Era of Spirits and Shadows Chapter 21 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter for Era of Spirits and Shadows! The winter break is over and the students of Duel Academy return to the island! Drake is happy to reunite with his girlfriends, and Jaden and Alexis are equally thrilled to see each other again. But not everyone is going to be happy about the ‘Queen of Obelisk Blue’ dating someone else. Such feelings might result in a Duel. There’s also a growing sense of unease on the island, even if it’s subtle. It may be time to stop putting off a certain someone’s introduction to the Shadow Magic of Ba and Ka.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 21 – Courting Alexis, Decision

The large ship that ferried students to and from Duel Academy island during breaks had pulled into the school’s private harbor and docked. After the ship had been secured and the stairs connected, the students were permitted to disembark. On the pier stood Jaden and Drake, both young men waiting for their girlfriends.

“You can always tell when Alexis is around.” Drake chuckled as several of the boys on the ship, and even those walking down the stairs, all turned to look at Alexis as she descended the mobile staircase secured to the ship, a single bag of luggage in her left hand.

“Yeah.” Jaden said with a smile as he caught his girlfriend’s eyes. The warm smile that Alexis gave him as soon as they saw each other was beautiful.

Drake, however, had his eyes on the two walking just ahead of Alexis. “Jasmine! Mindy!” He called out to his girlfriends with a wave and a bright smile.

“Drake!” Mindy beamed as she almost shoved her way down the last few stairs with her leather duffel bag of luggage.

“Wait for me!” Jasmine laughed beautifully as she chased after her girlfriend, managing to not hit anyone with her own luggage in the process.

Drake opened his arms wide. “Oof!” And was nearly bowled over as Mindy and Jasmine both leapt into his arms at the same time. With a quick pivot of his feet, Drake wrapped his arms around Jasmine and Mindy’s waists and spun them around to disperse the force as he laughed. Mindy and Jasmine both giggled brightly as they wrapped their arms around Drake as he spun them twice before setting them back on their feet. “I missed you.” He said to both of his girlfriends with a warm smile.

Jasmine leaned in and claimed the first kiss of the day; her lips softly moving against Drake’s for a moment before she pulled back. “I missed you too.”

Mindy, not to be outdone, kissed Jasmine’s cheek before taking Drake’s lips for herself in a soft kiss, leaning into it for a moment and then pulling away with a grin. “Missed you, Drake~” She giggled happily at being reunited with her boyfriend.

Alexis playfully rolled her eyes at her two best friends and their dramatic greeting with Drake. “I missed you, Jaden.” She smiled warmly at her boyfriend.

“I missed you too, Alexis.” Jaden said with a bright smile before he pulled Alexis into a warm hug, which she eagerly returned. Jaden’s arms wrapped around Alexis’s waist while she wrapped her arms over his shoulders.

Neither of them paid any attention to the stares from the other returning students; nor did they notice the dozens of looks of envy, annoyance, and in a few cases, anger. A large portion of the male student population wanted to date Alexis, after all. To see that Jaden, a newly promoted Ra Yellow, had clearly won her heart put the majority of the male students into a bad mood. Many were simply down about Alexis no longer being ‘on the market’, as it were. However, a few Obelisk Blue students were glaring at Jaden specifically as he and Alexis embraced for all to see.

“Let me get those bags for you.” Drake offered with a soft smile as he took Mindy and Jasmine’s luggage.

Jasmine grinned at Drake and looped her arm around his left arm. “Such a gentleman~”

“Our boyfriend is so sweet~” Mindy giggled as she wrapped her arms around Drake’s right arm.

Jaden chuckled as Drake, Mindy, and Jasmine started walking towards the Obelisk Blue girls’ dorm. “Should we join them?” He asked Alexis as he picked up her luggage with his right hand and held out his left hand to her.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Alexis smiled as she took Jaden’s hand and the couple walked after their friends hand-in-hand, still oblivious to the looks from so many of the male students.

The weather was still a bit chilly as spring had not yet arrived to Duel Academy Island. While the island wasn’t brutally cold at any time of the year, it still experienced occasional snowfall and the breeze could be cold. Drake got to enjoy Mindy and Jasmine practically pressing themselves into him on the walk towards the girls’ dorm. Likewise, Alexis and Jaden walked close to each other, their fingers entwined as the group of five chatted about their breaks and the time they’d spent apart.

“We do have something we need to tell you, in private.” Drake mentioned, his tone dropping so that only their small group could hear. “It’s not a problem anymore, but both Jaen and I don’t want to hide anything from you three.”

Alexis, noticing Drake’s tone, looked at Jaden and saw the seriousness in his eyes as well. “Something about Shadow Magic?” She asked in a hushed tone.

Jaden nodded once. “Yeah. It was dangerous, but Drake handled it.”

“Let’s just toss our luggage into our rooms and then go to our practice area.” Jasmine suggested to Mindy and Alexis, very concerned about what had happened to Drake over the break.

“Right.” Mindy hugged Drake’s arm closer to her, looking at her boyfriend with worry even though he seemed fine.

Drake smiled at Mindy and Jasmine. “I’m fine. We just want you to know what happened.” He assured his girlfriends with warmth and affection, making both Jasmine and Mindy lose a little bit of the tension that had developed upon learning that something had happened to their boyfriend.

As soon as the five of them arrived at the Obelisk Blue girls’ dorm, Alexis, Jasmine, and Mindy all practically speedwalked inside to toss their luggage into their dorm rooms. Jaden and Drake waited outside of the gate, getting some looks from the other female students returning from the winter break, but it wasn’t really any kind of secret—especially after everyone had seen the greeting between the two boys and the top three girls of the first years at the harbor—that Drake was dating Mindy and Jasmine while Alexis and Jaden were clearly a couple as well.

“We’re back!” Mindy declared as she cleared the gate first and walked over to Drake, gently taking his hand with both of hers.

Jasmine followed right behind Mindy and took Drake’s free hand in her own. “Let’s go. We want to hear everything.” She said with a gentle smile as she looked into Drake’s eyes.

Jaden smiled at Alexis as she held out her hand to him with a warmth in her golden eyes that she only showed him. “Ready?” He asked while taking her hand in his.

“Ready.” Alexis nodded once, gently squeezing Jaden’s hand.

The group of five walked away from the girls’ dorm and veered off the main path and down a trail through the forest before slipping off the trail and towards their secret practice spot. Once they’d arrived at the small clearing with the clifftop view of the ocean, Drake sat down with Jasmine and Mindy settling in on either side of him. Jaden sat down with Alexis at his left side, completing the small circle.

“Now, I just want to reassure you three that I’m fine.” Drake looked at Mindy, Jasmine and then Alexis. “Just know that while you listen to what happened over the winter break, I’m alright.” After he got a nod from Alexis, and two slightly hesitant nods from Jasmine and Mindy, Drake began telling the three girls what had happened with Jinzo and how the Monster Spirit had tried to take three Obelisk Blue students as sacrifices.

Near the end of the recounting, Drake could barely feel his arms from how tightly Mindy and Jasmine were squeezing them. Alexis was a bit more composed, but Jaden and Drake could both see the question in her eyes, wondering if her brother’s disappearance had been similar to what had happened to the three Obelisk boys.

“With Red-Eyes Soul’s effect, I reduced Jinzo’s Life Points to zero and won the Shadow Game, breaking his contract with Torrey and the other two.” Drake finished telling the three girls about the incident with Jinzo. “Then Red-Eyes ate the injured Jinzo Spirit to make sure it could never come back again.”

“Ate?” Mindy blinked at that.

Jasmine cocked an eyebrow as well. “Your Ka ate another Monster Spirit…?”

Drake nodded once. “Yeah. It was the first time that he’d done it. But he did it to protect me, and it makes him a bit stronger too.”

“It was a pretty weird thing to see.” Jaden said, recalling Red-Eyes Black Dragon snapping up the injured Jinzo and devouring the evil spirit.

“Is this something that might happen again?” Alexis asked, not wanting anyone else to disappear like her older brother had.

“It’s possible. Though this time was because of those three messing with things they shouldn’t have.” Drake pointed out as he pulled Jasmine and Mindy into a three-way hug to further reassure them both that he was okay. “That’s why I want to make sure that you four are keeping up with your Shadow Magic practice. The stronger you are, the more protection you’ll have against any malevolent Monster Spirits like that.”

Alexis called forth her two Ka: Cyber Angel Natasha and Cyber Tutu with merely a thought, making the two spirits appear as see-through to those that could see Monster Spirits.

Harpie Girl appeared behind Jasmine with her pink-feathered wings spread wide, letting out a cute cry. “Reeeaahh!” The small Harpie was also see-through, just like Alexis’s two Ka.

“Rabby.” Mindy called out cutely and the small pink bunny appeared sitting in her lap.

“Pyik!” Rabby made a cute noise before quickly getting petted by Mindy.

“I guess I didn’t need to worry that you may have skipped some practice during the break.” Drake chuckled at seeing how easily the girls had called forth their Ka. “Can you manifest them just as easily?” He asked with a hint of challenge.

Only a second later and four Spirits were fully manifested within the clearing.

“Easy!” Mindy declared with a little grin.

“We can do it almost instantly now.” Jasmine’s smug smirk was cute, in Drake’s opinion.

Alexis, ever one for a challenge, smiled at Drake. “Even manifesting both isn’t much of a drain anymore.”

“Kuri!” Winged Kuriboh flew about, circling the other four Spirits with happy trills.

Drake looked at Jaden, only for his best friend to chuckle.

“Everyone else was doing it, thought I’d join in too.” Jaden said as he watched his Ka play around with the others.

After letting their Ka move about in the material world for a bit, the five Monster Spirits all vanished back into the Deck Boxes of their respective partner as small balls of light. Seeing the progress of his ‘students’, Drake made a decision that he’d been waiting to decide on until he was sure that they could handle it.

“Well, since you four can handle full Manifestation easily enough now…” Drake held out his hand to Jaden and when his best friend took it, he maneuvered them into the classic ‘thumb wrestling’ position. “…it’s time to move onto the next step: invoking a Shadow Game.”

Jasmine, Mindy, Alexis, and Jaden all straightened up as they gave all of their focus to this new lesson. Jaden looked at Drake, complete trust in his friend shone in his brown eyes.

“What do I need to do?” Jaden asked, understanding that Drake had chosen him to learn first.

Drake smiled, glad to see that all four of them were taking this as seriously as it required. “Feel your Ba, move it out into the world like you’re trying to manifest Winged Kuriboh. But, instead of focusing on your Ka, you’ll be concentrating on calling forth the shadows.”

Jaden took a steadying breath and then felt his Ba within. He began to move it outwards, like Drake had instructed, but instead of moving it through the bond he shared with his Ka, he tried pushing it the opposite direction. The shade of the trees darkened slightly, the small shadows among the grass grew deeper, seemingly moving. It took almost a full minute, but the darkness thinly filled the air as well, surrounding the group in a thin black mist.

“Good, that’s step one.” Drake said calmly to not break Jaden’s focus. “Now that the shadows are responding, you’ve made a connection to the Shadow Realm. The next step is to declare the Shadow Game; in this case it’ll be thumb wrestling. When invoking a Shadow Game, you must set the conditions of the contract, like I did with Jinzo. While it doesn’t have to be anything truly serious, there must ALWAYS be a penalty for the loser and a prize for the victor.”

“I declare a Shadow Game.” Jaden said and the thin mist of darkness thickened considerably, making midday in the clearing seem more like just after sundown as all colors darkened considerably and the light faded. “If I win this thumb wrestling match, you have to give me one Duel Monsters card. If you win, I have to give you one card instead.”

Drake nodded as the darkness shifted, signifying that the Shadow Game had been established and the contract was being enforced by the magic of the Shadow Realm. “Ready?”

Jaden nodded as they both raised their thumbs.

“One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war!” Drake and Jaden chanted the childish little rhyme before they began the match.

Jaden tried to stretch his thumb to get Drake’s from the top, but Drake moved his thumb to the side and nearly wrapped it around Jaden’s instead. Jaden managed to pull back, his thumb poised to strike again while Drake did the same. A few feints from both of them nearly got Drake pinned; only for him to jerk his thumb free before Jaden could start counting.

“This has got to be the most intense thumb war ever…” Mindy said, watching the simple game.

“Yeah… It’s stupid, but you can feel how serious it is at the same time.” Jasmine didn’t take her eyes off the match. “It’s such a weird feeling.”

Alexis watched the thumb war between Jaden and Drake, her eyes only briefly glancing around the darkness that filled the clearing, recognizing the sensation from the Abandoned Dorm when the Shadow Magic in the ritual room had activated. “A game with basically no stakes can still become a Shadow Game… That’s kind of unsettling.”

Knowing that souls could be wagered in Shadow Games made Jasmine and Mindy agree with Alexis instantly.

Drake managed to pin Jaden’s thumb down and began counting. “One, two, three!” He got to three to claim victory and the darkness swirled around them, noticeably moving towards Jaden as the defeated party.

“So, I just give you a card now…” Jaden opened his Deck Box and pulled out a card, showing it to Drake as he handed it over.

“Hero Signal, huh?” Drake took the Trap card and the shadows around them wavered before fading away, letting the sunlight back into the clearing, the area looking just as it had before the Shadow Game. “The Shadow Game is complete.”

Jaden let out a sigh, feeling a noticeable decrease in his energy. “That took a bit out of me.” He accepted his card back when Drake handed it to him, putting it back into his Deck Box.

“Are you alright, Jaden?” Alexis asked quickly, hoping that invoking a Shadow Game didn’t come with other negative consequences.

“He’ll be fine, Alexis.” Drake smiled at her. “Invoking a Shadow Game is a part of Shadow Magic and therefore will always require some of the energy from your Ba, just like manifesting your Ka or, when you all get there, casting a spell. With a bit of rest, Jaden will recover his energy.”

Jasmine ran her fingers through her auburn hair. “That was weirdly intense. You can feel the danger of the Shadow Game…but the game itself was simple and had no real stakes.”

Mindy agreed with a small nod. “It’s almost like feeling something reaching out for you the entire time. Is that normal? Well, normal for a Shadow Game.”

“It is.” Drake said, pulling both of his girlfriends into a warm hug. “The Shadow Realm is a spiritual world. Invoking a Shadow Game lets that realm briefly take hold of a small part of our world and subject it to the magic of the shadows. But for living beings, a spiritual realm will always feel like it’s reaching for you, trying to draw you in. Only a strong Ba allows someone to resist that pull; and the stronger the Ba, the less it will affect you. Those with normal Ba and no training could find themselves drained and collapsing with only brief exposure to the Shadow Realm through a Shadow Game.”

“I guess that was the weird feeling I felt watching your duel against Jinzo.” Jaden guessed as he thought back to that night. “I was blaming all the electricity in the air, but I guess it was the shadows too.” Winged Kuriboh faintly appeared next to Jaden and nuzzled his partner. “Thanks for holding the shadows back for me, partner.” He smiled at his Ka brightly.

“Kuri! Kuri!” Winged Kuriboh cooed before fading away again.

Jasmine shuffled around and sat across from Drake. “I’ll try next.” She gave him a smirk. “The penalty can be anything, right~” The look in her eyes was tempting and she lightly licked her lips.

“Jazz~” Mindy giggled brightly at what her girlfriend was clearly thinking about.

Alexis couldn’t help but let out a sigh. “I doubt you need to make anything you might be thinking into a penalty, Jazz.” Just watching how the throuple interacted, Drake was a doting boyfriend that would spoil Mindy and Jasmine rotten without prompting. Anything ‘naughty’ that Jasmine was thinking about right now could be done privately AFTER their practice.

“She’s not wrong…” Drake said with a grin, matching Jasmine’s heated gaze with his own. “Let’s focus on practice for now, Jazz.”

“Fine…” Jasmine playfully pouted, only to get a kiss on the cheek from Mindy, making her giggle and give Mindy a kiss on the lips.

The lightheartedness of the group helped dispel any fear or nervousness as Jasmine was walked through the steps of invoking a Shadow Game for the first time.

-Next Day ~ P.E. Class-

Miss Fontaine smiled at all of the students in their gym uniforms. “Alright, students! Welcome back from winter break; I hope everyone had fun!” A few calls of agreement came from some students. “For today’s class, we’ll be playing tennis!” She picked up a racket from next to her feet and a single tennis ball to show the students.

“Yes, ma’am!” The entire class acknowledged properly.

“I guess that’s why we were told to wear the gym shorts instead of the pants today.” Mindy said as she patted the light-blue shorts that she had on. “Playing tennis in pants isn’t recommended, I think?”

Drake looked over Mindy and Jasmine. “I’m certainly not minding the view.” He said playfully, eyeing up the mid-thigh length shorts his girlfriends were wearing.

Jasmine smirked at Drake. “Our uniform skirts show more than this.” The fact that he still liked looking at them in clothing that was less revealing was nice though.

“A change in outfit makes a whole new way to show off your beauty.” Drake told Jasmine and Mindy with a smile. “And the sporty look works for both of you.”

“Sweet talker~” Mindy giggled at Drake, though she preened just a little in her gym outfit from the compliment.

Jasmine’s smirk tuned into a soft smile. “Thanks, Drake.”

“It is a nice change of outfit.” Jaden agreed, looking at Alexis with warm eyes.

Alexis smiled gently. “Thank you, Jaden.” The long-sleeved, zip-up top that the students wore was loose enough for full movement, but she, Jasmine, and Mindy still ‘filled them out’ well with their curves. The fact that Jaden wasn’t staring at her tits, but appreciating how she looked in the outfit was just another thing that Alexis liked about her boyfriend.

As the class was divided up into pairs and put into matches against each other, Jaden and Drake ended up facing off against Mindy and Jasmine. Jasmine served and the match was on; the tennis ball being batted back and forth over the net.

Mindy dashed close to the corner to return a shot from Drake, sending the ball back across the court. Jaden smacked the ball at an angle, but it sent the ball sailing high into the air, making it easy for Jasmine to return it again.

“Looks like neither of us is going pro in tennis, Jaden!” Drake laughed as he managed to hit the tennis ball after it bounced once, stopping Jasmine from getting the point.

“What does tennis even have to do with Dueling?” Jaden asked with a flat expression.

Mindy moved across the court to return Drake’s shot with a laugh. “I heard Miss Fontaine wants us to play volleyball next class!”

“It’s a little cold for beach volleyball…” Drake said, clearly imagining Jasmine and Mindy playing volleyball in bikinis under the sun.

Jaden swatted the tennis ball back across the net, nearly hitting the top of it. “Drake?” He noticed his best friend’s brief distraction.

“We’ll make sure to do beach volleyball when it warms up~” Jasmine promised Drake with a sexy little smirk as she returned Jaden’s shot and the tennis ball whizzed right by Drake’s ear, smacked down near the back of the court once, and then bounced out of bounds.

“Promise?” Drake asked, ignoring the point Jasmine had just scored on him completely.

Mindy and Jasmine both broke out into giggles. But they both nodded to Drake and even winked at him, letting him know without words that they’d keep that little promise.

Jaden couldn’t help but snicker at Drake. “At this rate, they’re going to win, you know?”

Drake looked at Jaden with a grin. “Do we care that much?” He asked jokingly, getting a snort from his buddy.

“Uh, we’re supposed to announce the score before serving, right?” Jaden asked Mindy and Jasmine, since he had little knowledge of tennis.

“Yep!” Jasmine nodded as she readied her racket. “Your score and then ours.”

Jaden nodded as he held the tennis ball in his left hand and readied his racket in his right. “Zero to one…”

Mindy giggled loudly, covering her mouth with her hand a second later. “Love – Fifteen, Jaden!” She couldn’t help but enjoy her friend’s total cluelessness about tennis.

“Oh, yeah, that.” Jaden still didn’t really understand the tennis terms at all. “Love – Fifteen!” He announced before tossing the ball into the air and then hitting it strongly.

The back and forth began again as Drake and Jaden did their best to return every shot from Jasmine and Mindy.

“Backhand!” Jasmine called out her swing with a grin, knowing it might throw Jaden or Drake off since they didn’t know much about tennis. She sent the ball a bit high, but directly between them to force them to choose who would try and return the shot.

“Spike!” Jaden leapt up and swung his racket down, aiming to drive the tennis ball straight into the edge of the court on Mindy and Jasmine’s side so they wouldn’t have a chance to return it. The ball blurred as it sped towards the net, only to hit the top of the metal post holding the net and ricochet off at an odd angle, shooting to the side and straight towards Alexis in the next court over. “Heads up, Alexis!” Jaden yelled out to warn his girlfriend.

Alexis glanced over at Jaden’s yell and saw the tennis ball heading for her. She felt her Ba flare within her as she used it to increase her physical ability a bit—something that Drake had shown them how to do—and backstepped to get out of the path of the errant tennis ball.

A blur of a person skidded into the path of the tennis ball and knocked it away. The high-speed ball rocketing out of the court and slamming straight into Dr. Crowler’s face where he’d been standing while talking to Miss Fontaine.

“Gah!” Crowler cried out as his feet left the ground and he fell over.

“Dr. Crowler!” Miss Fontaine exclaimed as she knelt down next to the man, putting her medical certifications to use—as the Head Nurse for Duel Academy she was very well-trained in the medical field—to make Crowler hold still while she examined his face and his right eye.

Alexis blinked at who had just smacked away the tennis ball that wasn’t going to hit her. “Thanks…”

“Alexis, are you okay?” Jaden was right beside her almost instantly, clearing the distance between them at a speed that would’ve impressed a sprinting coach if anyone had been paying attention.

“I’m alright, Jaden.” Alexis smiled at him.

Mindy, Jasmine, and Drake came over just as the one that had hit Crowler turned to face Alexis. He was somewhat tall, had brown hair that went down to the nape of his neck in the back and was cut shorter in the front and on the sides. His brown eyes nearly lit up when he looked at Alexis and a small, confident smile crossed his face. His light-blue polo shirt had the Duel Academy logo over the left breast and the top two of three button undone, he also wore khaki shorts and tennis shoes to complete his outfit.

“You okay? You weren’t hurt, right?” The guy asked Alexis, giving her a ‘charming’ smile that would’ve seen a glint of light coming off his teeth if the light hit them just right.

Mindy and Jasmine both looked at the guy and then at each other.

“That’s Harrington Rosewood, Obelisk Blue, Third Year.” Mindy whispered to Drake to let her boyfriend know who the new guy was.

“His family owns Rosewood Motors; he’s the heir to the company.” Jasmine informed Drake with a whisper.

Drake whispered back to both of them. “He certainly looks like the heir to a wealthy family.” It was almost like seeing a character from a movie about the rich and the privileged.

“I’m fine.” Alexis said to Harrington with a short bow. “Thank you.”

Harrington gained a little color in his cheeks as he continued to stare at Alexis.

Jaden, normally the laidback and easygoing type, didn’t like the way Harrington was staring at Alexis.

“Is there something you need?” Alexis asked Harrington, snapping him out of his daze. She’d seen similar stares enough times to be sick of them.

“Ah!” Harrington blinked and faked a laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. “That was rude of me…” He lowered his hand and took a half-step forward. “I didn’t know there was someone as lovely as you in my Obelisk Blue…” Harrington took one of Alexis’s hands into his and raised it upwards.

Alexis pulled her hand out of Harrington’s with a much cooler expression on her face. “Please, don’t take my hand like that.” She said in a polite, but frosty, tone.

Harrington put his hand at his side, looking down briefly at the rejection. “I guess I got carried away, huh?” He gave another short, fake laugh. “Please forget that.”

“Jaden Yuki!” Crowler’s voice rang out loudly. “Don’t think I don’t know who hit that tennis ball!” He walked over to the group quickly, a bruise already swelling his face noticeably. “What do you have to say for yourself?!”

“I’m very sorry, Dr. Crowler!” Jaden bowed properly. “But I wasn’t the one that hit you with the tennis ball, sir.”

Crowler glared, but winced at the pain from his black eye. If Jaden had still been a Slifer Red, the Head of the Obelisk Blue boys’ dorm would’ve been thinking up ways to spin this into a possible expulsion. However, Jaden had proven himself a capable Duelist with his promotion, so Crowler tempered his anger a bit. “Yes, I suppose you’re correct.” He glanced at Harrington who flinched slightly. “Very well, Mr. Yuki, Mr. Rosewood, both of you will be staying after this class. Mr. Rosewood, as Captain of Duel Academy’s Tennis Club, your punishment is to ensure that Mr. Yuki gains control over his swings so that he’s not a danger to those around him. Mr. Yuki, you’re to follow Mr. Rosewood’s instructions for two hours after class ends. Am I clear?”

“Aww, man, MORE tennis?” Jaden groaned at the punishment.

“Yes, Mr. Yuki.” Crowler said, only to wince as his face throbbed again. “Now, I’ll be going to the nurses office.” He said as he gingerly held his cheek.

Miss Fontaine stepped in as Crowler walked away. “Alright, now that things are settled, let’s get back to class!” She ushered the students along with a pleasant smile.

-After Class-

In the girls’ locker room, Mindy, Jasmine, and Alexis were taking slightly longer showers than normal. Knowing that Jaden was going to be held back for two hours and that Drake would most likely wait for him, the girls saw no reason to rush.

“I worked up a sweat today~” Mindy hummed as she lightly scrubbed her skin with an exfoliating sponge that was lathered with her preferred body wash.

Jasmine agreed as she rinsed her hair of the shampoo that she’d cleaned it with. “Yeah, tennis really works up a sweat when you get into it.” Drake and Jaden had certainly proven to be fun opponents, even if neither guy was particularly knowledgeable about the sport.

“I feel bad that Jaden got into trouble though.” Alexis said as she let the water cascade down her body to rinse off the soap. “I hope that Harrington guy isn’t being too hard on him.”

Mindy turned off the shower she was in and pulled her towel off the hook on the other side of the swinging door. Once the towel was pulled over the metal door and wrapped around her body, Mindy opened the stall door and stepped out. “We can hang around and keep an eye on this impromptu detention if you’re worried, Lexi.”

“She’s right.” Jasmine shut off her shower and opened the stall door, revealing her naked body to Mindy with a playful wink before she wrapped her towel around herself. “Not like we have anything planned for right after class.”

Alexis turned off her shower and pulled her towel over the swinging door, wrapping it around herself securely. “Thanks, you two.” She smiled at her best friends as she opened the stall door and stepped out.

“Too bad we couldn’t sneak Drake in here.” Mindy said with a naughty little grin as she eyed up Jasmine. “I’m sure he’d LOVE to see us in nothing but these towels.”

Jasmine smirked, leaning forward a little to tease a peek at her cleavage. “I wouldn’t mind giving him a little peek.”

“You two do remember that I’m in here too, right?” Alexis spoke up as she took a blow dryer off the wall. “As much as Drake’s a good friend, and I wouldn’t care if he saw me in a towel—simply for the fact that Alexis chose towels that covered her from collarbone to knee and kept anything from being seen—I’d rather not tempt fate and risk any accidental exposure.”

“Fair enough.” Mindy agreed as she took the blow dryer from Alexis and had her friend sit down on the bench. “Me and Jazz wouldn’t want to give Jaden a show by accident either.” She clicked the blow dryer on and began to dry Alexis’s long blonde locks.

Jasmine stood behind Mindy with a second blow dryer and started drying her girlfriend’s raven black hair. “Well, unless we’re all getting A LOT closer and don’t mind letting each other’s boyfriends see us naked, of course.” She teased with a laugh.

Alexis looked over her shoulder at Jasmine. “I don’t think so, Jazz.” She made sure her friend saw her roll her eyes.

“You know I’m just playing, Lexi~” Jasmine giggled as Alexis smiled and turned to face forward again so that Mindy could continue drying her hair.

Once Alexis’s hair was dry, she took the blow dryer from Mindy and moved behind Jasmine to start trying her auburn hair. Mindy happily let Jasmine start combing her long black hair as all three friends sat on the bench and helped each other with their hair. While they were all in nothing but towels, and despite what a lot of the young men in Duel Academy would hope for, there wouldn’t be any ‘action’ between the three lovely young ladies. Mindy and Jasmine loved each other and Drake, while Alexis and Jaden’s relationship was deepening day by day. None of them would betray that, but there could always be playful teasing between friends.

-Tennis Courts-

“Hah!” Harrington served a tennis ball as fast as he could across the court.

Jaden dashed across the other side of the court to return the serve, managed it, only for Harrington to be handed another ball by a female member so the Tennis Club. “Hey…”

Harrington threw the tennis ball upwards and served it just as fast as the previous one, forcing Jaden to run to return the serve again. “Faster, Jaden!”

“I thought we were supposed to play tennis…” Jaden smacked the tennis ball back over the net. “…not run speed drills!”

“Come on! You can’t fall down from just this much!” Harrington called out as he served another ball, making Jaden rush to the opposite side of the court to return the serve. “Like they say: No pain, no gain!” Another tennis ball rocketed over the net, keeping Jaden running. “You gotta hustle to build that muscle!” The next serve blurred across the court. “You need to sweat to become a threat!” Another ball soared through the air.

“Whoa!” Jaden tripped on one of the tennis balls that had scattered across the court from the seemingly endless speed drill.

Harrington stopped serving and walked up to the net, looking down on the fallen Jaden. “If you don’t pick up the pace, you won’t win the race!”

‘I want to punch this guy in the face.’ Drake thought to himself as he sat on a bench next to the court. This was clearly not about helping Jaden improve, but about Harrington throwing his weight around. The Tennis Club captain probably thought he was being witty with those clichéd lines too.

“I get it already, Harrington.” Jaden said as he sat up from the ground. “Enough with the sports clichés.

“Come on, Jaden! There’s no ‘I’ in team! That’s the first rule of tennis!” Harrington used another sports cliché.

Jaden blinked as he stood up. “What about when you’re playing singles?” He asked the obvious question, given that traditional tennis was a one-on-one match.

The girl from the Tennis Club let out a short giggle.

Harrington flinched slightly at the retort, but immediately spoke louder. “Moving on! It’s time we worked on your forehand and backhand!” He swung his racket in a demonstration of both. “I think a thousand strokes each will help you make tennis more your racket!” He cracked a laugh at his own lame joke. “Get it? Get it?”

“Ugh…” Jaden and Drake both groaned.

Jasmine, Mindy, and Alexis had briefly watched the ‘detention’ from the entryway for the last minute or so without making themselves known.

“Oh…” Jasmine drew out with a grimace. “He’s a bit…annoying, huh?”

Mindy couldn’t help but agree. “Decent looks but it’s like he made old sports movies his entire personality.”

“Hey, Mindy, Jasmine, Alexis.” Drake greeted the girls, able to see them as soon as they stepped past the entryway.

Harrington turned as soon as he heard Alexis’s name, his ‘charming’ smile in place. “Alexis?”

Alexis walked towards the tennis court and Harrington practically jogged over to meet her.

“Hey there!” Harrington greeted Alexis with a smile and a wave. “Sorry, I’m sweating so much! I’ve just been kicking this guy’s butt! I’m so glad that you came to see me…” He stopped talking as Alexis walked right past him with barely a glance and started talking with Jaden.

“Are you alright, Jaden?” Alexis asked, seeing him sweating from being run all over the tennis court since class let out.

Jaden smiled at Alexis. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just gotta catch my breath.”

Mindy and Jasmine had moved over to the bench that Drake was sitting on, taking seats on either side of him. Drake grinned at his girlfriends warmly, until all three of them noticed Harrington seething at Alexis talking to Jaden.

“A benchwarmer like Jaden…talking to a girl like Alexis?” Harrington almost looked like he had fire in his eyes. “No way… Time to run some interference!” He was not used to being ignored at all. “HEY!!! Time out!” He bellowed, breaking Alexis and Jaden’s conversation. “How can you just talk to a first round pick like Alexis?! I’m not usually one to say this, but a guy that’s only just pulled himself out of the Slifer sludge has no place talking to my Obelisk angel!” Jaden’s eyes narrowed at what Harrington had just said. “I’m warning you, Jaden, step away from Alexis, you’re way out of your league!”

“What the fuck is this guy on about?” Drake actually swore at the way Harrington was acting.

Jasmine was glaring at Harrington now as well. “Who is he to decide who Alexis can talk to?!”

“Did that jackass just call Alexis ‘his’?!” Mindy also cursed, her normally warm and bubbly personality nowhere to be seen as she nearly snarled at the guy harassing her friend.

Jaden took a step forward, standing right up against the net of the tennis court now. “You need to chill out, dude.” He said with finality. Only his normally peaceful nature keeping him from going off on Harrington. “We’re having a conversation.”

Harrington took a step closer. “Alexis deserves a man in her league…a man like me.” He declared, his eyes intense as he stared Jaden down. “What makes you think that she even wants to talk to someone like you?!”

“Maybe the fact that they’re dating?” Mindy called out from the bench next to the tennis court. It was rather obvious that the only thing keeping her on the bench was Drake and Jasmine’s hands on her shoulders.

“Like I’d believe that!” Harrington scoffed dismissively before getting in Jaden’s face. “That’s why this little huddle is over!”

Jaden didn’t so much as blink. “Great. Then you can leave.”

“No way. Know your sports. When a huddle is over you make your play, you don’t run away!” Harrington said, seemingly unable to break his use of cliché sports lines.

“Let me guess, you want a tennis match?” Jaden asked with an annoyed sigh.

“I want a Duel!” Harington declared. “Winner takes Alexis as their fiancé!”

“What…” Drake began, his eyes wide at what Harrington had just said.

“The…” Mindy’s voice was rising and taking on a growl.

“FUCK?!” Jasmine nearly exploded as she shot to her feet.

Jaden’s anger didn’t even have a chance to erupt.

SLAP

Harrington staggered and actually fell to the ground, holding his cheek in pain.

Alexis stood over him, with an icy glare in her golden eyes, her expression the definition of cold rage. “I’m not some object that you can claim as a prize.” She said as Harrington looked up at her from where she’d slapped him to the ground. “You want to Duel? Then I’ll Duel you.” Mindy grabbed Alexis’s Duel Disk from the sports bag the three best friends shared to carry them when they had P.E. class and brought it over to her. Alexis gave her friend a nod, while Mindy looked at Harrington like he was trash before walking back to bench.

Jaden really wanted to Duel Harrington himself now, but seeing Alexis’s anger, he knew it was best to let her handle this. Without even looking at Harrington, Jaden placed a gentle kiss on Alexis’s cheek. “For luck.” He whispered to his girlfriend before he walked off the court while Harrington picked himself up off the ground.

Harrington grabbed his own Duel Disk from his sports bag and put it on before moving to one side of the tennis court while Alexis stood on the other. Both of them activated their Duel Disks at the same time.

“Duel!” The two called out simultaneously.

Harrington – 4,000

Alexis – 4,000

“Since I’m trying to help you out, I’ll go first.” Harrington declared as he drew for his first turn, putting his sixth card into his hand. “I’m going to volley a Spell card at you: Service Ace!” He slid the card into his Duel Disk and the hologram appeared showing a tennis court with a beam of light blasting up a cloud of dust right next to the opposing player. “Just like a power serve, this will make you sweat!” He pulled one card from his hand and held it up. “Here’s how it works: I choose one card from my hand and you have to guess if it’s a Monster, a Trap, or a Spell card. If you guess right, you’re fine. But if you guess wrong, well then, you get served with a stinging fifteen-hundred points of damage!” He grinned at Alexis, though it was smaller than before on account of his bruised cheek from Alexis’s slap.

“Spell card.” Alexis chose almost instantly based off the fact that Harrington had played a Spell before any other card.

Harrington’s grin didn’t fade as he flipped the card in his hand around to reveal the Monster card: Thunder Ball. “Sorry, it’s a Monster. Now I banish it…” He placed the low-level Monster into the banishment slot of his Duel Disk. “…and my Service Ace hits you with the big stroke! Good luck returning this shot!” The hologram glowed gold and a beam of light shot across the field to explode against Alexis, kicking up a simulated cloud of dust.

Harrington – 4,000

Alexis – 2,500

“Fifteen – Love!” Harrington declared with his grin still in place. “And I’ll place this card face down to finish the set!” He slid another card into his Spell/Trap Zone, making the hologram appear a split second later. “Your serve!” He passed the turn over to Alexis.

Jasmine clenched her hands into fists at Alexis taking that much damage on Harrington’s first turn. “I thought those rumors were a bunch of nonsense.”

“What rumors?” Drake asked her, not knowing what she was talking about.

“There are rumors going around in Obelisk Blue all the time about the rankings, who’s the best or in the Top Ten of the entire school and the like.” Mindy said with a grimace. “The rumors say that Harrington is almost as good as Zane, with a Deck that can flip the game on its head and change the rules.”

Drake looked at Harrington, who was still grinning even as his cheek slowly swelled up from where Alexis had slapped him. ‘He certainly doesn’t seem like some incredibly powerful Duelist. Zane has an amazingly powerful Ba for someone that’s never been trained and probably isn’t even aware of it. But this guy is just…average.’ Thinking about Zane did once more put the thought in his mind to talk to the Third Year about something he’d been putting off while instructing Jaden, Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine.

“Alexis has this.” Jaden said with absolute confidence in Alexis’s skills as a Duelist.

“Draw!” Alexis drew for her first turn and looked at her hand. “I activate, Pot of Greed!” She placed the card into her Duel Disk and the green and blue pot with the red eyes and wicked smile appeared and glowed green for a moment before vanishing. “I draw two more cards!” Alexis pulled two more cards from her Deck and looked at what she had, while her anger still burned coldly within. Harrington had done what so many other guys had done in her life: dismiss her as a Duelist and treat her like something to be obtained. “I’ll summon Diviner of the Herald!” She placed the Effect Monster on the field and in a shower of prismatic light a small woman appeared with wings made from the same rainbow-like light. She wore a purple dress-like tunic and a hooded cloak with wing motifs on it gleaming with prismatic light.

Diviner of the Herald – Level 2 – LIGHT – Fairy/Effect – 500 ATK/300 DEF

“When Diviner of the Herald is summoned, I can send one Fairy Monster from my Deck to the graveyard and then increase her Level by the level of the Monster sent!” Alexis said as she pointed at her new Monster.

Diviner of the Herald glowed with rainbow light for a moment as her effect activated.

“I’ll send my Cyber Angel Benten to the graveyard!” Alexis searched her Deck and found one copy of Benten which she slid into the graveyard. “Now my Diviner’s Level increases by six!”

Diviner of the Herald – Level 8 – LIGHT – Fairy/Effect – 500 ATK/300 DEF

“I’ll activate a Spell card!” Alexis placed the spell into her Duel Disk and the hologram appeared. “Machine Angel Ritual! I sacrifice Diviner of the Herald for my Cyber Angel Izana!” Alexis declared as the spell card showed a woman with wild blond hair dressed in a long black robe walking away from an industrial smelter that had flames leaping from the top as a pile of metal was melted down. Diviner of the Herald flew backwards into the Ritual Spell and the hologram erupted into a towering inferno before the flames were scattered by Izana. Just as she had appeared in Alexis’s duel with Jaden, Izana had metallic silver skin with blue metal covering all four of her hands, her chest, her waist, and her feet. Her four arms were each holding something, the lower two wielded a large trident-like spear, her upper left arm wielded an axe, and in her upper right hand a powerful golden light burned. Her long silvery hair cascaded down her back and atop her head was an ornate golden headpiece with a ruby resting at the front just over her forehead. Behind the Cyber Angel was a black metal ring, resting within a golden half-ring, which held up two silvery metal ‘petals’ to give the Monster a more divine appearance.

Cyber Angel Izana – Level 8 – LIGHT – Fairy/Ritual/Effect – 2500 ATK/2600 DEF

“There she is.” Jaden grinned as he saw Alexis summon her Cyber Angel Deck’s current Boss Monster.

“Now that my Diviner of the Herald has been tributed, her graveyard effect activates, and since Izana has been Ritual Summoned, her effect activates as well!” Alexis said to Harrington with a baleful blizzard of rage within her golden eyes. A small glow came from Alexis’s graveyard and Izana glowed with golden light as a Chain was started.

“Wh-What does your Monster do?” Harrington had no knowledge of the Cyber Angel Archetype so he didn’t know what to expect.

Alexis actually smiled, though there was no warmth to it. “Izana forces you to send one of the Spell/Trap cards that you control to the graveyard.” She looked at the single face down card on Harrington’s field.

Harrington’s hand actually shook a little as he removed his card from his Duel Disk and slid it into the graveyard. On the field, the hologram glowed before vanishing. “Diviner of the H-Herald’s effect?” He managed to ask as he saw Izana staring him down and his field completely empty now.

“Diviner of the Herald’s effect lets me special summon a Level 2 or lower Fairy Monster from my hand or Deck!” Alexis searched her Deck and found the card that she wanted. “I special summon Cyber Egg Angel in Defense Mode!” She placed the small Effect Monster horizontally onto her Duel Disk. In a shower of sparkling likes the tiny metallic egg made up of hexagon plates appeared, its glowing, translucent green wings wrapped around it protectively. “And when Cyber Egg Angel is summoned, it’s effect activates!” The little metal egg glowed with light as its effect activated.

“Another effect?!” Harrington knew he could survive this turn if Alexis only attacked with Izana. But if she kept special summoning monsters with effects, she could potentially OTK him on her first turn!

Alexis nodded once, her eyes still looking coldly at Harrington. “Cyber Egg Angel allows me to add one ‘Cyber Angel’ Spell card from my Deck to my hand!” She searched her Deck and found the exact card that she wanted. “I choose Machine Angel Absolute Ritual!” She showed the card to Harrington and then added it to her hand. “Now I’ll activate Machine Angel Absolute Ritual!” The card was put into the Duel Disk and the hologram appeared showing the same scene from Machine Angel Ritual, but this time from the opposite direction, the blonde woman with the wild hair and the long black robe was walking towards five industrial smelters all arranged as a massive altar with large fires blazing from their tops and a single Cyber Petit Angel hovering above them. “Machine Angel Absolute Ritual allows me to tribute from my hand or the field, or send Monsters from my graveyard back to my Deck, whose total Levels equal the exact Level of the Monster I’m going to Ritual Summon! I choose my Cyber Angel Benten!” Her graveyard glowed as Alexis removed her Cyber Angel Benten and put it back into her Deck, letting the Duel Disk auto-shuffle it. “Now I Ritual Summon my other Cyber Angel Benten!” She glanced over at Jaden, seeing a bright smile on his face and his Duelist Spirit burning bright in his eyes as she used the card that he’d traded to her.

The Cyber Angel Absolute Ritual exploded into a spiraling inferno from which Cyber Angel Benten leapt forward and landed on the field. As always, Benten wore her sleek red and white bodysuit and on her head she wore a golden face guard with four horns that bent at ninety degree angles to the sides and over her head. Her long, dark hair was held together near the end with a blue orb, and in her hands she had two red war fans that were connected together by a length of chain.

Cyber Angel Benten – Level 6 – LIGHT – Fairy/Ritual/Effect – 1800 ATK/1500 DEF

Harrington took a step back as he saw the two Cyber Angels staring him down. “N-No way…!”

“I enter Battle Phase and attack you directly with Cyber Angel Benten!” Alexis declared, her gaze cold.

Benten was a blur as she rushed across the tennis court, leapt over the net while flicking open one of her red war fans, and then bringing it down on Harrington in a slash.

“Gah!” Harrington cried out in panic at the hyper realistic holograms. Though he swore he actually felt a small amount of pain from the strike, even though that wasn’t possible even with the best of Kaiba Corp technology.

Harrington – 2,200

Alexis – 2,500

“Izana attacks you directly for game!” Alexis pointed at Harrington, her expression fierce as Izana blurred and was suddenly in front of Harrington.

Harrington felt like he was in real danger and tried to back away. “W-Wait…!”

Izana stabbed through him with her trident, pinning him in place. Her axe came around and cleaved him in half at the waist, and then the burning light in her upper right hand bathed Harrington in its radiance.

“AAUUGGHH!!!” Harrington screamed out, only for Izana to return to Alexis’s side, leaving him unharmed. Once again, however, Harrington felt a dull ache throughout his body from the attacks; even though he knew that wasn’t possible.

Harrington – 0

Alexis – 2,500

Harrington fell on his ass while Izana and Benten faded away as the Duel came to an end.

“Hell yeah, Lexi!” Jasmine and Mindy cheered for their best friend from the side of the tennis court.

“One Turn Kill.” Drake whistled and applauded Alexis’s skill.

Jaden was just as loud as Mindy and Jasmine. “That was an awesome Duel, Alexis!”

Alexis looked at Harrington, the Third Year Obelisk Blue’s face not visible as he looked up at the high ceiling of the P.E. area. “I’m not an object that you can win as a prize, Harrington. I’m a Duelist. You should learn to respect all of your fellow Duelists, no matter what color they’re wearing.”

A loud sniffle was heard and everyone looked over at Harrington, only to see the young man actually crying. “I-I actually lost?!” He stood up quickly and ran from the area as he started to bawl about his loss.

Everyone could only blink in confusion at what they’d just seen.

“Did he just…?” Mindy asked, trailing off at the end.

“He did.” Jasmine nodded once.

Drake let out a long exhale and shook his head. “Haven’t seen that since I was first learning to Duel in elementary school.”

Jaden agreed with his best friend. “Yeah… Didn’t think I’d be seeing someone cry over losing here at Duel Academy.”

“Hah…” Alexis exhaled heavily at Harrington’s reaction to his loss. ‘At least he wasn’t specifically crying about losing to a girl.’ She looked at the silver-lining of the situation. She’d experienced that more than enough times when she’d been a little girl and beaten boys in Duels. As her friends approached her, Alexis gave the all a smile. Her PDA beeped and she pulled it out of her pocket to look at it.

[Alexis Rhodes earns 9,000 DP for defeating a Third Year Obelisk Blue student]

“That was a great Duel, Alexis!” Jaden beamed at her, the fire of his Duelist Spirit still burning within his warm brown eyes.

Alexis surprised all of them when she gently pulled Jaden closer and leaned in to kiss him. Jaden took a second to respond to the sudden kiss, but quickly wrapped his arms around Alexis’s waist as he kissed her back.

“Aww~” Mindy cooed at the two.

“Told you that Dueling would be like an aphrodisiac to those two.” Jasmine said with a smug little grin on her lips.

Drake wrapped one arm around her waist. “You said it would be foreplay for them.” He corrected playfully.

Jasmine lightly bumped him with her hip as she looked into Drake’s eyes. “Close enough.”

“Maybe~” Drake chuckled as he leaned in for a kiss, only to blink when Jasmine moved and captured Mindy’s lips in a soft kiss.

“Mmm~” Mindy hummed softly as she eagerly kissed Jasmine back.

Drake pretended to pout. “Hey… That was mine.”

Mindy broke the lip lock to giggle at her boyfriend. “Nope! Jazz gave it to me!”

The couple and the throuple proceeded to make their way out of the large indoor P.E. field together. Alexis and Jaden holding hands as they walked, Drake holding Mindy’s hand while carrying the bag containing their Duel Disks in his free hand, while Jasmine held Mindy’s other hand.

As it so happened, the clock hit the two hour mark right as they were leaving, signaling the official end of Jaden’s ‘detention’.

-Evening ~ Duel Academy Lighthouse Pier-

In the dark night, a lone figure could be seen walking down the length of the pier. To anyone from the school, it was a very familiar face. Zane Truesdale, the top student, and longest person to hold the number one spot since Seto Kaiba had opened the school.

Zane walked the length of the pier—the spot he often came to when he wanted to think or just clear his head—and knew he was right on time as he spotted another person standing close to his normal spot near the lighthouse. “You wanted to talk?”

Drake looked over at Zane and gave him a nod. “Yeah. I would’ve called, but your student number is blocked. So, I had to send you a video message instead.”

“I got too many calls after taking the top spot here.” Zane explained why is number was blocked. “What did you want to talk about exactly?” He very much doubted that Drake would waste his time.

“This.” Drake pointed his thumb behind him and before Zane’s eyes a Red-Eyes Black Dragon materialized.

“Ssshhhrraaaa…” Red-Eyes let out a long hiss as its deep red eyes looked down at Zane.

To his credit, Zane only took a single step back at the sudden appearance of the legendary monster in the flesh. He could feel the way the air shifted as the dragon’s wings moved. The air from its breath was hot. But what made it the most obvious that this wasn’t any kind of hologram was the sheer presence the Red-Eyes Black Dragon gave off.

“I have a good idea of what happened in the Abandoned Dorm.” Drake told Zane plainly, looking into the older student’s eyes. “As I’m sure you know, Alexis still desperately wants to find her brother.” Zane nodded once, his face returned to its impassive look, his gaze steady and giving away nothing. “I’ve been teaching her the proper way of Ba and Ka, the ancient Shadow Magic of Egypt; so that she has the power and strength to safely look for her older brother. Though Jaden, Jasmine, Mindy and I will all help her, of course.”

“Why are you telling me all of this…showing me this?” Zane nodded towards the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

Drake gave Zane a small smile. “Because I see a great and powerful Ba within you, Zane. Power that, if trained properly, could help you find your best friend. Help Alexis find her brother.” Zane’s eyes widened noticeably before returning to their normal cool and calm look.

Zane looked at Drake for a long moment of silence before he spoke. “What do I need to do?”

“Join us at the location that I’m about to send you starting tomorrow.” Drake pulled out his PDA and tapped the screen a few times to send the picture of the marked location on the school’s directory map. “With how powerful your Ba is, you’ll only need a bit of patience and practice, plus a bit of time, before you form your own Ka and can begin to move forward with Shadow Magic.”

“I’ll be there.” Zane agreed, not even looking at his PDA as it buzzed in his pocket once.

Drake gave Zane a nod of thanks. “I’m glad. With how long Atticus has been missing, finding him isn’t going to be easy.” Both of the young men looked out over the ocean, everything briefly illuminated as the lighthouse light passed overhead and then continued on its revolving path. “While I hope I’m wrong, the Spirits on the island have become more restless since the start of the school year. It could be an indication that something truly dangerous is coming here. If that turns out to be true, we’ll need all the help we can get to keep everyone safe.”

Zane’s reply only came after a moment of silence. “I’ll do everything I can.”

-End Chapter-

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Alexis ISN’T a prize to be won! She’s a fuck mothering powerful Duelist and she deserves to be treated as such!

Harrington got the taste slapped out of his mouth and then wiped out in a Duel so fast that he didn’t even have time to use his dumb ‘Tennis Deck’ and all of its anime-only cards!

Alexis is the ‘Queen’ of Obelisk Blue for a reason!

We get some warm fluff between our OTP couple and the throuple! All of the warmth and fuzziness!

Drake has made the decision to approach Zane about learning Shadow Magic. Things are happening on the Monster Spirit hot spot that is Duel Academy island, and a powerful Ba like Zane’s needs to be trained up properly to protect not only itself, but others.

Does the group have time to grow stronger in Shadow Magic before this potential threat arrives?

Duel Academy has plenty of its own issues NOT involving Spirits, after all. Maybe they can serve as ‘training’ for Jaden, Alexis, Jasmine, Mindy, and perhaps Zane?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!