It's been a while, hasn't it.

Does a fanfiction count as Rated M if there's blood in it?

Sorry about the long hiatus, I hit writer's block during the making of this chapter and I just felt like I needed a break for the summer.

Then Summer ended, and I somehow ended up with a PS4, and I have since then devoted way too much time to Persona 5.

And just wait till I get Persona 3 and 4, I'll just vanish off the face of the planet, and that's not even counting when Persona 5 Royal comes out.

Chapter 12: A Broken Soul

"Woohoo! Field trip!" Yugo exclaimed as everyone in his class stood in front of a large private jet.

"Calm down, you spazz…" Yuri groaned as he wheeled in both his luggage and Yugo's luggage, "you would have forgotten all of your shit if it weren't for me…" he groaned.

"Oh! Shit, thanks!" Yugo panicked as he took his luggage from a very annoyed Yuri.

Meanwhile, the girls were talking amongst each other…

"I'm just saying, being bitten on the neck by a vampire is definitely hot!" Rin said angrily.

"I can see the appeal… but if you're bitten by a vampire, doesn't that make you a vampire?" Ruri asked.

"If a vampire was gonna bite me, I'd bet it would be like, really tragic!" Rin explained, "Like, he couldn't control himself anymore, and I was his only source of relief!" She said dreamily.

"Why are you so obsessed with necks?" Serena asked, "Is it because of the hickey?" She asked.

Rin frowned, "I still haven't figured out who sucked on my neck that night, and yeah, I think it's influencing me in some way…" she explained as she rubbed her neck.

Rin had wrapped her neck in a white bandages to avoid people seeing the purple love-bruises on her neck.

"What about you, Yuzu?" Ruri asked.

Yuzu's face flushed, "I-I don't even know what happened that night!" She exclaimed, "I woke up with Yuya in my bed! I don't even know how far we went!" She hissed.

"Well… he had already taken your first kiss, so don't worry about that…" Serena said with a smug grin.

"That doesn't count! We were acting!" Yuzu yelled as her face burned, "And stop talking about that! I-It's not like I like him or anything!" She yelled.

Everyone stared at her like she was some kind of exotic animal.

"What?" She asked.

"You are like… the epitome of the tsundere race…" Serena groaned.

Pigtails: Check

Short Skirt: Check

Thigh-Highs: Check

Adorable Blush-Face: Check

"I-It's not like I like him or anything!" Quote: Check

Volatile Temper: Check

"I-I'm not a tsundere!" Yuzu declared angrily.

"Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that…" Rin said under her breath.

Meanwhile, Yuya was talking with Yuto.

"So how far did you go with Yuzu?" Yuto asked.

"N-NOTHING, NOTHING HAPPENED!" Yuya exclaimed.

Yuto raised an eyebrow suspiciously, Yuya felt like he suddenly carried three-tons of weight on his shoulders.

"F-Fine!" Yuya gave up, "S-She… kissed me… again…" he whispered.

"That's all?" Yuto asked.

"Yes! I swear!" Yuya exclaimed.

Yuto sighed, "Well that's fine then… I was just afraid that my baby brother got too drunk and lost his virginity early on…" Yuto explained.

"E-Excuse me!? I was more sober than you!" Yuya yelled.

Yuto averted his eyes as memories of the "incident" flooded into his head, he vaguely remembered that he was bawling his eyes out for… some reason.

Soul and Syrup walked over, Syrup was clutching her throat tenderly.

"I can't wait for this field trip to start!" Syrup rasped.

"What's wrong with your voice!?" Both Yuya and Yuto yelled.

Soul sighed, "She yelled too much on 'that' night…" he explained, "It's finally caught up to her, she's lost her voice…" he said lazily.

"Don't worry!" Syrup spoke with a raspy voice, "I heard that Tea mixed with Honey and Lemon helps… apparently they have that on the plane…!" She struggled to get the entire sentence out her mouth.

"Well…" Yuto cleared his throat, "back to what I was talking about with Yuya… so she doesn't remember?" He asked.

"Not a thing!" Yuya exclaimed, "But every time I'm near her, it gets so awkward!" He yelled.

"Well… women are weird, I guess…" Soul said in an attempt to comfort the boy, only to get a hard smack in the back of his head, courtesy of Syrup.

Meanwhile…

Kurosaki walked over to his sisters, "I got your forms signed and handed them in, so you four are good to go…" he explained.

"Brother… did you…?" Ruri started to ask.

"No, I did not forge dad's signature…" he interrupted, "Just… trust me, okay?" He asked.

His sisters nodded nervously.

What Shun HAD done was give the papers over to Reiji, who then got a signature from his mother put on the papers. He had never met the lady, but she was technically his and his sister's step-mother.

"Alright, everyone!" Yuma called from the door of the jet, "Everyone line up, single-file, and find a seat here!" He yelled.

Though he had said "Single-file", what actually happened was literally every student attempting to cram themselves into the jet by force, regardless of Yuma's desperate yelling.

"N-No! Guys…! Single-file…!" Yuma tried to yell as he was trampled by his own class.

"Hey…" a voice from inside the plane caused everyone to freeze.

"Single-file… or else…" spoke Kotori as she stared at them with what SEEMED like a kind face, but everyone knew it was a face that screamed "do as I say or death will be the least of your problems.''

And in a single instant, everyone was calmly walking into the jet in a single-file line.

In the rush to get onto the plane, Yuya had panicked and just sat down at the first seat he saw.

Unfortunately, that seat just HAD to be next to Yuzu…

"So… uhh…" Yuya mumbled, "whats up?" He asked innocently.

"N-Nothing much…" Yuzu replied.

Awkward silence…

"So, uh…" Yuzu broke the silence, "About last night…" she said nervously.

Yuya gulped, "Y-Yeah…?" He replied.

"How… far did we go?" She asked nervously, "Please be honest with me…" she said as she twiddled her thumbs.

Yuya gulped.

"We… we didn't do… it… if that's what you're worried about…" he said calmly, "I promise…" he added for good measure.

"Okay… I'll trust you…" Yuzu replied.

Another awkward silence…

"What… did we do?" Yuzu finally asked.

A voice inside of Yuya's head told him not to tell her, but another told him to just tell her the truth.

He looked at Yuzu's face, she stared at him with wide, worried eyes.

He couldn't lie to that face…

"You were… really drunk…" Yuya started, "you dragged me into bed before I could leave, and you… said something about how the kiss in Romeo and Juliet was fun…" he explained.

Yuzu gulped, "Keep… keep going…" she said nervously.

"You… kissed me…" Yuya finally said, "then you passed out because of the alcohol…" he finished.

Yuzu's face burned, as did Yuya's.

Yuya's brothers, Yuzu's sisters, Soul, Syrup, Sora, and Gongenzaka were listening VERY intently.

"I see…" Yuzu finally said.

More silence…

"Well… that's good to know…" Yuzu finally said.

"Do… do you hate me?" Yuya asked.

"No! Of course not!" Yuzu exclaimed, "I-It's just… we're still friends, right?" She asked nervously.

"O-Of course!" Yuya exclaimed, "T-that is… if you want us to still be… friends…" Yuya said nervously.

Yuzu's face brightened, "Yeah… we were just drunk for the first time, let's leave it at that…" she said with a smile, extending her hand towards him for a handshake.

Yuya smiled back, "Yeah, let's just leave it at that…" he said as he took her hand and shook it firmly.

Soul stared at them with a look of curiosity, "well… that went well… a little disappointed though…" he admitted.

Their hands separated at last, allowing them to put their backs to each other and react in their own way.

Yuya clutched his chest and took gasped for air, "Oh my god… that was stressful…!" he wheezed under his breath.

Yuzu grabbed a pillow and squealed into it, "I-I-I K-Kissed him!?" She thought frantically, "Oh my god… my heart is gonna explode…!" She thought as her heart thumped rapidly in her chest.

It was gonna be a long flight…

Soul stared at his phone, the plane having free-wifi, something that was a welcome surprise.

He was looking at the search results for "Drake Fenice"

There was a large headline at the top, and he was debating whether to open the link or not.

"UDA Prodigy, Drake Fenice, tragically passes away while saving innocents in a hostage situation"

"Hey, Syrup?" Soul started, "Your ex… his name is Drake Fenice, right?" He asked.

Syrup, who had been staring out the window in wonder, looked back at him.

"Why so interested?" She joked, "Yeah, that's his name, why?" She asked.

Soul showed her his screen.

Syrup looked at it for a moment, her facial expression remained unchanged.

"Different Drake…" she finally said.

"Hm?" Said Soul.

"That's not my Drake," she said again, "now stop asking me about my ex…" she said firmly before turning her back to him.

Soul looked at his screen, there was an image of the boy who apparently passed away, he matched Syrup's description fairly well… and Drake Fenice isn't exactly a common name.

"Well… whatever, I guess…" he said as he put the phone away.

"Hey! Look at that!" Yugo yelled as he pressed his face up against the window.

"I can't see anything with your big, fat head in the way!" Yuri snapped as he attempted to look out the same window.

Yuto took off a sleep-mask and glared at them, "Shut up…" he groaned.

Soul didn't bother to take off his sleep-mask, but he glared at the direction of the commotion and spoke, "Oi! Shut up, I'm trying to sleep here!" He snapped.

Out of their window, was a beautiful island with golden beaches, tall and shining skyscrapers, and perfectly glimmering, blue water all around.

"Amazing…!" Yuya gasped as he and Yuzu looked out the window.

"Gongenzaka! You're blocking the window with your body!" Sora exclaimed nearby, causing the sound of Gongenzaka frantically attempting to move out of the way to fill the aircraft.

"Attention, everyone!" Yuma suddenly called out as he walked along the plane's hallway, "As you can see, we've just about reached our destination!" He said with a… suspicious smile.

A click suddenly resonated throughout the plane, Yuri looked down at his seatbelt and realized that it was locked in, and that he couldn't open it.

"Hm… huh…? Are we here already…?" Kotori groaned as she began to wake up as well.

She too, was locked into her seat.

"Now… I only have one question…" Yuma said mischievously, "Everyone here can fly in some way, correct? If you can, raise your hand…" he said calmly.

Everyone in the class had undergone and passed the class when it came to utilizing the power of flight, even if they didn't have a monster who could naturally fly.

Everyone raised their hands, some nervously.

"Good, good…" Yuma said as he placed his hands behind his head, "Now I only have three things to say to you then…" he said with a grin, "Go for the beach, put anything you don't wanna lose in either your bag or your pocket… and don't crash into a building!" he said as he looked like he was about to burst into laughter.

"Wait… what's that supposed to mean?" Yugo asked as Yuri started to frantically try and unlock his seatbelt.

Kotori's eyes suddenly widened, "Wait-YUMA, I'M STILL IN MY SEAT!" She started to scream.

Everyone took that as a sign to put whatever they had in their hands (phone's and the like) in either the bag under their seat, or their pockets.

"And with that! Have a great day!" Yuma said cheerfully as he pulled out a remote with a big red button.

He pressed it.

The floor beneath everyone's seats suddenly vanished, dropping everyone out of the plane.

"WHAT THE FUUUUuuuuu…" Yugo's screams quickly vanished as the plane began to empty.

"YUMA WAIT!" Kotori screamed before falling out of the plane as well.

"Huh!? Kotori!?" Yuma exclaimed as he looked behind him, the floor closing up in the areas where it had opened up.

"She tried to tell you that she was still strapped in…" Astral chimed.

"SHIT!" Yuma yelled as he ran towards a seat that HADN'T fallen out of the plane, sat in it, strapped himself in, and pressed the button again, causing him to fall out of the plane again.

Meanwhile…

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Yugo screamed as they fell through the sky, the seat unlocking and allowing them to fall out of them, into a complete freefall.

Soul opened his eyes as he looked around him.

"Oh…" he muttered, "this shit again…" he groaned before closing his eyes again.

"OUR LIVES ARE IN IMMINENT DANGER, WAKE UP!" Syrup screamed at him.

"KYAAAAA!" Yuzu screamed as she clung to Yuya as they fell, "Y-YUZU, LET GO! WE NEED TO TRANSFORM!" Yuya screamed as they continued to fall.

"YUMAAAAAAA!" Kotori screamed as she fell through the air, "YOU ARE SO DEAD!" She yelled.

"SOMEBODY THROW SOMETHING AT SOUL!" Syrup yelled as she fell below Soul.

"Fine! Fine! I'm up…" Soul groaned as he flew through the air towards Yugo, promptly latching onto him.

"Hurry up and transform…" he groaned lazily.

"The hell!? I'm not your personal taxi!" Yugo yelled as he surrounded himself in white light, transforming into Clear Wing, and basically allowing Soul to hitch a ride.

Meanwhile, Yuma transformed into Hope and flew towards Kotori, promptly catching her.

"Yuma, you idiot!" She yelled as she laid in the Xyz Monster's large arms, "You know I'm afraid of heights!" She yelled.

"I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" Yuma yelled as he flew the green-haired girl to safety.

Eventually, everyone (except Soul) transformed and flew down to the beach below them, where Yuma awaited.

Everyone collapsed on the sand beneath them, most gasping for air as the panic slowly left their bodies.

"Well, I assume you're all awake now?" Yuma joked.

What he earned from that, was a series of glares.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Yuma said, "It was good flying practice, and a good way to steel your nerves!" He said optimistically.

The glares did not decrease in intensity, in fact, they got worse.

Yuma sweatdropped, "W-Well would you look at that! The bus is here!" He exclaimed as he pointed at a large bus that pulled up nearby, "Your bags and belongings will be delivered to your room before you even arrive! So don't worry about that!" He said cheerfully.

They still glared at him, but at least they might forgive him later…

"Whoa! Look at this place!" Yuya exclaimed as they stood at the entrance of a large skyscraper, and probably the most luxurious hotel they would ever see.

"Yuya? Is that you?"

Yuya turned around to see a familiar voice.

"Kachidoki?" Yuya asked as he turned around.

It was indeed Kachidoki, he smiled as he extended a hand for a handshake, "long time no see!" He said with a smile.

"Yeah! How are you doing?" Yuya said cheerfully.

Everyone stared at the two as if they were aliens, "The last time you guys met, you were fighting brutally…" was what all of them were thinking, or at least, something along the lines.

"Good, though I spent quite a lot of time recovering from our fight," he explained, "we still don't know what my sudden power-up was about… but it nearly killed me…" he said.

"Seriously…?" Yuya asked with a look of concern.

Kachidoki grinned, "Yeah, if you hadn't beaten me, I would have been in trouble," he said, "you really saved my ass, thanks!" He said with a bow.

"Why are these two getting along so well!?" Yuya's brothers each thought simultaneously.

"Anyways, I'm merely a spectator now," he said as he stood up straight again, "but it's you that I'll be rooting for… you opened my eyes, after all…" he said with a smile.

Yuya smiled back at him, "I appreciate it! Thanks!" He said with a grin.

Yuzu looked at Kachidoki nervously as he walked away, "I… can't say I expected that…" she said as Yuya waved.

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

"I said no…"

Rin was currently in a wall-slam situation, yet again.

This had actually happened quite a lot since the first time… and you could now accurately predict what would happen next.

First: Yaiba would wall-slam Rin in order to ask her out.

"Come on! It's not like you're dating anybody else!" Yaiba pleaded.

Second: Rin turns him down.

"No! I don't want to!" Rin declared as she attempted to get away from the boy.

Third: Yugo arrives.

"Hey! Get away from her!" Yugo said angrily as he pushed Yaiba away from Rin.

"Huh!? You again!?" Yaiba yelled back as the two butted heads.

"Stop asking Rin out! She said no!" Yugo exclaimed.

"What, it's not like you're her boyfriend or anything, so stay out of it!" Yaiba yelled back.

Fourth: Shun Kurosaki.

Suddenly, both boys were grabbed and lifted off the ground by their shirt-collars.

And they ended up face-to-face with Shun.

"Listen here…" Shun growled, "my sisters are off the table… so fuck off" he said menacingly.

"Y-Yes sir…" they both said sheepishly.

"Sheesh… talk about a sister complex…" Yuri muttered under his breath.

"What was that!?" Shun yelled in Yuri's direction.

"NOTHING, SHUT UP!" Yuri yelled back.

Yuto sighed as he took Yugo off of Shun's hands, "You know, you should really trust my brothers a little more…" he said exasperatedly.

Shun scoffed, "They haven't given me a reason to…" he said defiantly.

"I didn't when we first met," Yuto pointed out, "yet you trusted me… why?" He asked.

Shun thought for a moment, "I don't know… somehow I just felt like I could trust you…" he said with a confused look on his face.

Yuto frowned, but then grinned, "Well… thanks…" he said with a smile, "Yuri might be a dick sometimes, and Yugo can be a little dumb…" he said as he watched Yugo walk back to Yuya and Yuri, "but they're still my brothers, and I trust them with my life" he finished.

Shun stared at him, he could tell he was sincere.

"I'll think about it…" he finally said, "what about Yuya?" He asked.

Yuto chuckled, "Honestly… he's the best out of all of us…" Yuto explained, "we've been through a lot, us brothers, but we never could have gotten through it without Yuya" said Yuto.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shun asked.

Yuto chuckled, "It's a long story, forget about it…" Yuto said mysteriously, "I wish you luck in the tournament, even if we end up facing off once more" Yuto said with a grin.

Shun grinned back, "If we do fight, you better not hold anything back." Shun said as he extended his hand.

Yuto grinned, "I expect the same from you, Kurosaki." Yuto said as he took the hand and shook it firmly.

Meanwhile, Ruri looked at the two and smiled, "It's good to see that you're getting along with someone, brother…" she said with a smile.

"Whoa!" Yuya exclaimed as he and his brothers entered a large hotel room with his brothers, "Is this… is this seriously just a hotel room!?" He said as they looked around.

Two bathrooms, four bedrooms, a large living room, and an incredibly large balcony.

And all of their bags and belongings were already in the room.

"I never thought I would ever be in a hotel this luxurious…" Yugo said as he relaxed into one of the couches.

"Hey, that door connects to the room nextdoor, right?" Yuri asked, pointing to a large door against the wall.

"Yeah, apparently Ruri and the others are in that one," Yuto said as he opened the door.

There was another door, but with no handle.

"What's with that?" Yugo asked.

"They have a door as well, both doors have to be opened from each side" Yuto explained as he knocked on the door.

"Hello?" Yuto asked as he knocked.

A moment passed, and the door was opened by Ruri.

"Oh! So that's what this door is for!" Ruri said as the connection between both rooms was opened.

"Doesn't that just make this just one huge room?" Yuya asked.

"Technically yes, but we're closing our door at night, you got it?" Serena said as she suddenly appeared and walked into the boys side.

"Yes ma'am!" Yuri suddenly spoke up, surprising all of his brothers.

Soon enough, everyone was in the boys side of the room.

"Have you guys seen the tournament brackets yet?" Rin asked as she waved a paper above her head, everyone crammed in front of her to see.

"Whoa… Soul and Syrup have the first match?" Yuzu pointed out.

Indeed, it was Soul and Syrup in the first match.

"Who are they fighting?" Yuya asked.

"A team called… The Feared?" Serena said as she read the paper out loud, "Are they scary or just really edgy?" She asked sarcastically.

"Hey, what's with all of these same-name teams?" Yuri asked while ignoring Serena's comment, "There's like, three Obelisk Forces and three Sector Securities…" he pointed out.

"Are the other schools like, trying to increase their chances of winning?" Ruri asked, "Is that even allowed?" She asked as they stared at the paper.

"I mean, there's no rule saying you can't do that…" said Yugo.

"Who are we fighting?" Yuya said, asking the important questions, really.

"Let's see… 'The Holy Trinity' is listed next to us…" Yuto read out loud.

"Hah! Sounds like their egos are showing!" Yuri taunted.

"Like you're one to talk, Yuri!" Serena exclaimed with a scoff.

"What was that, bitch?" Yuri snapped.

"What did you just call me, dipshit?" Serena growled in return.

Everyone collectively agreed to ignore them.

"Who are we fighting?" Yuzu asked.

"Let's see… one of the Academia teams, Obelisk Force #2" Yuya replied.

"I wonder what their deal is…" Yuri said as the girls suddenly went silent.

"Hey, look at the back of the paper!" Rin said in an attempt to change the subject, and prompting the group to turn the paper over.

What was on the paper was a paragraph of text.

All students must be present at 8:00 AM for roll call at the assembly hall, where you will line up in front of your homeroom teacher. You may use the time outside of this in whatever way you wish, but you must be back in your rooms by 10.00 PM. The first bracket of the tournament begins tomorrow at 12:00 PM, please talk to your homeroom teacher for more details. The hotel restaurant will provide a free meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but if you eat at any other place on the island, you will have to pay with your own money.

"What else does it say?" Yuri asked as Yuto finished reading the text for everyone.

"It just has a list of the hotel's facilities…" Yuto said as they looked down at the bottom of the paper.

Facilities in the hotel include:

Swimming Pool

Restaurant

Real-Solid-Vision Training Room

Various Gift Shops

The list went on and on for quite a while, actually.

"Wow, look at all of the stuff here!" Yuzu said excitedly, "We still have time left in the day, right? Let's go out and walk around!"

And so, it was decided on what the group's activities would be.

"Hey Yuya, look at this!" Yuri said with a mischievous grin on his face.

Yuri was standing next to a restaurant with its menu on display, he had his signature grin and was oddly excited.

"Look…!" Yuri said as he snickered, he pointed at something on the drink menu.

THIS WEEK'S SPECIAL: Yuzu Juice

Yuya choked for a moment while Yuri burst out laughing, meanwhile Yuzu's face turned bright red before smacking both of them with a paper fan.

"S-Shut up! It's not my fault I'm named after a fruit!" She said indignantly.

Yuri continued to laugh, "Y-Yuya! You should get some!" He said through his fit of giggles, "Then you can tell us all about what Yuzu tastes like-" he managed to get out before he got another smack across the back of his head.

"S-Shut up!" Yuzu yelled once more.

Yuto and Yugo both decided to hide their blushes from the rest of the group, blushes caused by Yuri's sexual innuendo. "O-Oh hush, Yuri… that's inappropriate…" Yuto said as he put an arm up to cover his face.

"Y-Yeah! Stop being a p-pervert, Yuri!" Yugo said as he turned and faced the other direction.

"Hypocrite" all of the girls said at once, Yugo fell over in response.

Serena looked over at Yuya, his face was almost as red as his hair, giving her an idea…

"Hey, Yuzu!" She called out, "You should find some tomato juice! Then you'll know what Yuya tastes like as well!" She called out.

"Huh?" Yuzu said as she looked over at Yuya.

It was then that she noticed what his hair resembled.

If you really looked at it with the idea of a tomato, you could definitely see the resemblance.

After realizing the context behind the joke, her face went bright red as well, giving the group two blushing messes to deal with.

Ruri pulled on Serena's ear, "Is Yuri a bad influence on you?" She asked as Serena tried to keep a straight face.

"To be perfectly honest, I think we're both bad influences on each other…" Serena answered honestly.

"Guilty as charged…" Yuri said as Yuto pulled on his ear as well.

Rin decided that it was probably a good idea to change the subject, luckily, she found the perfect thing.

"Hey, is that Syrup and Soul?" She asked, pointing at the two in question nearby.

Everyone turned their heads, apparently those two were going to be in the first match of the first bracket.

Soul was talking with a tiny old man while Syrup looked… nervous, for some reason.

"Let's go say hi!" Yuya said after shaking his head to get his mind off of Yuri's "joke".

Yuzu did the same, "Y-Yeah!" She said as she and Yuya ran off, a shit-eating grin still etched on Yuri's face.

"What's going on?" Yuya asked as they arrived at the scene, Syrup gave them all a worried glance, "Apparently… he's Soul's grandpa…" she rasped while rubbing her throat, still unable to speak properly.

"His grandpa?" Yugo asked as he arrived next to them, "Hey, come to think of it… what was Soul's last name again?" Yugo asked.

"Um… it was Mess… Messo… Messora…" Syrup tried to say while trying to remember what his last name was. They had actually never known what Soul's surname was.

"Messoran," Soul cut her off suddenly, "my last name is Messoran, now let your voice rest…" he said with an exasperated look on his face.

"Messoran?" Said Yuri, "Where have I heard that name before…" he wondered out loud.

"Soul!" The old man suddenly spoke up, "I am telling you this for your own good! Keeping that power sealed like that is going to have repercussions!" He said loudly, "And your way of dealing with grief is unhealthy! You must-" he continued to rant.

"Oh shuddup…" Soul hissed, his glare colder than usual, "I'll deal with that bridge when I get to it…" he said with a cold glare, "And who are you to lecture me on grief?" He hissed.

The old man flinched and looked down at the ground, "I… see you still haven't forgiven us…" he said with a sad look on his face.

Soul's face softened slightly, but it returned to it's cold glare as Soul answered his grandfather, "No, no I haven't…" he said before turning and walking away. "I wanna be alone!" He yelled back at Syrup, who reluctantly nodded.

"Best… to let him calm… first…" She explained in her raspy voice.

The old man smiled at her, "I see you are Soul's friend… It's good to see that he still tries to be with people…" he said before walking away as well.

"AAAH!" Yuri suddenly yelled, "Messoran! I seriously forgot about that!?" Yuri exclaimed after the old man had left.

"What's up?" Serena asked.

"The Messoran Family!" Yuri exclaimed, "Ritual Monsters ringing any bells!?" He yelled.

Everyone except Yuya, Yugo, and Syrup, suddenly reacted in the same way Yuri did.

"Wait, there's no way!"

"We wouldn't have missed something like that!"

"Sorry, am I the only one lost here?" Yugo piped up with a confused look on his face, "No, I'm lost as well…" Yuya replied.

"Do you two ever pay attention in class?" Yuzu scolded, "The Messoran Family is a RITUAL family! One of the biggest ones in the world, actually!" Yuzu explained.

"Ritual Family?" Yuya and Yugo asked as their heads tilted to the side in confusion.

We interrupt this program to give our viewers a brief lesson in Ritual Monsters and Ritual Families.

Ritual Monsters:

Unlike other monster types, Ritual Monsters are rare and require a special ritual in order to link them with oneself. Certain rituals are passed down the generations through the families of a Ritual Monster user, resulting in what we know as Ritual Families. Duelists gain the ability to use Ritual Monsters of a certain type after undergoing a specific ritual for that type (Examples: The Cyber Angel Ritual, which gives the user access to Cyber Angel Ritual Monsters), however sometimes, though rare, the spirit of a Ritual Monster will deem a duelist worthy of their power and give them the knowledge of their Ritual, allowing the duelist to use their power.

Ritual Families:

There aren't very many Ritual Families, but they are all known for the powerful abilities that are passed down the generations.

Yuya and Yugo were each on their knees while Yuzu and Rin respectively berated them on their lack of attention in class.

"We studied this recently!" Yuzu scolded.

"You both are going to fail if you don't get your act together!" Rin berated.

"What ritual does Soul's family use then?" Ruri asked.

"The Messorans are very secretive…" Yuto replied, "apparently it's called the 'Blademaster's Ritual' or something…" he explained.

"Wait, doesn't that mean Soul can use Ritual Monsters?" Yuya asked after Yuzu finally let him off the hook with a mere smack with her paper fan.

"But… only uses… Armed Dragon…" Syrup rasped.

"Alright, somebody get this girl some tea or something, I can hardly understand her!" Serena declared angrily.

"His grandpa said something about Soul not forgiving them or something, you think he has a backstory?" Yuzu asked.

"Well, we shouldn't just speculate about it…" Yuri said exasperatedly, "Let's go get Syrup something for her throat, we can ask Soul about it later…" he said as he and Serena began to drag Syrup away.

Meanwhile…

Soul entered his hotel room and promptly fell onto his bed, exhausted.

He let out a loud sigh as he turned onto his back and brushed away the hair that usually covered his right eye, revealing a golden-colored eye, unlike his left eye, which was a blood-like crimson.

Although that wasn't even the strangest part, the pupil in his right eye was a lighter shade of gold then the rest of his eye, along with being the shape of a four-pointed star.

"How can I forgive them… when I can't even forgive myself…" he muttered as he slowly began to drift off into a deep sleep.

"Why… WHY!?"

"For you… obviously…"

The next day was hectic beyond belief.

It was, after all, the first day of the second round of the tournament.

"You better thank us!" Sora exclaimed as all eight of the boys and girls sat down in the spectator seats together, "Saving eight seats is hard, you know!" He said with a pout.

"Sorry!" Yuya apologized as his brothers fought for whichever seat was the "best".

"Do not worry, Sora is exaggerating," Gongenzaka came into the conversation, "we reserved these seats, they were safe the entire time." He explained.

"Hey! Quit ruining my joke!" Sora said with a pout as the Yuya chuckled.

"So, when are we gonna see Syrup and Soul fight?" Yugo asked.

"As soon as it starts, be patient!" Said Rin.

Suddenly, loud fireworks shot into the air above them, causing the crowd to go wild.

An explosion of brightly colored smoke erupted on a podium at the end of the stadium, revealing a tall man wearing a suit with yellow and black stripes, and a wide smile on his face.

"Goooood MORNING everybody!" He yelled into a microphone, "I'm your host, Nico Smiley!" He exclaimed as he twirled a bright-colored staff in one hand.

A helicopter suddenly flew overhead, a blonde woman wearing cowgirl attire standing inside it.

"And I'm your hostess! Melissa Claire!" She yelled into a microphone of her own.

"And welcome to the first Arc Evolution Tournament!" They yelled together as more explosions of brightly-colored smoke erupted from around the stadium.

"They really pulled out all the stops…" Yuto said with a grin.

"That Nico Smiley dude is creeping me out…" Rin muttered, "Yeah… how does he keep smiling like that?" Yuzu said in agreement.

Yugo, however, made a cat call in Melissa Claire's direction, "The cowgirl is pretty cute though-" he began to say before impending doom descended upon him…

*CRUNCH*

Yugo gasped for air as Rin's fist sunk deep into Yugo's stomach.

"Is… is his stomach supposed to make that noise…?" Everyone else thought simultaneously.

Yugo-being-a-perv Counter: 3

"What god… decided to bless you… with superhuman strength…?" Yugo gasped as he fell over.

Rin's face flushed, "S-shut up!" She yelled as she sat back down and pouted.

Ruri inched her face closer to Rin's.

"You aren't gonna steal his heart like that, you know…" she whispered.

"I'M NOT TRYING TO DO THAT!" Rin yelled as her face went into a tomato-level of red.

Yugo laid limply on the ground, foam coming out of his mouth as he twitched occasionally.

"Rest in peace…" all of the boys thought simultaneously, putting their hands together in a praying-fashion.

"I'm not dead yet… assholes…" Yugo groaned.

"Maybe we should we rename the 'Yugo-being-a-perv' counter to the 'Yugo-almost-fucking-dies' counter…" Yuri asked murmured.

"Huh?" Everyone said in unison.

"Huh? Never mind…" Yuri waved them off.

"Today we have the three highest-level of Duelist Academies gathered here today, as well as the headmasters who run them all!" Nico yelled as chairs began to rise up from behind him.

"Please welcome, the headmaster of Sector Academy… JEAN-MICHEL ROGER!" Melissa exclaimed as the smoke cleared around one of the chairs, revealing Roger to be sitting there with a smug grin on his face.

"And that's not all! Please welcome, the headmaster of Academia…" Nico continued, "LEO AKABA!" He exclaimed.

However, when the smoke cleared, nobody was sitting in that seat.

Everyone went silent.

Nico cleared his throat, "…Who ISN'T here with us today!" He exclaimed nervously.

"Seriously? What kind of shitty headmaster is this guy?" Yuri said with a shit-eating grin.

Unbeknownst to them, Yuzu and her sisters each let out a sigh of relief.

"But we do have someone who IS here!" Melissa declared as the smoke around the middle-chair began to clear.

"Please welcome… the headmaster of United Duelist's Academy… ATEM, and YUGI MOTO!" They both declared at the same time.

The yellow smoke cleared, revealing Atem sitting proudly in a fancy seat… and Yugi in a small stool next to him.

"They… couldn't get two fancy seats?" Atem asked.

Yugi laughed nervously, "I uhh… accidentally ordered three instead of four…" he said sheepishly.

Another echoing silence filled the area.

"Do you… want this seat? I can just stand…" Atem suggested.

"No… you can keep the seat…" Yugi said quietly.

"Yugi, it isn't a problem-"

"I SAID YOU CAN KEEP THE SEAT!"

Yugi blushed as he realized how loud he was.

"Kill me now…" he groaned.

Atem sweatdropped as well. "Forgive me… partner…" he said dramatically.

Roger let out a smug chuckle as the area was filled with deafening silence.

Meanwhile, in the VIP area…

"Man! I would not want to be in that situation!" Yuma laughed out loud.

"Grr…"

"EEP!" Yuma exclaimed as he realized he was standing next to a VERY pissed off Kaiba.

Heck, even all of the other teachers had wisely moved about 10 feet away from the blue-eyed time-bomb.

"Observation: Certain humans are naturally viewed as a threat depending on their mood," Astral said out loud, "However, the ones who are the last to notice this threat, are usually the first in-line for natural selection…" he said nonchalantly.

"Oh, shut it…" Yuma hissed as he scurried away from Kaiba as quickly as he could.

Soul removed the headphones he had in his ear and sighed, he had stopped listening to the announcers, who were now announcing him and Syrup, along with the opposing team.

He wasn't bothered enough to pay attention to their names, he just took one look at them.

"They look edgier than me…" Soul mumbled.

"You're not edgy, you're just lazy…" Syrup said with a pout.

"Hmph…" Soul said as he walked forward, "this is such a pain…" he said as he walked forward, "but considering this is the first match… it would be embarrassing to lose straight away…" he said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Does that mean you'll actually fight?" Syrup asked hopefully.

"Sure, sure…" Soul said as he stared down the other team, "don't expect me to get too serious, though…" he said calmly.

The fight was SUPPOSED to start here, but considering how long it's been, and the fact that this is a pretty long chapter already, I'll just give you guys this and get to work on the fight right away.

And serious question here… should this story be rated M? Because Soul's backstory is a little… bloody, and that's all I'm gonna say.