Attention Syrus fangirls: you might not like what I'm gonna pull next.

Chapter 29 – Stick in the Mud

Obelisk Blue Boys Dorm. 12:15 am. Not long after the Shadow Game…

SPLAT!

"We'd better not see you here again!"

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Slifer Red dorms. 1:00 pm.

Once again, it was raining. Rumors had spread around campus about Jaden's duel with Magical Ghost. But enough about that. In the Slifer Red cafeteria, even if it wasn't raining, warmth was a luxury. Thankfully, Professor Autumn had learned about the conditions of the place in advance and was kind enough to bring a heater from her home to the cafeteria. This made the usual stressed eating conditions just a little easier. Of course, it didn't do squat for the bite-sized foodstuffs. Today's lunch: Ham and cheese sandwiches and kosher pickles. Yay. Weevil and Rex were probably the only ones who shared Jaden's eating habits of devouring anything that looked edible.

"Someone hand me the salt!" Weevil said with a full mouth.

"And get me some more pickles!" Rex said, stopping for a swig of bottled water.

"I'm ready for thirds!" Jaden said, raising his plate for the second time.

"Geez," Chazz said while enjoying his lunch quietly. "You guys are bottomless pits, I swear." It was after that comment that everyone heard a thumping noise on the door.

"I got it!" Everyone watched as Blair jumped out of her seat, ran to the door and opened it. On the other side was someone or something covered head to foot in mud. This, of course, scared the life out of Jaden and the rest of the Slifers.

"MUD MONSTER!" Jaden and Blair yelled.

"It's another monster spirit!" Weevil and Rex screamed in unison.

"Guys…I'm not a monster." The mud creature took off what appeared to be a small pair of mud-covered glasses and a pair of pale gray eyes broke through the mud.

"S…Syrus?!" Jaden's eyes widened comically.

"Mr. Truesdale?!" Professor Autumn's glasses actually slipped off her face. Sure enough, futile as it was, Syrus wiped off more mud from his face, making his identity a little more visible.

"Since when do you play in the mud, Sy?" Jaden asked in a sad attempt at cheering the boy up.

"I wasn't playing, Jaden," Syrus said quietly. The poor kid looked like he was about to cry. "I got kicked out of the Obelisk dorms."

Jaden's eye twitched. "You're kidding! It's barely a week, and Crowler actually threw you into the mud?! Boy, I'm glad I'm not an Obelisk."

"It wasn't Crowler," Syrus said with a sniffle. "Let me tell you what happened…"

Flashback to last night, a few minutes before midnight.

A storm was brewing outside. Syrus finally had his things unpacked and arranged in his new Obelisk dorm room just the way he wanted it. It truly felt like home away from home.

"Ah, this is nice," Syrus said with a smile. "I can see why Chazz loves this place so much. His room is like a little tent compared to this place!"

Someone knocked on his door. "Coming!"

Syrus opened his door. Lightning struck outside as three Obelisks made their presence known in Syrus' doorway: Torimaki Taiyou, Mototani Raizou, and Jerome Dalton.

"Hey guys," Syrus said cheerfully. "What's up?"

Lightning struck again, adding a sinister effect to their scowls.

"…Guys?"

About a minute later…

"Stop! What are you doing?! Put me down!"

Each of the three Obelisks grabbed a part of Syrus' coat and literally dragged him to the front door of the Obelisk Blue dorms.

"You'll never be a real Obelisk, ya whiny brat!" Dalton shouted angrily.

"All right, everyone," Torimaki said. "On three!"

Dalton kicked open the doors. The storm had started to pick up outside.

"One…two…"

"No, wait! H-How about a deal?!"

"THREE!"

Syrus screamed as the three threw him out the doors and he fell face down in a patch of fresh mud. He was about to get up when he got hit on the head with his duel disk, knocking him out cold.

"We'd better not see you here again!" Mototani yelled before slamming the doors.

"I woke up the next morning with a headache the size of a truck," Syrus said, pulling a twig out of his hair.

"So why'd you come back here?" Blair asked. "I mean, shouldn't you just try and get back in the Obelisk dorms?"

"They won't let me back in," Syrus said, "which is why I came here to use the shower here. By the way, does anyone have any soap?"

Jaden and the other Slifers stared at each other, as though wondering what this thing called "sope" was.

"Uh…Sy?" Jaden began, sheepishly. "It's us, remember?"

A sweatdrop managed to leak out of Sy's mud-caked hair. "Right. What was I thinking?"

"Syrus," Professor Autumn said, while getting out of her seat to approach him, "why don't you use my shower? I have plenty of herbal soap to spare."

Syrus, of course, was having a hard time keeping eye contact with the buxom teacher. "Do you mean that, Professor?"

"Of course," Autumn smiled warmly, "as long as you clean up my bathroom when you're done. Oh, and leave your blazer outside. I'll have it washed for you in a little while."

"Thanks, Professor." Syrus had a bit of difficulty getting out of his muddy coat, mainly because there was a small branch jammed in one of his sleeves. Regardless, he let his coat fall on the balcony floor with a sickening "plop" and headed downstairs to Professor Autumn's room. Apparently, Syrus found it much easier to move when he's not covered in mud. Professor Autumn let out a sigh as she picked up Syrus' coat, not even caring that she's getting mud on her blouse. And it was apparent that most of the Slifer boys didn't care either.

"Poor thing…Hm?" For some reason, Professor Autumn started searching through Sy's pockets. Such an act was frowned upon by everyone in the cafeteria.

"Professor?" Blair started. "…What are you doing?"

Autumn abruptly dropped the muddy thing on the floor. Her head lowered a bit. "I wonder if he knows…"

"Knows what?" Jaden asked.

"I wonder if he knows that…"

Meanwhile, Syrus was already in the shower. It felt nice to get all that dirt and grime off his body and out of his hair. Some of it actually got in his mouth. He did land face down after all. However, Syrus was in deep thought about something.

Maybe I should've told them that they stole my deck before they tossed me out…no…I don't need them worrying about me…

"WHAAAAAT?!"

Even with the water running, Syrus could barely hear the uproar through the ceiling.

"Then again…they probably know by now," Syrus said with a sheepish grin. "Now where's that shampoo?"


Duo-san: Before I first publicized this chapter on Gaia, I had the idea bouncing in my head and it wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't want to be so mean to Syrus, but you know how things work. Now, I need to find something to hide me from the mob of angry Sy fangirls.

Next Chapter: An Unexpected Ally

Duo-san: Oh! Uh...hi, girls! Allow me to explain...uh...it was HIS idea! -points at Chazz, runs away-