Chapter 41: First Day Back To School - 1
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A/N: I had to look up how to set up a volume or whatever that crap was. I hope you guys check out the volume section by going back to the cover area, so you don't get confused with the chapters that are about to be uploaded if you are reading from a mobile device.
***
Second year started.
It really did work. The time skip button thing. It was the first day of second year and I was scrolling my phone through the number of notifications I missed.
There were so many new things going on in Academy Island. Crowler became head chancellor for some weird reason. There were some new instructors and a lot of new students.
But there was this particular news... and it was some spicy news. A legendary pro duelist that I never heard of, mind you, is degenerating and going back to school as a duel academy student here? Apparently, a lot of people took it in as it was an amazing thing.
But I thought about it differently. After all, if you're a pro why the fuck are you going back to school? Although I had zero clue about what's going on in this world. But the fact there is a person who already knows how to duel professionally and is going to go through the insane lectures of basics on how to duel 101 sounded crazy to me.
'Season 2 is a nutshell. I can totally feel it.'
I even got a text notification from Alexis saying that Jaden was in a duel against a freshman and that I should come and watch. It's the first day back and Jaden was being challenged by a freshman…who isn't wearing…the academy uniform? That was basically the context of the message.
Alexis knew how to get Gojo interested in duels by doing stunts like these.
'These mfer. What are they doing now?' Gojo was rolling on his bed as he groggily got up.
I had to check it out, to determine whether this guy is dripped up or not, and if he was an ally. I should also check out who the pro duelist is I bet he probably came here for some silly ass reason. I really want to laugh at him for some weird reason.
[Is there something new!?] Dark Magician Girl exclaimed, magically appearing and sitting on his shoulders.
"Yeah, school started, and Jaden is already in a duel against a new freshman. From what I heard this dude isn't wearing the school uniform."
[Oh cool! Wait…you're going because this person isn't wearing an academy school uniform?!]
"Yeeeeep."
[Can we watch the duel too?]
"Sure." Because I never bothered watching duels but if she asks then might as well.
Maybe I should also start scouting my opponents this season and beat them up ahead of time.
***
Upon arriving at the destination that Alexis sent I was met with a surprising sight. Jaden was still dueling against this duelist. Eventually the freshman lost to Jaden, and I was surprisingly laughing pretty damn hard about it.
That was until he went up and challenged me to a duel. With the same thing he did with Jaden.
"You…want to use leftover cards you bought against me?" Am I hearing this right? Is this guy seriously insinuating that I'm ass? Or is this an instigation tactic?
This freshman was using leftover cards he bought from random booster packs. What kind of confidence is that? Quite hilarious if you ask me.
I couldn't really tell, but either way, this guy was starting to piss me off. And when he nodded in response to my question saying he didn't need to use his main deck, that was the last straw.
So, I ended him in one turn. After Aster made a set face down card as his only move before passing it to me. On my turn, I fuse 5 magicians cards in my hand with polymerization to fusion summon quintet magician to clear the whole board and then OTK him. Fuck this kid.
Naturally this made Aster fluster a lot as he did not expect this.
Didn't go as planned now, huh? Take that.
But everyone who was watching me gave me a weird look when I pulled off an OTK on him. They were Chazz, Alexis, and the head card shop Ms. Dorty, all perched on top of the cliff, watching the duel unfold below. Jaden was by my side watching the duel up close.
'What the fuck was all that about then?' Was he the one rumored? World class famous pro going back to school. Naturally this made Gojo chuckle a lot.
Yet at the same time Gojo was disturbed internally as he couldn't figure it out. If that guy is affiliated with that world ending type of gang?
As Gojo slowly recalled his face from Duel Links, he was able to grasp a small understanding of the guy. He was the Destiny HERO deck user. But after witnessing Jaden's duel and the duel he had with him, he came to a conclusion: that this guy was fucking trolling.
Whatever, a dub is a dub. We take those.
~
Walking up to the cliff with Jaden where the audience were on the patch of green grass.
"Nice work, Jay and Gojo." Syrus complimented me after seeing the duel end, with Aster casually walking away. But Syrus secretly thought that Gojo should tone down with his crazy play.
I nodded in acknowledgment, still processing the reason why he challenged me and Jaden. I was slowly gaining a bit of knowledge about Aster from Alexis personally telling me. After finding out he was the current #1 pro in the world…also.
"The guys you just went up against was Aster Phoenix you know!?" Alexis was saying as it was important. But funny enough she didn't even recognize him until Syrus pulled out the book.
More importantly that Aster was his 'equal' made Gojo laughed hard. It was a laugh like he had never had before, and it even nudged Alexis off, prompting her to hit him, saying it was a bit of a serious matter. Gojo and Jaden had beaten the number 1 pro duelist in the world.
As we watched Aster walk away and calming down a bit, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this duel. It felt weird, because my instincts were flaring a little. That Aster guy felt sketchy now. Maybe I should beat the living shit out of him for safety measures—
[Nice Duel!] Dark Magician Girl chirped.
[Thanks.] Gojo quickly replied.
'Was he trying to rack up an L spree?' Gojo decided to try thinking differently.
What a weird guy.
***
As Alexis was walking alongside me back to my dorm, I couldn't help but feel a bit strange. Normally, wouldn't it be the other way around? She had her arms behind her as she walked confidently, occasionally glancing at me.
"What?" Gojo spoke out, confused by her behavior.
"Nothing," she replied, looking away.
Probably about the kiss we had before summer break and the lack of communication during summer break. Now that we were all back in school, she seemed to be thinking about me. That's cute.
Dark Magician Girl and Mikanko were already out, playing around the island. So, it was just the two of us. When we reached inside my dormitory, I assumed Alexis would also go into my dorm room and play Duel Monsters cards like usual. However, she surprised me by heading into a new room, right next to mine. Apparently, she was my neighbor now.
???
What the fuck was this? When did this happen? Unlike other happy-go-lucky boys. I was confused by this predicament. Alexis then came out and gauged my reaction and chuckled before closing her door and entering into my room.
***
"Well, I made a deal with the chancellor to ask if I can move right in next to you. Crowler was a bit happy about this arrangement and quickly agreed. So there you have it." Alexis proudly explained while taking out her deck of cards and a mat, as the two were setting up a duel on the table.
"Oh. I didn't know you were that desperate for me." I casually responded with a joke as I took out my deck and a mat.
"It's not like that. It's so I don't have to make long trips on my way back to the girls' dorm from dueling with you." Alexis snorted.
"Of course. Of course." I sighed.
'Keep telling yourself that.' I secretly thought, if I try to say that out loud she will definitely get mad.
I have been hanging out with Alexis a lot more, even more so than Jasmine and Mindy, though they too occasionally dropped by together but rarely now. The girls are usually here for free food and the eye candy that I am probably. But it seems that no matter what Alexis is still serious about this dueling career. So, like a good friend I am, I can only teach her things that I can help her with.
The only thing I can teach Alexis is literally the ass pull left, 'believe in the heart of the cards'. So, we occasionally just duel casually and to help facilitate that into a reality. Although Arahime Mikanko is not here with her at the moment, Arahime can still alter the deck order to help Alexis when she is concentrating hard enough and believing.
Hilariously, tactics like 'heart of the cards' and other similar strategies in this world were not considered cheating. After all, those are skills in the end—Destiny Draw, Miracle Draw, or whatever else it's called—it's just skills. It's not considered cheating in this world.
This is a routine that we usually did during our freshman year when Alexis comes over, we duel, we eat whatever I can grab from my gate of babylon (Without her knowing), and we occasionally chill too.
Even after Alexis came back to school, she still appears to be doing this routine. Because of this, Alexis was slowly developing feelings for Gojo that she didn't know she had.
Despite it being just casual games, Gojo never pulled back his punches in duels with Alexis. Their record stood at 33-0, with Gojo consistently winning. During these duels, he would often come up with a rogue deck on the spot, treating it more like a memory game for himself. Alexis, who was always losing, remains even more motivated to become a better duelist by continuously challenging Gojo.
For them it's more fun to talk in between when playing the card games in a casual way than with duel disks. It really does bring back nostalgia of how I usually play back in IRL. I could read my opponent's card effect if I didn't understand jack shit.
Honestly, I wasn't sure about Alexis's mindset of becoming a better duelist just from taking Ls repeatedly, but this is considered a good thing, right?
Gojo smiles as he looks at his cards.
"So, how was your summer break?" I casually played Swords of Revealing Light, set Skill Drain, played Spellcaster of the Village Field Spell, and special summoned Dark Magician on my first turn before passing it to her.
Alexis's eyes twitched as she saw me casually pull-out a board at will back-to-back on every duel against her. She had a solid understanding of 'heart of the cards'.
"You didn't answer my calls, my texts, or even check out my voicemails when I was worried about you." Alexis huffed as she drew her card and then summoned Ni-Ni the mirror (Mikanko Spellcaster monster) then equipped it with a equip spell card attached to it. Then proceeded to destroy every spell and trap with a Harpie Feather Duster.
Alexis used the effect of her equip spell card Mikanko Reflection Rondo to take control of Dark Magician and attack Gojo with it. Which dropped Gojo's life point to 1500.
"I was with my family the entire time. Apparently, they want to meet you," Alexis said, looking directly into Gojo's eyes after her statement.
Gojo however was still calm after his life points dropped to 1500. After all, Alexis could not really do anything else after setting her remaining cards face down before ending her turn.
"I was very busy and still going to be busy," Gojo replied, not bothering to come up with a better excuse. He drew his card and immediately played it after drawing.
"Right... Busy," Alexis muttered, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms, emphasizing her chest.
This action caused Gojo to pause momentarily in what he was doing, staring in a daze at her chest for a second before snapping back to reality. Alexis, noticing his gaze, rolled her eyes. Although Gojo had Dark Magician Girl as his wife, he still couldn't help but appreciate Alexis's looks; this naturally made Alexis feel a bit pleased internally.
"Anyways, here I use my 'heart of the cards' or whatever ass pull I have in my deck," I continued where I left off. "Watch closely."
I drew a Pot of Greed and used it, coincidentally drawing another Pot of Greed, which I used to draw yet another Pot of Greed. But what happened next was also a coincidence. I drew Graceful Charity, and then I used it, followed by another one, and another one. I kept drawing more cards just to draw more cards, this action was slowly pissing off Alexis.
"Wow, what a coincidence. I won again. All because of the heart of the cards." I said in a monotone voice.
I used the quick-play spell card Forbidden Droplet to negate her use of all three card types for the turn (Monsters, Spells, and Traps), and then cleared her backboard with a Lightning Storm spell card. Dark Magician returned to my side of the field, and I followed up with Raigeki to clear her front line. Finally, I summoned Chocolate Magician Girl and then used both my monsters to attack her for game.
Alexis's eyes twitched as she bit her lip, struggling to restrain herself from smacking Gojo. Despite her frustration, she had learned a lot. She realized that her belief in the heart of the cards was still lacking. Being able to draw the cards you need at will was something else. This was one example that Gojo was showing her.
Well, Gojo's deck is a scam. But the idea of heart of the card is still there.
Aside from the extremely rare cards Alexis can't afford. Alexis can only try closing the gap with drawing the exact cards she needs and she can only practice this by dueling with someone like him.
Then, they started a new game.
~
As night approached, Dark Magician Girl returned with Arahime, the nine-tailed fox card of Mikanko, and they began chatting animatedly about their day and having fun.
The two Duel Spirits found Gojo being pinched and repeatedly smacked by Alexis. Well, this was totally normal too. After all, it didn't hurt Gojo at all, but he felt ticklish from her doing all that. After all, they all had fun in the end.
***
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AnHa8
AnHa8 I don't know if I still got it in me.
So I'm working on the 'side project' as a hobby to get me back into writing.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone