingman on Manjoume's side of the field with Jaden's Sparkman. Afterwards, both Elemental Heroes brawled with each other, Flame Wingman coming out victorious and leaving Manjoume with 3100 life points, however, it was far from over. Due to Flame Wingman's special ability, Manjoume lost more life points.

Manjoume:

LP

1500

Shou smiled at Jaden.

"That's my Aniki for you!" he praised.

Asuka looked at Jaden with interest.

"He's pretty good, huh?" said Asuka.

Shou threw his fist into the air.

"You're so cool, Aniki!" Shou exclaimed.

Jaden blinked and gave Shou a V-sign.

A/N Ahem… that would also be known as a peace sign, but this is a V-sign, which is for VICTORY! Anyways, back to story.

Asuka laughed a bit.

"Don't push your luck," said Asuka.

Manjoume glared at Jaden.

"Why you…" said Manjoume. "Don't get too ahead of yourself there, you freaking Osiris Red dropout! I activate the spell card, Hell Blast!"

To make one turn and explanation short (without dialogue), Manjoume had the upper hand once more after activating Hell Blast, which caused Jaden's Flame Wingman to be destroyed and causing him to lose the amount of life points equal to half of his monster's attack points.

Jaden:

LP

550

During that same turn, Manjoume activated the trap card, Cry of the Living Dead (AKA, Call of the Haunted in the dub, only with a better and more kickass name!), making him able to bring back Hell Soldier from the graveyard only for him to summon Hell General Mephisto.

ATK 1800

Manjoume:

LP

1500

Jaden:

LP

550

With a difference of 950 (yes, I did the math) life points, Jaden was good as defeated (in Manjoume's mind).

"One way or the other, it appears I've clinched my win!" Manjoume said, smirking afterwards. "And according to the Ante Rule, I'll take your best card!"

Jaden laughed quietly and grinned.

"We'll see about that," said Jaden.

Manjoume's smirk ceased.

"What?" Manjoume asked, his smirk returning as he realized the outcome. "A duel is determined with 99% intelligence, with luck playing its part a mere 1%."

Jaden looked at his cards as he heard a 'kuri kuri' call out to him. He held his Winged Kuriboh in his hand and smiled.

"Yeah, I know, partner!" Jaden said to Winged Kuriboh, earning a wink from the small furball.

Jaden looked up at Manjoume, deciding to take his chances.

"I'll risk it all on that 1%!" said Jaden. "My draw will call out a miracle!"

Reaching for his deck, Jaden drew a card and looked at it, giving out a small 'All right!' in victory in his thought. However, before Jaden could play it, Asuka overheard the footsteps approaching through the halls. Asuka's eyes widened as she knew who the footsteps belonged to.

"The security guards are coming!" she cried out, both boys halted their duel for the moment. "With the Ante Rule being forbidden by school regulations, and using a facility after hours… you can get expelled for breaking regulations!"

Jaden's eyes widened at the word 'expelled', despite having already known that information. Even so, it still shocked him hearing that again.

"Wha!" said Jaden.

Asuka took out a small pamphlet and held it up.

"Haven't you read the student's rules on your Student Personal Planner?" Asuka asked.

A blush appeared on Manjoume's cheeks as he realized Asuka had been watching his duel.

"Asuka-san had been watching my duel?" Manjoume thought.

Taiyou interrupted Manjoume's thoughts.

"Manjoume-san, this is bad!" he said.

Manjoume scowled and turned, about ready to make his way out.

"That's enough for tonight," said Manjoume. "I'll take care of my win."

Jaden pouted childishly, earning a small stare from Manjoume.

"This match isn't over yet!" complained Jaden.

Like most of the previous actions Jaden had done, the current one he was doing was almost cute…almost being the key word as Manjoume immediately banished that thought from his mind.

"That's plenty," Manjoume sneered. "You've shown me how capable you are."

Manjoume jumped off the platform where he and Jaden had been dueling on with a somewhat satisfied smirk.

"Apparently, your entry exam was just dumb luck," Manjoume said, leaving afterwards with his group.

Jaden growled.

"Quit messing around!" he snapped.

"Aniki, they're gonna find us!" cried Shou.

Asuka looked around and motioned at the Osiris Red duo to follow her.

"Come on, this way!" said Asuka.

Shou nodded.

"Hurry!" he said. "Hurry!"

Jaden growled and crossed his arms.

"No!" Jaden said, refusing in a childish manner. "I won't move from this spooot!"

"Aniki!" whined Shou.

A few moments later, three security guards walked into the darkened room and looked around. It was empty.

Meanwhile outside the Main Academy Building,

Asuka stopped and looked back. She sighed at the sight of Shou having to push Jaden, having done it to get the rebellious Osiris Reed out of the duel field. She leaned back onto the wall.

"For crying out loud, you're quite the hassle, aren't you?" she said.

Jaden looked away.

"Tch, I don't need your opinion…" remarked Jaden.

Shou looked out from behind Jaden, smiling at Asuka.

"Thank you, Asuka-san," said Syrus.

Asuka smiled.

"So how did that harsh ordeal from Obelisk Blue feel?" asked Asuka.

Jaden closed his eyes.

"Okay, I guess," he answered. "But I thought I could've gone on a little longer."

Asuka walked closer to Jaden.

"Is that so?" she asked. "If no one had interfered, you would have lost your most important card due to the Ante Rule right around now, right?"

Jaden grinned.

"Nope, I had that duel won," Jaden said, holding and showing Asuka his card.

Asuka blinked in surprise as Jaden imagined what could have happened.

~Jaden's imagination~

Jaden held up the spell card, Monster Reborn, summoning Flame Wingman from the grave. Jaden looked at Manjoume and ordered Flame Wingman to attack.

"Flame Shoot!" he said.

Flame Wingman attacked Hell General Mephisto, causing Manjoume to lose all his life points, which made Jaden the winner.

~back in the real world~

Asuka nodded and watched as Jaden began to walk away. Shou trailed after Jaden, not wanting to be left behind.

"Aniki!" he called out.

Asuka stared at Jaden.

"That kid's pretty interesting," she thought, a small smile forming on her lips.

Jaden looked to his side and smiled at Shou.

~later~

Daitokuji sat on the ground as Hayato, still in his bed, listened to the professor finish answering the boy's question.

"And that's why Jaden isn't going to be your roommate for very long-nya," finished Daitokuji.

Hayato nodded.

"So, Jaden's getting a separate room in a few weeks…" he said. "I never would've guessed…"

Daitokuji nodded and turned his head after hearing the door close. Standing by the door were Jaden and Shou, back from the duel.

"So, how did it go?" Daitokuji asked eagerly.

Jaden blinked and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, we got interrupted by security guards," said Jaden. "So I didn't necessarily finish the duel…"

Shou nodded.

"But Aniki would've won that duel!" said Shou.

Daitokuji smiled and got up from the floor. He walked over to Jaden and Shou.

"So, have you told him yet-nya?" Daitokuji asked Jaden.

Shou blinked owlishly, confused to what the professor was talking about. Hayato, seeing the younger boy's perplexed look, decided to help him out and explain it to him.

"Jaden isn't going to be our roommate very long," explained Hayato.

Shou's eyes widened.

"Eh!" he said, looking at Jaden concerned. "Why not?"

Jaden waved his hands around to compose himself as Shou looked at him with sad eyes.

"Relax, Shou!" said Jaden. "I'm just getting a separate room in a few weeks! It's not like I'm switching dorms or anything…"

Shou sighed in relief and looked at Jaden.

"Oh, I see," said Shou. "I almost thought Aniki was leaving…"

Jaden slapped Shou on the back, though he unintentionally did it roughly. Shou yelped and looked at Jaden.

"Like I would ever leave this dorm!" said Jaden. "Heh! Now that's the understatement of the century! You know I could never leave now that I've made friends!"

Jaden smiled at Shou, who started to laugh a bit. Daitokuji smiled and adjusted his glasses before ruffling Jaden's hair to get his attention. Jaden looked up at Daitokuji, wondering what he wanted.

"Now, to discuss about your current rooming-nya," said Daitokuji. "If you'd like, I'll switch rooms with you for the time being until your room is ready-nya. "

Jaden blinked and smiled.

"That's okay!" he said. "This room's already grown on me a bit! Thanks anyways!"

Daitokuji smiled and nodded.

"Very well, I'll leave you be," Daitokuji said, opening the door. "I'll see you three in class later today-nya."

Jaden, Shou, and Hayato waved at the professor as he exited the room. Daitokuji stopped himself and walked back in.

"By the way, you might want to go to bed now," Daitokuji said. "It's half past one and classes begin in the morning-nya."

With that said, the professor left the room, closing the door behind him. Hayato rolled into a comfortable position in his bed whilst Shou and Jaden took off their shoes…er, I mean, Shou took off his shoes while Jaden kicked his off and dashed over to the bunk beds.

"I call bottom!" Jaden said, diving into the bottom bunk bed.

Shou sighed and turned off the lights before walking over to the bunk beds. As he climbed up the ladder to get into the middle bunk bed, which now belonged to him, he looked down at Jaden, who was already fast asleep. Smiling, Shou whispered a 'goodnight' and got into bed. As he was beginning to fall asleep, a question popped into mind.

"Why does Aniki need a separate room?" Shou thought to himself.

A/N End of chapter…what? You were expecting an OC from me because of the AU note? Pfft…I could not make an OC for any other category (except for Kingdom Hearts) if my life depended on it! And like hell I would do this to any of the Yu-Gi-Oh series! I'm okay with the characters that already exist…yes, even with shippings (read my statement on my opinion on yaoi/shounen-ai on my profile if you want to know). BTW, this chapter continues on to the next one so you don't have to keep reading this A/N Unless you want to.

And as for names…I kept Jaden's dub name since it grew on me! As for the names I didn't keep (which are the dub names)…it took a while, but I finally got them memorized in the few days I have been watching the anime with subs and looking around the wiki.

Also, don't flame me and I know it's exactly what happens on the anime (hell, this is even the first chapter)! I've been working very hard on this and that meant skipping chores (which if I don't do, then this laptop and money for an anime convention goes bye-bye).

Constructive criticism is welcome because I need to know how I suck and how I can fix that so it won't suck…just don't tell me what to do with this story. This is my story and you're not part of it…Did I just quote Auron from Final-Fantasy X? Seriously gotta play that game…

Aside from that, be glad it's not one of those clichéd OC stories (god, I hate those) and I hope that Jaden (Judai) and everyone else was in character…please tell me if they're not because I'm very picky about making sure everyone's in character (if they're not, then it was done intentionally for comic relief).