1. The Next King of Games!

Kaiba Duel Dome!

Domino City was home to the greatest Duelists on the Pro-Dueling Circuit, like Seto Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corp; Joey Wheeler, a duelist with so much good luck that to others it wasn't funny, and the King of Games, Yugi Mutou. The city was also home to the Kaiba Corp Duel Dome where teenagers were to take a test to get into a school for dueling called Duel Academy.

One of those teenagers was a 15-year-old girl who sat in the stands watching the duels that were taking place. The girl let out a sigh as she tucked a strain of navy blue hair behind her right ear, her crimson eyes scanning the duels below her. The young girl was what most of the attendees would have called pretty, while the remainder, which were mostly made up of teenage boys, would have thought she was beautiful. She would not have agreed with either group, though. She thought she was plain when she compared herself to either her mother or older sister.

The girl looked at the school uniform she was wearing: a white blazer over a black v-neck button down shirt, with a white dress shirt underneath, a midnight blue mini skirt, black mid-thigh length socks, and brown dress shoes. She wore a silver chain necklace that had a shield with a sword crossing it as well. Yup, there was no doubt in her mind that she was as plain as could be, though she knew that others might argue that.

"Will Mayumi Chizuru please report to Field 5. I repeat, will Mayumi Chizuru please report to Field 5."

The young girl smirked as she stood up and all eyes seemed to turn to her as she walked down the stairs heading for the field, putting on her duel disk and slipping her cards into the holder as she went. A young boy with two tone hair just barely made it to the exam at roughly the same time. He ran forward to watch the duels as soon as he entered the building.

"Look at them go," the boy said, though what really caught his attention was a guy with black and gray eyes who had just won his match. "Wow, that last guy really tore it up."

"Yeah," a voice next to him agreed. "That's Bastion Misawa. I heard that he got the highest score on the Entrance Exam out of all of us applicants."

"Wow," the boy said. "I just barely passed mine."

"Yeah, me, too," the voice agreed. "I'm Syrus, by the way. I have a thing where I get test anxiety. I don't know how I passed my exam."

The boy slapped him on the back with a laugh.

"Well, congratulations," the boy told him. "I'll be in as soon as I win my duel."

Syrus looked at the boy in shock.

"Wait, you haven't dueled yet?" he asked.

"Nope," the boy answered.

"Well, I think you have a problem," Syrus said. "I think the duel over there, the one with the blue haired girl, is supposed to be the last duel."

The boy was starting to freak out, but then Bastion showed up and took a seat in front of them. He took off his duel disk before putting it down. The boy leaned on the railing, smiling at Bastion, calm again.

"That was a tight duel, Bastion," the boy told him.

"Thank you," Bastion thanked him.

The three of them looked down at the field just in time to see a young girl with navy blue hair that reached the middle of her back step onto the duel field. Her bangs covered her forehead, with a slight part in the middle so that the longer sides fell alongside her face to frame her porcelain skin beautifully. She had crimson colored eyes and an hourglass figure.

Field 5!

When Mayumi arrived at the duel field, she was standing face to face with an exam prompter who smirked at her.

"Your name?" the examiner asked.

"Mayumi Chizuru," she answered.

"Well, Miss Chizuru, you know the rules," he said. "You win, you're in, but if not then better luck next year. Ready?"

"Oh, I'm ready," Chizuru answered as she activated her duel disk. "Let's kick it up a notch!"

Mayumi: 4000

Examiner: 4000

"I'll go first," the examiner told her as he drew his sixth card. "I summon Axe Dragonute in attack mode!" A dark blue dragon with lavender colored neck, forearms, stomach, and thighs appeared on the field carrying an ax. Its wings were outlined in blue and it had 2000 Attack Points. "I'll place two cards face down and end my turn."

"My draw!" Mayumi stated as she drew a card.

Stands!

"Who is she?" Syrus asked.

"Her name is Mayumi Chizuru," Bastion answered as he crossed his arms.

"I wonder what kind of deck she has," the boy said.

"Yeah, same here."

Field 5!

"I activate the magic card known as Double Summon!" Mayumi announced as she held up the card. "This let's me normal summon twice this turn. So I summon Marauding Captain in attack mode!"

A male knight monster appeared on the field in front of Mayumi with 1200 Attack Points. "Next, because of my spell card, I summon Queen's Knight in attack mode!" This time a female warrior wearing red armor appeared on the field with 1500 Attack Points. "But I'm not done yet, because thanks to Marauding Captain's special ability, I can summon a level 4 or lower Warrior-Type monster from my hand. I summon King's Knight in attack mode!" Another male warrior appeared next to Queen's Knight, this one with 1600 Attack Points. "Now, for King's Knight's effect! With both Queen's and King's Knights out, I can summon Jack's Knight in attack mode."

A third male warrior appeared on the field next to King's Knight, with an Attack score of 1900.

Stands!

"Wow," Bastion breathed the word in surprise. "She was able to get four monsters out for the price of one."

"So she uses Warrior-Type monsters," the brown haired boy said with a smile. "Sweet."

Balcony!

"Not bad," a teal haired boy said as he watched the duel. "But they're all still weak compared to that Axe Dragonute."

"You're right, Zane," a girl with dirty blonde hair agreed.

"She hasn't even gotten started yet," a female voice spoke up.

Both Zane and the girl looked up to see a young girl around Zane's age standing right behind them with her arms crossed over her chest. Her sapphire blue eyes were narrowed.

"Ake?" the other girl asked. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean, Alexis, is that my little sister knows more about those cards than I do," Ake answered as she walked over to stand next to them.

"Your sister?" Alexis sounded surprised.

"I figured as much. She has the same last name as you do," Zane stated, looking back to the duel.

Ake tucked a few strands of her chin length black bangs behind one ear with a smile.

"Mayumi Chizuru," Ake told Alexis. "She has our mother's navy blue hair that goes nicely with the crimson eyes she got from our father."

Alexis made an o shape with her mouth before looking back at the field.

Field 5!

"I'll throw down two face downs and end my turn," Mayumi concluded.

"Then it's my turn," the examiner said as he drew his next card. "I'll have Axe Dragonute attack your Marauding Captain!"

His dragon flew at her warrior, swinging its ax down and destroying the Marauding Captain. Her Life Points dropped to 3200.

"And because I attacked this turn, I have to switch my Axe Dragonute into defense mode. I end my turn," the examiner concluded.

Mayumi smirked as she drew her new card.

"First, I'll have Jack's Knight attack your Axe Dragonute!" Mayumi explained as her warrior moved in for the kill. "Now I'll have Queen's Knight attack you directly, followed by King's Knight!"

Her female warrior charged in and brought her sword down on the examiner. His Life Points fell to 3500. Then it was her King's Knight who charged in, returning to Mayumi's side of the field after bringing the examiner's Life Points down to 1900.

"I'll end my turn with that," Mayumi concluded.

Balcony!

"So that's what you're doing, Mayumi," Ake said to herself, causing Alexis and Zane to look at her. "The examiner is playing right into her hands."

Both Zane and Alexis looked back at the field, trying to see what Mayumi was planning.

Stands!

"I wonder what she has planned," Bastion said in a thoughtful tone.

"What do you mean, Bastion?" Syrus asked.

"What I mean is that Mayumi duels with a Warrior-type deck that she got when she was 14 years old after winning a tournament sponsored by Kaiba Corp and Industrial Illusions."

"Wow," the brown haired boy breathed in awe. "That's so cool."

"I heard that Maximilian J. Pegasus was there for the finals," Syrus added in.

Bastion nodded, his eyes on Mayumi.

Field 5!

"I'll play Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards," the examiner told her once he had finished his initial Draw Phase. Mayum just rolled her eyes as he drew his two new cards. "Next, I summon Lord of Dragons in attack mode!" A Spellcaster-type monster appeared on the field with 1200 Attack Points. "Now I'll activate the Flute of Summoning Dragons, and because I have Lord of Dragons on the field, I can summon up to two Dragon-type monsters."

The spellcaster brought the flute to its lips before blowing into it. "So I'll summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Darkflare Dragon!" Two dragons appeared on the field, glaring down at Mayumi's warriors. Both of their Attack scores were at 2400 points. "Now I'll have my Red-Eyes Black Dragon attack your Queen's Knight with Inferno Fire Blast!"

The red-eyed dragon fired off a blast that sent the Queen's Knight to the grave and knocked Mayumi down to 2300 Life Points.

"Now, Darkflare Dragon! Send her King's Knight to the graveyard!"

His second dragon opened its mouth and fired off a second blast, destroying Mayumi's King's Knight. Her Life Points dipped further to 1500 points.

"I'll end my turn," the examiner concluded with a smirk.

"Then it's my turn," Mayumi announced as she drew a new card. "I summon Junk Synchron in attack mode!" An orange monster made of metal appeared on the field. "And I'll have Jack's Knight attack your Lord of Dragons!"

Her last knight rushed at the spellcaster, slicing him in two. The examiner's Life Points dropped to 1200.

"Next, I activate the trap card Urgent Turning!" Mayumi went on as the trap revealed itself. "Thanks to this, I can tune my Junk Synchron with my Jack's Knight during the Battle Phase to Synchro summon... Junk Destroyer!" As she spoke, Junk Synchron turned into three rings that Jack's Knight jumped into before turning into five stars. A green light-like barrier appeared behind Mayumi. "Behold, as shards of razor sharp steel and scraps of iron-clad alloy are forged together to create a powerful new force! Become the path its light shines upon! I Synchro summon! Obliterate, Junk Destroyer!"

From the beam of light behind Mayumi, a warrior made of metal appeared on the field with 2600 Attack points.

Stands!

"SYNCHRO WHAT?!" Syrus and the brown haired boy yelled at the same time.

"Synchro monster," Bastion answered, causing both Syrus and the other boy to look at him. He started to explain. "It's a newer version of fusion monsters. As you know, to get a high level fusion monster, you have to use either Future Fusion, Polymerization, Power Bond, Fusion Gate, and all of the other fusion card normally. This way, you use only one Tuner monster. By tuning a Tuner monster with one or more non-Tuner monsters, you can summon a high level monster onto the field. In other words, it's a form of fusing two or more monsters together to get one. You add up the total number of stars from your sacrificed monsters to get the level of the monster you want to summon."

Balcony!

Zane stood a bit straighter at the sight of the new monster on the field.

"So that's a Synchro monster, huh?" he asked, looking slightly impressed.

"Yup," Ake answered with a smile. "Both Mayumi and I have Synchro monsters in our decks."

"Zane looked at her before looking back to the youngest of the Chizuru sisters. Alexis was looking closely at the monster in awe.

Field 5!

"Now, because I was able to Synchro summon Junk Destroyer, I can use its effect to destroy as many cards on your side of the field as non-Tuner monsters I used to summon it," Mayumi continued. "So say good-bye to your Red-Eyes. Tidal Swipe!" Everyone was shocked as the examiner's Red-Eyes Black Dragon was destroyed by a surge of water. "And finally, Junk Destroyer! Attack Darkflare Dragon with Fist of Veracity!"

Junk Destroyer destroyed the examiner's last dragon, making Mayumi smirk. His Life Points dropped to 1000.

"I'll activate Monster Reborn to bring back Jack's Knight, thus ending my turn," Mayumi concluded as her warrior reappeared on the field.

"My turn," the examiner growled as he drew. "I activate my own Monster Reborn to bring Red-Eyes Black Dragon back from the graveyard!" The dragon reappeared with a roar. "Now, Red-Eyes, attack Jack's Knight with Inferno Fire Blast!"

Mayumi let out a sigh as her warrior was sent back to the graveyard. Her Life Points also dropped to 1000.

Stands!

"They're tied in Life Points," Syrus breathed in shock.

"That's true, but Mayumi has that examiner right where she wants him," Bastion stated with a smile.

"From here it looks like it could go either way," the other boy told Bastion.

"Just wait and see."

Both Syrus and the brown haired boy looked at Bastion in confusion before turning to each other.

"Okay," they said as they returned their attention to the duel below.

Field 5!

"I activate my last trap card!" Mayumi announced as the trap lifted up. "Call of the Haunted! This works just like Monster Reborn, so welcome back my Jack's Knight!"

"I end my turn."

"My go," Mayumi said as she drew. "And this duel ends here! Junk Destroyer, attack Red-Eyes with Fist of Veracity!" Her monster once again destroyed the examiner's dragon, dropping his Life points by another two hundred points.

"Now, Jack's Knight, end this!"

Ake and Bastion smirked while the others' eyes widened as Jack's Knight charged forward and brought his sword down on the examiner. The examiner's Life Points plummeted to zero.

"That's how I rock and roll," Mayumi told him with a three finger salute.

"Welcome to Duel Academy, Miss Chizuru," the examiner said, looking sore that he lost. He bowed and walked away.

Mayumi smirked as she turned to walk away as well, unaware that she was being watched from the viewing room.

Viewing Room!

"Mayumi Chizuru," a young woman said with a smile. "She has skills with those warriors."

Standing next to her was a young man with cold icy blue eyes.

"I agree," the young man told her in a cold tone. "But, of course, your brother also has skills with the Elemental Heroes deck, Jenny."

"Why, Seto, was that a compliment?" she asked directing her smile at him now.

Seto Kaiba just rolled his eyes before they both looked back at the field, waiting for the last duel.

Stands!

Mayumi smiled as she walked up the stairs, coming face-to-face with a rather handsome boy with two-toned brown hair. He smiled back at her.

"Hi," the boy said.

"Hello," Mayumi returned the greeting.

"That was an awesome duel," the boy told her. "You just might be the second best duelist here."

"Thanks... um," Mayumi faltered, looking at the boy wide-eyed.

"Jaden Yuki, please report to Field 3. Jaden Yuki, please report to Field 3."

"Well, it's go time," the boy named Jaden said. "Wish me luck, guys."

"Hold on!" Mayumi called out. He paused to look at her. "If I'm second best, then who's first?"

"You're looking at him," Jaden told her. "It's what I'm best at."

Then he ran off to the field where he had to face his own examiner, the Duel Academy teacher, Dr. Crowler. One look at that teacher, though, and Mayumi knew she'd be calling him a he-she in her thoughts for the rest of the year.

"He sure is confident, isn't he?" Syrus commented.

"He has to be," Bastion said. "Look who he's dueling."

Field 3!

"All right, test time," Crowler said. "So, son, your name?"

"Uh?" Jaden fumbled, confused by the moniker for a moment. "Jaden, Jaden Yuki."

"Well, 'Uh Jaden Yuki,'" Crowler said. "I'm Dr. Vellian Crowler. Department Chair of Techniques here at Duel Academy."

"Wow," Jaden said in awe. "A Department Chair? I had no idea. From the way you were dressed, I was thinking you were some weird Academy mascot, like a majorette or a cheerleader."

The boy laughed, but Dr. Crowler didn't seem amused by the joke. Back up in the stands, Mayumi giggled, knowing that she was going to enjoy having Jaden around when he got into the school.

"Duel vest on," Dr. Crowler said.

"Hey!" Jaden said in even more awe. "That's pretty sweet, Teach! How do I get one of those cool duel blue blazers?"

"Oh, a lot of hard work and extremely high marks," Crowler answered. "Of course, you'll have to get into Duel Academy first, and I'm going to make sure that won't be happening."

"Well, I'm ready!" Jaden told him.

"So let's duel!" both Crowler and Jaden announced, activating their respective duel disks.

"Here goes," Jaden said as he drew his sixth card. "Sweet, I'm going to summon Elemental Hero Avian in defense mode! I'll also throw down a face down. All right. Get your game on!"

"Yes, very good," Crowler said. "Don't tell me what to do. All right. For this first move, I think I'll start out nice and easy. I choose to play the card Confiscation."

"Ok," Jaden said. "What's it do?"

"What it does is it lets me pay 1000 Life Points for a chance to peek at your hand and toss one of your cards into the graveyard," Crowler answered. His Life Points dropped to 3000 points as Jaden's cards appeared in front of him.

"Huh, yes," he said. "I remember some of these from back when I was a naïve rookie. Which one will I banish?" He then pointed to a card. "Monster Reborn, to the graveyard." The card turned around before being destroyed. "Next I lay two cards face down on the field and last, but not least, I play Heavy Storm. This spell card destroys every other spell and trap card on the field."

A storm started up, destroying both of their face down cards.

"Oopsy," Jaden said. "Did you forget that you had two trap cards out on the field yourself?"

"Now, now," Crowler said as he shook his head. "You mustn't speak out of turn, young scholar."

It was then that the field turned dark.

"What's happening?" Jaden asked.

"Nothing's happening," Crowler answered. "Not yet, and that's about to change."

Stands!

Two golden, snake-like monsters appeared on the field, shocking not just the students down below, but Mayumi as well. Ake walked up behind her sister with a smile in place.

"Those cards can't be in any of the test decks," Mayumi said.

"What an elitist snob," Ake commented, making Mayumi jump. "Bullying an amateur with his very best cards."

Field 3!

"Ready for your next lesson?" Crowler asked.

"You bet," Jaden answered. "I can't remember the last time learning was this much fun."

"Yes," Crowler said. "Well, I'm quite the excellent teacher. Thank you." The sisters rolled their eyes at that. "Now I sacrifice my two Wicked Tokens and summon Ancient Gear Golem!"

Stands!

"There it is," Ake said in awe as the monster appeared on the field. "The legendary rare card."

"I'd say we're about to find out what makes it so legendary," Mayumi said.

"I still say that the God cards are better," a voice behind them stated.

The sisters looked behind them to see a young woman with white and dyed blue hair that hung halfway down her back. Her skin was sunkissed, and her bangs framed her face beautifully. She also had red colored eyes, a perfect hourglass figure, and was wearing the same uniform as the Chizuru sisters, only she left the blazer open.

"Who are you?" the sisters asked.

"Annabelle Bakura," the girl introduced herself. "And you are?"

"Mayumi Chizuru," Mayumi answered first.

"Ake Chizuru," Ake also introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you," Annabelle said before the three of them looked back to the match.

Field 3!

"Now, now," Crowler said. "I hope you're not too scared of my legendary Ancient Gear Golem."

"No way," Jaden said. "I've always wanted to take one on."

Balcony!

"He's staring down that legendary rare monster like he doesn't have a care in the world," Zane said in shock. "I guess that youth and inexperience have their benefits after all, huh, Alexis?"

"Come on, give it a rest, Zane," Alexis implored him. "At least the kid is showing some backbone."

"There won't be much left to show after this."

Field 3!

"Golem, attack!" Crowler ordered with a laugh. "Mechanize Melee!"

Jaden's Life Points dropped to 2000 points.

Stands!

The Chizuru sisters and Annabelle frowned, concern spreading across their faces. Jaden was hunched over and it looked like the boy was crying.

Field 3!

"Don't feel bad," Crowler told him with another laugh. "This is the top dueling school in the country. Some people are simply not cut out for-"

Jaden interrupted Dr. Crowler with a laugh.

Stands!

Annabelle and the Chizuru sisters were shocked to find out that the boy wasn't crying, but laughing. Mayumi giggled at the sight.

Field 3!

"I really want to come to this school now," Jaden said. "You really know your stuff, Teach."

Jaden went to draw his next card, but paused. He was looking at the card with a strange smile, and seemed to be listening intently to something. "Ok, I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode. And I'll place one card face down. Not bad, eh, Teach?"

"Not bad, but you must understand that I'm a master technician," Crowler chuckled. "A Kuriboh to me is rather pedestrian, even one with wings. You see, its defense points are still no match for my Ancient Gear Golem. It's a textbook mistake, don't feel bad."

Stands!

'Stupid,' Mayumi thought as she watched. 'With Winged Kuriboh's special ability, it's not a textbook mistake.'

Field 3!

"Now, let's proceed," Crowler said as he drew his next card. "With the legendary Ancient Gear Golem. Attack that Kuriboh with Mechanize Melee!"

The Winged Kuriboh was destroyed, but nothing happened. Dr. Crowler frowned.

"Check your gear," he snapped at Jaden. "Your Life Points haven't changed."

"My gear is fine," Jaden stated. "On the turn Winged Kuriboh is destroyed, I take zero damage."

Balcony!

"How about that?" Alexis mused. "A technique the doctor didn't know."

"No one can be expected to know every technique, Alexis," Zane said. "Especially one as obscure as that."

"Yeah, well, that kid sure knew it."

Field 3!

"Fine, fine," Crowler said. "I guess your lame little monster saved you there."

"Hey, slow down there, Teach," Jaden told him. "You may have beaten him, but that doesn't give you the right to call him lame."

"Oh yes," Crowler said. "I forget how attached you new duelists get to your monsters. I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Jaden agreed. "Well, you should be, because by attacking my Winged Kuriboh, you set off a trap card. One of my favorite's, too: Hero Signal. And that brings out my second Elemental Hero, Burstinatrix!"

A female hero appeared on the field in front of them.

"My turn," Jaden announced as he drew his next card. "All right, Winged Kuriboh, this next one is going to be for you. Here goes nothing! First, I'm going to bring Avian back to my hand with the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive! And now I'm going to summon him to the field."

Stands!

Mayumi smiled as she watched the male hero reappear on the field next to Burstinatrix. Ake looked at her younger sister with a raised eyebrow before looking back to the duel. Annabelle just smirked knowingly.

Field 3!

"Oh, ok," Crowler said. "Another amateur mistake. This is good, this is good. Now would anyone like to tell me what our little friend here..."

"No, actually, I wasn't done yet," Jaden told him. "See, I know that my two heroes aren't powerful by themselves, but if I can form them together, it's another story. And I have just the card to unite them. Polymerization joins Avian and Burstinatrix together. Fusion summon! There he is: the Elemental Hero, Flame Wingman!"

A green and red monster appeared on the field.

"I hope your Gear Golem is ready for a clash of the titans. So, Teach, what do you think?"

"I think you're dueling very well for an amateur, but next time try playing a monster that has more Attack Points than the one that's already out," Crowler told him.

Stands!

'Idiot,' Mayumi thought.

Field 3!

"All right, young scholar, I don't mean to rush you, but I am a busy man," Crowler said. "Are you done yet?"

"Of course I'm not done yet," Jaden answered. "And of course I knew that my Flame Wingman has less Attack Points than your Golem, but that's why I have this. Skyscraper!" Jaden placed a card into a slot on the side of his duel disk. Buildings shot up into the air all around them, forming a tall cityscape. "All right, Flame Wingman. Go show them heroics and attack that Ancient Gear Golem!"

"Fine with me," Crowler said. "Bring him on. This silly little Skyscraper field card hasn't lowered my Golem's attack by one point."

Stands!

Mayumi giggled as Ake and Annabelle shook their heads.

"He doesn't know anything about the Hero Archetypes, does he?" Ake asked as she looked at Mayumi and Annabelle.

"I guess not," Annabelle laughed.

Field 3!

"You want to know what, Teach?" Jaden asked. "You're right. This Skyscraper field hasn't lowered your Golem's attack. What it's done is raise my Elemental Hero Flame Wingman's by a grand total of 1000 points."

"Wait, time out!" Crowler said in shock.

"Go!" Jaden ordered. "Sky Dive Scorcher!"

Jaden's monster did as it was told to do and attacked the Ancient Gear Golem.

"This can't be," Crowler said, still in shock. "He was my very best card."

"And because of my Wingman's super power," Jaden went on. "The Attack points of that Golem becomes direct damage straight to your Life Points. Sweet, huh?"

"No way."

Crowler's Life Points plummeted to zero.

"That's game," Jaden said, striking a pose. "So I guess I passed the test, eh, Teach?"

Balcony!

"That kid's got a future here," Alexis said in awe. "Wow."

Zane just humphed before walking away, leaving Alexis to watch the boy on the field.

Stands!

Mayumi smiled as she watched Dr. Crowler start to mumble to himself, obviously pissed off that he had lost. The sisters got up from their seats, and with Annabelle, they all left after that. The two Japanese girls and the Australian were looking forward to the new school years yet to come.

...My Line...

I just want to say thank you to Osidiano for beta reading the first chapter to make it easier to read for others. Once again thank you.