"So what's exactly different about the School Duel this year?" Yumei asked, while Kai and Yuki re-watched Jackson's pipebomb promo. "And how come we haven't heard of any changes up until now?"

Fujin paused for a moment before speaking. "Well there's normally just one duel between the best student of either academy. And for the last two years, that's been Zane."

Yume let out a small amused chuckle. "That doesn't surprise me."

"Right? I might be called the OTK Queen, but I would never want to duel Zane." Fujin shook her head as a shudder went down her back at that thought. "Just because I know how to counter his Power Bond/Cyber Dragon strategy, doesn't mean I could counter it when the moment comes. Anyways, back to the topic at hand. This year, from what Crowler and Shepphard said, there's going to be three duels. A tag duel, and two single duels. One of those duels is going to be between the captain of the tag duel."

"And the last singles duel is between the two best from either school?" Yumei's question was received by a nod from the purple haired Obelisk.

"Bingo. And there's something else. North Academy is planning on using first year students. And…" She turned her attention back to the screen where the two boys were constantly rewinding Jackson's little speech.

"And trust me this isn't sour grapes, but the fact that you're in the main event of the School Duel this year, and I'm not makes me sick!"

"And from what he's been saying." Fujin continued, while gesturing to the TV screen. "It looks like Chazz will be representing North Academy as their strongest student.

"Well, that's gonna be an easy duel." Yumei scoffed, now invested in Jackson's speech. He turned and waved into the camera, once again breaking the fourth wall.

"Hey there Yuki Hyoudou. How you doing?"

"Hey, hear that?" Kai lightly shook Yuki's shoulder.

Yuki laughed, and brushed Kai's hand off his shoulder good naturedly. "But some things Jackson said, raise a few questions."

Kai fixed his friend with a curious look. "Things like what?"

Yuki began ticking off things from Jackson's promo on his fingers. "Says he's barely promoted, not on any of the merchandise, or even the cover of the show. Since when does the academies put on shows? What, is this stuff marketed like professional wrestling?"

"Yes." Both Kai and Fujin said in unison, which made the wins blink in shock before Fujin spoke up.

"Dueling, especially professional dueling, is more popular than professional wrestling. Think of the pro dueling circuits like…" The purple haired Obelisk paused for a moment, trying to find the right way to explain things. "They're like the shows that WWE puts on, and the duels that take place at the academies, are sort of like that companies developmental program."

"You're talking about NXT." Yumei supplied.

Nodding quickly, Fujin continued. "Exactly, we're like NXT. And despite the academies being the pro dueling circut's version of developmental, there's a certain demand for it. Which is why a lot of the duels are filmed. That's why you have entrance music Yuki. Well, that and whoever is sponsoring you."

"Wait what?" Both twins looked at Fujin, then to one another, then back to Fujin.

"I have a sponsor!?" Yuki managed to sputter out.

"Well you obviously do." Fujin reached for Yuki's PDA. "Your sponsor, or plural is how you continue to have that entrance music whenever you begin a duel." She searched through Yuki's PDA, until finding what she was looking for. And upon finding it, her eyes went wide. "Woah…"

"What?" Yuki looked over her shoulder, and his jaw dropped. Fujin had found an icon that Yuki didn't know about, one that read SPONSORS. And the Kaiba Corp logo was right at the top of the list, right underneath his family logo of Hyoudou Games. "I… what… how…?"

"Oh damn." Kai made a sound between a scoff and a laugh. "Well, you did say that Kaiba was your teacher. But do you ever have a big paycheck coming."

"What!?" Yuki nearly fell over at that. He wheeled about, looking at his friend in absolute shock. "I'm getting paid!?"

"Yeah." Kai chuckled, straightening his friend who looked like he was going to fall over in shock. "See how it works, is the more sponsors you have, or how important they are, the more you get paid."

"And that's only part of it." Fujin supplied. "You're also paid for your merchandise sales. Like that shirt you two wear to the ring."

The twins looked at the shirt that Yuki was wearing. The one that Yuri had sent him before his promotion duel to the Ra dorm.

"I get paid for this?" Yuki's voice went up a few octaves, while he pointed to his shirt.

"Yup-woah easy buddy!" Kai caught Yuki, as his legs suddenly gave way. He guided his friend to the seat that Yuki had previously occupied. "I know it's a shock."

"That's an understatement…" Yumei sounded just as faint as Yuki looked.

"Yeah, it was a shock to the two of us when we found out too." Kai had placed a bottle of water into Yuki's hand. "Anyways, let's get back to what you were talking about. Jackson's leaving North Academy because of Chancellor Foster's poor booking." Kai brought out his PDA, typing away at it for a few moments. "Oh come on, that's just not fair." Catching the curious look of his three other friends, Kai explained his findings. "I'm following Jackson and his duels, and I've been following him since before his time at North Academy. He hasn't lost a single duel, so he's like the two of you." He said in regards to the twins.

Yumei could only exhale, and shake her head. "Okay that is unfair. An undefeated duelist shouldn't be getting shafted like that. Alright, one more question. Does one's ranking at the academy affect their sponsorships?"

"That's pretty much exactly how it works." Fujin said, before explaining further. "An Obelisk student will have the most sponsors. A Ra will have a handful, whereas a Slifer would be lucky to land one."

"That explains why people are so eager for promotion duels." Yuki was still shaking, as he took a sip from his water bottle. "And why most Obelisks are snobs."

"Yeah, most of them are trust fund babies, who think just because of mommy and daddy's money, and the big sponsorships, that they're better than everyone else. Most of them went to duel prep school, and got into Obelisk the easy way, instead of earning the blue jacket." There was an irritated note in Kai's voice. "And when I'm the Chancellor of Duel Academy, that's all gonna change."

"Alright, one more thing." Yuki spoke up, a small smile on his face. "If this whole thing is very close to professional wrestling, would that make me the Adam Cole." He held up his hands in a loose interpretation of Adam Cole's in ring pose. "Bay-Bay, of Obelisk?"

Kai let out a snort, that turned into a laugh. "With your music, shirt, and catch phrase, you're more like Seth Rollins."

"I can live with that."

The main dueling arena had filled up to near capacity. While it wasn't a duel involving one of the two Hyoudou twins, the hype surrounding Miko who was a rising star amongst the students was enough to fill the arena. And because of said hype, this duel was going to be filmed.

"I never even would have noticed those cameras." Yuki looked up at the ceiling, and then to the sides of the dueling arena where no duelist would notice the cameras.

"Yeah, they're pretty sophisticated." Kai said, munching on a large bucket of popcorn that he had gotten from Dorothy. "Should be a good duel. Though I wonder who Miko's opponent is."

"Just hope it isn't Zane." Yuki shuddered at the thought of that. Having to duel Zane to get into Obelisk. But he nearly jumped out of his seat, when he heard Zane speak up from behind him.

"It's not me." Zane chuckled at seeing Yuki go rigid. "Sorry, didn't know you'd freak out like that."

"Well now you know." Yuki let out a sigh as he slumped into his seat, while Alexis got into the seat next to Yuki.

The excited chatter died down when Dr. Crowler made his way onto the main dueling platform, a microphone in his hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, the following duel will be held under promotion stipulations. Should the challenger emerge victorious, he will immediately be promoted to Obelisk Blue! Introducing first…!"

Everyone jumped when flames erupted up from behind the barricade. Slow chemical by Finger Echoed about the arena, being broadcast by the arena's speakers. An Obelisk Blue boy with bright red hair made his way out towards the main platform, while being announced by Dr. Crowler.

"Char Redgrave!" Crowler's announcement made the majority of the Obelisks cheer, when Char stepped onto the platform. He slowly raised his arms above his head, and quickly brought them down. As he did, more flames erupted from behind the barrier. Though the students watching the duel were safe, as the pyrotechnic display was a good ten feet away.

"Looks like Duel Academy has its own big red machine." Yumei chuckled at her little joke, to which Fujin joined in.

"You should see the other guy." Fujin's comment made Yumei sputter. The implications as to what Fujin had just said, made her head spin.

"There is no way…!"

Fujin gave Yumei a thumbs up, causing the other girl's mouth to hang open as Char's music died down. They all knew who was next to enter.

"And introducing, from the Ra dorms…!"

Spotlights began to flash, and came to a combined focus on the entrance tunnel as Miko stepped out. Twelve Stones' Anthem for the Underdog had begun playing over the arena's speakers, and the Ra's and Slifer's cheered so loud, the windows outside the main arena rattled.

"Miko Miazaki!" Crowler announcing the insect using Ra made the Slifer and Ra students cheer even louder, as Miko made his way to the main dueling platform. Both duelists shook hands, as Miko's music continued to play.

"Rematch time huh?" Kai was leaning forward in his seat, as he clearly remembered the duel between the two the previous semester.

"Duelists, prepare for battle!" Crowler spoke into his microphone, his right arm raised into the air. "Ready…"

Both Miko and Char activated their duel disks at the same time.

"Duel!"

Char-LP 4000

Miko-LP 4000

"Since it's your promotion duel." Char had a smooth baritone voice. "You can draw first."

Miko smiled, and took his sixth card. "Thanks, and I'll start things off with a monster in face down defense position, and a card face down. A basic move, but that'll do it for my turn."

"I'll have to be careful." Char let out a shudder, recalling when he fell victim to Needle Worm, and then Man-Eater Bug the turn after. "I am not taking any chances. So here's how this is gonna go down. I'll start off by playing Cost Down. By sending a card to the graveyard, I reduce the summoning cost of one of my monsters. So, welcome to the field, Summoned Skull!"

Lightning struck the field in front of Char, and a skeletal fiendish creature rose from where the lightning bolts hit.

Summoned Skull Atk-2500

"Ah, and there's no other way to go about it so…" Char shrugged, before giving the order to his monster. "Summoned Skull, attack that face down monster! Lightning Strike!"

Summoned Skull snarled, and hurled a ball of lightning at Miko's face down monster. The creature shattered into a cloud of pixels, revealing a translucent looking grasshopper was what was destroyed by Char's monster.

"Glad you did that." Miko smiled, holding up his monster. "Because that was my Pinch Hopper. And when that's destroyed, I can special summon an insect monster to my field. So meet my Insect Queen!"

Everyone around the arena shuddered when the spider-like insect materialized onto Miko's field.

Insect Queen Atk-2500

"Oh and if you remember her effect, she gets stronger for every insect monster on my field … including herself." Miko reminded Char, as Insect Queen's effect took hold.

Insect Queen Atk-2800

"I remember her." Char shuddered as he got a look at Miko's monster, while slotting a card into his duel disk. "So I'll end things with a face down card." That card appeared behind Summoned Skull as Char ended his turn.

"My turn then." Miko drew and assessed his hand. 'I can't attack Summoned Skull without tributing one of my insect monsters. But I can take it out with this!' "Alright, I summon my Armored Hornet in attack mode!" Angry buzzing was heard, as the large hornet appeared next to Insect Queen, which in turn caused Insect Queen to grow stronger.

Insect Queen Atk-3100

Armored Hornet Atk-1800

"Looks like Miko's field is set." Zane nodded in approval. "Armored Hornet will cut Summoned Skull's attack in half, and then Insect Queen will be able to attack directly."

"Alright, Armored Hornet, show Summoned Skull why people are afraid of bees! Attack with Stinger Strike!" The hornet shot forward, stinger outstretched.

"I would hold onto that thought." Char held up a hand, as a dark Aura enveloped Miko's monster.

"Huh, what's going on?" Miko's eyes were wide with confusion, before a red and blue fiend appeared behind Armored Hornet.

"That's my Archfiend of Gilfer." Char explained with a smile on his face. "When he's sent to the graveyard, he becomes an equip card that lowers one of my opponent's monster's attack by five hundred points!"

Armored Hornet Atk-1300

"But that's still not enough." Miko said rather confidently, which caused Char to blink in shock.

"What are you talking about?"

"My Armored Hornet will still beat out Summoned Skull due to its effect!" Miko revealed. "Armored hornet, continue your attack! Stinger Strike!"

Summoned Skull Atk-1250

Armored Hornet plunged its stinger into Summoned Skull, who after a pained screech, promptly melted.

Char-LP 3950

"With only fifty points of a difference, Miko won the exchange." Alexis sounded impressed.

"But he's not done there." Yuki supplied. "He still has Insect Queen."

"And now, by tributing my hornet, Insect Queen can attack directly!" the weakened hornet vanished, and the large female spider spat acid at Char, which covered the Obelisk, and melted away a good chunk of his life points.

Char-LP 1150

"Impressive. Kid almost won there." Zane nodded his approval.

"Yeah, but Char still has life in him." Kai countered, as Char's turn began.

The red haired Obelisk drew his next card, and slid another card into his duel disk. Insect Queen was promptly destroyed by a large hammer, which made Miko jump back in shock.

"What just happened!?" Miko sputtered, lifting up the hair that fell in front of his eyes to make sure he was seeing things correctly.

"It was my spell card; Hammer Shot." Char held up the card in question. "It destroys one monster on the field with the highest attack. And in this case, that's your Insect Queen. Or at least it was."

"So much for that." Miko sighed, sending his monster to the graveyard.

"Well, if you like that, you're gonna love this." Char selected another card, and slid it into his duel disk. "The continuous spell card Soul Absorption. See, when cards get banished, I gain five hundred points. And then I'll summon a monster you're all too familiar with; Balrog, in attack mode!"

The fiery looking fiend growled at Miko as it appeared on Char's side of the field. It growled at the insect user, clearly having remembered their last duel.

Balrog Atk-1000

"And thanks to his effect, he gains five hundred points per fiend on my field!"

Balrog Atk-1500

Char smirked, as he entered his battle phase. "Alright Balrog, let's even the score! Direct Attack!"

The fiendish monster made to slash Miko across the chest, but was intercepted by an armored stinger. The sound of angered buzzing filled the arena, as Armored Hornet reappeared on the field.

"Sorry Char, but I had Call of the Haunted laying in wait! And with Armored Hornet back on the field…" Miko smirked, as Balrog's attack dropped.

Balrog Atk-750

"Counter attack, Stinger Strike!" Balrog was quickly melted by the poison in Armored Hornet's stinger.

Char-LP 150

"So close!" Yuki was on the edge of his seat now, his own popcorn bucket forgotten.

"But Char doesn't look worried." Zane said in his usual calm tone. And Zane was right. Char didn't look worried at all. In fact, he looked happy.

"Glad you did that, because now I've got everything I need." Char said, while sending his monster to the graveyard. "Because now I'll remove the three fiends in my graveyard…"

"Oh shit…" Both Yuki and Alexis felt their stomachs drop, as they both cursed, realizing just what was about to happen. The two were flashing back to Halloween, when Yuki dueled the monster that Char was about to summon.

"To summon Dark Necrofear!" A black mist swirled about the field in front of Char, and a monster with blue colored skin, dressed in S&M gear, and carrying a broken doll in her arms appeared on Chars field.

Dark Necrofear Atk-2200

"And let's not forget about my Soul Absorption card." Char said, pointing to the continuous spell card on his field.

Char-LP 1650

"But since that was my Main Phase two, I can't attack with Necrofear this turn." Char relented, calling an end to his turn.

Miko drew his next card, and a smile crossed his face. "Alright, I play Petite Moth, and equip it with the Superior Cocoon of Evolution!" The small moth, crawled into the cocoon on Miko's field that appeared next to Armored Hornet. "And now I'll attack Necrofear with Armored Hornet! And thanks to my monsters effect, her attack gets cut in half!"

Dark Necrofear Atk-1100

Necrofear let out a pained shriek, before she melted like the other three of Char's monsters.

Char-LP 950

"Glad you did that." Char had a smirk on his face. "Because when Necrofear is destroyed, she becomes an equip card that allows me to take control of one monster on your field. And I'll take that hornet of yours."

A transparent version of Necrofear appeared on Char's field, and beckoned Armored Hornet over to Char's field.

"Fine by me, I'll just activate Insect Barrier and prevent you from attacking me with my hornet, and then I'll set a card face down." Miko set the card behind the cocoon, calling an end to his turn.

"Alright, well I'll start by activating another continuous spell card. Dimensional fissure." Char slid the card into his duel disk, causing a large purple rift to open up behind the Obelisk. "With this, all monsters that would be destroyed, are instead removed from the game!"

"Smart." Zane said. "That way, Char can get his life points back quicker."

"Alright, but I'll chain your spell card with DNA Surgery, and change all monsters summoned from now on to insects." Miko countered, flipping up his trap card, which caused Char to frown.

"Alright then, I'll summon Pandemonium Watchbear in defense mode." Char set the card horizontally onto his duel disk, which summoned a blood red furred bear wrapped in chains.

Pandemonium Watchbear Def-1800

"And that's where I'll call it a turn."

Miko nodded, and drew his next card before cracks began to form in the Cocoon. "Alright, thanks to my superior cocoon, my monster is able to hatch earlier! So come out Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth!"

More cracks appeared in the cocoon, and soon the green furred moth unfurled its wings, and rose into the air in front of Miko.

Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth Atk-3500

"Nice, but don't forget about my Dimensional Fissure spell card." Char spoke up, as Miko's moth escaped its cocoon. "Since your Petite Moth and Cocoon of Evolution were both monsters, they get removed from play, which means I gain one thousand life points."

Char-LP 2650

"That's fine, I'll just attack with my moth! Attack Armored Hornet!" Great Moth flapped its wings, creating a powerful gust of wind that shattered Armored Hornet, and caused Necrofear to vanish as well.

Char-LP 1750

"Not bad, but thanks to my continuous spell card, I'll get another thousand points back." Char smirked as his life points increased.

Char-LP 2750

"Damn." Yumei cursed. "It's like his attack did nothing."

"Char won't go down without a fight." Kai was also on the edge of his seat, the same as Yuki as Char's turn started.

"Alright, my draw." Char smirked as he drew his next card. "I'll set a card face down, and call it a turn there." 'All I need is him to attack my monster, and I'll have wiped out both of his strongest monsters!'

Miko drew, and immediately played the card. "Pot of Greed, now I can draw two more cards." The insect duelist's eyes widened when he saw just what it was he drew. "Alright, I'll start things off by playing Monster Reborn, and bring Insect Queen back to the field!"

The spider like monster hissed angrily at Char as she appeared onto the field, and immediately grew stronger due to her effect, and Miko's use of DNA Surgery.

Insect Queen Atk-3400

"And I'll end my turn by setting a monster face down in defense position." Miko set the monster next to Insect Queen, who regarded it rather curiously.

'Damn, I was hoping that he would take the bait… oh well.' Char then drew his next card, and smirked. "Alright, by sacrificing my Watchbear I can summon this! Mist Archfiend!"

Char-LP 3250

Mist swirled in front of char, and a wicked looking fiend similar in appearance to Summoned Skull, although its lower half was all mist, and its chest looked like there was a fire lit inside of it, appeared on Char's field.

Mist Archfiend Atk-2400

Insect Queen Atk-3700

"You still can't attack my monsters thanks to my combo." Miko reminded him.

"I'm aware, and I'll be working on that soon enough." Char had a rather confident look on his face as he spoke.

"Well it's still my turn now." Miko said, while drawing his next card. "Yes… yes! It's over!"

Miko's outburst caused Char to blink in surprise. "Uh, care to enlighten me?"

"Sure, I'll start by summoning my second Armored Hornet!" Miko then set the card onto his duel disk, and angry buzzing filled the arena as Miko's second hornet appeared on his field.

Armored Hornet Atk-1800

Insect Queen Atk-4200

"Oh Char is in trouble now." Yumei had joined her twin, and ws now on the edge of her seat. She could sense when a game ending combo was about to happen, and Miko's declaration of ending the duel only made her all the more excitedly.

"And next, I'll flip up my face down monster … Man-Eater bug!"

"Oh crap…" Char groaned.

Insect Queen Atk-4700

"And due to his effect, I can destroy one monster on my opponent's field … like your face down card!" Miko pointed to Char's face down card, which promptly shattered. He let out a relieved sigh, when he saw that he had seriously dodged a bullet by destroying Yomi Ship, which would have destroyed the monster that destroyed it during the battle phase.

Char-LP 3700

"Armored Hornet, attack that Archfiend with Stinger Strike!"

The hornet charged forward, stinger out as its effect took hold.

Mist Archfiend Atk-1200

As before, Char's monster melted when it was stung by Armored hornet, before it shattered.

Char-LP 2900

Though due to Char's continuous spell card, his life points went up after his monster was removed from play.

Char-LP 3400

Insect Queen Atk-4200

Miko then turned his attention to Yuki. "You mind if I borrow your line?"

Yuki had the biggest smile on his face, and gave the Ra a thumbs up. "Do it!"

"Great Moth, Insect Queen!" Miko began, while sacrificing his Man-Eater Bug so his Insect Queen could attack. "Burn it down!"

Miko's two insect monsters through a combined attack of a gust of wind and a spray of acid wiped out the rest of Char's life points.

Char-LP 0000

The Ra's and Slifer's erupted into cheers as Miko was declared the winner of the duel. He and Char shook hands, and the fiend using Obelisk promptly raised Miko's arm into the air … before he was lifted into the air by the Hyoudou twins who had rushed the stage.

"Does she always hug like that…?" Miko groaned, having just gotten out of one of Fujin's hugs.

"Yeah, I would get used to that." Yuki chuckled, handing Miko a bag of ice for his ribs. "I swear her mother is Wonder Woman."

"Or she's related to Brock Lesnar…" The two shared a laugh, before Miko winced. "Oh god, it hurts to laugh…"