Here we go with chapter twenty one. In this one, we'll see how Yusei is doing in class today, as well as meet a character that I'm sure you'll all recognize as well as probably love to see. Then we'll be heading for some more training where Yusei will meet some characters that were mentioned last chapter.

The more Yusei goes through this story, the stronger his bonds will become towards all of the other Signers and the Crimson Dragon. Crow will also be coming into the story completely as the last Signer very soon, though it might take a while to get there. Anyway, he won't be left out much longer, and neither will feather. It's going to be very interesting to say the least.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and have enjoyed this story so far. I'm not entirely sure how long the whole story will be, but if this is anything to go off of, it's going to take a while. It's been a slow build up so far, but when we actually get to the "war" portion of this story everything will hit the fan quickly. Just like real life.

As with everyone, I may change this character's personality. Apparently I tend to do that a lot. I'll try to keep him as close to the original as possible. In answer to another question: When will Crow come back in? It shouldn't be too much longer. I've got to figure out a way to bring him in too from the Satellite. But he will be coming in soon.

Chapter Twenty One: Paper Flowers

There had been another shudder that night, meaning that the Crimson Dragon had accepted yet another Signer. It had been Aki, and Yusei had been the one to comfort her this morning. They had been forced to part because of their schedules soon afterward, but Yusei knew that Aki would be okay. It did worry him though, knowing that somewhere out there, the Dark Signers knew that there were two of them now.

In fact people seemed to be growing more attuned to the phenomenon. They were beginning to suspect that it wasn't something they'd imagined. He could see it in the way the Duel Spirits seemed to be looking for something, and the way that Spell Casters were talking to one another. He knew it would only be a matter of time before people realized something else was going on.

Yusei sighed as he shouldered his bag over his uninjured shoulder. As much as he liked learning and was generally very good in class, his mind couldn't enjoy the subjects that had been being taught very well. Throughout the morning he had taken a basic literature class, advanced calculus, a history of the spirit and shadow realms class, and even an advanced class on science.

While normally he would have been absolutely thrilled to learn such topics, and he found that he absolutely loved science, he couldn't focus. Not even the thought of doing homework over the subject (something that most people thought made him like an alien apparently) could cheer him up.

Yusei couldn't help but be worried. He could feel the Crimson Dragon's nervousness. The creature wasn't talking to him, but Yusei could now sense him always in the back of his mind. It was very distracting, and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

The god had assured him it was just because their bond was growing stronger, and because he was more aware of most of the other Signers, but it didn't make him feel any better.

Apparently Yusei would, over time, grow more used to this. Eventually it would grant him the ability to follow the call of the Crimson Dragon through certain pathways, but he wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to be doing during that waiting time.

He could hardly concentrate in class (though this homework wasn't going to prove a problem for him) and he felt like he was lost inside his own head. He wasn't even sure if he could talk to the others about it without sounding completely insane, and he didn't need to freak him out.

The only person he could really talk to would be Aki, but they didn't have any classes together today. He couldn't talk to Star about it in public either. Talking about gods and wars, and possibly the end of the world wasn't exactly a casual conversation they could have in public.

The worry was eating away at him, and Star could plainly see it. She knew her partner well by now, and though he looked fine through that indifferent mask, she could see him fidgeting nervously even as they walked to the next class.

She reached over and gently laid her hand on his shoulder. He flinched as if to brace for a blow, but quickly relaxed more than he had previously been when he realized it was the dragon. He paused on the sidewalk and turned to look at her.

Again she saw such genuine trust in his eyes, and she felt both a little humbled and glad to see it. She gave him a gentle smile and began to purr to him. He managed a weak smile in return.

"You have Shop class with Professor Truesdale right?" she asked, knowing how much he liked to build and fix things. "Won't it be nice to be back in a workshop again?"

Yusei blinked a little, but his smile became a little wider. He knew that she was trying her best to reassure him that it was all right, and he was glad more than ever to have a friend like her. He knew that it would be nice to return to a workshop. It felt like forever since he had last been in one.

It had been a constant comfort to him whenever he was feeling nervous, scared, down or angry. There was just something about the way a machine worked that calmed him and made him at peace. He sighed and nodded a little.

"Yeah it will," he said. "Thanks Star. I feel better now."

"You'll feel even better when you get into class," Star said. She was much happier to see him not so worked up now. She knew this was going to be hard, on him especially, but for now she just had to watch after him.

Remembering that he did indeed have a class Yusei quickly turned and began to make his way towards the relatively smaller square building with no windows where Syrus Truesdale held his workshop classes. Syrus was definitely the more timid of the two brothers.

If Yusei hadn't known otherwise he might have almost not believed they were brothers. Then again, he couldn't really talk. He had two brothers, and they weren't really that similar at all. The three of them may not have been related by blood, but they were brothers all the same.

Within a few minutes they'd reached the rather unassuming building and paused outside. It really didn't look like anything special, especially considering some of the other things that the campus had to offer. And at the same time, it was comforting to Yusei. It was about time this place had what would be much closer to a normal building.

Yusei quickly shouldered his bag and went inside. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to find, but he hoped that he could have a little bit of time to not be so freaked out. He'd been put into one of the advanced workshop classes because of his previous experience with the work he'd been doing. Most of the kids in this class had been in it for quite some time and developed quite a lot of skills. He'd seem like an outsider to all of them, but he'd been working a lot longer with a lot of different things. He was out of the loop in that regard, but he wasn't exactly the new kid on the street. He'd worked on things most of these kids had never really seen.

The glass doors slid open to reveal a small reception area, where a young woman ran up with a smile to look at his schedule. When she found the correct class she smiled and pointed him in the correct way to go to the classroom. He thanked her and quickly went down the hallway until he found the correct class. Inside he could already hear the buzz of friendly conversation.

Star laid his hand on his shoulder, giving him a gentle purr. He gave her a quick smile then steeled himself. He quickly opened the door and nearly instantly the conversation stopped as about a dozen heads turned to look towards him. Yusei ignored the stares (which was actually quite accustomed to at this point) and walked in. Nearly instantly a tiny bob of blue hair made its way to him. He saw Syrus Truesdale smiling at him.

"Ah there you are Yusei," he said. "I'd wondered when I'd be seeing you in one of my classes. I think there's an empty seat by Bruno if you'd like to take a seat."

"Thanks," Yusei managed past the lump on his throat. His voice and face seemed far more level than he really felt.

Yusei turned to survey the crowd for the empty desk and saw a single table that only had one person at it. The boy was about his age, maybe a year or two older. He was really pale and had an almost vacant look in his dark gray eyes. His hair was longer, hanging down to his chin, and it was a dark blue color. When he looked up at hearing his name called and seeing Yusei standing there he gave the boy and his partner an inviting smile.

"Something about him seems odd," Star said to Yusei quietly. There was something highly wary in her tone. Yusei glanced towards her, raising an eyebrow.

Yusei declined to reply, even when several other Duel Spirits in the room hissed at her because of this. It was obvious the class was already pretty well bonded to one another, and that they weren't taking too kindly to having the new kid and his Duel Spirit already seeming to be picking on one of their own. Yusei ignored them and nodded to Syrus, walking over to the table with Star following close behind. He had to admit that this boy didn't seem quite right.

As Yusei reached the table, the boy just continued to smile pleasantly at him. Yusei, as usual, gave him his usual impassive face and sat down beside him. He plopped his bag down on the table with a thud and gave a quiet sigh. Star stood just behind him, watching both boys almost curiously. As Syrus made his way around the room to say hello to everyone else, the boy turned to look at Yusei.

"Hey," he said. "You're the new student right? Yusei Fudo I think..."

"That's me," Yusei replied. Hardly put off by Yusei's demeanor, the boy smiled and continued talking.

"My name's Bruno," he said. "I joined the Duel Academy about a year ago." He then looked around the room and frowned at the faces his peers were making at Yusei. "Sorry about them. They're a really close group, and they don't like it when people say things about me."

"I'm used to looks like that," Yusei replied with a shrug. And he really was. He'd always been known as the son of the man who'd caused the Zero Reverse, and that meant people hated him without knowing him. He looked up at Bruno. "Why are they so touchy about it though?"

"Well," Bruno said kind of nervously. "Because I don't have my memories. I don't know who I am, and no one else really knows either."

"You don't know?" Yusei asked, surprise registering on his face.

"Nope," Bruno said with another, though sad, smile. "I don't even remember my name. Someone just called me Bruno and that's what I go by now."

Yusei blinked as he looked at the boy. He didn't know who he was? That's probably what Star had sensed about him, and obviously why the class was so overprotective of their friend. Yusei could understand the confusion of that kind of thing. Only the confusion and pain he had once felt had been because he couldn't escape the name he'd been given. When he was younger, he would have given anything to have forgotten everything like Bruno had. That certainly wasn't the case now, but he might have.

"I suppose I understand in a way," Yusei sighed. "You don't know your name, and at one point I wished I hadn't known mine."

"Why?" Bruno asked, sounding confused. "It's terrible to know nothing." Yusei chuckled a little, a tiny smile touching his lips.

"You truly don't remember anything do you?" he asked. "My last name, Fudo. Everyone blames my father for the Zero Reverse. You know what that is, don't you?"

"Yeah I do," he said quietly. "But why would they blame him?"

"I don't know," Yusei said with a sigh. "There's no evidence to support this. But people needed someone to blame so they picked him because he was in charge. And it's just been told so many times now that people blurt it out. They hated me because I had his name, so I wished I hadn't known about it."

Bruno was giving Yusei the most pitying gaze he'd ever given anyone. He realized that Yusei wasn't that different from himself. They'd both lived hard lives, though in their own ways. He wondered if Yusei had let it get to him. It was hard to tell beyond that expressionless mask he wore. Bruno quietly sighed.

"What did you do then?" he asked.

"I made a name for myself," came the fearless reply. "If people were going to hate me for my name, I'd make one that they would realize was the true me, the good in me. Then they'd never be able to ignore me."

"That sounds nice," Bruno said sadly. "I wish I could say the same."

"You can," Yusei said. Bruno looked at Yusei with surprise, and the other boy was looking right at him again. "There's always a chance to write the new you. Even if you don't know who you are, you're still you. There's no changing that. So make your own story."

"But what if I never remember?" Bruno nearly whispered in a scared tone. "What if I do and I'm not the same person?"

"Either way," Yusei replied. "you make yourself. You write your own story. Even if everything you know has changed," Yusei paused a moment to give Star a small smile. "never be afraid to fly."

Bruno blinked at Yusei as he watched him smiling that that a moment, and his Partner replying with a purring noise. He supposed that Yusei hadn't let it get to him, not really. Maybe it had hurt, but he'd been strong and pushed through it. Yusei was just the kind of person to keep pushing on until he got everything he needed to do done. Bruno smiled too, and this time it was once again a very happy smile.

"You're all right Yusei," he said. "Hey, think we could be friends?" Yusei blinked then smiled in return.

"No doubt," he said.

"All right class," Syrus said as he bounced up to the front of the room, drawing everyone's attention towards himself. His voice didn't sound nearly so timid now, far more excited. "Everyone please welcome our new student, Yusei Fudo. While I'm aware this class has worked together for some time, and that we're moving onto some big projects this year, I've been told by his private tutor that he's had quite the extensive hand's on experience in the Satellite. Yusei, care to tell us some of the things that you've worked on?"

The class's whole attention was now turned to Yusei, and most were glaring at him or smirking, expecting something simple. They weren't happy with him or Star, and they were hoping that they could single him out for something. Star bristled a little in defense of her Partner, and Bruno gave them both and apologetic smile.

"Usually it was small things," Yusei admitted fearlessly. "Clocks and other such things. We didn't have any mechanics in the Satellite. Though I did work on some bigger things, like police vehicles. Including one of the huge cars that go over the streets of the Satellite."

"No way," someone scoffed.

"You can always call the Satellite police if you don't believe me," Yusei shrugged. His surety of it seemed to unnerve everyone.

"No I doubt we need that," Syrus said with a smile. "Well today class we're going to be undertaking a pretty large project. You know of course of Turbo Dueling? Well I'd like for us to pair off and build a Duel Runner. They certainly don't have to be professional grade, but I want to see them ride-able, running, and preferably safe. All right, everyone pair off."

The sounds of chairs scraping could be heard as people began to walk around the room, pairing with their friends and talking happily with one another. Yusei on the other hand didn't move. He'd really not made a favorable first impression with these people. He was probably going to just get stuck with someone who was left over. He hoped they'd be willing to work with him though.

"Bruno," a girl said as she walked up. "Can I be your partner for the project?"

She was a pretty girl, well endowed and with pale skin. She had long brown hair that flowed in waves down her back, and her eyes were a bright emerald green. She was blushing furiously and twirling a piece of her hair around her finger. Several giggling classmates behind her told Yusei that she had been put up to it.

However the huge creature that stepped in front of his field of view, glaring at him, told him that the creature wasn't happy with him or Star. He was tall and well muscled, and he wore all brown, though it appeared to be some sort of hide.

His hair was long and black, and his eyes were a dark brown color. Star hissed at the girl's Partner, and he wisely backed off. His eyes flicked towards her, and he seemed unnerved that she was so protective of her Partner at the moment. He could tell exactly what she was after all.

"Sorry Lucy," Bruno said with a smile. "But I'm already partnered with Yusei."

"Wait you are?" Yusei asked, more surprised than anyone. Bruno just nodded. Yusei sighed. "What is it with people this week. You and Aki both..."

"A-Aki Izayoi?" Lucy gasped, sounding terrified.

"Yeah," Yusei shrugged. "She showed me around to my classes yesterday."

"You get along with her?" Lucy asked, sounding absolutely dumbfounded. Her Partner looked surprised as well.

"I'd hope so," he sighed. "Her room is right next to mine in the dorm."

Lucy and her Partner looked stunned and unsure of the new kid. Bruno just kept smiling. Yusei looked a little uneasy at the current situation. Lucy's Partner was still eying Star, who was silently glaring at him and daring him to try anything. And the rest of the room was still pairing off. Lucy had yet to move when Syrus looked around and saw the number of kids in the class.

"We have an uneven number," he said. "Ah Lucy, you pair with Yusei and Bruno. That will work perfectly."

"Well I suppose that settles that," Yusei said with another shrug.

Most of the class, still chatting away, began to laugh and have some apparently great conversations, though it was obvious that their dislike for Yusei and Star had only grown more. Unphased by this, Bruno pulled out a small notebook for making their sketches in it. He pulled out a pencil, and for the first time both he and Lucy seemed to notice his injured arm. They looked at him silently for a long time.

"Unfortunately," he sighed. "I'm not left handed. One of you is going to have to draw and take the notes."

"This is from," Lucy said hesitantly. "when you fought that Shadow Being right? Does it still hurt?"

"I don't know," Yusei replied with a shrug. "I'm on so much pain medication right now that it's a miracle I'm thinking straight. I assume it does."

Lucy's Partner seemed to be giving Yusei a pitying look now, and Yusei could clearly see him shudder a little at the thought. Duel Spirits of course knew how terrifying Shadow Beings could be. He couldn't help but be confused though how the boy had survived something like that. It seemed practically impossible, yet here he was. He supposed that it also made sense too why his Partner was in such a horribly bad mood. He certainly didn't want to get on her bad side. His Partner's train of thought seemed to be following along the same lines though.

"Weren't you scared?" she asked. "I mean...you could have died."

"I was scared all right," Yusei admitted fearlessly. "There would be something wrong if I wasn't. We just got very lucky. That's all." He didn't mention the fact that an ancient god may have been watching him and helped him though. "It probably didn't hurt that Star was about the same size as this thing."

"Oh," Lucy said, smiling a little nervously. "Sorry, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Lucy Barnes, and this is my Partner, Sauske, a Total Defense Shogun."

"Yusei Fudo," Yusei replied, the motioned towards Star. "And this is Star, a Stardust Dragon."

An awkward silence seemed to fall over the whole group for a while. The rest of the room was chatting happily, but there was an air of uneasiness between these three. Bruno still looked like he was silently apologizing for everyone's behavior towards Yusei, and Yusei looked like he couldn't care less. Though Lucy could now see that he looked rather exhausted. She didn't doubt he was. His life had been thrown into chaos so quickly.

"So," she said, hoping to break the odd silence. "Why do you think Professor Truesdale had us start on such a big project? It's going to take a long time to finish? Last year we didn't even start so big."

"Well this is the advanced class," Bruno said with a shrug. "He probably wants to see if we can put a bunch of skills we already learned together."

"I guess," she sighed. "So, should we start on a design?"

For the rest of the class the three of them sat there bouncing ideas back and forth. Bruno sat there sketching everything out and jotting down notes. Eventually they agreed on a design. They wanted it to look cool but still be air o-dynamic.

They ended up with a sleek and rather simply design. It had a slightly pointed nose and two wheels that sat low to the ground. In the back the seat was tall and would slid forward as the rider had to lean forward to grip the handle bars to work the motorcycle. Those were small and right up against the body so it would go faster.

They also decided that since it was so simple, mostly black leather, and a single main color would make it look better. They agreed for a silver for any accents on it. They understood that look was also an important part of the design, but they couldn't seem to figure out what they wanted the color to be. Blues and greens would be the most popular colors obviously.

"We could make it orange or yellow," Lucy said, thinking.

"It would stand out too much," Bruno sighed. "Bright colors could blind the competitors, so a real Duel Runner would never be a bright color. It wouldn't make it to the starting gate."

"How about crimson?" Yusei asked. He nearly face palmed. He seemed to be just stuck on that color here lately. He supposed he couldn't really blame himself though.

"Yeah," Bruno said with a smile. "That's a dark enough color."

"And it would make it look sharp and fierce," Lucy agreed. "We need that since others are going to be a lot more complicated. That kind of color will stand out a lot."

"All right so we'll make it crimson," Bruno said. Then however his smile fell. "But, do any of us know enough about building to make a Duel Runner."

"I've worked on Police motorcycles," Yusei said. "I've even had to tear one apart just to fix it. A Duel Runner obviously isn't going to be built the same. It needs to go a lot faster, and be more stable, especially in turns. But I guess it's a start."

"Better than us," Lucy said with a shrug. She seemed rather at ease with her largely silet and unreadable classmate. "It's a start."

With that, class was over, and everyone stared heading out the door. Yusei gathered his supplies back into his bag as quickly as he could with only one arm, and both Lucy and Bruno were quickly putting their own supplies away.

"We might need to meet outside of class pretty quickly," Bruno said. "That way we can plan out the engine and things. Would today work?"

"No," Yusei said, almost groaning. "I've got enough homework as it is. Besides, it's Wednesday."

"What's Wednesday?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I go to Yugi's house for private training," he sighed. "And believe me, it's not really fun."

"Tomorrow then?" Bruno asked. "We can meet in the East Commons at around Four O' clock."

"Sounds good to me," Lucy said.

"That should work," Yusei said with a slight nod.

The three quickly went their separate ways to go towards their dorms, and Yusei was glad when Star turned into her dragon form and offered him her had. He carefully crawled into it and she took off into the sky again. The cool slap of air was refreshing, and he felt a lot more calm than he had felt in quite some time. Machines were wonderful.

Yusei knew that Wednesdays and Fridays were when Turbo Dueling Club would usually be held, but since it was the start of school, that wouldn't be starting until next week. He was free from that today, which made him trying to get his homework done a lot easier. Preoccupied with his thoughts about what could possibly happen today during training, he nearly forgot to be worried about this nearing war. Nearly.

When they landed outside their room, Yusei sighed and quickly went inside, plopping down at the desk and pulling out his homework. While he worked quickly, this homework was going to take a long time because he wasn't left handed. Even so, he sat down and went to work.

Now that he was calmer he could concentrate on his homework. It was nice, with the equations of math and science, and facts from literature and history pouring through his head, through his hand, and onto the paper. Even though it took a lot longer, and his hand wasn't wanting to cooperate, it was a sweet release from the stress to just use his brain.

He'd always been weird like that. Other kids his age would rather be doing anything but homework. But he preferred to be doing it. It was much better than constantly worrying about the state of the world and all the things that would be soon going wrong. It was familiar and comforting, knowing that for right now at least, everything was going to be fine.

Star couldn't help but smile a bit as she saw him relaxing. Yes, her Partner was an odd one, but he was still the best friend she'd ever had. She was glad that she'd met him, even if they were going to have to fight this huge war together. She wanted to proect him too. But for now she was just glad to see him more like himself.

He sat that way until he'd finished all of his homework, then grabbed a nearby book. It was some reading that wasn't due until next week, but Yusei never was one to just put a book down. He did glance at the time and sigh however.

"Guess we'll take a cab," he said. "We should go and make our way to Yugi's house for training."

Star purred and nodded as she gathered up his medicine and book bag, then followed him out the door as he locked it behind him. She took her dragon form and perched on the balcony, letting Yusei crawl into her hand. Then she roared to let the others below her through the masses of dragons and spell casters flying to and from different levels inside of Dragon's Hollow that she was coming down.

Yugi had almost forgotten what was going on until he heard the doorbell ring. His house was crowded, as usual. Jaden was here with Luna and Leo, as well as Monarch and Quake since he had picked them up from school for some training of their own. They'd decided though to join the older students, so Jaden and Neos were keeping an eye on them until they arrived.

Seto Kaiba was in the corner, his eyes severe. The man was tall, and though leaning against the wall, held himself with confidence. His hair was brown and cut short, and his eyes were blue as well as icy. He wore his favorite white jacket, and his favorite scowl.

His Partner, a Blue-Eyes White Dragon named Eirwen, was tall with long white hair that was braided thickly behind her head and nearly hung to the floor. Her bangs were swept to the right, and her eyes were a bright and shocking blue. She wore a white dress, matching heels, and had no trouble walking in them.

Joey Wheeler was laughing and joking with Anzu in the kitchen. The tall, blonde haired blue eyed boy hadn't changed much since they were kids. He was wearing that green blazer he loved so much and jeans.

Neither had Slash, his Red-Eyes Black Dragon Partner changed much. He was a taller young man with black hair that hung down to his chin and into his face. He had blood red eyes, and wore a black hoodie and black pants. Slash was glaring at Kaiba and Eirwen. Merlin was watching quietly, along with the silent Pharaoh and Yubel who was somewhere in the room.

Bakura and Marik were silently sitting on the couch and watching the usual mayhem of Yugi's house. It was already cluttered, though it would soon be even more so. With the new arrivals and the students coming in, it was going to be packed. He couldn't help but feel a little happy, and also a little sad. The last time it had been filled like this had been after Yoko and Hakase's wedding. He was glad to have some more people around. It felt too lonely when everyone was away on their own business. Yugi hurried to the door, dodging Luna and Leo as they chased each other as usual. Then he managed to finally open the door.

Three people greeted him there, well and of course a crocodile. His daughter was still beautiful, but looking at her mother she had to be. Asura Moto was a beautiful young woman and about average height. She had long black hair with a streak of yellow and another of red in her bangs. She was wearing a simple blue dress, her favorite, and her eyes were a bright lavender color.

Jim Cook hadn't appeared to have changed much, except he was even taller than he had been before. He still had black hair, with oddly curled sideburns and spikes coming off the sides of his head. His visible eye was a dark blue green color and he wore bandages over the right one. He was wearing that hat he loved so much and tipping it to Yugi as he smiled in greeting. He was also wearing a long sleeved white shirt, jeans, boots and a dark vest. The orange bandana tied around his neck almost seemed to glow.

Behind him was his Partner, a Fossil Dragon Skullgeoth named Bones. He was tall and thin, and his skin was bleached almost white. He had dark black colored eyes, giving them an almost hollow look, and his hair was short and a dusty brown like earth. He wore simple clothing, a brown t-shirt and dark brown pants and boots. He was also watchful and silent, the same as he had ever been since Yugi had first met him. Though he did manage a little smile for him.

Shirley was, as usual, clinging to Jim's back and letting out a growl of greeting to Yugi. She was huge, easily over twelve feet long now, and she had to weigh a lot. However Jim had no trouble carrying her around. She was a bright green color with a white underbelly, and her eyes were a bright and intelligent yellow. Since she certainly wasn't a normal crocodile either, she was more flexible and turned her head to eye Yugi. She seemed quite fond of him still though and smiled at him in her own way as he smiled in return.

"How's it going mate?" Jim asked with a smile. "Certainly has been a while. I'd thought I'd drop by to see how things were going. Anything interesting happen while I was away? I haven't seen any news in months."

"You could definitely say that," Yugi said, smiling but wincing a little as there was the sound of Leo crashing to the ground from the other room. "Come in. You might as well. The house is already crowded though."

They didn't ask any questions, and soon the four of them had entered the house and closed the door behind them. They could hear Jaden chastising Leo from the living room, somewhere out of sight from the main entrance of the house. Jim couldn't help but smile a little as Asura ran to hug her much shorter father. Everything was definitely business as usual at Yugi's house.

"I've missed you dad," Asura cried. "Oh and I heard you'd gotten a new student. What are they like?"

"Well," Yugi sighed, managing to disentangle himself from his daughter's hug. "I'm still not sure what to make of him. We found him in the Satellite. This name should definitely ring a bell. My newest student is Yusei Fudo."

The air in the foyer seemed to go a little taunt as the new arrivals processed the information. Yusei Fudo? They hadn't been aware he'd even been alive. Then again, they hadn't known Jack Atlas had been alive either. Jim felt his hand go to his mouth as he tried to process the new information he'd been given. Shirley, upon hearing the name, raised her head and let out yet another growl. When Yusei had been an infant she'd often guarded him for his parents. She knew the name.

"He's alive?" Asura gasped, seeming more happy than she had been in a while. "That's great news!"

"Yes," Yugi said with another smile. "It seems that he and Jack were raised together, and they're practically brothers now, though they did mention a third 'brother'. He's just like his father in a lot of ways. Practically looks like him, and he might just be smarter than both of his parents. There is a lot going on around him though...maybe too much."

The other four paused as they watched Yugi, seeing Yami's serious face flicker across his for a moment as he frowned thoughtfully. They knew that face. It meant that something was going on. It meant that he knew more than he'd mentioned already.

"Dad?" Asura asked. Yugi jumped and failed a smile.

"A-Ah it's nothing," he managed. "Oh and don't freak out. He apparently fought off a Shadow Being with his Partner Star. He was pretty badly hurt but appears to be recovering. He appears to be loyal to a fault just like Yoko was."

Jim and Asura were absolutely shocked. Why would someone purposely fight a Shadow Being? And with his Partner? How could two of them even survive something like that, let alone defeat the creature? Because they knew it wouldn't give up trying to kill them without being dead. However before they could open their mouths to say anything, there came another knock at the door.

Yugi moved past them to open the door and when he did he found Aki and Yusei, as well as Thorn and Star behind it. On their way out of Duel Academy Yusei had run into Aki, whose parents still had a car pick her up and take her around town when she needed it. Of course, she had offered a ride to her friends, and they'd ended up here together.

Yusei blinked up at Asura and Jim, who both looked surprised and unsure what to say when they saw Yusei. It was obvious to them that he was Yoko and Hakase's child. He had black hair like his father, though yellow streaks ran through it, and he had his blue eyes. However his face was shaped more like Yoko's had been.

Shirley growled at the boy, a quiet and greeting sound. Yusei instantly recognized it, having heard a similar sound from Star before. He wasn't scared of her at all when he heard the sound, though some confusion seemed to touch his face as he looked at her. He couldn't remember meeting her before, but then again, he'd been an infant at the time. He did however recognize the sound as one of greeting, and it sounded pretty fond of him. Jim seemed to recover from his surprise to turned to the two, smiling and tip his hat again.

"Nice seeing you again Aki," he said. "It's been a while since I was around last. And you must be Yusei Fudo. I expect you've heard this a lot around here, but I was a good friend of your parent's. The name's Jim Cook. And this here is Shirley. She remembers you it seems. She always was keeping an eye on you when you were little. I think it's safe to assume she missed you. She might be following you around, so don't freak out okay?"

"I think I'm used to big reptiles by now," Yusei said. Star swatted him playfully on his uninjured arm, which he didn't seem to respond to.

"Hi," Asura said, smiling at him. "I'm Yugi's daughter. It's nice to meet you at last."

The sound of Leo's yelp and Jaden's sigh could be heard from the other room, cutting off the rest of the conversation they could have had. Aki just shook her head and closed the door behind her as the four of them stepped inside the house. It was obvious by the amount of voices that were in the house that Yugi's house was already pretty full.

Yusei stepped into the other room, Star close behind as usual. Merlin looked like he was ready to give the boy an earful, glaring at the mess of limbs that was the twins. However when he saw Yusei he seemed satisfied that their behavior would improve and stepped back. This gained both Bakura and Marik's attention, who were sitting on the couch.

The others followed them into the house, and people around the room all paused to watch as Yusei made his way over to the two twins. Star crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the young dragons, who both lowered their head a little at her. It was obvious that they looked up to Star and Yusei as much as the twins did.

By the time the twins had disentangled themselves, they found Yusei looking down at him. Even through his indifferent mask, they could tell that he was disappointed in them. Somehow his disappointment was worse than Jaden's. Part of it was because he was probably one of the few people who understood their confusion and the marks on their arms. Both twins, as their Partners had with Star, lowered their heads to Yusei.

"What happened now?" Yusei asked.

"Um," Leo mumbled quietly to the surprise of everyone, including Jim and Asura who'd met the twins before. "Well Luna and I were arguing about which one of us should do our homework..."

"No you just wanted me to do it," Luna said quietly, glaring at her brother. "If it's that big of a problem you should get a tutor."

"You need to do your own homework Leo," Yusei said as he knelt by the two twins and said quietly so only the two of them could hear. "But if you need help I can help tutor you, all right?"

"Really?" Leo asked.

"Yeah really," Yusei said with a small smile. "Now can you two behave for the rest of the day?"

"Okay," the twins replied in unison.

With that Yusei smiled again and stood. The two twins and their two dragons were now much quieter and seemed to be satisfied and argument free by now. Jim just shook his head in surprise, and even Asura seemed floored by this new development. They knew these two kids, and it was surprising that Yusei could get them under control when even Jaden couldn't. And they knew how persuasive Jaden could be when he wanted to.

Conversation started again in the room, with people greeting Jim and saying hello to Asura. Jim kept smiling and nodding to everyone, but his mind was elsewhere. He noticed as Shirley slipped off his shoulders and walked over to Yusei, who was sitting in the corner (since Bakura, Marik, the twins and their Partners had taken up the couch) and was reading a book.

Shirley curled up behind him and growled at him gently. Yusei blinked but reached over and patted her nose, completely unafraid of her. Shirley continued to growl in pleasure at the touch and closed her eyes, simply laying behind him as he returned to the pages of his book. Jim felt a slight pang as he saw Yusei in the blue uniform, reading a book with Shirley behind him. She'd done the same for the boy's father. The problem was, the man was dead now, and it almost physically hurt him to see the boy and the crocodile like that.

It would be a while before Jack arrived, but Jim had to go. He couldn't keep this information to himself any longer. Jesse and Zane weren't the only ones helping an old friend who was supposed to be dead. He'd already told him about Jack Atlas having survived, which he was obviously relieved about. But the man had always blamed himself for letting his best friend die. Jim owed it to him to let him know that his best friend's son was alive.

Jim quickly excused himself and stepped outside, pulling out his phone. He quickly dialed the number, then as he heard it ringing he looked around to make sure he was alone. Of course he was. Yugi owned this whole floor so there wasn't much to disturb him up here. He still wanted to check just in case. Because there was a very specific person he was calling, one who he couldn't just let the world know he was alive yet, not even his own son.

Jim was calling Jack's father, John Atlas.

And on that bomb, I think I'll end that chapter xD

I doubt no one saw this coming at this point. I really wanted to involve him in the story, as well as one other surprise person who should be dead but isn't. Also, I don't remember if I previously named him something else, but that's his name in this chapter. If he has another name in this story I'll find it and change it here.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. In the next chapter we'll have this little conversation between Jim and John, and then we'll have the actual training session. That should be fun. I hope you enjoy and leave a review if you'd like.