Chapter 16 | Exam Day - Practical Test (3/5)

As the duel arena finally filled, I met up with Syrus, Jaden, and Bastion.

''5, 8, 7, 12... 14? no 17?'' Jaden mumbled to himself, trying to repeat the numbers I had told him.

''Hey Jaden,'' I called out.

''Oh, Illumi!'' He waved back, before asking me another question.

''Hey, you said 5, 8, 7, 12 and... 17? where A right?'' He asked with a hopeful look, but I nearly tripped overhearing him.

''No... I said 5, 8, 9, 12, 15, and 16 where B...'' I corrected him, a little awkwardly.

''...''

''...''

''...oh'' Jaden slumped his shoulders but seemed to bounce back just as fast. ''It's fine! I guessed anyways!''

Hearing us, Bastion and Syrus joined in on the conversation.

''Are you comparing answers? I'd also like to join in.''

''Jaden you... actually guessed everything.''

Hearing Bastion I waved back with a nod, promising to compare later, but Syrus's question seemed to hit Jaden where it hurt.

''Ah- hey, Sy...'' Jaden awkwardly greeted him, but Syrus didn't seem very up to joking around.

''Come on, Jaden! You can't just guess everything, what if you get kicked out!?'' Syrus reprimended him.

''Ugh...'' Jaden shrunk back.

Seeing Jaden get chewed out by Syrus, I decided to throw him an olive branch.

''It should be alright as long as he does really well during the duel.''

''Yes, even if he failed the written test, as long as he gets a perfect mark on the practical, the mark wouldn't affect him too negatively.'' Bastion backed me up, doing some math in his head, trying to calculate the percentages.

''Ah- Yeah, what they said! I was planning on doing really good now too!'' Jaden said to Syrus with a goofy laugh.

''Uh... ok, I guess Bastion and Illumi would know...'' Syrus said giving up.

''Hahaha! See, don't worry Sy! It'll all work out!'' Jaden laughed goofily.

I couldn't help but sigh to myself seeing this, after all, I was probably the only one who knew how 'eventful' the upcoming years were going to be.

''I'm serious Jade-'' Syrus tried to scold Jaden but was cut off by an announcement.

''Hello Students! The matching for the practical test will now be displayed!'' An announcement rang out from the PA as the large TV screens displayed the matchings.

Looking around, a good majority of the students were looking for their names with a panicky expression. Most of the Obelisk Blue students looked pretty assured of their victory and leisurely read over the list.

Syrus, Bastion, and Jaden all also had various reactions.

''Few... I'm dueling a Slifer Red.'' Syrus sighed in relief.

''Huh!? I'm duelling that Chazz guy!'' Jaden laughed in excitement.

''...'' However, uncharacteristically, Bastion had frozen up with a cramped yet serious expression.

'Was this in the anime?' I wondered while looking for my name, and as I found it, I realized why Bastion was acting so uncharacteristically.

[Match 53: Illumi Tanaka and Bastion Misawa]

''Oh... I guess it's me and you Bastion.'' I cracked a smile, Bastion had a resolute gaze staring straight back at me.

''I'm not exactly assured, but... I've been waiting for this day and I won't be defeated so easily.''

''Huh!? You two are dueling each other!?'' Jaden exclaimed and Syrus too listened in.

''May the best man win!'' Bastion offered a handshake and I shook it while cracking a smile.

''Yes, I plan to.'' I teased him and Bastion's expression crumpled for a moment, causing Jaden to burst into laughter.

''Pff-''

Deciding to take some time to plan out his strategies, Bastion broke off as, Syrus went off to his duel, Jaden following closely behind to cheer him on.

I, on the other hand, decided to grab something to drink, feeling parched.

''Huh...'' I was slightly excited to see what Bastion would pull off, but I wasn't expecting much right now, especially considering Jaden hasn't gotten his Neos deck yet and most of the actually good duelists aren't here yet.

'You don't seem very excited, master.'

Nearly spitting my drink out, I whipped my head around and found Sheou standing there, half-translucent.

'Oh, Sheou! You almost gave me a heart attack!' I exclaimed mentally calming my surprised heart.

'I apologize, that was not my intention. I will take measures to not do so in the future.' Sheou bowed, with a graceful bow.

She was really serious about her maid business...

Shaking my head, I decided to address Sheou's comment.

'It's not that I'm not excited... I just feel kinda like I'm not making an impact...' I admitted feeling slightly awkward saying it, but it was a feeling I've had for a while. As if I was just an add-on following along the stream known as canon.

I hadn't made many changes or impacts to either the people here or the storyline. Instead, it felt like I was an outsider just fooling around for the most part...

Before I could laugh off the awkwardness, I was suddenly pulled into Sheou's embrace.

'Master worry about the strangest things...' She patted my head.

'However, I feel that Master doesn't understand how much he has changed and impacted those around him.' Sheou added on and I found myself furrowing my brow.

'What do you mean?' I asked, but Sheou just smiled calmly at me.

'Master must discover that himself, but know this, master is already embarking on his own path and regardless of what he thinks... You have already made impactful changes to those around you and become someone important in their hearts.'

Slightly stunned by her words, I stared blankly even as Sheou excused herself with a bow.

'become someone important in their hearts...' I repeated to myself with a thoughtful expression...

''Illumi Tanaka and Bastion Misawa to Arena 3, Please!''

Snapping out of my thoughts, I decided to focus on my upcoming duels and walked over to Arena 3.

Stopping at my spot, I saw Bastion staring at me from the other side with a calm and determined expression.