"Kai, wake up..."
Huh?
"Wake up..."
My eyes felt heavy as they tried to pry themselves open. Someone was shaking me, persistent but gentle. I groaned, swatting at the air.
"Syrus... let me sleep."
"Wake up, it's lunchtime. Jaden, you too, wake up!! We won't get any food in the shop."
"Syrus, let us sleep for once."
"Wake up, you two."
After a couple of minutes—maybe 10—both Jaden and I were finally awake, rubbing the sleep from our eyes. The classroom was empty now, sunlight streaming through the windows like we'd been transported to another dimension.
"What happened, Syrus?" I asked, my voice still groggy.
"I'm saying that it's already lunchtime," he replied, fidgeting with his hands.
"You both have been sleeping the moment PE ended and we entered history class," Syrus explained, a hint of exasperation in his tone.
"Really? Man, the last thing I remember was PE class, and that's it..." I stretched, feeling the ache in my muscles from the obstacle course.
"Yeah, me too, man," Jaden yawned, slinging his arm over my shoulder. "Ms. Fontaine's drained us out."
I stood from my seat, still feeling a bit sleepy, and began walking toward the shop with the others.
"Let's hope there are sandwiches left for us," Syrus said, picking up the pace.
"Syrus, couldn't you cook something in the morning?" Jaden teased.
"I forgot," he admitted, looking down sheepishly.
Jaden was yawning beside me, Syrus was leading the way like a determined little brother, and Chumley... well, he was probably already at the shop, guarding the grilled cheese.
The cafeteria shop was a madhouse, as usual—students shoving trays, duel disks clanking as some kids were dueling over lunch. We grabbed what was left and opened our sandwiches: 1 chicken sandwich for me, 1 tuna sandwich for Jaden, and 1 pepper-only sandwich for Syrus.
"Pepper...I don't like pepper." Syrus mumbled.
Chumley waved us over to a table, his mouth full of what looked like three sandwiches already.
"Dude, you beat us to it," Jaden laughed, plopping down. "Leave some food for us."
Chumley mumbled something incoherent, but his eyes lit up at the mention of food.
Halfway through lunch, a shadow fell over the table. I looked up to see Bastion Misawa, tray in hand, his usual neat uniform slightly rumpled. His eyes were bloodshot, like he hadn't slept.
"Kai," he said, voice clipped. "A word?"
Jaden grinned. "Bastion! Join us. What's up?"
Bastion hesitated, then sat, ignoring his food.
"So?" I asked, biting into my sandwich.
"I want you to duel Zane Truesdale."
I stopped mid-bite, blinking. "...Come again?"
"I believe I've figured out your deck—partially," Bastion said, adjusting his glasses. "But to verify my hypothesis, I need to see you duel the Kaizer himself."
"Wait, who's Zane?" Jaden asked, curious as ever.
Chumley, surprisingly, was the one to answer. "Zane Truesdale—the king of Duel Academy. He's the top duelist in the school and hasn't lost once. They say he doesn't even break a sweat when he duels."
Jaden's eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. "No way! I have to duel him then!"
"Truesdale, I feel like I heard that name before...oh wait, he has the same name as you, Syrus. You know him?"
"Yeah, Ja, he is my...uhm...older brother." He said, looking down, almost disappointed in himself, something all of us noticed.
"..."
"So once again, why would I duel him? I don't even know how to talk to the guy."
"Oh, don't worry about that."
"Does that mean you know a way for me to duel him?"
"Umm, no... but I will find a way."
I chewed my chicken sandwich slowly, letting Bastion's words sink in as the noise of the cafeteria faded into a dull hum. His expression was as serious as ever—eyes sharp, analytical, and calculating. The kind of stare that could break someone down to equations.
"You're really that obsessed with my deck?" I asked finally, setting my half-eaten sandwich down. "You've been studying me like I'm some kind of experiment."
"It's not obsession," Bastion replied flatly, though his tone betrayed a hint of obsession. "It's curiosity—pure, logical curiosity. Your Nekroz deck doesn't make sense. It shouldn't work as consistently as it does. You're breaking every probability curve I've charted."
"I've simulated every duel you've had since the start of the semester—on paper and digitally. By all accounts, your success rate of drawing all the right cards should be closer to 0.000000001%. Yet you've always drawn the right card. Not once you drew the wrong card. This is statistically impossible."
Syrus blinked. "Wait, you really did all that? You watched all of Kai's duels?"
"Of course I did. Every card drawn, every turn analyzed, every probability curve recalculated. I even considered the influence of chance and player intuition. None of it explains his deck's efficiency."
"Maybe it's because you can't calculate instinct."
"Instinct is just unconscious processing of information," Bastion said quickly. "I can quantify that too. Eventually."
Jaden nearly choked on his drink. "Man, Bastion, you need to chill. You're starting to sound like a robot."
Chumley chuckled through a mouthful of sandwich. "Yeah, dude, dueling isn't some lab experiment. It's about fun. Passion. Cheeseburgers."
"Exactly," Jaden said, clapping him on the back. "Fun! You can't measure that with your fancy charts, Bastion."
Bastion sighed. "You all keep missing the point. Zane Truesdale is the school's peak—its measuring rod. If I can witness a duel between the best duelist in Slifer Red and the best in Obelisk Blue, it'll give me the final piece of the puzzle. I'll finally understand what makes you different, Kai."
His intensity caught even Jaden off guard. I could see it—Bastion wasn't just doing this for science. He was frustrated. Maybe even jealous. The guy had studied every angle and mastered every formula, and yet... he still couldn't explain how someone like me dueled the way I did.
Jaden snorted, nearly choking on his tuna sandwich this time. "Come on, Bastion. Dueling isn't about science."
"It is science!" Bastion snapped, standing up, his voice rising a notch. "Do you think dueling is about luck? Every summon, every trap—it's a calculated risk, probability matrices, strategic vectors. Your 'gut feelings,' Jaden, are just subconscious pattern recognition!"
"Calm down, Bastion," I interjected, raising a hand before Jaden could fire back.
Jaden recovered first, wiping his mouth with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Whoa, easy there, professor. I get it—dueling's got rules. But it's also about heart!"
"Look, I get it—you're trying to crack my deck like it's a math test. But Zane? That's a big ask. He's the king of the school, not some random Slifer. Why should I stick my neck out?"
Bastion leaned forward, eyes intense. "Because you're not just a duelist, Kai. You're a phenomenon. Your wins—your nickname, 'The Destroyer'—they're spreading. Zane will notice you eventually. I'm just... accelerating the process."
"Makes sense, I guess..."
I glanced at Syrus, who was picking at his pepper sandwich like it had personally offended him. He then looked nervously between us. "You really shouldn't mess with my brother, Kai. Zane's on another level. He's... different when he duels."
Chumley swallowed the last bite of his fourth sandwich, muttering, "Yeah, man, I saw him duel once. The guy's like a machine. Cold. Precise. Scary."
"A machine, huh? Sounds fun, not gonna lie."
Bastion's tone turned sharp again. "Then you'll do it?"
Before I could answer, Jaden slammed his hands on the table, a spark in his eyes. "If Kai doesn't want to duel him, then I will!"
Everyone looked at him. Even Bastion blinked in surprise.
"I mean it," Jaden said, his grin unwavering. "Zane's supposed to be the best, right? Then I'll take him on myself! No fear, no backing down!"
Syrus groaned. "You really don't get it, do you, Jaden? My brother doesn't duel for fun anymore. He's... different. He's not the kind of opponent you just challenge on a whim."
"Then that makes it even better!" Jaden said brightly, completely missing the point.
I couldn't help but smirk. Typical Jaden—reckless, loud, but full of raw conviction.
I finished the last bite of my sandwich, stood, and stretched. "If you can get me that duel, Misawa... I'll accept."
I said, tossing my sandwich wrapper into the bin. "Just make sure you're watching closely and call me when you are able to get Zane to duel me."
Bastion pushed up from his seat, his resolve returning. "Then it's settled. I'll find a way to arrange it. Whether through Crowler, the headmaster, or an exhibition match—I'll make sure the duel happens."
"Alright then. I will see you again when you are done with it."