Duel Academy, school building.
Two Ra Yellow students, one tall, and one short, walked down the hallway. Suddenly, a group of Obelisk Blue students came running from the stairs, and the two sides met.
The Blue students stopped, frowning.
Their leader stepped forward, coldly: "Ra Yellow students, strutting down the middle of the hallway? Don't you know you should make way for us at a time like this?"
The tall Ra Yellow student frowned and wanted to say something, but the short one tugged his sleeve and whispered, "Don't."
The tall student immediately lowered his head and moved aside, making way.
"Hmph, that's more like it."
The Blue students, receiving the deference they expected, looked even more arrogant. "Lower dorm students should learn their place."
With that, they strutted past.
The short Ra Yellow student clenched his fists, glaring after them with resentment.
But less than a minute later, the Blue students came running back the other way.
With a clatter of footsteps, they returned in a panic.
"Damn it, we ran into Fujiki Kira! Gotta take a detour!"
"Hurry up! If you fall behind, you'll get challenged to a duel!"
"..."
They dashed past the two Ra Yellow students.
The two were stunned.
How did these supposedly superior students turn so cowardly in just a minute? What terrifying being could make them panic like that?
Looking down the hall, they soon understood.
Their Ra Yellow legend, Fujiki Kia, had arrived.
"..."
"Weird, I always heard the Blue students look down on us and never miss a chance to step on us," Kira mused.
"So why are they all so scared now? Doesn't make sense."
Misawa looked like he wanted to say something.
Don't you know why they're scared?
But he kept quiet.
"Hey, have you heard of the tennis club captain, Harrington Rosewood?" Misawa said. "Rumor has it he's as strong as Zane Truesdale."
"Just a rumor," Kira replied casually.
He only had a vague impression—something about a tennis deck focused on LP reduction, and an anime-original win condition card.
His duels were more like tennis matches than card games.
"Yeah, but Jaden dueled him the other day—and won. People said they saw Harrington Rosewood crying on a cliff at sunset, yelling 'I hate dueling!' or something."
Kira pondered.
Hmm, did Jaden break his spirit?
Poor captain.
Just then, they noticed the two Ra Yellow students.
"Oh, Beauregard and Brier?" Misawa greeted them.
The tall one was Beauregard, and the short one was Brier—roommates in the same dorm.
Kira remembered them too. The recent Rare Card Hunter rumors described a terrifying figure like a giant spider—that seemed to be these two.
Beauregard, from the start, was focused on card design, so he wasn't good at dueling. Brier, though a top duelist in Ra Yellow according to Misawa, was weak-willed and easily crushed by opponents' aura.
So he rarely performed up to his abilities, often choking under pressure.
Constantly looked down on by Blue students, Brier grew resentful and came up with the Rare Card Hunter idea.
Beauregard, masked, would duel, while Brier hid nearby, guiding him through an earpiece—acting as a behind-the-scenes duelist.
This way, he could avoid being overwhelmed by his opponent's presence and make proper decisions.
So far, every Blue student they'd ambushed had lost rare cards.
Brier glanced at Kira, then sighed.
"Fujiki Kira... must be nice."
He looked away, muttering to himself.
"Even though you're in Ra Yellow like me, you're so strong. Even those arrogant Blue students run scared when they see you..."
Misawa opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but decided against it.
If anything, notorious would be more accurate.
Kira smiled.
"Thanks, but you two are pretty famous among the Blue students now, aren't you? They've all been talking about you lately."
He lowered his voice.
"The spider giant who hunts rare cards?"
Both jumped in shock.
"Wh-what are you talking about? No idea."
Brier quickly tugged Beauregard's sleeve.
"Beauregard, let's go."
The two left.
Watching them disappear, Misawa couldn't help asking, "You mean, that's the guy from the rumors? The one who only comes out at night, using forbidden gambling rules to take rare cards..."
"Yep."
"But that's impossible," Misawa said. "Beauregard's huge, sure, but he's more into card design and can barely duel. And that giant duelist supposedly beat a bunch of Blue students..."
"Well, who knows?"
Kira smiled, walking on.
...
That night.
The darkness was thick as ink, swallowing the day's noise. Sparse starlight struggled through heavy clouds, dappling the treetops. The wind howled wild through ancient trees.
A perfect night for shady business.
A burly figure emerged from the woods.
Masked, eyes hidden behind deep, dark sunglasses that reflected faint starlight. He wore layer upon layer of Blue uniforms, with sleeves spreading out like spider legs, making him look like a two-meter-tall giant spider.
He crept silently, closing in on his prey.
Two Blue students, alone in the moonlight.
But just as he drew near—
One student spun around.
"So you finally showed up, mysterious giant duelist."
Kira, dressed in Blue, grinned and raised his duel disk.
"Same rules, right? Card-on-the-line? I get it. Shall we skip the preamble and get started?"
But then, the spider giant let out a deep, strange yell: "Crap! It's Kira!"
With that, he turned and ran for his life.
Kira: "..."
Misawa added dryly, "Told you—even the weirdos run when they see you."
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