Episode 3: The Curious Mystery

"Wow! Sy! This is where you live!" Jaden asked as his eyes scanned the quiet little two-story home.

It did not take much to get premission from Mister and Mrs. Truesdale for Jaden to spend the summer break with Syrus. Syrus even tried to get Chazz to come, but the other teen politely declined, which scared and worried Syrus. Of course, the blue-haired chibi expected the raven-haired duelist to decline followed by some sort of smart reply, but Chazz declined politely! 'Chazz' and 'politely' did not belong in the same sentence without the word 'not' in the middle; thus, when Chazz did decline, and politely for the record, Syrus immediately began questioning the taller duelist. And of course, Jaden was being Jaden until he found a mysterious letter. Before the honey-amber eyed teen could ask about the letter, Chazz threw them out of his room...

"Eh-yes, I live here..." Syrus cautiously answered as he watched his best friend and secret crush. Oh yes, Syrus did not forget that frightful and yet mysterious dark look that Jaden wore during his duel against Cobra, just as Chazz had suspected. In fact, Syrus now found himself looking for that look. The tiny blue-haired dueslist could not explain it but only knew that he liked that look, and right now as they stood in the front yard of his house, Syrus saw a flicker of that look.

Syrus' silver orbs watched; mesmerized as Jaden's own honey-amber, sharp eyes flickered around. It seemed that the auburn-haired teen could not concentrate on one object for more than a second before moving onto the next. However, Syrus knew in his heart that Jaden saw everything, that Jaden was observing everything and that the Duelist Champ was calculating something. Syrus was no fool. He knew that his best friend and crush was smart; battle-tactic smart. Just the mere thought of Jaden's battle-tactical powress sent chills down Syrus' spin; making him look away as he attempted to fight the neon blush on his cheeks. Then suddenly...

"Ooo! SHINEY!" Jaden chirped as he dropped his bag and bounded toward the two-car garage.

Syrus snapped around at Jaden's exclamation only to see the deadly, clueless wonder half buried in the engine of one of his father's client's classic cars. Syrus sighed in exasperation. Classic cars, aside form Duel Monsters, were one of a few things that Jaden was passionate about; in a childish wonderment way. Quickly crossing the yard, Syrus reached the garage as he tried to pry Jaden's attention away from the classic and yet very expensive vehicle. Syrus knew that Jaden knew what he was doing when it came to vehicles, esepcially after he fixed Dorothy's car, but this vehicle was in his father's care and his father did not know Jaden nor did the old mechanic knew of Jaden's abilities.

"Hey! You! Punk! Get! Outta! Suzy-Q!" Bellowed a familiar authoritative voice.

Syrus eeped as his father came running toward them. Sending a paniced look to Jaden, who partially emerged from the engine and making a sound that Syrus thought sounded suspiciously like a growl, Syrus attempted to physically pry the stronger teen away from the classic vehicle.

Of course, the fact that Mr. Truesdale called the vehicle 'Suzy-Q' did not phase the small duelist. It was just an oddity that was his father and did not bother to understand.

"Please! Jay! Get away!" Syrus pleaded as he pulled on Jaden's arm.

"But Sai," Jaden whined, "it's Shiney!"

"Yes, yes, I know! But please! My Dad is fixin' it!"

Jaden pouted as he let Syrus pull him away. As the chibi-sized duelist pulled him away, Jaden began commenting on what was wrong with the vehicle and the best way to fix it. This caused the old mechanic to stop in his charge to the protect the old 1967 Ford Mustang. Although Syrus paid attention to what Jaden was saying, he had no clue as to what the classic car obsessed teen was talking about. But judging the godsmacked expression on his father's face, the old man did.

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Watching from the confines of the kitchen, Mrs. Truesdale was amazed at her son's progress. It had only been a week and a few days since summer vacation began, and only a week and a half since Jaden had come to their comfy, little home. And in that short time, Mrs. Truesdale had noted that her usually shy, baby boy was slowly blooming into a confident, young man - even though he was still shy. Smiling at the thought of her youngest son, Mrs. Truesdale continued to look out the kitchen window; watching Jaden and her innocent Syrus in the backyard pool. Her tiny son was finally learning how to swim from his best friend, who she suspected was her little angel's love.

Not even Zane had been successful in teaching Syrus how to swim; of course, Zane had the 'sink or swim' method of learning, which worked wonders on the older child with the confidence of a king, but Syrus... Syrus needed to know that there would be someone to catch him in case he falls. Of course, most parents and child psychiatristics would claim that was unhealthy for the child's growth into an independent person, and yes, Mrs. Truesdale wanted her youngest to be independent, but in all reality, it did not suit his personality. As much as Syrus might hate being called by his petname, he really was a Little Angel that needed protection from the ugly monster known as mankind.

A splash and a giggle broke Mrs. Truesdale's musing as she noticed Jaden lifting Syrus out of the water with relative ease and grace no young teen should have and simply fell backwards with the petite teen still in his arms. A few short seconds later, the two emerged from under the water; giggling and laughing. Mrs. Truesdale smiled. Jaden was a mystery and yet very child-like. It still amazed her at how curious he was about the simple concept of a hug. After a good fifteen minutes of attempting to explain a hug and the different types of hugs, Mrs. Truesdale was saved from exasperation by Syrus, who had just returned from going to the store with his father. The moment that Syrus walked in, Jaden had instantly disappeared and a quiet eep caught everyone's attention. Standing in the living room was a brightly, blushing Syrus, who was enveloped in a bone-crishing, bear-hug by one Jaden Yuki. The scene was cute and comical at the same time. When asked later why he did it, Jaden's reply was strange, but it also made sense in a possessive, animlaistic way. A hug is a protector's form of sensory recognization to ensure what was their's was unharmed and cared for.

Suddenly a knock on the door drew Mrs. Truesdale's attention away from the two water dueling teens. With a smile on her face, Mrs. Truesdale opened the door to reveal a very beautifuk, red-haired young woman. Looking at the young woman, Mrs. Truesdale could not help but be a bit self-conscious in her appearance. While the young woman looked lovely in the long, flowing summer skirt with matching blouse, Mrs. Truesdale looked like any healthy thirty-something mother; wearing faded, holey blue jeans and one of her husband's work shirts. Yep, a regular mix of beauty-queen versus tom-boy.

"Mrs. Truesdale, I presume?" The red-head's voice was calm and friendly, but something hidden about her screamed: she-lion!

"Eh... Yes, and who may you be?" Mrs. Truesdale asked politely.

The stranger smiled a smile that reached her eyes.

"I--"

"MOTHER!" Jaden's jovial voice bellowed as Mrs. Truesdale saw only a blur of tanned flesh and blue swim trunks rush pass her and collide with the nicely dressed woman.

"Jaden! You know better than to run in the house still wet!" Syrus shouted from outside as he dried himself off then politely shouted, "Hi Riku-chan!"

Mrs. Truesdale stood there stunned. She saw Jaden crush the young woman in his usual bone-crushing, bear-hug that had left her bear of a husband out of breath and yet this young woman seemed unaffected by hug. On top of that, the auburn-haired teen pressed his entire body against the young woman in the same manner as he had done with Syrus, and his hands ghost themselves over her form in the same manner as he had done with Syrus as if he was checking for something wrong with the young woman. The young woman was momentarily surprised by his actions but quickly the shock was covered with pure joy as she quietly laughed.

"I am unharmed, Jaden." Her voice soothing as she ran her hand through his wet hair.

"Good." Was all Jaden said as he stepped away; giving her a finally once over then bounded toward Syrus.

"Jaden!" Mrs. Truesdale exclaimed in disbelief. The young man had just snowballed into her home, hugged a young woman he called 'Mother', and now he just walked away as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Said youth turned around confused as he stared at his best friend's mother. Syrus walked up, finally dry and hide partially behind the taller duelist; also confused at what irked his normally patient mother. Suddenly the red-haired woman, who Syrus affectionately called Riku-chan, laughed, which caused Mrs. Truesdale to laugh as well. Mrs. Truesdale just shook her head in disbelief.

"Teenagers." She mumbled then jerked her head toward the direction of the bathrooms, "Go shower, you two."

Syrus smiled brightly as he dragged a confused Jaden upstairs to the showers. As the two disappeared, the two women could hear Jaden ask if he had done something wrong. They did not hear Syrus' reply for Mrs. Truesdale invited the young woman into her kitchen and offered her some tea.

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The young woman sipped at the ice tea while Mrs. Truesdale quickly cleaned up the kitchen.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Mrs. Yuki." Mrs. Truesdale commented as she sat down next to Jaden's mother.

"My name is Watanabe Riku." Riku corrected.

"Oh? Remarried?"

"No, never been married."

Mrs. Truesdale frowned, confused while Riku smirked.

"I'm his surrogant mother."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Oh!" Mrs. Truesdale's eyes went wide as saucers.

Riku chuckled quietly. The young red-head found it amusing and a bit satisifying to throw people off, to stun them into silence, to confuse them and to have the advantage over them. Riku mentally sighed as the remnants of her former life continued to influence her even though it had been approximately 15 years. Yes, she did miss her former life. She missed the freedom, the power and the purpose of that dark life. For the longest time, since Jaden was born, she was wandering lost. Her freedom and power were taken away along with her purpose as she went into hiding. But now that she found Jaden, the child she cared for nine months, she found herself coming alive again. A soft, small smile graced her youthful face; giving her a gentle and almost holistic appearance.

"Yuki-sama was barren but desired a child." Riku calmly and dreamly replied; weaving half truths with outright lies, "I was Yuki-sama's personal assistant and most trusted confidant so it seemed natural for her to contract me to carry her child. Yuki-sama was a very beautiful woman but also very fragile. She unfortunately died before Jaden was born; leaving me to carry him to term..."

"Please, you don't need to tell me such personal information." Mrs. Truesdale attempted to sound sympathetic, but Riku knew that the older woman was uncomfortable, which was what the former assassin hoped for.

"Thank you," Riku replied with perfected acting of her trade," but I hope it helped explaining a few of his eccentric tendencies."

"Eh... Well..."

"But regardless, I am pleased with how he had grown. I am very pleased."

Mrs. Truesdale smiled in motherly understanding.

Riku took another sip of her tea as Jaden suddenly appeared with Syrus in tow. She smiled. She noticed the calculating look in Jaden's eyes as he silently came down into the kitchen. She knew that the young Yukimura heir was aware that she was telling a tale of truths and lies about who they were. She also knew that Mrs. Truesdale would be uncomfortable to intrude any further into their history; thus, stopping any prying from the older woman. Riku smiled as she continued to note Jaden and Syrus' appearance.

Although Jaden wore casual clothing, such as jeans and a tank top, he also looked ready for a hunt or a duel; depending on the fool, who would challenge him. The young cursed Yakuza assassin wore a pair of slim-fit, black jeans with a dark blue tank top that was loose and yet slim-fitting. Oh yes, he looked ready for action while the blue-haired angel looked... Well, he looked like a young child wearing his big brother's clothes.

A heavy sigh from Mrs. Truesdale caught Riku's attention as the older woman looked at her tiny son. Syrus blushed and looked at his feet to avoid his mother's gaze. He did look rather cute and huggable, if it were not the fact that standing by was an extremely possessive, cursed Yukimura. Syrus wore a pair of tan colored cargo shorts that hugged his slender hips but that fact was hidden by the oddly large blue tee-shirt, which revealed much of the youth's pale neck and shoulders.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you, young man." Mrs. Truesdale commented at her little child.

"Is there a problem with his clothes?" Riku asked; truly curious. She thought he looked rather adoreable so much so that she wanted to hug him to death. Oh make no mistake about it, she did once work for a Yakuza clan and was probably one of few exceptional assassins on contract, but do not forget that she was also female.

"Would you believe that shirt is a small?" Mrs. Truesdale asked; giving Riku a sharp look.

Red eyebrows rose high in revelation.

Jaden crossed his arms as he gave Mrs. Truesdale the Look, as Syrus had dubbed it, before stating, "I like him like this."

Jaden's statement caused Syrus to blush deeper.

"Jay!" Syrus whined in embarassment, which caused the mothers to chuckle.