A/N: the following is the labour of... Well, several months. What initially started as an idle bit of commentfic in response to a writing meme on Livejournal and kind of exploded into this giant mess about Ryo and Edo (okay, mostly Edo) in season 4. Future chapters will contain implications of sex, some of which being nasty and coercive. Consider this your early warning. That is all, on with the show!

Unsurprisingly, it's Judai who calls him.

In the middle of the night, because god knows the brainless idiot is absolutely oblivious when it comes to things like time differences and the fact that if Edo is on the other side of the world from Duel Academia then, yes, it will be night there if it's daytime where Judai is and, "How can you not know that!?" To which there is the simple reply of: "I forgot." Edo still half asleep, barely able to make sense of the words he's hearing, when Judai finally gets to the damn point.

"Kaiser was found on the beach about an hour ago. I thought you'd want to know."

There's silence for a moment while Edo's still sluggish brain carefully goes over each word one at a time to make sure he's hearing things right, and his whole stomach does the strangest, almost sickening, flip as it finally registers. Hoping like hell that Judai can't hear the slight quaver in his voice when he asks, "Dead or alive?"

"Alive. Weak, but alive."

"So you really didn't have to wake me up in the middle of the night over it, then," Edo sneers in return, hoping the sarcasm will cover any obvious sound of relief.

"I told you, I forgot."

"Right. And just what do you expect me to do, Judai? Drop everything and rush to his side?"

"Well, yea. You're friends, aren't you?" Judai's reply so simple and matter of fact that Edo can't even think of an appropriately sarcastic comeback. Settling for a vague mutter of, "We're not friends," and fighting down the urge to bang his cell off the closest surface before disconnecting when Judai doesn't take his denial as a signal to shut the hell up.

"I know you guys got off to a bad start, but you worked together in… in that other world. Didn't you?..."

"Judai…."

"You really do need more friends, Edo. I know you think you don't but…."

"Judai!"

"Hm?"

"Shut up."

There's a brief moment of (blessed) silence and Edo hopes for a moment that maybe; just maybe, Judai finally got the hint when the older boy speaks up again. Quieter this time, and almost pensive, "I'm glad you're okay, Edo. We haven't really had a chance to talk since…. Well, I'm just glad you're okay."

"Yea. Well… I've got a busy day tomorrow so…."

"Of course. I'll see you later."

Edo frowns as the line goes dead, wishing he'd had the chance to snap, "No, you won't," before Judai hung up. If only because of how damnably certain Judai had sounded. Like Edo's reappearance at Duel Academia was a forgone conclusion.

Then again, knowing that place (and Judai) maybe it was.