"So you have to work for the higher quality stuff huh? I like that," Blue said as he slipped into his red blazer. "I don't mind working hard to earn my keep... even if it means I gotta wear this guy's color for a while," Blue said with a grin as he jerked his thumb towards Red, who was putting on his own Blazer over his black undershirt.

"You pull off red pretty nicely Blue," Red laughed, unzipping his blazer to wear it as he preferred.

"Don't get used to it, I'll be in blue before long," Blue retorted.

"You two seem eager. That's exactly what we expect out of our students!" Sheppard exclaimed. "Now that we've gotten the formalities out of the way, it is my pleasure to formally admit you into the academy," Sheppard said as he handed the two a set of ID cards attached to lanyards, with their pictures on them.

Red and Blue took the ID cards and placed them around their necks.

"Welcome to Duel Academy, boys!"

Reborn To Duel

Turn Two

Learning The Ropes

Red and Blue were silent as they stood in the front of the class they were being introduced to. From their position, they could see that nearly every rank attended this particular class, Duel Theory, and were pretty much segregated by color. Slifers were on the left side of the door while Ra's and Obelisks were on the right side. According to the conversation that they had with Jaden, Syrus and Chumley, a rather portly young man with a hairstyle similar to that of a koala, Slifers were the bottom of the barrel. Misfits, or "delinquents" as their instructor Doctor Crowler, a rather girly looking man with a blonde ponytail and lipstick, called them, where how they were treated, and he made sure to make a show of it by the rather distasteful glance he was giving them.

Just what this school needs... more slackers! as if there weren't enough of them already, now it seems they are multiplying like rabbits! but that's okay, it's fine. It doesn't bother me, it doesn't bother me... it bothers me, it bothers me A LOT! why that furry-chinned windbag decided to take on two more slackers is beyond my understanding! but he's the boss, and if he wants to give these to a shot, that's on him, Crowler grumbled mentally as he cleared his throat.

"Good morning class. I trust that the lot of you slept well? today, we will be introducing two new students to the academy, so do make them feel... welcome," Crowler said, struggling with the last word like a child who didn't want his vegetables. "Introduce yourselves boys..."

Blue cleared his throat and stepped forward, his emerald hues focusing on the class as he spoke.

"The name's Blue Oak, nice to meet'cha," he said casually, giving a two finger salute before stepping back and letting Red give his introduction.

"I'm Red Isamu, good to meet you all. We both hope to become friends with you all, isn't that right, Blue?" Red added, nudging his rival.

"Yeah, yeah, sure..." Blue added quickly.

"What kind of names are those?" came a voice from one of the students in blue, earning a glare from both Red and Blue.

"Now class, we mustn't make fun of each other's names, even if they aren't very original," Crowler said with a somewhat stern tone to mask his own laughter. "Go take your seats gentlemen."

The duo took their seats in the vacant spots next to Jaden and Syrus, who immediately set to whispering to the two.

"Hey, you guys made it!" Jaden said in a hushed tone.

"We were worried you might've gotten lost," Syrus said with a concerned tone.

"What? no we weren't Sy! all they'd have to do is follow Crowlers loud voice," Jaden laughed, earning a smirk from Blue.

"Mister Truesdale! perhaps you'd like to answer the first question of the day?" Crowler asked, his eyes zeroing in on the blue-haired youth.

"A-Alright!" Syrus said as he shot up out of his seat.

"Tell me Syrus, what are the six categories that Spell Cards are divided into and their uses?" Crowler asked.

"Oh! that's easy. There's... Field Spells, Equip Spells... Normal Spells and er... um...."

"Relax Sy, you got this," Jaden coached him.

"I think not," Crowler cut in with a sigh, looking around for someone else. "Would anyone else like to give it a try?"

At this, Alexis stood up and began to speak.

"Spell Cards are divided up into these six categories. Normal Spells, Field Spells, Equip Spells, Quick-Play Spells, Continuous Spells, Ritual Spells. Normal Spell Cards are a one time use and can only be activated during your turn. Field Spells give certain cards a power advantage and can turn the tide of battle into your favor. These may also only be activated on your turn. Equip Spells are as the name suggests, enhancements that you can equip to yours or your opponent's monsters to either increase or decrease their power, or give them a certain effect. Quick-Play Spells can be activated on yours or your opponent's turn no matter what phase they are in. Continuous Spells are only activated on your turn and remain on the field permanently unless destroyed by your opponent. Ritual Spells are used to summon a Ritual Monster and can only be activated on your turn as well."

Crowler clapped as Alexis sat down.

"Very good Alexis! but then again, I should expect nothing less from an Obelisk Blue. I can't exactly say the same for Slifers..." Crowler said with a grin, earning a laugh from the rest of the class, save for the Slifers themselves and a select few individuals of other ranks.

"You know teach, you really shouldn't make fun of us Slifers like that," Jaden spoke up, earning a glare from Crowler.

"Oh? and why not?" Crowler asked with a frown.

"Well, I'm a Slifer, and I beat'cha. So really, when you make fun of us, you're making fun of yourself too, right?" Jaden jabbed back, earning an uproar of laughter at his remark from everyone but the Obelisks.

"Th-That was pure luck! we don't speak of that!" Crowler growled.

Red and Blue canted their heads at the scene and then looked over at Jaden. He beat a teacher? back where they were from, teachers usually made things easier on students by not using their strongest teams at first. But judging from the way Dr. Crowler was acting, it was safe to say that he didn't extend that same courtesy.

"Now, if everyone is quite done, let's continue with the lesson shall we? on your desk you will find what is called a Duel Puzzle. Using the the knowledge from this week's lesson, you are to solve the puzzle in order to deplete the life points of the opponent in the problem, down to zero. Remember to use the correct cards and have them used in the proper order. Anything out of order will be marked wrong. Also, Red... Blue, the two of you, since you don't seem to have the faintest idea of what to do, I've assigned the two of you partners for the time being. Please move to the back where Jasmine and Mindy are seated," Crowler stated, indicating to the two girls near Alexis.

Red and Blue turned around and looked at the duo, recognition in their eyes as they remembered them from the nurses office. Standing up, the duo made their way to the higher seats where the Obelisks were sitting

"What!? you mean we gotta sit with two Slifers!?" one of the Obelisks protested.

"Relax Chazz, they're just pairing up for the day. It's not like it's permanent or anything," Alexis reprimanded the raven-haired boy in her row.

"I-I didn't mean anything by it, Alexis, it's just that I didn't want them to soil your-"

"They're fine, Chazz. I don't need your concern," Alexis shot back with a frown.

"Yes Alexis..." Chazz relented.

"Sheesh, what's his deal?" Blue chuckled, a devious grin crossing his features as he and Red made their way up towards the seats they were designated to sit in.

"What'd you say you Slifer scum!?"

"Chazz, Blue! no fighting in my class. Unless you two wish to be thrown out, I suggest you hold your squabbles until after class!" Crowler hissed.

Chazz bit his tongue and scowled at Blue who simply gave him a wry grin. Red palmed his face, knowing full well that when it came to it, Blue would never stop being an instigator. After taking a seat, Crowler gave out instructions to begin the assignment.

"Okay... so, how does this work?" Red asked Mindy, the cheery girl he was assigned to work with.

"You really don't know?" Mindy asked, giving Red a curious look as she watched him read over the assignment.

Red laughed nervously and shook his head.

"Not really, I'm... uh... really new to this," Red admitted.

It wasn't a lie, but he wasn't exactly telling her everything either. The less she knew, the better.

"Wow, I mean, I knew you two were new students, but I didn't think you were new new. You know?" Mindy prattled on, giving Red the impression that she was the really talkative type. Something he would learn rather painfully later on.

Red dawned an impatient look, giving her the message that her rambling was starting to frustrate him. As quickly as she began chattering, she switched topics and began helping him with the assigned task. In spite of her talkative nature, Mindy was actually fairly bright. While her voice was rather high pitched, he would learn to get used to it for the time being. He glanced over at Blue who was also enduring a similar situation to his, only Blue's partner was not as chirpy as his.

"Hellooooo, are you listening?" Mindy called to him.

"Huh? oh! right, sorry... what was that again?" Red asked.

Mindy sighed in exasperation and pointed to the next part of the problem.

"Okay, so you have this part right, but see, the opponent still has two more monsters than you do. Now, you have to win this turn, so what you need to do is look at the life points you have and your opponent's. So far you've got the setup right, but there's a minor issue. Fiend Megacyber has too many attack points and would wipe you out as well as the opponent," Mindy pointed out.

"I see... so I'd need to substitute it for Dark Blade who has 1800 attack points as opposed to the 2200 of the other one... right?" Red asked, getting a smile from Mindy.

"Bingo! now you can finish the problem!" Mindy exclaimed.

Red nodded and turned back to the problem with the cards shown in the chart given to them. There was one more step left to complete. Erasing his error, he wrote in the correct card and then looked at the remaining cards.

Ok... I don't really get what I need to do next, but I think I might have an idea. If my opponent has 1800 life points left, and I have 2200, I need to find a way to take them out in one go. But... Dark Blade can't take any of those cards. Zoa has 2600 attack points which is more than Dark Blade. So what card can I use to win this? Red scanned the cards once more until he came to a card called Ring Of Destruction.

Wait a minute! that's it! Ring Of Destruction destroys one of my monsters and deals damage to both sides equal to the attack points of the monster destroyed. I'd have 400 life points left and they would have zero! Red quickly wrote in his answer and then looked over at Mindy for approval.

With a surprised expression, she looked at the steps he took to reach the conclusion and then smiled happily. He'd gotten it right!

"Yes! that's right!" Mindy said in a hushed and excited tone. "Now you just need to solve the next four."

"The next four?" Red replied nervously, glancing down at the next four problems with a nervous look. "Okay... here goes..."

Glancing over at Blue, he could see that he was doing fairly well for his first attempt. While he could hear Jasmine correcting his work a few times, he could tell that Blue was determined to do as well as possible. When the assignments were completed, Crowler took them up and continued on with the next lecture, and after the hour was up, the students all exited the room for a brief intermission between classes. Soon the day was over and the two were able to go back to their dorm.

Red and Blue plopped into their chairs and set their new books and assignments on their desks.

"Good grief, that Crowler is a real piece of work isn't he?" Blue said aloud as he looked down at the pile of work he had to do.

"He's... eccentric? I mean, he's a bit harsh but sometimes you need that, you know?" Red added with a slight laugh.

"I'm not even sure if he's a he. What man wears makeup and ties his hair up like a girl?" Blue muttered.

"Point taken... still, now we have an opportunity to learn more," Red shrugged, looking over at his homework and taking a deep breath.

"I still don't understand half this stuff. All this talk of Trap Cards, Spell Cards and Counter Traps is really confusing. But..."

"Maybe Bastion can help!" they exclaimed together, remembering what he'd said about coming to him for instruction.

"I guess we're going to be paying the nerd a visit again," Blue said with a snicker. "At least we'll get something out of it."

With that decision in mind, the two gathered up their books and slipped out of their room with their books in hand to find Bastion. As they did, however, they were met with Jaden and Syrus who were heading to the dining hall for dinner.

"Hey guys!" Jaden greeted enthusiastically.

"Hey Jaden," Red replied with a faint smile.

"Where're you two headin'?" Jaden asked curiously.

"To find Bastion. We're ging to see if he can help us with our assignments. Unless you want to," Red ventured.

"Uh... sorry but, I don't really pay attention in that class. I use it to catch a few Z's ya know?" Jaden replied with an awkward laugh.

"Jay, you really shouldn't sleep in class. You know how Crowler gets. He already doesn't like you as it is," Syrus chimed in.

"Don't sweat it Sy, you worry too much," Jaden chuckled.

"I see... well, if you won't be of help, we'd better go find Bastion then," Blue retorted, turning to head towards the dorm exit.

"What's his deal?" Jaden leaned in to whisper to Red.

Red rolled his eyes and replied, "that's just how he is. I wouldn't worry about it. Anyway, what are you guys up to?"

"Just headin' to dinner. Oh, and Professor Banner has an announcement for everyone so maybe you two should stick around to hear it."

"Ah, gotcha. Blue--"

"Yeah, I heard. Guess we'll be seeing Bastion later then. Not that I'm in any hurry. Some grub sounds pretty good right about now, so lead the way, Jaden," Blue called back, walking over to where they three were standing so he could follow them.

After a brief interaction, the foursome made their way to the dining hall in order to get something to eat and to hear whatever announcement Banner had to tell them.

Aloha everyone! I'd like to give a shoutout to Torterra657 for this awesome fan cover he made. I like the concept, especially the way the text is placed. Nicely done my friend! Once again, thank you for doing this. :D