The teacher of the classroom stood at his desk. He had brown hair and wore glasses, a purple vest, beige undershirt and pants, and at the moment had a look of concern on his face.

As the students filed out of the classroom, the teacher called out to one of them.

"Yusaku, could you please talk with me for a moment."

Yusaku turned, shrugged, and walked towards the teacher's desk. He yawned, covering his mouth loosely with his hand to suppress it (And what was it that he was doing in his free time that kept him so perpetually tired, the teacher thought).

"So, Yusaku, how has life been treating you?"

Yusaku considered for a moment. "…I've been fine." A noncommittal answer if there ever was one.

"I see. Nothing to complain about?"

"Nothing worth bringing up."

"Hm," the teacher grunted. So he thought everything was fine…or perhaps he just didn't want to talk about his problems. All the same, the teacher had noticed something about Yusaku. All throughout class, he never spoke to anyone. Never chatting even before homeroom or between periods. Never going off with anyone after class. Rarely even answering questions unless he was called on. It had been almost a month since class had started, most people had already at least tried to make friends by now. But not him. Was he…lonely? He must be, right? It was only natural to desire personal interactions, especially at his age.

"Yusaku, let me be blunt…would you like some help making friends? I could assist you on that count." As his homeroom teacher he did feel a bit of responsibility for the child. Would people consider him to be meddling in the affairs of others? It didn't matter, if he could help Yusaku, that was the most important thing.

"No, sir, I think I'm fine as is."

The teacher persisted. "But Yusaku, I haven't seen you interact with anyone at all. You must want to have someone as a friend. Have you perhaps, considered trying to join a club?"

"I'm busy after school."

"Ah, then how about that local picnic coming up next week, you must have time enough for that at least?"

"I don't have much of an appetite."

"I could introduce you to one of your classmates. That Naoki Shima is a personable fellow."

Yusaku stood there for a moment, as if processing something in his head.

"Sir, I've analyzed this situation, and I can think of three good reasons why that's a bad idea."

"What?" He balked.

"One, most people would consider it burdensome to befriend someone under their teacher's recommendation instead of their own volition. Two, most people would not want a friend who is so busy that he can rarely be around them. Three, I am told that my personality makes people offended quite often."

The teacher considered this. Well, he did have something of a point. But still, this kid was making things really difficult. That he'd avoid people whenever possible, and then when pressed, come up with several reasons why he was better off alone…

Still, there was one last avenue he could try.

"Have you considered connecting to Link Vrains? I hear you can find a lot of interesting people on the network, and it's great if you want to meet strong duelists to challenge yourself against."

Yes, this was it. Link Vrains was incredibly popular nowadays. If he pushed Yusaku in that direction, it's unlikely he'd be unsatisfied.

"Sir, I don't like dueling."

"WHAT?" The teacher said for the second time, gaping. He couldn't believe this kid. Not liking dueling? That was like not liking breathing! There were many different kinds of players in this world, from the hardcore experts who sought mastery over the game, to the casual players who did it purely for fun. But someone who didn't enjoy dueling at all? That was practically unheard of.

He attempted to collect himself. "But, but don't you like testing your will against someone else, giving your all to calculate the best possible path to overcome your opponent's strategies?"

"Not really."

"W-what about watching great monsters made manifest before you to do battle, it's a tremendous spectacle!"

"I don't really care about fights that aren't strictly necessary."

The teacher put his hand to his face. This was hopeless. He had failed.

"You may go, Yusaku."