Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Spectrum of Hope

Chapter 1: For the First Time

Jaden... where are you, Jaden?

Hope blinked, trying to regain her focus. "Thunder, did you say something?"

The bright spirit of The Weather Painter Thunder, decked in dark gold and magenta, appeared atop her lightning crayon at Hope's side, confused. "Uh, no? Why, you heard something?"

"Eh," Hope shrugged, returning to her painting. "It was probably nothing."

My beloved, Jaden Yuki...

Hope shook her head. "Ugh! Cut it out, Thunder!"

"What? I'm not doing anything!" Thunder protested, pausing before adding a little "this time..."

But then there was nothing. Thank goodness. Now Hope could return to her painting. After she'd set up her acrylics and chose her colors, she was set to work. It was going to be a beautiful work of art. First, she'd paint the background. Yeah, outer space! That was one of her favorite things to paint; the milky, dark sky, as well as the stars... It was tough having to keep her arms in the air with the easel, but it was much better than painting with her head pointed down (which she did anyway for specific things, such as the painting of stars), but there was really no winning with painting until it was finished. This one would be even better than the last one, Hope just knew it.

Hope Sanders was a freshman in Duel Academy. She had barely made it past the entrance exams with her intellect, but her duel was awful. She only made it in after someone anonymously endorsed her education in the school, under the condition that she would work as an artist and card creator, not as an actual duelist. It'd only been maybe five days, but Hope managed to garner herself a reputation: "The Silent Artist in Red", or something like that. She was very quiet around others, and unlike the other Obelisk Girls (which was where she was roomed), Hope managed to get her hands on a Slifer blazer, which she wore over a white T-shirt splattered with paint, and refused to wear her Obelisk uniform, instead opting for bootcut slate jeans that basically covered her red sneakers entirely, also stained with quite a bit of acrylic paint. Her strawberry blonde hair was surprisingly striking, matching her red very well, and her eyes were a gentle, unassuming brown color.

Hope's passion was in creating things for others to take advantage of; resources they could use in their duels. She had a pink notebook full of concepts already, and the art classroom she was in was full of paintings she had slaved away at. There were often times she'd even forgotten to eat in how invested she got in her artwork. Speaking of which...

Ms. Fontaine walked into the classroom, walking up to Hope, the only person in the room. "You've been working for so long, Hope... why don't you take a break?"

Hope turned to Ms. Fontaine, her earlier, brief annoyance with Thunder having completely faded away into shyness. "U-um... you sure? I could be painting, though..."

"I'm positive. It's not good for your health to remain cooped up in here. Why don't you take a breather? I think you've earned it," Ms. Fontaine told her. "I actually came to tell you that the meeting was happening in about twenty minutes."

"Oh..." Hope mumbled, watching her canvas carefully. "But I've still got so much buzzing through my head..."

"And I understand that it's hard to fight inspiration. But maybe you can write those ideas down and then go outside. All these paint fumes can't be good for you."

"Acrylic paints don't have fumes, though..."

"Hope, it might be better if you listened to her," came the motherly voice of Hope's green Weather Painter spirit, Aurora. "Go outside. Get yourself some food after the assembly and talk to someone. We're here for you, of course, but it's not like we're going anywhere. Besides, you need some human friends."