Along the road, there were very few other vehicles, and there were only three lanes and a wall separating them from the lanes going the other way. The brick hit the plexiglass windows and the bus driver, shaken by the noise, pulled over onto the side of the road to investigate. The bus was turned off, and before the rider to go too far, Mr. O'Dell took his phone out, snapping a picture of the motorcyclist, and one of the damage on the bus.

"Goddammit" Mr. O'Dell said, looking back, clutching the keys in his hand, balled into a fist. "You kids stay back there." the man groaned, opening the door of the bus. He looked back to check for cars, quickly running for the brick then just as quick returned to the bus. "RETURN. RUSSIAN MOTHERLAND... The hell?" he read, lifting the hat off his head to scratch before placing it back on. The brick was thrown under the dashboard. Mr. O'Dell sighed, then turned the car back on, checking once before pulling back onto the road.

Carnel tried to get some extra sleep, but trying to sleep on a moving vehicle never worked out for him. Besides, even if it did, waking up afterward left him feeling very dehydrated. With a small groan, Carnel rubbed his eyes and got up just in time to notice the commotion. He looked outside the window and found that there was a cyclist outside the bus holding a brick. Before he could figure out what was going on, the cyclist threw the brick, hitting a window and doing some damage to the bus. If Carnel wasn't awake yet, he certainly was now.

The driver pulled the bus to the side to inspect the damage. Meanwhile, Carnel propped himself up from his seat to get a better look. The cyclist sped off while everyone else gathered around to inspect the brick and the impact it made on the bus. "My my, that's not good," Carnel thought out loud as he went over to the site himself. Turning his attention to a girl at the site who seemed especially excited and kept saying "Ohmygosh", Carnel asked, "Is anyone hurt?"

The sound of something rather solid hitting a nearby window caused Ayami to instinctively tense up and jump a little in her seat. Though it had miraculously failed to break through (thank the engineers of this glass for that), the impact did not fail to cause the young woman to shut her book and look at what had caused the incident. Taking her earbuds out of her ears as she peered out the window to see what had caused the noise, Ayami's eyes flitted around, only to see no hint of what could have caused it.

"I would think that the era of vandalism and delinquents would have passed us by now..." she sighed quietly to herself, shaking her head in disappointment before another student--one from the seat in front of her, in fact--began to freak out about the mystery object almost breaking through the window. While Ayami admitted to herself that if something similar happened to her she would likely be stunned to some extent, it did not warrant causing any more panic than it already had. That was the goal of things like these, after all: to send a message. It was an overused trope in literature, though she herself didn't quite know how grounded in reality it was anyhow.

"I... I, did not, in fact, see where it landed. It was a brick, then?" Ayami responded to the girl peeking over, her right hand rubbing her chin as the bus came to a stop. "Well, if it did not break through, then I think that is all for the better. That window does look like it has seen better days, though. Slightly better."

The fact that the window was partially open actually made it all the more miraculous that the brick had not slipped through instead. When the though of it actually making contact with someone's body passed through her mind for a moment, a rather unsavory image followed suit, and Ayami removed that mental image in great haste. Though the indent was rather tiny, the emotional impact would likely last. So the job had, in fact, been successful... Which was a fact that Ayami didn't like at all. She glanced over at the young man asking if everyone was okay, to which she returned a slight nod of her head; the confirmation would hopefully cause him to settle down, at the very least.

"In any case, the word nearly means that you weren't hit, which is probably the best we could hope for in this situation. Though... For safety's sake, maybe that window would be better off closed. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, after all," she continued, noting how the bus had come to a stop and how the driver had decided to go and retrieve the brick, tossing it into the bus before continuing the ride. "And if that sound is anything to go by, the evidence is on-hand. The culprit will be found... Eventually. I hope."

With that incident still fresh in her mind, though, Ayami was no longer in the mood to do what she had been doing since the trip had begun, so she instead began to rifle through her bag for her Deck. Even if she wasn't going to be Dueling anyone else at the moment, it always helped to be aware of the current state of affairs. Decks were always subject to change, after all...

Maybe it was about time to start looking for cards to build a side deck for herself. Or start trading. Maybe both. She hadn't needed to open a pack (or a box, for that matter) for ages. Hopefully, the campus' store had enough variety to choose from; a Deck that was permanently static was a Deck doomed to fall, after all.

Even she had to admit, though, that doing something like that alone was kind of pitiful. The sooner she made herself some connections, the better it was in the long run.

"...That aside, since you've done me the honor of not having to speak first, I hope you don't mind a self-introduction... Especially seeing as how you and your seatmate have already begun to hit it off. My name is Yukishima Ayumi, and I'm to be living in the Dark Magician House. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The fastest way to forget an incident like this was small talk, however mindless it felt to her. Maybe if she kept going, there would be something of substance to capture her interest and hold it in place. For now, though, it was time to make sure that her Deck had no cards missing. If there were, then an hour or so opening boxes seemed to be in her future... Assuming the store didn't sell singles, of course, but Ayumi had already resolved to gather cards to trade instead.

"A facedown card, eh? I suppose you think yourself crafty, yes? But you have squandered your chance, for the great Marina Viktoriya Kohut is craftier still! Behold!"

Marina's duel coat ejected a card upwards, and the girl grinned as she snatched it from the air. Yes, her master plan was well and truly coming together. Soon this child would know true fear, and none would be able to save him.

"You set a monster? Then I shall set monster and a trap! Gaze upon the majestic one-upmanship that is royalty, Japonski dog!"

Fanning herself with her remaining four cards, Marina cocked her head upwards slighty to better look down on her opponent.

"I pass the turn to you."

Yuta had, indeed, not been able to endure the stench and was forced to retreat a few metres back. Still, the stench was bearable at a certain distance from the girl, but lord knows how Fuubi was handling it. He stood way closer to her than Yuta did.

He was forced to abandon his chair, but that wasn't too bad. He was standing a good bit away from the action, but still in shouting distance. Yuta raised an eyebrow as he thought he heard Fuubi set one card, thinking that he may have opened badly. It happens though, right?

The weird part was when the other girl, the blonde one, did almost the exact same thing. Not only that, but did she just call out what kind of card she set? Yuta almost felt bad for the girl. She probably didn't know you could omit those details. Still, it was hard to make out anything from this distance. The visuals looked so scrambled.

"Hey, Fuubi! Show her an exciting next turn, alright? You have this in the bag!" Yuta yelled, using his hand as an improvised megaphone to have his voice carry further. This also made Yuta realize he actually forgot to catch her name, as he'd been too busy trying to keep his stomach filled to notice what she was saying. That was mighty awkward...

Matt reflexively reached out a hand to catch the brick, but the cyclist's aim was off, and it merely slammed into the window. After a moment to consider what happened Matt laughed and waved at the cyclist as he drove off. "What an interesting fellow." He said, to himself rather than anyone else and sat back down. Around him the bus erupted into a clamor of chatter and Matt sat back down. Aya had broken into hysterics, someone behind them more calmly asked if anyone was hurt, and a proper looking girl with blue eyes looked up from her book to express, quite elaborately, that it was good the brick hadn't hit, the window should be closed, and her name. Seeing as it was fairly good advice Matt returned the window to its closed state. "Well at least no one's hurt. Any who, Yukishima Ayumi-"

Wow that was a mouthful. Good thing he'd practiced Japanese names on his way as he'd figured he'd be running into quite a few, given it was Japan, so he wouldn't sound like a clumsy foreigner. "In case you missed our introductions, I'm Matt Ronwell of the Dark Magician House, this is Aya Tsukasa of Utopia House. Nice to meet someone body else from my house, though I hear that's not so uncommon." Matt turned back to Aya. "You said you use Kajus? I'm afraid I'm not my well versed in my archetypes so that doesn't help me much. Truth be told I only started playing very recently because I won my current deck in a... Game. My deck is just a big gamble, or perhaps a bunch of little gambles. Either way I came to this academy because I know very little, though I hope to learn a lot." He finished his statement cheerily. He had no doubt it would be a rocky start with him being relatively new, but what better place to learn?

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. In. And out again. Gradually, with a lot of effort, Aya managed to stop her heart from bursting out of her chest and making a mess of the upholstery. She'd barely even paid attention to what the girl in front of her (Behind her? Like, she was behind her on the bus, but in front of her now, how would you ever write that down?) had been saying, but it seems she didn't really have to. Matt was introducing the two of them to the small pack of kids who had turned up. Is anyone hurt? She heard someone say, and she shook her head, not really registering who exactly it was who had spoken.

"...And if that sound is anything to go by, the evidence is on-hand. The culprit will be found. Eventually. I hope. That aside, since you've done me the honor of not having to speak first, I hope you don't mind a self-introduction... Especially seeing as how you and your seatmate have already begun to hit it off. My name is Yukishima Ayumi, and I'm to be living in the Dark Magician House. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." "Well at least no one's hurt." Came another voice, closer to Aya. "In case you missed our introductions, I'm Matt Ronwell of the Dark Magician House, this is Aya Tsukasa of Utopia House. Nice to meet someone body else from my house, though I hear that's not so uncommon. You said you use Kajus?"

That got her attention. She turned her head, looking almost over her shoulder back towards Matt again. Seemed so strange, in her eyes to move so quickly from card games when barely a minute before, she'd been staring at four pounds of clay ceramic death moving very fast and incredibly close. She pulled out her deck, currently in a hip-side holster, and began shuffling it slowly and deliberately. It was relaxing, like lighting incense. Just what she needed right now, after the excitement and shock. "Ive always liked being able to play both sides of the game." She mumbled, like some sort of excuse." "Used to play Artifacts and Graydle too, but right now i'm just using Pur-""

"I'm afraid I'm not my well versed in my archetypes so that doesn't help me much. Truth be told I only started playing very recently because I won my current deck in a... Game. My deck is just a big gamble, or perhaps a bunch of little gambles. Either way I came to this academy because I know very little, though I hope to learn a lot." That threw her for a loop.

"So what, you're going to a big prestigious Duel monster school and don't really know how a lot of Duel monsters is played? Just how good are you?"

@Blight Bug

Just barely audible on the road over the sound of the ghoulish rider's radio and coming up on the horizon there was a small, black, blob at first. Getting closer, it appeared to have been another motorist, the engines on his bike roaring almost as loud as the music of the ghoulish rider. The biker turned back, face obscured by a black helmet. He wore a long, black trench coat over a white shirt, black tie flying in the breeze. As the two neared each other, the cows on the farm just off the highway, before simply lounging under the shade of the trees, perked their heads up as if sensing disaster.

The biker, underneath his visor, mouthed a single word: "Duel".

@KOgaming

The Ghoulish Rider, Traveler of the Highway of Hell turned his helmet towards the fellow mysterious rider. Fyodor paused for a brief moment, before reaching back into his backpack as he pulled out two objects. The first of which was a traditional greeting, as The Ghoulish Rider, Traveler of the Highway of Hell hurled a brick at the biker. Upon finishing that he slammed the second object he fetched, his Duel Monster cards, into his Duel Runner.

The Ghoulish Rider, Traveler of the Highway of Hell simply gave an affirmative nod to accept the challenge.

The biker dodged out of the way, shifting into the other lane before swerving back. As he had expected of a fellow biker, his match was accepted. Coming up on the road, was a sharp turn. The biker eyed the Ghoulish Rider, then turned back at the turn, pointing at the signs warning of its approach. As is natural, the first to get to the turn would begin, and thus the biker lined up his motorcycle with that of the Ghoulish Rider, revving the motors, before simply allowing the Ghoulish Rider to proceed through the turn.

A broad surface materialized over his motorcycle- or rather- his duel runner. "AUTOPILOT MODE. ON." it droned before the biker dropped the first card, "FIELD SPELL: SPEED WORLD 2 ACTIVATED." As the atmosphere changed, the biker pointed at the Ghoulish Rider, signalling that it was his turn.

Ayami nodded her head in acknowledgement as Matt introduced himself and Aya, taking care to note what Houses they were in as both of them began to talk about their decks. She had figured the conversation would lead here--'all roads lead to Rome' and all that. The Duelist listened carefully as the two conversed, still digging through her bag for her Deck before she heard the words "know very little" come out of Matt's mouth. Aya's reaction more or less mirrored her own--a sense of astonishment that he was even here to begin with was probably the easiest way to describe it.

"You started playing 'very recently' and committed the next few years of your life to the game on a whim?" she followed, trying to understand the young man's train of thought. "You say that your deck is a 'big gamble', but the biggest gamble I see here is trying to jump into this field blind. I certainly hope it works out for you, though... For your sake more than anyone else's, in fact."

While her words were cold, the feelings behind them were honest; it was a long road to learn about the game, so Matt would likely have to work a lot more to catch up. There were likely beginner courses at the school, but she hadn't paid much attention to that since it didn't concern her. Maybe those would be sufficient to bring him up to speed.

"In any case, I play Nekroz. I've only really played Nekroz and nothing else, but I do enough studies on the side to at least understand how most other decks function," she said, finally taking out her Deck from her bag and going through the cards. There did seem to be 40, at the very least, so no emergency searching seemed to be in her future.

Rumi checked around her environment after arriving and looked at what people were doing. She realized shortly after that, due to being a duel academy, bicycles weren't really things they expected to see around here. Rumi started to look for an alternate method of parking her bike somewhere, and after thinking about it a little more, she realized her bike is probably small enough to store in her dorm room. Although, she was worried that she might have to ask for permission somewhere... or maybe she could ask someone to find an alternative way instead?

If Rumi was going to store this in her room, she might have to ask someone to help her. She wasn't strong enough to carry a bike into her room all alone due to her small posture. These thoughts were quickly shoved to the side, though, as she quickly remembered the reason she brought a lot of fresh baked goods with her. Rumi drove her bike to her supposed dorm, quickly finding quite a sight and an unfortunate smell that was nearly overtaking the sweet smell of baked goods. After looking around the scene, she saw that same boy again that ran past her home. Maybe she could ask him to help her carry her bike into her room, or maybe even the people dueling after they were done?

Wasting no time, she parked her bike near the center herself and yelled out "Everyone, if any of you missed breakfast I have lots of freshly baked goods here!" Rumi did so in her usual customer drawing voice, which sounded quite cute and girly. She detached her basket from her bike and put it on the ground, waving various foodstuffs around to emphasize the fact she had a bunch of food to share. She wanted to leave a good first impression, after all.

Delete

The Ghoulish Rider, Traveler of the Highway of Hell stared back at the mysterious rider who did not seem to care whether or not he was quicker to get past the turn. He took note of the Speed World that was in play, and as his machine entered autopilot and activated the playing field. He drew his opening hand.

As the standby phase went past, The Ghoulish Rider, Traveler of the Highway of Hell's Duel Runner picked up a bit of speed as he gained one Speed Token. Fyodor set down a monster in defense mode and placed two cards down in his Spell & Trap Zone. Fyodor held up his finger and rolled it around to signal that he was done with his turn.

The mysterious biker smirked from under his helmet as he looked at his hand. On the standby phase, they had both gained a speed counter, putting them at two each. There were six cards in his hand, and the first one he activated, was shown to his opponent before being slammed onto the white-bordered, solid-light duel disk with a multi-colored flash.

"Speed Spell - Count Up;" he mumbled, voice muffled under the sound of the engines roaring and underneath his helmet; "While I have 2 or more speed counters, I can send any number of cards from my hand to the grave and increase my speedcounters by 3 for each. I'll choose Vampire Sorcerer and The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots. Begone from my hand..." The mysterious biker tossed the cards from his hand onto a slot on his duel runner.

"Next. I'll activate Vampire Sorcerer's effect. I can banish him from my graveyard, allowing me to normal summon a dark VAMPIRE monster- without a tribute! Now. Appear before me oh servant of darkness! Shadow Vampire!" A long haired, pale-skinned figure clad in dark, metal armor materialized from black sparks flashing in front of the biker, screeching as it did.

"Shadow Vampire's effect activates! I can special summon one of my VAMPIRES from my deck! Now. Appear, and claim the throne of darkness! Vampire Lord!" he declared, another materializing in front of him. "That's not all! With level 5 Shadow Vampire and Vampire Lord- OVERLAY!" The two monsters dissapeared into streaks of purple light. A swirling mass appeared underneath them, sucking them into the center. "BEHOLD! The ultimate vampire champion! Take up arms and vanquish my opponent! Rank 5! Crimson Knight Vampire - Bram!"

Out of where the two monsters disappeared, rose a pale humanoid figure with flowing blonde hair. In one hand, it held an overwhelmingly large sword; in the other hand, an equally overwhelming shield. Orbitting around it were glowing spheres of purple light- its xyz materials.

"Because of Shadow Vampire's effect, I cannot attack this turn. I thereby end mine's." the biker pointed a finger as he rode forward to pass the Ghoulish Rider. "It's your move."

"Oooh, Nekroz!" She tittered, turning to the raven-haired girl in the seat behind Aya's own. "Pretty strong back in the day, when they had them Djinns and stuff to combo in, and they had those Ice Barrier Dragons and Gishki stuff from way back, too! I've always loved the theme of them, and the idea of them being these big blue rituals you could also discard for effects. So, whaddaya concentrate on, getting out Trish as fast as you can and removing the opponent's hand, or is it more of a Krystia build-"

She stuttered to a halt. Nobody seemed to be paying that much attention to her. Not the girl whose deck she was speaking about, nor her blank-faced confidant. Even the redhaired guy who'd been sticking around near them for a while now, not really contributing to the conversation seemed to be ignoring her. "...sorry. " She went back to cutting her deck, experimentally drawing five cards off the top of it. Immediately, her mind went to work. Go second, Terraform into a Kyoutow, discard Dogoran with a Trade-in, which lead to a counter on kyoutow and... A Twin Twister, to destroy anything face down on her opponent's side of the field, use Kyoutow to search out a Jizukiru, give the opponent Radian, summon Exodius and Jizukiru, overlay for Ravenous Tarantula into Pain Gainer into Seven Sins, summon Gamaciel to negate anything and attack for game. She smirked, then shuffled the hand back into her deck, resolving not to stack the deck so flagrantly in a real duel. That just wouldn't be fair.

(stupid double post)

Carnel was gaining quite a bit of valuable intel, and it'd be a shame not to take advantage of this opportunity. Carnel chuckled, amused, as everyone began discussing their decks. He would have to reveal a small amount of information about his deck as well if he was going to remain in the conversation for very long, but he would cross that bridge when he got to it.

"Well, everyone certainly seems to have some interesting decks," Carnel said, maintaining his polite smile. Turning to Aya, he noticed that she seemed to be in a glum mood as she examined her own deck. To liven up her mood, and perhaps gain some more valuable data, he said to her, "You run Kaijus, huh? That's quite a terrifying archetype there." Satisfied at the conversation starter he gave, Carnel now waited to see what she would say in return.