Chapter Seven

It was the first day of the new school year, and they were already skipping classes. Except that that was not quite true, Shou conceded somewhat reluctantly. Technically, classes did not start until Monday. Today was just opening ceremonies, so there were no classes to skip. But if there had been classes to skip, he was certain that he would still be here, killing time at the student store with his friends instead of sitting through lectures like he was supposed to. How they had managed to make it to their senior year was far beyond his understanding.

"So, how was your summer, Tome-san? It must've been awfully quiet back home without us to visit you all the time," Juudai remarked idly, pulling the plastic off his popsicle and depositing it in the trash can near the store counter. Shou sighed heavily, passing one of the red popsicles to Kenzan and quietly thanking Tome for all three of them. Because Juudai rarely thanked anyone for anything unrelated to card games. Kenzan had surprisingly good manners, and was usually very good about saying thanks, but Shou did not like it when his underclassman beat him to things like that.

"Oh, thank you for asking, Juudai-kun!" Tome was beaming at him, showering the three with her grandmotherly kindness. Shou liked to think of her as his school grandma while he was away from home; when he had been a freshman, he could always count on Tome to let him hide out in the back room until the many school bullies that picked on him went away. At the thought of his initial hazing, Shou had to repress a shudder. It was a good thing that he had made so many good friends so fast. The time that he had not spent with Juudai was usually spent being crammed into gym lockers. "But I stay on the island over the summer. The warm weather is good for you, you know! Besides, someone has to take care of the chickens and such."

"Really?" this time it was Kenzan speaking, sucking on his popsicle thoughtfully for a moment before elaborating. "I mean, it's great here, but don't you ever get tired of Duel Academy-saurus? Do the teachers stay, too?"

"Hmn? Oh, no, of course not," Tome explained with a small laugh. "The teachers and professors usually get to go home after the first week of vacation for you starts, and about half the staff leaves, too. Then it's just me, the custodians, and the Morality Committee boys. But lately, Bucky-chan has been coming to see me almost every day, so I haven't been lonely at all!"

"Bucky-chan. . .?" Juudai made a face at the false 'idol name' that Asuka's older brother had adopted early last year, and Tome swatted at him playfully from across the counter. She blushed a little, cupping her face in her hands and closing her eyes for a moment before adding in a conspiratorial whisper:

"I think the boy has a crush on me. He's probably unsure how to approach a former school idol like myself. . ."

At that point, Tome dissolved into giggles. Shou grimaced, remembering the annual duel between Duel Academy and North, where she appeared in a red dress, and then the school festival incident with the Black Magician Girl costume. . . the memory of the latter event still left his skin feeling cold and clammy, with his insides churning like a little piece of his soul had died. Kenzan just looked confused, head tilted up as if trying to figure out whether or not it was possible for a guy like Fubuki to be interested in older women at all.

"Well, what about you guys? How was your summer?" Juudai turned to ask his 'younger brothers' now that it was obvious that Tome was too busy. . . being a fangirl. Kenzan grinned widely, gesturing to himself as he was about to start boasting about the amazingly fantastic summer he had, when he was interrupted by Shou's worries:

"Can't we get back to the opening ceremonies, aniki? Please? I mean, this is our senior year!" the smaller boy lamented, looking back towards the entrance to the student store. "We need to focus! We need to work hard, and really devote our time to school and studying, or we're not going to graduate. Do you know what happens if we don't graduate? Do you know what it means, aniki? It means that we're failures in life, and we're the miserable, pitiful, bottom-of-the-barrel leftovers that will never amount to anything ever, and we'll be always be looked down on and stepped on and—"

"Shou, calm down. It's not that big a deal. Besides, you're in a Blue jacket right now; I don't think you need to be freaking out about not graduating."

Shou pouted slightly. It was true that he was in Obelisk Blue now, and had the clean-pressed upperclassman jacket to prove it, but he could not shake the feeling that it would not last for long. He was not the genius his brother was, was not a consistently good player like all his friends. The duel he had with the Hell Kaiser – that stranger who wore his brother's face – had secured a belief in his abilities when it really mattered, when lives and souls and ideals and everything that made a person who they really were were on the line. But what about little things like duel exams and high school rankings? Things like that seemed so pointless when held up in comparison. Shou was fairly certain that he would crumble beneath that meaningless pressure at the first opportunity, just like he always had in the past.

"I wouldn't mind if you guys repeated a year-don," Kenzan added, putting a reassuring hand on Shou's tiny shoulder. "I think it would be great if we could all graduate together!"

Shou shot his underclassman a scathing look, pushing his glasses up higher on his nose with one finger. He wished he could have thought up some witty remark to go with the look, but that was when he noticed the two young men wearing green berets and dark sunglasses coming into the store, and he shut his mouth so fast that he accidentally bit himself. Juudai glanced over with a raised brow, as if not understanding what the big deal was. Kenzan also looked confused. Not like they were carrying their weapons at low-ready, or anything. . .

Then again, Juudai probably did not remember the old director, the angry woman who had all but busted down their door at the beginning of their freshman year for sneaking into the Fourth Dorm. And the Morality Committee had been strangely absent for most of their second year, so Kenzan would not have any memories of the green berets. Shou remembered them, though. He remembered being scared to death that he and Juudai would be expelled, and then realizing that he needed to start worrying about getting shot, instead.

They were spotted immediately, one of the green berets coming over with his rifle slung over one shoulder, muzzle pointed down at the floor. The other was looking into the bread bin used for the Lucky Draw.

"Opening Ceremony isn't over yet. You should be in the arena, not here."

Juudai just made another face, putting the tip of his popsicle back in his mouth and turning to lean on the counter. Shou shrank back to hide behind Kenzan as the weapon moved from the Committee man's shoulder to his hands, and the muzzle was suddenly jammed into Juudai's ribcage. The school's hero made a faint sound of pain, allowing the young man behind him to turn him towards the door. Tome's hand came up to her face, covering her mouth in shock.

The other Committee member walked up to the counter with a mystery bread in each hand, perhaps debating whether or not he wanted this one, or the one he had passed over in the bin. Maybe he did not trust his draw skills. Shou thought it was surreal to see anyone in those dark green uniforms acting so normal, as if thinking of the members of the Morality Committee as human beings who ate lunch bread was just too weird even for Duel Academy. The impossibly surreal feeling was helped by the fact that the other green beret had just pointed a loaded weapon at Juudai for skipping one little assembly. Since when had Duel Academy gotten so strict?

"Actually, I was just thinking now would be a great time to get back to the ceremony. Don't you think so, Kenzan, Shou?" If Juudai had been nervous, he hid it expertly behind a beaming smile and an easy laugh, sticking the rest of his popsicle into his mouth with front teeth clamping down on the stick. He slid the icy dessert off the wood, dropping it in the trash as he turned for the door. Kenzan followed suit, but Shou just discarded his whole popsicle, mumbling a quiet apology to Tome as they filed out of the student store. Behind them, he could hear the sound of coins sliding across the counter, the other green beret offering the elderly woman a small, "thanks, ma'am," before quick-stepping to catch up and guard the rear of their little procession.

Principal Sameshima was just ending his speech when the three of them made it back to the Dueling Arena, and handing off the microphone to Vice-Principal Napoleon, who had some 'very important' announcements regarding new disciplinary policy. The green berets left them at the top of the stairs; Shou had watched as they slung their rifles back over their shoulders, muzzles always pointed down at the floor, and began debating who got which mystery lunch bread as they headed back out into the hallway. He was still fairly shaken up, but the sight of their retreating backs did a lot to calm his fidgety nerves. At least now he did not have to worry about what kind of letter they would send back to his mother after shooting him. With Juudai in the lead, they headed down the steps to find empty seats in the Osiris Red section. Of course, they were not surprised to find that the only empty seats were next to Manjoume.

"Took you morons long enough," the boy grumbled, scowling darkly as Juudai sat down beside him with a grin. "Kenzan, Shou. . . why are you sitting here? Neither of you are stuck in Red."

"Aniki is here," Kenzan replied as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. Where else would they be, after all? Duh. Manjoume rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the light prodding to his right shoulder. Steadying Juudai with a glare, he silently dared him to say something.

"We went on a popsicle run. You should've been there: it was totally more important than this."

". . . You're an idiot. Shut up."

"You guys," Shou whined the second word, holding the vowel sound out until they turned their collective attention to him. "We're seniors? Upperclassmen? Supposed to be setting an example for the innocent new freshmen so that they don't follow our path of misery and anguish and go through all the same hardships and defeats and failures and one day wake up ten years from now alone in a ditch somewhere and—!"

"Calm down, Shou-saurus. It's gonna be okay."

"I am not a dinosaur!"

"Wha—? Wings?" Juudai leaned forward in his seat, staring down at the duel field. Shou blinked at the strange outburst, letting his eyes follow the other's line of vision. He saw Napoleon quivering and trying to hide behind the podium that had been set up down there as someone walked towards him. Shou did not recognize the new man, a monstrously tall blond in black fatigues and a sweeping dark green jacket, nor had he heard any introduction for him. The jacket was familiar, though; the female head of the Morality Committee their freshman year had worn one like it. He watched as the new arrival stopped next to Napoleon, perhaps saying something that the main microphone did not pick up, before the little French man scurried off the stage as fast as his fat little legs would carry him. The large man stepped behind the podium, placing something – cues for a speech? – on its surface. "Is this guy for real?"

"White wings. . ." he heard Manjoume murmur thoughtfully, the boy's brows furrowed deeply. Shou glanced over to him, and then back down at the man on the field. Wings? He did not see any, but then again, Manjoume and Juudai were always seeing things that he and Kenzan could not see. What did it mean, though? Did it mean that the man had a spirit following him? Or had Manjoume's craziness finally infected his best friend?

"In light of the events of the past two years," the big man's voice boomed over the speakers, colored with the familiar heavy, slightly nasal accent they knew so well from listening to Napoleon rant. He was obviously fluent in the language, even though he said his vowels all wrong and was difficult to understand. His sentence structure and grammar were excellent; Shou wondered when the man had learned Japanese. The boys leaned forward further in their seats, straining to make out the message through the man's French accent. "I will be taking over the command of the Academy's Morality Committee and disciplinary board. I am the Head Director and founder of that organization, and I have been sent here by Kaiba Seto personally to maintain order this year. With this in mind, be aware that the Academy will be undergoing certain changes to policy."

Manjoume shot Juudai a worried look, which was met by a simple shrug. Shou brought a hand up to his mouth, biting down on one knuckle. This was not good. . . why did it have to happen during their senior year?

"For those that are not aware of this fact, there has always been a curfew on this island. After lights out, you are not permitted to leave your dorms. This curfew is still present and will now be strictly enforced. If any student is caught breaking curfew for anything other than a legitimate emergency, that student will be suspended for a week and will be kept in a newly designated in-school suspension hall. A second offense will lead to permanent expulsion."

"What? That's ridiculous!" Juudai exclaimed, so shocked and indignant that he rose from his seat with the yell. He was not alone; half of Osiris Red and a good portion of Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue were also on their feet. Shou was shocked at the number of standing students; were these all the curfew breakers and their friends? Or were they just indignant over the ridiculously harsh consequences of something that had become a kind of rite of passage for new students? The director of the Morality Committee was looking down at the notes he had laid out on the podium, and did not seem to notice. He went on regardless.

"All students are required to live in the dorms that they have been assigned. Any changes will only be made after explaining the reasons to your resident Dorm Advisor and by submitting the proper forms to the head of Dorm Life. Any students found to be staying in dorm rooms not assigned to them will be expelled. This is your only warning."

"Who does this jerk think he is?" Kenzan growled, also rising to his feet. Shou dropped his gaze to the floor. They were going to get expelled and shot by the green berets, he knew it. "He can't do that!"

"All students are required to wear the school uniform issued to them, and when worn, that uniform must meet certain dress code regulations.—" here, the man paused to look over at a section of Obelisk Blue seniors, all of whom were girls "—Any students who choose not to abide by this rule will be suspended for a week and kept in the in-school suspension hall. A second offense will result in expulsion. Finally—"

"I am not giving up my jacket for this prick!" Manjoume's vehement snarl was almost lost in the roar of disapproval from the student body, but the man at the podium did nothing. He seemed to be waiting for the noise to die down, and after several moments, it did.

"Finally, all students and faculty are required to cooperate with the activity and requests of the Morality Committee. This includes attending all classes and school functions. Any student who chooses not to will be expelled and any faculty member will have his or her contract terminated prematurely."

"Mr. Raphael, this is ludicrous! Surely you're not serious abou—" the microphone picked up Principal Sameshima's pleading tone, letting the students know that at least someone was on their side.

"Attending Duel Academy is a privilege, sir, not a right," the man, finally identified as Raphael, interrupted, speaking into the microphone though he turned his head to address their principal. "Teaching here is no different, and, for your own sake, you had best remember that."

They were so getting shot this year.

Raphael turned to leave just as Shou brought his head back up, eyes narrowed behind thin lenses as he glared at that broad retreating figure. He wished there was something he could do, some way to get rid of this new Committee head. If Ryo had been here. . . The Kaiser could have stepped up to challenge this new foreigner, could have dueled for the old rules as ante and would have had the whole student body supporting him. Ryo could have done it, but he was graduated and lying in a hospital back home. And Shou was not his brother, no matter what color jacket he wore. If Shou challenged Raphael, he was certain he would fail, because no one's life was on the line.

Suddenly, as though some veil or weight had been ripped from his gaze, Shou could see something white that blocked the view of the back of Raphael's jacket. There was something pale and bright there, a colorless flash as that something extended like wings spread to full capacity. Had Juudai said he saw wings? Shou rubbed at his eyes unbelieving, but the moment was gone. There was nothing there except for the dark fabric of his jacket, though a few pale feathers had drifted down from somewhere amidst the clamor to rest on the blue duel field. Maybe Shou was seeing things. Maybe Manjoume's crazy was rubbing off on him, too. Maybe, but he could not shake this terrible, ominous feeling.

Just who the Hell was this Raphael?