Minutes later and Phil was sitting on the couch in Ms. Hibiki’s office, watching the woman cautiously as she sat at her desk flipping through a file folder that a secretary had handed her. The room was all quiet, save for the occasional sound of paper on paper as Ms. Hibiki turned the pages, and the more frequent sound of Phil adjusting himself on the couch, trying his hardest to stay still in order to not make his situation any worse than it already was. Already the outer reaches of his mind were whispering for Phil to do something, anything to break the monotony, to make something happen, even if it ended up badly for Phil. It was something that he had dealt with all throughout his 20-some years of living, even back on Earth, but as Phil began to tap out a pattern on the armrest with his fingers, he began to ponder on a stray thought that crossed his mind, one that was almost completely drowned out by his desire to do something.

Damn it I feel so weird. So fucking boring. Was it always like this? The window… I know I was thinking about a possible exit strategy, but I… was I even considering seriously taking it before I slipped up on my words and grabbed the chair?

Phil was certainly no stranger to intrusive thoughts. They were part and parcel of having a dark sense of humor, but it almost felt like they were… easier to act on ever since he left Earth.

Fuck. Is it because of the hormones? Being stuck back in a teenage body after being used to being in my 20s for a while? I know I did some colossally stupid stuff when I was 13, 14, even 15 years old back in the day, but I don’t remember ever pushing the limits like this. And I was going for that window before I even realized what happened! I didn’t even think about stopping myself until Bastion grabbed me and I realized what I was doing.

Phil sighed, leaning back to try and get to a more comfortable position as he began to consider if Ms. Hibiki was focused enough on the files in front of her to potentially not notice if Phil snuck out of her room. He raised his eyebrows, looking at Ms. Hibiki as closely as he dared.

Nope, running’s out of the question. She keeps glancing up in my general direction, any sort of serious movement on my part would probably grab her attention.

Then, Phil forcibly relaxed his tensed body as the little voice in his mind brought the fact that he was just about to make a break for it to his attention.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Any more thoughts on the topic, thoughts that were quickly obscured by Phil’s various impulsive, intrusive thoughts were quickly interrupted as Ms. Hibiki cleared her throat to get his attention.

“Phillip, we need to talk. As you are aware, this is something that would generally be done by the head of your dorm, Professor Sartyr, but since he is currently… unavailable, I have been brought in by Chancellor Shepard and the head professor, Dr. Crowler, to fill in for his duties until Professor Sartyr returns,” Said Ms. Hibiki.

Phil cocked his head with mild interest, noting Ms. Hibiki’s hesitation over mentioning Sartyr’s unavailability and making a note to do some asking around after his inevitable punishment.

“I understand that the year has just begun, so there will always be some problems that both the students and the academy will need to iron out. Some students take a few weeks, even a month, to get used to the dorm life and living away from home. Others find themselves not being pushed far enough.” Ms. Hibiki gracefully stood and opened a compartment in her desk, reaching in to grab what was revealed as a duel disk.

“How about this, Phillip. Why don’t we head over to the arena and have a friendly duel? There won’t be a grade riding on this, I just want to confirm a few things.”

Phil narrowed his eyes at the challenge. Oho. If I remember the manga right, she should be pretty strong. I think she used… was it some kind of dark fairy deck? Ah. Darklords. That’s right. Okay, I don’t know what she wants to find out, but I’ll bite.

“Well, it’s better than that da- that darn wall again.” Phil laughed and followed Ms. Hibiki out of the room, already considering which deck he should use out of the ones stashed away under his jacket.

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

Phil: 4000

Ms. Hibiki: 4000

Student and teacher faced each other in the duel arena, one that was completely empty due to morning classes still being in session.

Ms. Hibiki snapped her fingers confidently, taking the first draw from her opponent, who she noticed looked quite at ease in the arena.

Another reason why I might be right. Phillip, I hope you don’t disappoint me in the duel…

“I summon the Darklord Ukoback (700/1000)!” A pale, short angel with crimson wings and chains wrapped around its chest sprang to attention on Ms. Hibiki’s side of the field. “On his summon, Ukoback’s effect activates, allowing me to send my Darklord Edeh Arae from my deck straight to the graveyard. Then, I activate my spell card, Foolish Burial, to send Darklord Superbia from my deck straight to the graveyard.” Ms. Hibiki paused for a second, noting that Phil’s face was still covered in an easy, relaxed grin. Good. He isn’t phased a bit. I’ll turn up the heat then.

“Now, I hope you don’t have anything good in your hand, Phillip, because I activate another spell! Card Destruction! This makes us both discard our entire hands and draw the same number of cards we discarded. I’ll discard three cards, and draw three more.”

From across the arena Phil glanced at his hand, grumbling a few words that Ms. Hibiki couldn’t quite make out as he discarded five cards to draw five cards.

“I then set one of the cards I just drew, and end my turn.”

Phil’s head snapped up, and the easy grin resurfaced on his face as he drew a card. Ms. Hibiki raised her eyebrow, increasing her internal evaluation of Phil by a single notch. He wasn’t even phased. Most duelists would be under pressure after losing the strategy they had built with their original hand and having to come up with a brand new one with little time.

A peal of laughter from Phil snapped Ms. Hibiki out from her thoughts. “Looks like I got me a second hand!” He crowed. “Though I bet you have a sh- a bunch more graveyard effects than I do. Ah well, who cares? I see your Ukoback, and raise you with my own monster! Coming in with juuusssttt enough attack to deal with your mook, I summon the spirit monster, Aratama (800/1800)! Now, don’t let its teensy-weensy attack fool ya’, because on summon it activates its own effect to add any single spirit monster from my deck straight to my hand. Now, let’s see… I’ll add Yamata Dragon to my hand for a little fun later! Now, I swap to my battle phase. Aratama, would you mind clearing that darklord off of my field, if you please?” At Phil’s joking order, the horned ball of fire that was grinning like its master, albeit a bit more fiercely, devoured the slightly smaller angel with a single fiery bite.

“And I think to top things off, I’ll copy you teach. I place a face down, and then outdo you with another face down card. During my end phase, sadly enough my spirit monster’s other effect activates to return itself to my hand.” Phil shrugged and gave an obviously fake sigh of concern. “What a downside, am I right? Poor me, undefended from those big bad angels of yours.”

Despite herself, Ms. Hibiki chuckled slightly as she entered her draw phase. “Big bad angels, huh? Well Phillip, both those face downs of yours better be good, because I activate my set card, Darklord Rebellion! By sending my Capricious Darklord from my hand to my graveyard, I can destroy one card on the field. As for my choice, I’m getting a bad feeling about your card on the right. Darklord Rebellion, I choose my opponent’s rightmost card as the target!”

An angel covered in spotless white armor appeared on the field, raising his glowing white sword in a futile effort against an older, bearded man who grabbed the angel by the head and brutally tossed him into Phil’s rightmost face down card to destroy it utterly.

Phil whistled. “Da- Darn teach, wasn’t expecting that. I guess that’s bye-bye to my Skill Drain. You shall be missed dearly.”

“Consider it a good lesson then.” Ms. Hibiki answered with her instincts as a teacher immediately taking control. “If you ever decide to join the pro circuit, Phillip, then you must be prepared for the destruction of your cards and strategies at any given moment. And, as a continuation of this lesson, you must also be prepared for your opponent to bring forth over 4000 attack points in damage at any given time! I activate my spell card, Monster Reborn, targeting my Darklord Superbia (2900/2400) in the grave to special summon it in attack position! When Superbia is special summoned from the graveyard, its effect activates to resurrect my Darklord Edeh Arae (2300/2000) from the graveyard that I had sent there through Ukoback’s effect the turn prior.” Where Ms. Hibiki’s field had been completely deserted, there were now two demonic-looking angels, with Darklord Superbia taking the appearance of a crimson-winged pot with a stone-cold face, and Darklord Edeh Arae looking more like a traditional demon with pale skin, black wings and armor, and a set of curly horns to boot.

“Battle phase. Phillip, I hope your second face down card is more useful than the one I destroyed. Superbia, Edeh Arae, attack Phillip directly!”

For a moment, while both fallen angels converged upon Phil, it looked as if all was lost. But, as a triumphant grin exploded across Phil’s face, he revealed his face down card. “Sorry Prof, but it looks like I’ll get another turn to stage a comeback. I allow Darklord Edeh Arae’s attack to go through (4000 -> 1700), but in response to Darklord Superbia’s direct attack I activate my trap card! Counter Gate! This trap will negate your attack. Then, I get to draw one card. If that card is a monster, I can choose to normal summon it in face-up attack position. And what do ya’ know! The draw is something useful, a monster that I will immediately summon to my side of the field. Reveal yourself, Rasetsu (1500/1900)! On his summon, I activate Rasetsu’s effect, allowing to reveal my spirit monster in my hand, the Yamata Dragon I searched earlier, in order to return your Darklord Superbia back to your hand!” On Phil’s side of the field a ghostly figure appeared with a grim chuckle, flaring its wild, fiery hair as it swept its spirit blade savagely across Darklord Superbia’s face to crack it and return the monster to Ms. Hibiki’s hand.

For a moment the arena was silent as Ms. Hibiki surveyed the field with an expert eye, and then she looked straight at Phil with a serious expression. “Well played. It’s a pity that your monster won’t stay around on the field due to its own effect, so I’ll place two cards face down and end my turn.”

Phil nodded in agreement over her statement. “Yup yup. Spirit monsters pretty much all have the same restriction across the board, where they have to return to my hand during the end phase of the turn they were summoned. Worse of all, I can’t special summon most of them. Well, actually that would be all of them save one. But, Ms. Hibiki, you really are looking down at me if you don’t think I’ve taken that restriction into consideration! During my main phase, I’ll show you my own deadly play! By removing from play my Inaba White Rabbit from my hand, I can special summon the linchpin of my deck, Izanagi (2200/1000).” A tall, white-haired spirit with a long, black staff and a red sash strode confidently onto the field, observing the opposing Darklord monster with a haughty glare. “As long as he sticks around on the field, I no longer have to return spirit monsters I control back to the hand. Then, I’ll follow things up by normal summoning my Aratama (800/1800) once more. His effect, which remains completely unchanged, allows me to add my spirit monster, Yamoto-No-Kami, right to my hand. Ms. Hibiki, a thousand pardons if this is rude, but I’ll quote you with some slight variation. I hope your two face downs are useful in stopping my full offensive, because I activate the spell card, Double Summon, that you were kind enough to give me through your Card Destruction, to allow me to conduct an additional normal summon this turn. I’ll immediately use that second summon by normal summoning Otohime (0/100). Her effect activates, allowing me to change your remaining Darklord monster to defense position.”

An extremely weak-looking monster crept onto the field, hiding her trembling body behind the solid bulk of Izanagi while pointing a trembling finger towards Darklord Edeh Arae. For a moment the fallen angel looked at Otohime in a state of complete confusion, and then hesitantly kneeled down with his arms crossed in front of his chest in defense position. The Darklord monster looked once more at Otohime in complete confusion, who was at this moment visibly close to fainting in fear from the sight of the fallen angel from where she hid behind Izanagi.

“Of course, these two monsters aren’t quite enough, so I’ll use my Yamato-No-Kami’s (2200/1200) effect in my hand to special summon him by removing from play one spirit monster in my graveyard from play. Eh, I suppose it doesn’t matter, so I’ll banish the Susa Soldier you removed from my hand with Card Destruction. Now onto my battle phase. Yamato-No-Kami, would you kindly obliterate that Darklord for me?”

The shirtless dark-skinned monster covered in several mechanical arms moved to attack, and after Ms. Hibiki signaled she had no response with a nod of her head, Yamato-No-Kami’s muscular arm struck cleanly in a wild haymaker to blast Darklord Edeh Arae’s body into a million pieces.

“Ha, now lets make that one face down! Yamato-No-Kami’s effect activates! Since he destroyed a monster by battle, I can get rid of one of your spells or traps. Bye-bye to the one on my left! Then, I’ll follow my personal rule! The best defense is a good offense! Izanagi, attack the professor directly!”

The white-haired monster moved to strike Ms. Hibiki, but a confident grin flashed across her face. “Not so fast! Trap card, activate! Darklord Enchantment! This trap allows me to send a Darklord monster, which will be Darklord Marie, from my hand to the graveyard to take control of your Izanagi until the end phase, stopping his attack and keeping my life points still at 4000!”

“Ooohh now that’s one I haven’t seen before.” Phil muttered loudly enough for Ms. Hibiki to hear. “Right, well I’ll just set one face down card and move to my end phase. Izanagi, come back to my side of the field and save my spirit monsters from returning, if you will.”

Meanhile, Ms. Hibiki set up a quick plan in her head as the pieces were almost all set out already. “I draw! Then, during my standby phase, Darklord Marie’s effect activates to heal me by 200 life points (4000 -> 4200). Let’s try this again, Phillip. I activate my spell card, Darklord Contact, which allows me to special summon the Darklord Ukoback (700/1000) back from my graveyard. His effect activates, allowing me to send Capricious Darklord from my deck to my graveyard. Following that, I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed, to draw two additional cards. Now Phillip, I know your face down card could be anything, so I’ll show you the type of overwhelming force that you’ll see constantly in the pro circuit! I use the quick-play spell card, The Monarchs Stormforth. This allows me to use one of your monsters for a tribute summon this turn. I’ll immediately use that effect, tributing my Darklord Ukoback and your Izanagi for the ultimate fallen angel, wreathed in wings of darkness with a sword that shines with the light of the moon. Darklord Morningstar (3000/3000), bring forth your solemn judgement on these spirits!

The field shook once more, but this time the effects eclipsed what Bastion’s water dragons and Phil’s Ultimate Insects had brought forth earlier in the day. From a crack in the ground a hand entirely enclosed in a dark gauntlet grasped the edges of the crack. The hand tensed, and then it pushed down to allow the rest of Darklord Morningstar to leap out of the crack. Six large wings unfurled themselves from his back, with several more smaller wings sprouting from between the larger ones. A crimson red crown hovered above his pale hair. As soon as the monster touched down, a sword that glimmered with a light not unlike that of the moon was grasped in his gauntleted hands and swung into the air.

“Darklord Morningstar, reveal your devastating effect! Since he was tribute summoned, I can special summon a number of Darklord Monsters from my hand and deck up to the number of effect monsters you control. I summon Darklord Superbia (2900/2400) from my hand, Darklord Zerato (2800/2300) from my deck, and another Darklord Marie (1700/1200) from my deck!”

An imposing sight on Ms. Hibiki’s field was quickly formed. From her hand, a crimson and black light sprang out to reveal the pot-like figure of Darklord Superbia. From her deck, the towering muscular figure of Darklord Zerato sprang into existence with an ominous ‘thud’, the monster roaring in defiance to the heavens while it gripped a jagged steel sword. Another monster, one much smaller yet with wings that were completely black, followed Darklord Zerato from the deck. Where Darklord Zerato had made its presence known as soon as he entered the field, Darklord Marie sat in silence, resting her arm on her knee as she observed the opposing monsters.

Phil let out a long, low sliding whistle as each monster was revealed. Then, he shrugged his shoulders. “Damn, well played. I don’t got the out, teach.” And then, as Ms. Hibiki entered the battle phase, attacking Otohime with her Darklord Morningstar to reduce Phil’s life points to zero, he deactivated his duel disk and walked forwards to shake Ms. Hibiki’s hand.

“You did quite well, Phillip. Even though you lost, you gave the duel your all. Follow me back to my office, we have a few things to talk about.”

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

Phil sat once more in Ms. Hibiki’s office in silence, a bit more relaxed this time because of the duel, though he was still dreading what hellish detention Ms. Hibiki would think of for him. However, his expectations were quickly dashed to pieces as soon as Ms. Hibiki sat down at her desk and pulled out a few forms.

“You want me to do what?” Phil exclaimed in astonishment.

Ms. Hibiki nodded calmly and repeated herself. “Yes, I’m serious about this. I think that you would be a good choice to represent the Ra Yellow dorm in the upcoming international school duels. Jaden Yuki and Chazz Princeton have already agreed to represent Slifer Red and Obelisk Blue respectively. I wasn’t originally sure who to have for Ra Yellow, but after our duel and a talk with Bastion I have decided that it would be good for you to be involved too. Your skills are good enough to make the qualification. Hell, if you were to stick with a single deck and develop your skills with it, I could definitely see you having success as a pro duelist after you graduate. You and Bastion were both considered contenders for the top student in Ra Yellow from your entrance exams alone, but the duel this morning changed that. Despite your… behavior, Phil, you are now the top student in your dorm.”

Phil’s mouth hung open in sheer surprise. Wow. And here I was expecting to get the wall again or get the shit kicked out of me. Are they that desperate for results in the international duels, or is she playing another game that I can’t see from where I sit? A moment of silence followed, until Phil closed his mouth and replied. “Not gonna lie, it does sound like fun to crush some morons in an actual tournament for once. What do I gotta do?”

Ms. Hibiki smiled gently, and then produced a small pile of paperwork. “Just fill out these forms and get them to me tomorrow. And,” She said sharply as Phil made to leave, “you’d better thank Bastion for stopping you in class. If you had destroyed that window, we would be having a completely different talk right now. I wasn’t mad before you made a run for it, I only wanted to speak with you about calming down and watching your language in class.”

“Roger that, boss.” Phil laughed sheepishly and bowed his head in thanks before leaving the room.

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

Ms. Hibiki stared at the closed door in her office. Part of her still wanted to punish Phillip for what he had almost done in the classroom. Sure, a broken window wasn’t much in the long term, but knowing that Phillip had been willing to do something like that was something she was worried about. Still, she was confident in her choice to give the boy a bit more responsibility. Phillip’s impulsive behavior was a bit more drastic than any of the cases she had to deal with in years prior, but Ms. Hibiki knew by now that only punishment by itself wouldn’t get results.

Especially considering the poor kid’s circumstances. Dr. Crowler couldn’t find any records at all of his parents being around. He’s certainly smart, and a talented duelist. I can already tell from his last detention that he has a huge problem with experiencing boredom, and his mind seems to leap to do anything to break the monotony, even if the action is harmful to him in the long run. Hopefully this added responsibility of representing his dorm against other schools will give him the challenge and focus the boy needs.

Ms. Hibiki couldn’t help but sigh. In a way, Phillip reminded her of her own younger brother, back before he had grown into being the world champion. Their recklessness certainly was eerily similar, and she remembered almost being at her wits end trying to help Koyo with it until she realized that it might have been because of the lack of challenge Koyo had with his selection of available opponents. It wasn’t until Ms. Hibiki had faced her brother herself and soundly defeated Koyo that he began to temper his own bad traits to become the respected world champion.

At least until…

Ms. Hibiki shook her head furiously and banished her next thoughts back to the dark pit in her mind that they had sprung from.

No, Midori. You can’t get in that spiral again. Not when all these students are counting on you for guidance, even more than usual after Sartyr disappeared after his vacation in the city. I can’t let those kids in Slifer Red and Ra Yellow down!

Indeed, while Ms. Hibiki never noticed or was able to put a name to the feeling, what the Slifer Reds commonly referred to as ‘Big Sis Mode Ms. Hibiki’ was out in full swing, and was something that not even Chancellor Sheppard dared to stop.