The Red Dragon Duelist

Chapter 1: Pilot

Another new day, another routine for the the citizens of Kuoh, a small town situated in Japan. Everyone was starting their days getting ready for work, or heading for school. One of these people, was our protagonist for this story, Issei Hyoudou. The young brown haired teen had just finished up his shower routine, before getting himself into his school uniform. 

After checking to make sure his bag was prepped, he went downstairs to see his parents at the table with breakfast set aside for their son. After sitting down, he thanked them for the meal before eating his fill. It was here that they both noticed the small, dark circles under his eyes. "Issei, is everything ok? You have bags under your eyes" 

His mother, Miki, had asked out of worry for her son. it was rare to see her son looking so tired and slightly out of it. After what felt like a few seconds, Issei looked up at them both. "Hm?.. Sorry, I ended up pulling an all nighter while I was studying. Should have checked the time.." He couldn't help a yawn leaving him after speaking. 

"While we are glad your putting in the work for your exam son, we don't want you to exhaust yourself" Gorou spoke up, his own worry for his son showing in his tone. "Rome wasn't built in a day, so its ok to take things slow, not like its going anywhere" He added in his own words of wisdom for Issei, hoping he would understand.

"Since when did you get so wise?" Issei jokingly asked, getting his parents to chuckle as they continued to eat their meals. Issei took a look at the time, seeing as he didn't have much time left till first class starts. He downed the last of his drink before quickly heading for the door. "I gotta go, love you both!"

"We love you too sweetie, don't work yourself to hard!" Miki called out to him just before she heard the door close. They both sat in silence with smiles on their faces, with Miki leaning back in her seat. "I honestly miss the days when he was more excitable"

"I also remember a time when he said he wanted to be a harem king as a kid. Kinda surprised he dropped it during middle school" Gorou added as they both let out soft chuckles, remembering when their son would scream it out with passion. "Though I'm worried that he hasn't been able to relax with all the exams his school keeps piling on its students"

"Maybe we can find him a hobby he could take interest in" Miki said as she got up, grabbing the dishes off the table and making her way to the kitchen to clean them up. It was there that a thought came to mind. "Hey, Duel monsters is still a popular game these days right?"

"Yeah, maybe he would enjoy it, though I'm not entirely sure what kind of deck he would take an interest in" Gorou hummed in thought till he perked up, heading for the living room and turned the tv on, flipping through the channels. "Thanks for reminding me too, the season six Vrains tournament is heading into its final rounds today! Oh I hope I didn't miss it"

Miki suppressed a giggle at her husbands antics. She couldn't help but remember their first time seeing each other, over a duel no less. If their son did get into it, then they would be happy to show him the ropes. 

Jumping to Kuoh Academy after a few hours of the day went by, Issei was sitting in class, sort of having sped through the exams before promptly falling asleep at his desk, his head cradled in his arms. Everyone in the class was perplexed and worried about the boys tired state. They weren't used to seeing him like this, as whenever they usually talk with him, he was quite vocal during conversations. yet today, he just stayed silent and only gave small answers.

The bell for lunch had gone, just in time for the exams to have finished. Issei was still asleep as everyone either stayed to chat with friends, or head to the cafeteria. "Wakey wakey Issei~" A feminine voice hit his ears while he felt something poking at his cheek. He groggily opened his eyes to see none other than his classmate, Aika Kiryuu, sitting in the desk in front of his. Seeing that he was awake, she sported her signature grin. "Welcome back to the living sunshine"