"Kira-sama!"
Standing on the dueling platform, Kira watched a girl in a yellow dorm vest dash toward him with sparkling, starry eyes, and couldn't help wanting to quip.
Shouldn't you be Jaden's fangirl?
And before that, weren't you supposed to be Slifer Red?
In fact, Blair Flannigan was a prodigy admitted ahead of schedule—by age, she should still be in middle school. She'd been fast-tracked into Duel Academy because of exceptional performance, and given her strong showing in the GX Tournament, she could have been placed directly in Obelisk Blue.
But in the original story, she rejected the elite dorm herself and insisted on staying in Red. The reason was simple: to be near Jaden.
Blair was pure love-brain. Back in elementary school, she'd snuck into Duel Academy to get close to her crush, Zane Truesdale.
Then, after being defeated by Jaden's duel at the academy, she switched to idolizing Jaden, striving to catch up to him, and coming to Duel Academy mostly for that goal.
But now, seeing the yellow vest on the girl and those almost glowing starry eyes, Kira realized Jaden's little fangirl might have been stolen by him…
But he swore he was innocent. He'd never even met the girl before. And the first-year duel she had was something he hadn't poached—Jaden had taken that one himself.
Blair reached the platform, face flushed. "Um… Kira-sama, I came to Duel Academy because of you. I've dreamed of having a chance—just once would be enough—to duel you…"
The new students—especially the first-year girls—totally understood.
More than half of them had enrolled with starry-eyed devotion, hoping for a chance to get close to the duel world's absolute pinnacle.
He was witty, his dueling style was fun and full of joy. He looked handsome, and his sunny smile…
The upperclassmen didn't feel the same.
They thought the newbies really didn't know their place. Dream big if you want, but dreaming of dueling the Lord of Yellow…
Kira took his place on one side of the arena.
Vampire Fraulein teased at his side. "Master, you're really popular with the girls."
Silent Magician stood nearby, pouting and saying nothing.
"Oh, stop. She's just a little girl." Kira shrugged. "Being admired by a naive middle-schooler isn't much to brag about."
He paused, then grinned.
"Besides, I'm so excellent—having many admirers is only natural, no?"
Eye: "…"
Even this usually noisy spirit was stumped into silence.
She wondered if his thick skin correlated with his dueling skill. After all, there's a saying: 'If you have no shame, you're invincible…'
Silent Magician, however, found nothing odd about it and even nodded solemnly—as if to affirm that someone this handsome and strong being admired was only right.
"Then, starting now," Professor Crowler announced, "we'll have the representative duel between seniors and freshmen!"
He smiled at Kira.
"I'm counting on you, no ne, Kira-kun!"
"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Blair, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw!"
Blair took the first turn.
"I summon 'Maiden in Love' in Attack Position!"
A beautiful princess-like girl in a long dress appeared, complete with a pink, girly backdrop and sparkling bubbles.
[Maiden in Love, ATK 400]
Syrus's eyes lit up in the stands. "What a pretty monster!"
"I set one card and end my turn!" Blair set a back row.
"My turn. Draw," Kira said.
The Love Deck deck perfectly fit a love-brained character. It was anime-original; no physical cards. But it exists in video games like Tag Force and the mobile Duel Links, and plenty of casual combo players enjoyed it there since it's unavailable in paper.
"I summon 'Alchemist of Black Spells.'"
A black-armored spellcaster strode from a magic circle, gold lines tracing the dark plating, imposing in form.
[Alchemist of Black Spells, ATK 1200]
Jaden had lost the first time because he didn't know the Maiden in Love's effects. As they say, heroes fall before beauties—Jaden's HEROes stalled at the sight of a pretty girl, got charmed, and defected one after another, leaving him dumbfounded…
Even though it's anime-original, Kira knew a bit about the effects. Basically, if you attack rashly, your monsters can get lured away.
But…
Kira's mouth curled slightly.
Well, she's a newbie—and a little loli at that. At least give her a chance to show her stuff.
He waved casually.
"Alchemist of Black Spells, attack 'Maiden in Love.'"
A bolt of magic power pierced the pretty girl, and the shock made Blair stumble back two steps.
"Uwah!"
[Blair, LP 4000 → 3200]
The Maiden in Love dropped to her knees, looking up with big, innocent eyes. "It hurts… You're so mean…"
The black-armored mage suddenly panicked, as if he'd committed a heinous act, not daring to meet her gaze. Though masked, a blush somehow appeared on his covered face as a special effect.
"Girls get stronger when they're in love, Kira-sama," Blair said with a smile. "Maiden in Love's effect: while in Attack Position, she can't be destroyed by battle, and when she's attacked, the attacking monster gets a 'Maiden Counter'!"
[Alchemist of Black Spells, Maiden Counters: 0 → 1]
"Interesting effect," Kira smiled. "Then I activate the Continuous Spell 'Arcane Barrier.'"
The Spell appeared in Kira's back row.
"The Arcane Barrier gains a Spell Counter each time a Spellcaster-type monster on the field is destroyed," Kira said.
"Then I activate Alchemist of Black Spells's effect. Once per turn, it can change itself from Attack to Defense Position, and place one Spell Counter on a card that can hold counters.
I'll place a Spell Counter on the Arcane Barrier."
[Alchemist of Black Spells, DEF 1800]
[Arcane Barrier, Spell Counters: 1]
"Next, I activate the Spell 'Spell Power Grasp'—place one Spell Counter on a card that can hold them, and add another 'Spell Power Grasp' from my Deck to my hand."
Kira continued.
"Place another counter on the Arcane Barrier."
[Arcane Barrier, Spell Counters: 2]
"I end my turn."