The non-original characters in this fanfiction are copyrighted to Kazuki Takahashi, Studio Gallup and Toei where applicable. All other characters are considered public domain by the author and may be used freely, but he does request that you ask permission as a courtesy.
The card names used are translations of the Official Card Game (OCG) names. For the TCG names, see the "Cards used" at the end of the story. And don't forget to e-mail me your thoughts (vm_postitnotes@yahoo.com). Thank you very much for reading.
Author's Note: I will now be using "Duel Academy" instead of "Duel Academia", since promotional materials and animation cels confirm that the name of the school is in fact "Duel Academy".
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YU-GI-OH! -0
Turn Twenty-One: "Return of Genex! The Deadly Shadow Reveals Itself"
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Time meanders by for all, and so it did with the students at Duel Academy.
Before long, by all accounts, it was midterm examination time, which meant time spent dueling and having fun with friends was now spent practically sequestered at the library or dorm room cramming for tests.
But an interesting twist to the common examination would be happening this year...
All students in the school were summoned to the Examination Hall. When they arrived, they were met by head professor Asuka Tenjouin.
"Welcome, students of Duel Academy," she said. "As you know, we are an institution of higher learning. We teach you knowledge that will be applicable to your lives after you leave here, whether you continue your lives as duelists or if life takes you down another road.
"But an education in dueling is about more than mere knowledge," Tenjouin said to the crowd of students. "Your parents and guardians have entrusted us to give you that knowledge. But they expect more from us, and from you. They expect us to build hearts that are ready to confront any challenge, without fear, with only the excitement that is a duel. And they expect you to be prepared to meet those challenges."
She then opened her briefcase, took out a slide and placed it on the podium, which caused a logo to be displayed on the screen behind her.
"And that is why it is with great pleasure that I announce the revival of the Genex Tournament on this island."
The students were now loud with commotion, and Tenjouin waited for it to die down noticeably so that they would listen to her further words.
"The entrants of this tournament will be competing for the title of Kaiser, a name we give to the strongest duelist in the school," she said. "Initially, the participants will duel each other with Star points on the line."
"Star points?" the students asked each other.
"When you enter the tournament successfully, you will be given a Duel Disk that automatically records how many Star points you have," Tenjouin explained. "Each entrant will begin with one Star point, and will bet those points in duels. Once you get ten points, you will return to the Technological Center to register in the finals."
"The top eight students in terms of academics will be given automatic Star points," Tenjouin said. "The remaining 72 points will be given at the technological office, along with the Genex duel disks, once those students are announced. First come, first serve."
A commotion went up with the students again.
"We're going to break to give you some time to discuss things," Tenjouin concluded. "We'll reconvene here after lunch, and the top eight students will be announced. Students, you are dismissed."
The students poured out of the arena, and Tenjouin watched them, feeling a certain amount of trepidation.
'Soon, this entire island will become a battlefield,' she thought to herself. 'It's going to be quite interesting, I suppose...'
--
Katsurou Chiba ate his lunch on a table by himself. He was deep in thought, wondering how his friend Shougo was doing.
"What are you thinking of, Herr Chiba?" a student with a thick German accent said.
Chiba glanced up from his reverie and noted the student. Another Osiris student with shaggy hair and eyes that hid from view. He'd seen him around. "Oh, hello, Almaz-san," he said. "I'm thinking of my friend, Shougo-kun... he's still in the medical office. I kind of wish he was here."
"Oh, I see," Almaz said, nodding his head. "I thought perhaps you were planning a strategy."
Chiba laughed. "Well, I certainly plan on entering," he said. "But I'm probably not going to win!"
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," Almaz said, his Japanese barely understandable due to his thick German accent. "My father says that belief is the first step to victory."
"Well, that's kind of true," Chiba chuckled. "But anything can happen in a duel, you know. Sometimes you get bad hands and there's nothing you can do."
"My father believes you make your own luck," Almaz replied, trying to figure out how to open the pack that contained his lunch.
"Luck is in the hands of God," Chiba said, reaching to help Almaz with his package. "What you do with that luck determines your future."
"That is well said, Herr Chiba." Almaz nodded his thanks. "Did your father teach you that?"
Chiba closed his eyes and laughed. "No, I kind of came up with that on my own! Anyway, are you going to be entering, Almaz-san?"
Almaz looked down and nodded quietly.
"Well, let's finish our lunches and get back to the auditorium quickly then..."
--
Tenjouin walked into the faculty office wringing her wrists. Kiyotaki and Osiris Red head Mayako Matsutani were there.
"Inspirational as always, Tenjouin-san," Kiyotaki commented.
"I still feel terrible about this," Tenjouin noted.
A dapper-looking man walked into the room. "You shouldn't have to worry, Asuka-chan... since I'm sponsoring this event."
Tenjouin turned to the man. Someone she knew from her past, who had come a month before the midterms with the idea.
"Mitsuo-san," she greeted him. "Or do you still want me to call you 'Boy'?"
"'Tahuru-san' is fine as that is my last name," he said. "But I'll have to show you the same respect, and call you 'Tenjouin-san'. It's a shame that that will be our relationship for now."
Tenjouin smiled and closed her eyes, nodding her head a bit.
"Before you return to the arena, I have something important to show you, Tenjouin-san," Kiyotaki said. "The list of the top eight students in Duel Academy."
"Yes?" Tenjouin said, and Kiyotaki handed her the list. Out of habit, she adjusted her glasses as she read. She then gasped.
"Aoyama Shougo is our number two student?" she gasped. "But... he's in the medical center!"
"It's no mistake," Matsutani said. "We've been carefully monitoring him. It seems he's actually doing the classwork that his friends give him, and scoring high on the tests to boot."
Tenjouin smiled a bit despite herself. "He's an Osiris Red student!" she said. "This will shake up Duel Academy for sure."
"Certainly," Tahuru said. "But of course, there will be some people who would accuse him of cheating."
"We have to be aware of this," Kiyotaki said. "I've learned from my mistakes. I don't want to put undue pressure on him."
"I'll talk to him," Tenjouin offered. "See what he thinks of the situation."
Kiyotaki nodded. "That would be wise, Tenjouin-san."
"Kiyotaki-kouchou... Tahuru-san... Matsutani-sensei." Tenjouin bowed politely and made her own leave.
Tahuru and Kiyotaki both watched her go. "She's an excellent teacher, isn't she?" Tahuru asked Kiyotaki. "It was certainly a good choice to make her lead professor."
"Yes," Kiyotaki replied, but his face betrayed nervousness. Tahuru, for his own reasons, chose to overlook it, and returned to organizational matters.
"Sir?" Matsutani asked.
"...I'll be okay, Matsutani-san," Kiyotaki said. "You'd better head back to the dorms and prepare yourself. It might be a bit interesting in your area for awhile."
"Yes, Sir," Matsutani nodded and left quietly.
Kiyotaki turned and looked out the window.
'I really feel like I'm in a poor position,' he thought to himself. 'I do not wish to harm the boy or put him in harm's way. But this school was created to investigate the supernatural phenomena behind Duel Monsters. And to do that... I must...'
--
In the medical office, Shougo sat up on his bed, playing a portable video game, when Tenjouin entered the room.
"Tenjouin-sensei!" Shougo exclaimed.
"You've been quite busy," Tenjouin said quietly as she moved across his room. "Even in this hospital room, you're one of the top eight students in the school."
"It's very important to me to keep my grades up now," Shougo said. "I've had my friends bring me my work and their notes. It gives me something to do."
Tenjouin smiled. "So studious."
"I heard that means I'm automatically entered in this tournament," Shougo replied. "But you're here to ask me not to enter, right?"
Tenjouin's eyes widened slightly. Was she that transparent that he saw through her intentions?
"Don't worry," he said quietly. "I don't plan on entering, anyway. Ayukawa-sensei says she doesn't feel safe letting me out until my vital signs are normal again."
He then looked down, a frown settling on his face. "It's too bad, though."
"What do you mean?" Tenjouin asked, adjusting her glasses.
"Studying isn't all I've been doing," Shougo said quietly, and took out his deck from his nightstand. He spread it out and showed it to his teacher.
Tenjouin immediately recognized two things - several new cards, as well as the lack of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
"You... took out the Red-Eyes?" Tenjouin asked. "Why?"
"I remember Chiba saying that the Red-Eyes represents my hope," Shougo replied. "But it doesn't feel that way to me. It is more like a chain that keeps me in my past. I have to move beyond that."
"Aoyama-kun..." Tenjouin said simply.
"I want to enter the tournament," Shougo admitted. "But being able to study is more important to me right now. If I go without getting a clean bill of health from Ayukawa-sensei, I might collapse."
Tenjouin took a closer look at Shougo's deck and gasped in utter shock. 'These cards...'
"Aoyama-kun, how did you get these cards?" she asked.
"I got them from Chiba-kun," Shougo explained. "He brings me booster packs from the store every week."
'These cards, though... last time I heard, these were forbidden and kept by Samejima-kouchou in a very private place,' Tenjouin thought to herself. 'To get them from a booster pack at the store is literally impossible...'
"Tenjouin-sensei?" Shougo asked, then noticed her expression, and his own face fell. "Oh. I understand. These cards are really rare, too, aren't they?" He sighed. "I don't have any luck at all."
'In my day, some students would kill to get these cards,' Tenjouin thought. 'But you consider yourself unlucky. Aoyama-kun... I knew there was a gentle child inside of you.'
"Well, you don't have to enter," Tenjouin said. "But some students might put pressure on you to give up your Star point to them."
"I... I'm not sure what I'll do about that yet, Tenjouin-sensei," Shougo said, and then leaned over and held his head. "I... I don't feel so good."
"You rest, Aoyama-kun," Tenjouin urged him quietly. "There's no need to rush this."
Shougo leaned over and closed his eyes, and right away he was asleep. Tenjouin sighed as she got up, and hugged her arm as she walked away.
'I say that... but he'll have to decide by tomorrow whether he wants to be in this tournament or not. I don't know what I can do for him by then...'
--
The students reconvened in the Examination Hall, as requested. Asuka Tenjouin waited for the commotion to settle down before she resumed her announcement.
"And now, as promised," Tenjouin announced. "The top eight students who are automatically entered in the Genex tournament." She motioned to the wall where the names were now displayed.
As expected, Hinata Toragami was the number one student in the school. She didn't have to worry about getting any Star points. But one name caused the entire student body to gasp.
"Shougo Aoyama is number two?"
"An Osiris Red student?"
"Isn't he in the medical office?"
Tenjouin heard the commotion and sighed quietly once more. She then stated the rules of the tournament.
"Registration will be at the Technological Office where you will receive your new duel disk. Your grades have to be at least on the average level to be permitted entry in the tournament, and the deadline is six in the morning tomorrow; the tournament will officially begin at 9 a/m. Those who are unable to register will have to instead write a 20-page report on a duel-related topic of their teacher's choice.
"Those who compete in the tournament will be dueling for Star points. You can bet any amount of Star points that you have, but no more than what your opponent has. Exchange of Star points without dueling is not permitted, except for the top 8 students, who may choose not to enter the tournament at their own discretion, and instead write the report.
"You may use any cards you wish, other than cards which are explicitly forbidden by Industrial Illusions for use in official tournaments. Decks must be 40 cards, no more and no less, but you may switch cards or decks at your own discretion. Cheating will not be tolerated and anyone caught doing so will be made to forefeit their duel immediately. We will have teachers observing the duels around the island, so do not cheat!
"Once your Star points reach ten, your Duel Disk will be rendered inactive. At that point, you must go to the Technological Office and register for the finals, which will take place the next day. Thank you to all the students, and good luck!"
She left the students at that, and the commotion restarted immediately. Tenjouin listened to the students' words.
"Let's go and enter right away!" one said.
"I wonder if Aoyama-san will be entering," another said. "He's sick, though..."
"Yes, he shouldn't enter if he's not well... but it's up to him, isn't it?" his friend told him. "It's amazing, though... he is a hard worker."
Tenjouin was surprised, when listening to the students, to hear not an audible thought that Shougo might be cheating, or a note of disbelief. She couldn't help but smile.
'We've really done a good job teaching these students, haven't we?...'
Just then, her PDA rang, and Tenjouin's heart skipped a beat. It was Ayukawa.
"Tenjouin-sensei, get to the medical office, and hurry!" she shouted. She sounded and looked as if she had been in a fight.
Tenjouin bit her lip. 'I need to leave now, but I can't leave the students this way!' She glanced off the side to her assistant, who nodded understanding.
"I will leave the floor to Raiku-san, who will explain the mechanics of the new Duel Disks," Tenjouin said, trying to disguise the anxiety in her voice. "Thank you once again!"
She then got off the stage delicately, but her heart got the better of her and she broke into a run.
'What is this terrible feeling I'm having...?'
--
When Tenjouin got to the medical office, she found a mess, and Ayukawa sitting on a chair, being tended to by nurses. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. She'd been crying.
"What happened?" Tenjouin asked.
"I'm sorry, Tenjouin-san," Ayukawa said. "A man came in claiming to be Aoyama-kun's father. When I wouldn't let him in, he knocked me unconscious. Nobody else was watching him and... he's gone."
"Gone?!" Tenjouin turned towards the door. "We have to find him!"
"I don't know where he is," Ayukawa sobbed. "I don't have any clues. Please forgive me, Tenjouin-san."
"It's okay, Ayukawa-sensei. I know you tried your best." Tenjouin turned to her former teacher and gave her a smile. "You rest here. I'll figure out s..."
There was a pause as Tenjouin noticed Ayukawa's startled look, staring at the doorway. Tenjouin turned towards it to see what she was looking at.
Hinata Toragami stood in the doorway, her arms crossed.
"If you want to find Aoyama Shougo, I can take you to him," she said quietly.
--
Now that the Genex tournament is underway, begin to build your Genex deck! Remember, forty cards, no more and no less! But you can switch in cards as you will! But prepare yourself, the finals are going to be something special...
--
Tenjouin: "To involve an innocent child in your schemes is unforgivable!"
Aino: "Shougo-kun is kidnapped by an old man who doesn't want to see him at the Genex tournament... no matter what it takes."
Tenjouin: "You have no idea the growth he's gone through! And now you want to *kill* him? I will not allow it!"
Aino: "The man, as a duelist, offers Tenjouin one chance on her pride to save Shougo-kun's life, but can she win using someone else's deck?"
Tenjouin: "I'm a teacher at Duel Academy. I should be able to win regardless of condition. But the risk involved... this time..."
Aino: "Next time, on Yu-Gi-Oh! Negative Zero: 'Do or Die! An Impossible Choice'."
Tenjouin: "Not even a draw is an option in this battle. I... I will win!"
