The gridline pylons around the platform pulsed to full intensity, turning the late-evening arena into a clear blue bowl. Probably the security guards turning on the light at the stadium. The two duel disks flared open, with the shuffling sound of both players' decks rattled soundly. Holographic anchors chirped in their activation sequence as both players took their initial cards. The air took on that faint ionized tang that always came with a real match.
"Duel!" Their voices overlapped: Julian's even, Taiyou's sharp as his coin on marble.
The spectators on the side glanced at the arena as the match started. Chazz was unusually silent in the wake of his earlier loss, arms folded tight. Raizou flanked him, athletic posture radiating impatience. Bastion chose a seat near midfield, spine straight; Alexis leaned her elbows on the railguard, expression composed. Jaden and Syrus claimed a strip of bench in the first row of the arena, excited to watch the match develop.
The arena's ambient hum settled into a low, steady thrum as Taiyou took his first card. "Draw."
Taiyou slid his card like a practiced croupier and almost smiled. "I'll start simple. Normal Summon: Gene-Warped Warwolf in attack position."
(EARTH/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/2000 ATK)
The lupine warrior coalesced in a wireframe flash and then filled with color: white fur, long mane/hair, corded muscle, four stretching arms with blood-red claws ready to tear something. His nose raised into the air as it scouted the field looking for a prey.
"Set two backrow." Taiyou added, placing a pair of cards behind the beast. Their backs glowed a steady, expectant amber. He lifted his chin toward Julian. "Your move."
"Solid opener." Bastion murmured, approving in spite of himself.
"Big number, no tricks." Jaden said, rocking heel to toe. "He's going for big beaters, but no way that's his entire deck."
Alexis's gaze cut briefly toward Julian's end of the grid, measuring. "He played cautiously at his last game. Let's see how he responds this time."
"My turn, draw." Julian took one card, checking his fanned hand: Dekoichi, the Battlechanted Locomotive, Michizure, Pot of Greed, Messenger of Peace and Dust Tornado. A fine start. On the board, the best move was plain: probe, invite an overextension, and don't donate tempo into two unknowns. Let him waste his resources on the offense, especially with his type of deck.
"Set monster." He slid the locomotive into the central slot, a lumpish silhouette appearing face-down at his feet.
"Set one. And… set one more." Two more rectangular shapes rose behind the face-down monster: one centered behind it, one offset to the left. He thumbed the remaining spells together, felt the thin weight. "No need to advertise the plan. Let him spend his answers before wasting my Pot of Greed. He has the rare cards, let him waste them."
"Turn end." declared softly, extending his hand to the opponent to indicate an 'you're up'.
"Still reactive. He wants to see what Taiyou's deck can do before committing to a play." Bastion said softly, approving the spacing as if it were a math proof. "Good."
Syrus leaned forward, eager, but kept his thoughts to himself this time.
Jaden cupped his hands around his mouth "Play it your way, scoutmaster!" Alexis flicked him a serious glance at the nickname, chuckled for a second realizing the playful intention and brought her eyes back to the battle.
"Draw." Taiyou's eyes brightened a fraction. He placed a card face-up with a crisp, measured tap. "If you're not going to do anything, allow me to start. Skill Drain."
A jagged pulse of crimson light burst from the set card as it flipped upward. A torrent of chaotic energy poured over the field like a wave, the dark glyphs on the hologram twisting and pulsing in rhythmic spasms. In the projection above it, a spectral figure of Dark Ruler Ha Des arched backward in a silent scream, its body cracking as black chains coiled around it and a golden flow of energy left his body.
The oppressive aura spread in every direction, clinging to the monsters on the field like a heavy shroud — the kind of weight that didn't just restrain power, but crushed it at its source.
"I'll pay one thousand life points for its cost." A crimson flash pulsed across the Life Point display as the mechanical "BEEP–BEEP–BEEP" echoed through the arena. His LP dropped sharply as the effect activated, its dark aura finishing its job on flooding the field. "And then, Normal Summon Beast King Barbaros in attack position."
(Taiyou LP 4000 -> 3000)
(EARTH/Beast-Warrior/Level 8/3000 ATK)
The large lion-like beast landed in the field in a crouch, blade dragging a furrow of light as he stood. The iron geometry of Skill Drain cast severe shadows over his pauldrons.
Syrus's eyes widened the moment the creature materialized, its hulking frame blotting out the lights above the arena.
"Three thousand attack points?! How did he summon something that big without a tribute?" he blurted out, leaning forward over the railing. "It's a Level 8 monster!"
Bastion caressed his chin as he answered, his tone leveled and analytical. "Beast King Barbaros has a unique effect. When Normal Summoned without Tributes by his own effect, its ATK drops from 3000 to 1900. However…" His gaze shifted toward the crackling energy field spreading from the trap. "With Skill Drain active, that drawback is negated. The continuous effect is lost, and the monster's original attack power is restored. And as the summon effect activates on the hand, it's not affected by his own card. Smart."
Alexis crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing. "Skill Drain Beatdown… that's a pretty nasty strategy. It takes away your effects and applies pressure with giant beatsticks." remembering what he saw in the Ra's last match, she noted. "It's not a good match for him, last duel he used several effect monsters."
Down on the field, Taiyou gave a low, mocking laugh. "Exactly like the nerd said, my Beast King is at full power!" he drawled, tapping his Duel Disk. "Now, let's make this hurt."
He pointed forward with a sharp motion. "Battle! Warwolf, attack the set monster!" The ground rumbled as the lupine beast leapt toward Julian's facedown card, claws gleaming under the arena lights. The card flipped up into a boxy metal profile mid-impact, eyes like headlamps.
"Dekoichi, the Battlechanted Locomotive. Unfortunately for you, no effect." Blades sheared, iron screamed, and the old locomotive (DARK/Machine/Level 4/1000 DEF) split, dissolving into bright fragments.
"Reverse card open." Julian said, calm as a line drawn with a straightedge. His middle back row snapped upright. "Michizure. When my monster's destroyed, I drag one of yours with me. Target Beast King Barbaros."
Taiyou smiled as he pressed one more button on his duel disk, answer ready. "Dark Bribe." A glyph burst like a wax seal breaking, the spectral hand of Michizure dissipating before it closed on Barbaros's ankle. Taiyou's gaze tilted up, a razor-thin smile. "You draw, but your trap is negated. Enjoy the card."
Julian's feeder spat a single rectangle. Mystic Tomato, he noticed, and slid it into his grip.
"Slick." Bastion said under his breath. "Keeps the 3000 attack monster and trades the trap, keeping momentum."
"And now." Taiyou went on, savoring the angle. "Let's introduce you to the king."
Barbaros surged. The blade came down in a two-handed arc, wind hissing sideways as Julian's outer trap door slammed open. "Dust Tornado," Julian said. A focused cyclone howled across the backline, struck the iron lattice, and tore Skill Drain's sigils loose in a shower of sparks.
Barbaros's aura collapsed from juggernaut pressure to something merely lethal (3000 ATK -> 1900 ATK). The sword still bit. The grid juddered, as the LP counter on Julian's disk clicked down.
(Julian LP: 4000 -> 2100)
"He waited to reveal it." Alexis noticed "so the cut mattered."
Bastion nodded once. "He absorbed the swing at a tolerable rate rather than cashing Dust too early. Getting rid of Skill Drain was more important for him than destroying the beast."
Jaden bumped Syrus with an elbow, grinning. "That's a sweet duel alright."
Taiyou set a fresh card with the same unhurried neatness as before. "Turn end."
Chazz's eyes tracked the lattice as it dithered and fell apart, then slid back to Julian. Still no comment, but eyes fixed on the game.
Julian drew Fissure. His lips pressed together, just a fraction. The line he'd envisioned on the previous turn developed a clean diagonal. He lost almost half of his life points, but the problematic card was off. He needed to keep it off.
"Pot of Greed." Activating the renomated spell, the feeder slid two cards up into his palm.
Old Vindictive Magician and Mystical Space Typhoon. Not necessarily perfect, but more than enough.
"Normal Summon Mystic Tomato, defense position."
(DARK/Plant/Level 4/1400 ATK/1100 DEF)
The grinning fruit bobbed into being, a glossy red orb with fangs and a sprig-crown, settling into a wary crouch.
He laid a second spell. "You seem to like your floodgates, let me use one of my own: Messenger of Peace." A soft bell rolled through the grid as a translucent seal unfolded, its surface rippling like a pond at dawn as the image of the holy man with a hallowed golden aura appeared. A line of text scrolled across Julian's HUD, a gentle reminder of upkeep.
"And Fissure, to get your numbers a bit down." A hairline crack sketched itself beneath Taiyou's monsters, widened in a sudden luminous breath, and the floor just… wasn't there. Beast King Barbaros dropped with a flare of light that washed the platform white for a heartbeat and vanished.
Taiyou's mouth thinned.
Julian slid one more card into his back row with quiet finality. "Set one." The typhoon he just drew, one more answer. "Go ahead."
Jaden rocked back. "Okay, that's tidy. Like… too tidy. Does this guy alphabetize his socks as well?"
Syrus smiled despite his nerves. "He is still in the game. But I don't know how he will win if he just keeps defending."
Bastion shook his head slightly, observing the field with sharp focus. "No. He's doing the smart thing. With the Messenger of Peace locking down strong attackers, he doesn't need to force the issue. The maintenance cost is also small. The longer Taiyou waits, the more Julian controls the pace, and he has the card advantage."
Alexis nodded, crossing her arms as she followed the flow of the duel. "He's basically saying, 'Your move. Let's see what you'll do about it.'"
On the other side of the field Chazz still watched, expression shuttered. Raizou at his side muttered, "Stalling… how boring."
Down on the field, Taiyou mimicked his friend's opinion. "Tch. Hiding behind some stall card already?" His voice dripped with annoyance as he eyed the glowing barrier of Julian's spell. "Fine. I'll break through soon enough. Draw."
Taiyou's fingers danced once on his hand, then carefully laid a card into his back row. The amber glow slid from its back as it armed.
"Skill Drain once more" He paid without looking down as the dark aura filled the area once more (Taiyou LP: 3000 2000).
He eyed the holy man on Julian's side. The Messenger of Peace chimed once, as if to answer the look. Warwolf paced, flexed, snarled… then halted at the invisible line around its ankles. It wanted to lunge. The grid wouldn't let it.
Taiyou's disdainful exhale fogged the edge of his visor. He set another card, letting the click be his comment, and raised his chin.
"Pass."
"It's the spell, not patience." Alexis observed, keeping her voice level. "Messenger bars anything with 1500 or more from declaring. He's not choosing restraint: he's forced into it."
Jaden tapped the rail. "So how long can the bell toll, Bastion?"
"As long as Julian keeps paying." Bastion said. "And as long as Taiyou can't generate pressure another way."
Chazz's eyes cut to the second facedown that Taiyou had just planted. Perhaps a trap to kill the light when it mattered. Perhaps a bluff. His voice? Still mute.
The Messenger chimed softly in the upkeep after Julian's draw, his LP counter ticking for a bit of damage (Julian LP: 2100 2000). Julian drew another Dekoichi. He weighed the board: the bell, the drain, the wolf, two unknowns, and chose to wait a little bit more. He could already hear the crescendo of his symphony, Taiyou dancing at the sound of his music. The payoff would arrive soon, and so would the game. But not yet.
"Set monster." he said simply, and tucked the card in beside the tomato. "Pass."
Jaden stretched his shoulders. "Geez. He is playing like it's a marathon, not a sprint."
"If he wins the race, it does not matter." Bastion said. "Taiyou was at the academy system for three years in the prep schools, he got access to several rare cards in the interim. Julian's access to cards wasn't that great, so it's best for him to wait for the right moment to strike."
Syrus nodded, eyes locked on the grid.
Alexis glanced down the blue row and analyzed Chazz's profile. The set of his mouth suggested nothing, but his eyes flared in challenge. Despite the previous loss and his poor manners overall, he still had the spirit of a true duelist and she could respect that.
"Draw." satisfaction flickered over Taiyou's face as one more card was taken. He slapped the next monster down with relish. "Normal Summon: Night Express Knight."
(EARTH/Machine/Level 10/3000 ATK)
The iron giant hammered into place like a locomotive entering a station, pistons locking, a venting of steam curling off its shoulders. One more at full power due to his trap cards effect.
Taiyou's next card hit the tray almost before the Knight had settled. "And now let's clean the noise to take this game. Twin Twisters. I'll discard one." He flicked a second card into his grave. "Targets your Messenger of Peace and your face-down back row."
The cyclone unspooled from his spell zone in a snarling helix, two streams seeking their marks. Julian's MST panel snapped up promply to answer "Mystical Space Typhoon, chain to your Twisters. Say bye to your Skill Drain."
His Typhoon whirled like a thrown discus, carved through the ironwork lattice, and blew Skill Drain apart in a burn of sparks once again. Twin Twisters continued its scream, scouring Julian's Messenger from the grid and tearing through the revealed typhoon panel that had just spent itself. The soft bell winked out.
"Sharp exchange." Alexis said, a hint of approval there. "He wanted to spring that Typhoon at the last moment to maximize pain, but Taiyou forced the reveal. Good sequencing on both sides."
Bastion angled his head. "With Drain gone, we're back to normal text boxes."
The resident nerd was indeed correct. The dark aura beneath Night Express Knight flickered violently as Skill Drain disappeared into glittering fragments. A low, metallic groan echoed through the arena as the knight's massive engine-like chest dimmed, its once blinding aura collapsing inward, its attack power plunging in an instant (Night Express Knight ATK 3000 0).
"Battle." Taiyou looked annoyed by the exchange, but he still had the stronger monster. Pressure was necessary, he knew what it meant to keep the exchanges going more and more. "Warwolf, hit the set."
The lupine warrior bounded. The face-down flipped up into a hooded figure crouched amid a spray of burning sigils, eyes igniting under the cowl.
Old Vindictive Magician revealed itself. Arm-blades tore the little mage open, cloth and bone shattered… and glowing magic runes appeared on the offensor's neck. Old Vindictive Magician was destroyed, but its flip effect would take one with him. Warwolf's snarl cut off as violet spikes surged from the runes in his neck, piercing the skin and blowing apart, holographic ash falling like cinders.
(DARK/Spellcaster/Level 2/600 DEF)
Taiyou's jaw flexed. He still had a 0 ATK juggernaut glowering at the center of his line, but the board felt less like a vise and more like a balance beam. His only protection now was his backrow.
"Main 2." He placed his last card with careful neatness. "Set. End."
"And then we have it, the advantage." Bastion said, almost to himself. "Taiyou's resources are seriously depleted, with no card in hand and a parse field. Julian at least have two cards in his hand with a third on its way, a stronger monster and will be turn player."
Syrus bounced once in place, then remembered people could see him and sat on his hands.
Jaden leaned forward, eyes alight. "Okay, Jules. You waited enough. Show us the angle."
Chazz stared at the 0 ATK Knight. He knew exactly how quickly a field that looked safe could vaporize if the other player timed their operations. His mouth stayed a thin line.
Julian let his gaze travel: Knight with no teeth, one fresh facedown on Taiyou's side, his own tomato bobbing in defense, the scorch mark where Messenger had been. The grid felt larger and colder without the bell, but clear. "If that set is bluff, this ends here. If it's real, I still press him under. Either way, we move now."
He drew. And laughed - Heavy Storm. The boy could almost feel the arena pressure shift, as if the grid itself recognized the looming barometric change. Sometimes fate was cruel.
Julian slid the spell forward. "Heavy Storm."
A roiling front boiled out from the center of the field, pressure cracking like thunder. Taiyou's last facedown shivered and blasted into bright shards that ripped away and evaporated. He could activate his book of moon, but it was still Julian's main phase. His attacker would only reposition itself to strike. When the effect ended, the grid's background hum pitched higher for a second, like it was relieved.
Taiyou's mouth twitched. "Tch. Oh fuck."
"Now." Julian said, "Normal Summon: Dekoichi, the Battlechanted Locomotive, attack position."
The squat locomotive that started the duel lurched back onto the field: this time upright, headlamp eyes glaring, steel plates gleaming under arena light.
(DARK/Machine/Level 4/1400 ATK)
He made a small, precise gesture. The Mystic Tomato bobbed and rotated from its defensive crouch to a forward lean, fanged grin widening as the command to switch was mentioned. At that second, no one spoke anymore. The result of the duel was already clear.
(Mystic Tomato 1100 DEF -> 1400 ATK)
"Dekoichi, show him you're the better train." Dekoichi surged forward with a grinding growl and rammed the unarmed behemoth square in the torso. The Night Express Knight staggered, its hollow chest caving under the force, then exploded into glittering husks of hologram. The red number of Taiyou's LP hung for a second above his disk before ticking down, a silent collective murmur following it like a tide.
(Taiyou LP 2000 -> 600)
Julian didn't raise his voice for the last order. He didn't have to. "Mystic Tomato, finish it."
The tomato blurred forward, small but relentless, and slashed across Taiyou's grid in a ruby arc. The impact pulsed once across the platform clean, decisive.
The arena's soundscape cut to that clear chime that certified a finish. The projectors dimmed by a fractional step, the hologrids easing their charge back down the pole as if relaxing muscle.
(Taiyou LP: 600 -> 0)
For one second, no one spoke. Then, the noise came back in a layering of human tones: first a low buzz, then individual voices finding volume.
Syrus whooped so loudly he startled himself. "He did it! He did it!"
Jaden let out a long exhale through his grin, the kind that isn't surprise so much as pleasure at watching a plan arrive exactly on time. "That was sweet, man. Long movie, but a nice ending."
Bastion, who had remained very still during the last sequence, allowed himself a small nod. "Every resource tracked and accounted for…" he said simply. "Not glamorous, but effective."
Alexis didn't smile, exactly, but the line of her shoulders eased. "He chose his moment." she said. "He didn't try to win the duel three turns early. He listened to the duel and won when the board said yes."
Up in blue, Raizou's exhale was a hiss. Taiyou tugged his collar again and muttered something about "lucky storms," earning himself a flat look from Raizou.
Chazz's eyes were half-lidded, unreadable, his jaw shifted as if he were grinding down a retort that wasn't worth the breath. He looked from the clearing lights to Julian, back to the field, then away, expression resetting to ice.
Taiyou straightened with a professional's economy, the loss settling on his shoulders like a coat he'd worn before. He snapped his disk closed and gave the faintest acknowledgement "You planned for me." he said. Not a question, a statement. No heat, just a fact as he'd deduced it.
Julian powered down his blade, the edge glow collapsing into the wrist housing with a soft vff. "I planned for what you made public. " he answered. His tone was matter-of-fact, not smug. "You would do the same if Kaiba was on the other side. You would expect Blue-Eyes. Same thing for Yugi and his Dark Magician. You had the advantage of the card quality, years of duel prep on your shoulders. Cards that would cost more than a month's work for my folks. However, your history from back there was public and I could use it to my advantage. In the end, I used my tools better than you did yours, and that's it."
Taiyou's mouth ticked, but he didn't argue. He didn't feel it was fair, but Julian was right. Each one had an advantage of its own, he only used his better. Stepping back a pace, then another, the boy rejoined the blue cluster without looking to either side.
Syrus still had a grin stretched across his face as the last of Taiyou's Life Points vanished. "That was… insane." he said, half laughing, half still processing. "I thought for sure you were cornered back there, but you won so smoothly. No flashy brilliant comeback, he was just… dismantled."
Julian loosened his Duel Disk and rested it against his side, a small, calm smile on his lips. "Cornered? Not really. He was just playing the hand I expected him to."
Jaden tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly: not in annoyance, but with a hint of respect mixing with curiosity. "You make it sound like this was over before it even started."
Julian gave a quiet chuckle. "Not over. Just… predictable. I know the deck he would bring, and he played it the way someone with that kind of deck usually does. All I had to do was make sure I had the right answers."
Syrus let out a low whistle. "Right answers, huh? Guess that's what prep looks like."
"Exactly." Julian nodded slightly, then glanced toward Jaden. "Like many things on life, things can go way worse if you don't prepare yourself and do things in the right manner."
Jaden scratched the back of his head, a sheepish grin creeping up as he took the moral jab. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Guess I should be glad you were around."
"Glad? No need." Julian shrugged, slipping his deck back into its case. "Just don't make me do it again."
That earned a laugh from Syrus and a huff from Jaden as the rest of the spectators finally descended from the stands and joined the group.
"You targeted the core of Taiyou's strategy." Bastion said to Julian. "His monsters were much less of a danger without that effect. It even opened your road to the win with that zero attack. How many removal spells were you running?"
Julian rolled a shoulder, wincing a little as adrenaline drained. "Seven. And five floodgates to buy me time. It would be a statistical anomaly for none of them to be in my hand when needed. The board told me when to move, and when the window opened, I just had to strike."
Alexis had not moved from her spot, but she'd followed the exchange. When Julian's eyes flicked to her, she met them, steady. "You forced him to spend two different turns to answer two different layers spending his resources." she said. "Then you took the turn you had the advantage into a kill." She let the thought hang for a heartbeat. "Your playstyle is… interesting."
Her words weren't a compliment, exactly, and not a challenge, either. They were a marker laid down. She turned, flicking a glance toward the stairs. "It's late. We should clear out."
"Right." Jaden said, remembering the hour. "Before the guards wonder why we're still here."
As if on cue, a pair of flashlight cones swung across the upper concourse and began to descend: slower than the first time, but still authoritative. The security team's footsteps echoed on the metal. Everyone flinched by reflex.
Julian already had the laminated slip in his fingers. He raised it as the two officers approached.
"Evening." the taller one said, tone neutral.
"Evening." Julian answered, offering the pass.
The officer read, looked at his partner, and nodded. "All right. You're within the extension. Wrap it up and head back to dorms. No detours."
"Understood." Julian said. He accepted the pass back with a small 'thank you'.
The cones swept away, picking up the Obelisk exit on the far side and tracking it for a moment before lifting to check the upper rails. The ambient hum remained, steady as breath.
Jaden looked at the slip, then at Julian, something like rueful amazement in his face. "Guess you really did have us covered."
Julian's mouth quirked. "As I told you, a right and a wrong way…"
Syrus clutched the strap of his disk, then let it go, then clutched it again. "Um— if… if it's okay, could you, uh— maybe explain later how you knew what to set and what to use at what point? I mean, not all of it, obviously, but— "
"Sure." Julian said. He didn't make a big deal of it. "Tomorrow. Bring a notebook. We'll talk about engines and non-engines and why a removal like fissure is better as a scalpel than a hammer."
Syrus blinked. "Engines and non-…?"
"You'll see. Soon you'll be kicking their asses on your own." Julian said.
Jaden grinned at that. "Heh. I like this guy."
Across the way, the Obelisk contingent was already peeling apart: Raizou with a glare over his shoulder that promised a rematch sometime. Chazz didn't look back at all. He walked with his usual slouching grace, eyes forward, something unreadable in the set of his mouth.
He turned his head until he found Taiyou again. The other boy had paused at the end of the aisle, as if expecting what? Apology? Gloating? A quip?
Julian offered neither. He did, however, raise his voice just enough to carry.
"I said I had accounts to settle." He tilted his chin toward Taiyou: not challenging, not taunting, something cooler than either. "Thanks for helping me balance one."
Taiyou gave the barest nod. "Try not to need a storm next time." he said, and left.
"Save me a sit in that blue dorm of yours. I'll be there soon enough." stated Julian confidently as the boy returned to his group. As the blue jackets took their own path, Julian smiled. He didn't expect thanks from that quarter. He didn't need it. He had other business with them tonight, and they were paid in full.
The grid's pylons sank their light down the poles another notch as the arena shifted out of match-mode entirely. Holographic anchors dimmed to standby. The bowl of the room felt suddenly larger without the charged air of a duel threading it tight.
Bastion collected himself, already mapping the outcome to a mental ledger of variables. "Tomorrow morning at seven forty-five." he told Julian, "There's an open study slot in the physics lab. They haven't assigned lab groups yet. If you want a whiteboard to diagram that 'engines and non-engines' lecture for Syrus, I'll get the key."
Julian blinked, then smiled. "You read the guidebook so I don't have to."
"I assumed that role when you admitted you hadn't opened it." Bastion replied dryly.
Syrus's eyes ping-ponged between them, hopeful. Jaden slung an arm around his shoulders, gentle and warm. "We'll be there. A bit soon, though."
Julian nodded, correcting his invitation "I couldn't agree more. Let's not make this boring, we're finally at Duel Academy. Meet me at the card shop after lunch and let's see what they have there. We can have our talk then."
Alexis had begun to turn away to join her peer, but paused after two steps and looked back. The arc-lights along the concourse caught in her golden hair and made a pale halo of it. "You extended the challenge and won." she said, "Don't think all of us Obelisk are going to be that weak."
He inclined his head and answered the same thing stated to the other boy before. "Never said it would, but save me a set near you with the blues. Never said that I'm Kaiser level, but surely good enough to join your ranks."
Syrus freezed for a second at the mention of his brother. Alexis just nodded and left, steps quiet.
"Curfew plus permit buffer equals we should go." Stated Bastion, which got a laugh out of Jaden and an obedient scuttle out of Syrus. Julian lingered a moment longer among the settling lights and the low murmur of students filing out, feeling the last electricity come off his forearms. He let his shoulders drop.
One account settled. Twenty new ones opened. That was how it always worked; the math didn't stop because a duel did. He holstered the disk.
"C'mon." Jaden called, already halfway up the steps.
Julian followed, steps light in the quiet that comes after adrenaline, Bastion falling in beside him, Syrus practically vibrating with questions he was trying to save for tomorrow morning. Above them, the Obelisk row had already dissolved like a blue wake into the dark.
And down on the sand, where the Knight had fallen, the projectors traced a last fading outline of shattered armor and then erased it with a sweep, as if the duel had never happened, except for the people who'd been there to see it, and to say what it meant.
The Ra dorm's lobby was lit in warm gold, a gentler shade than the lamps outside. The common room opened wide from the main entrance; low couches in school colors, a long bulletin board crowded with printed notices, a pair of vending machines humming softly to keep the refrigeration on the students refreshments. The place smelled faintly of citrus cleaner and old books, the particular scent of rooms that had seen many cohorts come and go.
Professor Sartyr stood near the front desk on the common area with a slim clipboard tucked beneath one arm, his vest slightly askew and his expression caught somewhere between relief and exhaustion. He glanced up the moment Julian and Bastion stepped through the doors.
"Ah! There you are." he said, voice pitching up with genuine pleasure. "And on time." His eyes flicked to the clock above the foyer: 21:47h (9:47PM). "Punctuality is the courtesy of champions, you know."
Julian couldn't help a small smile. "Then I hope we made a decent first impression, Professor."
Sartyr's mustache twitched as he tried for sternness and failed. "I trust the… ah… extracurricular excitement has been resolved?" he asked delicately, choosing his words like someone navigating a tightrope. "No skirmishes with security, no frayed tempers left behind?"
Julian inclined his head. "All calmed down, sir." he paused, his tone threading in a dry glint before adding "—in more than one way. And not so extracurricular after your approval, I might add."
A brief, knowing chuff of laughter escaped Sartyr. "Quite right, quite right. Well, enough heroics for one evening. Up you go, both of you." He lifted the clipboard in a shooing motion. "Curfew is not a suggestion, Mr. Ashford, Mr. Misawa. Save your brains and your bravado for daylight."
"Understood." Bastion said, crisp as ever.
"Good night, Professor." Julian added.
"Good night," Sartyr replied, already turning to scribble something on a form. "And well done."
They crossed the common room together, the carpet muting their steps as they passed the vending machines and the corkboard crowded with maps, class schedules, club flyers. A paper at eye level read 'NEW SHIPMENT AT CAMPUS SHOP TOMORROW' in a bright bold marker. Another flyer detailed tomorrow's orientation practicals and the schedule of the classes for the different years. A third announced a chess club meeting in a back lounge. Bastion's gaze hovered on that one for half a heartbeat.
The stairwell lifted them out of the lobby's glow into a cooler stretch of corridor, the kind of liminal space that always felt somehow more private after curfew. They climbed in a companionable silence: one flight, then another - until the hallway forked into two wings. The dorm doors here were neatly aligned, brass numbers catching the light.
Bastion slowed and leaned lightly against the banister, studying Julian rather than the hallway map. The quiet stretched a moment longer, not uncomfortable, simply considering.
"So…" he said at last, his tone even but carrying an edge of curiosity he didn't bother concealing, "Why do all of that tonight?"
Julian glanced over, almost amused. "We're back to that?"
"We never left it." Bastion replied, a faint smile ghosting across his face. "You didn't have to be there for Jaden and Syrus. You didn't have to duel Taiyou tonight. You didn't have to time it so… elegantly. Yet you secured authorization, arrived at precisely the right window, and walked away with two problems solved instead of one." He tipped his head. "Spontaneity has patterns. Tonight had too many to be a coincidence."
Julian let the banister take some of his weight and drew a slow breath, eyes dropping for a moment to the shadow his shoes cast on the polished floor. The hallway lights hummed softly overhead; somewhere distant, a door clicked shut and the sound folded back into silence.
"It wasn't coincidence." he admitted. "But it also wasn't a master plan. Not the way you're imagining."
"Convince me." Bastion said, and there wasn't any challenge in it, only genuine interest.
Julian looked forward again, eyes narrowing in recollection. "Everyone telegraphs." he said. "Even when they think they don't. Taiyou telegraphs: he's proud of his deck and doesn't try to hide it. Security telegraphs: curfew patrol routes, the way they sweep the arena. Chazz telegraphs: he has to be the loudest signal in the room or he'll short-circuit." A wry note colored his voice. "And Jaden? He answers every signal like it's a duel invitation written in the sky."
Bastion's mouth tugged to one side. "So you listened to signals."
"I listened." Julian said. "And then I chose a spot to stand where several of those signals would cross anyway. If I didn't, someone else would stand there by accident. I prefer the version where I know where my feet are."
A beat passed.
"That still doesn't explain the why." Bastion said gently. "You say it wasn't for favors. You say you could have faced Taiyou any day. So, why tonight? Why at all?"
Julian held his gaze for a couple of seconds, then let it slide toward the numbered doors down the hall, as if the right answer might be stenciled on the brass plate of his room.
"Because momentum matters." he stated. "Day one can become a shape if you let it. Set your pace early, and the academy learns to expect you to move at that pace. I wanted my first footprint to be clean. Not flashy. Just… deliberate."
Bastion absorbed that, the thoughtful quiet stretching again between them. He uncrossed and recrossed his arms, not fidgeting - calculating.
"And helping Jaden and Syrus fit cleanly into that footprint." he concluded.
"Helping them fit them cleanly into theirs." Julian said. "Mine was already set the moment I got the permit signed. The duel was just me not wanting to waste an opportunity."
Bastion huffed a low laugh through his nose, appreciation flickering in his eyes. "You're annoyingly coherent sometimes."
"Occupational hazard."
They reached the point where the hallway split toward their separate rooms. The dorm air here held a faint salt tang blown in from the coast, curtains stirring at cracked windows up and down the corridor. Somewhere, a shower turned off; someone else's muffled laughter traveled through a door before dying into the hour.
Bastion stopped near his door and turned fully, studying Julian like a position on a board still missing a few pieces. "All right." he said. "One more question." He tilted his chin slightly. "Are you as calculating as you appear, or simply very good at appearing?"
Julian let the silence sit. He didn't deflect with a joke, didn't rush to fill the space with anything smart or sharp. He only considered, eyes hooded, the ghost of a smile playing as if at a private thought.
Finally, he said, softly "Does it make a difference which one it is?"
The question landed and hung there, gentler than a challenge, heavier than nothing. Bastion's expression tightened, then loosened: a visible processing of premises and counterpremises that refused to converge.
"Infuriating." he said, almost warmly.
Julian angled his head and chucked. "The feeling is mutual, brother."
Bastion's hand found the door latch. He paused, half-turned. "For what it's worth," he said, "well played."
"Likewise." Julian answered.
Bastion cracked a smile—real, unguarded, brief. "This is going to keep me awake until morning." he confessed, and then he vanished into his room with a soft click, leaving the corridor to its low hum and distant sea-breath.
Julian stood there for a moment, alone with the quiet. The dorm's lights were dimmed to their midnight posture, neither fully warm nor cold, somewhere in the middle. The building's old bones ticked as the air system shifted. He could feel the day loosening its hold on his muscles, the long tension of arrivals and tests and speeches and duels easing down to a manageable thrum. He unlocked his own door and stepped inside.
The room was small, neat, spare: a bed crisply properly made, a desk with a slot for the charger on his duel disk and a slow to rest it, an empty corkboard waiting for schedules and notes. He crossed to the window and nudged partially open. The ocean answered with a deeper breath. For a moment he just stood there, hands braced on the sill, letting the salt air rake cool fingers through the last heat in his face.
He closed his eyes. Are you as calculating as you appear, or simply good at appearing?
He could have answered in the hallway. He could have said both. He could have said neither. He could have sliced the question in half and handed each piece back with a smile.
Instead, he said nothing, and let Bastion carry the uncertainty with him. Because uncertainty was valuable… and fun. Answers, once spoken, had a way of becoming cages. And he wasn't completely sure of one response or the other. Being truthful, he was just having fun. He didn't want to get into trouble, but that first duel would be fun to watch. The little boy inside of him pledged that he ran at full speed to the arena and fully ignored the rules. The coherent man stated that it was best to ignore it all and keep on with his day. The answer, as always, was somewhere in the middle. Even with all his plans and hopes, there was no way he could guarantee the pass, it was luck that permitted Professor Sartyr to get the ticket in time. But, as they say, luck can only favour those who are prepared to make something of it.
Julian opened his eyes and pushed off the sill. He slid the deck from his duel disk and fanned the cards across the desk: familiar weight, familiar edges, a few small scuffs that felt like history rather than wear. He pulled out Messenger of Peace and held it between finger and thumb, tracing the faint prismatic sheen along the border. Control masquerading as patience. Patience masquerading as an invitation.
The campus at night had its own rhythm; he could feel it now. The academy wasn't just buildings and rules: it was signals. People. Habits. The way crowds moved after assembly. The way rumors would disperse by breakfast, two Obelisk losses rippling through cafeteria chatter with the efficiency of a broadcast.
He placed the spell back into the deck and squared the stack back into its case.
"You can't predict everything" he thought, the line returning not as bravado but as a simple truth "but you can prepare well enough to make it look like you did."
He set the deck down and turned off the lamp. In the brief darkness before his eyes adjusted, he felt the shape of the day click into place - clean, deliberate, not excessive. A first footprint that said: I'm here, and I know how to walk.
From the bed, the sea's hush became the room's hush. The ceiling's faint grid of reflections settled into stillness. Julian lay back and let his breath match the island's, one slow exhale at a time.
Only then, in the private quiet where words had no audience, did he give Bastion the answer he hadn't had before, finally spoken aloud:
"Both."
Not a confession. Not a boast. Just classification: a label in a cabinet that only he would ever open.
His mind eased at last, filing away the day's positions and clocks, the faces and tells, the lines played and the ones left coiled for later. Morning would bring noise, eyes, speculation. It could have them.
He was finally at the academy. The place that he could get his hands in the cards he wished for. That he would meet the people he yearned for. And that he would face the challenges that still tormented his mind.
For tonight, however, he had the silence. That, and the small, precise satisfaction of having set the pace on that first day. One day at a time.