Zane Truesdale

[ceokaiba]

“What do I want? Am I not allowed to scope out potential top ranked duelists?” he asked in reply, crossing his arms comfortably. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Zane Truesdale, so I thought I’d come see for myself.”

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

"Yeah, you and everybody else," Zane replied as he scrutinized Kaiba, "I haven't exactly been a silent duelist." Why did his past have to keep coming up in every conversation. He'd very much like to just erase Hell Kaiser from everything and just move on with his life without the burden of being eternally judged for his actions. 

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Well, it's my best friend's birthday. So, I guess I have to wish Fubuki a Happy Birthday.

[unnamedpharaoh]

“Hell Kaiser….The name admittingly doesn’t ring a bell” Yami mused. Maybe Yugi had heard of it, but he certainly hadnt. Unless Zane had participated in a tournament where he himself was present, then he didn’t follow dueling if on TV. The thrill wasn’t the same. “It does seem to follow it, doesnt it?” he laughed then, “I suppose it does tend to look that way but Dueling brings more good than bad.”

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Zane sighed with relief. At least there was one person who wouldn't be judging him for his past. Maybe the King didn't follow the pro league as closely as some other people. "I suppose it must," Zane decided to skip over the conversation where he explained Hell Kaiser, "I met most of my friends through dueling. I'm sure that's how everybody feels. Dueling brings out the best in people.........and the worst." 

[unnamedpharaoh]

“Oh. Well I don’t mind if you sit if that’s more comfortable for you…Are you alright though?” Yami asked, a small frown flitting across his features. After a moment he smiled in amusement. “Oh we’re not buddy buddy hanging out on the weekends sort of friends, but there’s….a certain form of companionship between us built out of mutual respect, the thrill of dueling each other, and having to stop people from taking over or destroying things together on a semi-frequent basis.”

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

"I am better," Zane replied with half a laugh, "I'm sure you've heard of Hell Kaiser." He didn't really want to explain much more than that. Anybody who knew Hell Kaiser knew what he had been. He was different now but he had to die to change his ways and he still carried the weight of what he had done. Zane looked over to the King and continued, "Saving the world seems to be something that just follows this card game. I've experienced it a few times myself." Three out of Four years at that school required the world to be saved and even after he graduated there was the Dark World. It was possible that this card game was just cursed. 

[unnamedpharaoh]

“On top of being my rival, he’s also my friend and Mokuba has told me lots about their past,” Yami replied. His sharp eyes caught the shoulder roll. “You know, if you want you can sit, I don’t mind. Believe it or not it gets tiring having to look up at most, being only five foot five not counting the hair,” Yami told Zane, sitting down in a graceful plop.

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Zane nodded and lowered himself down into a seated position. "I had been confined to a wheelchair for so long by body, it would seem, has forgotten how to stand," Zane commented, excusing himself for needing to sit. He chuckled a bit at the King's mention of his hair. It was rather eccentric. Zane had always wondered if it was natural or not. "Being friends with your rival, that sounds difficult " Zane continued their conversation. He thought back to who he could have considered a rival, they weren't best buds but they at least got along somewhat. He'd like to duel that boy again if he ran into him. See how much he's grown. 

[unnamedpharaoh]

Yami frowned a bit. “that is completely untrue. He may be conceited and full of himself and a giant asshole, but he doesn’t put himself first. Mokuba is always first in his mind and everything he does is done for his brother. They spent quite some time in an orphanage and Seto would not be adopted without his brother although plenty were interested in just him. He did all he could to get the two adopted together and went through hell to give Mokuba a good life. Hell, even Kaibaland was built because Mokuba had a dream of owning an amusement park and Seto made it so orphans could get in free. So don’t say that Seto’s dreams and ambitions come first. Mokuba is always first. Always.”

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Zane stood there and listened as the King ranted. "You know an awful lot about the guy for being his rival," Zane replied. He had already known everything the King had told him, of course. Kaiba was a key factor in all their history books at school. His life story, all his achievements and failures, his rivalry with the King of Games, they had had plenty of tests on him.  Zane rolled his shoulders, his back was starting to ache him. Walking around wasn't as easy as he had remembered it to be but he was speaking to the King of Games so he had to at least be respectful and continued standing.

[unnamedpharaoh]

“You remind me of Seto Kaiba,” Yami replied with an amused smile. “You act a lot like him and you even wear flairing trenchcoats like him. Only….you dont come across as a dick like he is. you’re just very defensive.” This amused Yami greatly and he couldnt stop from smiling. “You’re tall like him too.”

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Zane's eyes narrowed as the King spoke. "I've met Kaiba," he replied, "I don't believe I am anything like him. He is an conceited boy who's ambitions and dreams come before everything else in his life." He was nothing like Kaiba. Kaiba was a jerk, everybody knew that. The way he treated his brother. The way he treated his friends. The way he treated everybody. Like he didn't care about anything else but winning. Growing up with him must have been been horrendous for one's self-esteem. 

[laughingalonewithcrystalbea-blog]

“Z-Zane come on…” Johan gave a nervous, very pained laugh. He was stuttering. His words were hard to understand, “Z-Zane, I’ll be fine. I just… it’s just a headache. It’ll go away in a minute, come on… lets duel.” 

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

"No," Zane stated as he pushed open the front door of the school, "I will not duel you." He wanted. He really wanted to finally prove who was the stronger between them but he would not duel Johan if it put his life on the line. Which brought up another question. Why was only Johan affected if they were both dueling? 

[laughingalonewithcrystalbea-blog]

“I’m plum fine.” Johan suddenly felt himself be lifted from his feet. His head throbbed again, and he put his hands to his temples, grumbling something, “Zane, put me down. I’ll be fine. Just put me down.”

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Zane ignored Johan's requested and continued to walk towards the school. He was obviously not fine and Zane wasn't about to let him go on his own. He at least needed an advil. The best place to get that was the nurse's office and since Johan had already fallen to his knees from the pain Zane was not about to let him walk himself up there. He'd just injure himself. Why was he being to protective over Johan? 

[unnamedpharaoh]

“I have no reasoning besides scoping out future prospects and making note of promising looking challengers,” he replied, the amused smile playing along his lips, “And you just greatly remind me of someone, that’s all. You act a lot like him in many ways.”

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Zane crossed his arms. "And who would that be?" he asked. Being a reminded or somebody else was never a good thing. It meant that they saw somebody in him and Zane had striven for a while to be his own person. Being recognized as another being did not sit well with him. Almost as well as Kaiba saying he had heard about him. Hell Kaiser, that's probably who Zane reminded him of. Well at least the King didn't see them as the same person. 

[ceokaiba]

“What do I want? Am I not allowed to scope out potential top ranked duelists?” he asked in reply, crossing his arms comfortably. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Zane Truesdale, so I thought I’d come see for myself.”

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Zane narrowed his eyes, skeptical. "Heard about me? I'm sure. Who hasn't," he replied. Obviously Kaiba had heard about him. Everybody knew Hell Kaiser. He had quite a reputation and not a good one either. But Zane was trying to erase all of that. It was hard with people still bringing it up. 

[laughingalonewithcrystalbea-blog]

Johan smiled, looking pu towards the other, his hand still to his head. Why was it hurting like this? Why? 

”Don’t you worry a thang, Zane… It’s just a headache, that’s all… I’ll be up on my feet soon… We can have our duel. We can duel together…” Johan found it hard to talk . What was going on? He never had migraines before. What made this so different. His stomach was upset too. He hadn’t eaten anything unhealthy. What could be causing this. 

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Zane rolled his eyes and picked Johan up. "I'm taking you to the nurse," Zane stated. It wasn't a question it was a statement. Johan had no choice. Zane was taking him up to see the nurse and get some pills for his head. Something had happened when he tried to duel. Whether it was specific to this duel or just dueling in general they'd have to find out later. For now, Johan needed help. 

Zane started to walk back up towards the school, carrying Johan. It was almost an echo of that time he had to carry Judai....

[laughingalonewithcrystalbea-blog]

“Alright, Zane ! Lets duel !” Johan activated his duel disk and drew five cards, “I’ll go first, draw for turn !” Johan drew an extra card and fanned out his hand. 

Bathump. Something inside of his head pounded. It hurt. Johan put his hand to his head, “O-Ouch…”  squinting his eyes, Johan sunk to the ground, his cards falling from his hand to the floor, “N-No problems here Zane…” he said, attempting to look at the other, his head throbbing, “Just give me a minute.”

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Zane was looking at his first hand when Johan called out. He looked up and watched the other drop to his knees. "Johan?" Zane questioned and walked over to him, "I don't think this duel is meant to be." Zane added the last bit as he noticed Johan touching his head. Something had happened that had stopped him from being able to duel. They were never going to get their rematch. It just wasn't the way things were supposed to play out. For some reason, fate had decided that they should not duel against each other again. 

[laughingalonewithcrystalbea-blog]

Johan laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head, “I guess it’s just not meant to be, huh Zane?“ he joked. Of course he wanted to Duel him. Dueling was what he did best, “Well lets go, Zane ! You and me ! Right here, right now !”

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Zane stared at Johan skeptically. He had a feeling this was just going to get interrupted again just like their last several attempts to duel. He sighed and pulled out his duel disk. No harm in trying. If it wasn't meant to be then they'd be stopped again. At least then they would know for sure that they would never get their duel. 

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

Zane stood at the docks. Only a week had passed since he had been allowed out of his wheelchair. It felt good to be walking on his own two feet again. Zane took a deep breath of the sea air. It smelled just has he had remembered it to smell. Duel Academy stood behind him in a silhouette in the light from the setting sun. He had his back to the school, staring out at the waters like he used to do as a student. Some how he always ended up back at this school. No matter how many times he turned his back the school always ended up in front of him. He was always mixed up in whatever Judai was doing at the time. It was like this school had consumed his life even after graduation. He had gone his own way, done some terrible things, yet, in the end, he landed right back  in the same spot he was before hand. Standing at the end of the pier staring at the sunset. Maybe there was just something about this place that kept drawing him in. The people here, the location, the school itself. He might never know. For now he just knew that despite being an alumni of Duel Academy he was never going to be able to leave the place for long. Sure, he'd get an apartment in the city. Get himself a nice stable job. Work on that new project for the pro circuit with Shou but in the end he knew that he would always come back to Duel Academy. Whether for a tournament or to visit an old friend. Some how something would draw him back to this island to this very same spot on the pier. He couldn't escape and maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Duel Academy was something they all had in common. Memories they all shared. Teachers they all hated. Maybe being drawn back every now and again kept those memories and friendships alive. Because no matter how far away they got from each other, they all shared the roots. Ten, twenty, thirty years down the road when everybody has families and children of their own. Every last one of them would be able to look back with pride and remember their years at Duel Academy. Those four years that changed their lives. Nobody comes out the same way they went in. Nobody escapes and nobody wants to. 

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

supercardgamestyle started following you

Zane stared at the person who had appeared in front of him. "And you would be?" he asked, almost curious. 

[alexis-obeliskblue-rhodes]

"Yeah I know." she sighed, "Just promise that this time when you leave you'll still write or visit every once in a while or something ok?" Maybe now things would finally get back  to some semblance of 'normal' at Duel Academy.

[dueluntiltheverylastbeat]

"I'll do my best to remember," Zane replied. He wasn't making any promises. Once he got busy working he might not remember to write or visit or any of those things. His project would have wiped all thoughts of that from his mind but he would try to remember and write when he could.