Out of his brothers and all his friends, Shadow's been the only one left that's single. However, that just might change one fateful Valentine's Day.
Shadow's the only one of his friends left who hasn't gotten himself a girlfriend. Burst has Nightmare. Inferno has Rarity. Steel has Rainbow Dash. Ace has Sonata. Ice has Indigo Zap. Veenus has Adagio. Fang has Aria. Gold has Sunset. Can't a guy catch a break? However, love may find Shadow sooner than he expects. Especially considering what day it is.
Shadow sighed as he woke up. Today was Valentine's Day. But to him? It was a reminder that he was still single. Almost all of the guys he was friends with had a special someone. Burst had Nightmare, Inferno had Rarity, Ace had Sonata, Gold had Sunset, Ice had Indigo Zap, Steel had Rainbow Dash, Veenus had Adagio, Fang had Aria, Nightfall had Twilight. Out of all of them, Shadow was the ONLY one who didn't have someone to love. Shadow got up and got dressed. "Might as well start to face the wave of couples fawning over each other." Shadow walked out of his room, and headed for the kitchen to get his breakfast. Shadow got himself a bowl of cereal, and frowned when he noticed the blissful smiles on Ace and Ice's faces. 'I can guess why they're so happy...', Shadow thought as he ate. Midnight had just woken up and walked over to Ace and Ice.
"I take it you two have big plans for today?", Midnight asked with a smile.
"You know it!", Ice and Ace replied in unison.
"I'm meeting up with Indigo after school today!", Ice said with a grin. "I've got a card that I'm gonna give to her! I had her in mind when I picked it out at Discord's card shop!"
"Same deal with me and Sonata.", Ace said with a fond smile. "I picked a card up for her too! Had it in mind just for her!"
Shadow sighed as he heard his brothers spilling their plans for their girlfriends. Ace and Ice noticed Shadow's distress. "Oh man.", Ice began. "Bro...so sorry! We should've considered that..." Shadow put his hand up to Ice.
"Ice. It's fine. I think I just need to get going...." Shadow finished eating, and grabbed his things as he headed out the door. "Come on out Dragluon!" Dragluon materialized out of his card, and waited for Shadow to get on him. "Come on. Let's go." As they flew towards CHS, Dragluon noticed Shadow's mood.
"Shadow? Is there something wrong?", Dragluon asked.
"Nothing."
"Shadow. I'm your monster partner. I KNOW when something's up with you."
Shadow sighed. "I'M SO ALONE!" Dragluon was shocked at the sudden outburst! "Out of all the guys I know, I'M the only one left that's single! Seriously! Can't I catch a break?!" Shadow took a moment to catch his breath, and Dragluon spoke.
"Well, you never know. Today's the day when everyone's heart is swelling with love. Today, Shadow? Today just might be your lucky day!"
"Yeah. Sure." They soon landed at CHS, and Shadow headed off for his class. 'Forever alone....', he thought with a sigh as he walked over to his locker. He should have been paying attention to where he was walking. "Oof!" Shadow had just bumped into someone! "Ow!...Sorry about that. Are you....." Shadow was speechless when he saw who he had literally bumped into. It was a girl. And a fairly cute one at that. "Alright?" The girl had purple hair with turquoise streaks running through it. She also had light purple skin, and her outfit consisted of a black skirt, a dark purple shirt, and a pair of turquoise boots.
"Oh! Sorry about that!", The girl said with a kind smile. "Oh! My cards!" Shadow noticed the Duel Monsters cards scattered on the floor as well.
"Oh man! Here! Let me help you with that...." Shadow began to help her pick up her cards. "Wow! You've got one copy of some of the legendary dragons!"
"Oh. Thank you! I love dragons! Especially iconic ones like Blue-Eyes or Red-Eyes! There's just something about them that makes the game so exciting!"
"Huh. I use a dragon deck too!", Shadow said with a smile. "Hey! Maybe we could duel later! I don't have anything better to do, so how about it?"
"Sounds like fun! I'll be sure to bring my duel disk."
"Great! Also, I didn't get your name earlier. Mind telling it to me?"
"Of course not. It's Starlight. Starlight Glimmer.", Starlight said with a smile.
"Cool! See you after school today!" Shadow went off to his locker with a smile on his face. 'Maybe today won't be as bad as I thought...', he thought.
"Still hating today with a passion?", Dragluon joked.
"Not completely. At least I have something to take my mind off things after school today. So that's a plus."
"I told you things would look up!", Dragluon said with a smile.
"Oh shush you. I still haven't met the girl of my dreams."
"All it takes is time Shadow~!", Dragluon chimed as he returned to the monster world. The day passed on as normal, and lunch period soon arrived. Ace and Ice noticed Shadow's lifted mood, and decided to see what got him in a better mood. Especially since they saw his lousy mood that morning.
"Hey Shadow. You sure seem a bit happier now.", Ace said with a smile.
"Yeah. I kind of am. I ran into a girl on my way to my locker.", Shadow answered.
"Ah! A bachelor no more!", Ice joked. "Welcome to the relationship lifestyle bro!"
"Knock it off Ice! We're just dueling after school!"
"I don't know Shadow. Great romances have small starts.", Burst said with a smile. "Take me and Moon for example."
"Same deal for me and Rarity.", Inferno chimed in.
"Look. Nothing's happened between me and her!" Shadow then lightly blushed. "Even if she was pretty cute..."
"Well, don't keep her waiting dude.", Steel said with a nod. "It'd be rude of you."
"Steel's got a point.", Gold said with a nod. "Dad always taught me to honor any engagement I have with a lady."
"For the last time! Nothing's happened!", Shadow shouted.
"C'mon Shadow! This could be your chance!", Veenus urged.
"Yeah!", Fang cheered. "Just give it a chance! Love's in the air today!"
"They're not wrong.", Night said with a smile. "Cyber Dragon even scanned the atmosphere. Love IS in the air."
"Look. We're just dueling! It's not a date! I'm just having fun with a girl I met today." Shadow let out an exhausted sigh. "Just let me have this moment. Okay?" The guys nodded. "Thank you." Lunch period soon ended, and Shadow went about the rest of the day.
The day soon ended, and Shadow waited for Starlight by his locker. Much to his surprise, she actually showed up. "Oh."
"What? Is there something on my face?", Starlight asked.
"No. I...just didn't expect you to actually show up. Moving on, you ready to duel?" Starlight nodded.
"Yeah! I've got my duel disk and everything!"
"Then let's hit the duel park.", Shadow said with a smile. The two walked over to the duel park, and activated their duel disks. "Hope you're not expecting me to go easy on you!"
"I was about to say the same thing!", Starlight said with a smile.
Shadow: 8000 Starlight: 8000
"Ladies first!", Shadow called out.
"Alright then! I play Ancient Rules to special summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Then I'll set a card and end my turn!"
"My turn! I draw!" Shadow took a careful look at his cards. "This should work! I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down!" Starlight's trap, Champion's Vigilance, was destroyed! "Now to make my move! I play Trade-In to discard a level eight monster from my hand! Now I play Soul Charge! I pay 1000 life points per the amount of monsters I want to revive! Welcome back Clear Vice Dragon!" A dragon inside a crystal barrier revived on Shadow's field, but it had no attack points! "Now! Attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
"But your monster has no attack points!"
"Not for long! Clear Vice's effect activates! When she attacks an opponent's monster, she gains double that target's attack points! Clear Vice Stream!" Clear Vice Dragon fired a clear stream of energy! Destroying Blue-Eyes in a single blast! "I'll end my turn with two face-downs."
Shadow: 7000 Starlight: 5000
"Good thing your dragon's effect only activates when she attacks!" Starlight drew her next card. "Nice! I summon Red-Eyes Black Chick! Now I'll tribute him to special summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my hand! Attack Clear Vice Dragon! Inferno Fire Blast!" Clear Vice Dragon was incinerated by a gigantic fireball! "I end my turn!"
Shadow: 4600 Starlight: 5000
"I draw! I can special summon Schwarzschild Dragon from my hand since you control a monster with 2000 or more attack! But I'm not done yet! I summon Heliosphere Dragon! Now his effect activates! Since I've got a level eight monster dragon-type monster on my field, I can make his level become eight until the end of this turn! Now I overlay both of my monsters! Time for you to meet my monster partner!" Shadow's monsters opened up a swirling galaxy and turned into beams of light! They entered the galaxy, and a new monster emerged! "I xyz summon Number 46: Dragluon!" Starlight gazed in awe at Dragluon's majestic appearance. "Now for his effect! I'll detach an overlay unit to special summon a dragon-type monster from my hand! I'll bring out Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand! I'll attack your monster with Felgrand, and attack you directly with Dragluon! Celestial Dragon Breath!" Dragluon fired a beam of golden energy right into Starlight's life points while Felgrand destroyed Red-Eyes Black Dragon! "I end my turn."
Shadow: 4600 Starlight: 2600
"Not bad! You've managed to get me down to about a quarter of my life points!", Starlight said with a smile. "But now it's my turn! I draw! I'll set two cards and end my turn!"
"My move then!" Shadow drew his next card. "I play Trade-In to dis card a level eight monster in my hand to draw two new cards! Then I'll play Return of the Dragon Lords to revive the monster I discarded! White Night Dragon's back on my field! Then I'll attack you directly with Dragluon!"
"I don't think so! I activate my trap! Magic Cylinder! This prevents your attack and inflicts your monster's attack points as damage!" Dragluon's attack flew through one cylinder, and was sent right at his life points through the other cylinder!
"I guess I'll end my turn with a face-down."
Shadow: 1600 Starlight: 2600
"You've got an impressive bunch of monsters on your field. Time to see if I can fix that! I draw! I discard a card to activate Lightning Vortex! This wipes out all monsters you control!" A storm of lightning wiped out Shadow's field! "Then I summon Divine Dragon Ragnarok! Attack him directly!" Ragnarok charged at Shadow!
"Not so fast! I activate my trap! Oasis of Dragon Souls! I can target one monster in my graveyard and special summon it in defense mode! Welcome back Dragluon!" Dragluon leaped out of a small oasis pool and shielded Shadow with his wings! Ragnarok's attack bounced off of Dragluon's wings! Starlight winced as she took damage from the recoil due to Dragluon's high defense! "Good defense came make a good offense."
"Pretty good counter! I end my turn."
Shadow: 1600 Starlight: 1100
"My turn! I draw! I'll switch Dragluon back into attack mode! Attack her directly for game!" Dragluon launched a storm of feathers from his wings! Wiping out the last of Starlight's life points! "And that's game." Shadow noticed Starlight's frown. "Hey...don't be too upset. It's just a game. I used to lose a lot too. But my brothers helped me get better!" Starlight smiled at Shadow's kindness.
"Thanks. But, that's not why I'm upset. It's just that I can't get my cards to work off of each other. Plus, this was my first duel."
"Let's take a look at your deck." Shadow and Starlight looked through Starlight's deck. "Ah hah! There's your problem. You're pulling from too many card archetypes. But you're in luck! I know a card shop we can stop by to help you get your deck working like new!"
"Thanks for your offer. But I'm happy with my deck the way it is now. It was nice to duel you...?"
"Shadow. Shadow Thunder.", Shadow said with a smile. "It was nice dueling you too Starlight." Shadow then had an idea. "Hey...Starlight?"
"Yes?"
"You wanna....grab something at Sugar Cube Corner? That duel got me thirsty!"
"...Sure. I'd love to!"
"Great! I'll lead the way!" Shadow and Starlight walked over to Sugar Cube Corner. It wasn't until they'd reached the door that Shadow saw he was holding Starlight's hand! 'Maybe....this was a date after all. Holy God Cards! I just had my first date! On Valentine's Day!'
Shadow and Starlight had just finished sharing a milkshake. "Oh man! I don't think I've ever had any sweets that good before!", Starlight said with a satisfied smile. Shadow let out a chuckle.
"That's Pinkie for you. She's the best at making sweets. Heck, she could open up her own shop with all the crazy recipes she's thought up. You know? Today was kinda fun."
"So do you wanna do it again?"
"...Am I hearing you right?"
"I wouldn't mind doing this on an almost regular basis. That is, if you're willing to give me more help with my deck. I've made it a point to beat you.", Starlight said with a mischievous smile. Shadow just grinned.
"Starlight. It's a date. Until then, see ya around!" Shadow headed for home, and Starlight did the same. But as she was walking, Starlight was unaware that she was being watched. The figure was a mass of swirling unstable energy, and the only tangible feature was the odd mask it wore.
"So it appears this girl has an affinity for legendary dragons...", the being mused. "Perhaps aiding her can expidite my own goals...." The figure trailed Starlight all the way to her home. Keeping just out of sight. "Yeeeessss. She shall prove quite useful. I just need to wait for the right time....." And with that, the figure slithered back into the shadows. Waiting for its time to strike.