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Disclaimer: I do not own any material belonging to the creators of Inuyasha or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.
"What?" came a startled voice that was instantly recognized as Chazz Princeton, as he gazed at the chart with the Dorm Switch Exam results. His fingers trembled slightly as he gazed at his name, and wondered slightly how the hell this had happened. "Third!?! Chazz Princeton is never third!"
Jaden Yuki, standing next to Alexis, leaned forward, "You got third, Chazz?" Once he was sure he caught the attention of the Obelisk, he blinked, "I don't think that's so bad."
"So bad?" Chazz hissed. "There must be a mistake! There is no way I got third! Chazz Princeton never gets third!"
"Whoa, calm down, Chazz, it's no big deal," Jaden laugh nervously, seeing the fury behind Chazz's eyes. It was being directed at him, and he lifted his hands in defense. "Besides, don't take it out on me, it wasn't my fault."
Alexis sighed, "He's right, you know." Seeing Chazz deflate, she ran her hand down the list. "Fourth…" she blinked in surprise, "Oh."
"You got fourth, Alexis?" Syrus asked. "Wow, there must be someone here who's really good."
"Or cheated," Chazz grumbled.
Alexis smiled, "Well, I doubt the person cheated, but they must be very good." Running her hand down further, she announced, "Well… it appears that you two would have passed, if it weren't for the person who knocked Chazz and I to third and fourth. Sorry."
"Oh, that's alright," Jaden said, grinning. "Hey, has anyone seen Zane lately?"
"He probably came earlier," Alexis smiled. She turned when she heard a voice asking for people to move, and saw the newest addition to the Slifer Dorm. "Jaden, isn't that the new transfer student who extended the date for the Dorm Switch Exam?"
"Huh?" Looking to where Alexis was pointing, he noticed that there was a person trying to squeeze through everyone to get to the bulletin board. He was glad he was friends' with Alexis, or he probably would have had to wait all day just to find out that he'd failed. Nodding, he scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, that's Kagome. She got here… ah…"
"A week before the exam was supposed to be held," Syrus said. "She's very nice, and she's always saying that she's glad there wasn't a Slifer Red uniform for girls… something about how short her old schools skirt was."
Chazz was back to looking at the board, and his eyes narrowed. "Her name wouldn't happen to be Higurashi, would it?"
"Yeah, Higurashi Kagome," Syrus nodded. "She came from Japan, which is why her surname is said first. Why?"
"Because," Chazz glared, "her name is above mine."
"Really!" Jaden shouted, nearly pushing the Obelisk out of the way in order to see. Scrolling down, he saw that Kagome's name was indeed in the second position, which made her an official Obelisk. "That's awesome, I didn't know she was that good. I've asked her to a duel once, but I kind of slept in when we were supposed to, and she told me she wasn't going to give me a second chance. Man, now I have to duel her!"
There were whispers throughout the crowd standing around them, each one of them shocked that a girl had gotten a higher score than Chazz Princeton. They parted for the girl, each staring at her as she moved by them. The Obelisks couldn't help but wonder if they'd have to start calling her the Queen of the Obelisks, since she got a higher score then both Chazz and Alexis.
Jaden turned when he saw her, startling the girl as he suddenly grabbed her shoulders. "I didn't know you were that good, Kagome."
She smiled a little, "What are you talking about, Jaden?"
"I never imagined that someone would actually get a higher score than Chazz, well, besides Zane—"
"Shut up, Slifer Slacker," Chazz growled coldly.
"You have to let me duel you sometime!" Jaden grinned. "I mean, the second highest score is really good," he stopped when he noticed that she'd tensed, staring at him in disbelief.
"Second…?"
"Ah, that's really good, Kagome…"
She grinned, shaking her head, "That's a really funny joke, Jaden, but I'm sure that I didn't get second."
He blinked, "There's no reason to be modest. Getting second is a really good thing."
"You aren't joking?" she asked, her eyes hardening.
Chazz snorted, "Of course not; if it wasn't for this stupid board, which was obviously tampered with, I wouldn't even allow him to say it. There's—"
"—got to be a mistake," Kagome finished, having started when Chazz had. "I get first in everything when it comes to duel monsters."
"First?" Jaden and Syrus asked.
She shoved past Jaden, and looked down the list. Indeed, her name was next to the second highest score. Staring at it in disbelief, she replied that there had to be a mistake, and looked up to the highest score. Zane Truesdale, her mind hissed. Growling, her voice came out coldly, "Higurashi Kagome does not play second fiddle." Her eyes lit up with a hidden fire, "Especially not to some boy."
They watched as she stalked away, her arms crossed and her body language telling others that she was ready to lash out at everything and everyone. It was obvious to each of them that she was very serious when she'd said she didn't play second fiddle. They only hoped that Zane was ready for a girl who wanted to prove she wasn't going to have a lower score than anyone.
Jaden shuddered, "She's really scary."
"Yeah," Syrus sighed.
"I think there's going to be some tension from now on," Alexis sighed. "She looked really serious, and I doubt Zane is going to get even an hour of rest before she proves what she said. Its obvious she's not used to getting anything that wasn't first place."
Jaden nodded, "I think she was worse than Chazz!"
"And she was so nice before," Syrus sighed. "I wonder why this upsets her so much."
"Shut up, Slifer Slacker!"
"Without the insults," Jaden grinned. I'm so going to get that duel! Sooner or later, I will!
She lowered her duel disk, her eyes staring in disbelief as her most powerful monster shattered to pieces and her life points dropped to zero. Clenching her hand, she stared at the boy who seemed clam and collected, not affected at all by her anger and disbelief. "How did you…" she wasn't able to finish the sentence and tried another, "You shouldn't have been able to…"
"There's more to dueling than simply winning," he replied.
She shook her head, "But I… I never lose…" Tears of anger gathered in her eyes, "I don't lose, and I won't lose to you, Zane."
He merely shook his head, and turned to walk away.
"Where do you think you're going!"
"Back to my dorm," he replied.
She clenched her hand so hard that her nails bit into her skin and drew blood. Raising it in challenge, she yelled, "You just wait, Zane! I'll beat you, I will!" Her breathing slowed to a normal pace, her eyes turning toward the ground. "I will," she whispered.
Her breathing was back to normal, but she could still feel her heart pounding against her chest. What was it about that boy that did these things to her? All these years she'd dueled and never had an opponent managed to get underneath her skin so well. Maybe it was because he had beaten her three times already, or maybe it was because he didn't seem intimidated by the fact that she was trying to do anything in order to beat him. She didn't know. Her eyes lowered a bit more, glancing at her duel disk as her graveyard was ejected, allowing her to put her deck back together for her next duel.
Angry for allowing someone to get to her so much, she grabbed her cards and clenched her hand around them. Flipping them over, she spread them out, gazing at her deck of dragons, warriors, and light-type monsters. Gripping them harder, she thrust her hand out, disgusted with them suddenly. They slipped from her fingers, fluttering to the ground underneath her, while she kicked at the dirt. She was ready to leave the stupid cards and never pick up the game again, when she heard footsteps.
"Kagome, why are your cards on the ground?"
Lifting her eyes, she saw that Jaden, Syrus, and Alexis were standing in front of her. Frowning, she turned her head away, "It's none of your concern, Jaden. Don't worry about it."
Jaden leaned down, picking up the baby dragon card at his feet. "You shouldn't get mad at your cards because you lost, Kagome. They've been with you forever, haven't they?"
"Yes. They're my favorite cards, but what's the point of keeping them when I can't use them correctly?" she asked.
Alexis stepped forward, also leaning down at pick up some of the fallen cards. "It's not that you can't use them correctly, Kagome. It's that you're so used to winning, using them in a certain way, that you can't adjust yourself to a new situation. I watched you duel against Zane the first two times, and I noticed that you lose because you put too much faith in your cards that you begin to lose confidence when someone begins taking out your more powerful cards. You just need to keep your confidence and learn how to use your cards a bit differently, perhaps using your weaker cards while using your more powerful cards in order to adjust to new situations."
She huffed, "I adjust to new situations just fine."
Syrus nodded. "But Alexis is right. Its not your cards, but the fact that my brother knows how to use his cards in order to take yours down before you can put together the sequence of cards you're so used to playing. You're not used to that."
Jaden smiled, nodding as well. Picking up the next card closest to him, he stood. Walking over to Kagome, he dusted the deck off a little, and took the cards Alexis had picked up. "Here you go, Kagome. I'm sure that you'll beat Zane sometime. But until then you just need to know that dueling is about having fun, not winning. Yeah, you can win and feel good about it, but having fun is a lot more important."
"He said something similar," she mumbled. "He always does."
"That's my brother for you," Syrus said. "He might not seem like it, but he does try to help others as best he can. He's probably only continuing to duel you each time you ask because he's trying to teach you that."
"I don't need to learn it," she snapped. Her eyes narrowed, her heart pounding once more as his image flashed in her mind. "I won't be second, I won't." She stalked off afterward, stuffing her cards back into her duel disk.
Jaden frowned. "Here I thought we were making progress."
Alexis looked thoughtful. "Maybe we are."
"What do you mean, Alexis?" Jaden asked.
"When she said she wouldn't be second, there was a look in her eye. A look that tells me we are beginning to get through to her… or Zane is beginning to get through to her," Alexis smiled.
"Huh?"
"Don't worry about it right now, Jaden," she said. "When the time comes, you'll understand."
Syrus blinked. Kagome likes my brother?
"Duel me!"
"The point of that being?"
"I'll finally get to prove that I am number one when it comes to duel monsters!" Kagome growled. "I won't be second best to a boy."
Zane gave her a disappointed look. His lips dipped down in a frown, and his head shook slightly to each side. "I expected someone like you to come to understand that dueling is not just about winning and being the best."
"Says you," she growled.
His frown deepened. "I won't duel you again until you come to understand that. Maybe you should try taking that lesson from Jaden or someone who understands it, when clearly you cannot." Turning from her, he shook his head once more. What would it take to make her understand what he wanted her to understand? No matter how interesting she was she didn't deserve his attention until she knew that dueling was more than simply winning or losing.
She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "Fine, I'll go find Chazz and duel him!" she huffed. "He's been bugging me about it so much that I'm almost afraid he's beginning to become obsessed with showing that he's better than a girl."
He continued to walk away.
She scowled, wondering for a moment why her taunt didn't work. "Fine! Walk away! Chazz will provide more entertainment with his whining when he loses than you'll ever provide anyone!"
"Syrus?"
The boy jumped, and then turned his attention toward the girl knelt beside him. "Oh, ah, Kagome, what a pleasant surprise!"
"I'm sorry that I scared you," she frowned.
He raised his hand and waved it frantically. "Oh, you didn't do that…" he laughed nervously.
She smiled. "Alright. Um, but that's not what I wanted."
He nodded. "What was it you wanted then?"
"Why is it that Zane won't pay any attention to me anymore?" she asked. She wanted to know, the boy had refused to duel her for nearly two weeks. All that time she'd had Chazz Princeton on her tail trying to duel her. She was starting to think that people were getting the wrong impression from the way they'd point toward them whenever Chazz did that, but she didn't care all that much anymore. She wanted to know why the boy she had grown interested in wasn't paying attention to her anymore.
"Ah… I don't know," Syrus frowned. "I'm sorry."
"He won't duel me anymore," she said, looking off toward the Ra Dorm. "He doesn't even acknowledge the fact that I'm there. I don't like it."
"Have you ever tried… doing anything besides dueling him?" Syrus asked.
"No," she replied. "I'm not… good at stuff like that. I've always looked to duel monsters since… well, you really don't need to know that." She sighed. "I've never been one to actually say what I really feel, you know?"
Syrus nodded. "I understand."
She tilted her head to one side.
"Maybe… maybe you could try losing and then walking away," Syrus added. "I know that you want to beat Zane, but maybe he wants you to simply show the fact that you can lose and not make a big deal out of it. To have fun."
She frowned deeper, but knew that that was something she could try. Nodding once, she stood, and crossed her arms. "I think I might try that," she said. "Thank you, Syrus."
"You're welcome, Kagome," Syrus smiled.
As she walked away, Jaden came running into the area. "Was that…" he panted, "Kagome?"
"Yeah?" Syrus said.
"NO!" Jaden shouted. "I wanted to ask her to duel me!" He rushed off in the same direction Kagome had gone, shouting, "Kagome! Kagome, wait! Please, Kagome, just one duel! Please!"
Sucking in a deep breath, she lowered her duel disk and turned away. She told herself once again to not say anything, that that would just make things worse. She would start yelling, and then Zane would give her that disappointed glare and walk away. Not today, because she was going to walk away! She was going to show him that she didn't care if she wasn't number one here, because she knew that when she got home she would be able to especially pound anyone into the ground when it came to duel monsters.
Surprise entered Zane's eyes, and he allowed a pleased smile to cross his face. Maybe she learned something after all, he thought. "Where are you going?" he called out.
She turned, not expecting him to say anything. "Um… back to the dormitory."
He raised his duel disk, and began to shuffle his deck. "Don't you want to go again?" he asked.
"Duel you again," she said. "As in, today?"
"One would hope so," Zane said, his eyebrow lifting. "Unless, you don't want to."
"No!" she shouted, quickly grabbing her deck in order to begin doing the same. "I'll duel you all you want, Zane!"
"Tell me," he asked. "Are you going to start ranting about being number one again?"
"Not today," she smiled. "Unless you want me to?"
"No, I believe I have heard enough of it for one lifetime." Zane smirked, walking toward her. "Though, your dueling skills are quite impressive. I believe you've managed to surprise me with each duel."
"Really?" she asked, a small blush forming onto her cheeks. She noticed his smirk, and allowed her lips to form a frown. She didn't want him to think he was going to be able to beat her every time simply because she was beginning to think he was… cute? Was that even a word she'd ever used? She didn't think it was.
Their heads turned when they heard, "Me next! Me next!" off to the side. And standing there was a smiling Jaden, Syrus, and Alexis, while Chazz simply frowned and muttered to himself.
"It's a good thing too!" Alexis shouted. "We were beginning to think you wouldn't hit it off!"
Kagome blushed. "What?" she snapped. "You want to come down here and say that to my face? I'll kick your—" She stopped, and turned her attention toward the person who'd placed his hand over her mouth. She frowned deeper, noticing the even larger smirk that had formed onto Zane's face. She didn't like that look at all, she wanted to wipe it off his face, and she knew the best way to do that would be to duel him.
She twitched, reminding herself to have fun.
After all, dueling wasn't all about winning. There was no fun that way, but beating him in order to get rid of that smirk, that was fun. She'd make it fun.
--Fin