Duel Monster Saviors
Ch. 19 – Evaluation Week Pt. 4
Written by TheAmariaShadow

Panic! Absolute panic! What do I do? I have to duel Seto Kaiba?! There’s no way I stand a chance in this duel! Man, why is it that my first time to shine, my shooting star gets shot down? My name is Ranko Hibiki, but now everyone is going to see me as a loser….
“Ranko! Ranko! Snap OUT OF IT!”, a voice rang out. I gasped loudly as I looked around my surroundings, seeing Mikey was grabbing me by my blazer and shaking me wildly to bring me back to my senses. “Ranko, come on! Snap out of it! It’ll be ok! EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE!”, Mikey exclaimed, still shaking me. “Who are you trying to convince: me or you, Mikey?!”, I exclaimed, finally being released from his grip. Mikey sighed as Onyx chimed in and said, “You still with us, Ranko?” I sighed softly and said, “What am I going to do, guys? My grades were never that good to begin with, and now I got to duel Seto Kaiba. It’s like the whole world is against me. I’m going to be made into a laughingstock after this.” Onyx grinned as he stated, “Are you kidding?! This is going to be an awesome duel, Ranko! I can’t wait to see how you duel against Kaiba!”
My eyes widened as Miho chimed in and said, “Kaiba is no pushover, so you got to bring everything you got in this duel, Ranko.” Akio crossed his arms as he said, “Things may seem scary now, but as long as you keep faith in your cards, everything will turn out alright. Believe in your deck, and everything will be fine.” Crystal placed a hand on my shoulder as she smiled and said, “It’ll be alright. Win or lose, as long as you have fun dueling, that’s all that matters. Right?” I blinked as I readjusted my glasses and said, “You guys…..I just…..I just don’t know if I am capable of dueling someone like Kaiba. He’s literally the only other person capable of dueling against Yugi and actually coming close to winning! The cards are not stacked in my favor right now, so I am just a bit overwhelmed.”
“And yet, we’ve seen firsthand that past duels mean nothing. Onyx and I have proven that.”, another voice chimed in. I looked behind me to see Leslie and Ben walk up to us, Leslie smiled as he said, “Remember, we defeated Yugi and Joey together. That should amount to something.” I was about to reply, but then Dash chimed in and said, “You two only one thanks to Exodia! Without that cheap deck of yours, Von Krieg, there was no way you guys were going to win!” Miho frowned as she elbowed Dash in one of his legs and said, “Now Dash, what have we talked about?” A bead of sweat appeared on Dash’s forehead as he said, “Was I too mean?” Leslie and I both chimed in with a solid “Yes!” Dash cleared his throat as he uttered a soft apology to us, barely able to be heard, but it was there. Ben frowned as he looked at the Slot Machine as the crowd of students and staff began to dwindle and diminish. “Still, a duel against a Slifer Red against one of the best duelists on the island. Yami wasn’t joking when he said these duels wouldn’t be easy.”
“I’ll say. I put everything I had into my duel and Jack didn’t let up a single inch. He was serious from start to finish.”, Robin said, walking up to us after putting away her Duel Runner. “Robin! Good job on your duels! Sorry you didn’t win.”, Jessie exclaimed as she ran up to the Exodia student, hugging her gently. Robin chuckled as she patted Jessie on her head gently as she looked at Ranko and said, “I am quite curious though, Ranko. What kind of deck do you even use? This is Kaiba we’re talking about, so he’s definitely bringing a powerhouse Blue-Eyes deck.” My eyes narrowed slightly as Miho looked up at Dash and asked, “Dash, you and Kaiba both use Blue-Eyes, but isn’t it true that in the world him and Yugi are from, there are only three Blue-Eyes cards in existence?”
Dash nodded as he replied, “His would be the true original Blue-Eyes cards. In my world, Blue-Eyes isn’t as rare as his are since Industrial Illusions and Anderson Gaming have mass produced every card imaginable. However, unlike me, Kaiba has his hands on Blue-Eyes cards even I’ve never been able to get my hands on. I only got Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon recently thanks to you, Miho. Who knows what’s running in his deck?” I sighed as Crystal looked around and said, “We’d best return to our dorm rooms, guys. The duel won’t start until tomorrow, and Ranko needs to look over his deck for it.” Everyone nodded as they started to leave, Mikey staying as he saw I wasn’t moving. Mikey patted my back gently as he said, “Want me to come over and help with your deck, pal?” I shook my head as I stood to my feet and said, “No thanks. Thanks for the offer, but I got this, Mikey.” Mikey smiled softly as he stood to his feet, patted my shoulder again, and then ran off to catch up with the others. I sighed again as I gathered my things and walked back to the Slifer Red dorm. As I made my way to my room, I was reminded of I got to Duel Academy in the first place.
I’m not a great duelist like Onyx, Akio and Crystal. I’m not smart like Mikey and Ben. I’m not strong and brave like Dash, Leslie or Robin. Heck, I don’t even think I’m as happy-go-lucky as Jessie and Miho. I’ve always been pretty low-tier: no friends, no love life, always that loner in the back of the classroom with his favorite rock collection, and I also had Duel Monsters. You see, I love rocks. Maybe more so than dueling. I guess it’s a family thing, considering my mother and father are owners of their own jewelry store. They even go out and mine their own product, so all the jewels you get are always 100% genuine! However, one day at my old school….
I looked through the flawless ruby I normally carried in my bag as I saw the sun shine through it. I smiled as I said, “It’s absolutely perfect. This ruby is one of a kind, and its all mine. I’m so glad Mom and Dad let me go mining with them. I bet the mine has a lot more awesome finds for me to discover! I’m glad they let me keep it.” As I said that to myself, a few people walked up to me and saw the ruby in my hands. I was glad to answer any of the questions they had about mining and the jewels we had in our jewelry shop. That’s when one person actually suggested the craziest idea ever. “Hey Ranko, let’s duel for the ruby!”, one of my classmates exclaimed. My eyes widened when those words even escaped from his lips. “My ruby?! No way! Its mine!”, I exclaimed. The owner of the voice, a young snake boy named Omari sat down next to me and said, “Come on, it’ll be fun! A high stakes duel with the ruby as the prize. What do you think?”
I sighed as I placed the ruby into my pocket and said, “The answer is no. This ruby means more to me than you can possibly imagine. Parting with it is simply OUT OF THE QUESTION.” I stood to my feet and walked away from the crowd, not noticing a dark look appear on Omari’s face.
Greed truly is the root of all evil. I never even had to mention how much the ruby was worth, but I could feel the eyes of everyone in my classroom all keeping their attention on me. They all wanted it for their own….
For safekeeping, I kept the ruby on my person at all times while I was in school that day. It was definitely the safest place I could think of. Finally, the lunch bell had rung. I was making my way out to the playground when I ran into Omari once again. Literally, we bumped into each other.
“Oh, sorry Omari! I didn’t hurt you, did I?”, I asked. Omari hissed slightly as he said, “It’s fine, not even a scratch.” I smiled softly as I walked past Omari, leaving him behind to make my way to the tree I normally ate my lunch under. I smiled as I looked in my lunchbox to see that my mother had made my favorite: ham and cheese sandwiches! I nibbled on one sandwich as I reached into my pocket and…..nothing. I felt nothing. My heart dropped as I dropped my sandwich and stood to my feet, reaching further into my pocket and not feeling my ruby at all within it. “No….no, it can’t be! It was there! It was there all day! Where’d it go?!”, I exclaimed, checking all my pockets, not getting the reward I was desperately searching for. My mind then immediately went back to the moment I bumped into Omari.
‘He pickpocketed me? THAT THIEF!’, I thought to myself as I left my lunch behind, running back into the school to find Omari. Faster and faster, I searched the entire building from top to bottom until finally I found Omari along with his friends, him showcasing the ruby proudly. “Check it out, guys! I’m filthy rich! With this, my entire life will change! Think of all the things I can buy with this!”, Omari exclaimed. “GIVE IT BACK, OMARI!”, I yelled. Omari tilted his head in confusion as he said, “Oh, if it isn’t Hibiki. What are you talking about, kid? This ruby is mine. I found it fair and square.” I frowned heavily as I said, “The entire school knows that ruby belongs to me! Give it back to me right now!” Omari chuckled slightly as he looked at me and said, “And what if it was yours? If it was, it’s your fault you lost it in the first place. Finders keepers, kid. With this, my future is secured!”
I looked at him and then looked down to the ground and said, “Not with that ruby, you aren’t. That ruby is WORTHLESS.” Omari’s eyes narrowed as he said, “Worthless? You’ve got to be joking.” I shook my head as I said, “There’s a flaw in the ruby. It’s got a crack right down the middle of it. No one will buy it. It’s literally worthless.” Omari was dumbfounded when I said that. He immediately looked at the ruby and as I said, he saw a crack going down the center of the red gem. “No way….this thing’s nothing but a piece of junk!”, Omari exclaimed. “It’s not junk! It’s the first gem I ever found with my parents! It may not have any monetary value, but to me, its absolutely priceless!” Omari frowned as he looked at the ruby again and said, “So it’s junk, huh? I guess that means it’s not worth much to anyone then.”, As he said that, he looked back at the river behind him and tossed the ruby within the water. “NO! Why did you do that?!”, I exclaimed as I ran into the water, immediately looking around for the ruby. As I looked up, I saw that Omari and his friends had walked off. I frowned as I continued looking for the ruby, my fur completely soaked. I sniffled slightly, worried that my treasure was gone for good.
‘What if I can’t find it? Just because of one person’s own greed, my treasure is gone for good?’, I thought to myself.
And then, it happened: I heard a voice call out to me….
‘Don’t give up!’, a voice cried out. My eyes widened as I looked around and said, “Who was that? Who’s there?” The voice rang out again as it said, ‘Your prize is closer than you think! Look down!’ I immediately looked down to my feet as I watched my ruby brush up against my feet. My eyes widened in happiness as I picked up my ruby and smiled. “I found you!”, I exclaimed. I looked around with a confused look and said, “But who was the one talking to me?”
What I didn’t notice was a spiritual entity sitting on my head, a one Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle....
‘Not yet, Ranko. We’ll meet someday soon.’, Ruby Carbuncle stated before vanishing once more.
As the years passed since that day, I finally got introduce to the game of Duel Monsters. Even then, I knew exactly what kind of deck I wanted to run and that I would stick by that deck no matter what. But now, we fast-forward to today where I have to duel against SETO FREAKING KAIBA! What kind of rotten luck is that?!
‘Did you forget what I told you all those years ago? Never give up. You don’t know what’ll happen until you actually do it, Ranko!’, a voice cried out. ‘That voice again! Who are you!? WHERE ARE YOU?!’, I thought to myself, looking around my room as my gaze dropped to my lap, my eyes connecting with the eyes of Ruby Carbuncle. Ruby smiled as he said, “You can finally see me, Ranko! I’m so glad!” My eyes widened as I said, “Am I seeing things? You can’t actually be real.” Ruby hopped onto my head and sat down gently as he said, “I’m certainly real. I’m what you call a Duel Monster spirit, and you are my partner. We’ve been together ever since you were a child and I was that little voice in the back of your mind being supportive in everything you do! And now you gotta duel Kaiba, so I am with you all the way!”
I looked down as I said, “But I don’t think I can actually beat Kaiba. It’s crazy to think I can even challenge him.” Ruby shook his head as he said, “It’s not about winning, Ranko. It’s all about doing your best and trying your hardest. If you do that and trust in me and my friends, we can achieve the impossible!” I frowned slightly, then sighed as I said, “You really think we can win, Ruby?” Ruby hopped onto my shoulder and said, “That’s not something I can answer, Ranko. We won’t know how things turn out until we duel tomorrow. For now, try and get some sleep. There isn’t any point in worrying about it. We’ll see how things turn out once we get to it.” I watched as Ruby Carbuncle vanished in a ball of light, leaving me alone in my room. I sighed as I removed my glasses from my face and flopped over in my bed, passing out into the world of sleep rather quickly.
The night was short, and the day felt even shorter. Once again, I find myself in the Obelisk Blue arena, seeing all the students and staff of the school looking down at me….
“It is time, Duel Academy! The final duel of the evaluation week is here! We have a match worth watching because we have our own Seto Kaiba going against Slifer Red student Ranko Hibiki! Can this upstart take on this veritable titan and his unstoppable Blue-Eyes White Dragons!? Let’s find out, cause its time to duel!”, Yami exclaimed from his seat, I gulped loudly as Kaiba looked at me with a cold stare. “I’ll allow you to start first, Ranko.”, Kaiba stated. I nodded as I said, “Fine then, if that’s what you want!”
“LET’S DUEL!”
“I’ll start things off simple by playing a monster facedown and I’ll play a card facedown. That’s it for me! Your move, Mr. Kaiba!”, I exclaimed. Meanwhile, up in the stands, I could hear Onyx and the others cheering for me. I blushed slightly as I waved back at them, Kaiba chuckling as he said, “It’s my move now. I draw!” Kaiba frowned as he looked at his hand and said, “I activate the Spell card Trade-In! With this, by discarding a Level 8 monster from my hand, I get to draw two cards from my deck. And I’ll do the same as you and play a monster in defense mode and play two cards facedown and end my turn!”
“I wonder what kind of deck Ranko runs? Has he ever shown his deck to anyone before?”, Onyx asked. Mikey chimed in and said, “Not me, he hasn’t. And I’ve asked to his deck multiple times!” Crystal leaned in close and said, “So, we have Ranko’s first deck unveiling before us. This is going to be good!” I looked at the field and thought, ‘Kaiba played two cards facedown and a monster facedown as well. I’ve gotta put this duel in my favor right now or this duel will be incredibly short!’ “It’s my turn now, I draw! And I activate the Spell card Rainbow Bridge! With this, I can add one “Crystal” Spell or Trap card to my hand, and the card I choose is the Spell card Crystal Bonds! And now I shall activate Crystal Bonds, which allows me to add one “Crystal Beast” card from my deck to my hand, and then place one “Crystal Beast” monster card in my Spell and Trap zone! So first, I shall add Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus to my hand and then I shall play Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat as a Spell card! And now I shall summon Sapphire Pegasus right away!”, I exclaimed.
“Ahhh, a Crystal Beast deck. Impressive. But, even the power of the Crystals won’t be enough to defeat my Blue-Eyes!”, Kaiba said coldly. I frowned as I replied, “When Pegasus is summoned, his ability activates! I can add one “Crystal Beast” to my Spell and Trap zone! I choose Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle! Now Pegasus, attack Kaiba’s facedown monster!” Kaiba smirked as his monster was destroyed as he said, “Is that all? I’m not impressed.” I frowned as Ruby reappeared on my shoulder, he immediately said, “He’s trying to rattle you. Don’t lose confidence!” I nodded as I said, “I end my turn!” And my eyes shrank in horror when Kaiba laughed loudly, “And that spells your downfall, because now I activate the effect of the monster YOU sent to the Graveyard! Go, The White Stone of Ancients!”
“No, anything but that monster!”, I exclaimed. “When the White Stone of Ancients is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck! Blue-Eyes White Dragon, TAKE FLIGHT!”, Kaiba exclaimed, his ace monster immediately being summoned to the field. I gulped loudly as Blue-Eyes roared loudly at me, its menacing 3000 attack points worth of power was mere moments from blowing me away. “Well, this is bad. Very very bad!”, I exclaimed. “And it’s my turn. I draw! And now, by banishing the White Stone of Ancients, I can add the Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon back to my hand from my Graveyard! Now Blue-Eyes, attack Ranko’s Sapphire Pegasus with WHITE LIGHTNING ATTACK!”, Kaiba exclaimed, Blue-Eyes White Dragon destroying Pegasus in one blast, dropping my Life Points to 6800. “Due to my Sapphire Pegasus’ special ability, it gets placed in my Spell and Trap card zone instead. But I should thank you, Mr. Kaiba! Because by destroying my Pegasus, you activated my Trap card!”, I exclaimed.
Kaiba frowned as he said, “A Trap?!” I nodded as I said, “And it’s a good one too! Go, Ultimate Crystal Magic!” Up in the crowds, Jessie immediately looked to her brother and said, “What’s Ultimate Crystal Magic do, Ben?” Ben looked down at the field and said, “Ultimate Crystal Magic is an excellent Trap card for Crystal Beast decks. With it, Ranko can send seven Crystal Beast monsters from his deck to the Graveyard in order to Fusion Summon an “Ultimate Crystal” monster.” Leslie looked at Ben and said, “Seven monsters? Must be a powerhouse of a monster if it requires that many cards.” I grinned as I said, “I send Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus, Cobalt Eagle, Topaz Tiger, Ruby Carbuncle, Amber Mammoth, Emerald Tortoise, and last but not least, Amethyst Cat to the Graveyard in order to summon my most powerful creature! Bask in the colors of the rainbow while facing the might of a powerful dragon! I Fusion Summon RAINBOW OVERDRAGON!” Kaiba frowned when he watched my monster appear on the field as I said, “With Rainbow Overdragon on the field, there’s no way I’m going to lose!”
Kaiba chuckled as he said, “I end my turn.” I frowned heavily as I thought, ‘He’s confident. That’s Seto Kaiba for you. He didn’t even break a sweat from that!’ “It’s my move, I draw! Rainbow Overdragon, destroy Kaiba’s Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” Kaiba frowned as his Life Points dropped to 7000, I immediately thought, ‘Ok, now there is just a 200 Life Point difference. But I still got to keep my guard up. If I get overconfident now, he’ll make me regret it later!’ “I’ll end my turn by playing a monster facedown! It’s your move!”, I exclaimed. “Did you think that just because you destroyed my Blue-Eyes, you turned this duel around? You fool, this duel was over the moment it begun!”, Kaiba exclaimed. “Say what?!”, I replied.
“Uh-oh, Kaiba’s serious.”, Robin said, looking down at the field with worry. Akio frowned as he crossed his arms and thought, ‘Even if it’s a child, Kaiba’s never one to back down. He’ll go at you with everything he has, Ranko.” Kaiba chuckled as he said, “I’m just stating the obvious. This duel has only one outcome: with me as the victor! I draw! I activate my facedown Spell card, Return of the Dragon Lords! With this, I can resurrect one Level 7 or 8 Dragon-type monster from my Graveyard. So return, Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Next, I’ll play one monster in Defense mode and now, Blue-Eyes, attack Ranko’s rightmost defense monster!” I clicked my teeth as I said, “The monster you destroyed was another Emerald Tortoise, and like other Crystal Beasts, it too is sent to my Spell and Trap zone instead of the Graveyard!” Kaiba chuckled as he said, “I end my turn.” “It’s my move, I draw!”, I exclaimed. ‘Rainbow Overdragon could attack Blue-Eyes again, but I am willing to bet Kaiba has something to resurrect it again. I’ll attack his facedown first to weaken his defense, then on my next turn, I can destroy his Blue-Eyes.’, I thought to myself. “Rainbow Overdragon, attack his facedown monster!”, I stated, watching Kaiba’s monster get obliterated immediately. Kaiba laughed as he said, “You should’ve went after my Blue-Eyes! Instead, let me thank you, Ranko! The card you destroyed was another White Stone of Ancients, so you know what’ll happen once you end your turn!”
I growled as I said, “I end my turn.” “And with that, The White Stone of Ancients’ ability activates! I Special Summon a second Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”, Kaiba exclaimed as another Blue-Eyes was summoned to the field. Kaiba chuckled as he said, “It’s my turn again. I draw!” He looked at his card and laughed loudly as he said, “Just what I needed. Your Rainbow Overdragon is indeed a powerful card. But my Blue-Eyes White Dragon sits at the top of the monster food chain. Do you know why, Ranko?” I frowned as I said, “I don’t know, Mr. Kaiba. Why?” Kaiba grinned coldly as he said, “Because when it comes to power, nothing can outclass a Blue-Eyes! And I shall show you why! I activate the Spell Card CHAOS FORM!” My eyes shrank in horror when I heard those words. “No, not that card!”
“Incredible! He even has that card!? I guess when it comes to Blue-Eyes, Kaiba is truly the master of that dragon!”, Dash exclaimed as he looked down at the field. Akio looked back at Dash as he said, “Is that card such a dangerous card, Dash?” Onyx looked at his friend as he said, “Even I know what it means if Kaiba has Chaos Form! He means to summon the Ritual monster Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon! It’s a monster that boasts 4000 attack points and zero defense points. It has a special ability that if it attacks a monster in Defense mode, it does double piercing damage! It truly is one of the strongest Blue-Eyes monsters, no, one of the strongest Ritual monsters in the entire game!” Crystal looked down towards me and said, “At least Ranko doesn’t have any defense monsters on the field, otherwise Kaiba would obliterate his Life Points in an instant!” Akio frowned as he said, “Kaiba’s not the type to go for the easy route. If I know him….he’s going to make this hurt for Ranko.”
“I tribute my Blue-Eyes White Dragon! I Ritual Summon Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!”, Kaiba exclaimed as his monster was summoned to the field, it roared loudly at my Overdragon as well as myself. I sighed slightly as I said, “Ok, so you brought out Chaos MAX Dragon. But it doesn’t matter! Both of our monsters have equal Attack and Defense points! It would make a difference if my monster was in Defense mode, but that’s not the case!” As I said that, a shiver went down my spine as I saw Kaiba was glaring angrily at me as he said, “Did I say I was finished?! In a duel, it’s a trial of the strong versus the weak! And now you’ll see why you are far less superior than I am! I activate Return of the Dragon Lords! With this, I can Special Summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon I just tributed! Return to the field, BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON! And next, I activate a second Chaos Form! Rise, Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon! Now….what did you just say about us being at equal strength? Because I see one monster being blown away instead of two.”
“What do you mean?! You’ll still be losing a Chaos MAX Dragon!”, I exclaimed. Kaiba chuckled as he replied, “Have you forgotten about Return of the Dragon Lords’ other ability? If one of my monsters are to be destroyed in battle or by a card effect, I can banish that Spell card instead, meaning my Dragons are safe from being destroyed this turn.” My glasses slid off my nose slightly as I said, “Oh. THAT ABILITY. Right, I did forget about that one.” Kaiba grinned slightly as he said, “Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon, attack Rainbow Overdragon!” I readjusted my glasses as I said, “I won’t let you! I activate Overdragon’s special ability! I can tribute Overdragon, then send all the cards on our fields back to the deck! So long, Chaos MAX Dragons! SEE YA NEVER!” As I said that, Rainbow Overdragon roared loudly as it exploded in a brilliant array of colors, wiping both me and Kaiba’s fields clean. Kaiba frowned as he said, “Not bad. Not bad at all. You survived this turn. But that won’t last for long. I end my turn, its your move.”
Jessie sighed exhaustedly as she said, “That was close! If it wasn’t for Overdragon’s ability, Ranko would have been in some hot water!” Leslie looked down as he said, “He might still be in hot water, Jessie. Both Kaiba and Ranko’s fields are empty, and they both only have one card in their hands. Kaiba is still sitting at a 200 point lead against Ranko as well, so this is still anyone’s game. Not to mention Kaiba has incredibly synergy with his deck. He can get a Blue-Eyes out onto the field so quickly while Ranko’s ace is a bit harder to get out due to it needing to be Special Summoned through the usage of Ultimate Crystal Magic PLUS discarding seven Crystal Beast monsters to the Graveyard.” Robin looked at Leslie as he said, “What are you trying to say, Leslie?” Everyone looked at Leslie as he said, “I’m saying that while Ranko has an excellent deck with a great strategy, he has to sacrifice much to gain little. It’s almost uncannily similar to my own deck where I have to get rid of so many cards just to get five to win.”
Mikey grinned as he said, “I wouldn’t count Ranko out just yet. Take a look at him and tell me what you see!” Leslie looked down at the field and gasped as he saw something quite shocking: I was grinning. “He’s smiling?”, Leslie exclaimed. Onyx laughed as he said, “He hasn’t given up! Go for it, Ranko! Show him what you’re made of!” Kaiba frowned as he looked at me and said, “Something funny?” I shook my head as I said, “Not at all. I’m just….getting my second wind. That attack would’ve put me in a hard spot if it wasn’t for Overdragon’s special ability. It reminded me why I like the Crystal Beasts so much and why this deck and I are perfect for each other.” Kaiba raised an eyebrow as he said, “Meaning?” I gasped loudly, and smacked both of my cheeks as I looked at Kaiba and said, “It means no matter what you throw at me, I always bounce back for more! And as long as I remember that, my deck won’t let me down! I draw!” The crowd went silent as they waited to see what I drew, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. ‘Please, please, please be something that can turn this in my favor!’, I thought to myself as I saw Ruby run up my arm and sniffed the card I was holding. Ruby gasped as she said, “Ranko! It’s him! It’s the master! I’m sure of it!” I looked at the card and smiled widely as I said, “I drew the Rainbow Dragon!”
“Impossible!”, Kaiba and Dash exclaimed. “He got it! Now he can turn this duel around!”, Mikey exclaimed. “Since I have seven Crystal Beasts in my Graveyard, so I can Special Summon this monster to the field! Come on out, Rainbow Dragon!” I grinned as my dragon appeared beside me, it roared loudly at Kaiba. Kaiba looked up at the dragon in shock and dismay, still stunned to see that I was able to draw this card. “My Rainbow Dragon has the same attack points as Rainbow Overdragon, and it has a special ability unique only to him! Of course, since I Special Summoned him this turn, I can’t activate it now, but know this: I will defeat you in the next turn, Mr. Kaiba!” Kaiba thought to himself as he said, ‘I’m defenseless! I can’t stop his attack!’ I looked at Kaiba as I said, “Rainbow Dragon, attack Mr. Kaiba directly! OVER THE RAINBOW!” My dragon roared loudly as it fired a beam of all seven colors of the rainbow at Kaiba, he yelled loudly as his Life Points dropped drastically by 4000, bringing his total to 3000. “And with that, I’ll activate the last card in my hand: Crystal Bonds. With this, I choose to bring my Sapphire Pegasus back to my hand, and I’ll play Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle on the field as a Spell. I end my turn, its your move.”
Kaiba growled slightly as he said, “Nice shot. Too bad it didn’t finish me off. It’s my turn, I draw!” Kaiba looked at his card as he said, “I activate Cards of Consonance! By discarding The White Stone of Legend Tuner monster, I get to draw two cards from my deck.” I watched as Kaiba drew the two cards from his deck as his eyes narrowed. He laughed loudly as he said, “Well, when it rains, it pours! I activate the Spell card Advanced Ritual Art! By sending a Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon to the Graveyard from my deck, I can Ritual Summon a monster whose level matches that of the monster I discarded! You know what that means, right?” I frowned as Kaiba laughed again and said, “Now, let’s try this again! Return to the field, BLUE-EYES CHAOS MAX DRAGON!”
I watched as Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon was summoned to the field, keeping my cool as I said, “That won’t be enough to take on Rainbow Dragon.” Kaiba smirked as he said, “We’ll see about that. Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon, attack and destroy Rainbow Dragon!” I frowned as I said, “It’s not enough! I activate Rainbow Dragon’s ability! By sending Ruby Carbuncle to the Graveyard, my Dragon gains 1000 extra attack points! Take that, Mr. Kaiba!” Kaiba’s eyes widened when he saw Rainbow Dragon’s attack point counter raise to 5000 attack points. “Hold your attack!”, Kaiba exclaimed. “Too late, Mr. Kaiba! Rainbow Dragon, counterattack! OVER THE RAINBOW!”
The crowd roared in cheer as they watched both the dragons clashed, Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon being blown out of existence by Rainbow Dragon, the victor of the clash. Kaiba frowned heavily as he looked at me and said, “Impressive, Ranko. I admit, that did catch me off guard. You truly are a great duelist. I end my turn."
“That’s it. Kaiba has nothing else to give.”, Akio stated, Miho and Jessie both cheered for my victory. “Alright! Way to go, Ranko!”, Onyx exclaimed. Crystal smiled as she said, “They both dueled their best, and in the end, Ranko pulled out the win.” Dash sighed as he said, “Kaiba lost? That’s incredible.” I looked at Kaiba and said, “It was an honor to duel you, Mr. Kaiba. This duel will definitely allow me to improve as a duelist. Maybe we can duel again someday!” Kaiba smirked as he turned his back to me and said, “Make your move, Ranko.” I nodded as I said, “Rainbow Dragon, end this duel! Attack Mr. Kaiba directly!” And as Rainbow Dragon’s attack connected, Kaiba’s Life Points dropped to zero. The crowd roared as they chanted my name in celebration, Yami immediately walking onto the field and said, “Let’s give it up for our winner, Ranko Hibiki! And of course, let’s show some love to our very own Seto Kaiba! And now, Ranko, you have earned the right to graduate to the Ra Yellow class! What do you say?”
I looked at Prof. Nomura as I crossed my arms and said, “What do I say? I’ll take it!” Yami smiled as he said, “Then report to the Ra Yellow dorm later to receive your new uniform. As for those still sitting in the crowd, that’s all for this Evaluation Week! So go on, return to your dorms and have a good night!” As that was said, the huge crowd of students and staff started to disperse, Mikey looking down sadly as he said, “Ranko’s leaving the Slifer Red class? But we just got to know each other.” Onyx patted Mikey on his shoulder and said, “Its ok, Mikey. You’re still his friend.” Mikey sighed as a voice rang out and said, “I wouldn’t count him out just yet, Mikey!” Mikey looked up towards the entrance to the stands and saw Jaden looking back at all of us. “Jaden? What do you mean?”, Mikey asked. “It’s a rule that the Superintendent of the Academy set up during its founding. Ranko officially becomes a Ra Yellow, that much is true. But he does have the right to choose his living arrangements. So, care to guess what that means?”
Mikey thought for a few seconds, then looked at Jaden and said,  “That means he can choose to stay in the Slifer Red dorm if he wanted to!” Jaden nodded as he said, “Exactly. I think the Superintendent was reminded of two other Slifers who was allowed to graduate, but decided to stay in the Slifer Red dorm years ago.” He chuckled softly as he said, “So relax, I’m sure he is going to stick around for a while. If anything will assure you, Ranko has stated time and time again he loves the food the dorm cafeteria offers!” Mikey smiled as he saw me leave the arena, hoping for the best.
As Jaden explained to my friends, so too did Yusei, Jack, and Crow told me as I entered the Ra Yellow dorm. They told me I had the choice of moving into the Ra Yellow dorm or staying in the Slifer Red dorm. As I put on my Ra Yellow blazer, I thought long and hard on what I wanted to do. In the end, I decided to stay in the Slifer Red dorm to be with my friends. When I returned to the Slifer Red dorm, I saw Mikey and the others standing at the entrance, all of them congratulating me on the great duel. I’m glad I came to Duel Academy, because if I hadn’t, I’d never had met my friends. I cannot wait to see what else is in store for me during my time here….
To be continued…..