A new life at duel academy

"Finally," I sighed, stepping off the helicopter onto the academy grounds. The sprawling campus was alive with activity, students buzzing with excitement as they prepared for the day ahead.

"Anyway, I guess I'll see you girls later," I said, glancing back at the other passengers.

"Yeah... see ya," one of them replied, waving goodbye.

'Time to change for the assembly,'

I went to change my uniform however to my surprise there was a letter there. 

"Meet me in my office—Chancellor Sheppard."

After a moment of confusion, I gathered my thoughts and set off to find his office. The sprawling hallways of the academy were a maze, but after a few wrong turns, I finally stood before the door marked with his name.

Knock knock

"Come in!" Sheppard's voice boomed from inside.

I opened the door and stepped into the room. It was spacious and filled with bookshelves, a large desk, and various duel-related trophies.

"You are??" Sheppard asked, looking me over with a curious gaze.

"Kai... Kai Yuri," I replied.

"So you are Kai. I wanted to see you, young man."

"Couldn't you have waited until the assembly was over to talk? And why don't I have my uniform yet? I know I said I hate red, but at least I expected a uniform to be there," I grumbled.

"The assembly is already over."

"Huh?"

"There's a reason you came in on that helicopter. All students on that helicopter are already part of our academy."

"Great, but why am I here then?"

"Put your duel disk on, young man. We are going to have a duel."

"A duel? Not really in the mood for that."

"You have no choice, or else I will expel you."

I let out a resigned sigh. "Sure then, old man."

"Follow me," he commanded.

We made our way to the top of the academy, the view from up there breathtaking. It was an exhilarating rush.

"So this is where you want to duel? Not that I mind," I remarked, feeling an unusual thrill.

Sheppard activated his duel disk with a flick of his wrist. "Duel!"

Duel!

Kai: [4000 LP] [5 cards]

Sheppard: [4000 LP] [5 cards]

"Who goes first, old man?" I smirked.

"I'll draw. I start by activating Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards," Sheppard announced, his voice steady.

"I summon Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600) in defense position, set three cards face down, and end my turn. Your move, young man."

"Is that all you've got, Sheppard?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"My move! I draw."

"I'll start by activating Harpie's Feather Duster, wiping your entire back row clean."

"Damn you," he muttered as his traps were obliterated in an instant.

"I then activate Numeron Network," I declared, a grin forming on my face.

"Numeron Network?" he repeated, confusion creeping into his expression.

"Yeah. I activate its ability to send a spell card from my deck to the graveyard. I send Numeron Calling," I explained, the excitement coursing through me.

"Then I activate Numeron Network's ability to summon four Number tokens: Number 1, Number 2, Number 3, and Number 4. Come forth, my monsters! (2000/0)"

"Each has 2000 attack points..." Sheppard's expression turned to one of dread.

"Number 1, destroy his Cyber Phoenix!" I commanded, the attack tearing through Sheppard's monster with explosive force.

"Damn you," he hissed as dust filled the air.

"You see, old man, when my monsters battle, they double their attack points."

"WHAT?!"

"This means all my monsters now have 4000 attack points. Number 2, end this duel now!" I shouted, the adrenaline surging.

Kai: [4000 LP]

Sheppard: [0 LP]

"I won, old man."

"Yes, welcome to Duel Academy, Kai," Sheppard conceded, his tone surprisingly respectful.

"Your uniform is in my office. Pick it up there. And just so you know, until you reach Blue, you're stuck wearing red."

"Huh? Great, I have to wear this color now," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"I'll take my leave now," I said, heading toward his office to retrieve my uniform and a strange device.

After collecting my belongings, I made my way to the Slifer dorm, where a welcome dinner was taking place.

After a few minutes…

"So, this is my dorm," I murmured to myself, scanning the small room.

I started searching for my assigned space. 'Let me see... is it this one? Uh... yeah, it is,' I thought, opening the door.

Inside, three people turned to look at me.

"Sup," I said casually.

"Hey, it's that guy from earlier," Jaden remarked, recognition lighting up his face.

"Yeah, Jaden, you're right," another boy, Syrus, added.

"You guys know him?" the third one, a hefty guy named Chumley, asked.

"Kind of... anyway, I'm Jaden Yuki," Jaden introduced, extending his hand with a bold grin.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kai," I replied, shaking his hand.

"Great! So, you're going to be roommates with us," Jaden continued, his enthusiasm infectious.

"Yeah," I said, placing my bag on my bed.

"Anyway, carry on with whatever you were doing. Sorry if I disturbed you," I added, glancing around the room.

"No, we weren't doing anything. I just got here minutes before you," Syrus replied.

"Yeah, Chumley was explaining the school system to us," Jaden chimed in, his tone teasing.

"Cheer up, Sy. A uniform can't determine our rank," Jaden reassured him, clapping Syrus on the back.

"I hope so, Ja," Syrus said, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

I sat down on my bed, trying to absorb the chaos.

"You said your name was Jaden Yuki, right? I heard you defeated Crowler."

"Oh yeah, that was me," he said nonchalantly.

"You should have seen that duel; Jaden was incredible!" Syrus exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with admiration.

"It was nothing, to be honest," Jaden dismissed.

"Wait, you dueled Crowler?" Chumley said, disbelief evident in his tone.

"Yeah," Jaden confirmed, looking a bit bashful.

"So you must be strong, then," I said, cutting Chumley off. Honestly, I had no clue how strong Crowler was.

"I guess, yeah. What about you, Kai? Are you good at dueling?" Jaden asked, curiosity written all over his face.

"I mean, you could say so," I replied, trying to play it cool.

"Sweet! How about we duel right now, huh?" Jaden suggested, excitement bubbling in his voice.

"Right now? No. In the future? Yes."

"Oh, why not now?"

"I'm tired and planning to take a nap."

"Oh, well, me and Sy will roam the school then," Jaden decided, bouncing up from his seat.

"Sure, man," I replied, stretching out on my bed.

As they left the room, Chumley piped up, "You do know we're having a welcome dinner, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Not interested, though."

"Can I have your food, then?"

"....sure."

The next day...

"Oh man, Kai! You should have woken up yesterday! Jaden was dueling an Obelisk Blue named Chazz, and there was this incredibly beautiful girl there. She was also an Obelisk student, but totally different from Chazz. And—"

"Calm down, Syrus. My god, how can you talk so fast?" I interrupted, half-laughing.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, so the only thing I heard was 'beautiful girl' and 'Chazz.'"

"Yeah, this girl from Obelisk is named—"

"Let me guess... Alexis Rhodes?"

"Wait, how do you know about her?"

"Already met her. Don't ask how," I said, waving off his curiosity.

"...okay. Anyway, like I was saying, Jaden dueled that Chazz guy at the arena."

"Did he win?"

"No, the duel was interrupted midway due to security."

"I see..."

"Anyways, today is our first day officially at this school. So, how are you feeling?"