The weekend quickly ended with Chazz's questions still on Phil's mind. Curiosity on why Dark Armed Dragon was considered particularly special, who Slade and Jagger were, and why both of those questions sent Chazz into a tizzy. All potentially important questions, but ones that Phil had no answers for. But, despite the potential importance of those questions, they were ones that were easily forgotten in the face of watching two absolutely jacked ogres beating the ever-loving shit out of each other on Lumina's strange TV.

And that same TV was what led to a pair of dark circles around Phil's eyes as the morning sun peeped out from the window in his room.

"Fuuuuccckkkk…" Phil groaned to himself once he realized the whole night had gone by in a flash without him getting even a wink of sleep. "College all over again. Shit, and I thought I'd learned my lesson since then."

From where she laid on the spare bed, Lumina hardly even paid Phil a glance due to her sheer apathy on the whole situation, only speaking up when it seemed that Phil was going to lay on his bed groaning about 'bad decisions' for the whole day.

"You'd better get to class, Phil."

That short, yet brutal sentence sent Phil off in another groaning tirade, silenced only when Lumina leaned over, grabbed on of her shoes from the floor, and held it in the air menacingly.

"Class. Now. Or do you want to flunk out? Besides, shouldn't that new teacher that's replacing the dead guy be starting today?"

Try as he might, Phil couldn't think of a retort in the face of Lumina's logic and the looming threat of physical violence. Instead, all he could do was shrug on his Ra Yellow jacket, grab his duel disk, and hope that Jaden would save him a good seat for napping in the classroom.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Jaden wasn't quite sure what to think when Phil slunk into the classroom looking like a zombie and plopped into a seat right next to where Jaden sat with Syrus. In fact, he was even more surprised when the boy immediately rested his head on the desk in front of him and began to softly snore without a single greeting.

"Hey. Hey, Phil? You good there buddy?"

Phil didn't even bother to answer him, though, as Jaden realized, it was perhaps because the boy was too dead asleep to even hear him. It wasn't a bad idea exactly, but on the other hand there was supposed to be a new teacher today….

Jaden shrugged his shoulders, and to the sound of Syrus's protesting voice, he rested his head on his own desk and went straight to snooze town.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Snooze town, to Jaden (and sometimes Syrus), was a popular destination during lecture classes (especially anything Crowler taught). It was a comfy town, populated by fluffy animals, fun duels, and some strange spikey-haired lady with purple skin that would watch him from the alleyways, never quite realizing that yes, Jaden did notice her. Sometimes she seemed nice enough, but occasionally Jaden would see cool stuffed dragons and fluffy patchwork bears running away from her in sheer terror. He didn't particularly like it when that happened. The bears would run, the dragons would run, the dragons would run over Jaden, the bears would speak something in a strange accent, a hand would shake him awake…

"Now, Mr. Yuki, would you mind telling us your thoughts on the topic?" A man wearing a wife-beater and faded blue jeans spoke from where he stood next to Jaden's desk in a rather peculiar accent.

"Ummm…." Jaden frantically thought to himself what that topic might be, but upon his brain turning up absolutely jack squat, shrugged his shoulders with a cheerful grin. "Nope!"

"Mamma mia…" The man shook his head in what seemed to be mock distress, though Jaden was unsure if his guess was true due to the fact that nearly every action the man made seemed to be exaggerated.

"I shall repeat myself then, Mr. Yuki. I am Professor Marco Bernardello, filling in for Professor Sartyr while he takes a few personal days too… sort his life out. You are here for the card design class, no? So, Mr. Yuki, per favore, tell me and your fellow students why this class may be important, even to those of you who wish to only join the professional dueling circuit after graduation."

Jaden narrowed his eyes in thought, willing his groggy mind to spin those hamster wheels of thought as fast as those exhausted rodents could run on them. Card design… I've done this before, but I was a little kid when I made those Neos cards. How did I make them back then so Mr. Pegasus would accept them? The hamster wheels in his mind spun over and over again while Professor Bernardello, noticing that Jaden was seriously considering the problem, walked past the cavernously-yawning Phil back to his desk at the center of the room.

"Well teach, is it balance? Like learning what makes a card good and what makes it bad?" Jaden finally ventured with a questioning tone.

The professor made a 'so-so' gesture with his hand while pulling a battered card out of his back jean pocket to slap onto the blackboard, where the picture was enhanced by the projector. "Yes, yes. Balance is important. I do suppose if you were able to create a balanced card out of nothing, one could assume you have a decent idea of what makes a card usable, which could assist in deck-building. Now, everyone have a look at this card. Che macello! What was Pegasus thinking! Or perhaps Kaiba wished to have the last laugh at Joey Wheeler!

Projected on the blackboard was that single, battered card: Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon (2800/2400). The card itself featured a mighty black dragon, outfitted with heavy metal armor that was so thick it nearly masked the baleful red glow of its eyes.

Right next to Jaden and being occasionally pinched in the side by Bastion to keep awake, Phil groaned upon seeing the card. He knew exactly what it was, and he didn't like it one bit.

Professor Bernardello's thick, hairy arms gestured wildly at the image on the blackboard, and various angry-sounding Italian words leapt out of his mouth before he finally asked Alexis what was wrong with the monster on the board.

"Sir, even though 2800 attack is quite a bit, I feel like the method to summon Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon is just a little bit much." Alexis immediately answered.

"Yes, yes." Professor Bernardello waved his right hand in acknowledgment of Alexis's answer, clearly accepting it but expecting more. But, when Alexis fell silent, a flash of annoyance flitted through his eyes before he revealed the true answer.

"Miss. Rhodes, you noticed one of the problems with this… this terrible card, but there is more to the picture than that." The professor dug around in the back pockets of his faded blue jeans once more until he revealed another card, this one kept in much better condition inside a metal case with a bit of glass in the front so any observers could see the card. The projector light blinked, and then another card joined Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon on the board. Only where, the first monster had been a bulky creature outfitted in heavy metal armor, this one was much smaller. Its sleek, black body was outfitted with multiple spikes, but its large wings and sharp red eyes were enough to warn the casual observer that this monster was ready for combat.

"Take this Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000), a card most famously used by Rex Raptor and then Joey Wheeler in the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City tournaments. Notice that both of these monsters, the regular and the metal version, are of the same archetype, or group, of cards. Yet, the metal version only has 400 more attack. Curious, no? Now, children, I remind you all of the summoning condition of the metal variation. Namely, one Red-Eyes Black Dragon equipped with the trap card Metalmorph. This trap card is one that boosts the equipped monster's attack and defense by 300 each. In the end, the upgraded metal version offers an extra 100 attack over the original equipped with Metalmorph. Mr. Truesdale, can you tell me if that sacrifice is a beneficial trade?"

Syrus sat bolt-upright in his seat, clearly nervous at being suddenly called out in front of the class. A few drops of nervous sweat slid down his brow until he eventually opened his trembling mouth to reply. "Ye-" He began to say, but upon seeing Phil's sideways glare he shut his mouth again, trying his hardest to think back to the single group study session he had participated in during the weekend.

There's gotta be something more to this than I first thought… Considered Syrus while the professor paced in front of the classroom impatiently. It does have more attack than the original version, even with Metalmorph, but I guess the teacher did say when he introduced the card that he didn't know what Pegasus was thinking… so there must be something that makes it bad, or have a bad drawback. Is it the speed? You'd need to be as good as drawing cards as bro is, or have the sheer recklessness of Phil. I don't think I would trust myself to summon that card, even if I did have a Red-Eyes equipped with Metalmorph! Wait, that's it!

Syrus excitedly raised his head and ventured forth with an answer. "No! You'd have to be as good as Yugi Muto or bro at drawing cards in order to have all three of those cards available to use! You have to have Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the field, then draw Metalmorph, equip it, and only then can you summon Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon from your hand or deck! All that for a 100 attack boost? Even my Roids can beat that!"

"Grazie! Mr. Truesdale, you have hit another part of the problem, but similar to Miss. Rhodes, you fail to see the final part of the picture. Nevertheless, I consider your answer well-said. Now, I open the final question up to group discussion in the class. Why else would the metal version be a product of terrible card design and something one should never summon? Once you have an answer, please raise your hand."

Phil endured another pinch from Bastion as he threw all of his remaining physical energy into keeping his eyelids, which felt like some damn bastard had strapped ten-ton weights to, from beckoning him to sweet sleep town. Fucking hell this shit is dumb and I hate group work. He thought to himself as he immediately raised his hand. The professor, who Phil put the rest of his remaining physical energy into halting his own laughter upon seeing the wife-beater and jeans the man was wearing, beckoned for Phil to answer with raised eyebrows.

"Teach, the reason is that the 100 attack boost doesn't matter. Red-Eyes equipped with Metalmorph is just plain better than the metal version because of Metalmorph's other effect that boosts Red-Eyes's attack in addition to the flat 300. When Red-Eyes declares an attack on another monster while he has Metalmorph, he gets half that monster's attack added onto his own during damage calc. Hell, I've seen that guy get upwards of 4000 attack after the math is crunched on an attack. Why waste that for some crappy card straight out of Duelist Kingdom? Hell, Duel Monsters as a game wasn't even a fully formed concept back then. It was more of Dungeons and Dragons with cards at that point." Phil drawled out with his voice thick from exhaustion, not even waiting for the Professor's answer before dropping his head onto his desk to re-enter snoozeville.

Professor Bernardello laughed and shook his head at Phil's answer, not even bothering to wake the boy up and blatantly ignoring both Bastion's and Alexis's frantic attempts to do it instead. "Yes, yes. Miss. Rhodes, Mr. Truesdale, and Mr. Jenson. All correct. Now, with all three of those puzzle pieces combined we can see how truly terrible this card is. However, whether it is simply a product of Duelist Kingdom, as Mr. Jenson claims, or an act of spite from Kaiba to Joey, now that is but a matter of opinion. And Mr. Misawa, Miss. Rhodes, I take no offense at Mr. Jenson's slumber. After all, he is the one paying for his inclusion in this course and this school, so naturally he may choose whether that money is wasted or not."

Despite the Professor's reassurance, Bastion and Alexis continued to prod Phil awake.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The class settled back into its stride as Professor Bernardello revealed a few more cards, some good, some bad, to discuss. Every so often he would point out a member of the class to question, or enthusiastically explain his thoughts on why the card might have been designed that way. It was truly a refreshing difference from Sartyr, who was rather forgettable, and Ms. Hibiki, who was nice but was a strict teacher. Needless to say, by the end of the class period the affable Italian man seemed like a good substitute for Sartyr until he came back from wherever he had disappeared to.

"Grazie, grazie." Professor Bernardello chuckled as he began to wave the teens out of his classroom to their next destination. "Don't forget, by next class period I want to see at least one well-balanced fusion monster for those cards the lovely Ms. Hibiki tasked you to make last week!"

Phil nodded absentmindedly, having already forgotten what he had created for that assignment but figuring that if all else failed, he could just throw darts at a board to choose names and effects. Boring boring boring. At least the Italian man was amusing. And I heard he used to be Crowler's student? They must have a decent relationship, with him being able to show up to teach just days after Sartyr's death. The ol' clown man must be on the verge of tearing his own head off trying to figure out what happened. Hell, I wouldn't mind knowing either. I know I've got my froggo friend in my pocket, but it still feels a little bit discontenting to imagine there's someone loose on either the island or the surroundings that doesn't mind icing a teacher.

"Yo Phil!" Jaden interrupted Phil's thoughts with his usual cheer. "Ms. Hibiki wants to see us and Chazz in her office ASAP. Something about the tournament coming up?"

Ah yes. The school duel. Almost forgot about that with all the fucked up shit happening lately. Here's hoping for no murders happening in the middle of the tournament.

"Yeah, you got it dude. You already grabbed the Chazz-man I assume?" Phil questioned the excitable Slifer Red student.

"Naw. He heard about it before me, believe it or not. I think he already headed over." Jaden replied with a full-bellied laugh.

Phil smiled at that. "Yeah, guess he's still a bit of an arrogant motherfucker for sure. Race ya?" Then, without even waiting for Jaden to reply, Phil shot off through the hallway, running as fast as he could in a last-minute, futile attempt for the adrenaline to wake him up even just a little bit.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

- In Ms. Hibiki's office, not even five minutes later -

"Phil, Jaden, please sit down." Ms. Hibiki greeted them from behind her desk. The two boys, both feeling rather exhilarated from the physical activity, nodded a greeting to Chazz and sat down beside him.

"Before we begin, boys," Ms. Hibiki started, giving Jaden and Phil knowing looks. "Please do remember about our policy on running in the halls. That being, don't do it."

Despite himself, Chazz chuckled at the pair's awkward expressions. Honestly, at this point he wasn't surprised the two of them hadn't tried to start a duel on the way or something idiotic like that.

"Now, with that out of the way, I requested you three here because the International School Duel is starting up in a week. Well, I say that but there will just be the preliminary rounds for now. As you three have agreed to be the representatives for your respective dorms, you will need to participate. Unfortunately, as one school cannot be shown to be favored over another, the tournament itself cannot be held here on the island. Instead, Mr. Kaiba has generously offered to house the tournaments in an extra duel arena he owns."

While Phil leaned back to process what sounded like a vacation coming up, Jaden sprung forwards like he was spring-loaded. "Sweet! Ms. Hibiki! Ms. Hibiki! Who do we get to duel first? I want to duel the strongest person they have!"

Ms. Hibiki softly chuckled. "Well, I'm afraid that no one but Mr. Kaiba knows who will duel who. That information will be hidden until the day of. As for participants, naturally our Duel Academy, along with the four subsidiaries of North, South, East, and West Academies will be present. In addition, I've been told that the American branch will be entering a few students as well. As for dueling the strongest, well, that will remain up to Mr. Kaiba. Perhaps he will have Slifers against Slifers, Obelisks against Obelisks, and Ras against Ras, or perhaps that will be random as well.

Chazz exhaled softly as if coming to an understanding. "Perhaps. Or perhaps, it will be the best against the best. That would naturally be me against their best, followed by Jaden, and then Phil. Am I correct?"

Ms. Hibiki simply smiled without answering, knowing that pretty much whatever she would say in response would be taken the wrong way by the prideful Obelisk Blue. However, seated right next to Chazz, neither Jaden nor Phil bothered with be diplomatic.

"Um, didn't I beat you earlier, Chazz?" Jaden replied with an apologetic smile.

Meanwhile, Phil scowled at Chazz's words. "You what mate? I'll beat your as- your face all the way to next Wednesday. Let's go, right now, you and me in the duel arena. Dragons suck donkey ba- dragons suck and you know it!"

Chazz stared back at the two boys, completely unfazed in the face of Jaden's reminder and Phil's muffled swearing. Then, he finally sighed and shook his head. "Indeed you did, Jaden. But I also admit I was taking you lighter than I should have back then. Perhaps we should have a rematch, one where both of us have access to our best cards."

Jaden simply nodded with an easy grin on his face. "Deal."

"And then I take the winner, right? That way we know who's top dog for sure." Phil let out a bark of laughter from the side, and then the three boys leaped out of the office to find an unoccupied dueling arena.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ms. Hibiki simply watched the three boys speed walk, not run, out of the office with a small smile. She remembered when Koyo was like that. And despite Phil's slip-ups with his language, Chazz's pride, and Jaden's easygoing nature, the three seemed to be beginning to learn to work together. At the very least there was a foundation. Still, there was much work left to do, Ms. Hibiki reminded herself while giving her shoulders a quick rub. A notice needed to be sent out to the boys containing the last bits of information they had been too excited to wait around for, the boat needed to be reserved, and she had to nag Professor Crowler, Professor Bernardello, and Chancellor Sheppard into making time in their schedules for a conference call with the Chancellors and dorm heads of the other schools. Well, that, and she needed to make yet another attempt towards getting Principal MacKenzie of the American branch to answer his damn phone, or his email at least! Hell, it was like the man had dropped off the face of the Earth.

Or that he was dead.