The day to announce the students who will represent DHA at the Battle of the Academies has finally come. Everyone gathered into the gymnasium and took their seats.
Principal Walker walked onto the Duel Field. "Hello everyone. The Battle of the Academies has finally come." All the students cheered. "As you all know, we will be going up against Kaiba Corp Academy again this year."
"Boo!!" The students chanted.
"Now now. That isn't necessary." Walker said. "As we do every year, we take a vote. Each class rank will choose one student from their respective classes to represent our school in a three-on-three team duel."
Yuko was excited and a little nervous. He knew that rivalry between DHA and KCA would make a great battle, but he wasn't sure which school would walk out victorious. "This whole thing is going to be epic."
"Tell me about it." Tammi felt the same as Yuko. "I wonder who's going to be picked."
"I think it's pretty obvious who." Benta added.
Principal Walker raised three envelopes. "I have the results. The Red Class has chosen," She opened one envelope and read the results. "Well this doesn't suprise me at all. Yuko Sorama!!"
"Me?" Yuko was suprised.
No one else was shocked. Benta laughed. "Like I said. It's pretty obvious."
"But that means," Yuko remembered his time at KCA. It wasn't the best time of his life. "I have to go back..."
KCA had a similar rank system to DHA except the colors were white, silver, and black. Yuko was white, the lowest ranking. People bullied the White Class because they weren't seen as smart kids or good duelist.
Yuko hated that because he knew that he was great duelist. He was just bad at testing. That was the reason why he transfered to DHA. He heard that everyone was treated equally despite the rank system.
"You don't talk much about KCA, Yuko." Tammi said.
"Yeah. I try not to."
Principal Walker opened the second the envelope. "Representing the Yellow Class is," She read the results. "I'm happy with this one. Benta Kazama!!"
Benta rose from his seat. He knew that the Yellow Class would pick him mainly because people told him that they voted for him. He's been a great president to them. "Thanks for picking me guys!"
"I guess we're teaming up Benta." Yuko said.
"Yeah. We'll beat those KCA chumps."
"And the representative for the Blue Class is none other than...Kenji Itaru!!" Principal Walker announced. Everyone screamed.
"And no suprise there." Benta said.
Yuko started freaking out. "Yes!! The ultimate trio!!"
Kenji stood and walked down to the Duel Field. He usually hated this time of the year, but because he was teamed up with two of his only friends, it seemed like he was actually going to enjoy himself this year.
Yuko and Benta walked onto the field. Principal Walker smiled at the three. "I'm happy with this year's turn out. Who else is happy?" She screamed into the mic. The school cheered.
Kenji tapped Yuko's shoulders. "I have a feeling that KCA isn't going to be easy to beat this year."
"How so?"
"They always find a way to get stronger each year. We'll need a gameplay."
"I say we meet up tonight at Yuko's." Benta suggested.
"Agreed." Yuko held out his hand. "To the ultimate trio?"
"Heck yeah!" Benta and Kenji put their hands on top of Yuko's.
Principal Walker turned to the boys. "Now listen boys. The Battle of the Academies will be this Saturday and will be in New Domino City this year."
"We're going to KCA?" Yuko asked.
"Yes. We'll take a bus there. So be here at 10:00 AM. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am!" They all said.
"Good. I have faith in you three. DHA is counting on you to bring us the victory!"
*****
Yuko, Tammi, Benta, and Kenji all sat in Yuko's living room. They were discussing their strategies to combine their decks' strength in a effective manner.
"I think we'll need a lot of Zeo Support." Benta suggested. He figured that if they all slipped some cards that will help their Zeo Monsters then they'll be able use each other decks' more easily.
"Yeah and Anti-Support too." Kenji added. "We'll need to throw our opponents off." He looked over at Yuko. "Any idea on who's going to represent KCA?"
Yuko thought to himself. He hasn't seen anyone from his old school since he transfered. KCA had so many good duelist and Yuko wasn't sure who was going to duel. But there was one person at KCA he wouldn't mind dueling against: an old friend of his.
"No idea guys."
"Well whoever you guys are dueling, I'm pretty you guys will win." Tammi said.
"I hope so. KCA isn't a school to mess with." Yuko said.
Kenji searched through his deck and pulled out a trap card. "I have plan. If I can activate this trap, then I can combine all our decks' strengths into one."
"Kenji that's genius!" Benta said.
"Thing is...this trap isn't exactly easy to activate. But if I can get it to work, we'll win."
"Then it's settled! You'll duel last then. I'll go first and Benta will go second. That way if anything happens, we'll have that trap as a last resort." Yuko implied.
"I agree. You're our anchor Kenji. Besides you're stronger than both of us anyway." Benta added.
Kenji didn't like to think of himself as stronger than Yuko. He thought of him to be equally matched. Yuko was the only person to ever beat Kenji at school. "I guess." He checked the clock on his Duel Gazer. "It's getting late. Come on Tammi."
"Alright. See you guys later." Tammi and Kenji left.
"I should get going too." Benta said. "KCA is going down."
"You got that right!"
Benta left Yuko alone in his living room and Jaden, Yusei, and Yuma appeared.
"Excited?" Jaden asked.
Yuko sighed. "Not really."
"And why not?" Yuma aked. "I would love to be in your position!!"
"Yeah. You know, this Battle of the Academies thing reminds me of the World Racing Grand Prix back in my day. I'd love to be apart of it too."
"Don't get me wrong. I'm excited to duel. It's just...I left KCA for a reason and now I have to go back."
"Why did you leave?" Yuma asked.
"After my grandpa died, I was bullied a lot. I don't know why. Maybe it was because I didn't duel as well as the other kids. I was in the lowest rank after all. After four years of torture, I moved out of New Domino and now I'm here in Domino Heart."
"You're from New Domino City too?" Yusei asked. "I was born there!"
"Small world I guess."
"How's Satellite?"
"What's that?"
"Nevermind. I guess times have changed."
"I think it's awesome you're going back to your old school." Jaden said. "Now that you're a way better duelist, you'll take KCA by storm!!"
"He's right! You'll suprise them!" Yuma added.
"I hope you guys are right. I'm pretty nervous."
"Don't be. You'll have Benta and Kenji by side." Yusei said.
"Well.......I guess KCA's in for a treat then."
*****
Diron sat on his throne and watched his Legion members enjoy their free time. Ito was hiking through a jungle while playing his flute, the twins were talking next to campfire, and Shun watched over Domino Heart City.
"You're allies are preparing themselves?" A voice called in Diron's mind. "The war is approaching."
"You are right father. I wanted to give them time to theirselves. If we are to succeed in building our new world, they need to be mentally prepared."
"And what about the clown?"
Diron knew that his father was talking about Soran. "He does come off as a problem, but Yuko is the Heart of Unity. He is our target."
"Ah the boy. He's a suprising one. If I had known Leota had given him the power, he would've dead years ago."
"Father, please do not intervene. I want to take the mark for myself. But the boy hasn't achieved the mark's true power yet. It's still dormant and until it awakens, all we can do is push him to his limit."
"Well make it fast. The Day of Cataclysm is near. The realms need to fall on that day."
"I won't fail you father. I will take the mark and rebuilt this broken world."
*****
Shun appeared on top on his old home. Memories of his childhood started to flood in and he thought of the accident. "Why am I here?"
He heard a door opening and he quickly hid behind a wall. Kenji and Tammi came onto the roof. Shun tried to stay quiet.
"You'll do fine Kenji. Besides, Yuko and Benta are going to be by your side." Tammi said.
Kenji tensed up a bit and sighed. He was beyond stressed. "I just...I'm not sure if this'll work."
"Shun's going to be there. He used to love the Battle of the Academies. Remember when he won three years ago?" Tammi hated seeing Kenji so stressed. She knew it wasn't like him to worry so much, but she knows that he feels responsible for Shun's disappearance.
"And what if he isn't there?" Kenji sat down and put his hands on his face. "I only accepted to offer for him!"
"Look I know you hate the Battle of the Academies and I'm glad that you're doing this for Shun. Since you turn down the offer every year, I think Shun will see this as you caring."
"He needs to come home. The Legion isn't doing him any good."
Shun couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kenji was going through so much for him. Shun used to always take Kenji's place for the Battle of Academies and now Kenji was actually going to accept the offer.
"Come on it's getting cold." Tammi said.
"Yeah. Just give me a second."
"Okay..." Tammi left and Kenji stared into the sky.
"I'm sorry Shun." Kenji left.
Shun stood up and tried to keep himself from getting emotional. "You're sorry? Well sorry isn't enough." He opened a portal and left.
*****
Yuko arrived at DHA that Saturday morning. It was time for the Battle of the Academies. He woke up that morning nervous, but he managed to get himself to courage to go through with the duel.
He met his friends in front of the school as everyone who was riding the Spirit Bus began to board. "Hey guys."
"You ready?" Benta asked.
"I guess."
"Come on Yuko. Think positive. We'll win this." Tammi tried to be encouraging.
"I know we will. I'm just nervous. I didn't expect to go back to KCA so soon."
Kenji patted Yuko's shoulder. "We're a team. Don't worry."
They all boarded the bus and went over their strategy as the hour long trip began. "So about that trap card Kenji. Is it still our backup plan?" Benta asked.
"Yeah. I hope you guys remember the plan."
"Don't worry. Let's just make sure we get our aces out and we'll go on from there." Yuko said. He pulled out his ace monster card, 'Tora, Guardian of Life'. Benta pulled out 'Autocon Champion:Optima' and Kenji pulled out 'Meteor Yuan Dragon'. "Here we go."
*****
Arriving at Kaiba Corp Academy had to be the most surreal moment for Yuko. He saw so many familiar faces. Mainly the faces of people who bullied him. "Um I don't know guys."
"Too late to back out now." Benta said. "Come on Itaru Slayer."
They entered through the front foyer and Yuko still couldn't belive he was back at KCA. He saw an old teacher of his and waved. He may have hated his classmates, but he had great teachers.
As they continued into the school, Yuko noticed a familiar face. He looked at guy in a white hoodie. Once he focused his vision and the guy, he realized that it was Soran. "Soran?!"
Soran laughed and took his hood off. "Hey guys! I heard about this whole battle thing and I knew I had to see it. Are you guys dueling?"
"Yeah. We're representing DHA!" Benta said.
Soran looked around and walked closer to his friends. "I've been a lot of bad things about DHA from the people here. They really seem to hate you guys."
"This is our rival school." Tammi explained. "Of course they hate us."
"I'll never understand mortal realm customs, but I sure am intrigued."
Yuko laughed. He was happy to see Soran. "Well I'm glad you're here Soran. We could use all the support we could get."
"Well in that case, I'm here to support too." Someone said behind Yuko.
Yuko turned and gaped in shock. He was facing a red haired guy in an grey jacket and black jeans. "Koji?"
Koji smirked. "In the flesh. Long time, no see!"
The two hugged. Yuko couldn't believe was seeing Koji again. "It's great to see you!"
"Well this is my school so of course you would see me idiot." Koji flicked Yuko's forehead. The two laughed.
"Same old Koji." Yuko noticed that his other friends were standing behind him awkwardly. "Oh Koji, let me introduce to some good pals of mine. This is Tammi, Benta, Kenji, and Soran."
Koji shook hands with them all. "Looks like you've already replaced me Yuko. Nice to meet you guys. Any friend of Yuko's is a friend of mine."
"I thought you didn't have any friends here Yuko?" Tammi asked.
"Just one. Koji have been good friends for years."
"We've dueled through blood, sweat, and tears together. Here at KCA, things can get a bit wild." Koji added.
"I would assume so." Kenji looked around and noticed that people were headed towards the Duel Arena. He sighed and prayed to himself that Shun would show up. "Let's go. Time for the war."
As everyone made their way to the arena, Shun appeared behind a trophy display in the front foyer. He had a green hoodie on to hide his face. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to watch."
Shun followed everyone into the arena and he was blown away with this year's turn out. Almost every seat was taken. He searched for a seat far from the field so Kenji or Tammi couldn't see him. Shun took a seat in row 56. He began to take his hood off, but he made eye contact with Soran, who was looking for a seat for him, Koji, and Tammi.
"You've got to be kidding me." He said under his breath as he quickly put his hood back on.
Soran smirked and called for his friends. "Hey guys, I found us some seats over here!" He pointed to three seats behind Shun.
Shun sat still with hopes that Tammi wouldn't notice him. Once Soran, Koji, and Tammi took their seats, Soran purposely kicked Shun's seat.
Soran leaned forward so Shun could hear him. "Sorry about that. My bad." Soran said before he whispered into Shun's ear. "I won't tell them. Good to see that you care though." Soran leaned back and Shun tried to calm himself after that.
"I can't wait to see how everything goes!" Tammi said.
"Same. I want to know how strong Yuko has gotten over the past few months." Koji said.
"Trust me Koji. You won't be disappointed. Yuko's been through a lot of duels at DHA and he's only lost one match."
"Let me guess. Kenji?"
"Yeah."
"Figured. He seems like an interesting guy."
"Of course. He is my brother after all."
Soran pointed towards the Duel Field. "Showtime guys. It's about to start guys."
*****
Yuko, Benta, and Kenji all sat in the waiting room with their aces in their hands.
"You guys ready for this?" Benta asked.
"Yeah. I'm still nervous, but I'll probably feel better once I start dueling." Yuko said. He already had sweat in his armpits.
"Let's give it our all." Kenji said.
*****
The referee walked onto the field. He let out a huge smile to everyone in the audience. "Hello KCA!!"
All of the KCA students screamed.
"And hello to our guest, DHA!!"
The few DHA students in the audience screamed.
The referee laughed. "I hope you all are ready for a treat!! Today is the annual Battle of the Academies!!"
Everyone cheered louder. Yuko could feel the energy from the waiting room.
"Allow me to introduce the six duelist who will be apart on this all out war! Representing Domino Heart Academy are Yuko Sorama, Benta Kazama, and Kenji Itaru!!"
Yuko, Benta, and Kenji entered the arena and walked onto the field. All of DHA's students screamed as loud as they could, but their cheering wasn't enough to block out the hate the three were receiving from KCA.
"Boo!!" KCA screamed.
"Tough crowd." Tammi said.
"Don't mind them." Koji said. "They're all just jerks."
The referee tried to calm the audience. "Okay everyone! Time to bring out KCA's chosen three!! Tate Lison, Kai Udona, and Iris Drake!!"
KCA screamed in excitement as their three representatives entered the arena. Tate Lison was a White Jacket, Kai Udona was a Silver Jacket, and Isis Drake was a Black Jacket. Each duelist stood face to face with Yuko, Benta, and Kenji. The tension between the six formed into something almost unbearable.
"Well look what we have here boys." Iris said. "Yuyuck's back."
"Haha very funny Iris." Yuko balled his fist. He was standing in front of three of his old bullies. "You guys don't scare me anyway."
"You will be." Iris looked over to Kenji. "And you're the guy who beat my friend. Remember Grace?"
Kenji remembered the duel he had in Central Park with a cocky blonde. "Yeah. She warned me about me about you three."
"Look here. You guys are going down." Benta stepped in.
The KCA trio laughed. "We'll see about that." Kai said.
"Shall we begin?" Tate said.
"Let the games begin." Yuko pulled out his Duel Gear and Tate followed.
The referee noticed their anticipation. "Looks like we have our first match!! Yuko of DHA and Tate of KCA will kick off this event!"
The other four duelist left the field and took their seats on the sidelines. Yuko and Tate walked to their ends of the field and activated their gear.
"Good luck Yuko!" Tammi and Soran screamed from the stands.
"It's about to get wild." Koji said to himself.
"Prepare to lose Yuyuck." Tate drew his cards and Yuko followed.
"You're the one who will be losing pal."
"Alright!! Here we go everybody!! Duelist, whenever you're ready!!" The referee screamed.
"Duel!!"
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