(Timeskip, Diamond Stone City's Duel Academy Student Dormitory, Early Morning. . .)
It had been almost a whole two weeks since the announcement of the first school trip early in the year for and 's respective classes; a week and a half to be exact. It didn't go to say that when the news got out that those classes got dibs first on skipping out on regular activities while the rest of them would have to suffer but who could fully blame them? When you have the privileges from someone of a high social status given to you in physical form, who wouldn't take advantage? The only real thing that sucked was that they had to get up pretty damn early to catch the flight that was escorting them to the students. A private one at that. Though, the grand thought of not having to deal with being stuffed into a plane with strangers was good and all, the students huddled around the main entrance of the dormitory were all but fully awake. They in fact, looked more like zombies. . .but I guess 4:00AM in the morning isn't what one can call ideal beauty sleep even if they had to wake up early.
However, there always had to be those who are just naturally late to anything no matter what. The sound of their feet were drowned by the idle chatter of their fellow classmates as they entered the main lounge where the reception desk resided. Though, no matter how quietly they seemed to have appeared, the reception lady, Yui Tanaka managed to catch them entering the lounge from the peripherals of her glasses. Due to them going on a trip so far away, she immediately knew they wouldn't be sporting school uniforms as the rest of the students did the same. The first thing she took in was the Nexus duelist himself and the attire he decided to wear. From what she could tell so far from all the times he went out with his friends, he always liked clothes with hoods. Especially since he decided to wear a dark-green short-sleeved hoodie long enough to go past his waist a bit while being unzipped to reveal the long-sleeve black shirt that he wore under it while the necklace that was given to him by the school's chancellor dangled in front of his chest. On what looked to be his right hand, he wore a black, fingerless glove along with two brown bracelets made of leather wrapping around the wrist. His shoes were dark-green with a black sole on the bottom and back along with the laces though they were mostly covered by his greyish blue cargo pants.
Beside him was another familiar face and a well known one even to her. His red and black hair and eyes that reflect fire were a dead giveaway. Compared to Seirus, he was on the more simple side of things, only wearing a square red and black jacket without a hood over a white T-Shirt. Along with that, he sported only grey clothed pants with red and orange sneakers to match his eyes and hair.
Then lastly, was the smaller one of the three and easily the most adorable in her opinion. With wavy blonde hair and orange brown eyes, the boy already looked to be more of the modest type compared to his fellow classmates. That said, this was still a trip and all, so he decided to wear a plain, slightly light blue button-down shirt with short sleeves with some beige colored shorts to match. It was as simple as it can possibly get, especially with the simple white and grey sneakers to top it all off.
But one thing stood consistent between the three of them based on how they looked visibly. . .they looked just as tired and dead inside as the rest of them, to which it made her giggle a bit before greeting them with her usual morning smile as they got closer, "Good morning, Seirus, Lucky, and you too Arata." The first one to stop dead in their tracks was Seirus who really needed to stretch but he opted to let out his yawns first.
"Ahhhhh, morning . Man, if I knew that the trip would be this early then I would have never gone to sleep. . .," Seirus noted.
His two closest friends really couldn't argue that with Arata letting out a yawn of his own while the mere fact that Lucky was rubbing his eyes was the only reason why the poor boy didn't fall face first into the ground.
"I'm with you on that one, I was wondering why my alarm went off earlier than usual and now I know why. I doubt there is a single energetic soul active right now," Arata claimed.
In response, Lucky let out a low, tired mumble, "An energetic one? I don't think any of our souls are here right now. . ." Their complaint was enough to make her giggle once more, her unusual liveliness during this time now dawning on them and contradicting their claims.
"I wouldn't say that's completely the case. Maybe you three aren't morning people," guessed.
But, her hypothesis wasn't going to fly with Seirus as he was shown to grumpily pout at such a comment, "Yeah, I doubt it. Who could possibly be wide awake at this time? I bet once we hop on that bus, both classes are going to knock out cold." As if God himself wanted to challenge that statement, the hardly awake boys were soon proven wrong as soon as they heard the energetic morning person they swore didn't exist.
"Good morning you guys! Are you ready for the trip!?" A female voice asked that immediately clicked in their brains before they turned towards the direction it came from. The three of them were instantly greeted both visibly and audibly by the sounds of their footsteps with several others alongside them. Who else would it be other than the class primidona herself, Momo Sakurai. . .followed up by Aki with Steria who of course was accompanied by her student guards. However, the first thing the trio noticed was the wide and happy grin on Momo's face.
The mere sight of it made the Nexus duelist have one thought in mind, "I thought someone having this much energy around this time was a myth. . ." That said, as far as outfits went, Momo seemed to go with a loose-fitting, white sweater with some ripped jeans and brown boots to go with it. A simple but comfy set-up to say the least. On the other hand, Aki was a bit more casual as well, her outfit consisting of a dark-red long-sleeve shirt with a bright red cross-stripe running along the right side all the way down to her black pants and red loafers. Expectedly, in order to save time, of course they wouldn't go all out or something.
As for Rena and Travis, Rena looked to have gone with a simple brown cardigan and white shirt with an ordinary light brown skirt hovered just above her knees along with long dark brown boots. Somewhat matching this, Travis was wearing a beige color coat with white fur around the collar-bone. Underneath it was a military green cargo shirt as he wore lighter shade pants akin to his shirt to match with as well as some sneakers to complete the setup. Then lastly, Steria herself was the most standoffish of the bunch being that she decided to wear a full sleeve, rosy pink blouse that was buttoned up from bottom to top. Around just underneath her stomach was a high-waist black skirt with a frilly pink outline on the bottom. In addition to this, around her legs were skin-tight latex stockings that made perfect camouflage for her black ballet flat shoes with a strap around the center of her foot that had a white frilly pattern to it. Needless to say, she was definitely making it an objective to show the least amount of skin possible. That or someone else was seeing how even the highness herself seemed annoyed by having to wake up so early.
As they finally met up with them in front of the reception desk, Aki couldn't help but point out their tardiness, "You know you three are late? You're all fortunate that they are kind enough for all of us to get into our groups."
"Sorry, figuring out how to fit our duel disks in our bag was a task in itself let alone the lack of sleep, awahhhhh. . .," Arata yawned once more.
"I figured as much," Aki sighed.
As the Rose duelist began her typical slander upon Arata to which Seirus couldn't help but begin to think that the fact they were childhood friends was truer to home. Nevertheless, he caught Travis smirking at him while Rena seemingly was talking to Steria behind him. He blinked a few times until Travis decided to take the chance to start a conversation, "So, just to make sure you aren't chickening out, you remember the deal? Today is the day after all as from here on out, things could have a pretty good chance of going south."
"Pfft, please!" Seirus nearly laughed as though he was starting to gain his morning energy slowly, "I'm not scared of some scums in capes. I'll be ready to duel them anytime and anywhere. But maybe not right now since. . .you know, it's too early for my liking, heheh!"
On the side, Lucky frowned at the recklessness, "Yeah, coming from the guy who nearly got beat by a Duel Computer just a few days ago. . ." The snide comment made Seirus freeze on the spot before nervously chuckling with a blush clearly on his face. It was too late to lie now so he had no choice but to try and defend himself.
"He-hey, I told you guys, it was playing a really annoying flip-deck!" Seirus reminded him.
However, Lucky was still unconvinced and gave him a sly smile while Seirus continued to try and defend himself. Seeing how lively they were now made Travis smile a bit, his choice in having them join their group for the trip proving itself to be the right one. In a small, swift motion, Travis placed his hands on his hips and laughed lightly, "Now that's rich coming from you. You seem like a fun guy to be around with, Seirus." His little compliment snapped the Nexus duelist out of his argument and averted his attention back to him. It was like he did a near 180, his moods and demeanor switching instantaneously though he was still embarrassed a bit judging by how slow he was to respond.
"Ye-yeah, what can I say?" Seirus chuckled before catching a closer glimpse of Steria's tired expression. She seemed a tad bit annoyed by the nagging though unexpectedly, she seemed to be able to deal with it since it was Rena after all. Something that he didn't expect her of all people to be capable of. Though, they weren't enemies or rivals as of right now. If anything they were going to have to work together so he did what he always did and grinned before asking, "Seems like Rena is giving Steria a hard time. What's with that?"
"Oh, heheh. Just so you know, the princess isn't quite the type of person you could wake up easily. She's one heavy sleeper and it's always a pain trying to wake her up when we have to get ready," Travis explained.
Seirus let out a gasp of awe before peek behind Travis to show his reaction, "Wow, no wonder Rena is drilling you in right now. Don't sweat it, I think early mornings suck to, hahah!" His comment was enough to earn him a more annoyed and pouting glare from the Astraea princess since his tone somehow rubbed her the wrong way to which he raised an eyebrow curiously. He wanted to try and work that single, tired brain cell of his but he didn't even have time to start the engines as Rena almost immediately turned her scolding eyes to him. He didn't want to admit it out loud but she was almost just as scary as when she was angry and that was a feat not even any horror movie writers can match. Though, if anyone was going to tell him what he did wrong, it was going to be her this time around.
"Yuzaki," Rena growled under her breath, his last name escaping her lips to show that they were definitely not on equal terms. Hell. . .even her mistress didn't call him by his last name, "You dare mock my lady with your snide comments. . .I'd throw you into a pond of piranhas if we didn't need you!"
"Huh, no I wasn't mocking her, I was just trying to. . .uh relate! Yeah, that's it! See, I can use my noggin too, heheh!" Seirus frantically argued though quickly became proud of himself for finding the right words to say.
But Rena didn't seem convinced and huffed with her arms folded, "Well, my lady doesn't need you to encourage those sleeping habits. As an Astraea princess, she should be developing the proper lifestyle befitting of her status. Meaning in order to perform her future duties and stand out as an example like any princess should be, it all starts with waking up early and on time."
"Says, who?" Seirus simply and practically innocently asked. It wasn't a question to strike a nerve with on purposely but rather, he really did want to know. A person of his nature is a curious one indeed so it was natural for him to ask that question. Though, unknowingly to him, Rena flinched at the inquiry, her eyebrow twitching as she was left a silence long enough for Travis to notice her distraught look. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw it. The main maid and attendant for Steria who was notorious to be impossible to argue against was left speechless by only a question that consisted of two words? If this isn't comedy gold then what is? It was so golden that Travis couldn't even hide his sly smile that was directed at her.
Once he realized it, he tried to cover it up with his hand but even his body didn't want to hide his reaction as only the partial portion of his mouth was covered while the rest still indicated that he wanted to laugh. Regardless, he still couldn't resist the urge to take advantage and tease his colleague, "Hahahah, wow Rena! He sure got you there!"
"Tch, shut. . .up. . .Travis, otherwise you want me to pinch your face off again?" Rena grumbled with her threat coming out in a low tone.
The feeling of his face nearly getting torn off suddenly resurfaced and instilled fear into him, his low chuckles ceasing almost immediately. She had definitely scared him and imprinted a sense of dread into him that was going to last for a good while in order to keep him in line. Though, if she wasn't like this, then she wouldn't have a compatible partner for Travis on this job. An aloof and chill guy with brains to compensate while Rena was a strong-willed and scary girl who could attend to every one of the princesses' needs but she was far too serious and broad. Two different people that can accelerate in each other's weaknesses. He didn't do it before, but he had to give credit to the king for thinking things through so thoroughly when sending his daughter to Diamond Stone City with them.
On the other hand, as the Nexus duelist smiled at how lively everyone was now, he couldn't help but wonder about something that was probably important, "Hey, before you actually go through with killing Travis, is this everyone in our group or are we going to have two more members?"
"Hmm, good question bro. I wasn't able to check exactly but apparently since there were more students than expected, the PDA showed that our group number had maxed out when we woke up," Lucky answered.
Seirus raised an eyebrow at the new information and was now left wondering, "I see, I wonder who was unfortunate enough to get stuck with us?" The question in of itself was quite a valid one since whoever these two students were, they would also run the risk of being exposed to danger. Nonetheless, the answer to that question soon arrived on cue when the Nexus duelist heard a familiar, rough and grumpy voice.
"You-you've got to be kidding me!? They lump me in the same group as this punk!?" The voice said.
Soon enough, Seirus turned his head to his right as he heard the footsteps stop just several steps away. The first thing he saw was the panic and irritation on the person's face before recognizing who it was. It was quite difficult for him to tell at first due to his raven colored hair changing dramatically as his previous braids were now undone to reveal his completely unkempt hair that now had a single dark-purple bang hanging off to the side of his head as it curved upwards. His tan skin was covered by a striped purple and black shirt while wearing a black short-sleeve kimono over it. His black pants that were held together by a brown buckle seemed to have a silver chain dangling off to the side while one of his high-top, black and purple sneakers scratched the back of his calves. If it weren't for his sharp yellow eyes and tall figure then Seirus wouldn't have been able to tell who it was. . .,"No way. . .is that you, Oraga?"
"Tch, who else would it be, you runt. . .?" Orga grumbled, his eyes averting towards the ground in order to avoid eye contact.
Before Seirus could respond to that question, Travis took notice of the new addition with a visible case of surprise. He wasn't expecting anyone else to be added into the mix though I guess it couldn't be helped so he shrugged that part off and decided to gather more information, "Who's this, Seirus. You two seem like you know each other well?"
"Ah, yeah! Well, sort of. . .see, he was kind of bullying Lucky so I challenged him to a duel on my first day here that may or may not have had a bet in it. I won and from there, the rest was history as he didn't bother us since then," Seirus recalled. Hearing this, Travis took a glance down at Lucky who seemed intimidated by the former bully in front of them, his body unconsciously taking a step back in hopes to hide behind Seirus. Though, he wasn't quick enough as Orga's piercing gaze locked onto the timid duelist which in turn caused him to shiver in his boots at that moment. But, instead of going out of his way to start trouble, he swallowed his pride and turned his gaze back into the Nexus duelist who was looking at him clueless.
With no further hesitation, he took several steps forward until he was close enough to look down at the opponent that had defeated him while he looked back up at him while Lucky began to cower further behind Seirus and next to Travis. There was a small moment of silence as the atmosphere grew tense between what could be presumed as former-enemies? Nemesis? Who knows but it was enough to gain the attention of the rest of the group members in the process. Hell, even Steria who looked uninterested and more worried about finding the softest surface she could find in order to go back to sleep was now intrigued at the spurring tension. Then. . .the sudden tension dispersed a bit as Orga gave him a smug smirk. One that for a second left Seirus confused as he could feel the mixed emotions behind it. Was it anger and malice? Or, was it strangely eagerness and joy? No, it was most likely a combination of all of those together as Orga declared.
"You better watch your back, runt. Since our last duel, I've had a ton of time to get stronger in order to exact my revenge. Just wait, I'll be coming for you soon," Orga claimed.
Hearing his declaration sparked something that Seirus hadn't really felt before. All this time, ever since he's come to this school, he's been the one to ignite a challenge. But now, for the first time, he's the one being challenged. It was a strange but almost an exciting feeling. Was this how Arata would feel? The thought itself forced him to smirk back at his expecting challenger, "Hoh, careful now. I might not be able to wait if you put it that way. I might end up dueling you right here and now. But, don't think for a second that I haven't gotten stronger as well so you better push yourself ten times harder!"
"Hmph, we'll see about that," Orga grunted under his breath, his previous expression still remaining on his face. Then, without another word exchange, walked past the Nexus duelist with the two not even averting their gaze, "Until then, runt. . ."
Before long, Orga decided to make his way to a vacant open spot in the little group's area and stand patiently as he began scrolling through his PDA. However, his words had fully energized Seirus's duelist soul while also effectively waking him up completely. He unconsciously clenched his fist in hopes to contain his excitement, "Man, now I'm all fired up! Challenging others is one thing, but being challenged also feels exciting as well! I guess that's how you probably felt too, huh Steria!?" His eyes darted over to the princess's as his voice caught her off guard. So much that the question had barely registered in her head before replying.
"I. . .I guess, but it was more like I wanted to duel you for. . .well other reasons . . ." Steria answered after remembering how Seirus challenged her to a duel. At first it was mostly about putting someone she didn't even consider an equal in their place. Yes, call her spoiled but perhaps she let the privilege get to her head a bit too much since she arrived. However, all that changed during the duel itself. It soon became not one to prove superiority but as a genuine rival that could give her an exciting duel. One that she. . .lost in. It was a rare feeling, the bitter taste of defeat but in the end, she wasn't as mad as she thought she would be. But as of now, after all that she heard from the chancellor and especially after the whole negotiations, she was reminded of why she had to pick up dueling in the first place. It was a duty and that reality was what reminded her why she did the things she did in hopes to get away from that reality, even if it was just a bit. That's why, when she dueled Seirus, for the first time it felt like she forgot about that responsibility and honestly: It felt pretty refreshing. Now here she is, getting ready to plunge herself into the hearts of danger once more but this time she somewhat felt a bit less tense after the negotiation with that now being her one thought, "The negotiations. . ."
Her eyes began to narrow for a moment as she began to become further lost in thought to which it prompted Seirus to raise an eyebrow, "Huh? What other reasons are you talking about. . .?" His question itself snapped her out of her trance before she could even dwell on that as well. Guess it would have to wait since she was now embarrassed for showing what she would deem a pathetic look on her face. She didn't even need a mirror to tell.
"It-it doesn't matter anyways, idiot!" Steria stammered out an insult which left the Nexus duelist even more confused.
"Huh?" Seirus said , "The heck did I do this time? It's a pretty valid question, yah know?"
But of course, he was never going to get the answer to that question let alone understand the inner workings of the mind of Steria. Mostly because before the princess could contemplate whether to share her true thoughts to him or not, her closest bodyguard took matters in defending her as she stepped between Seirus's field of view, "Good job, Rena. I knew I could always count on you."
"I think you are diving into things that aren't in your boundaries, Yuzaki. I suggest you back off," Rena growled, her glare sending threatening daggers at him.
This was the first time he actually felt that killer aura for himself but man. . .atlas he could sympathize with Travis. This girl has got levels of malice in her. So much that he nearly shivered in his boots as he gulped down his nervous build up of saliva. Even Lucky, who wasn't the direct target for this bloodlust, was feeling the pressure as well. The Nexus duelist nodded timidly, his tone coming out almost high-pitch out of fear "Alright, personal space. Got it." She frowned in response though the murderous aura faded soon enough and was replaced by a somewhat adorable pout before she turned away to divert her attention back to Steria as though she was seeking praise for being a good girl. To Seirus' slight awkwardness, he turned to Travis who nervously chuckled after the whole ordeal.
"Man, and he has to deal with this on a daily. . .what a trooper. I should get him a Medal of Honor or something," Seirus thought.
Nevertheless, as far as how loud and chattery that their group is, the rest of the students couldn't help but take notice of the odd grouping of students. I mean, you have a mix between renown students such as Aki, Arata, and Steria. Then you have two body guards to add to that while also factoring in the lesser known students such as Orga, Momo, and Lucky. And finally, they have the boy wonder with a rather rare and odd deck that seemed to be the center of it all. Though they were having trouble on how the Red-Eyes duelist who was a popular figure as a capable duelist and in Arata's own perspective, the ladies as well. That connection was still a mystery but it still seemed that they were close in a way they didn't know. Though, as those staring curiously as to what would happen next out of curiosity while Seirus was teasing Lucky alongside Travis, one of the students among the crowd suddenly stepped out and made his way towards the group.
It didn't take long for Seirus to notice him approaching though it wasn't like he caught a glimpse of him through his peripherals. No. . .it was like he felt him coming before he came into view. It was strange though he didn't have time to think a bit more about it even though he knew it would amount to nothing; just like a person walking in a dark room hoping to find the light switch that isn't there. The person closed the distance between them as the Nexus duelist was about the first person to catch his appearance, one that he vaguely remembers. His familiar spiky, unkempt silver hair with those all those noticeable pinkish-purple tips towards the front part of his hair while behind that was silver. The back of his hair curved slightly upwards just as it did before while his sharp and slightly curved bangs on the front surrounded the single long bang that draped over his nose. However, the most unique part about his appearance that Seirus immediately recognized was his eyes with magenta irises and a slitted black pupil that were just as impassive as before. As for what he wore, the familiar student seemed to be wearing a long-sleeved purplish-red sweater underneath a sliver jacket with matching outlines to the sweater. He wore silver pants that were held up by a black belt as he wore gray and red shoes at the bottom. Around his hands were two black gloves that seemed old and worn out. However, similar to Seirus, he wore a necklace though it was more like a string attached to what appeared to be a glossy white card sleeve that contained a card torn in half though he couldn't see the front as it's back was only visible. Nevertheless, Seirus suddenly had a flashback to the time he bumped into this very same person on the way back to class.
"You're that guy. . ." Seirus muttered.
The silver-haired student simply interrupted before he even had the time to think, "This is group 3C, right. . .? The PDA led me to you guys of similar ID's to mine. . ." Just as before, his tone was calm and straightforward. Yup this was definitely the same guy.
"Yeah, this is group 3C. But hey, we've met before haven't we?" Seirus answered before asking with his contrasting smile to the voided expression on the new member's face, "You're the guy I accidentally bumped into a week ago, right? Sorry again about that, I was just in a rush back to class because teach isn't so keen on tardiness when it comes to me, heheh!"
"I see. . .," he muttered. His reply in itself was a simple one. One that made things awkward shortly afterwards as Seirus for once was left with nothing else to really say. How could he? Unlike the others, he didn't really know this guy personally and he seemed to not even care too much about past instances judging from his reply. Compared to everyone else, this guy was an odd, outcast as he had no connections to anyone here. But, knowing that didn't stop Seirus in the slightest, his welcoming and cheerful smile unwavering as he stuck his hand out.
The gesture caught the person's attention in front of him as he spoke, "Well since that's all settled, welcome to the group my good watchmen! Guess I should introduce myself, I'm Seirus Yuzaki! You're. . .?" The boy looked down at his hand with a new look on his face. One that was pretty hard to tell though one thing was certain. He seemed a bit uncomfortable and hesitant but not too visible. It was like he was trying to figure out some logical reasoning in his head for Seirus's unfazed demeanor by his seemingly little to interesting qualities. He was unsure, but he could feel that nostalgic feeling that he hasn't felt for a long time. One that reminded him of someone. He almost wanted to frown at the thought but the silver haired boy kept to himself and held his expression in order. Besides, he had no reason to reject an introduction nor did he really care that much about it. That said, he accepted the formal handshake of introduction between him and this somewhat. . .overly cheerful guy in front of him.
"Ryoma. . ." He simply told him, his eyes looking up at Seirus as they stood eye level to each other before repeating, "Ryoma Seiun."
Seirus smirked without really realizing it. For some reason, getting himself acquainted with this guy felt like he just beat the strongest duelist in history, "Ryoma Seiun? Man, it's such a cool sounding name with a nice ring to it. Roll off the tongue perfectly, heheh!"
The new member who was now revealed to be called as Ryoma only stared at his giggling expression blankly though with also faint curiosity. However, that silence between them would soon break as soon as another male voice that haunted Seirus's nightmares from time to time interrupted their little introduction.
"I see your group finally got all of their member's together, , I suppose it's about time we get going," the male voice said.
Recognizing the tone, Seirus immediately picked up on who it was. I mean who else would it be with those glasses and light blue hair while he wore the typical Duel Academy male teacher uniform to show his professionalism. Though, as much of a pain he gave him in class, seeing him brightened up Seirus's mood about the trip itself despite the dangers, "Morning, teach! Guess we have some pretty great timing, huh!?"
"Heh, I suppose you could say that," said with amusement at the Nexus's duelist energy. The resemblance was so there that he could practically see the image of his old friend reflecting off the boy even though they are clearly unrelated to each other. That said, he still had a job to do and a trip to commence as the other teachers were waiting for him to initiate the walk to the bus. It truly did suck to be chosen as the main manager for these sorts of things. But, the Chancellor's decisions is alway final, he guessed though he was still trying to wrap his head around him being Seirus's foster father which left his brain in a jumble for a whole week. He pushed those thoughts aside and turned to Yui who seemed to be staring right at him in a daze trance. He wasn't sure what was going on with her but he smiled anyway, "We'll be counting on you to manage things here alone, . I promise to make it up to you when we get back."
His voice alone was enough to dispel the trance placed upon her by his appearance. Through that alone, she nearly fell out of her seat as she was left embarrassed due to multiple anxieties that left more questions than answers. However, one thing was evident and that was the clear blush on her face while seemed patient from her timid response, "Ah! Ye-yes, I'll do my best so you all should have fun. . ."
"Right, now let's get going everyone! We are on schedule so let's keep it that way! I'd rather not have to deal with complaints for being late!" Mr. Marufuji nodded before announcing to everyone in the room that they will now leave.
Without wasting any more time and grasping onto the opportunity to skip classes for a good while, the students actually exited through the building one by one in orderly fashion. To the teacher's expectations, they kinda anticipated them stampeding their way to the bus for the best seats but this saves them the trouble of having a headache mid-flight. Those are usually the worst kind of headaches. As Seirus and his group made their way towards the door, Travis couldn't help but snicker as he stared at the teacher's back in front of him.
"Say. . .Seirus, you thinking what I am thinking?" The male student bodyguard asked.
Seirus looked a bit confused, "Huh, what?"
"You mean you didn't notice how reacted at when he came up to us?" He added, trying to give him small hints at what he was implying. Though, those hints were quickly proven to be futile to the simple mind that is Seirus.
"Hmm, no. I don't really get it, heheh!" The Nexus duelist chuckled before asking, "Was it how she nearly fell out of her seat? If so then yeah, it was pretty funny!"
Travis shook his head at how dense he was. So much that he felt that if he even tried to go into explaining further that he'd get his own fair share of frustrations. So, he went with the best case scenario and left it be with a feign agreement, "Yeah. . .honestly she has the funniest reactions, hahahahahahah!"
"True that, ahahahah-Ow!" Seirus laughed briefly until he felt a book hit him on top of his head. He looked back, his hand scratching the spot in hopes to ease the pain as Aki glared at him with Arata nervously smirking next to her.
"Enough of the teasing, Yuzaki. Or I'll tie that mouth of yours shut. . ." She growled.
Slightly scared for his life but also knowing full well that it was an innocent joke, Seirus nodded in understanding, "My bad, my bad! Sorry about that, Aki!" The psychic duelist grunted and retracted her book from smacking him again before going back to her studying. Seriously, how is she able to see where she is going so perfectly while also processing information that would have imploded Seirus's brain in seconds? Must be some psychic ability she has reserved as a secret or something. That was the only rational explanation Seirus could come up with. He smiled, and looked forward as soon as the dawn's light struck his face, illuminating it as he looked forward to having fun on the first school-trip of the year. But will this be an adventure one or one filled with trials that will push him to the edge? Only time will tell. . .
(After About 35 Minute Bus Drive, Diamond Stone City's Central Airport Line. . .)
"Finally, I thought that we would never get here. . ." Seirus sighed.
After what felt like one of the longest bus rides he's been on which he had a feeling this wouldn't be the last, the Duel Academy students and teachers finally arrived at the airport only just five minutes before their actual flight. To their credit, after they all got off the bus to which was rowdy as kids chatted with little use of their inside voice and even played a few rounds of excruciating games that normally ruin friendships. Though, aside from that, actually getting on the plane right now was just about the last thing they needed to finish doing before they take off. From initial glance, Seirus was sorta amazed at how big the plane was which begged him to wonder how much funds were put into planning this school-trip but he didn't want to think too much about it. Right now, he wanted to sit down in those comfy looking seats that looked to have a lot of padding in it to where he could sink in and disappear at any moment. Though, his friends that would be sitting with him would be forced to watch since the seats were designed to be in restaurant format with the seats at least facing three other seats on the opposite side with a table between them. However, there weren't many seats left in the back since they were in the back of the line and they were taken by the other students so they were opting for a closer seat up front instead.
Soon enough, they manage to spot some open sets just enough so that all of them can be close to each other with Lucky being the one to tug who seemed to be group leader, "Hey bro, there are some open seats over there! Let's snag them before they are taken!"
"Really, sweet! Nice spot, Lucky! Hey guys, follow us!" Seirus noted.
Without really much questions behind the insistence, Group 3C made their way to the seats they spotted and began to take their respective seats without realizing they were about the last ones to do so. As far as seating went, They really didn't bother paying attention to where exactly they sat since this group was just about as out-of-whack compared to the others from other people's perspective. Nonetheless, being able to finally sit in one of those comfy seats was probably one of the greatest bliss that Seirus ever felt, next to winning his first duel.
"Ahhhh, this feels sooooo good. I can get used to this," Seirus relaxed. His body sank back into the seat.
He wasn't alone in his remark as Lucky and soon Arata felt the same. It was so good that Lucky felt like going to sleep right now, "You are right about that, bro. . .probably the best kind of seats for a seven hour flight."
"Facts, and the best part is going to be breakfast. I heard they are serving all you can eat pancakes or anything you want with it," Arata added.
Hearing this made Seirus's mouth water, "All you can eat. . .? Heheheheheh. . . ." His low chuckle and rather comical expression told everyone the whole story about how much he was looking forward to it. Though, his anticipating thoughts were cut off by the sound of someone clearing his throat.
"Ahem, I know you're excited and definitely hungry but as much as I like yah, please refrain from drooling about food in front of the princess," Travis requested with a simple, amused look on his face.
The Nexus duelist froze in his spot at the sight of the three Astraeans that were sitting across from him. How did he not realize they were there? Better yet, the question should have been, why didn't he realize that as it was too obvious and simple to screw that up. He didn't want to be rude but preferably he'd sit with Aki and Momo along with Arata and Lucky joining them of course but after realizing that they were literally in the seats adjacent to their while sitting with Ryoma and Orga along with , he was forced to reflect on his consistent stupidity. But, it wasn't like he minded this all too much but still. . .was he really that oblivious? Now that he got a better look, the princess was already facing him as they sat opposite each other while Travis was facing Arata which left Lucky to face the disturb and disgusted look from Rena head on.
Realizing this, Seirus quickly shook himself into a more thinking mindset and chuckled nervously, "Heheh, my bad. Sorta lost my head in the clouds there I guess." As if the pun manifested itself into reality, it was at this moment that the plane began to start moving to everyone's surprise. They really were trying to make it there before noon so it made sense that the pilots were given the go once everyone got comfortable and seated. Which also meant that, it was too late to switch seats as it didn't take long for them to lift off the ground and into morning skies. Once the flight took off, the plane seemed to be notably quiet compared to how loud the bus was, mostly due to the students wasting their energy too early as quite a bit decided to take a nap before it was time for breakfast to be ready.
Sighing back into his seat, Seirus took out his PDA and began scrolling through the information about the different sites accessible during the trip. He had no WiFi so this was all he could do aside from sorting through his deck or playing some board game but he had planned on saving those for later. Spotting this, Arata couldn't help but peek in and ask, "So, watcha doing their Seirus? Planning out what you're going to see first?"
"Huh? Oh, no," He chuckled, answering, "More like what I am going to see next. First, I wanna check out this Duel Colosseum."
He pointed to the image on the screen showcasing the large structure and all the info regarding it. Seeing this, Arata smirked as he added, "The Duel Colosseum? Man, looks like it is true that great minds think alike! I wanted to check that out too!"
"Seriously, that's awesome! Hey, Lucky!" Seirus called out as he turned to face his little pal who gave him his attention, "Which place are you visiting first? If you don't have one, then you should come with us!"
"Uh. . .sure, though I may be a little late. You see, I was going to visit my grandpa first when I had the chance," Lucky admitted.
"You're grandpa? Ah, that's right, you aren't actually from Diamond Stone City," Seirus recalled.
Sheepishly, Lucky nodded before explaining, "Yeah, you see, my grandpa lives with my mother and father in a house around the same area as the Duel Colosseum. Grandpa is too ill to live alone so mom made sure to take care of him while dad works the late hours but when he is home, he is best friends with my grandpa."
"I see, so your family is really close huh?" Seirus smiled as Lucky nodded.
"Yeah, and they are actually the ones who encouraged me to try and become a duelist as they were willing enough to send me to Duel Academy in Diamond Stone. Knowing that, I owe them a lot," Lucky revealed with a bit more enthusiastic energy than usual.
Though, Seirus could understand why, since it was a bond that a real family shared and when you talk about all the good things about them, a sense of pride washes over you for being related to them. It was the same way he would talk back when he was in elementary school and would boast about how great Leonardo was and all the things he would do for him such as buying him a new toy and such.
Musingly, he leaned back into his seat with a smile on his face, "Man, sounds like you and your folks are chummy. I wonder if it is any different. . ." The last bit came out in a low mutter as Lucky noticed him strangely grow a bit distant in his thoughts. He wasn't alone as everyone else picked up on his uncanny change in his attitude.
"Hmm, something on your mind, Seirus? Arata asked. He was always going to be the one to be straightforward with things that seem a little personal. But it was like he said before. . .they sure do think and act alike in many ways.
"Hmm, just a thought but. . ." Seirus paused as he smiled the same way he did back at the Battle Dome, "Hearing about Lucky's bond with his family makes me think about the old man."
"That's right, from adding up all the things you said before, the Chancellor has been your foster father since you were a kid, right?" Arata recalled.
"That's true though in truth, he's been in my life before I was even born. From what he would tell me, he was really close to my actual parents. Him and my dad were even research partners for a space company before he met my mom so he would always have to deal with their excessive talking about how excited they were to meet me. Hehe, honestly saying it outloud is oddly embarrassing!" Seirus noted with a bit of energy until he toned it back down as he continued to smile. Subconsciously, he clutched on the pendant given to him by Leonardo during the time he found out he was the chancellor "But. . .according to the old, they had to leave somewhere shortly after I was born so I don't remember their faces. . ."
Noticing the small gesture as he said that, Travis couldn't help but mutter, "That pendant. . .I was going to ask but ever since the chancellor called us to his office you had it on you at all times."
"Mhm, the old man gave it to me once you all left. Apparently, it was a family treasure that used to belong to my mom. He called it the Luminous Key. . ." Seirus said.
Lucky frowned with a bit of unusual guilt, "Ah, sor-sorry bro. If I knew that would make you think about such-!"
"It's alright," Seirus interrupted with an assuring smile. He looked up at the ceiling of the plane while Lucky was left confused along with everyone else. Though only Orga and Ryoma who could barely overhear the conversation remained neutral to the whole thing while Aki withheld her readings though even she was listening in as he continued, "Even though I didn't have my biological parents around, the old man still made sure to make sure my childhood was fun even though I was pretty much a pain in the butt. However, there are times I notice how he seems to doze off and I always assume that he was thinking about my parents. That shows how close he was to them and I tried my best to distract him whenever I saw that face of his with things that would piss him off or get angry a bit. It's also the reason why I don't pester him about my parent's whereabouts or why he tells me not to do certain things as much. . .even if I myself find myself wishing to know. . .what kind of people were they? What kind of people were the same ones who left me behind with a deck and a pendant. . . ?"
After he asked those questions, not them but mostly. . .to himself, everyone really didn't know what to say. From as long as they only briefly knew him, he always appeared initially as that one kid who seemed to always have a permanent smile on his face even in the face of danger. In fact, he did have a smile on his face when he faced danger, repeatedly too. Though, his cheerful and carefree demeanor did slowly crack a few times as he bonded closer with them; mostly with Arata, Lucky, Momo, and Aki. Especially when he talked about his foster father who he constantly emphasized how close they were. But this time around. . .it was different. His words felt a bit more sad when he explained it all. It was so unorthodox for someone like him in particular to have such a background though it made sense. Since birth, he's been raised as a normal, naive and innocent boy who had always curiously wondered a totally rational question. Such is a curse of a child's innocence but that didn't stop him from holding it in for the sake of someone who probably misses the parents who couldn't wait to see him just as much as he does. . .even though he never saw them. However, even now it is still apparent that those thoughts still linger on yet he keeps that positive attitude of his. One would have to think. . .is it forced?
Noticing the awkwardness he created, Seirus quickly decided to reassure them, "Ah, but there is one thing that I do know. . ." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his deck with Xernus sitting up front and ready. Smiling, he singled out his ace monster and held it out in front of him.
"It may be a gut feeling of hopefulness, but the fact they left behind this deck must have meant they knew that they wouldn't see me for a long time so in order for me to find out what kind of people they were then I would need to learn about the 'world' they saw with this deck. That's why I wanted to become a duelist. . .in order to experience and learn what kind of people the old man misses so much. As of now, I'm loving every bit of that world as a duelist. It's so fun, much too fun! Even before when I watched pro duels on T.V and when the old man would teach me a few things himself!" Seirus admitted, his more overly positive grin widening solidifying before looking up with those bright, green eyes of his, "In time, when we do meet again, I'll show not just them but also the old man how much of a duelist I've become."
His shining eyes from explaining his reasoning behind taking an interest in duel monsters, to experiencing and getting addicted to it until he found himself to where he is today was all but awe inspiring. It was as if. . .his parents, wherever they were, knew that this would happen and wanted them to explore such a thing himself. But most of all, they felt that judging by his facial expression now, they could only conclude that maybe they were right. . .With that desire to learn more about his parents through experiencing dueling gave birth to his new found love for dueling. It was poetic in a way, almost as though his mother gave birth twice. One to the child and person known as Seirus Yuzaki but also the duelist known as Seirus Yuzaki. Though, unbeknownst to them as they somewhat admired his passion and reasons, the silver haired student in their group subconsciously looked down at his own necklace.
He couldn't help but notice it. . .even though it seemed like a small glistening light from his view, it was enough to entice a memory from long ago as a male voice's words echoed through his head, "Hey, Ryoma! Let's forget about everything else and go to that place you love so much! If you're down for it, let's have a match like before. What do you say, _ _ _ _ _ _ _?" Without realizing it, he clenched the necklace where the torn card was resting over his heart as he quickly realized it. That Seirus was beginning to resemble him.
A/N:Ah, ending the chapter off with some wholesome while having a somewhat light-hearted fun in the beginning. That aside, I didn't expect this chapter to be that long since once again; No dueling, just mostly interactions and them gathering together. For some reason, I didn't want to put out some half-baked interaction when I was setting up the main characters for this trip and gathering them together all in one writing session. But the main character is the new one I introduced; Ryoma Seiun since he is the last one to really become acquainted with Seirus even though it isn't much. I won't go any too much into his purpose but you'll soon be in for a shock later on. Speaking of which, the highlight of this chapter is mainly of course towards the end. So far, I've kept Seirus's motivations and his underlying feelings about his background vague on purpose to set up for this particular scene. As I wrote it out, I wanted to try and make Seirus as human as possible while still keeping his trademark positive traits in tact. I did this because as you should probably read closely at the end on how Ryoma reacts to overhearing Seirus's talk with everyone else, especially the placement of their respective necklaces. In a sense, the end of the chapter was truly where I wanted to get the story to in this chapter as it has a lot of symbolism that ties with how the story will go. Just keep that in mind. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the read and sorry for no action in this chapter again. Things will progress slowly to the dueling so please be patient く(^ｰﾟ)ﾉ! Until next time!