It was now dinner time, and Syrus was already eating his food. When he saw Hassleberry come up, he closed his eyes. He opened one to glare at him when he sat down.

"So," he snarled, "I was wondering. What'd you ever end up doing with that jacket you put Jaden's face on?"

"Oh? That thing? I threw it away…"

His words were hollow and empty. Syrus wanted to say something, but forbade himself from showing vulnerability to their tense relationship. Instead, he did the next best thing. He looked away, waiting for one of their other friends to hopefully help him.

"Are you still upset about losing that duel," Bastion asked.

"Yeah," he whispered. "It's the third one this week! I can't remember the last time I was on a losing streak that bad…"

Syrus couldn't help but feel guilt about being the person to cause his losing streak. Granted, he wasn't certain that was the case. Hassleberry had won two or three other duels between their initial conflict and this downwards spiral, but he couldn't help but wonder if that loss caused this. That combined with his comment referencing what started their duel made him feel absolutely awful. He sipped his water uncomfortably.

"I'm sure the next one will be better," Alexis encouraged. "I mean, you're not that bad!"

"Hmm… yeah, but…" He slowly started playing with his food before taking a few bites. "I'm startin' to wonder… I mean, I thought I'd get into Obelisk Blue when I did good on that entrance exam. But maybe I wasn't that good?"

He went back to playing with his food.

Syrus actually started to feel… bad? Seeing the energy depleted out of someone was almost... disheartening. He wanted to offer some kind of reassurance, but stopped himself every time. Hassleberry was a bully to him the first day they met, and it didn't seem like he'd stop trying to be anytime soon. So he was always required to have his guard up.

But just seeing the sad expression on his face couldn't help but sway him a little bit.

…

Syrus didn't want to tell Hassleberry anything until after they were alone. Regardless of how he tended to treat him, he was still a good person at heart. And the idea of letting someone continue to go into a downward spiral upset him greatly. Especially if he was the cause.

Bastion had already left to the Ra Yellow dorm, and Alexis was nowhere in sight. Jaden was gone- his newfound bond with Jesse had him out late most nights now. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he might have thought it amusing that he wasn't upset about this. His entire relationship with Hassleberry was predicated on the fact they were both fighting over Jaden's friendship. How ridiculous was it that he didn't care that he was off with some other guy while he half heartedly attempted to comfort his rival?

When the two got to their room, Hassleberry unlocked the door and began opening it.

"H-Hassleberry..."

He turned around begrudgingly. He seemed annoyed at the mere idea of someone talking to him. He looked down at the upperclassman.

"What is it, pipsqueak?"

"HEY-! I was GOING to let you know that I looked at some of the people coming to school tomorrow!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he started to mockingly say as he rolled his eyes. "That's reaaal intererstin'." He walked into the room and began to stretch out his blankets across his bed so they wouldn't be uneven when he got in.

"One of them is Rex Raptor!"

He stopped what he was doing almost immediately. He turned back to look at Syrus.

"As in the Rex Raptor?"

"Yeah."

"As in, the biggest dino duelist to be invited to Duelist Kingdom?"

"That's right."

It was hard to tell whether he was starstruck or excited. Either way, Syrus should've seen what was coming next.

"Well, then! Guess I just have to duel 'im and prove I'm the superior dino duelist!"

As glad as Syrus was to see Hassleberry's eyes light up again, something still worried him in the back of his head. What if he couldn't win? What if Rex Raptor completely wiped the floor with him? He couldn't encourage him to go, what if he lost? But he also couldn't discourage him, what if it made him more self-conscious than he already was? So, he sighed. Hassleberry was happy now, but how long would it last?

He stayed up late that night wondering what he should do. What could he do…? Hassleberry would never accept his help. And considering his losing streak, he might not even be inclined to listen to Jaden. Knowing him, he'd probably try to win this duel with absolutely no help whatsoever to "prove himself".

He peaked up at the bunks above him. Both Hassleberry and Jaden were passed out. He knew what he had to do…

…

After his presentation was done, Rex just sighed to himself. This was the best he could do? Giving half-hearted presentations at duel academies? If only Joey Wheeler hadn't taken his Red Eyes Black Dragon...

"Hey!"

He immediately snapped out of his thoughts. He was unamused when he saw a few students coming towards him, one coming far quicker than the rest. He was of a larger build, and in one of the Ra Yellow dorms. However, his uniform was unique. He had cut off the sleeves and it was a slightly darker shade of yellow.

"Rex Raptor," the student quickly asked.

"Yeah." He rolled his eyes. "Look, I said this at the end of the presentation, I'm not givin' autogra-"

"I WANNA DUEL YOU!"

"Duel…?" He looked down at him from atop the platform. "Listen, kid. I'm the one givin' lessons. So there's no way you can win."

"Come on! I'm a duelin' dino, too! I can win! I-"

"Now, now Hassleberry," Crowler interrupted. "Mr. Raptor here is our guest, so we musn't-"

"You really another dino duelist?"

Hassleberry smiled and nodded and showed off a couple dinosaur cards. Rex merely nodded.

"Fine then. One duel. Then I'm outta here."

Hassleberry was practically beaming. He looked back at his friends and smiled. Jaden gave him a high five.

"You got this, dude," he whispered.

Jaden was the only one who wasn't scared about Hassleberry possibly losing. Even Alexis, who supported the idea, was still worried about the situation. Even Syrus was on edge. However, he was ironically more confident in him than anyone else. For a reason that nobody knew.