Chapter 2: The Honor and Pride of Miator
Jaden was staying in a guest room in the head mistress’ mansion on the island. It was a nice room, but Jaden was not used to such extravagant accommodations. After four years of living in the Slifer Red dorms, and a year and a half of life on the road as a wandering duelist, Jaden had become more used to living in a more rustic manner. He would either camp out under the stars, or spend the night in hotels that were not extremely cheap, but were nowhere near five stars. Still, it was a nice room. Large, nice soft bed, and it even had its own bathroom. Jaden wondered if the room he was staying in was anything like the rooms at the Obelisk Blue dorm at his old academy. He made a mental note to ask his friend Syrus the next time he saw him.
As Jaden finished getting dressed, he glanced down at Pharaoh. The stripped cat seemed to be enjoying the high-class cat food that the head mistress’ servants had provided. Jaden was glad that at least his cat was having a good time. As for himself, he wasn’t so sure. Jaden did not know why Pegasus had dragged him along to Astraea Island for a yearlong visit, nor did he have any idea what he was going to do on the island, aside from dueling some of the students. What was the purpose of Pegasus bringing him along? Jaden knew that Pegasus was a bit eccentric, but there had to be a reason other than to show off the skills of a pro-duelist. Jaden decided to ask Pegasus what was going on as soon as he saw him.
As Jaden began to descend the stairs to the ground floor, he saw someone waiting for him. It was an older man, wearing the same black suit and sunglasses as Pegasus’ bodyguards, but had grey hair and a mustache.
“Mr. Jaden Yuki, I presume?” the man in black asked.
“Yeah, that’s me.” Jaden replied. “Who’re you?”
“I am Croquet, Mr. Pegasus’ aid.” The man in black replied. “I’m here to inform you that Mr. Pegasus will be unavailable for the next few days. He has urgent business here on the island that requires his personal attention.”
‘Figures’ Jaden thought to himself. He knew that Pegasus was ducking him, which made things even more suspicious.
“In the meantime,” Croquet continued, “Mr. Pegasus thought that you might enjoy a tour of the facilities here on the island, beginning with Miator.”
“Are you going to give this tour?” Jaden asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I am here merely to inform you of you of Mr. Pegasus’ unavailability.” Croquet replied. “The tour will be conducted by a pair of Miator students, who have already arrived.”
Croquet stepped aside, allowing a pair of familiar looking girls to step into view. One had blue hair and a white bow, and the other was a redhead.
“Hello again Mr. Yuki.” Tamao greeted, bowing to Jaden. “It’s a pleasure to see you again. Nagisa and I have been asked to conduct your tour.”
“I see.” Jaden said, pleasantly surprised. “Nice to see you two again.”
A few moments later, the trio was outside on their way to Miator. Tamao lead the way, while Jaden and Nagisa followed almost side by side.
“So Nagisa, is this your first year here?” Jaden asked his redheaded companion.
“Uh, yeah.” Nagisa replied. “I actually transferred over from another duel academy in my home town. I only came here because both of my parents had to take a job overseas. Still, I’m rather excited to be here. Miator is said to be one the best duel academies in the world.”
“Not to mention that she met a silver haired vixen that made her swoon.” Yubel said as she suddenly appeared next to Jaden.
“Huh?” Jaden asked, wondering what the duel monster was implying.
“Did you say something Mr. Yuki?” Tamao asked, suddenly stopping and turning to face Jaden.
“What? Oh, nothing.” Jaden replied. “I was just talking to myself, and please, call me Jaden.”
“Oh… um, alright.” Tamao replied. The blue haired girl seemed a bit surprised by Jaden’s request that they drop the formalities.
“What’s that building over there?” Jaden asked, pointing to the three-story building on their right.
“Oh, that’s the Strawberry Dorms.” Tamao replied right after looking where Jaden was pointing. “All of students on Astraea Island live in that building. The dorms are divided into three sections, one for each academy.”
Jaden nodded his head in understanding. It seemed interesting to him that all three academies would share the same dormitory.
“Here we are.” Tamao exclaimed as the three suddenly stopped in front of the large building that Jaden had first seen the previous day, St, Miator Duel Academy.
“It might interest you to know Mr. Yuki, I mean Jaden, that St. Miator was the first academy on the island to be created.” Tamao explained as the trio entered the building. “There were so many students that wished to enroll here, a second academy was created. That academy was St. Spica. Even than, however, there were still too many students for both Miator and Spica to handle, so St. Lilum was created.”
Both Jaden and Nagisa nodded in interest to what Tamao had told them. Jaden thought to himself that Miator probably produced some good duelists if it was so popular. There were not a lot of students in the school that day, which was not surprising since it was the weekend. The trio passed by many classrooms, and Tamao explained what each of them was used for. Jaden was rather surprised that some of the rooms were used for classes that taught things such as flower arranging and tea ceremony. Although Jaden did remember that Miator was also a private school for girls.
After the tour had taken the trio past the gym, the out door pool, and a few in door dueling arenas, they had eventually reached a closed room, where loud voices could be heard.
“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!” a shrill female voice shouted. “WHERE DO YOU GET OFF DEMANDING THAT MIATOR DETERMINE THE FORMAT OF THE TOURNAMENT?”
The trio was greatly startled by the outburst from the room they were outside of.
“It is only fair!” another female voice replied. This voice was much calmer than the first. “Since Spica is hosting the Etoile tournament, Miator should decide the format!”
“IN THE LAST TOURNAMENT, MIATOR BOTH HOSTED THE TOURNAMENT, AND DECIDED THE FORMAT! SPICA SPICA DID NOT HAVE ANY PART IN ORGANIZING IT!” the first voice replied.
“You have to admit, it does sound fair.” Said a third voice, far calmer than the other two. “After all, this competition involves all three schools.”
“OH, AND I SUPPOSE THAT MIATOR BEING ALLOWED TO DETERMINE THE FORMAT IS YOUR IDEA, PRESIDANT CHIKARU!” the first voice shouted.
“Well, I may have suggested something to president Miyuki just before today’s meeting.” The third voice said in a tone that was far too innocent.
“Oh, that figures!” the first voice replied, in a calmer tone. “And just what will Lilum’s part in planning the tournament?”
“Well, I was thinking that Lilum could handle the décor,” the third voice replied, “but other than that, we’d be perfectly happy to let Miator and Spica handle the major details.”
“I DON”T BELIEVE THIS!” the first voice shouted. “THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT SPICA GETS TO HOST THE ETOILE TOURNAMENT, AND MIATOR ACTS LIKE THEY’RE STILL THE HOSTS! I CANNOT BELIEVE THE ARROGANCE OF…”
The shouting voice trailed off into an angry rant. Both Jaden and Nagisa were simply shocked by what they were hearing behind the closed door. Tamao, on the other hand, was not surprised at all.
“This is actually quite normal.” Tamao said, getting the attention of Jaden and Nagisa. “What we’re hearing is the weekly meeting of the student council presidents of the three schools. The one who is doing the shouting is Shion Tomori, the student council president of Spica.”
“Are they always like this?” Nagisa asked.
“Well, the meetings have become a bit more heated since the end of last year,” Tamao replied, “but this is mostly what they’re like. All three schools have a long rivalry with each other, so it’s not uncommon for some of the meeting to break into big arguments like this one.”
“Makes my old academy seem tame by comparison.” Jaden cut in. “Although I thought that this ‘Etoile’ was supposed help mediate the stuff between the three schools.”
Nagisa turned her full attention to Jaden after hearing him mention the mysterious Etoile that captivated her since her arrival on the island.
“At least, that’s what I thought I heard your head mistress say when I first got here yesterday.” Jaden said as he rubbed the back of his head.
“You heard correctly Mr. Yuki.” Tamao replied. “One of the duties of the Etoile is to help resolve disputes like the one going on now.”
“So why isn’t she doing that now?” Nagisa asked.
“Well…” Tamao began, “the rumor is that the current Etoile often neglects her duties. It’s said that she often skips out on meeting between the student council presidents”
Both Jaden and Nagisa were rather surprised by this news. Nagisa seemed especially surprised. Jaden thought back to his duel with the aforementioned Etoile the previous night. After thinking about how the silver haired girl he dueled didn’t seem to even try to defeat him, Jaden wondered if the Etoile took any part of her position seriously. Then again, Jaden decided that if he had to sit in on meeting like the one going on behind the door, he’d try to skip out on as many of them as he could too.
“THIS ISN’T OVER!” the loud voice from behind the door shouted.
The door to the room where the student council presidents were having their meeting suddenly opened, startling Jaden and the two Miator students. The first person that walked out had long blond hair and was wearing a primarily white uniform with a rather shot skirt and a checked yellow bowtie that had a red gem in the center. On her left arm, the blond wore a duel disk that was white with blue trim. A very noticeable expression of irritation was on the blonde’s face. Jaden could tell that the girl he was seeing was Spica’s student council president of Spica. The blond looked at the trio for a moment, then turned her nose up at the and left.
The second person to walk out of the room was a raven-haired girl with two large red bows on the sides of her hair. The girl’s uniform was primarily pink and yellow, and resembled the uniform of a regular Japanese schoolgirl. On the raven-haired girl’s left arm was a bright yellow duel disk with pink trim. The raven-haired girl looked at the trio and shot them a warm smile. There was something about the girl that put Jaden on edge, however. Something that he found dangerous, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. When the raven-haired girl left, Jaden began to calm down a bit.
The third person to exit the room was a girl with short, dark-blue hair, and a stern expression on her face. The girl was wearing a Miator uniform and duel disk. Jaden knew that the girl could only be Miator’s student council president. Jaden also realized that he had seen the girl the previous night during the duel. He had glanced over to Shizuma’s right very briefly during the duel and saw the girl watching with the same serious expression. The Miator president looked over at the trio and walked toward them.
“Mr. Jaden Yuki, I presume?” the stern faced girl asked.
“Uh, yeah.” Jaden replied a bit nervously.
“I’m Miyuki Rokujo, the student council president of Miator.” The girl said, introducing herself. “I trust that you’re enjoying your tour?”
“Well, it’s been interesting.” Jaden replied. “You’ve got quite the school here.”
“I thank you for that compliment.” Miyuki said, bowing her head slightly. “Our academy has produced some fine duelists. Our Etoile, Shizuma Hanazono, is one of our best.”
“I guess.” Jaden replied. He couldn’t really agree or disagree with what Miyuki said about Shizuma, since said Etoile did not give Jaden her best game.
“I see…” Miyuki said, narrowing her eyes a bit at Jaden. “So you doubt the abilities of Miator students, since you defeated our Etoile so easily last night.”
“Uh, wait I never said…” Jaden began, but he was quickly cut off.
“Do not assume that the students of Miator are weak because you managed to defeat our Etoile!” Miyuki sternly informed Jaden. “We are far more powerful than you imagine! However, since you will probably not take my word for it, I will duel you myself just to show you how powerful we are.”
Jaden was about to tell Miyuki that he did not doubt the dueling ability of Miator students, but he couldn’t turn down a challenge to duel. It just wasn’t in his nature.
“Fine, I accept!” Jaden said with a smirk.
A few minutes later, Miyuki and Jaden were outside in one of Miator’s dueling arenas. Nagisa and Tamao had followed to watch the duel that was about to unfold.
“I’ll start things off!” Jaden announced as he drew his first card. “First I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode!”
A large warrior in smooth yet bulky grey armor appeared on Jaden’s side of the field in a crouched position. Jaden looked at the rest oh his hand. It wasn’t a great hand, but it wasn’t bad either. He had a couple of Trap cards, Hero Signal and Draining Shield. Jaden didn’t think that Miyuki could summon anything that could overcome Clayman’s 2000 DEF points on her first turn, but he decided to put the Traps on the field just in case.
“Next I’ll lay down a couple face downs and end my turn!” Jaden announced as he put the two Trap cards in his duel disk.
“A prudent defense,” Miyuki said as she drew her first card, “but I’m afraid it is worthless. I discard Harpie Queen from my hand to add Harpies’ Hunting Ground to my hand.”
Miyuki added the card that popped out of her deck to her hand.
“Next I activate Harpies’ Hunting Ground!” Miyuki announced as she placed the card in her duel disk.
The scenery immediately changed to a barren wasteland under a grey sky.
“Harpies’ Hunting Ground increases the ATK of all Winged Beast monsters on the field by 200 points,” Miyuki explained, “but that’s not the only effect of my Field Spell.”
Jaden knew all too well what the other effect of Miyuki’s Field Spell was, and he knew all too well what was going to happen next.
“I summon Cyber Harpie Lady in Attack Mode!” Miyuki announced.
A woman with long, bright red hair and blue skin appeared on Miyuki’s side of the field. The woman’s arms were a pair of wings that ended in talons, and her feet were a pair of much larger talons. Her chest was covered in black and silver armor, and she carried a whip in her right claw.
“Now the second effect of my Field Spell kicks in.” Miyuki explained. “Whenever a Harpie Lady is summoned, one Spell or Trap card on the field is automatically destroyed.”
The Cyber Harpie flapped her wings, causing a gust of wind to destroy one of Jaden’s Trap cards.
“Next I activate Elegant Egotist!” Miyuki announced. “This card allows me to Special Summon Harpie Lady 1 from my deck!”
The Cyber Harpie was enveloped in a beam of light, causing her to divide into two. The second Harpie Lady was identical to the first, except that it wore a purple body suit and carried no whip.
“The effect of my Field Spell activates again and destroys your second Trap card.” Miyuki explained.
The newly appeared Harpie Lady flapped her wings, brining up a gust of wind that destroyed Jaden’s other Trap card.
“There’s one more thing you should know.” Miyuki explained. “As long as Harpie Lady 1 is face-up on the field, all Wind attribute monster gain 300 extra ATK.”
Jaden knew that that meant both of Miyuki’s Harpies had gained 500 extra ATK, meaning Cyber Harpie had 2300 ATK, making it able to destroy Clayman easily. Harpie Lady 1’s ATK, meanwhile, had become 1800.
“Now Cyber Harpie, attack Clayman!” Miyuki commanded. “Rose Whip!”
The Harpie Lady cracked its whip and struck Clayman across the chest, shattering it into triangles of gold light.
“You’re wide open.” Miyuki observed. “Harpie Lady 1, attack Mr. Yuki directly! Talon Slash!”
The second Harpie Lady gleefully slashed Jaden across the chest with her claws. The attack reduced Jaden’s 4000 life points to 2200.
“That ends my turn.” Miyuki announced.
“Wow, the president sure is good.” Nagisa observed from the sidelines.
“President Rokujo is one of the strongest duelists in Miator.” Tamao replied. “She’s also one of the most aggressive. Very few people have defeated her.”
“So, do you still doubt the ability of Miator students Mr. Yuki?” Miyuki asked Jaden.
“I never said that I did.” Jaden replied.
“You seemed to doubt the ability of our Etoile.” Miyuki pointed out.
“It’s not that I don’t think that your Etoile isn’t strong,” Jaden replied, “I just couldn’t really tell since she didn’t really seem to be trying to beat me.”
Jaden’s words surprised Miyuki, Nagisa, and Tamao.
“I see…” Miyuki said, looking down a little in shame. “You are correct Mr. Yuki, Shizuma was not trying her hardest to defeat you in your duel last night. It must be an insult to you, and for that I apologize.”
Miyuki’s words had caused Jaden to blink in surprise.
“I wasn’t insulted.” Jaden replied. “It’s just no fun to go up against a duelist who doesn’t come at me with full strength. Why wasn’t Shizuma coming at me with everything she had?’
“It’s a long story.” Miyuki said looking back up at Jaden. “I can tell you however, that Shizuma does not take many of her duties as Etoile seriously these days. In fact, it is rumored that she will not attend a special ceremony for the first year students being held today. It is a shame, since the first years were looking forward to her appearance.”
What Miyuki had told Jaden about the ceremony seemed to shock Nagisa a bit.
“Well, whatever. Right now I’ve got a duel to win.” Jaden said as he drew his next card. “My move!”
Jaden looked at the card and smirked.
“First I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards!" Jaden announced as he placed the card he just drew into his duel disk.
Jaden looked at the two new cards. One of the cards was Elemental Hero Wildheart. He already had Elemental Hero Bladedge in his hand, but he still did not have Polymerization. The other card he drew however was something that could turn things around, although it wouldn’t quite finish the duel. If he was going to take down Miyuki, he would need one more card. Jaden decided to take a gamble.
“Next I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart in defense Mode!” Jaden announced.
A warrior with tribal markings, a long black ponytail, and a large sword on his back appeared on Jaden’s field in a crouched position.
“I lay down a facedown and end my turn!” Jaden announced.
Jaden knew that he was taking a big gamble setting that card on the field. If Miyuki summoned another Harpie Lady, the card would be destroyed, Wildheart would become bird food, and he would lose.
“You’re taking a huge risk setting that card on the field.” Miyuki noted as she drew her next card. Jaden held his breath as he waited to see if the card was another Harpie Lady or something else. “However, it seems that you’re gamble has paid off somewhat. I summon Harpies’ Pet Dragon in Attack Mode!”
A human sized orange dragon with a black face and a type of crow appeared on the field between the two Harpie Ladies. Around the dragon’s neck was a collar with a chain attached. Harpie Lady 1 picked up the end of the chain and held it in her right claw.
“Harpies’ Pet Baby Dragon gains effects depending on how many Harpie Lady cards are on the field.” Miyuki explained. “If I have at least one Harpie Lady on the field, Harpie cards other than Harpies’ Brother and Harpie’s Pet Baby Dragon cannot be declared as attack targets. If I have two Harpie Ladies on the field, my dragon’s original ATK is doubled from 1200 to 2400.”
Jaden, Nagisa, and Tamao were all rather impressed that Miyuki was able to summon a monster with 2400 ATK so easily. Plus, Jaden remembered that Harpie Lady 1 gave every Wind monster on the field 300 extra ATK points, so since Pet Baby Dragon was a Wind attribute monster, its ATK again rose to 2700.
“This turn is the end, Mr. Yuki.” Miyuki proclaimed.
“You think so?” Jaden asked with a smirk, causing Miyuki to raise an eyebrow. “I activate my facedown, Super Polymerization!”
“Super Polymerization?” a confused Miyuki asked.
“By discarding a card from my hand, I can use monsters on my side of the field with monsters on your side of the field for a Fusion Summon!” Jaden explained. “So I discard Elemental Hero Bladedge from my hand, and fuse my Elemental Hero Wildheart and your Harpies’ Pet Baby Dragon to summon Elemental Hero Great Tornado!”
A gigantic vortex appeared in the sky and sucked Wildheart and Pet Baby Dragon into the air. The two monsters disappeared into the center of the vortex. There was a huge flash of light, and the vortex disappeared. From the sky dropped a warrior in green, dark-brown, and yellow-tan armor. The warrior wore a tattered dark-brown cape over his left arm. The arrival of the warrior caused a huge wave of wind to pick up and knock the two Harpie Ladies to the ground.
“When Great Tornado is summoned, the ATK of all my opponent’s monsters is cut in half.” Jaden explained.
“I-I end my turn.” A shocked Miyuki announced.
Jaden drew his next card, hoping that it would be just what he needed to finish the duel.
“Sweet!” Jaden said as he looked at the card he just drew. “I activate Miracle Fusion! I remove Wildheart and Bladedge from my Graveyard to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Wildedge!”
Appearing on the field next to Great Tornado was a more muscular version of Wildheart wearing a gold helmet and golden armor on his waist, right leg, and left arm. Steel blades lined the edge of the armor on Wildedge’s left lower arm. Wildedge’s ATK was 2600, making it far stronger than the two weakened Harpie Ladies.
“Wildedge has the ability to attack all the monsters on my opponent’s side of the field at least once.” Jaden explained. “Now Wildedge, attack the Harpie Ladies! Scimitar Slash!”
One slash from Wildedge and the Harpie Ladies were cut to ribbons. Not only were Miyuki’s 4000 life points reduced to a mere 850, but she was wide open to a direct attack. Great Tornado’s 2800 ATK was more than enough to finish her off.
“Great Tornado, attack Miyuki directly!” Jaden commanded. “Super Cell!”
Great Tornado blasted Miyuki with a powerful twister that reduced her life points to zero. With the duel over, the landscape turned back into one of the outdoor duel arenas behind Miator.
“That’s game!” Jaden said as he did his trademark victory pose.
“You truly are a skilled duelist Mr. Yuki.” Miyuki said with a bow. “I apologize that I thought that you assumed Miator’s students were weak.”
With those words, Miyuki turned and left. It seemed to Jaden that Miyuki was one of those duelists who took the game way too seriously, and he wondered if all the Miator students were like that. He knew that at least Shizuma wasn’t like that, but then she didn’t seem to really care about the game at all. Then it occurred to Jaden that perhaps Shizuma not trying her hardest to win the duel was a way of rebelling against her position as Etoile. It seemed that being Etoile had all of these jobs and responsibilities attached, not to mention a huge image to uphold. So it made sense to Jaden that Shizuma might rebel by not trying to win, or even lose on purpose.
“So, is that the end of the tour?” Jaden asked Tamao.
“Well, there are a few parts of the grounds that I haven’t showed you,” Tamao answered, “but I pretty much shown you everything.”
“In that case, I’m gonna head back to the head mistress’ mansion.” Jaden replied.
“Um… I have somewhere I have to go to right now!” Nagisa suddenly said, surprising both Tamao and Jaden. “It was nice seeing you again Jaden. See you later!”
With those words, Nagisa turned and ran off. Jaden wondered where it was Nagisa had to run off to in such a hurry. Tamao didn’t seem to know where Nagisa was going either.
“Hmm… I wonder if she ran off to find that Shizuma girl?” Yubel said as she suddenly reappeared next to Jaden.
“Why do say that?” Jaden whispered so as not to be overheard by Tamao.
“I think that Miyuki girl might have said something that made Nagisa want to go and ask that silver haired girl something.” Yubel replied. “I wonder if dear Nagisa will even have the nerve to speak to Shizuma?”
* * *
Nagisa began the grounds for the mysterious Etoile. What Miyuki said about Shizuma not planning to attend the ceremony for the first year students of Miator really bothered her. She didn’t like the thought of all those students being disappointed. Nagisa wanted to try to convince Shizuma to attend. Not knowing where Shizuma would normally be at that time of the day, Nagisa decided to try looking where she first met the silver haired beauty. After about fifteen minutes of running, Nagisa finally reached the lake near the spot she first met Shizuma. She leaned against a nearby tree to catch her breath.
After a few moments, Nagisa looked up, and low and behold, Shizuma was standing in front of her only a few feet away. The silver haired girl turned her head and noticed Nagisa leaning against the tree. A rather predatory smile appeared on Shizuma’s face. As Shizuma began to approach, Nagisa tried to speak, but could not even open her mouth. Because the moment Nagisa locked eyes with Shizuma, she was paralyzed. The silver haired girl’s beauty was overwhelming to Nagisa.
Nagisa could not tell whether it had been minutes, or just seconds, but soon enough, Shizuma was standing mere inches away from her. Nagisa could feel her heart begin to race.
“Well, we meet again.” Shizuma said as she gently took hold of Nagisa’s chin.
“I-I-I…” Nagisa stammered as she tried to speak to the silver haired goddess. “I’ve been l-looking for you.”
“And why is that?” Shizuma whispered seductively, her face only inches away from Nagisa’s.
“I-I… I came to ask you to attend the ceremony being held for the first years!” Nagisa finally blurted out, causing Shizuma to back away a little in surprise.
“Why would you want me to attend that? You’re not a first year.” Shizuma asked with a tone of confusion.
“I know, but… so many of the first year students are looking forward to seeing you.” Nagisa managed to reply. “It means so much to them.”
Shizuma looked at Nagisa thoughtfully for a moment, and then smiled.
“What was your name again?” Shizuma asked.
“N-Nagisa Aoi.” The redhead replied nervously.
“Well Nagisa, for you, I’ll attend the ceremony.” Shizuma said as she walked back up to Nagisa.
Shizuma kissed Nagisa on the forehead, causing the redhead’s knees to feel wobbly. After that, Shizuma released Nagisa and left. The redhead collapsed against the tree, a heavy blush was on her face. Nagisa’s brain was trying to process what had just happened. Had she really spoken to Shizuma, and did the silver haired girl actually grant her request? After her head had finally stopped spinning, Nagisa got up and began walking back to the dorms. As Nagisa walked, she found that she felt very happy that she got to talk to Shizuma.
