It had been about a week since the duel with Zane and the ramifications of the duel were still being felt.

Zane had been demoted to Ra Yellow. That had surprised people. Apparently, while he had received a perfect score on the theoretical portion, he had received a low score on the practical. The absolute loss that Naruto had given him had seen to that. Fortunately for him, the dorm change exam was every month so he would be back in blue soon.

One unforeseen consequence was that few people wanted to duel Naruto anymore. Seeing how quickly he defeated Zane scared all of his challengers. However, this meant that he now had a troop of people that followed him around trying to be friends with him. A good thing for Naruto was that he could quickly get rid of them, but it was an annoyance that he had to do it everyday.

Because of Naruto's need to hide from his fan club, he and Alexis had been spending a lot of their time together. This led to Naruto learning about Atticus from Alexis. This eventually evolved into Alexis taking Naruto to the abandoned dorm. That led to their current situation.

"Who do you think he is?" Naruto asked after knocking out some guy with a mask who had tried to sneak up on them.

"I'm not really sure. I've never seen him." Alexis answered while Naruto went through the guys pockets for some form of identification.

Neither one of them were expecting a pyramid necklace. Though when Naruto looked at it more closely, he blinded himself with a bright light. Blinking out the bright spots, Alexis just giggled at him. Setting the necklace down, they found a duel disk, a deck, and some rope.

Taking the rope and tying the guy up, Naruto said, "We'll take him to Professor Crowler. I'm sure he'lll know what to do."

Nodding to him, Alexis began to lead the way to Crowler's office. He walked behind her, appreciating the view.

x-x-x-x-x

'What was that sensation?' Zane asked himself as he sat on his bed in Ra Yellow.

Ever since his duel with Naruto, he'd kept thinking back to that duel and the sensation he felt during it.

It was different than the other duels he had experienced. The only other time he felt something similar was when he dueled his old master when he was in training, but this was far more potent.

It was almost like he was doing more than just dueling. Like he was actually waging a battle against Naruto. It would explain the exhaustion he had felt even though he hadn't actually done much. At the time he attributed it to losing for the first time in a long while, but now that he had some time to think he wasn't so sure.

Unfortunately, he couldn't ask Naruto, not because he feared that he wouldn't be answered, but because he felt that it'd be best if he figured it out himself.

As such, he did something he hadn't done in a long time. He had begun challenging other duelists.

It was a bit nerve wracking for him. It had been years since he had to challenge other students, usually they challenged him. Thankfully, his challenge had been accepted and he noticed that this duel didn't have the sensation that his duel with Naruto had.

It wasn't until he challenged Bastion Misawa that he felt it again. The sensation was much weaker than before, but this time he was conscious of it. This made a world of difference. The duel had had his heart pumping.

It was the passion and fire he had been missing. It had been a long time since he had such a duel. While losing to Naruto may have cost him his dorm, what he gained from the loss seemed to be worth far more.

x-x-x-x-x

Snapping his eyes open, Naruto jumped out of bed and onto his balcony. Searching the night sky he found what he was looking for and took off. Keeping track of the object, Naruto tried to figure out where it would land.

However, he soon saw that it would land near the volcano. Jumping off the balcony, Naruto ran towards the falling star. Seeing it about to land, Naruto stopped and braced himself. Hearing a resounding boom, he felt the island shake a bit from the impact.

Once he was sure that the island wasn't going to start shaking again, he continued his journey. It was a bit harrowing as he had to run quickly and make sure that no one else would find it even if the chances were low.

Reaching the base of the volcano, he saw the crater about halfway up the volcano so he knew that he had a big climb up ahead. Sighing, he realized he should have put on his shoes for the climb.

x-x-x-x-x-x

[Minutes Prior]

"How's Ra Yellow compared to Obelisk Blue?" Alexis asked as Zane looked into the distance.

"It's strange. Ever since I started here, I've always been in Obelisk Blue. I got used to people being arrogant and self-centered. However, Ra Yellow is filled with people who enjoy dueling. People who are helpful to each other and want each other to succeed." He said as she could see him being shocked by the difference in culture of the dorms.

"I don't think I'm going to go back." He finished shocking Alexis.

"I can honestly say, I didn't expect that." She said truthfully.

Chuckling he turned to her. "What about you? I've noticed that you seem happier than you've been in a long time."

"Really? I haven't really noticed." She said truthfully.

"I'm sure we both know who to thank." He said coyly.

Getting a small blush, she was about to deny it when they both felt the island begin to shake for a bit. Looking around in shock, they were waiting for any sort of aftershock, but nothing came.

"Do you think it was the volcano?" Alexis asked as they both turned to look at it.

"I'm not sure, but I sincerely hope not."

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Thank you chakra." Naruto said as he had to climb a lot of sharp pointed rocks.

Reaching the crater, he looked up at the giant stone tablet. Seeing a dragon on the tablet, he raised his hand up and the tablet began to glow. Within moments, the tablet shrank into a small card and floated into his hand.

Looking at the white card, he was surprised when he read the name. "No way."

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Wait did the guy have a black trenchcoat? Wore a fedora?" Naruto asked Jaden and Syrus as they explained the reason for their upcoming tag duel.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Syrus asked surprised.

"We saw him yesterday. He tried sneaking up on us, and I knocked him out. After that we took him to Professor Crowler. Do you think he escaped somehow?" Naruto asked Alexis who thought about it.

"It's possible he overpowered Professor Crowler. He was pretty big." Alexis explained as he nodded in acceptance.

"Did you explain the circumstances?" She asked as they shook their heads.

"You could have just made up a story that he tried to kidnap you or something." Naruto said before Alexis elbowed him.

"It's not really a big deal. Oh right before I forget. We found this in the abandoned dorm." Jaden said as he reached into a duffle bag under his bed.

Pulling out a picture frame he gave it to Alexis. "This is..." Alexis started before she trailed off.

"Yeah, we saw the name, so we figured that you might know him." Jaden said as he pointed to the Rhodes signature on the picture.

"I can see the resemblance." Naruto said as he finally saw a picture of Atticus. The eyes was where he really saw the familial connection. They were very expressive, just like Alexis'.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"So Syrus uses a 'Roid deck?" Naruto said as he saw the duel between Jaden and Syrus. "Most 'Roids aren't that powerful, but their effects can easily turn the direction of a duel."

"Wait, why's he attacking? Why didn't he use Patroid's effect?" He asked as he saw Patroid's attack being negated.

"He walked right into that one." Hayato said as he picked up Pharoah.

"I was afraid of this. Syrus is the weaker of the two and if he keeps playing like this, they won't stand a chance." Alexis said as Syrus seemed to curl into himself..

"And now it seems like he's about to give up." Naruto observed as Syrus lay on the ground.

"Get it together! If you give up this easily then you'll be worse then a first year repeater like me." Hayato yelled in order to try and get Syrus to actually take things seriously.

"Would you look at that." Naruto whispered to himself as Syrus actually stood up and focused on the duel.

"Looks like you gave him his motivation back." She said to Hayato as he smiled in relief that he was able to help Syrus.

"I know how hopeless I am, so I don't want others to feel the same way." He said humbly.

"I'm pretty sure you understand how others feel because you're not the hopeless person you think you are." She said encouragingly.

"Think so?" He said as he blushed in embarrassment.

"She just knows how to set your heart aflutter doesn't she?" Naruto said with a grin which caused Alexis to blush.

Looking at him with an embarrassed angry frown, all he did was laugh. "Hey, you set my heart aflutter everyday. It's a complement."

Turning away from him, she did her best to hide the embarrassment on her face.

"Steam Gyroid? Hmm, not the best card for this situation, but I guess you make do with what you have." Naruto commented as Steam Gyroid destroyed Elemental Hero Avian.

"This duel is over." Alexis said when she saw Jaden summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant.

"Yup. He's worse than I was expecting. Especially since Zane is his brother." He said as Burstinatrix burned away the last of Syrus' life points.

"They don't have the best relationship." She provided as they overheard that Syrus had Powerbond.

"Hmm, if he had used Powerbond and had destroyed Sparkman, then this duel might have ended differently." He said as Syrus explained that his brother forbid the use of Powerbond.

"I understand not using a card if you don't believe you can use it right, but why have it in your deck in the first place? It's taking up space that could be used by something else." He said annoyed that Syrus even had it in his deck in the first place.

"It might be that he wants to use it, but he respects his brother too much to go against his word." She provided as Naruto got an annoyed look on his face.

"That's beyond stupid." He said as he walked away from the cliff and towards his dorm.

Watching him leave, Alexis frowned at his retreating back.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"You changed who I was going to duel in the dorm change exam didn't you?" Naruto asked into his phone as he got ready for the day.

"Of course I did. Why would I have you dueling people below your skill level when I can just have you duel the best?" He heard back in reply.

"That's abusing your authority." He said back as he grabbed his decks.

"Your point being? There's a reason your father and I are dating." The giggle in the woman's voice let him know that his dad approved of her actions.

"When are you two going to get married by the way?" He asked actually curious.

"Hopefully never. It'd be a goddamn nightmare." She said back as he sighed.

"Well, I've got to go. See you mom." He hung up immediately afterward when he heard her begin yelling at him.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Everyday is a hassle to get rid of those groupies." Naruto complained as he walked with Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine.

"Well that's the price of fame. Just give it a few more weeks and they'll stop." Alexis said as they arrived at the pier.

"What are we doing over here anyway?" Naruto asked as Mindy and Jasmine began to walk away from them.

"You and I are going to duel." Alexis said as she put on her gloves.

Blinking, he scratched the back of his head. "So we came all the way over here just for that?"

"It's more private. I figured it'd be the best way to save your reputation when you lose." She said with a smirk.

"Oh so we're starting the trash talk? Alright I'm game." He said as he activated his duel disk. "I hope you're ready to lose, your majesty."

Knowing he was trying to get a rise out of her, she just activated her duel disk.

"Duel!"

Naruto LP: 4000

Alexis LP: 4000

Drawing five cards, Naruto looked to Alexis, "Ladies first."

Smirking, she said, "You'll regret that."

"I draw. I summon Etoile Cyber in attack mode." Pirouetting into existence a red suited figure skater stood at the ready.

ATK: 1200

DEF: 1600

"Then I set two cards face down on the field. I end my turn." She smirked as Naruto narrowed his eyes in thought.

"You're being very sneaky." Naruto said as he drew a card.

Elemental Hero Heat, Evil Hero Gainer, Draining Shield, Trap Jammer, Royal Decree, Elemental Hero Ice Edge

Looking through his hand, he grabbed Elemental Hero Heat. "I summon Elemental Hero Heat in attack mode."

In a tower of flame the red, gold, and silver colored hero of fire appeared.

ATK: 1600

DEF: 1200

Next, I set two cards face down on the field."

Evil Hero Gainer, Elemental Hero Ice Edge, Royal Decree

"Now, I attack your Etoile CyberwithElemental Hero Heat and thanks to its effect it's attack rises by 200 for every Elemental Hero I have on the field."

ATK: 1600 + 200 = 1800

Lighting its hands on fire, it threw them at Etoile Cyber.

"Not so fast!" Alexis interrupted as she activated one of her face down cards.

"I activate, Doble Passe!"

"Damn, so you're choosing to take a direct attack in order to launch your own back at me." Naruto said as the flames bypassed Etoile Cyber and hit Alexis.

Alexis LP: 2200

Shaking off the attack she retailiated. "Etoile Cyber attack him directly!"

Bracing himself, he was surprised when Etoile Cyber's attack rose. "Oh, didn't you know? Etoile Cyber's attack rises when she's attacking the opponent directly."

ATK: 1200 + 600 = 1800

Taking a kick to his face, Naruto wondered why holograms were actually capable of hitting people.

Naruto LP: 2200

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Hey, isn't that the exact same combo she used against Jaden?" Jasmine asked her black-haired friend.

"Yeah, but she had better results against him." Mindy responded to her brown-haired friend. "This time all she was able to do was even things out."

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Why did she aim for my face?" Naruto asked Alexis who just shrugged in response. "Well, I guess I end my turn."

Drawing, she smirked. "I activate Polymerization! I fuse together the Etoile Cyber on the field with the Blade Skater in my hand to summon Cyber Blader!"

Seeing Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater disappear into a vortex had Naruto wondering if Alexis used only figure skating cards.

Appearing from a tornado, the cybernetic figure skater made it's appearance.

ATK: 2100

DEF: 800

"Next I equip Cyber Blader with Fusion Weapon!"

Seeing the cybernetic arm begin to shift and transform made Naruto feel queasy. It was just something about the way the arm transformed that just didn't look right to him.

ATK: 3600

DEF: 2300

"Cyber Blader attack Elemental Hero Heat!"

Knowing his monster would be unable to survive the attack he activated his face down card. "I activate Draining Shield!"

A spherical barrier appeared around Elemental Hero Heat which protected him from harm. "Draining shield negates your attack and at the same time I gain life points equal to your monster's attack."

Naruto LP: 5800

Annoyed Alexis activated her face down card. "I activate my trap card! A Rival Appears! This lets me special summon a monster from my hand that has the same level as one of your monsters."

"Not so fast." Naruto smirked as he activated his own face down card. "I activate Trap Jammer!"

"This negates a trap if it's activated during the battle phase and destroys it."

Frowning, at having her trap card negated she grabbed a card from her hand. "I summon Cyber Gymnast and activate her effect. I discard one card to destroy one of your attack position monsters."

Seeing his Elemental Hero Heat explode in a fireball wasn't what Naruto wanted to happen. Seeing Alexis end her turn, he drew.

Pot of Greed, Evil Hero Gainer, Elemental Hero Ice Edge, Royal Decree

"I activate Pot of Greed to draw two extra cards."

Polymerization, Mask Change, Evil Hero Gainer, Elemental Hero Ice Edge, Royal Decree

"I activate Polymerization to fuse together the Evil Hero Gainer and the Elemental Hero Ice Edge to summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!"

On the field a giant ice pillar formed and then shattered to reveal the white armored hero.

"Now I activate Mask Change! By tributing one Hero monster I can special summone a Masked Hero of the same attribute. I tribute Elemental Hero Absolute Zero! Now come forth Masked Hero Acid!"

In a flash of light, Absolute Zero was replaced with Masked Hero Acid.

ATK: 2600

DEF: 2100

"Now, because Elemental Hero Absolute Zero left the field all my opponent's monsters are destroyed."

Seeing her monsters freeze and shatter had Alexis realize that she had no more moves left to play.

"Masked Hero Acid attack Alexis directly!"

Aiming its gun, the Masked Hero shot Alexis. Crossing her arms, Alexis felt the impact of the shot as her life points plummeted.

Alexis LP: 0

x-x-x-x-x-x

"You know, I kinda expected this to happen." Jasmine said as Naruto helped Alexis up.

"Really?" Mindy asked surprised that Jasmine didn't believe that Alexis would win.

"Alexis is a great duelist, but Zane is better and even he lost against Naruto." Nodding to her friend's logic, Mindy just sighed.

"So, when do you think they'll get together?" Mindy whispered to Jasmine.

"Either the end of this year or the next." She whispered back.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"I had an idea that this might happen, but I didn't expect it to be over so soon." Alexis said as she took her gloves off.

"That's no way to go into a duel." Naruto said as he put his hands on his hips.

"Yes, but I already knew my level of skill when compared to yours." She said with a wave of her hand.

"That just sounds like an excuse." He shot back with a deadpan stare.

Waving him off, she was about to continue before they all heard a scream. Turning to look at the source of the sound, they saw it was near the cliff.

Running as fast as they could, they made it in time to see Syrus' raft fall apart and for him to fall into the sea. A moment later, Jaden jumped in as did Hayato. However, they saw that Hayato was at best knee deep in the water.

"He's so scared that he didn't notice how shallow the water was?" Naruto said with a twitching eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm not staying to see this pitiful display."

Walking away, he didn't see the disappointed look on Alexis' face.

Alexis' cards are terrible. As is her win loss ratio in the show. Her manga counterpart isn't much better, but her deck certainly is.

Anyway almost 3 years after I uploaded this story originally I finally posted another chapter. Now, if you're wondering why I'm updating it's because I was inspired by all of the new support being given to some of my favorite cards.

This story isn't really a big priority simply because I have a lot of other things that take precedent. Hopefully though I'll update again before another 3 years pass.